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In the kingdom of Dracoria, there were only two kinds of people, those who stood above others with power in their hands and beasts at their side, and those who served them in silence.
Every citizen, noble or commoner, waited for the day they would touch the Awakening Stone and discover their own path. From the elite Dragonbound Knights who rode fire breathing leviathans, to humble hawk tamers who guarded the skies, this was a land ruled by beast tamers. Those with high ranking skills became legends. You may ask… what about those with low ones?
The answer is simple… they are forgotten by others or bullied to death.
Zephyr Valorian, a slim, dark haired fifteen year old boy with storm gray eyes and calloused palms from laboring in his family's dry crop fields, stood at the end of the line outside the Awakening Hall in Brightmoor town. He was the last of his age group to awaken, a coincidence or curse he hadn't decided yet. All he knew was that today, everything would change. One way or another.
Brightmoor was a minor town in the far east territories. It had no noble families, no elite training academies. Just weather worn houses, dusty roads, and farmers who grew herbs for the beast feed. Zephyr's own family barely made enough beast coins to survive, scraping by from harvest to harvest. But he had always dreamed of more.
He dreamed of leaving the Brightmoor town. Dreamed of touching the skies on the back of a beast, or taming a beast strong enough to shake the land. He didn't want to be a nobody.
"Zephyr! Zephyr!"
He blinked, turning toward the voice. It was Fenna, his childhood female friend. She pushed through the crowd of villagers, her ponytail bouncing. There was worry in her hazel eyes.
"You're up next. Don't keep the council waiting."
Zephyr swallowed his spit, nodding. "Yeah. Just... catching my breath."
Fenna gave a small smile and took his hand briefly. "Whatever happens... I believe in you. I will always support you."
That meant something. Especially coming from her. She had a childhood crush on Zephyr. She always dreamed of marrying this epic tale's main character. In this world fifteen years means you are an adult.
The old wooden doors of the Awakening Hall creaked open, and a thin man in ceremonial white robes beckoned him inside. Zephyr walked forward slowly, his feet were heavy, heartbeat was louder than the gasps and mutters following him.
Inside the hall, three council elders stood behind a glowing stone pedestal. The Awakening Stone pulsed with ancient magic, it was shimmering blue veins in jagged black marble. When touched, it judged a person's affinity, their connection to the wild mana of the world, and manifested their skill and starting beast bond.
"Zephyr Valorian," the high elder intoned, voice echoing. "You may approach the awakening stone."
The room dimmed. The villagers stood around the perimeter in silence, watching.
Zephyr stepped up. His palms were sweating. His whole body felt light, detached, like he was floating just outside himself. He took a breath, and placed both hands on the awakening stone.
At first, nothing… Then a warmth.
It started in his fingertips and crept up his arms. He felt the stone probing him, reading his soul. The light pulsed once… then again… but it didn't blaze gold or silver like the ones before him. It didn't roar or spark. It simply… dimmed.
A dull brown glow spread across the stone. Gasps erupted among the crowd. Someone snorted. The elder stepped forward, frowning. He looked at the awakening tablet for the information.
"Rank: F," he announced.
"Skill: Beast Feed Cultivation."
For a second everyone was silent. Then a laughter echoed through the hall.
"Ha Ha Ha Ha! Loser! He is a loser!"
His skill information floating inside his mind. In this world when some awaken their skills information directly goes inside their mind. There is also an awakening skill record book where all awakening skills are recorded for over five hundred years. The elder also read the information from the skill book.
[F-RANK SKILL: Beast Feed Cultivation- Grants mild enhancements to soil and plants related to beast nourishment. Cannot be used in combat. Considered a non combatant utility skill.]
[AFFINITY BEAST: None. Due to low compatibility, the Awakening did not bond Zephyr to a starting beast.]
When awakening everyone is given a basic beast affinity. They can easily bond with that beast as a newbie tamer. Later once they are strong enough they tame other types of beasts.
Zephyr stared at the stone, his breath catching in his throat. "Wait... that's it?" he whispered.
"I'm afraid so," the elder said with tired pity. "The stone has judged you. There is nothing to do. Everyone gets one chance in awakening. Your fate is sealed, young lad!"
More laughter echoed from the hall. A boy behind him whispered, "He's a beast feed farmer. Hah! Such useless skills. What's next? Cleaning stable shit?"
Zephyr turned away, eyes burning. He could feel the weight of everyone's judgment pressing down on him like a mountain. His parents stood at the edge of the crowd, faces pale, his father's hands clenched at his sides.
Outside, the sky had turned gray. Rain fell slowly over Brightmoor town as Zephyr walked down the stone steps, ignoring the sneers and whispers. Fenna tried to reach him, but he didn't stop. He didn't speak.
He walked until he was out of the village, past the mossy stone walls and into the wheat fields, where golden stalks rustled in the wind.
He dropped to his knees in the mud, crying. A beast fed farmer. That's what the world thought of him. Not a beast knight. Not a beast summoner. Not even a falconer or a scout. Just… the lowest of the low. There was almost no difference between him and an ordinary beast fed farmer.
He punched the earth with his bare fists, once, twice. Then again. The pain made him feel real. "Why?" he whispered. "Why me?"
There was no answer to his question. Only the wind and rain drops. And yet, deep inside, a part of him refused to break. He had to believe there was something more. Even if no one else saw it.
Two weeks have passed since the awakening ceremony. Brightmoor town moved on.
The rest of his village classmates trained in beast camps outside town, preparing for the capital's entrance exams. Zephyr worked alone in his family's fields, his new skill causing the crops to grow just slightly faster, just slightly stronger. He said nothing to his parents since that day. He smiled less.
Fenna still visited, bringing him small lunches, encouraging words, but even she couldn't mend the weight he carried. And then came the strangers. Three of them. Cloaked. Unfamiliar.
They arrived on horseback and requested lodging at the village inn. Rumor had it they were from the capital, searching for signs of rare awakenings. One bore a silver badge with a coiled serpent crest, a sign of the Royal Beast Tamer's Guild.
Zephyr didn't care about the gossip. Until one evening, they spoke with his parents. And everything changed.
"Zephyr, come inside," his father called.
It was nearly midnight. Zephyr had been sitting beneath the willow tree behind their house, watching fireflies drift over the pond.
He entered the house and froze, when he saw some strangers. The cloaked strangers stood in the kitchen, faces now visible.
One was a tall woman with short white hair and piercing eyes. The leader.
NAME: Lady Alira Ves
RANK: S-Rank Beast Tamer
Expert in tracking rare affinities and dormant awakenings. Member of the Royal Beast Tamer's Guild. Known for discovering two S-rank tamers in the past decade.
"Zephyr," she said calmly. "We need to talk."
"…About what?" He asked.
"About your awakening."
Zephyr blinked. "I thought there's nothing to talk about. The stone awakening said everything."
"The stone is not infallible," Alira interrupted. "It is ancient. Powerful, yes. But limited. It reads surface potential. It cannot always see buried bloodlines or sealed abilities."
Zephyr's heart skipped. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying you might not be what everyone thinks you are."
She stepped forward and pulled out a small obsidian pendant with a red gem in its center.
"This is a relic used by the guild to detect dormant bloodlines. Touch it. Your skill is very unique. It was last seen five hundred years ago."
Royal beast tamer guild were basically collecting new data on the awakening skills. Their goal is to create a new skill book. That's why they are traveling from town to town, city to city looking for all kinds of skills.
Zephyr hesitated, then reached out. The moment his fingers brushed the gem, the stone glowed. Not brown. Not dull.
But red. Deep, burning red. Alira narrowed her eyes. "…Interesting."
"What does that mean?" he asked, voice shaky.
"It means something is hidden inside your skills. Something powerful. But it's sealed. Suppressed. You have to figure that out by yourself."
Zephyr stared at her. "…So I'm not an F-rank?"
"You are now," she replied. "But that's not your true rank." She stepped back, tucking the pendant away.
"We'll be watching you, Zephyr Valorian. For now, stay alive. Train. Learn. Survive. Try to find out if you have any other skill than growing herbs."
Then she turned and left, her cloak vanishing into the night wind. Zephyr stood there for a long time, heart pounding. Something… was inside him. Something hidden. And the world had no idea.