《Amidst the Final Sky》


 Chapter 1 - The Earth

    The strong lives and devours the weak


    Hence you travel for the power you seek.


    What lies beyond the strength is for you to explore


    And your own self has to open the door.


    What lies beyond is not what you imagine


    Be warned and be gone for it''s more of a burden.


    However your life is what you make it to be


    So move forward if you want to see


    What lies beyond the power


    And comprehend until the final hour.


    The result of the journey is the journey itself


    For knowledge isn''t limited to a book from a shelf.


    Experience the world before you come to the end


    Only then you''ll understand that you shall send


    A message to those who attempt


    The impossible task of which they are not exempt.


    However, never stray from the righteous


    And no, you need not to be pious


    Only be good along the way


    With your deeds and the things you say


    Because those who do bad things are sick


    They can just go and suck my...


    Stop! Okay, that''s enough. It''s strange. It went downhill so fast. For someone as superior as me to be this bad at something... Well, anyway, since it seems as though one of the original objectives has been achieved, which was to get your attention, then I suppose we can continue.


    I don''t mean to boast but to tell you directly, I am now the currently most powerful being in the universe. The person with the highest position attainable. The entity most feared and respected of all.


    A god.


    Or rather, THE God.


    You think I''m lying, don''t you? It''s in your imagination to believe me or not. However, I at least want you to believe my story.


    This story is a story of how a boy gained strength. The story of a man who fell short to his promises. The story of a human being who laughed, loved, lost, and cursed his humanity. The story of how this arrogant speaker came to be where he is today. The story of how I became a GOD.


    For you to understand me, we must start way back from where I also started. You must understand who I was. There have been uncertainties in my life until now. But the most important thing that we must be perfectly clear about is that I was human. No matter how much I had wished for the contrary, I was certainly, painfully HUMAN.


    Now you must be wondering how it is important. But considering my neighbor was a three-headed snake with the body of an avian while my boss at work was a gigantic blue slime then the need to know of my physique obviously comes up a notch. The old me was weak. I lived in an eccentric world where it seemed as though everybody around me was way stronger. There was envy inside me. I envied those who had the power and thus I yearned to reach for something greater. And little did I know I was already carving my own path.


    Perhaps, my journey started at the womb of my mother, where my body and mind had formed. Maybe it was when I was growing up in the orphanage, slowly being refined to become a fine young man. However, let''s not bore ourselves with the details. Instead, I would like you to imagine a male human being at the age of eighteen working at a restaurant as a means of living, surrounded by creatures of varying appearances. If you succeeded, then congratulations, for you have imagined me in the past.


    I worked the whole day everyday, except for Sundays, to save money for my future. At night, I went to the orphanage to sleep, for it was the only place I could have called ''home''. I don''t know my parents. And it was the reason why I had to strive for myself all the time. Anyway, this was my routine since I turned fifteen.


    The day before the start of spring at my eighteenth year in this world, however, was different.


    "Oi lad, Fiel, why ye still be washin'' those dishes?! Isn''t t'' enrollment today? I already have permission from t'' boss. So get yer butt out o'' here. Or else I''ll get scolded if ye arrive there late."


    A rough voice came from behind. Its owner was a six-and-a-half-foot tall creature that resembled a boar with black fur. This grumpy-looking fellow was called Edgar. He was the manager of ''Bulls and Beef'', the restaurant I was working on. Though he had high privilege over the place, the owner, Mr. B Slime, still held the final authority. People who were not used to Edgar''s quirky speech patterns thought he had a bad personality, but actually he was one of the nicest guys ever met. In fact, both him and Mr. B had taken care of me. They allowed me to work in their place, even when I was still awfully inexperienced. I was indebted to them, and still am until now.


    "Oh, Sir Edgar, good morning! Please, don''t worry about me. The enrollment doesn''t start until afternoon so I have plenty of time left."


    I responded politely.


    "Izz ''at so? Wait. Why ye call me ser? I ain''t no ser. How many times have I told ye already?" He replied seemingly a bit irritated. "BAH! Never mind. Just get out o'' here. Go walk outside or sumthin''. Play with a cat or fuck a whore, I don''t care. Boss told me yer gettin'' a break. So ye goin'' t'' have a break, understand?"


    "Well, if you insist sir. Then maybe I shall leave early."


    I picked up my things and left the place, but not before a - "I TOLD YE, I AIN''T A SER!" - came with full volume at me as I walked away.


    The enrollment would start at 1 PM and seeing that it was still ten in the morning, I still had plenty of time. I decided to head to my friend''s place. Now, don''t you misunderstand me. When I say his place I don''t mean his house. I was talking about a place nearby the eastern park, under a tree, amidst an area overridden with grass. It was his place because more often than not, when he''s alone, he''d be there sleeping or reading a book. The shade was perfect for relaxing, and this friend of mine didn''t do anything but relax. I wouldn''t call him lazy, just that his parents provided for him, and there was no real reason for him to do other things. I''d do the same if I were him, to be honest. He was the same age as me and we would be attending the same school if we pass the interviews later today.


    Apparently, it was reading time when I arrived. As I approached the tree, I could see the figure of a person with light-brown hair concentrating on a hand-held book. His physique was more or less the same with me, albeit a littler taller.


    "Yo, Eden whatcha reading?"


    This friend called Eden was also human, as the description suggested. However, there was a fundamental difference between us. For simplicity''s sake, our origins were not the same, hence we were both human but of different kinds. It was established that his kind had innate talent to magic, while ours did not. Furthermore, theirs had the advanced knowledge of magic passed down from their ancestors. To make it short, he was a human who was proficient with magic. I, on the other hand, came from those who had technological advantages. But since they could learn to use our innovations easier than we could learn their magic, it was an unspoken consensus that they were a higher being than us. Though I hated to admit that.


    "Nothing special. This is the  Basic Theory of the Molecular Level of Magic by Kotenham," Eden replied without looking up.


    I raised an eyebrow at his response. It was a relatively easy topic, and for Eden who had been reading books for a decade, this was peanuts.


    ''Why is he reading that?''


    "I know what you''re thinking. I''m just reviewing stuff. The seniors from school said to me yesterday that depending on the flow of the interview, they might ask technical questions. I doubt it though. Still, it never hurts to be prepared."


    "Dude, they literally accept everyone. The admissions are only for show and you know it."


    At this point, he looked up at me. I could tell he was mildly annoyed.


    "Yeah. But I still want to read this anyway because I want to. More important than that, you''re early. I thought your shift ends at twelve."


    "I was released early today."


    Shrugging off and seemingly uninterested about my comment, he continued reading as if nothing happened. Electing to not disturb my friend further, I chose to pick up a book from the stack near him, and read one myself.  I plopped myself besides him. Time passed just like that. After a while, we ate the packed lunch prepared beforehand while chatting. Before we knew it, the time reached 1 PM, and we headed to school for our schools admission.


    Ardent School of Knowledge and Application. It was the only educational institution in the entire Ardent City. All sorts of students enroll in this school - from poor to rich, human to intelligent beasts, knowledgeable or not, they all gathered here for different purposes. The only limitation was the age, and of course the money. Money being a limiting factor was obvious and understandable, however the age was probably unusual to those not in the know. They only allow eighteen years old students and above to enroll. In fact, the restriction would''ve been much higher if not for the consideration of the humans'' lifespan which was the shortest of all the intelligent beings.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The theory behind the age restriction was that the older you are, the more developed your brain becomes, hence also your ability to learn. The school had limited resources, especially the manpower, thus they wanted the students to have higher cognitive power to lessen the need to teach things over and over again. They also hoped that by the time someone reached this age, they would have accumulated enough knowledge to at least learn the basics of the world. Nevertheless, it didn''t stop some students from repeating classes, or from enrolling with almost perfect ignorance anyway.


    Currently, I was at a spacious but simple grey building. It wasn''t that big, actually the building was of the smaller ones. What made it spacious was that there was nothing inside except for a long table, three chairs from one side, and one at a distance from the opposite side. The three chairs were all occupied by grown individuals. The one on the left was a higher owl, a being with the same appearance as an owl except bigger and more intelligent with the ability to communicate. At the seat on the right, there was a creature that looked like a human, if you ignored the horn sprouting from his head and his blood-red skin that is. It was probably a demon spawn . Their general appearance was as described. However, meeting one was rare since there existed only a few of them. Lastly, the one who sat at the middle was a dark-skinned, long-eared individual. A dark elf. Normally you would feel a regal air around them, but for some reason this one had no aura of the sort. The word ''eccentric'' would immediately pop to mind upon seeing him.


    The one seated from a distance opposite them was me. It was the time.for my interview. Now, I knew that they accept everyone in this school, therefore my objective this time was to leave an impression. I have heard from graduates that sometimes they give promising students discounts. And I was not one to miss the opportunity.


    ''I should start from the get-go.''


    "Greetings human, I am the principal of this school. My name is Rabbel, and as you can see I belong to a race called dark elf. The ones beside me are my advisors. In my right, is Mrs. Hillieu, a higher owl, and on my left is Mr. Mendra, a demon spawn"


    ''Even his name is eccentric. And the owl is female?''


    The dark elf grinned from ear to ear. I was more than convinced already that he was different so I ignored it. He introduced his companions as advisors but it looked like they were not planning to speak soon. Actually, the owl looked sleepy. While the demon spawn glared at me, since he had that expression from the start, I only chucked it as his usual expression and decided to not be bothered by it.


    "What''s your name?" Rabbel inquired.


    "Zerefiel, son of myself."


    I got their attention. Mrs. Hillieu propped up straight, and it was impossible to miss the glint of curiosity from Mr. Mendra''s eyes. Mr. Rabbel was already laughing.


    "What an interesting fellow," Rabbel replied while wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.


    The trio was surprised because my response was a very ''official'' one. Naturally, those at the top of an educational institution should have knowledge about these formalities. However, forget about me, even those nobles with high status would rarely even bother learning about it.


    It was normally the case to just state your first name. Thankfully, I learned from a book that the most appropriate way was to state your first name first, followed by the last name if you have one, and then the name of your parents. The phrase ''son of myself'' indicated that I have no knowledge of my actual parents. Rarely anybody knew these, hence the instructors'' surprise.


    I succeeded in getting a positive initial impression.


    "Race?"


    "Human." I replied curtly as I wondered about the question. It was obvious what I was. Not to mention, he already called me human earlier. My thought process was cut however as the questions followed.


    It seemed to me that the inquiries were random. Some questions were about my personality, some were about basic knowledge, and some were theoretical. Some were philosophical that took me a while to answer. He even asked me: "What is sex for you?". To which I answered: "Something that has nothing to do with me".


    This back and forth lasted for a while. And as we were nearing the end of the interview...


    "What''s your reason for wanting to enroll in this school?"


    "I want to broaden my knowledge and acquire new skills."


    "Well obviously, but what for?"


    I clenched my fist. This was the question I''ve been waiting for. The question that my existence was hinged upon. And thus I replied,


    "To become the next God"


    "Hoot~ Do you know what you''re saying boy?"


    As expected they reacted heavily. Well, except for Mr. Mendra. The dark elf principal laughed once again while Mrs. Owl had finally spoken up.


    "Oh he''s serious Hillieu, I can tell," the principal reacted.


    "Boy, please tell us this world''s history."


    "The focus?"


    "Well, its creation, since we''re talking about godhood"


    "Alright." I muttered under my breath. "Exactly 5290 years and 90 days ago, also known as zeroth year and first day of the new earth calendar, ''The Earth'' was created..."


    Before The Earth that we lived in was formed, there were multiple earths scattered across different time lines. The different earths also had different occupants and different situations. One earth had humans in them whom excelled in science and technology. Another earth also had humans, but with lesser intelligence. The next earth had magic in it along with magical creatures. There was another who only had strong beasts still only at the stage of ''eat or be eaten'' survival. These earths were numerous and vastly different. However, there was one similarity. Wars. All of them had fighting. All of them had destruction. And God noticed all of these from where he stood, and he was displeased.


    One day, God had enough of the violence. He forcefully merged all of the time lines. Hence, a world where reality and things that were previously believed to be only fantasies, myths, and legends, and things that were never thought to exist, were all forced in one planet - The Earth.


    At the day of merging God declared,


    "I have had enough of being a God. If you want to fight then fight, for this is your chance. I will pass the title of God to the worthy. So fight for my seat! Until then there will be no God to guide you, so go live on your own. From today onwards, I declare you abandoned!"


    This event was recorded later as "The Great Convergence" or to put it simply, "The World''s Creation".


    "... and that''s how the world that we know came to be."


    I finished up the brief summary of the history.


    "Hmmm, continue. It doesn''t end there, does it?"


    However, it looked like the principal was dissatisfied.


    "Yes. It was chaotic after the time line convergence. Monsters, beasts, demons, humans, unintelligent life forms - all forced to live together. Needless to say, without the ability to communicate with one another yet, confusion ensued, but then came the violence soon afterwards. The strong remained. But the weak could not do anything. It looked like the world would not last. The fighting was never-ending."


    "But then came The Five Heroes. They all desired to be nameless, however their collective title still remained until this day. The Five Heroes stopped the fighting. They united the different creatures, and created cities as we know one by one. Ardent city is one of them. After several centuries, there was finally peace."


    "However, there was a problem, right?"


    I nodded affirmatively.


    "After all that happened the position of God still remained empty"


    There was silence for a while. It was a contemplative silence. Even Mr. Rabbel had a relatively serious look on his face. He gathered his thoughts and spoke.


    "Tell me this, Zerefiel. The Five Heroes achieved something so huge that I doubt anybody in the next hundred millennia could match it. There were even five of them and yet not one has been bestowed the power of God. Why do you think so?"


    "It''s the position of God we''re talking about," I replied. "You think since there are five, God is bound to be one of them. However, it''s precisely because there are five that they couldn''t do it..."


    I smiled with confidence.


    "...because there can only be one."


    At this, all of them smiled in return. Even Mr. Mendra, who had a previously rock solid expression had a hint of it in his face. As for the principal, Mr. Rabbel, his amusement was even clearer.


    "Allow me to welcome you in advance, Mr. Zerefiel. It looks like we''ll often be seeing each other from now on."

 Chapter 2 - First Day

    Just in case you were wondering; The interviews ended peacefully. Unfortunately, I didn''t get any discounts despite my good performance. Afterwards, I met up with Eden who also finished his successfully before mine. We immediately picked our courses and returned to our homes. We were officially enrolled!


    Today marked my first day of attending school and I couldn''t help but feel excited.


    The sun was already up when I made my way through the cobblestones that covered the main road. Ardent City was blanketed by the dawn''s golden hue. People of different statures came and went seemingly uncaring of the beauty around them as they continued with their daily lives. Yet here I was, basked in the morning glow of the sun, admiring the city''s appearance even after all these years. The sight of my hometown covered with blessing only served to further lighten up my mood.


    I might be biased but this city really was gorgeous. Left or right, one could see buildings of various shapes, colors and sizes. Some buildings were so ridiculous to the extent that some people were doubtful to even call them infrastructure. Hanging bridges were strewn all around. The roads were well maintained, especially the main road in which I am currently treading upon. And in the distance, you could see towering gray walls used to protect us from the monsters outside of the city. However, the most eye-catching feature was not any of the ones mentioned previously. It was actually the thing at the heart of this city, even taller than the walls, and even more magnificent than anything you could ever lay your eyes upon in the place - the Ardent Tree.


    The Ardent Tree was literally where this city was built around. Its roots encompassed a huge area. In fact, some buildings were designed with the roots as foundation. This majestic tree also had its leaves cover much of the space. In the morning, the warm sun''s rays managed to reach those below it. However, come noon the leaves established a cool shade that only allowed the sunlight to trickle through from its gaps which left us with a lukewarm and comfortable heat to deal with. This tree was an important symbol of Ardent City.


    The high amount of color that enveloped the city painted the place as lively, and it manifested through the smiles radiating from its residents.


    I reached the school as I was lost in thought. And just like that, my school life began.


    My first class was Physical Education. This didn''t mean however that I was going to a class to learn twenty or more different types of exercises. Although exercising and strengthening the body was part of PE, it didn''t end there. It also encompassed fighting. They taught martial arts and body techniques used for defeating enemies and defending one''s self. Sparring was even part of the curriculum, and no, it was without protective gear. With the presence of healing magic, people in general had become lax with these things. After all, as long as the injuries weren''t fatal, those proficient with magic could patch up any physical damage.


    Lastly, magic concerning body enhancement as well as body deterioration were also part of PE. Unfortunately, the effects of these magic spells were temporary and were mostly used before and during combat only. Nonetheless, they were still useful within the duration of the effect and they couldn''t be learned anywhere else, hence they were indispensable.


    Needless to say, I entered this course to get stronger. Not only could it help in improving my body and in learning fighting techniques, it also provided actual combat experience against different kinds of creatures - my classmates-to-be. The knowledge that I could potentially acquire firsthand from this class was valuable. It is also to be noted that I could use the magic taught by the instructor. The reason I couldn''t learn any good magic was only because the knowledge about them was heavily restricted. Even Eden, a proficient magician, was forbidden by his race''s leaders to divulge their secrets, hence he was unable to teach me anything other than basic spells.


    The instruction site of the class was in the training grounds far away from the entrance. After arriving, I immediately surveyed the surrounding people. There were more than thirty students. It was actually a relatively high number but since this was a rather popular class, it couldn''t be helped. As expected, a few were also humans but majority were of other varying race. If there was one thing in common though, it was that most of those present were ''power types'', meaning that their races were more capable of hand-to-hand combat or close weapon combat rather than magic combat.


    After observing, I decided to just quietly wait for the professor to come. There were no chairs so all in attendance were patiently standing while allowing the heat of the sun to wash over them. Fortunately, I only needed to wait a few moments for the instructor to turn up.


    "Oooohh!!"


    Surprised voices were heard from the crowd. The one who arrived had lustrous crimson scales covering her body. She proudly walked with two feet as everyone gazed at the two horns sprouting from her head. Everybody recognized her for what she was in an instant. She was obviously a draconian.


    Even I was awed at the sight. There seemed to have a lot of amazing existences here in this school. Just from the interview conducted the day before, I was already able to see a dark elf, and a demon spawn. And now I had a draconian as a teacher.


    Draconians, like the dark elves, were very proud of their race. If the dark elves boasted of their archery and magic, then the draconians boasted of their sheer fighting prowess. Not only were their physical attributes superior than most, they were also able to use a bloodline magic specific to their race. This magic was said to be one of the most powerful fire attribute magic in the world. Hence, there was no surprise for them to be revered by many.


    "Please settle down!"


    Her voice managed to subdue any commotion happening. Everyone had become dead silent, anticipating her next words.


    Upon seeing the reactions from the students, she sneered. "My name is Lianna Dragonheart. From here on out I am your instructor for this class and each of you must follow my orders. Are there any objections?"


    ''Objections? Not questions? Looks like we have quite an authoritarian in our hands.''


    "This must be your first class of the year." My train of thoughts was halted when she continued speaking. "I welcome all of you to this prestigious institution. I hope that each one of you are respectful enough to not cause any trouble. Any idiot who has plans on doing so is free to leave my class immediately."


    Seeing there was no reaction from the students, she nodded her head.


    "Good. Let''s start our lesson for today then."


    Ms. Lianna started discussing about our bodies. There were countless amounts of races in the world, so it was impossible to describe each one. Therefore, her method was to mention only those which are relevant to all. She talked about the magic formation inside our bodies, the training methods for body strengthening applicable to everyone, and even the rough hierarchy of races according to physical attributes. Naturally she ranked her draconian race as one of the top while humans were at the bottom. Unable to refute anything, I just continued to listen.


    "In theory, if two creatures of different races will have a battle not involving magic and weapons, then the creature with the race that has more abundant physical capabilities will obviously win. The result will mostly be affected only by the difference between the fighters'' body training and combat experience. Since you guys only started now, it would be safe to assume that the ones with the higher spot on the hierarchy will win." Ms. Lianna explained further.


    The students could only nod their heads and agree. Her words were reasonable after all.


    Suddenly, she stopped talking and scanned the surroundings.


    "You, the bug over there, you must be a pestilence. And also the human at the back. Get here in front," Ms. Lianna commanded.


    The draconian teacher pointed at someone from the other side of the class. The other one she called was none other than me.


    Although a bit startled, I obediently walked in front since there was no merit in refusing. The other student that the instructor called a pestilence seemed to be a beetle type creature. He was over 2 meters tall and his outer shell looked quite formidable with a lustrous jet black covering. One could tell that its shell was hard without a doubt.


    "I would like to demonstrate something. You two try spar for a while. Only physical attacks are allowed. No usage of magic, no usage of weapons, and no fatal blows. And stop if I tell you to."


    Most of the students frowned at her words. Looking at our physiques alone, a two meter giant versus a puny human, one would normally think that I''d be defeated in a very one-sided manner. In their minds, the teacher commanded me to get beaten up without a chance of a fight.


    In my face was also a hint of a frown, but for a different reason. Actually in my mind, there was no way I could lose! Normal people might not be able to see, but before coming here, I had actually trained my body a lot for preparation. Most of these arrogant creatures had mentalities thinking that education only starts at school. This idea was totally incorrect! If someone has the drive to learn, then they could educate themselves from a very young age.


    One look and I could tell that the opponent was not trained at all. Compared to me who had been sparring with Eden for about a decade, he was no match at all.


    What I was concerned about was Ms. Lianna. I wasn''t sure what she was trying to demonstrate. She might be trying to show that I, as a human, don''t have any chance of defeating a race above me. The other possibility was that she was leading the students to believe that other factors such as training could compensate for the difference between the two races. If it was the latter, then I''d have no problems if I could defeat the opponent. But if it was the former...


    As I''ve mentioned, draconians were proud creatures. I was afraid of offending her by disrupting her demonstration.


    "Yes, ma''am!"


    "Yes!"


    Unfortunately, I didn''t have time to ponder it. We were both forced to accept the instructions, and then were lead face to face to each other in the space between the students and the instructor. In that split second before starting, I decided to just act truthfully to my own abilities.


    "Start!"


    My opponent was the first to move. He launched himself to me and threw a punch with his right hand.


    ''Too slow!''


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.Compared to the speed of fireballs aimed at me by Eden in our training sessions, this was almost in slow motion.


    I immediately dodged to my right and delivered a counter punch of my own with my right fist. It hit his chest area.


    His shell was indeed tough. Even when I was the one who attacked, I felt pain on my fist. I had previously read in a book that the pestilences''  shell armor was actually only extremely hard on their backs. Their front was vulnerable. Despite that, it was still quite hard to penetrate.


    I continued to dodge his advances. When he punched with his left, I dodged to his right. When he kicked with his right, I dodged to his left. He was just too slow. On the other hand, I managed to land hits one after another. Sometimes I would use my fists, and other times my feet. Fortunately, even though his defenses were difficult to crack, I still managed to damage him little by little with each strike.


    The spectators were startled at first, given their initial predictions. However, once they got over with their surprise, they calmly watched the fight. They soon acknowledged that I was a good fighter, and some even started to cheer for me. As for Miss Instructor, she remained to watch the spectacle with an expressionless face.


    This continued for a while until I was finally able to make him stagger with a left hook.


    *Crick!*


    After suffering from the blow, the pestilence let out a shriek.


    ''This is my chance!''


    I immediately tried to follow up my attack. This was my opportunity so I raised my right hands with intention to finish things up when...


    "Stop!"


    My right fist halted mid-air as it was about to hit the face of my opponent with a straight. The voice of the instructor resounded in everyone''s ears.


    Acknowledging the end of the duel, I lowered my arm and did a curt bow to my opponent. This was a gesture of respect to the enemy after a good fight. The pestilence stared at me dumbfounded. He realized his mistake shortly and then hurriedly responded with a bow of his own. Thus, the bout was officially over.


    I glanced at the instructor nervously.


    ''Did I mess up or not? She does not look offended but it''s hard to say for sure''


    "The winner is the human!" Ms. Lianna declared.


    A chorus of cheers erupted. The students found it unbelievable that a mere human like me was able to defeat a supposedly higher being.


    "What''s your name?"


    The instructor turned to ask me. She still had that expressionless face. Even her eyes did not reveal any hint of emotion. By now, I was already extremely anxious.


    "Teacher, my name is Zerefiel."


    "Well done, Mr. Zerefiel. Both of you can now return to your previous areas." She watched us go away and continued. "It is as you''ve seen. Even though the hierarchy of strength is a simple way to assess a creature''s strength, it''s not absolute. It might work in the most basic levels, but it ignores so much of other factors, hence it''s also unreliable."


    I breathed a sigh of relief. My choice of fighting honestly was the correct one.


    Thinking about the circumstances, it was actually quite clear what she was trying. She had been a warrior and a teacher for a long time. It would be impossible that she''d make a mistake assessing my level of power compared to the enemy. Even I, in my current level, was more or less aware about my opponent''s capabilities. There was no way that she couldn''t do the same. Obviously, she knew from the start that I''d win.


    Sighing inwardly once again, and berating myself about my stupid mistake, I started to listen to what Ms. Lianna had to say further.


    "As for Mr. Zerefiel''s case, he clearly had a certain amount of training. And this training helped bridge the gap to overcome his opponent. He clearly had higher than normal speed to allow him to dodge all of the opponent''s attacks. If any of you tried to improve your bodies, you could improve your speed as well."


    The students nodded their heads. They thought that what the teacher stated was logical. However, one raised a question instead.


    "Madam teacher! Does that mean that even a human, given a certain amount of training, can actually defeat a dragon with only physical attacks?"


    "That would be quite difficult, I suppose. It would involve other factors as well. However, technically speaking, it is indeed possible. But it is made possible only because of the high magic density of the air surrounding us. Upon contact with these magic particles, even the lowest lifeforms has no limits in which they can improve their bodies. Magic has long removed the chains bounding all of the creatures. Many scholars believe that this is a unique trait of The Earth. Something that the previous earths did not have. I have no understanding further than that, however. If you wish to learn more, then the magic classes would be able to answer you better"


    A human defeating a dragon without the use of magic? There was no one in history who had done it. It was quite hard to believe for an average person. However, I was nothing but normal. I was aiming to be the next God. Naturally, I already had, at least, this level of understanding of the world.


    "Anyways, we''ve gone a bit off-track. Back to the earlier fight, Mr. Zerefiel''s ability was indeed impressive. However, the way he fought was not the most optimal one. Naturally, as the loser, his opponent''s fighting style was also not optimal."


    I was a bit startled.


    ''Not optimal? Fighting style? What does that mean?''


    "The pestilence, what''s your name again?" Ms. Lianna inquired.


    "My name is Cole"


    "Mr. Cole, your stance was not good at all. You were not utilizing your innate speed to its potential. If you were, you might have been able to hit Mr. Zerefiel even with his agility. But considering your huge body, just simply throwing your entire body instead of just your limbs would have worked as well."


    The instructor then turned to me.


    "As for you Mr. Zerefiel, there are two fighting styles for bipedal creatures that were better to use in that situation. One is grappling, and the other is a technique humans developed called - Muay Thai"


    She continued.


    "Grappling is mostly used when the enemy has higher mass and strength than you. It is used to outmaneuver the opponent, exploiting the natural weaknesses of the body, to gain a positional and physical advantage. To put it simply, you use their strength against them when they attack while you find their weaknesses to form an opportunity to do a counter attack. "


    "The other style called Muay Thai, on the other hand, is the art of eight limbs doing highly explosive attacks using the supposed ''eight limbs'' of the body - fists (chok), elbows (sok), knees (te) and shins (ti kao). This style is quite risky however since you have to fight at a very close range which makes you vulnerable to counter attacks. But when you are faster than your opponent, then the risk lowers significantly. Since you have established that you are a level higher than Mr. Cole in terms of speed, this attack style would have been very effective especially considering that he has a tough shell protecting him. Muay Thai deals much more significant damage than wildly throwing kicks and punches."


    Once again, everyone nodded in assent. Everything she said was true. Unfortunately, I had no experience using this fighting style. And even if I had, without a master to guide me there was little I could do.


    "You don''t need to worry for now since these are only a few of what I will teach you in the future, but don''t you dare slack off!"


    After those ''encouraging'' words, instead of being scared, the students of Ms. Lianna''s class were more motivated than ever.


    We did some ''light'' exercises afterwards. Most students have never received any form of body training so some of them were laboring hard. As for me, the level of the exercises was only quite basic.


    End of the morning classes.


    "Wow, you really defeated that pestilence!"


    "Human, you were awesome back there!"


    "That last punch was awesome!"


    Many of those who saw my fight flocked to me. It seemed as though it was quite a spectacle for them. I became a temporary celebrity of the class because of my win. I wasn''t really doing anything for fame but I didn''t mind the attention either. It felt quite nice.


    After the commotion surrounding me died down, I made my way to the usual place under the tree to eat lunch with Eden. However, I was stopped in my tracks by a voice near me.


    "Excuse me."


    I turned to the direction of the voice.


    "Zerefiel, right?" The mysterious fellow inquired.


    I was surprised that the owner of a voice was a tall male draconian. Behind him were two smug-looking dark elves.


    ''Another draconian?''


    "Yes, that would be me. Do you have any need of me, sir?" Puzzled, I replied.


    "Sir?" The draconian sarcastically. "Oh there''s no need to be polite. Let me introduce myself. My name is Edric Dragonheart, a draconian. Ms. Lianna, our teacher, is my aunt. I saw your earlier fight, and I have to say I''m quite impressed."


    A glint appeared in Edric''s eyes.


    Looking at him, I groaned. At first, hearing his words, you would think he was part of the common rabble flattering me. But after a while I could sense that there was something wrong with this guy. He had an aura of absolute confidence, no, arrogance. Even his sarcastic words almost made me frown in disgust. Fortunately, I was better than that.


    "Thank you." I managed to squeak out a few words, trying to not let the disdain show on my face.


    He smiled eerily.


    "Well, that''s all for now so I won''t disturb you further. I hope we will get along in the future," Edric said. He then left while laughing along with his dark elf companions.


    I sighed, realizing that I was subconsciously holding my breath. It felt like having just escaped from an unpleasant situation. Relieved, I also hurriedly scampered away from the place, sincerely hoping that we wouldn''t have too many chances of encountering each other in the future instead.


    ''I haven''t seen him before, did he arrive late? And did he say Ms. Lianna is his aunt? Well, they had the same last name, but the difference in attitude is staggering. And those dark elves . They enrolled in a physical subject?''


    There were several questions in my mind but there was no way to answer them unfortunately.


    ''Looks like my school life will not be as uneventful as I had hoped.''


    I thought as a bitter smile appeared on my face.

 Chapter 3 - Deanne

    School ended.


    Thankfully, there were no further commotions after what happened in my Phys. Ed. class. I was able to concentrate in my studies.


    I had enrolled for Foundation Magic Class and History Class in the afternoon. At this point, I could already declare that the former was quite worthwhile. Even at the first day of classes worth two hours of lecture, there were already things taught that I had no knowledge of previously, despite being a wide-reader. I couldn''t help admit that knowledge about magic truly was restricted to a very high level. Even when I had at least some sort of idea towards the field, it paled in comparison to what a single session of lecture held.


    ''Magic really is profound'', I thought to myself.


    The scenery was quite gorgeous once again, although in a different manner. This time, the city was covered with the orange glow of sunset. And I was taking a stroll before starting my shift at the restaurant.


    I passed some roads that I had never been into before. The large contrast between the main road to the side paths was astonishing. I saw some interesting stores with who-knows-what merchandise, and went to some dark alleys that stank with trash, rotten food, and unclean waters.


    And I even talked to some friendly strangers here and there. It was a rather rare occurrence for me to have this kind of wandering around. It felt nice to do this once in a while though.


    The most memorable were still the stores. There were many of them no matter where you turn. It was not really surprising considering that I was not far off from the main road where the most elegant shops lie. The shocking thing however was the variety of the shops. There were restaurants, armories, jewelry stores, thrift shops, magic stores, and many more. It gave the feeling that you would find whatever you were looking for in one of these stores no matter what. I even noticed an armory that claimed to sold cheap merchandise.


    Interested, I entered.


    The inside of the store was not big. It looked like a standard armory at least. But the lack of space indicated that the merchandise themselves were created from a different place.


    An elderly man greeted me as I walked in.


    "Welcome, boy. You want to buy some armors? Weapons? Come. Very cheap, very cheap."


    "How much are your standard iron breastplates?" I immediately inquired.


    "Ho ho, you have a good sense boy." The shopkeeper let out an awkward smile on his face. "The chest is the largest and easiest part of the body so you have to cover it, first. Clever. For you, I will sell them for only 1 piece of gold."


    My jaw dropped.


    ''Incredibly cheap!'' I thought. My mouth already wide open.


    You have to understand that a gold piece was not a small amount of money. In fact, my salary for an entire month was two gold pieces. However, for an armor, it was unbelievably cheap! Most chest plates would cost about 15-20 gold pieces. And yet here it was, priced at one. It was pure absurdity.


    ''Maybe this, this is what they call black market?!'' I even had some wild thoughts. I immediately corrected them though.


    ''Stupid, of course not. I''m not a kid anymore, so I should stop believing idiotic things like that.''


    After, sighing to myself internally, I spoke.


    "Let me see it first"


    Obviously, I already knew it was most likely fake. There was no way something worth 1 gold could protect you in a battle. But being bored enough, I played along since I was also curious as to what the elderly shopkeeper was going to present.


    With a simple, "Wait there for a while", the old man disappeared into a door, presumably getting my chest plate.


    After a short while, he emerged from a door carrying something.


    "Here it is!" He stated proudly.


    "...."


    "...."


    "This.... This is cardboard"


    "N-No. This isn''t cardboard. Not at all," he desperately denied.


    I immediately exited, utterly dumbfounded. It was way outside my expectations. I continued wandering while thinking how such a joke of a shop could possibly exist.


    Yes, there were indeed shops like this. It was the problem that came with the variety. Since there were so many shops, there were also many useless ones. Fortunately though, not all were like that.


    The most useful one I found was an herbal shop. The herbalist shopkeeper was kind enough to teach me some of the uses of the plants they displayed, even though he knew I was not going to buy anything. I learned many things from there. He taught me the names of different plants and their effects to the body. It was enjoyable knowing that some of them were deadly as blood poisons, and yet some had weird effects like that one plant who could make a person feel ticklish all over their body causing them to laugh uncontrollably for several minutes. Some were useful though, especially the medicinal ones. I made a mental note to go there whenever I would need something in a future.


    Time passed by in an instant, and the sky started to grow darker.


    ''Guess it''s time to go back''


    After deciding that it was already late enough, I started to backtrack to the main road.


    Having a sharp memory, there was little to no worry over not finding my way back. Except, an event happened to cause me being late. I  have to clarify that it was NOT a case of me being lost.


    As for the ''event'' I mentioned, there were three ''little piggies'' blocking a narrow alleyway I previously went into.


    Except they weren''t pigs, and not little either. Boar-heads. Humanoids with heads similar to boars, and also with fur. Probably the same race with Manager Edgar, except fiercer, and even more bloodthirsty looking. They stood there in an imposing manner.


    Their intention wasn''t by any means to block me however. They just happened to be there ganging up on someone. They just happened to be there blocking my way. And there stood in front of them a frightened guy who was begging for mercy. His horrified appearance looked like that of a human.


    *SLAM*


    It rang out. A sound of flesh banging into concrete. I could also faintly hear the sounds of bones cracking, but perhaps that was my imagination?


    "I told you, didn''t I?! A hundred gold coins by the start of spring. Do you think I''m dumb?! This is only half of it! Do you want to die?!" One of the ''piggies'' shouted furiously. Considering his position, he was probably the leader of the three.


    "..... S-Sorry! I''m really sorry," the guy begged desperately. "I really tried to gather up the money. But it''s impossible. I can''t get that much in such a short period of time."


    Never mind his trembling body and his cracking voice, even one look on his eyes alone clearly portrayed how terrified he was.


    "Impossible, huh? Then I guess it is also impossible to keep the promise of you  leaving alive!"


    "NO!"


    The head of the group holding the man suddenly raised his right hand and formed it into a fist, clearly attempting to strike on the man''s head.


    Gazing at the scene in front me, I immediately took a stance planning to intercept the attack. But before I could that, a voice sounded out from the other side of the alley.


    "Stop!"


    "Huh?"


    All present turned to look towards the source of the voice. And the boar-head who was about to hit the man stopped his hand abruptly, confused.


    I was startled. I couldn''t see the person''s figure clearly since it came from the other side and the bulging bodies of the delinquents were blocking my vision, but from what I can make out of it and from the voice earlier, the person was undoubtedly female.


    "Who are you? You dare to interrupt me?!" He shouted in a tone even more furious than before.


    He started to walk towards the woman, releasing his initial target, for now. However he was stopped when one of his ''subordinates'' spoke to him.


    "H-hey, Boss! Isn''t that the ''Mad Heroine''?" The boar-head spoke frantically.


    "Mad Heroine?"


    "Yes boss. I also think that''s her," the third boar-head affirmed. He nervously explained. "Remember the incident about the ''Black Gang'' being annihilated last week? Boss, they say it was done by a single woman. And that woman according to witnesses appeared in her twenties, was a bit tanned, and wore a brown leather suit. But the most eye-catching, they said, was her hair. Long and red. I think that''s her."


    The man then turned to look at the woman. He was probably frowning. I couldn''t tell since his back was on me. But in just a short moment, his back already had a hint of trembling, fear written all over it. His two friends were the same.


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    "Hmph. If you don''t want to leave here as a blood corpse, then leave!" The female voice sounded with absolute confidence.


    Hearing the power of the voice alone, the three boar-heads'' bodies quivered once again. However, the head of the group quickly recovered his wits.


    He retorted.


    "Miss, I apologize for the rudeness. But this matter has nothing to do with you. This person has an obligation to us and we are only trying to receive it. I ask that you simply leave us in our own affairs."


    "I don''t care! Scram! Leave this man alone and don''t let me see your faces again, or else...."


    She didn''t flinch even in the slightest. Her threatening voice made her words sound genuine. It''s as if she can really make you suffer in torment if you disobey her.


    The bullied man and I simply watched the scene in the sidelines not daring to voice out.


    The three piggies on the other hand were now completely terrified. None of them could say anything anymore. So they had no choice but to leave. When they turned to my direction, I could now clearly see the fear in their faces. However, when they saw me, their faces quickly turned red in anger. The three suddenly became aware of the humiliating spectacle they showed. And I was there to see it.


    They walked past me with cold glares in their eyes. But with the fearsome woman looking at them, they could do nothing but escape hurriedly to avoid further humiliation.


    When the group of three disappeared in a corner, a sigh of relief could be heard from the man they were picking on earlier. He slumped down to the ground, as the strings of tension were cut from him.


    I glanced at him only for a moment and then turned my line of sight to the fierce woman they called Mad Heroine.


    She was as they described her. And I was shocked to see that she really looked young, someone only at her twenties, and only a bit older than me. In fact, it was actually more appropriate to call her a lady than a woman.


    The lady''s face was.... not pretty. I did not want to call her pretty. Because that was not the best way to describe her. She was not like that pretty lady over the other side of the river doing laundry while humming a pleasant song. She was not beautiful. She was not like that princess who could melt many bachelors'' hearts whenever they see her. Nor was she cute. She was not like that girl who you just want to protect and pat the head. She was not sexy. She was not like that woman who you could see in a high-class brothel and could seduce any sane man she sets her eyes to. And even though she had charm, I wouldn''t call her charming either. Because she wasn''t like that childhood friend neighbor who you go to see every morning.


    Alluring.


    That was her. It was what described the lady in front of me perfectly. Her body had the muscles in the right places. It did not look weird or gross, and in fact, it only managed to accentuate her feminine curves. Her suntanned skin and her solemn face only served to brand a striking image in my head. What''s more was her hair. It was tied into a ponytail. But the important part was the color. Red. Burning like the person she was inside. She had a mysterious charm that comes from being strong. It was attractive.


    Seemingly not noticing my gaze, the lady walked a few steps and checked at the man.


    "Are you okay?"


    "Ah, y-yes. thank you very much." The man responded awkward. "Really. Thank you very much. If not for you, madam, I would''ve been dead already."


    The man frantically stood up, and tried to bow deeply.


    "No, no, no. There is no need to be so formal around me," the lady stated hesitantly. "Anyways, are you going to be okay? Those guys won''t probably come back for you after what happened but you have to be careful from now on, since I won''t be there the next time you meet."


    She inquired, seemingly full of concern.


    "Ah, don''t worry, madam, I was already planning to leave the city after this. Preparations were done already and I plan to head out tomorrow."


    "Is that so?"


    A small hint of a smile formed from her lips.


    She treated the man warmly. The two of them exchanged a few words, and the man repeatedly expressed his gratitude to the lady. They ignored me completely from the start to finish. Before long, the man left. And now, it was only the two of us left - me and the lady. I recovered from my trance, realizing it was now completely dark save from the illumination from the street lamp.


    After being conscious of my behavior, I tried to leave. But before I could do it, the lady turned to me.... and our eyes locked in for a moment.


    "You''ve been staring for a while now," she coldly stated with the same solemn expression back on her face. All hints of warmth disappeared as if it never existed in the first place.


    Hearing her words, I looked down and blushed. I could not retort at all.


    The lady walked towards me until she was in front.


    "Why did you not help him?" She inquired with an icy tone.


    "What?" I stared at her dumbfounded.


    I was stunned. Then I realized what she was talking about.


    I was about to help the man but she interrupted the fight first, and I did not have any chances to appear relevant. Accusing me of not helping seemed unfair on my part. I felt wronged. It was not that I was unwilling to help, but was unable to, since she was already there to solve the problem.


    Before I could gather my thoughts, she asked once again.


    "I said, why did you not help him? You were clearly there before me."


    Now I was irritated. A frown appeared in my face. Even if say, I was not planning to help, who was she to dictate my actions? It had nothing to do with me, so not helping was perfectly normal. And even if I had helped, she could not be sure I had the ability to do so. It was infuriating being bossed around like this.


    However, as I was about to give her a piece of my mind...


    "Pfft. Hahaha! Your reaction is priceless!" The lady laughingly said.


    I stared at her, dumbfounded, once again. She was now clutching her stomach, giggling uncontrollably.


    "Of course that was a joke. Haha! Sorry, sorry. You''re so funny, you know that?"


    She was now trying to wipe away the tears of laughter from her eyes. And the only thing I could do was look at her. I was completely at loss for words.


    I just realized, I could not handle this girl!


    And to top it all, I was badly disillusioned. Where was the cool lady, who threatened the bad guys? Where was the experienced warrior  who experienced countless of battles? Where was the alluring lady with a solemn face? And also, where was she, the so-called Mad Heroine with red hair, burning with passion?


    I could only weep inside as the image of an ideal lady floated away out of my mind.


    "Hey, what''s your name?" She asked.


    "Isn''t it rude to ask the name of person without giving yours first?" I coldly snorted.


    "Oh come on, don''t be mad. I told you I was only joking. Okay, okay. I am... Deanne. Yes, my name is Deanne. I am a crossbreed. Half dwarf and half human. What''s yours?"


    She was now looking at me with a smug smile on her face.


    "You hesitated! That was not clearly your name at all!" Sighing inwardly, I replied. "Okay, whatever. My name is Zerefiel. A human. Though people call me Fiel. And for the record, Deanne, I was about to help earlier if you did not interrupt."


    Deep inside, I was actually slightly astonished. She was a half-blood. Though it was not really rare, it was still quite interesting to see one. Fortunately, the curiosity within me helped alleviate my irritation, replacing it with interest instead.


    "I know." She smiled brightly.


    "Crap, I had work today!" Only having remembered, I frantically tried to skirt myself away from the situation. Obviously, I was already late. "I''m sorry, I need to go now!"


    I ran to the direction of my workplace. Meanwhile, Deanne shouted behind me.


    "Hey! Fiel, if you want to see me again, come to the park tomorrow, just straight this way! I usually go there at 4 P.M. every day!"


    Without turning my head, I still continued to run while trying to think of excuses why I was late. And a part of me refused to admit that at the back of my mind, I completely remembered where to find Deanne.

 Chapter 4 - Magic Theory

    "For today let''s go back to the basics. I am sure that most of you here know most of these, so let us quickly review and cover it up completely.


    A middle age man spoke with a gentle voice. Apparently, he was in his mid-forties but his hair was completely devoid of color. Even his voice was of a man with a lifetime of experience.


    It was early afternoon of my second day of classes. The lecture for Foundation Magic just started. Rows of students listened attentively to the words of the man in front of them.


    "Magic has been with us since far back into the past," the white-haired instructor continued. "It is not a secret that even before the formation of The Earth, when multiple earths still existed, magic already existed in some of them. Even until now, magic is being used for many things and is already part of our everyday lives. It has become truly indispensable over the years.


    "To invoke magic, one must understand it as best as they can. So to start it off will be the definition of magic. To put it simply, magic is a phenomenon that is created or altered with the use of magic particles, and which originally should not have existed. Thus, if a phenomenon involves these particles, it is immediately classified as magic.


    "Then what are magic particles? They are substances used for the sole purpose of invoking magic. They are invisible and ethereal in nature, and they exist literally everywhere. The best way to visualize them, is to think of a transparent ball which is hollow and empty inside. In fact, in this room, there are plenty of them, hence why we can use magic here."


    The instructor suddenly raised his right palm. Not even a few seconds after, a sphere-like object appeared at the top of it. The bluish and transparent sphere looked like a ball of water. Then with the time it takes for one breath, he lowered his arm. However, rather than falling to the floor as physics suggested, the sphere instead completely disappeared without a trace.


    Without batting an eye, the man resumed speaking.


    "These particles undoubtedly exist. However, they cannot be perceived by normal means. The only way to do it is to have a sixth sense we call Magic Sense. The moment you awaken this sense is the moment you can start controlling the magic particles to form magic.


    "Next is: How do you form magic? Now the specifics of this one is something not all of you knows. I assume that those among you here who can already use magic mostly form them intuitively, unless, of course, you have experienced this lecture in the past already."


    My eyes brightened at the man''s words. Formation of magic. This was a topic that not even I knew about. The method itself was actually loosely guarded. However, it does not mean that magicians can freely divulge it to the outside either. And even its simplest explanations can not be found in all of the books about magic that I have read. True to the instructor''s words, I was previously forming intuitively without knowing the mechanisms behind it. Thus I was extremely curious.


    I adjusted my seating posture and prepared to listen more attentively.


    "So how? Simple answer is to convert the magic particles into magic itself. To fully understand, however, everyone should know that there''s another term for magic particles which is the ''null particles''. They are called that because they are basically nothing.... yet. As I mentioned, they are like empty transparent balls. The role of us magicians is to fill up this emptiness. What we use to fill them up is our purpose. We gather our thoughts and channel them to the empty particles. Once they are filled, they transform into a phenomenon and then we control them to exist in reality.


    "For example, let us say that you want to use a simple movement magic to move an object from Point A to Point B. What you are going to do is to fill up the magic particles needed with your intent to move the object and transform them into energy. This energy then becomes the source of the force used to move the object."


    The instructor made another demonstration. With a flip of his hand, a pencil from a nearby table flew right into his hand. He immediately put it back with the use of magic. The pencil flew once more, with the same trajectory as before, and landed directly on the table.


    Ooooh!


    A collective sound of amazement came among the students, including myself. It was understandable though, since the explanation fit perfectly to how most of us visualized the magic we form. It was like doing something amazing without actually knowing its full implications, and then suddenly someone told you about it. It was not hard to feel proud about it.


    "Every single phenomenon requires many magic particles to be filled. The exact number actually needed to do one varies from person to person. How it varies depends in the capabilities of the magician. How much intent one can inject into each particle is up to their skills, experience, and willpower.


    "It is okay if you still do not comprehend it fully for now. Magic is quite complex after all. If it wasn''t then all of us would be top tier magicians, wouldn''t we? Well, as long as you are aware of how it works and it fits to your perceived method of forming magic, then that is enough for now at least."


    One of the students raised their hand.


    "But instructor, why is it possible for us to transfer our intents and purposes to magic particles?"


    "A good question," the instructor replied. "But before that, I need to discuss something. Remember that I mentioned the magic sense earlier. Have you wondered why we have this so-called sixth sense?"


    He paused and looked at us inquiringly.


    "Just like we have eyes for seeing, ears for hearing, skin for touching, tongue for tasting, and nose for smelling, we magicians formed a part inside our body that can establish this magic sense. It is located in the center of our brains - a piece of hardened substance shaped like a pearl - and it is called a ''Magic Core''.


    "And to answer your question, this magic core is also responsible for transforming our intents into an ethereal energy that fills up the magic particles. But as to how the core exactly does this, sadly, it remains a mystery up to this day."


    Everyone went silent. Most of us are actually aware of the existence of a magic core in our body, but we did not know of its purpose until now. We were simply in awe of the knowledge that we had recently obtained.


    "By the way, when the invocation of the magic stops, the transformed particles revert back into their original empty form. With this, the magic cycle stops and the magic particles of the surroundings are then quickly replenished. This means that no matter how much of them you use, the particles will never be depleted. This is also how they can still exist everywhere."


    The discussion continued in this way. Needless to say, my afternoon was spent on listening to the instructors of my Magic and History classes.


    Just like that my every day life started. There was Physical Education in the morning, Magic Theory in the afternoon followed by History class. I work at the restaurant on my evenings. I was more free on the weekends though. On Saturday morning, I had a language class, but other than that I was not obligated to anything. Hence, the majority of my weekends were spent on our usual spot.


    Deanne though. She had been on the back of my mind ever since our encounter but for some reason I had been reluctant to go to the place she designated. Needless to say, I haven''t been there even once.


    "Fiel?" My friend Eden''s questioning tone came from beside me.


    "Hm?"


    "There seems to be a lot in your mind?" He asked with his usual indifferent demeanor.


    We were currently sitting under the tree doing nothing. It is a Sunday afternoon and we just finished lunch. Now we were basking under the sunlight, feeling the slight wind on our faces. There were occasional passersby from the nearby park, and we would look at them solemnly.


    "Nothing really. I was only thinking about school. At first, I thought it would be more interesting. It''s not that I dislike it, it is preferable even. But it''s calmer than I thought it would be."


    "Is that so?"


    Eden suddenly stood up. He put his things aside and went in the center of the field.


    "If you are so bored as to say that, then let''s spar. As usual, I will not hold back with my magic." He taunted.


    "Fine then."


    With nothing else to do, I stood up and complied. This was a completely normal exchange between the two of us. Eden has always been straightforward. If he was not reading or lazing around, then he would spar with me. But despite that, he was actually a very intuitive and insightful guy. Even the current exchange was probably him trying to cheer me up. He was awkward at times, but he always meant well.


    Right now, we were face to face at a certain distance. I signaled as the start of the fight.


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    "Here I go!"


    I acted forward and ran. It was my standard fighting pattern. Eden was proficient in using his magic. I, on the other hand, was better at close quarter combat. Hence I always start the spar by charging through to close the gap, and Eden also expected that. However, contrary to his thoughts, that was not my real intention. As I was moving, my right hand was hidden behind my back. He let out a confused face as I stopped abruptly on my tracks and showed him what my hand contained - a sphere of water.


    He might not show much emotions but Eden''s astonishment was clear. The sphere shot from my hand towards him. He hurriedly tried to  intercept it by using his own prepared magic. However, I was expecting that. What he prepared was a fire ball. Since I knew him, I could easily predict what he would do and intentionally prepared the magic countering his. The outcome was as expected. The water sphere not only nullified the fire ball''s effect as they collided, it  also continued on albeit a bit weaker.


    Eden could do nothing but cross his arms and brace for the impact of my magic. Unfortunately for me, even though my magic was a natural counter to his own, his magic was still vastly superior to mine in terms of control and efficiency. Hence, a lot of momentum was lost when my magic crashed into his. When the water sphere slammed against him, it only served to stun and knock him back a little. But that single moment was enough for me to buy some time and close the distance.


    Finally, I was near him when....


    "Eh?"


    I slipped and almost slammed my back against the ground.


    "What?"


    My reflexes were fast enough that I managed to stay upright. However the damage was done. My balance was already lost, and I was simply a prey trapped in a cage. I could do nothing in time as his punch came rushing to my face fast enough as I was powerless to block, much less evade it.


    "You lost." Eden declared with a smirk.


    The fist that was supposed to come crashing unto my face was stopped abruptly at the last second. It was then retracted, but not before a smug voice sounded directly above. I could only look dumbfounded. It took a while to register what just happened.


    "Still. What a monster. It has only been a week and your casting speed has increased already. Is it just because you learned a part of the theory? That is just crazy." He added with disbelief.


    "Monster, my ass. Isn''t this a water-earth combination magic?! Eden, you just casted a bloody combination magic! If I am a monster then what are you?"


    Yes. The reason I slipped was not because of clumsiness. It was because an area of mud formed under me causing me to lose balance. The impressive thing was that this magic was a combination of two elements - earth and water. Most magicians including non-humans would die without managing to do a single combination magic, and yet this guy just did it. And he was still eighteen! And top it all off, the magic was casted before I knew it, and caught me completely unaware. If this was not a genius then I don''t know what is.


    "This? Anyone can learn this with enough practice, if they actually tried to learn the concept. The non-humans mostly just settle for mediocrity so they would not really know this. You, on the other hand, have only been practicing for a year with a week of theory study, and yet you are at this level already. Not to mention you are also good with melee combat. I reckon you will surpass me in combat ability in less than a year," Eden stated with amazement.


    Even I was embarrassed being told all that with a straight face. So I could only reply.


    "Really? It would be nice if that happened. But stop kidding me, man. There''s no way that is gonna happen."


    My best friend only shrugged.


    We had a few more rounds after that, all of it ending with my defeat. It had been like this as far as I could remember. According to my own assessment, I was by no means weak, Eden just excels too much in fighting, especially at using his magic. He was versatile and quick to react. No matter what I did, there was always a response from him. And before you make a misunderstanding, he is also decent in close combat, and his physical traits were far from bad. That was why until now I still had to get my very first win.


    The two of us rested once again, me being more exhausted than the other party.


    "If you are too bored, Fiel, I have heard that school is fun with a girl. Why don''t you try having a girlfriend?"


    "Wha-?!" I muttered reactively.


    I was shocked at the sudden change of topic, and went speechless for a while. It was the first time Eden mentioned about ''girls''. No matter how you see him, he was not the playboy type. In fact, there was nothing coming out from his mouth other than magic and knowledge stuff. Throwing something like this was totally unexpected.


    Despite that however, an image formed in my mind. With red hair flowing through her back and a somber look on her face-


    I immediately dispersed the image as fast as it emerged. There was no way I had time to mess around with the opposite sex. I could barely get my life together and I did not want any more troubles.


    "No way, man," I responded along with a shake of my head. "I am bored, yes. But not in that manner. It is more like I have no goals to look forward to in the short-term. Of course there''s still wanting to become a God but it seems so far away yet, so I can''t help my motivation from slipping away sometimes. At least before this, I had looked forward to school. But right now there is nothing."


    "I see," He nodded. "So that''s why you had been slacking off a bit recently. You had no idea about that."


    "What do you mean?"


    A confused expression appeared on my face.


    "Did you not know that your draconian professor''s apprentice graduated this year? Ms. Lianna, was it? She always takes one apprentice every time. Since her old one is gone then naturally she will be picking a new one. This is your chance to make an impression. Get picked and your abilities will skyrocket."


    "What?! Is that true? From where did you get that information?"


    I was flabbergasted once more. There was no one who mentioned that to me, not even the subject herself. I did not have any friends aside from Eden, so naturally aside from knowing about it firsthand or hearing it from him, there was no other way to get any sort of information.


    "Yes, it must be true. Sorry that I forgot to mention it. I heard it from one of my classmates in Magic Application. Apparently he was also urged by his parents to attend PE to test his luck in that regards. The opportunity was too good to pass up after all. He only decided against it because he never had any aptitude with physical skills. Otherwise, he would have gone there, for sure."


    "This is good news! You really should have mentioned this sooner. Hmm."


    So there was actually such a thing. Fortunately, I have made a favorable impression on the very first day of classes. I could only call it luck.


    The whole thing suddenly made sense. There were many students in her class, much more than expected. There was also the arrogant draconian, Edric, and his two elvish companions. I previously found it weird that he was too hostile towards me, but after thinking about it, he might have been displeased that I had made an impression preemptively. Not to mention that there were actually dark elves in a Physical Education class. If I connect it to them just trying their luck in hopes of being picked as an apprentice, then it was actually quite understandable.


    ''If I remember correctly, Edric said Ms. Lianna is his aunt. But seeing him agitated that time, I can only assume that the professor might not be inclined to treating relatives more favorably. If so, then as long as I continue to have a positive image and show her that I improve fast, then it might not be bad to aim for this. I actually have a decent chance!''


    A grin crept into my face before I knew it. The whole ordeal got me pumped up. This was the motivation I had been looking for.


    "Looks like I hit the spot." Eden remarked with a slight smile.


    "Haha! You bet!"


    "Oh, then it looks you are ready to get beaten once again?"


    "Heh, you think you can still win? Not a chance!"


    I intentionally responded to his taunt. We stood up once again to continue our sparring session. This time, I was determined to temporarily use only physical attacks and defense. If I were to have the highest chance at getting the apprentice spot, I had to improve my reflexes and techniques even more. Then what better place to start improving than to beat the cocky opponent in front me?


    But well, despite my renewed determination, in the end I was still defeated miserably every single round.