The Awakened Arcane Legacy

Grew Up In The Streets

Ten years later.

October 12, 2093.

Phoebe and Denim wanted to take care of Talon, but they couldn’t. They couldn’t risk being outlaws or jeopardize their high-paying jobs. Their line of work was too dangerous to bring a child into. In this era, finding a well-paying job was challenging due to the ongoing wars between demons and humans. The only lucrative jobs involved hunting monsters, demons, or working as a healer.

Becoming a healer wasn’t easy, though. It required possessing the rare virtues of a holy mage. If you weren’t born into a mage bloodline, acquiring the Divine Virtues was nearly impossible. Talon had been left in the Safe Zone as a baby, a camp for refugees. The camp housed over 20,000 displaced individuals, but despite its size, it struggled to accommodate everyone.

Although it was called the Safe Zone, its security relied heavily on S-Class Rankers, making it almost impenetrable to demons. However, the Alliance, despite being capable, didn’t provide the refugees with essential resources like food, water, shelter, and clothing. Talon, now Ten years old, had to fend for himself. He had no one else to rely on.

At a street corner in the Safe Zone, countless people moved in all directions. Food vendors called out to attract customers. Talon, a ten-year-old boy with short black hair, red eyes, and tattered clothes, observed from a hidden corner. His gaze was fixed on a fruit vendor selling a mutated orange to a buyer. The buyer checked his Trade watch to ensure he had enough digital currency, known as Star points, to make the purchase. Star points were the currency used in this era, payable through various means like cards, Trade watches, and transparent holographic phones called Mega phones.

Talon contemplated how he could manage to snatch a fruit from the vendor without being caught.

“I hope God is on my side today. I just need him to make a mistake, and I’ll take advantage of it,” Talon thought to himself. He watched as the fruit vendor, busy with a different customer, Knowily handled a rotten fruit in addition to the selected oranges. Talon knew this was his opportunity.

“Yes! This is it” he was excited

Talon never stole from innocent vendors; he targeted the deceitful traders who ripped off buyers for their own gain. It was remarkable how young Talon saw through such schemes. With his small frame, he maneuvered through the dense crowd effortlessly. He swiftly approached the metal carriage where the vendor displayed his fruits and knocked over the bag containing the selected oranges, along with the rotten one. Talon also snatched two other fruits. It was his way of holding the vendor accountable for his dishonesty.

“Hey kid!” the angry customer shouted, but upon realizing the vendor’s deceit, he turned his anger towards him. The customer picked up the rotten fruit from the ground and confronted the vendor.

“You tried to sell me a rotten fruit?” the buyer exclaimed, holding up the discolored orange. The vendor, realizing Talon had exposed his misdeeds, attempted to cover up by shouting, “Thief! Hey! Get that boy! Don’t let him get away!”

The fruit vendor chased after Talon, but his slow movements due to his large belly hindered his pursuit.

The vendor chased after Talon, but his slow movements hindered him. His excess weight and big belly prevented him from keeping up with the agile young boy. If the vendor were a B-Class Ranker, his size wouldn’t have affected his speed, as there were many B-Class Rankers who were overweight.

“Cat….ch….him! D…..on’t let him escape!” The vendor gasped for breath, his words barely coherent. He struggled to speak due to his extreme fatigue from running. His hands rested on his massive thigh as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

But his plea fell on deaf ears. The people witnessing the scene knew that if Talon took something from you and escaped, it meant you were involved in shady business. They recognized him as the Payback Collector and saw no reason to interfere.

Talon reached his meager shelter, a makeshift cubicle that hardly resembled an apartment. It consisted of wooden structures covered in tattered rags. It was disheartening to see a Ten-year-old living in such a place.

“Talon! It’s time to pay up!” a voice called out from outside his cubicle. Talon not only had to fend for himself but also had to protect himself from bullies. He hadn’t awakened yet, so he lacked visual abilities to defend against them. However, a few of the bullies had already Awakened.

Quickly, Talon wrapped the fruits in a cloth and stashed them in a box under his pillowcase, closing it tightly. He then kissed the medallion on his neck, the only thing his mother had left him.

Summoning the courage too leave, Talon ventured outside his humble abode. Not far from him stood a boy who appeared to be around Twelve years old, larger than his age, accompanied by two others who seemed to be around Eleven years old. These children were fortunate enough to have their parents pay for their Awakening fee, allowing them to Awaken early.

By the age of ten, every child was meant to Awaken, as delaying the process could hinder their future growth. Talon, without parents and struggling to survive, had given little thought to Awakening. He was already ten years and a few months old.

“I don’t owe you guys anything! I don’t need to pay up for anything,” Talon confidently declared. He knew he couldn’t match their strength since they were all -FF Class Rankers. To him, they seemed strong, but in the eyes of the outside world, they were just weak kids. This was because a typical child should have reached the rank of +F Class by the age of ten.

Before awakening, each child must spend two years accumulating their Arcane Energy. It takes time for the energy to reach a minimum of 1000 points. If the energy is less than that, the child is considered to be in an -FF class rank.

The leader, a boy named Arion, stared at Talon with a wicked smirk. “You think you’re some kind of big shot because you can go around stealing without anyone daring to stop you. Well, since you refuse to pay for what you stole, I think I’ll have to take matters into my own hands on behalf of everyone else,” Arion said, his eyes filled with anger.