Chapter 58: The Tryouts

Over the following days, Eden eventually managed to explain the situation to Mihui.

Well...

"Explain" was a generous word.

"I got a new skill."

Mihui stared at him.

"A necromancer-type skill."

Her expression remained skeptical.

"And she is a summon."

Sylvia stood beside Eden with an offended expression.

"I am not merely a summon."

Eden stepped on her foot.

Sylvia immediately stopped talking.

Mihui looked between them.

"So she’s a summon."

"Exactly."

"...And she calls you Master?"

"...That’s how the skill works."

Mihui narrowed her eyes.

Eden smiled awkwardly.

"It’d be weird if I changed it."

Mihui sighed.

She didn’t look completely convinced.

But she accepted it.

Mostly.

Unfortunately, there was another problem.

Clothes.

Mihui tried giving Sylvia several outfits.

None of them fit.

The first shirt was too short.

The second barely made it over her shoulders.

The third pair of pants didn’t even make it past her thighs.

Mihui stood there holding the ruined clothing in silence.

Sylvia looked genuinely apologetic.

"I am sorry."

Mihui smiled.

To say that it was not a happy smile would be an understatement.

"It’s okay."

Eden could practically feel the tension.

Sylvia glanced down at hers well endowed Body.

"I may be somewhat difficult to dress."

"I noticed."

Mihui folded the clothes.

"Very noticeable."

Eden decided that was his cue to leave the room.

The situation only became more ridiculous at night.

Despite Eden and Mihui repeatedly telling Sylvia to sleep on the couch, Eden would occasionally wake up and discover her beside him again.

Every time, Sylvia had a different excuse.

"The couch was uncomfortable."

"I was cold."

"I accidentally manifested here."

"I fell asleep."

And once:

"I missed you."

Eden had stared at her for a full ten seconds after that one.

Sylvia simply smiled.

Eden eventually gave up.

There was another presence he occasionally felt during those nights.

Obsidian.

Even while dissolved and recovering, their connection remained.

Eden could sometimes faintly sense him.

And, strangely enough...

He could almost feel judgment.

Not words.

Not an actual voice.

Just the vague impression of a very old warrior staring at the situation and silently questioning every decision Eden had made in his life.

One night, Eden opened his eyes, feeling the familiar sensation of Sylvia’s sleeping body pressed against his.

He awkwardly stared into the darkness.

’Don’t judge me.’

Nothing.

’I didn’t choose this.’

Silence.

Eden narrowed his eyes.

’Seriously.’

He sighed.

’Watch who you judge, you oversized suit of armor.’

The faint sensation disappeared.

Eden smiled.

"That’s what I thought."

Beside him, Sylvia stirred.

"Mmm..."

Eden looked at her.

She was already asleep again.

He sighed, a small part of him fighting tears.

"Is this really my life now?"

Despite all the absurdity, however, the week wasn’t entirely wasted.

Eden trained.

He tested his new Dark Matter Attribute.

He refined Corrupted Surge.

He tested how much Essence it consumed and learned to deactivate it more efficiently.

He also experimented with Dark Matter Manipulation, though Sylvia insisted that he shouldn’t waste too much Dark Matter while his reserves were still so low.

And, most importantly, Eden kept checking Devour.

Still locked.

Every single time.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Devour — S-Rank]

Activation requirements not met.

Required Attributes insufficient.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"You’re kidding me."

Every time he saw it, Eden became increasingly irritated.

His strength had skyrocketed.

His combat ability had skyrocketed.

His skills had evolved.

He’d gained an S-Rank authority.

He’d defeated a B-Rank boss.

And yet the System still refused to let him use the skill that had started this entire chain of growth.

Eden stared at the notification one morning.

"Fine."

He closed the window.

"I’ll get stronger."

There was no point complaining.

Not when he had an entire world waiting for him.

And only a few days later...

The day finally arrived.

The Awakened Tryouts.

Eden stood in front of the mirror.

His black hair was slightly messy.

His silver eyes looked sharper than they had a ever before.

His dark clothes were simple.

Comfortable.

Nothing that would restrict his movement.

He checked his status one final time.

Then closed it.

Mihui stood in the doorway.

"You’re going to be late."

Eden froze.

"...What?"

She pointed at the clock.

Eden’s eyes widened.

"Shit!"

He had overslept.

Again.

He grabbed his jacket and rushed toward the door.

Mihui sighed.

"Try not to get yourself hurt."

"Don’t worry about it."

"And Eden?"

He stopped.

Mihui smiled faintly.

"Good luck."

Eden returned the smile.

"Thanks."

He left.

He had spent the last week learning about gods, ancient Retainers, Dark Matter, and powers that predated modern civilization.

But somehow...

The thought of walking into a stadium filled with hundreds of Awakeneds made his heart beat faster from the sheer excitement.

Today, he’d finally get to see how far he had climbed.

Half an hour later, Eden finally saw the stadium.

And immediately realized he had a problem.

It was enormous.

Even from several blocks away, the structure dominated the skyline. The stadium itself stretched across an absurd amount of land, its outer walls rising high above the surrounding buildings while banners bearing the Association’s emblem hung from nearly every visible surface.

Normally, getting there would have been easy.

Today, however, the entire area around it was packed.

Reporters.

Fans.

Association staff.

Awakened participants.

Guild representatives.

Even ordinary civilians had gathered around the outer perimeter, hoping to catch a glimpse of the young Awakeneds who were about to participate in one of the country’s largest public events.

Eden slowed to a stop.

"...You’ve got to be kidding me."

He checked the time on his phone.

He was running late.

Not catastrophically late.

But late enough that he really didn’t have time to stand around and figure out how to navigate through several thousand people.

He looked toward the entrance.

Then toward the crowd.

Then back toward the entrance.

There was absolutely no obvious path.

"How the hell am I supposed to get through that?"

"That’s exactly what I’m wondering."

Eden turned his head.

A girl was standing beside him.

He hadn’t even noticed her approach.

She seemed to be staring at the same massive crowd with an expression of mild disbelief.

She was beautiful.

Not in the exaggerated, almost otherworldly way Eden had become accustomed to after meeting Sylvia, but in a much more natural way.

Her hair was a striking mixture of black and white, falling around her shoulders in soft layers. Her amber eyes were bright and sharp, and her simple black clothing did little to hide the fact that she had a rather generous figure.

She looked at Eden.

Eden looked at her.

For a second, neither said anything.

Then the girl smiled awkwardly.

"I guess we’re both stuck."

Eden nodded.

"Looks like it."

He studied her for a moment.

Something about her was familiar.

He couldn’t place it.

"Are you here for the Tryouts?"

She blinked.

Then smiled.

"Yeah."

She extended her hand.

"Sophia."

Eden shook it.

"Eden."

The moment he heard her name, something clicked.

His expression barely changed, but internally, he froze.

’Sophia.’

One of the names he remembered from his previous life.

A girl that was sure to become famous in the future.

An Enchanter.

One of only two known human Enchanters in history.

People with a unique ability to enhance another Awakened’s skill, causing it to undergo an abnormal increase in rank.

A one-time enhancement.

A single chance to transform an already powerful skill into something far more terrifying.

At least...

That’s what Sophia would eventually become.

She would only gain that ability after reaching S-Rank.

Right now, however...

Eden subtly sensed her Essence.

’C-Rank.’

’Not bad.’

He hadn’t expected to run into her this early.

Sophia tilted her head.

"Is something wrong?"

Eden snapped back to reality.

"No."

He smiled.

"Just thought I’d heard your name before."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Sophia laughed softly.

"I’d be surprised. I’m not exactly famous."

’Not yet.’

Eden kept that thought to himself.

Before he could say anything else, a woman with a microphone suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Excuse me!"

Eden’s shoulders immediately dropped.

Behind the reporter stood a cameraman and another staff member carrying equipment.

The reporter smiled brightly.

"Are you two participants in today’s Awakened Tryouts?"

Sophia glanced at Eden.

Eden glanced at Sophia.

Neither looked particularly enthusiastic.

"Yes," Sophia answered.

"Wonderful! Could we get a quick interview before you enter?"

Eden looked at the enormous crowd behind them.

Then at the stadium.

Then at the reporter.

"How quick?"

The reporter laughed.

"Two or three minutes."

Eden sighed.

"Fine."

Sophia nodded.

"Sure."

The camera immediately turned toward them.

The reporter’s expression became professional.

"First of all, could you introduce yourselves?"

Sophia went first.

"I’m Sophia. I’m a C-Rank Awakened, and this is my first time participating in the Tryouts."

The reporter nodded.

"And what are you hoping to achieve today?"

Sophia hesitated.

"I’d like to pass, obviously."

She laughed awkwardly.

"But mostly, I just want to see how I compare to other Awakeneds around my age."

The reporter smiled.

"That’s a very humble answer."

Sophia shrugged.

"I’m being realistic."

The reporter turned toward Eden.

"And you?"

"Eden."

"Rank?"

"C-Rank."

The reporter’s eyes widened slightly.

"Another C-Rank. There are only a handful of you here today. Are you confident?"

Eden thought about it.

"I’m pretty confident."

The answer came so quickly that Sophia glanced at him.

The reporter smiled.

"And what do you hope to accomplish?"

"Pass."

The reporter laughed.

"Just pass?"

"Isn’t that enough?"

The cameraman snorted.

The reporter shook her head.

"Fair enough. Do you have anyone you’re particularly worried about?"

Eden glanced toward the stadium.

"No."

"Nobody?"

"I haven’t met most of them yet."

The reporter smiled.

"Then what about the other C-Ranks?"

"They won’t be of much trouble."

That answer earned a few amused reactions from the crew.

The interview continued for another couple of minutes.

Nothing particularly important.

Where they were from.

How long they’d been Awakened.

What they expected from the event.

Eventually, the reporter thanked them and moved toward another group of participants.

Eden exhaled.

"Well."

Sophia nodded.

"We’re still stuck."

"Yep."

They both looked at the crowd.

Eden rubbed his chin.

"I have an idea."

Sophia looked at him.

"What kind of idea?"

Eden hesitated.

"It’s... a bit of a stunt."

She raised an eyebrow.

"How much of a stunt?"

"You’ll find out."

Sophia stared at him.

Then, surprisingly, shrugged.

"Okay."

Eden blinked.

"You’re just agreeing?"

"Well I’m a but nervous, but I can’t afford to be late either."

Sophia smiled.

"Besides, if it gets us through that crowd, I’m willing to try whatever Idea you might have."

Eden looked toward the stadium.

Then back at her.

"All right."

He crouched slightly.

Sophia frowned.

"What are you—"

Eden suddenly scooped her off the ground.

Her eyes widened.