In a small town bordered by a dense forest and vast farmland, a father and his two sons walked the cobblestones toward the church. 

The father had rugged features and a worn sword slung across his back. He was Karson, the guard captain of the town, Desden. 

The older son was Ezekriel. Having been born with a silver spoon, his handsome features and calm brown eyes had always made him the idol of the town’s girls, yet envied by all the men. 

The younger son was Elendril. Unlike his father and brother, who were quite tall, he could not quite measure up to their height. 

However, his brown eyes were like an unfathomable lake. Combined with his tousled black hair, if his brother had not been born, Elendril would have been the town’s idol instead. 

“Elendril, Ezekriel. When choosing your class, remain calm. Remember what you wanted, and for the love of Terneim, Elendril, don’t pick any class that sounded cool, and stick to what you decided before!”

Karson said.

“Yes, father. I’ll make sure to stick to the Magician classes! Hehe- OW!”

Smack!

Elendril was loudly smacked on the back of his head. 

The crack resounded through the street! 

Many of the bystanders winced at the sound. 

“Hey, who is that? Why is that kid getting hit so hard?”

A hunter said. 

“Ah, are you new here?”

A villager said. 

“Yes, I’m only stopping by to sell my pelts.”

“Well, that’s the warrior family of the town. They’re the strongest men! Only a few guards can beat the sons, let alone the father!

“But isn’t that child abuse, to hit the child so hard?”

“No, it’s normal for such a thing to happen. The young one, Elendril, has an odd affinity for being hit.”

The hunter glanced around. Unlike what he expected, the bystanders quickly dismissed what happened and continued on their way. Shaking his head, he continued on his way. 

“Don’t make foolish promises like that, Elendril! Whenever you say something like that, I know you’re going to do the exact opposite!” 

Ezekriel said, as he caught Elendril in a headlock. 

“Hey, let me go!”

Elendril grinned widely as his head was being kneaded with Ezekriel’s knuckle. 

“Okay, you two. Let’s go quickly to Robin for your classes.”

Releasing Elendril’s headlock, they entered the town square. 

It was midday, so the square was full of market stalls. Countless people were trying to sell their items while others wandered about, haggling for those products.

“Fresh carrots for only two coppers a stack! Bottles for only fifteen coppers a stack!"

"Fresh wolf hides, one for ten coppers each!"

A beautiful marble fountain stood out in the middle of the town square. A sculpture of Goddess Terneim was placed in the middle, and out of her outstretched hands, as if reaching the heavens, flowed water. The statue faced a large building, which had an old clock tower. It was the church.

As they entered through the worn wooden doors, colored light streamed down onto the pews. 

Many people sat on the pews, praying in silence as a priest stood on the pulpit, preaching from the lectern. 

The three men quieted down, and Karson led the way towards the pulpit. 

Reaching the pulpit, they waited in silence for the priest to finish speaking.

"Cough, cough. Ahem, Karson! How have you been?"

"I've been well, Robin. My two sons want to try and awaken, help me out, would you?"

"Very well. Please enter the foyer nearby, and I can help you."

They walked into the foyer. Pillars lined the antiquated room. Their steps echoed throughout the room.

"Elendril, Ezekriel, please stand here. I'll begin the ceremony now."

He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. 

"Goddess Terneim, this old servant asks of you to please grant these two young men the chance to awaken. May their journey be blessed with light!"

Whoosh!

A holy light shone down onto Ezekriel right away. 

The stunning light blinded Karson's eyes, then became bearable. 

In its place was a golden, translucent lily. Inside, Ezekriel could be seen standing calmly.

A holy light had also shone down onto Elendril. 

'This is excellent! The training had worked after all, now Elendril and Ezekriel will have a chance to become trainee soldiers at Chronosum!' 

However, the holy light over Elendril began to sputter! 

Priest Robin's eyes began to scrunch together in concentration. 

Shortly after, the light began to stabilize again. 

However, a deep red began to infiltrate the beam!

Like vines, it crawled onto the beam, and suddenly the beam over Elendril had become a glaring, scarlet red!

This time, there was no stunning light that surrounded Elendril. 

It cascaded onto Elendril like the tides of the ocean, forming a magnificent, red orchid! 

This orchid, however, was different from the lily that enveloped Ezekriel, for it fluttered and swayed! 

Swoooosh!

Karson could feel an imaginary wind blowing through the foyer room, and it gave him chills! 

Staring dumbfounded at the fluttering orchid, Karson suddenly realized something. 

Those who had caught goddess Terneim's attention would have a unique phenomenon upon awakening. 

However, this phenomenon rarely occurred in those who awakened before 18; hence why it was commonly agreed to try to awaken at the age of 18. 

This phenomenon signaled that one had a special affinity towards the goddess, and thus was suitable to handle the goddess’s divine power. 

Karson had not recognized it right away, because Elendril had a red orchid phenomenon, instead of the traditional white lily phenomenon. 

However, he was not necessarily pleased by this. 

He did not like the idea of his son joining the church.

Even though he was devout to the goddess, he decided that he would give the church no chance to steal his son!

As the awakening continued, some of the people who had been praying crept into the foyer, curious about the awakening.

"Wow! Both of the brothers are awakening!"

"Isn't that astonishing? It's rare for a family to have even one awaken at the age of 18, but both of them?" 

"I wonder why Elendril's phenomenon is swaying though."

"Yeah, it's strange. It's oddly chilly here too!"

"What about Elendril's flower, though? Why is it a red flower? It looks similar to the lily but it's not quite the same..."

"It's an orchid! But what is it doing here?" 

A botanist said. The other bystanders murmured in surprise, but they kept observing.

Karson was bursting with pride! However, he could not get rid of a nagging feeling, as if something was going to go terribly wrong.