The coming of age ceremony.
It was a ceremony that the trials took every year, on the same day.
When humanity entered the towers, they faced a problem. The children and old people left behind on Earth didn't receive a 'Path' like the adults who entered. For years, humanity tried to find a way for their children to awaken, but nothing worked.
Then, when the first generation of children born inside the towers turned eighteen, they all received a notification:
[Notification: Please Reach out to the Nearest Awakening Tower to Have your Awakening]
[Description: As long as this Notification is Active, the Awakening can Happen Any Time until you do not cross the age of 18.]
[Start Awakening (locked)]
The Start Awakening button would only work if the human was inside the tower. Inside, there was an Awakening room, Trial Rooms, and a teleportation circle.
For those born outside the tower, they needed to clear the trials of every floor before being allowed to live inside. Those born on a floor could teleport in and out of that floor, but still had to clear other floors to climb higher.
Every day, many parties tried to clear the towers. The floors would reset if left empty for 15 days, ensuring fairness.
Soon, Kain and Eren arrived at the nearest tower.
Only the person receiving the awakening could enter the room; the rest had to wait. The tower kept the Awakener's path private unless they chose to reveal it.
As soon as Kain and Eren arrived:
"Kain! Make sure to choose the combat Path! We need to make a party and hunt together, remember?" said Eren.
They entered the tower and were teleported to an unknown place.
[The Towers of Evolution - Tower Number 02]
[Mr. Kain, Are you ready to start your awakening?]
[Yes]
Kain took a deep breath and replied, "Yes."
The notification disappeared.
The awakening process began. Kain's entire life replayed before him, but something felt missing.
[Your whole life is currently being examined.]
[2 Paths have been decided for you]
- The Path of Combat
- The Path of Production
- No Unique Path
Unique Paths were rare, given to those who lived extraordinary lives. Kain sighed and chose the Path of Combat.
[Congratulations for choosing the Path of Combat!]
[Your System Module, 'Combat Mastery System' is currently being installed...]
[10%...20%....30%....40%.....50%....90%...99%....100%]
[System Installing....]
Various weapons floated in the air, ready for selection.
[Error: System Installation Un-Successful. Unknown Interruption Detected.]
Red notifications appeared, circling Kain.
'System error? What happened? Will I not awaken? But I am 18! Why is there such an error coming!'
System errors were rare, with less than 10 such cases in all of Terraeth's history.
[The system files are being corrupted by an unknown power.]
[10%...40%...50%....90%....100%]
*silence*
[Welcome to The Tower of Evolution Awakening Trials]
Three Paths have been decided for you.
- The Path of Production (Locked)
- The Path of Combat (Locked)
- The Path of The Seven Sins (UNIQUE)
"Why are you guys even showing me the other two paths when you want to choose the third path?" Kain muttered, seeing the other two greyed out.
"Whatever, let's just see what happens, it's not like I have any other option," he thought, clicking on the third path.
[You have chosen the Path of The Seven Sins]
[Your System is already installed in your mind.]
[Awakening your system.....]
The background changed to pure black. The floor became a sea of blood, and Kain stood on blood-red rose petals.
A system screen appeared, but before Kain could read it, he fainted.
[The Vampire System - Path of the Seven Sins is now activated]
[Unique Talent: 'Retain' has been found.]
[Your race is currently being determined.]
[Your race is determined: Human]
[Vampire blood is needed for complete system activation]
[Filling your body with 10% vampire blood composition]
[!Ding]
[The Essence of The Vampire ^$##%!!! is Found!]
[The vampire blood percentage is turned into 99.8%]
[Only half of your blood was able to activate due to lack of 'blood energy'.]
[Your race has been determined: 'Halfling']
[The system shall provide the user with The Tower of Evolution's climbing notice]
[The Halfling is required to finish the forced quest 'collect blood energy']
...
After the awakening, Kain's path was kept hidden. He was teleported outside the Tower of Evolution.
(Currently outside the tower)
"Kain! What happened to you?!" Eren called out. Kain's trial had taken over an hour longer than usual.
As soon as Kain exited, Eren rushed to him. Several people in white cloaks checked on Kain, who was unconscious.
"Doctors! What happened to Kain?!" Eren asked.
"Do not worry, his body is exhausted and he has fainted from lack of blood. We will deliver him home by ambulance. Do you know his address?" the doctor replied.
"Yes, doctor! I am his friend, we both share the same apartment," Eren said, relieved.
Kain was the only person Eren considered family. They both cherished each other, though they were too shy to admit it.
...
Soon, Kain abruptly opened his eyes, a stinging pain and heavy head overwhelming him.
"Where...am...I?" he muttered.
After a few seconds, the pain subsided.
[Welcome to the Vampire System, Mr. Kain]
"The Vampire System? What's that? Is it a Unique class system?" Kain asked.
[Yes, currently, the Vampire System is a Unique System only available to you, Mr. Kain]
[The system shall give Mr. Kain a few guidelines.]
[The Path of the Sins, is a Unique Path for Vampires of High Rankings]
[In the race of vampires, there are a total of 7 Sins that vampires cultivate for strength. These 7 Sins are called The Seven Pillars of Sins]
Suddenly, seven tall pillars surrounded him. He was in a pool of blood. The moon was red, only the pillars visible.
One by one, the pillars lit up as the system explained:
[The First Sin is Pride. A vampire who cultivates the Sin of Pride rises above all others, believing themselves superior. Their confidence fuels their power, granting them an aura of dominance and abilities that demand submission.]
[The Second Sin is Greed. A vampire driven by greed craves more—more blood, more strength, more immortality. As long as they cultivate this sin, they develop the ability to absorb power from others, hoarding strength like a dragon guarding treasure.]
[The Third Sin is Wrath. Consumed by fury, a vampire embracing this sin transforms their rage into destructive force. Their strikes grow more violent, and their mere presence instills fear, for their wrath knows no bounds.]
[The Fourth Sin is Envy. The vampire who succumbs to envy desires what others possess—beauty, power, skills. This covetous nature grants them mimicry, allowing them to replicate the abilities of those they resent.]
[The Fifth Sin is Lust. A vampire ruled by lust intoxicates all who cross their path. Their allure is irresistible, their presence hypnotic, and those entranced become willing victims, surrendering their will to their deadly charm.]
[The Sixth Sin is Gluttony. No feast is ever enough. A vampire indulging in gluttony devours recklessly, draining energy and essence without restraint, growing unnaturally powerful through endless consumption.]
[The Seventh Sin is Sloth. Though underestimated, sloth lulls enemies into a false sense of security. A vampire cultivating this sin becomes untouchable, their passive nature hiding an overwhelming resilience that defies death itself.]
[Your path is the strongest of all vampires, and also the most dangerous, it is the Legendary Path of The Seven Sins.]
[You currently have a mission pending which the system shall issue now.]
[System Mission]
[Title: Become a True Vampire]
[Description: You already possess everything needed to upgrade your bloodline to a True Vampire, all you require is to drink blood of three different people.]
"Huh? Drink blood? Why? Why should I drink blood of humans? Am I a mosquito?" Kain thought, finding it funny.
"Humph! Why should I even drink blood of others?" Kain decided to ignore the message.
'But what are even vampires?' he thought.
...
Out of 20 billion people, only 4 billion lived inside the tower.
The people inside the tower, although following the 'Paths', were much stronger than the average.
If a tower climber who climbed up to the 15th floor arrived outside, he could easily conquer half of the world all on his own.
At least, that's what people believed.
After all, people who lived in the towers barely sent any information outside.
It was said that even if they tried, the tower would automatically make it inaudible to others.
Even writing or uploading on the internet didn't work.
It's as if the towers do not want to make the trials easy for humans.
Although all the towers were separated, they were all connected. It was as if all of these towers teleported people of the planet to a completely different place.
Of course, all of this was just speculation and there was no guarantee for it to be a reality.