The next morning, Michael woke up feeling refreshed. Although his mind felt clearer after his Awakening, the mental exhaustion wasn't so easy to shake off.
Fortunately, a good night's sleep was the perfect remedy.
Michael didn't immediately get up from his bed but sat on the edge, reminiscing about the events of the previous day.
'It's amazing how quickly life can change,' Michael thought happily. He couldn't have asked for a better turn of events.
And the best part was still yet to come.
'Today's the day I enter the Land of Origin! I wonder what I'll encounter!' Michael's excitement grew as he thought about the new day ahead.
'Aunt Mia should have gone to work by now. Lily should also be in school.'
With that thought, Michael left his room to check if anyone else was still in the house, but as he had expected, it was empty except for him.
Although it was still a while until noon when his delivery from the Supers Association was due to arrive, Michael decided to freshen up and wait. After all, the delivery was supposed to arrive before noon, which meant there was a chance it could come earlier. And he didn't want to leave the apartment without bathing.
Besides, once he received his order, he planned to enter the Land of Origin immediately. He really couldn't wait any longer.
Since he had some time, Michael decided to clean up the house.
'My classmates would probably never believe that even an Awakener still has to clean,' Michael mused.
Awakeners were like celebrities here, even though little was known about them except for a few clips of them in action. Just like celebrities back on Earth, there were some overzealous fans who probably couldn't imagine their favourite person doing something as mundane as using the toilet.
However, most people with mechanical limbs also purchased artificial skin to cover them, which was both realistic and far cheaper than the limb itself.
There were generally only two types of people who went without artificial skin on their mechanical limbs: those who couldn't afford it and those with a particular sense of style.
Seeing as the delivery man wore clothing that deliberately exposed his mechanical arm, he was probably the latter.
However, Michael couldn't deny that the man looked quite cool with the exposed mechanical arm—almost heroic, even.
"Are you Mr. Norman?" the delivery man politely asked as he saw Michael approaching.
"Yes, I am. I assume you have my order?" Michael replied, nodding in response to the greeting from the delivery man's partner, who was still in the van.
After confirming Michael's identity, the delivery man quickly began offloading Michael's order from the van. There were quite a few items, and even with his improved stats from awakening, Michael knew he'd be left sweating after transporting everything to his apartment. Thankfully, the delivery man with the mechanical limb offered to help, which Michael greatly appreciated.
Back in the living room of his apartment, Michael stared at the packages on the ground in front of him, feeling a twinge of pain.
"Four thousand dollars! Four thousand dollars!" Every time he repeated it, it felt like a knife stabbing into his heart, even as his hands eagerly opened the boxes.
Michael hadn't gone overboard just because he had some money in his account when he ordered from the Supers Association store. He had simply followed the recommended list of items for entering the Land of Origin for the first time and selected those he liked.
Half an hour later, Michael had opened all his deliveries and placed their contents into the storage space within his Mark of Origin.
New Awakeners usually didn't have large spatial spaces in their marks, but it was more than enough for Michael's current needs.
He didn't change into any of the leather armour he bought or equip himself with any weapons because, according to the forum, nothing on the Awakener follows them into the Land of Origin. Only items stored in the Mark of Origin could be brought in, so everything Michael thought he needed was already stored there.