Chapter 641 Interlude: Opportunity

Chapter 641 Interlude: Opportunity

The news spread rapidly.

A new project was announced by the Bartholomew Corporation and hundreds of buildings sprouted all over the Tritan Alliance overnight.

It was a great surprise to many organizations and members of the High Society. Everyone had heard about the great success of the Agriculture Project and the project's profits, but nobody expected that the Bartholomew Corporation would add another project to their busy schedule.

The Agriculture Project consumed lots of time, resources, and effort, and it wasn't their only project either. It was just one of many new projects.

However, what surprised most members of the High Society and organizations was that the new project was non-profit based. Once they found out that the new project, the 'Awakened Agency' was non-profit based, it was only a matter of hours before the powerhouses lost interest.

However, the same couldn't be said for ordinary Awakened. Some were curious about the Awakened Agency.

A young lost Soul stumbled through Rivera, a small city in the Silver Moon Province on Elyra. It had only been a few days since he manifested his War Rune, but the initial joy and excitement of becoming an Awakened had turned into a huge disappointment.

Damien Sylva was overjoyed to become the first Awakened of his family. He was exhilarated to have been chosen by the Will of the Origin Expanse and that he could earn a fortune as an Awakened to retire his parents and earn enough money to tend to his grandparents' diseases.

As long as he managed to kill a few Tier-1 Monsters, and procure some Ordinary Summoning Scrolls and Tierless Artifacts, he would be able to solve his family's issues easily.

Maybe, they could even move out of their small apartment in Rivera's outskirts into a larger apartment that would fit the family of 10 members.

His initial plan worked out fairly well. He managed to summon a 3-Star Priestess with the Fortune Summoning Scroll and managed to use the protection barrier shrouding the territory to kill a few Tierless Summons. Damien Sylva was fortunate enough to receive a 1-Star Tierless Sword Artifact from killing a Tierless Sabertooth Wolf.

The 3-Star Priestess tended to all of his wounds and alleviated his exhaustion, granting Damien Sylva enough stamina to continue hunting monsters for the following days. He earned a small fortune in the following days, and he would have been overjoyed, if not for awakening a 1-Star Soultrait.

Maybe, the 1-Star Soultrait would have been fine, if not for a Tier-2 Monster building its habitat right next to the protection barrier.

His great fortune turned into ill-fate ten days after he entered the Origin Expanse. The grace period of 10 days ended, and the protection barrier dispersed. As if the Tier-2 Monster had been waiting for this moment, it attacked Damien Sylva, killed the 3-Star Priestess and thrashed the wooden manor. Damien Sylva escaped death by a hair's breadth. He managed to conjure the Runic Gate and run away.

"Michael Fang, presumed to have more than 8 Soultraits, capable of procuring Soultrait Symbols...has the means to upgrade Soultraits."

Damien Sylva's eyes widened the more he read about Micheal Fang. He was shocked, just like everyone else who stumbled upon the Awakened Agency in their cities.

His eyes drifted from the holographic projection to the entrance of the Awakened Agency.

'There is no way that my life can get worse,' Damien Sylva thought. He gathered the remaining bits of courage inside him and stepped inside the building.

Merely half an moment later, Damien Sylva could be found lying on the floor in the Awakened Agency, his entire being roughed up like he had been beaten into a pulp over and over again.

He failed the test.

"I should have expected tha–...." Damien mumbled, only for the receptionist to say.

"Don't fear failure. Failure is just another steppingstone to greatness," She smiled at Damien, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail."

As the receptionist's words reached Damien, he received several notifications.

[The Awakened Agency's training grounds and hidden library have been unlocked.]

[There are no failures – just experiences and your reactions to them.]

Damien's disappointment was wiped away in an instant, and curiosity pricked him.

'It's not over?'

No. It was the beginning of something great.