Free Web NovelChapter 1: The Eye of Truth
"Ethan Ashford."
The steady, low voice of the ceremony’s host rang out across the vast main hall. The murmured conversations that had been rippling through the stands instantly died down. Hundreds of gazes turned in unison toward the very last row of seats, where a young man in a uniform slightly frayed at the cuffs slowly rose to his feet.
Ethan was in no hurry. He straightened his collar, then calmly walked toward the stage.
The blue light from the energy crystals embedded in the domed ceiling spilled down over his somewhat long black hair. He had a tall frame, a fairly handsome face, and a temperament far calmer than most students his age. If you ignored the worn-out uniform and the leather shoes scuffed with a few small scratches, Ethan looked nothing like someone who had spent years working part-time to cover his own tuition.
But it was precisely because of this that the whispers around him grew all the clearer.
"He’s finally up."
"Does Ethan Ashford really still have the nerve to walk up there?"
"Why wouldn’t he? He’s top of the year in theory, after all."
"What good is being top? Other people opened their Blind Box at eighteen and stepped onto the path of the Awakened. He’s twenty before he even qualifies for the ceremony. Two years behind is two years behind."
A male student leaned back against his seat and let out a soft chuckle.
"I heard he still works the eastern logistics warehouse at night. Maybe if he doesn’t become an Awakened, he can just keep hauling freight."
The one sitting beside him immediately chimed in. "Don’t say it like that. He’s still the eldest son of the Ashford family, after all."
"Eldest son?"
The other curled his lip and deliberately raised his voice.
"Has the Ashford family ever actually treated him like the eldest son?" freёweɓnovel.com
A brief silence fell. Then a few soft laughs rippled through the crowd.
Ethan kept walking as if he had never heard a single word. Over the past two years, he had heard far too many lines just like these. Some mocked him for his age, some looked down on him for his old uniform, and some treated the fact that he studied and worked at the same time as proof that the Ashford family had completely given up on this eldest son.
Eighty years ago, when the first Void rifts appeared in the sky, humanity’s old order all but collapsed within a few months. Monsters poured out from the torn-apart lands. Cities turned to ruins. Billions died before mankind could even grasp what was happening.
But disaster was not the only thing that descended upon this world.
Along with the Void, a strange law also emerged.
Every human, upon reaching adulthood, could choose a first Blind Box. No one knew what the box they chose contained. Some opened a sword, some received a skill tome, and some awakened a power capable of changing their destiny. Some luckier ones might receive a talent scroll or a strange item of unknown use. But there were also those who only opened a useless trinket, and from that point on forever lost the chance to step onto the path of cultivation.
In this world, birth could determine the starting point. Resources could stretch the gap between one person and another. But on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, luck still had the power to overturn everything.
Ethan had waited far too long for this day.
Two years of studying by day and working by night, cutting away nearly every unnecessary expense in order to finish the academy’s mandatory program. Two years of watching students his own age open their Blind Boxes one by one and step forward. It was also two years of watching Ryan become the genius the entire Ashford family praised to the skies.
In a front row, Ryan sat among a group of elite students. He was two years younger than Ethan, yet he had awakened a rank S fire-element power nearly two years ago. A dark red flame-shaped badge was pinned to his collar, symbolizing a status most students could never reach in their entire lives.
Sitting beside Ryan was a woman somewhere past forty. Her auburn hair was tied up neatly, her attire luxurious but not overly ostentatious, her face still holding on to a sharp beauty.
Selene Ashford.
Ryan’s mother.
And also Ethan’s stepmother.
As Ethan passed by their row, Ryan slowly raised his head. The corner of his mouth curled into a smile carrying undisguised mockery.
"Big brother. So you finally scraped together enough tuition to join the ceremony?"
A few students nearby immediately burst out laughing. Ethan only paused for a brief moment, but Ryan kept his smile and went on talking as if he truly cared about him.
"Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to mock you. I’m just a little curious, that’s all. After two years working in a warehouse, do you still remember how to use a weapon?"
Selene lightly placed a hand on Ryan’s arm.
"Ryan."
Her voice carried a gentle reproach, but the corners of her mouth never dropped.
"Ethan is still your brother, after all. Today is an important day for him."
Selene turned to look at Ethan. Her gaze remained mild, but every word was like a blade wrapped in a layer of soft cloth.
"Ethan, you don’t need to feel pressured. If you don’t open anything good, the family can still arrange a stable job for you. Not everyone needs to become an Awakened."
The words sounded gentle and perfectly reasonable. But everyone around understood their true meaning.
Selene had never regarded Ethan as an important member of the Ashford family. In her eyes, the best ending for him was simply to become an ordinary person, find a job that paid the bills, and vanish forever from Ryan’s path.
Ryan smirked.
"That’s right. You’ve been top of the class in theory for years. If you don’t become an Awakened, you can still work as a teaching assistant."
He paused slightly, then slowly added:
"Or go back to the warehouse."
The laughter rang out more clearly.
Ethan looked at Ryan. His expression did not change, and his voice was so calm it carried almost no emotion at all.
"Thanks for the concern."
Then he continued up onto the stage.
The smile on Ryan’s face stiffened slightly.
In the area reserved for the combat class, Claire silently watched Ethan. The girl with pale blonde hair tightened the hand resting on her knee. When Ethan passed by, she unconsciously wanted to stand, but in the end she stayed seated where she was.
Claire had once been Ethan’s girlfriend.
At least, in name she still was.
Two years ago, when Ethan was still the top-performing student of the year, Claire had believed he would open a powerful Blind Box and then swiftly step onto the path of the Awakened. Back then, she still appeared by his side often, ate lunch with him in the cafeteria, trained with him after class, and had even said she would wait until the day he completed his coming-of-age ceremony.
But two years was long enough for patience to wear thin.
Lately, Claire appeared at Ryan’s side more and more.
Ethan didn’t ask. He didn’t want to question it either. Some answers were already too clear, and pressing further would only make him look pathetic.
On the top floor of the main hall, behind glass reinforced with formations, several elderly men and women were observing the ceremony. One man wore a black military uniform with three silver stripes on his shoulder. A gray-haired woman wore the badge of the City Council. Sitting in the center was an old man with a stern face, one hand resting on a cane of black wood.
The Headmaster of Aurora Academy, Adrian Cole.
The man in the military uniform watched Ethan step onto the stage and said softly:
"This boy is Ethan Ashford?"
"Correct."
The gray-haired woman nodded.
"Top of the year in theoretical knowledge. His tactical analysis results are excellent as well. If not for his family circumstances, he should have joined the ceremony two years ago."
The man frowned slightly.
"I’ve reviewed his combat simulation records. His judgment is better than most students who have just awakened. If he opens a weapon or a power of rank B or above, I’m willing to hold a place for him in the reserve program."
Headmaster Cole did not answer right away. He only watched in silence as Ethan walked up to the altar, then slowly said:
"Before the Blind Box is opened, every assessment is meaningless."
"In the end, it still comes down to luck."
That was the cruelest truth of this world.
Effort meant something.
But without a good enough starting point, a person’s effort could still be forever limited.
At the center of the stage, Ethan stopped before the altar.
Above his head, hundreds of glowing cubes floated in midair. Each cube was wrapped in a faint layer of mist, completely sealing off the senses and the gaze of those below.
Weapons.
Equipment.
Skills.
Talents.
Powers.
Special items.
Monster eggs.
Partners.
Each group of Blind Boxes bore a different symbol. Those joining the ceremony could choose the type of box that suited their own direction, but the true reward inside still depended entirely on luck.
The ceremony’s host was a middle-aged man in a silver-gray robe. On his chest was the badge of the Awakened Council of Safe Zone No. 7. Only when Ethan stopped before him did he speak solemnly:
"Ethan Ashford, you have completed the entire mandatory program with top-of-the-year results. You now have the right to choose your first Blind Box."
He pointed toward the guidance crystal set at the center of the altar.
"Once you confirm the type of box, the decision cannot be changed. Do you understand?"
Ethan nodded.
"I understand."
He placed his hand on the crystal.
A cold current immediately surged into his body.
Right after, a violent pain shot through both of his eyes, making Ethan freeze. It felt as if thousands of tiny needles were piercing deep into his eyeballs all at once. He instinctively shut his eyes, his other hand clenching tight at his side.
In the darkness, a beam of white light suddenly blazed up.
[Compatible soul detected.]
[Awakening conditions have been met.]
[Activating special power.]
[Eye of Truth — rank SSS.]
