The Golden Star

Alex is born in a continent where power is respected. His mother dies during his birth. His father then marries another wife with whom he gets two sons. Alex fails to awaken his powers thus his mother treats him badly while his father turns a blind eye to his son's predicament.

Alex is fed up with the treatment he receives thus he decides to leave his home and try to find how fate has planned for him. After leaving home, he awakens after receiving a skill book named the system awakening skill book.

Let's join Alex in his adventure in a journey full of thorns where he rises from grass to grace.

*******

Guys, the story would start low but once it reaches chapter twenty five, the flow of the story would be stable. So, please don't give up on the early chapters. Just go down till the end.

...

Prologue.

POWER LEVELS

Human Power Levels.

There are ten levels of power in the Zingos Continent. Each level has four stages namely; initial, middle, late, peak. The power levels are as follows;

Mortal stage (Rank 1-3)

High mortal (Rank 4-6)

Supreme mortal (Rank 7-9)

These are power levels found in Zingos continent which is the smallest. The power levels are low and most kingdoms have fewer people in rank 8 and 9.

Monster Power Levels

Monsters also do have their own power system which is the Martial Monster stage which ranges from rank 1 to rank 9 as well.

The first three ranks use physical bodies during a fight, the following three can use elements at basic level and the last three have better control over their elements even some outdo humans.

Of course, there are higher levels as our MC proceeds further and they would be explained in details as we move on so hang tight.

****

These power levels that have been stated above are mainly those that belong to the first realm, the mortal realm. So, just know that there are several realms that have their own divisions. As we move on to other areas, there would be an increase in the number of realms and it would be consequential so tune on in.

"Alex! Where has this stupid boy gone to now?" shouted a woman who seemed to be in her early forties. She walked out of the mansion and entered the courtyard where she was greeted by some servants who were working within the premises.

She left the courtyard, which was green from end to end apart from a small path left for people to cross. The courtyard had a garden with several types of trees that gave a good shade during the day and the ground was filled with well trimmed grasses. There were several flowers that were planted at the edges. The scent that was produced from the flowers was something that encouraged people to stay there longer.

When she arrived at the gate, she stumbled upon a boy who seemed to be not more than twelve years old. The boy fell backwards dropping the things that he was carrying. Among the items that he was carrying, there were several eggs that had just been taken from the chicken coop but now, they had been broken after he fell on the ground.

"You idiot! Are you blind or something?" shouted the woman at the boy who had just fallen down and was trying to stand up. The boy had short black hair, small brown eyes, a small nose and thin lips. His body stature was thin as he was suffering from malnutrition.

"Can't you look where you're heading to? And again, you went to play when I sent you to bring me the eggs. And to sum it up, you've just broken them right now!" shouted the woman.

She reached her arm out and grabbed the boy by the hair and started dragging him to the house. The boy didn't dare to let out a sound because with the slightest sound, the punishment would triple. He was used to being treated this way by his stepmother. Even if he wanted to resist, he had no strength to do so and there was nobody that could help him in this situation.

As he was being dragged away, those working around looked at the boy with pity because they knew how harsh the lady of the house could be to the young boy. Definitely, the boy would not eat food for at least three days and he'll not be sleeping in the house, he'll be sleeping with goats or sheep and maybe worse, in the pig pen.

This kind of treatment began about three years ago, when his younger step brother awakened his power. He was the last one after his elder brother who had awakened two years before.

Alex was born from the first wife but his mother died when she gave birth to him. His father had married another wife and two months after Alex was born, she gave birth to Alex's half-brother. As for the reason why she was married when his mother was present, Alex couldn't understand it.

As for treatment, his father was treating him well till the age of seven. When he failed to awaken, the favoritism that his father had towards him diminished. All this was transferred to his two months younger half-brother, Mathew, who had managed to awaken as a cultivator.

Then, things changed for the worst three years ago after the youngest of his half-siblings awakened too. As a result, he was seen as worthless and one that brought shame to the family in a continent where strength was the king.

Without his father's support, Alex began going through things that a boy of his age shouldn't have. At the age of nine, he was treated like an adult and was moved from the main mansion to a small room, worse than that of the servants there. It seemed that his stepmother was bottling up her discontentment for Alex all those years and she had finally gotten a chance to vent out her frustrations. As a result, Alex had to suffer more.

He was the son of the strongest person in the town, the town lord, but he hadn't awakened. That was indeed a dark spot on his father's image. And to his stepmother, he was a threat to her son's inheritance of the family head position.

Against what one would expect, his father turned a blind eye to his son's grievances as if they were nothing. He always gave a cold shoulder in his time of need.

True to the servants' expectation, Alex was told that he would not get food for a week and he was banned from entering the mansion nor the room that he was staying in until the one week of punishment was over.

His father was currently out on a mission and would come back after a week. The only place where Alex could spend the night was in the stables where horses resided.

All servants were prohibited from offering any kind of assistance to Alex or else they would lose their jobs and the punishment that they would receive wouldn't be small.

.....

That night...

Alex was currently sleeping on top of hay which was currently his bed. He had no blanket and his clothes were tattered from being worn and washed over and over again. He slept there silently as he tried to revise his living circumstances.

Since he got to the age of eight, he had never received any kind of affection and life continued being difficult the older he grew. Apart from his stepmom, his half-brothers began bullying him since they awakened, as they obliviously became stronger than him. When he tried reporting this to his father, he always ignored his words. Since that was the case, Alex got used to taking all this silently, suffering both physically and mentally with no shoulder to rely on.

His stomach growled, representing the descent of hunger, forcing him to hold his tummy instinctively. He hadn't gotten food during the day and it was already night time. He had no source of food as he was twelve and hadn't awakened.

He rolled on the hay stack from left to right, holding his stomach which was causing him discomfort while he was trying to get sleep. In the end, he decided to just sit and wait for the night to end.

"Alex, I'm sorry I can't do much, but please have this to reduce your hunger," Alex heard a whisper coming from the entrance of the stables before he heard footsteps retracting.

He immediately looked at the door and saw a bowl of rice with a few pieces of meat. He immediately ran towards it and took the food and began eating without even washing his hands. He ate everything until the plate was swept clean.

After the meal, Alex drunk water from the trough used to offer water to the horses. After having his fill, he then took the plate and washed it. While he was rinsing it, he saw some words written under the plate. 'Let's meet at the edge of Maza forest tomorrow at ten in the morning.' Alex immediately understood and placed the plate under the hay.

"Thank you elder Simon," he whispered into the breeze of the night. Although he couldn't see the person that had brought him the food, he was still thankful. He had just been saved from the deadly clutches of hunger.

At least this time, he was feeling better and all the weakness that had come from hunger had greatly diminished as the meat that he'd eaten was from a martial monster, most likely a rank 1 initial stage as his body couldn't handle anything beyond that.

Furthermore, even the initial stage rank 1 martial monster meat that he ate was only a few pieces as that was all that he could take manage with his weak body.

Martial monsters, these are animals that had been mutated by the presence of essence in the surroundings. This led to them having greater strength than normal animals. But as a result, most of the animals' primitive instincts were activated and the martial monsters became more hostile to humans.

The strength of a martial monster wasn't something that a normal human could match. An initial stage rank 1 martial monster could kill hundreds of Alex. That was just the gap between them. So, for Alex to be able to eat the meat of such a monster, one could imagine how precious it was.

Simon who was some distance away watched the boy with a sad expression on his face. He was currently at the initial stage of rank 7, the fourth strongest person in the family.

Although he held power, he couldn't do much for Alex because if he helped him openly, he would only end up making his life even more miserable than it was now. He had a good relationship with Alex's mother before something happened to her, thus he couldn't bear seeing her son suffer.

After watching as Alex went to sleep in such a poor environment, Simon felt his heart ache while at the same time, his anger was boiling towards the one that caused Alex to be in such a predicament. After releasing a sigh full of frustration, he decided to leave and wait for the following day.

...

Meanwhile, in the mansion...

A lady with brown hair and green eyes was seated on a couch with her legs crossed. She was wearing a blue dress that reached slightly below her knees. Sitting beside her was her first born son whom she treasured so much.

"Mother why don't we just dispose off that goat in the stables? Isn't he just wasting so much resources in the house and destroying our family's name with his lack of awakening? He's such a disgrace!" said the boy with disdain clear in his eyes.

"Mathew, I sometimes wonder if you ever learn. If we chase him out of this house, it will only bring more shame to our family. Furthermore, when your father comes, trouble will descend. Even though he looks like he doesn't care about him, he does care a lot about him. Otherwise, do you think that he would still be here?" replied the woman with a calm expression.

"What's more, after Alex is thrown out, the reputation of the family will drastically drop. Our family heads the Swil town. If the family of the town lord can simply disown their own blood because he failed to awaken, wouldn't that mean that they wouldn't care about the residents of the town in case something happened?" The woman said as she looked seriously at Mat.

Mathew nodded his head in understanding. He could clearly imagine the scene in his head, where his father got angry at them, and his anger was nothing to scoff at, it was something neither him nor anyone who knew him wanted to face.

"But worry not, his time will come and I'll make sure he's out of this house," continued the lady whose name was Sandra, Alex's stepmom. "Just focus on improving your wind magic. You have all the resources of the family so, before you reach fifteen, you must reach the peak of rank 3. At that time, you can join the royal academy. " said Sandra while eyeing her son.

"Yes mother, I'll do my best not to fail you!" Mathew said as he clenched his fists with determination clear in his eyes.

"Well, you're no doing it for me, but for yourself. So, keep that in mind," reminded Sandra.

"Yes mom. I'll go and rest now, tomorrow I'll continue my cultivation under the guidance of elder Jack," said Mathew as he stood up.

"Oh! Hold on a little bit, I've got a gift for you..."

****

Author's note;

Thank you for reaching this point, that marks the end of the first chapter but the beginning of the second chapter. Please, don't forget to leave your comment in areas you'd like me to improve.

Another thing to note, there are several silly errors that I have made and I'm now trying to correct them. So, if you get ahead of me and find that there are a few things that don't match, I hope that you will understand.

Thanks a lot, love you!

"Oh! Where is it mom?!" Mathew was so excited. Although it wasn't rare for his mother to give him a gift, but it was rare for her to not tell him the name of the gift that he was going to receive. She always gave him everything that he needed without being so secretive.

"Calm down, just wait for me there, I'll go and bring it. I'm very sure you'll like it, hehe!" Sandra got to her feet with a mischievous smile plastered over her face as she left the living room. This was the complete opposite of what she looked like while scolding Alex.

Mathew's hands were itching while pondering on what kind of gift his mother would give him. He kept on looking at the direction that his mother had left as he continued to pace around. He was very eager to see what his mother had for him.

A few minutes later, Sandra came back carrying a small wooden box that was locked. The box was painted brown and had a small lock sealing it, preventing anyone from seeing what was inside.

When she reached by her son's side, she smiled and began teasing him by giving and retracting the box which made the boy want to cry. "Look at you, you can't even grab the box from my hand huh? Where is my strong boy?"

"Mom, stop teasing me and give me the gift already! You're going to make me die of anxiousness and anticipation!" Mat replied as he jumped left and right trying to grab the box. He was after all a twelve year old and was much childish at such a circumstance.

"Oh? You have to try harder young man, or do you want me to give it to Elton?" answered Sandra with a teasing voice and a smile planted on her face.

"No! you can't!" Shouted Mat as he increased his speed in order to reach the box. As an awakened, he had a better physique than those that had yet to awaken. But, he couldn't match his mother as she was far stronger than him.

"And why can't I? Mmh?" Sandra continued her teasing. Since she was taller than Mat, once she raised the box above her head, there was no way that he could reach it no matter how hard he tried. He could only wait till she lowered her hand so that he could jump and try grabbing the it

Mat didn't dare give up on something that even his mother considered a gift. This was something that he had to get his hands on. One had to remember that he was getting all the resources that would be needed for cultivation as he was being groomed to be the family head.

He jumped up several times without the intention of giving up till Sandra let him get hold of it. Sandra was happy by her son's resilience when he needed to get his hands on something that caught his interest. That will make him stand at the top where he would be peerless. "Come on, open it up and see what you've got in there," urged Sandra.

"Sure," said Mat as he opened the box. 'Clink!' The box opened revealing a pill that was shining so brightly under the illumination of light. It was the size of an adult's pinky fingernail. "W-whoa! T-this? Mom! A pill! Hehehe! Thanks a lot mom! You are the best!" Mathew hugged his mother while he was filled with so much joy.

"Fufufu, who else can be the best mom other than I? Mhm?" Sandra was happy that the gift she gave her son made him happy. Then, she continued, "Don't worry, that essence pill is good for your cultivation."

"It will be good enough to enable you to reach the peak of rank 3 before you turn fifteen. That would be before you head to the academy or a sect."

"A-an essence pill?! Did you get it from grandpa? Was it so expensive? I knew it, grandpa is the best! I want to be strong like him. No, I'll be stronger than him in the future." Mat was so excited that he began dreaming about the future. Sandra was pleased to see that her son's ambitions weren't small. This was a great relief to her.

"Mom, this is the best gift ever. With this I'll be able to reach at the top and become the strongest among my peers! Forget my peers, even those older than me wouldn't be able to beat me!" Mat continued showering his mother with praises while imagining how the future would be. This made him so ecstatic. What child whose relative was strong didn't wish to be stronger?

Mat, with his mother Sandra teaching him, although he was still young, he was quite ambitious. He was already planning on what to do after being the family head when he grows up.

Of course, the first thing that came into his mind was how to chase Alex out of the family. These kind of thoughts were planted into his mind since he was young by his mother, who had been educating him since a young age.

"Okay, you should make sure that you've used it well under elder Jack's supervision. I want to see the results on your fifteenth birthday." Sandra said as she left. "Good night!" she added as she headed straight towards her room.

"Sure mom, I'll make sure that I cultivate diligently. Good night too mom!" replied Mathew as he too headed straight to his room full of smiles.

.....

While all this was going on, Alex was still on top of hay. Winter was closing in and the temperatures had already began dropping, thus he felt like he was freezing. He curled into a ball to try and minimize the cold.

After a few more minutes, the temperatures continued to drop as the ground continued to loose more heat to the atmosphere. This became a little bit too much that Alex decided to stack some hay and form a blanket to cover himself up. This reduced the cold he was feeling, thus reducing the chances of catching a cold.

This was something that he had been doing for some time now. The only advantage was that in winter, he was never punished to sleep outside his small cottage, or else, he would have been frozen to death.

Now that the amount of cold had reduced and his body temperature had increased, he could finally sleep.

.....

"Alex, Alex," he heard faint whispers of someone calling his name. The voice was feminine and it felt so familiar and at the same time unfamiliar. It felt so warm that made him feel warmth spread in his chest. For some reason, this voice made his heart tremble and beat faster.

"Wake up and listen well, you have to accept what you have and what you are. Embrace the feeling and don't fight back. Let the feeling spread and free your mind of all thoughts. Embrace who you truly are," continued the voice.

Alex opened his eyes and found himself in a space where everything was snow white. At some distance, he saw another Alex, but who was older than him sitting in a lotus position.

"W-what's going on here?" Alex stammered. He was so shocked. He could remember very well that he was sleeping in the stables. But somehow, he got to this place. What's more, he could see that there was someone that looked exactly like him but more mature.

After looking around and noticing nothing, noticing no signs of danger, he decided to move closer to observe what was going on. As he was closing by, he saw his older version standing up while his head was lowered.

He was first startled by the sudden movement and then after seeing that there was nothing else happening, he calmed down. Just as he was wondering what was going on, some changes occurred.

The air in the surrounding began to surge around his older version. It trembled and twisted as if it was being compressed by some great pressure. Some black cracks formed but disappeared almost instantly only to appear again.

"Awaken!" The older Alex muttered. It was at that time when a pair of wings with golden feathers sprouted out from his back.

At the same time, orbs of the size of an adult's fist, all of different colors formed and began circulating around him. Red, blue, silver, yellow, black, white, gold and green, pink and purple.

"Amongst the stars, I will shine brighter for I'm The Golden Star!" He continued. He had began with a lower voice but as he continued, his voice rose higher.

At this moment, the head that was bowed rose. Alex who was still astounded by the words of his older version tensed up as he felt his blood running cold.

He stared fixedly at the eyes that were shining with a bright golden hue, the eyes that were looking back at him. He could feel great pressure holding him in place in that he felt great suffocation. He was having a hard time breathing.

Alex's heart began beating wildly as this was the first time that he had found himself in such a situation. But what surprised him the most was the fact that although he could feel the pressure, he wasn't hurt nor did he feel any malice from it.

It was exactly at that moment that his older version turned into a golden light and shot towards him. Alex instinctively wanted to move and dodge but his body failed him. With the pressure locking him in place, he couldn't move even an inch.

Whilst his mind could clearly think, his body was paralyzed. It was like the brain was disconnected from the body and no matter how much he ordered his body to move, there was no reaction at all.

The light came and struck him on the chest. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth while waiting for pain but it never came. Instead of hurting him, the light entered his body and settled near his heart, forming a small golden crystal.

Warmth spread through his entire body and he felt nothing but bliss. This was the first time in three years that he felt so comfortable. He felt like he could sleep at that time.

It was then that it struck. Pain washed all over his body making him scream in agony. He fell on the ground while clutching his chest as that was where it hurt the most. The pain was so intense that, when compared to all the pain he got after the beatings that he received till present date, that would be like a child's joke. This was the real deal!

Alex felt as if his whole body was being burnt. His body temperature rose as he began sweating profusely. This was just one of them.

Bones began breaking and reconstructing themselves. The skin being shed and being regenerated again and again. Internal organs felt as if they were being roasted. The pain was truly unimaginable. Time seemed to stop as pain continued raging in his body. It seemed that pain would never end, this was torture!

"Arrgh!" Alex released a painful groan while lying on the ground.

It had been three hours since the pain struck and Alex had been curled up on the floor as his body writhed from the pain that he was experiencing. It seemed as if years had passed yet it had only been hours.

Then, the pain in his body began subsiding and his muscles began to relax. He groaned as his entire body felt weak but at the same time strengthened. This was such a weird feeling.

After taking several mouthfuls of air, Alex finally calmed down and stood up from the ground.

Then up ahead, light shone brightly and a silhouette of a woman appeared. As the light dimmed, a woman with golden hair that reached her waist could be seen. Her blue eyes shone brightly as she stared at Alex who was dumbfounded by the appearance of another person.

She was wearing a plain blue robe. As for her beauty, she could be said to be the most beautiful woman that Alex had seen till this time.

Did that mean that he was going to experience that pain again? No! He wouldn't accept such a thing to occur again!

"Who are you?" asked Alex as he tried to take a few steps backwards. Although he didn't know how to get out of here, at least being far from the pressure that had suppressed him before might help him avoid being stopped from dodging.

"I am sorry, I can't answer that question for you, it's not yet the right time," replied the woman with a smile that was full of calmness but if one stared deep within her eyes, he could see deep grief hidden there.

"What do you mean by time is not right? And what's going on around here? I simply can't understand anything here."

"Right questions but wrong timing. I'll ask you to be patient and wait for the right time when everything will be revealed to you."

"Then what is the right question? What is the right time?"

"The right time will depend on you. You will decide on when the time is right."

Alex stared at the woman with a blank expression on his face. What was she implying? If he could decide the right time, then why was she telling him that the timing of his question was wrong? Before he could ask, the woman spoke.

"Your actions will decide the timing. So, in essence, you'll be the one deciding when the time is right."

"What actions will prove that the time is right?"

"For now, all I'll ask for is for you to train hard and keep on persevering till the time comes. No matter how harsh the journey is, you must keep on moving and don't falter. Don't let the past hinder you, let it be your strength that ensure that you'll keep moving forth."

"Don't forget that when it's time to take a step back, don't hesitate and take it. Even a sheep will always take a step back before charging forth. And when it does, the results are always better than before."

"Train? What training? I'm already twelve but I haven't even awakened. How am I going to train?"

"Train your physical body. Don't rely on awakening, just train the brute fashion."

"Okay, I get it. So all I need to do is to train hard and improve. That way, I'll be able to ask you the questions?."

"Not really, that will lead you to the answer that you'll be seeking. Maybe, it will heal your heart that has suffered."

With that, the lady didn't wait for Alex to talk anymore and with a wave of her hand, Alex disappeared from the place.

"I know things are bad now, but hold on. Don't give up, just keep holding on. Things will end soon," the woman muttered under her breath as her eyes revealed a hopeful light. A tear slid down her face until it dropped onto the floor. Just as it touched the floor, the woman also disappeared from the room as the place was enveloped by darkness.

*****

Author's note;

Well thanks guys for being with me till the end of this chapter. Please don't forget to leave your comment about the chapter and the one before. Let's surge on.