Chapter 1: No One Special
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The Southern Continent—Rainforest.
A forgotten land drowned in green and gray, where even sunlight gave up trying.
Here, in a village where power was a rumor and hope was a luxury, a boy named Ryu lived.
He was fourteen.
He didn't want to become a hero.
He didn't want to change the world.
He just wanted the roof not to leak during the next rain.
That was enough.
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A Day in the Mud
Ryu crouched near a rice patch, muddy water up to his knees. His hands were numb, but he kept plucking weeds. Not because he liked it. Because the old farmer promised two pieces of bread and half a boiled egg if he finished before sunset.
Behind him, near the shade of a wilting tree, a girl watched quietly—his step-sister, Mina. She was 12, with hair that always looked like it hadn't been brushed, and eyes that looked too tired for her age.
"Is it almost done?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ryu lied, hiding his scraped palms. "Just a little more."
They'd skip dinner again tonight.
But Mina smiled anyway. "We can share the bread," she said.
He turned away so she wouldn't see his expression.
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The Status of Rainforest
Power in the world came through Awakening.
In Rainforest, the numbers were cruel:
99.1% of people never awakened at all.
The remaining 0.9% were called Mobs.
Even among them, most were stuck at the bottom.
Mobs were divided into 7 Classes:
1. Amateur Class – the lowest, barely better than normal humans.
2. Trained Class
3. Expert Class
4. Higher Class
5. Master Class
6. Regional Class
7. World Class – beings who shaped history.
Ryu's father had been an Amateur Class Mob. One of the few in the village.
He died when Ryu was 8, stabbed while protecting the town from a group of hungry thugs.
They didn't even remember his name afterward.
His mother, a normal woman, died a year later—hit by a falling log in a logging yard accident.
No one paid for her funeral. Ryu buried her himself.
Since then, it had been just the two of them—Ryu and Mina.
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Later That Night
The sky cracked open with thunder, and rain splattered against the thin roof of their shack. Mina huddled under a blanket made from stitched-together clothes. Ryu sat by the window, keeping watch for leaks.
He didn't sleep much.
Not because he was training.
Not because he was planning something.
He just didn't want the rain to wake Mina.
She had school tomorrow—one of the few kids who still went.
Ryu never did. Not anymore.
He worked now. That was enough.
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A Whisper of Something Else
That night, after Mina fell asleep, Ryu felt something strange.
Not pain.
Not warmth.
Just… a flicker. Deep in his chest. Like a match trying to light in the wind.
He clutched his shirt, but there was nothing there.
The feeling faded just as quickly.
He shook his head. Probably nothing. Probably tired.
After all—he wasn't special.
He didn't need to be.
All he needed was enough bread for tomorrow.
TO BE CONTINUED.....