It was a quiet sunny morning, a rare occurrence for Vancouver in November. It was a perfect day for getting out and about. Owen could think of a dozen things he could be doing right now, like going to a lake for boating, walking around the seawall or perhaps even going for a hike. But here he was, stuck at the Hunter's Association headquarters. It was the time for the monthly awakening ceremony and unfortunately he had just turned 25 last week. So now, he had the great displeasure of being here.
He stood in attention in one of the many lines in the testing hall of the association. It was a colossal building, usually used for Hunter spars and demonstrations. It was really an awe-inspiring structure that could house almost 200 thousand spectators at a time. Any other time he was here, he would have admired this magnificent feat of engineering.
But today was not one of those days, though it was a day that would decide the course of the rest of his life. It was a day that every sane should have human dreaded. He would soon be called into one of the testing rooms ahead and be tested. If he failed to react to the magic, he would continue his life as an ordinary civilian, boring as that may be. It was the option he was wishing for with every fibre in his being. Because if he did react with the magic and awaken, he would be in for a life full of fighting monsters. Risking his life every day, not knowing if he would survive to see the next.
He knew that this was not a common thought process for someone his age. In fact, most of the people gathered here could not wait to awaken with some awesome power and save the world, become super famous and rich. 'Look at them all, practically bouncing with excitement. Do they not understand what's at stake here? It's not a superhero movie—it's signing up for a death sentence with extra steps.'
He just wanted to go boating.
While Owen spent his time day dreaming of going on a boat ride, steering the boat with one hand and a beer in the other, the line kept moving forward. People went into the testing room and came out either excited and happy or disappointed and sad. Soon it was his turn.
He was called to a room that had just emptied and moved towards it with slow, nervous steps. This felt more nerve wrenching than when he had asked his high school crush out in front of the whole class and got rejected. Remembering that particular memory just made him feel worse. When he finally reached the door, he stopped and took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. It was not like he had a choice in what was about to happen. The awakening ceremony was a mandatory event that everyone had to attend once they turned 25, no matter where in the world they were. If they awakened, then they became a hunter and had to clear dungeons. It was similar to a military draft but for superpowerd individuals.
Once Owen felt like he was clam enough, he reached for the handle and opened the door.
* * *
It inside of the room was as basic as could be. It was just what one could expect from a government agency. Completely white walls that were bare of any decoration at all and just an uninteresting of a brown tiled floor, that was full of small scratches. There were just two items in the room. A bed that he supposed was for him to sit/lay in and a pot with some kind of green plant in it. As if having a plant was all one needed to make a room feel welcoming. Owen was not even sure if the plant was real of just some cheap plastic copy.
Before he could try and get close enough to the plant to check it out, the door opened behind him and a man dressed in an all black suit entered.
"Hello, Mr. Owen Richards. Please hand over your id for verification and lay down on the bed." He said while looking at the tablet in his hand, not even bothering to look at Owen. He was all business, no introductions and no small talk. Guess this is what happened when you had to repeat the same process with hundreds of people in a single day.
Owen quietly handed over his id and began to lay down on the bed. While he was doing so, the man looked over his id and went back to doing something in his tablet. Once Owen had settled in the bed, the man finally set the tablet aside and moved towards Owen.
"The awakening ceremony is simple, I will shortly inject your body with enough mana to completely overwhelm it. If you are not compatible with mana, your body will simply disperse the mana into the environment, it is completely harmless and will not hurt. Unfortunately, it will also mean that you cannot become a hunter and will remain a civilian" The man said with a slow pace, as if explaining to a middle schooler.
Making sure that Owen had understood so far, he continued. "If your body is compatible with the mana though, it will start to absorb the mana and jump start the mana circulation in your body while also forming a mana core in your heart. The process is quick, it will only take about 15 minutes. It will hurt like a bitch though."
Owen was still taking in the words, not even having a chance to react to the last sentence before the man suddenly pressed his hand on Owen's chest and pressed down. It was as if a mountain had been placed on top of him, he was stuck, unable to move.
"Wai-" Owen tried to speak but before he could finish his first word, he felt something flow into his body. It was the worst sensation he had ever experienced in his life. It felt like he was at the bottom of the ocean, felling a crushing weight from all sides, but also drowning at the same time. Whatever this energy was, it entered his body through any place that it could find and moved towards his chest.
He had seen a lot of movies with scenes of pain displayed in them, it always involved dramatic expression's, uncontrollable screaming and crying. But he had never seen what he felt right now.
The only thing his face displayed was probably his gasp of shock. His brain was still unable to process that there could ever be a pain so intense. It felt as if his body was slowly being crushed into a ball, and as the ball grew smaller, the pain got more intense. At some point, his brain completely shut down.
When he finally came back to his senses, his body felt fine. In fact, his body felt the best it had ever. Like he could run a mile without breaking a sweat. But before he could sigh in relief, his brain caught up and another round of the pain started. This was not a new sensation but his brain still feeling the phantoms of what it had gone through a couple minutes back.
When the pain finally went away, Owen could process what had happened. His worst nightmare had come true.
'No, no, no. This can't be happening. I was supposed to be normal. I was supposed to go back to my apartment, complain about the ceremony over beers with Mark, and continue my perfectly average life.'
He had become a hunter.