“Decades ago, the world thought of magic and monsters as myths. The people lived their life without knowing about mana manipulation and they grew up without magic. The technology was advancing despite not having a special ability. It was also considered as a peaceful era because there were no monsters.” The professor clicked her pointer to move to the next slide.

“But 50 years ago, the biggest evolution occurred. Portals, which are now called dungeons, appeared out of nowhere and released monsters that almost killed the majority of the population. The human weapons could not deal even a little damage so they were in grave danger.” The professor smiled when she noticed that all the students were attentively listening except for one.

She clicked the pointer again to proceed in her discussion. “After just a week, people who possessed different abilities started to pop up one by one and they were given the role to protect the normal citizens from the dungeon monsters.”

“Miss!” One student raised her hand and the professor nodded as a sign of acknowledgment. “Did that mean that most of the heroes we knew from history were all accidental awakeners?”

“Yes, Dear.” Clarisse nodded her head.  “It took them 5 years to develop the very first manual awakener. But after the invention of the machine that could awaken others, the number of awakened rose up.”

“It proves that there were many others who could have been awakened if they just had something to trigger their awakening.” One student mumbled to himself.

“You’re right, Mr. Vasquez.” Clarisse smiled. “And from that day until the present, the awakened were tasked to protect the non-awakened, but some of them also used their abilities to improve our technology and to understand our abilities more.”

The other students also raised their questions and she was relieved when it all ended. She dismissed the students on time and they all took off as fast as they could after hearing the bell rang.

“Kane…” Clarisse called out one of her students who chose to stay in the classroom. “Will you come with me to the faculty room, Dear?”

Kane looked at her with bored eyes and nodded lazily. He walked behind her with his head down and his hands in his pocket.

Kane, the outcast.

Kane, the weirdo.

Kane, the gloomy kid.

Kane, the invisible guy.

She knew about the rumors going around the university. She also knew about how the students gave him those names. Though she wanted to help, she couldn’t step in as long as Kane wouldn’t say anything. She needed to make him cooperate so that she could help him with his struggles in the class.

“Did you know why I called for you here?” Clarisse asked as soon as they were seated in the counseling room.

Kane looked at her blankly and shrugged.

Clarisse sighed. “Are you having a hard time at home or at school?”

Kane scoffed and looked at her with a smirk on his lips. “I aced the entrance examination and I am a member of one of the eight guardian families. You could say that I’m fine and contented with everything as it is.”

He stood up and left her dumbfounded. Though it was just the first week after the semester started, how could a student treat a professor that way?

Kane put his hands in his pockets as he walked back to the room. He went to the corner near the window and docked his head on his desk. He knew that keeping his silence was the best. The attention would no longer be upon him and there would be no eyes watching over his every move.

Who cares if he was considered a gloomy kid. Who cares if he was considered a weirdo because he refused to associate himself with others? A life without expectations and responsibility was the best! He would really live a slacker life once he was allowed to move out.

He checked the time before he closed his eyes. Since he still had 30 minutes left before the next class, he’d take that time to take a nap and avoid a lot of bothersome things.

“Remove any books and notes; just leave a pen on the top of your desk. We would be having a surprise quiz today.”

Kane raised his head as he was woken by their professor’s voice. He took a pen from his bag and took the test papers that his classmate passed to him. He looked at the test paper with a bored expression before he put it down and read the content.

He knew well that he was smart, way above the average kids. Even if he wouldn’t take his studies seriously, he would still end up with passing grades. So, instead of answering all of the questions, he only read the questions and answered those he found to be difficult items.

After putting down his pen, Kane docked his head on the desk and once again shut his eyes. School had always been boring for him. He thought that things would change once he entered college, but it seemed like he gave the university too much credit than he should have.

After passing the papers, Kane let out a sigh of relief and walked out of the room. That was his last class for the day so he wanted to spend the rest of his special day somewhere peaceful.

He found himself at the secluded part of the university. He sat on the rusty bench and watched the leaves of the trees as they danced with the wind.

“This is the best way to spend my birthday. Peaceful and alone,” he mumbled to himself and smiled contentedly. “Happy Birthday, Kane.”

He took out the slice of cheesecake in his bag and took a bite. He smiled as the sweetness and creaminess of the cake exploded in his mouth.

“Nothing beats my favorite cheesecake on this special day.”

Kane the few hours eating his cheesecake in the comforting silence. That was all he needed: silence, privacy, and peace. He didn’t need people to remember him on his birthday, especially if their greetings weren’t genuine. He didn’t need others to buy him presents out of formality. It was his 18^th birthday and all he needed was time for himself alone. Even if it meant celebrating in the secluded area of the university with just his favorite cheesecake on hand, it would mean a lot more than celebrating it with so-called family who held no affection for him.

H checked his wristwatch and sighed when he saw that it was already 1800H. It was late and he needed to go home or else the people in their house would lock the door before he could even get inside.

He tried to console himself by thinking that he was already an adult. Starting from that day, he already gained the right to choose what he would want to do with his life. He was really going to aim for that slacker life!

His excitement faded when he arrived home. The things that he packed in his room were all placed outside the gate along with a few pieces of luggage that stored his daily clothes. He let out an exasperated sigh. The elders couldn’t even wait for the day to pass; they were all itching to send him away!

He was planning to move out but he didn’t expect that he would be kicked out as early as that day. He scratched his head and sat on the ground. What should he do now?