With This Treasure, I Summon Primordial Weapons
Chapter 2: Awakening Ceremony

Chapter 2: Awakening Ceremony

Godric took one final, sweeping look at the statues before turning around and entering the nearest academy building.

The corridors were both enormous and endless, floors made of pristine white marble tiles and ceilings that hung 10 meters above. It took him a few wrong turns after checking in at the reception until he spotted a group of ordinary-dressed people whom he finally followed in the right direction.

The Awakening Hall was otherworldly large.

And of course it wasn’t by accident. When a person awakened, there was a chance their beast would be much larger than they are, and so the hall was designed to accommodate that.

A dozen rows of seats lined merely a quarter of the hall’s floor. At least two dozen pillars rose to support a ceiling that was half made of glass and half concrete, shaped in a dome-like curve.

At the far end of the hall stood a single raised platform. It was completely empty except for a small altar-like structure that supported a large black orb.

"Everyone, please take the nearest available seat as you enter." One of the faculty members said.

Realising he was one of the few people standing, Godric quickly found the nearest available seat.

Moments later, as the last of the newcomers settled down, a figure stepped onto the podium.

"Greetings, everyone. My name is Director Hale, and on behalf of the Awakening Authority, I welcome you to today’s ceremony."

He spoke with the measured cadence of someone who considered every word important. Godric suspected he had given this speech so many times that the words had stopped meaning anything to him years ago.

The director continued the speech for a little longer, talking about the blessing of becoming awakened, and other things which would end up being irrelevant to most people present, as they were bound to fail.

Godric zoned out for a moment, looking through the crowd and noting the vast differences between each person. Some looked to be around his age, while others were way past middle age.

It was only when the speech ended that his attention moved back to the platform.

"We will now proceed," the director said, gesturing to the orb on top of the altar. "Once your name is called out, you will step forward and place your hand on the orb. If you have awakened, it will respond and if not... you know the rest."

***

"Andrew Ironside!"

A young man sitting only two rows in front of Godric stood up.

He walked with confidence, his chin raised high as if he already knew the outcome of the ceremony.

Among those present, there seemed to be a small recognition of his name.

"Isn’t he the son of the Harrow family?"

"I knew I recognised that name somewhere!"

It took only a few moments before he reached the altar and placed his hand on the orb.

A couple of seconds passed before this smile wavered, and the director looked at him apologetically.

The hall went quiet for a moment, realising what the outcome was a second before Andrew.

"H-Huh?" He looked around, seeing the sorrowful gazes of the small crowd, and before the director could even offer him some hollow encouragement, he rushed out of the hall, tears streaming down his face.

The director coughed a couple of times, it was the artificial kind of sound designed to politely steal everyone’s attention back to the present, instead of directly calling out their lack of attention.

A few more names were called out, each resulting in a failure before a name of someone designed to fail was called out.

"Felix Webster!"

A scrawny young man stood up.

The crowd dismissed him the second he stood up, as if looks had anything to do with success rate.

Of course, what didn’t help was him tripping over the first step of the podium, then on the last step and finally slipping right before the altar.

By his third stumble, a quiet laughter spread among the crowd, one that died as quickly as it arrived because the second Felix’s hand touched the orb, the air inside the hall shifted.

The orb lit up. And so did the gazes of everyone inside the hall.

The first summoner had finally arrived.

The hall erupted into surprised murmurs as a small array lit before the scrawny man and a serpent-like beast materialised.

Next to the director, a woman holding a tablet looked down at the screen of her device.

"It’s a Rare grade beast," the woman announced after checking her tablet.

A few disappointed sighs escaped the crowd.

Rare wasn’t bad.

There were only six recognised grades:

Common -> Uncommon ->Rare -> Elite -> Epic -> Legendary

While awakening was always extraordinary, no matter the beast’s grade, Rare was still a long way from greatness. Rare-grade beasts were respected. They guaranteed a place in most guilds and a comfortable life in the inner part of the city. But respect wasn’t enough to stand beside the Great Houses.

Felix, however, looked as though he’d been handed the world.

A gleeful smile flashed aross his sunken face as he joyfully walked back to his seat, with his beast following in his step.

Godric only spared the serpent-like beast a glance before he found himself strangely lost in the light still faintly emanating from the orb.

Something about it felt odd.

But before he could dwell on that, the director looked down at the next name on the list, and as he did, his eyes widened in surprise. He glanced at the female faculty member to his right, who simply nodded as to confirm it was correct.

Director Hale let out a small cough before calling out the next person.

"Godric Blackstar!"

The entire chamber went still.

Whispers died in an instant. Any unnecessary movements of those too bored to pay attention disappeared as every single person in the hall turned toward Godric.

"Blackstar?"

"That Blackstar?"

"I thought that house was gone..."

Slowly, whispers began to fill the chamber as Godric rose to his feet.

Even the faculty members looked caught off guard to see an actual member of the infamous Blackstar family right here in person.

There was nobody who didn’t know about the tale of the Five Great Houses, and there was nobody who didn’t bow down to the rule of the remaining Four Houses.

They stood above law, above any governments and rules that apply to everyone else.

"Godric Blackstar?" The director repeated.

He stood up.

The walk to the altar was shorter than it looked. The orb was darker now that Felix was no longer touching it, back to that perfect lightless black.

Godric stared directly into it as he ascended the stairs.

His hand found the orb a second later, and when it did, something stirred deep inside of him.

Unlike during Felix’s awakening, the orb didn’t light up.

The darkness inside of it only deepened.

Godric felt something cold move through his chest.

The director frowned, his expression stripped of its rehearsed calm for the first time all evening.

Then it stopped.

Godric lowered his arm.

"I’m sorry," the director said, though this time he sounded a little confused, as if he wasn’t exactly sure what he was sorry for.

The crowd’s expectation died in an instant. And as fast as Godric became the center of attention, he became nobody cared for any longer.

On the other hand, Felix was slowly becoming a small celebrity among the crowd, especially among the girls, who all saw him as an opportunity they had to capture.