《Endless》 Chapter 1: Child Chapter 1: Child Cries of the hopeless penetrate the boy¡¯s ears. The cacophony of anguish fills the air letting no thoughts enter anyone¡¯s mind. So they each wait for death to come. Death is a simple word that is a part of every living being¡¯s life. It is the one absolute truth because no matter how long you can avoid it, eventually it will come for you. That is what the boy waits for; the unforgiving, hate less, indiscriminate scythe of Death. Yet, despite waiting and wishing for Death to come, it does not for the young boy. He just lives on as he has in a dark palace of despair. The small boy¡¯s frail and starved body shivers on the cold rock floor. The occasional drop of water falls from the stalagmite covered ceiling to land on the boy¡¯s bloodstained mane of chestnut hair. In other circumstances his hair would have been beautiful, a silky texture that would be irresistible to the touch. A tattered, blood and urine stained loincloth is the only piece of clothing present on the boy. He itches all over and is sore from a day of lifting and moving stones twice or thrice his body weight. The heavy shackles chafe his wrists and ankles giving him another source of pain. As he begins to drift into a dreamless sleep, he begins to hear faint footsteps growing louder. Every ten paces or so, the footsteps stop. There would be a sucking noise turning to a gurgle of sorts, and then the sound of a large glob of phlegm being spat on the ground could be heard. Soon, a pair of boots can be seen from where the boy lay. A familiar sucking noise begins. The other slaves look on sadly knowing there is nothing they can do. Then a glob of disgusting spit lands on the young boy¡¯s cheek as the guard laughs cruelly. The only condolences the boy had ever received in his imprisonment were the stories whispered across cells by the older slaves, and the comfort that Death would offer should be just around the corner for him. These comforts keep him from crying but they also keep him from smiling. For as long as he can remember, the boy has only known work. It isn¡¯t honorable work, or pleasant work. It isn¡¯t a choice for him. His masters are cruel ones, whenever he falls while working, he forces himself to stand knowing that he would be beaten for every second he is downed. They love to torment the slaves, the young ones especially. The nourishment provided barely sustains the smallest of the slaves. For every day that passes three mouthfuls of gruel and three handfuls of water are all that sustain him. For every month that passes he loses what little weight he still has. For every second that passes he wishes for death. Yet, it does not come. The boy¡¯s mind is sharp, so he thinks and learns from the prisoners¡¯ words of despair and of times long gone. He wonders what the outside is like, but then after wishing for death and listening to stories, he comes back to one thought that makes him curious. Whether one is weak or strong, they die all the same. Whether one is white or black, or tall or short, or fat or skinny, they die all the same. Strength in this world of theirs means nothing when the same fate awaits them all. Yet despite his being the weakest of them all, he lives on as though it is a cruel way of fate saying ¡°fuck you.¡± One day however, there is a change. It starts with the influx of new prisoners. These ones are different than the rest, they exude a different aura than everyone else. They radiate confidence, power, and vitality through their posture and gaze. The stench of hopelessness and sorrow is nowhere to be found on them. The boy is curious at this, so he croaks softly into the darkness, ¡°Who¡­are¡­you?¡± But they do not hear him, after all, he is only a shadow of the boy. Why would anyone listen to a ghost? These new prisoners breathe life back into many of the prisoners with encouraging words. However, the boy does not care, he is not affected. He simply stays in his corner waiting for the newcomers to relinquish their grip on life and wish for death as he does. After countless cycles of backbreaking labor, there is another change. A loud explosion shatters into existence from somewhere above. Faint, pained screams can be heard. More ear-splitting explosions rock through the place. Each one seeming louder and louder as though growing closer. Despite the loud noises, the boy does not cover his ears or cower. If this is death, he is determined to meet it with senses open and arms wide. Soon the explosions die down replaced by shrieking. One yell in particular catches the boy¡¯s attention. It is the sound of the hateful guardsmen moaning in agony. It is a sound that he never thought he¡¯d hear¡­ From where he lies in the cell, he gazes out the bars watching as a glaring light accompanies the clanging of opening bars. The light grows brighter and the clanging becomes louder. When a new, unfamiliar pair of boots become visible at the entrance to his cage, he is able to hear a jangling sound close by. As the bars opened, he strains his eyes to look up to find a gruff looking man in combat fatigues looking at him. The stranger kneels down with a brightly glowing hand and a key ring. He scoops the boy up with his empty hand and cradles the young boy. The boy feels something wet dripping on the side of his head, when he looks at the man who had picked him up, there are tears streaming down the gruff man¡¯s face. The man looks forward and walked with the boy in his arms. The rocking motion and the comfort of the man¡¯s arms lulled the boy to sleep. He did not notice the silent tears of prisoners and soldiers alike being shed at the sight of his frail and scarred body and at the prospect of freedom soon to come. After minutes of being carried, the boy¡¯s sleeping face feels sunlight for the first time in his life. He is finally able to leave behind the hell he has known. As he begins to regain consciousness, the boy notices that the ever present pain that he had grown used to is no longer there. Instead, he feels cocooned in a comforting shell of softness. With confusion at these new feelings, the boy slowly opens his eyes to a white room of sorts. The only light filling the place is an unfamiliar ray of sunlight passing through a window on a wall. He looks down at himself to find soft sheets snugly hugging him. His confusion sets in as he is able to name the things that are in this room. He notices a button next to him and without hesitating, the young boy presses the button. Moments later, a young brown haired woman in a crisp nurse¡¯s uniform hurries through the door to the room. In a kind tone she asks, ¡°How are you feeling? Do you need something?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­No¡­Thank you. Where¡­am¡­I?¡± The boy asks with a nearly unused voice. ¡°You¡¯re in Regal Military Hospital, kiddo. You were brought here by a troupe of military wizards,¡± the brunette woman replied. When the word ¡®wizard¡¯ left the woman¡¯s soft looking lips, the boy¡¯s vision changed and he saw a young woman in flowing robes facing off against a small army. Around her swirled a raging storm of fire and lightning. Then there was a flash and everything was consumed in a blazing heat. The only thing left standing was the young woman. Just as soon as he saw this, the image disappeared and the white room reappeared. The nurse seemed to be saying something in a concerned tone. ¡°Are you okay? You seemed to zone out there for a moment. I see you¡¯re back now though.¡± The boy replies, ¡°Yes¡­I¡­am fine.¡± ¡°That is good. I will get the doctor then,¡± she says and hurries back out of the room. The woman comes back a minute later with a lanky brown haired doctor in tow. The man looks to be about forty or so with grey streaks in his hair and the beginning of wrinkles on his face. He had a white robe on and carried a black tablet like thing cradled in his right arm. He strolls right up to the boy with a slight smile on his face. ¡°How¡¯re you feeling, bud?¡± ¡°Alright,¡± the young boy responds. ¡°Excellent! I¡¯m glad to hear it. Do you remember anything that happened?¡± He asks. ¡°A¡­man¡­carrying me¡­out of that place. That¡­is the last¡­thing I¡­remember,¡± the boy responds. ¡°Ah, I see. That man is a part of the Regal Military, Wizard Division I. He is quite the wizard. I believe he is also in my guild, Lioness,¡± he informs the boy. ¡°Oh,¡± the boy replies. ¡°Where will I go now?¡± ¡°Well, I believe your two options are to enroll in the military or join an orphanage. If you would like to know why the military accepts recruits at a young age, it is entirely due to kids like you,¡± the doctor says sadly. ¡°Kids¡­like me?¡± ¡°Former war prisoners, or slaves, or some other type of previous imprisonment, or from different horrible circumstances,¡± he answers. The boy replies with another, ¡°Oh. I guess I will join the military then.¡± ¡°Huh?! Are you sure? You don¡¯t have to make a decision right away,¡± he says frantically. ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± the young boy responds. ¡°Very well¡­¡± the man says with uncertainty in his voice. ¡°I suppose that I will call the junior military division now. I will be back soon.¡± He left the room with a seemingly defeated stride. About fifteen minutes later, the doctor returns carrying a tray of hospital food. To the boy, it seems like a gourmet meal. His mouth waters in anticipation as the doctor sets it down on his lap. ¡°I called the junior division, they will be here first thing in the morning. So eat up,¡± the doctor says before he leaves once more. The young boy digs in to the food with his bare hands, ignoring the utensils. He devours the food in a matter of minutes. The boy lets loose a satisfied sigh as he licks off the remains from his fingers. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. He feels his eyelids begin to close as his belly is filled. The boy sleeps peacefully and without worries for the first time in his entire life. ¡°Hello? Sir? This is Shawn. I¡¯ve got a recruit for you,¡± the doctor says. ¡°Ah, Shawn! Good to hear from you! A new recruit eh? Well, don¡¯t keep me waiting, give me the details,¡± a powerful voice from the other side of the communication crystal replies. ¡°According to the tests I ran over the past month he was asleep, the boy is around seven years of age, about thirty pounds, and three foot four. As for the other thing¡­Yes. He has an affinity for magic. The readings from the M-Calculation Crystal show that he has Absolute affinity with Spatial magic and Water magic, and a Natural affinity with Wind magic. Not only that, but despite his treatment these past years, his Qi is still incredibly strong. However, his Mage Force is only half of what normal kids his age should have, In spite of that, he will definitely be a valuable asset once trained,¡± the doctor concludes. ¡°Excellent! I will come by to pick him up in the morning. See you tomorrow!¡± ¡°Very good, sir. See you then.¡± Click. The next morning arrives much as the previous one for the boy. The sun shines through the window, caressing his face and urging him to wake up. He opens his eyes, half expecting his freedom to be just a dream. However, he finds that it was not just a dream, it was real. He is freer than he has ever been before. The boy sits up in bed, and gazes longingly at the rays of sunshine passing through the window. ¡®I wonder what¡¯ll happen now¡­¡¯ A little while later, the doctor walks in followed by a giant man rippling with muscles. ¡°Hey kid, how¡¯re you feeling?¡± Shawn asks. ¡°Fine. Are we leaving now?¡± ¡°Hehe, yeah, we¡¯re leaving now.¡± The giant said in a deep baritone voice. With that, the boy hops out of his bed as fast as he could with his weak body and stood. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m Major Calahan. What is your name?¡± ¡°¡­ Call me Bayan.¡± For some reason, that is the name that pops into the boy¡¯s head first. ¡°Very well, Bayan. Let¡¯s get going.¡± The doctor accompanied both Calahan and Sen to the hospital¡¯s exit. Sen and Calahan parted with the doctor after they stepped into a plain silver car. As the car began moving and Calahan glanced over at Bayan to see that he was already fast asleep. He chuckles quietly and enters a meditative state. Many hours later, the car stops in front of a massive stone wall. Major Calahan opened his eyes and woke Bayan with his baritone voice. ¡°We are here.¡± They exit the car and walk past the gate guarded by two soldiers. If the boy could read, he would have noticed that the plaque above the gate read ¡®WIT Academy.¡¯ The two soldiers each carried a sword, a shield, and an assault rifle. When Calahan and Bayan walk by, the soldiers on duty gave the Major a crisp salute before returning to their guard duties. The pair walks through the open gates to be faced with a large grassy field filled with children, teens, and young adults sparring with dulled blades and unarmed combat. As we walk past, students and instructors alike salute with pride and awe to Calahan when we walks by. Some of the kids look at me with envy and jealousy, but I pay them no mind. ¡®Who is this Major Calahan? How did he garner so much respect from these people?¡¯ After a good ten minutes of walking, we approach a wide building with few windows. A group of guards can be seen strolling on the top of the building. Calahan beckons me inside after opening the door. The first room he enters is a plain, yet impeccably clean, whitewashed environment that is very similar to the hospital room. There are multiple doors on either side, each one with a plaque next to it. At the far end of the room there is a large desk with multiple empty sections, only two of which hold a person each. Calahan walks up to the centermost booth with a person sitting in it and coughs to attract the young woman¡¯s attention. ¡°Oh¡ªOh my! I¡¯m sorry, sir! What do you need?¡± The young brunette woman became flustered as soon as she saw who had coughed. ¡°Cassidy, please begin a registration form. Name: Bayan, Age: 7, Height: 37in, Weight 15lbs, Magic Proficiency: Spatial-Absolute, Water-Absolute, Wind-Natural, Mage Force: 0.5xNormal Age, Qi: 1xNormal Age, Previous Circumstance: Classified. Got it all?¡± After a little more rapid typing, Cassidy nodded. ¡°Good. Quickly set up a new schedule for him now, focus on Mage Force cultivation, fitness, and reading and writing until he is proficient. Also, program the schedule into one of the basic WIT watches.¡± With another nod, Cassidy started to fiercely type on a computer, after ten minutes of keyboard sounds, she then looks up and places a black digital watch on the desk counter. Calahan scoops it up and tosses it to Bayan, after some fumbling, the boy manages to attach the watch to his left arm. ¡°Kid, to look at your schedule, press that button here, to switch it back to watch mode, click this. There will be no need to charge it. Got it?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Bayan replies. ¡°Thanks Cassidy. Now, Bayan, I¡¯m going to let Cassidy show you around, I¡¯ve got some work to do.¡± With that, he briskly goes into one of the many doors. The young woman behind the desk stands and walks over to me. She bends down and sticks out a hand for me to shake. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Cassidy, nice to meet you, Bayan,¡± she says with a smile. In return I nod and shake her hand. ¡°Alright, follow me, I¡¯ll show you around.¡± Standing straight once more, she beckons Bayan to follow her through one of the doors after telling him to hold my watch up as a sort of key in order to open the door. Apparently Bayan won¡¯t be able to enter many doors by himself at the moment because he doesn¡¯t have sufficient clearance. Once his status is elevated through training and eventually through missions, then he will be able to unlock more doors. First, Cassidy led Bayan to the Cafeteria. She stole two apples and handed one to him. As we walked, the frail boy quickly gobbled up the apple. After finding a trash can, Cassidy then led him past some rooms explaining that they were mainly used for the younger recruits. Basically this military sector is an army school until one has a high enough ranking to begin doing missions. Mainly the missions are to kill spirit beasts that trouble areas, but the higher ups¡¯ missions usually entail human vs human combat or espionage. After passing by the classrooms, she shows Bayan the fitness rooms that hold all sorts of weights, treadmills, and a few dull melee weapons. Then they exit the building and arrived on the training fields where many recruits were still training either alone or in classes. ¡°You¡¯ll have most of your sessions out here, also there is a small mountain range nearby and once you reach the Century Rank One you will be able to train there. Oh, you probably don¡¯t know how our ranking system works. Well, actually, it isn¡¯t even our exclusive ranking system. This system is based off of the Immortal Staircase. Basically it works like this: Before becoming an immortal existence where your aging stops and your body changes into that of a deity-like being, there are nine trials from the heavens that you must undergo each time your enter into a new rank. Right now, you are at Rank Zero. Ranks are determined either by the stage of your Qi technique or your Mage Force concentration. Within each rank there are six sub-stages: Year, Decade, Century, Epoch, Era, and Eon. Each of these sub-stages have four levels: Early, Middle, Late, Peak. Once one reaches the Peak Eon stage of Rank Zero, then after some insight into their element or Qi Stage they will most likely transcend into Rank One where your body will be slightly transformed. After this transformation, your life will be extended by roughly a couple centuries. At the moment, the highest Rank in our military branch is at the Late Epoch stage of Rank Nine. Anyway, that¡¯s how that works. Oh, and at the Epoch Stage of Rank Two you will be able to apply for missions. After Rank Six Epoch Stage you will be randomly assigned missions based on expertise, otherwise your only requirement will be to train. That¡¯s still far in the future for you though. Anyway¡­Oh¡ªI almost forgot¡­On the basement level of the main building is the simulation enclosure where you can fight simulations of spirit beasts. Now, the only thing that¡¯s left is to show you where the barracks are. Truth be told, they¡¯re really nice after being renovated two years ago.¡± After walking to another building with one hallway and a few doors every hundred paces or so, they walk down until the very end and make a right into a doorway. ¡°This will be where you sleep, pick a bed, right now you are the first one to be assigned to this room. By each bed there are two sets of training clothes, a towel, and a toothbrush, bathrooms are on the far side. Don¡¯t forget to go to Reading and Writing at 4:00AM. Okay, I¡¯ve got to get going. See you later, recruit.¡± Cassidy then leaves. Bayan quickly chooses a bed at random and spots the clothing and toothbrush. He checks the time to find that it¡¯s already almost 3:00PM, without much to do, he just lays down on the bottom bunk and falls fast asleep after setting an alarm for 3:30AM. Chapter 2: Day One Chapter 2: Day One The next morning, Bayan shot up in bed at the sound of his alarm. With a little haste, he takes his toothbrush, towel, and a change of clothing to the bathroom. As he walks, he notices a few sleeping forms on some of the bunks. The bathroom holds multiple shower stalls and a row of sinks. He quickly undresses and enters one of the shower stalls. After some fiddling he manages to turn on the water and quickly shower despite it being his first time doing so. As he finishes his shower, his ears pick up the sound of other showers turning on. He looks at his waterproof watch and notices that it is 3:40. After drying off, he changes into the large training suit. Immediately after putting it on, the suit suddenly contracts. It shrinks down to a perfect size leaving him with a near skintight shirt and slightly baggy pants. When he gets back to his bunk to place the plain hospital shirt and pants, he notices a pair of combat boots. After putting them on his feet and watching them shrink down to size, Bayan leaves to go to the room that Cassidy indicated the day before. He reaches the classroom without seeing more than ten people. When he presents his watch to the door, the door slides open revealing a brightly lit room with multiple desks. At the front of the room, a man with greying hair stands with a ramrod straight back. ¡°Recruit, name.¡± ¡°Bayan, sir.¡± ¡°Take a seat, you will learn the alphabet today. You are the first to arrive, three more will be coming shortly. If not we will begin at 4:00.¡± After saying that, he looks at a computer on the desk in front of him, then he closes his eyes and waits after sitting down in a chair. Bayan takes one of the seats in the front row and wait as well. A few minutes later, three other kids walk in. One of them seems to be in her early teens while the other two seem just a little older than Bayan. The two younger ones were both boys, seemingly twins. The three take a seat as well. As soon as they do this, the man behind the desk stands up once more and waves with his hand. A reflective pool suddenly appears in front of the children. A moment later it darkens and becomes an opaque blackboard. After another moment, a character appears on the top left corner. ¡°This letter is ¡®A¡¯¡­¡± After an hour of nonstop memorizing, the four children were able to memorize the alphabet after learning the alphabet song. After that, he gave the kids writing utensils and told them to write down the alphabet ten times. A little while later, each of the children were able to shakily mimic the memorized letters. Once they were able to mimic the letters nearly to perfection, the unnamed instructor had them stop. He then handed them plain sandwiches and told the kids to eat. After a few minutes of eating, he had them begin to learn the basics of how to form words. The rest of the day passed like that, him occasionally halting their progress to hand out food. At some point, he had the children go back to their barracks and come back at 4:00AM again. Two weeks passed in that same, fast paced way. At that point, each of the kids were able to read and write at the elementary level. After a whole month of learning packed days, each was able to slowly read most anything as long as they had a dictionary on hand. After another week, the yet to be named teacher finally told them not to come back anymore. Then he said that from then on they would follow their updated watch schedule. Bayan glanced at his schedule, it displayed like this: 4:00AM-7:00AM Combat Instruction/Fitness (NW Field). 7:10AM-7:30AM Mess Hall. 7:40AM-10:40 Water Magic (NW Field). 10:45AM-1:00PM Qi Training (NW Field). 1:15PM-1:35PM Mess Hall. 1:50PM-5:10PM Spatial Magic (NW Field). 5:20PM-7:30PM History/Geography/Tactics/Spiritual Knowledge (Room 1-0). 7:45PM-8:30PM Mess Hall. 8:40PM-10:50PM Free Time. 11:00PM-3:50AM Barracks. Once he gets back to the barracks, Bayan sets his alarm and falls asleep immediately. The next morning, he goes through his regular routine, the only difference is that he heads towards the Northwest training field that is one of the closer ones to his barracks. In all, the entire campus consists of three barracks, one for the zero to three rankers, one for the four to five rankers, and one for the six to nine rankers. The buildings on the military sector are set up in a rectangular like shape with a courtyard in the middle. The outside consists of the training fields. After walking quickly to the NW fields, Bayan gets there at 3:58. He quickly spots the area designated for combat because of the sparring circles burnt into the ground. The boy walks over and stands near a few of the other recruits. More and more recruits joined until there were more than thirty of them standing around. The ages were anywhere from five to seventeen. None above twenty though. At exactly 4:00 an Asian man that had a body similar to that of a leopard¡¯s walked in front of the group. In a quiet voice that surprisingly managed to not only reach, but penetrated each and every person in that group. ¡°I will be your instructor, Zhang Feng. You are all Rank Zero, no matter your age you will have equal treatment. As of right now, separate in terms of Stage. If you are stage-less then stand where you are.¡± With a moment¡¯s thought, he separated the groups so that the stood from least cultivated on the right to most cultivated on the left. The stage-less group consists of two members, Bayan and a boy a little younger than him. ¡°First, you will run ten laps along the edge of the wall. I will be leading you, every thirty meters anyone falls behind, you will be given an additional lap to do. Am I understood?¡± A round of ¡®yes, sir¡¯s¡¯ resounded. With a nod of his head, Zhang Feng started with a slightly faster than jogging pace. However, for the younger kids in the crowd, this pace was more like flat out running due to their small bodies. Despite it being a hard to keep up with pace, Bayan managed to stay barely within thirty meters for the first lap. The first lap took roughly twenty minutes. After that first lap, the speed increased a little. The second lap took a couple minutes shorter time. Every subsequent lap increased the pace a little, Bayan¡¯s lap count increased by one since he never got behind by more than fifty-five meters or so. After the first five laps, Bayan could barely breathe. However, hard labor is no stranger to him. His violet eyes burned with determination to complete the thirty laps no matter what it takes. With that steely determination, he managed to go through the remaining laps, each lap falling more behind. His legs had gone numb ages ago, yet somehow his body continued to push forward. He already had four laps added on top of completing the thirty that the group needed to do. Without hesitation, he continued to run along with the other kids who fell behind. In all, it took a total of two hours to complete the fourteen laps. When they came back to the training ground. The group who had to do extra laps came to a halt, some directly fell, where others¡¯ legs just trembled unable to move. ¡°I did not say that you could sit. Get up! You will stretch now,¡± the instructor said harshly. Wheezing, the whole group stretched for twenty minutes. After Zhang Feng called a halt to the stretching, he had everyone do a series of core exercises like planks, bicycle kicks, crunches, etc. For the remaining time, he had the group do various exercises that strengthened the body. For those who collapsed, they would be given extra exercises based on how long they stayed down. More than half of this group were given additional punishment, only the older and more experienced kids were able to keep up with the rigorous training. What surprised Bayan was the fact that no matter the treatment, not one kid complained. Until it turned 7:00, the instructor pushed them hard. Not a second was wasted for resting. After he dismissed the class, the group hurried as fast as their tired bodies could take them in order to get to the mess hall for breakfast. With little time to eat, as soon as Bayan grabbed a sandwich and drink he ate as he walked towards the training field area once more. It took a little bit of searching, but he soon found the area designated for Water Magic classes. Once he reached the area, it seems as though the class has already begun. ¡°You! You¡¯re late, but that doesn¡¯t really matter, your cultivation is too low to learn any water magic at the moment. Go cultivate. I will let you know when you have enough mage force to learn some water magic techniques. If you don¡¯t know how to cultivate, all you¡¯ve got to do is clear your mind. Afterwards there should be sparks that appear, try to absorb these into your core.¡± A middle aged woman said as she looked away from the currently training students. Bayan nodded in response and sat down to try and meditate. For Bayan, clearing his mind is absolutely no issue due to the constant labor he used to do. In order for him ignore the pain, he had a clear mind most of the time letting no thoughts appear. Only when he was allowed to rest did he actually exercise his mind. Remembering the old feeling of a blank mind, within five minutes of sitting there with eyes closed, he reached that blank state. For ten minutes, then twenty, then thirty, Bayan sat with a blank mind, yet no matter how long he waited there were no ¡®sparks.¡¯ He¡¯s reached a completely new record for himself when it comes to reaching that no-thinking state. For a whole two hours he¡¯s sat there without moving a muscle. It was then that vague sparkles started to brighten, almost like stars. The difference between these sparkles and stars is that the sparkles have slightly different colors and patterns. The main colors that Bayan can see are a crystal, flowing blue, and a swirling, void-like black. Immediately after Bayan sees them take shape, he tries to implement his will on them. In an instant, millions of these sparks of blue and black rush towards him. Then they seem to be absorbed into Bayan¡¯s chest, right next to his heart. Every particle that is absorbed gives Bayan a rejuvenating feeling. As more and more particles fly towards him, his body begins to give off a faint bluish-black aura nearly invisible to the eye. However, the instructor notices because of the massive amounts of Elemental Essence gathering around the boy. With a surprised look, she continues to watch as the elemental essences fuse with the child. For Bayan, a seemingly endless wave of sparks fly towards him. His authority over the sparks is absolute, every wish of his is their command. He calls for the sparks to be absorbed by him. Soon he begins to get this feeling that whatever has been absorbing these sparks has gotten near full capacity. So, after a little longer of letting the sparks be absorbed, he immediately commands them to halt. After a few stragglers are absorbed, the galaxy of sparks halts then disperses back to their original locations. After opening his eyes, Bayan meets the gaze of the instructor. The middle aged woman simply nods in response and continues observing the recruits practicing basic water element summons. Without looking, she speaks to Bayan. ¡°Try sensing your mage force now, it should be easier now that you have a normal mage force for your age. The essences that you just absorbed are distributed into your Core. Its energy is diverted to your Qi and Mage Force. You will be able to increase your maximum essence absorption by strengthening your body through physical means and through using Qi techniques. With the amount of elemental essence you just absorbed, you¡¯ve reached the standard Mage Force for your age. If you want to pull ahead of the crowd, you will need to cultivate strong Qi techniques and reinforce your body through combat training.¡± As though he didn¡¯t hear, Bayan simply closed his eyes once more. This time he tried to feel for the mage force like his instructor suggested. This came to him much easier because the energy was rolling around inside his body unlike the elemental essence around him. With but a thought, he tried to shape the mage force. However, no matter how much of his will he exerted on it, the energy would not budge even a little. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to change it inside your body yet. The only way for you to change its shape as you are now is to pull it outside your body. Picture it becoming water.¡± She says this, but in her heart she is truly curious as to whether or not this kid will be able to actually accomplish what would have been a few days¡¯ worth of lessons. Nodding in response, Bayan tries to direct the rolling essence outside his body through his sky-facing palms. The channels he tried to create for the essences were battered and soon dissipated having little effect. Figuring that this method wouldn¡¯t work, Bayan tries to think of a different way to push the essence out of his body into the form of water. Next he tries to create multiple layers of tubing that stems from the rolling core in his chest that contains the mage force. This manages to last a little bit longer, but while he does this, he notices that the mage force that swirls in his chest is the reason why he is unable to sustain the tubes. While the calmer energy is directed into the created channels, the fiercer mage force energy is rigorously battering against the obstruction. Bayan realizes that in order to channel the mage force he must control the swirling energies. With but a thought, he sends his consciousness into the center of the swirling energy. He expands like a cloud and covers the entirety of the rolling energy. Then he wills the cloud to condense into a molasses like substance, slowing the movement of the energy a little bit. Then Bayan tries to create a shell around the mage force and attempts to condense it a little. His mind gets a shock from the forces battering this sphere, but the slightly relaxed energy stream is no longer capable of immediately destroying it. With sweat on his brow, Bayan continues to slow and condense the energy into the sphere that is his Core. Once the energy was condensed a little bit more, Bayan shrunk the cloud, condensing the molasses like substance in order to slow the energy even more. Once again he shrunk the hardened sphere to condense the energy within. After a few more times of doing this, the roiling energy halted completely to form a blue and black sphere that slowly rotated. Taking a deep breath, once more he created a channel with his will. This time the energy easily slipped through the channel. He made the channel split into two and connect with both of his palms. As the energy within the channels rise to the surface of his palm, Bayan envisions the energy forming into crystal clear globes of water. When he opens his eyes, he sees two rotating spheres of water surrounding his hands. He feels his mage force slowly draining away, but he feels elated at this accomplishment. Smiling, he looks up to meet the gaze of his instructor once more. His instructor simply shakes her head and smiles back in approval. ¡®Damn, that¡¯s talent.¡¯ She thinks to herself. The class ended eight minutes ago so Bayan cuts off the dwindling energy supply from his Core. After shaking his stiff limbs, he quickly heads towards the Qi Training area of the field. Once there, he is once again the last person, however this class didn¡¯t start yet so he didn¡¯t miss anything. Another female instructor, this one being an incredibly pretty, short yet perfectly proportional, redheaded young woman. ¡°Qi techniques enhance the body¡¯s capacity to increase in strength, flexibility, agility, etc. Qi enhances all bodily functions and reinforces your bones and muscles. There are a vast number of Qi techniques that specialize in different things, however, they all begin from simple Qi Breathing Technique. This is where you begin to learn how to control your Qi. Once you are able to control your Qi, then you will be able to condense it, allowing more space for your body to absorb more Qi. Every time your body is filled with Qi, you will be unable to absorb more. This is why controlling it is important. You also may wonder why there are other Qi techniques, the other Qi techniques allow for different bodily development and specialty enhancements. These advanced techniques also make it easier to condense higher concentrations of Qi based on the technique¡¯s structure. Anyway, this basic technique is done by perfectly controlling your breathing. Once you can follow the oxygen as it moves through your body, then you will be able to easily sense the Qi in your body. Once that is done, try to direct the Qi in your body, but under no circumstances should you try reversing the Qi flow because it will cause a small explosion within that area in your body both destroying that area¡¯s Qi channels and causing major injuries to yourself. This is very similar to meditating, however, you are not trying to sense the energy around you, and all you need to do at the moment is follow the freshly inhaled oxygen throughout your body. You will begin to sense your Qi paths once this becomes familiar to you. Begin!¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Yet another session of meditating begins. Bayan sits down and assumes his meditating position. He clears his mind once more and focuses on his breathing. He follows the inhaled air to his chest, but then he is unable to distinguish anything after that. The entirety of the Qi session progresses like this, at the end of it, Bayan only managed to expand his sense to his stomach area. After stretching, he goes to the Mess Hall. Yet again he eats on the go as he makes his way towards the training fields again for his Spatial Magic session. However, he is surprised that there are less than ten people in total, and all of them seem to be in their late teens. The old man who teaches Spatial Magic seems to be in his eighties. With a kind smile he then speaks to Bayan. ¡°Ah! You are Bayan?¡± The boy nods in response. ¡°Excellent! Have you learned how to cultivate yet?¡± Another nod. ¡°Okay. You all do some spatial sparring, I will chat with your newest classmate for a bit.¡± The other members of the spatial magic class all head off in pairs. ¡°All right, for starters cultivate until you are full again.¡± Bayan nods for a third time and sits down to cultivate. Ten minutes later his mage force is full of vitality again. The essences¡¯ energy was directly pushed into the sphere he made earlier. ¡°Great! Now, try imagining a void, or rather, try imagining a rift in space. That is what your goal is for now.¡± Bayan tries pushing out the mage force through his hands, but raw energy just spills out. He tries envisioning this ¡®void,¡¯ but all he can imagine is a dark space. Without truly understanding the principles behind this void, he is unable to visualize a rip or tear in space. ¡°Here, Bayan, maybe this will help you a little,¡± the old instructor says with a smile. He holds up his hand and a swirling void appears. Then it collapses into a mini black hole. As soon as he sees this, Bayan has a theory on how to establish a rip in space. He quickly pulls the mage force into his hand. Remembering how the energies first rapidly swirled before creating the black hole, Bayan created a mini vortex created from pure mage force. Bayan remembers the look of the void-like particles he absorbed into his Core, and tried to superimpose that same look onto the swirling energies in his palm. With nothing more than that simple thought, the invisible energies quickly turned grey, then dark black, and finally swirled into a pitch black nothingness. After rotating the energies at even higher speeds, Bayan then collapses the energy at a single point, instantly forming a small black hole. For some reason the black hole did not affect him at all. The elder clapped and said, ¡°Amazing! Just amazing! You actually were able to do it so quickly¡ª¡°As he spoke, Bayan suddenly blacked out. When he next came to a few minutes later, he noticed the elder smiling sheepishly. ¡°Sorry, I should have taken into account your low mage force. Spatial magic is very powerful, but it comes with massive mage force demands. Right now you should probably abstain from using it as much as possible.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Bayan speaks to the elder for the first time. ¡°In the meantime, go ahead and do whatever you want. Once you reach the Decade stage you will have enough mage force to practice spatial magic.¡± With a couple hours still left, Bayan decides to continue his water magic training. As the class finishes, he¡¯s more familiar with controlling his mage force into water. He then heads to his final class for the day. His next class passed quickly, it was very interesting because he learned the basic geography of his planet. Not only that, he was told that there are different planes of existence that Rank 9¡¯s and above can travel to. After that he went to the mess hall for meal and later spent the rest of his time using the last bits of his physical energy exercising. Two months later¡­ ¡°Yo, little Bay, you wanna do some sparring?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m up for it. Weapons or naw?¡± ¡°Meh. Na, let¡¯s go barehanded.¡± ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go!¡± A healthier, and slightly muscular Bayan stood facing a slightly taller blonde haired boy. His name is Ryan. They stood in one of the many sparring circles after multiple laps around the military base. In an instant, Ryan moved towards Bayan. He feinted to the left then came up for a grab on the right. Bayan quickly saw through this and jumped back leaving Ryan off balance. Bayan rushed back in and tried to take advantage of the off balanced Ryan. However, Ryan faked being off balance and grabbed Bayan while simultaneously putting him into a headlock. Feeling foolish for falling for Ryan¡¯s trick, Bayan quickly twisted and though Ryan off him. A heated battle that lasted a good twenty-five minutes raged in the middle of the sparring ring. Many other youths sparred in surrounding rings as well. Bayan and Ryan collapsed, panting after they had exhausted themselves. Being evenly matched, neither could get a significant advantage over the other at any point during their sparring session. ¡°Hehe¡­Ryan, you almost ¡­got me ¡­.with that throw¡­of yours!¡± Bayan chuckled while catching his breath. ¡°Ha, yeah¡­You almost...took me ¡­down with ¡­that left hook¡­of yours!¡± Ryan responded sprawled out on the grass. ¡°Hey! You two! Don¡¯t be lazing around! Get back to work or else you¡¯ll be running until you drop unconscious!¡± The usually kind instructor said harshly. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± With an energized jump, both leaped to their feet and began to spar again if not as intensely as before. ¡®I¡¯ve been here for two months, Ryan is my only friend so far, but I¡¯m content. After all, the fact that I¡¯m even alive is a fluke. Considering I have a friend, that is a miracle. I should have died in that cave. But since I¡¯m here, I will repay my debts and try to make the most of what life I¡¯ve got. I¡¯ve managed to reach the Peak stage of Pre-Rank Zero. Today I will probably be able to break through to the Year Stage. Ryan already beat me there. He reached the Year Stage a couple days ago. Ryan¡¯s magic is Fire and Water, it¡¯s one of the reasons why we¡¯ve become good friends. I helped him out a bit with his Water Magic. For some reason, Water Magic feels so natural to me. Consolidating my Mage Force has become easier as well.¡¯ During the Water Magic lesson and after exhausting his Mage Force from using the basic version of Scale Mail, Bayan sits down to cultivate. The difference is, when he reaches his filled point, there is a change in his body. It is as though his blood boils over, his body excretes a slightly dark tinted sweat, and his Mage Force consumes even more Elemental Essence. After a few minutes of calming down the newly formed Mage Force and compacting it, he opens his eyes. ¡°Congrats, bro!¡± Ryan slaps him on the back. ¡°Thanks,¡± Bayan replies with a smile. ¡®The first and easiest breakthrough is done. In order to begin paying back these people who saved me, I need to at least reach Rank Two Epoch Stage. I have to increase my strength as fast as possible¡­¡± In the blink of an eye, a year passes. From the constant sparring with Bayan¡¯s friends Ryan, Jasper, and Rylinne, all four of their Mage Force increases exponentially. Ryan is definitely the most well-known because of his outstanding talent with Fire magic. His learning speed far surpasses anyone at his age. Jasper is the absolute combat pro, in unarmed and weapons combat, he never loses to anyone near the same age as him. Rylinne is the beauty and the most tyrannical. Without a doubt, she is the strongest of the four by far. She has an insane learning capability when it comes to Earth and Wind magic. On top of that, her combat is on par with Jasper. Finally Bayan. Bayan is looked over in all matters excluding his friends. His ability never seems to be outstanding in any of his sparring sessions or learning sessions. The first few months the teachers believed that his learning capability far surpassed any his age, but that quickly changed. Bayan is from all views, an average recruit. His spatial magic ability is average, his water magic ability is average, his combat is average, and even his personality seems to be as dull as can be. Even his friends truly believe that he is simply an ordinary recruit despite their being his closest friends. Whenever there was free time, Bayan spent some time with his friends, then the rest of that time cultivating his Mage Force and Qi. Another two years passed in a flash. Their group of four¡¯s members all have turned ten, some almost eleven. Three of them continue to show their brilliance in the small competitions held every month. Bayan sits in the back, watching and cheering his friends on whenever they compete. Rylinne has officially reached Rank One Epoch Middle Stage, Jasper has reached Rank One Century Peak Stage, Ryan has reached Rank One Era Early Stage, and Bayan has reached Rank One Century Early Stage. When they spar, it always seems as though Bayan is more worn out by far, he is barely able to keep up with his friends anymore. Another year passes. ¡°Jasper, you seen little Bay lately?¡± a cute brunette with beautiful green eyes asks. ¡°No, last I heard he was training in the back mountains. I haven¡¯t come across him in a while though.¡± ¡°Oh. I hope he¡¯ll hang out with us soon, it always feels like there¡¯s a piece missing without him here,¡± this came from a model-like teen, Ryan. The three nod in agreement before beginning to spar again. Year after year passes, the three who barely see Bayan anymore soon begin to forget. Their friend group expands to more experts. Their prestige continuously grows as Bayan is pushed deeper and deeper into nonexistence, like a forgotten ghost. Soon Bayan turns sixteen. As soon as he was able to train in the mountains, he immediately skipped classes and spent all his time out there excluding occasional trips for food. At the moment, Bayan is standing in a cave that he gouged out using spatial magic, the walls are perfectly smooth and symmetrical. He reminisces as he gathers elemental essences. He remembers when he first came to the mountains and began to train. His strength was mediocre at best, his control of his magic was excellent, but his essence absorption seemed to have fallen a great deal, and the Qi Breathing Technique was barely effective anymore. When he was fourteen, he made an immense breakthrough, with the nearly nonstop Qi and mage force condensing and accumulating, his tight pellet-like ball of mage force within his chest suddenly released a large portion of its energy to his entire body. The mage force fused with the Qi carrying cells and in turn merged with his Qi. When this happened, the incredibly slow Qi Breathing Technique suddenly made absorbing and condensing his Qi infinitely faster and more powerful by more than a hundredfold. Not only that, but he no longer needed to direct the course of mage force anymore, it was as though he had grown an extra limb with mage force. He was then able to directly channel his mage force anywhere from his body without creating a tube or channel from his Core. His strength was able to increase by leaps and bounds. It was like somebody hooked up a literal universe of energy for Bayan to draw upon while training. Whenever his Qi had a breakthrough, or whenever his mage force had a breakthrough, his body naturally developed along with it. Even if he chose not to exercise at all, he would still have incredible bodily developments. However, Bayan did not only train in Qi and magic, he also practiced combat and stealth techniques as best he could without sparring partners. During this training period of five years, his physique had gone through incredible development. His chestnut brown hair was long and slightly curly and is in desperate need of a haircut. His rare purple eyes had a slight glow from the magic force flowing through his entire body. Bayan¡¯s features no longer looked like a frail, yet cute looking boy, and had transformed into that of a very handsome young man with slight stubble on his face. He had decided that once he reached a sufficient power level, he would return from the mountains to take on missions. Before leaving the mountains though, he first formed a water mirror and perfectly cut his hair into that of a crew cut by using spatial magic. After that was done, he headed towards back towards the main section of WIT Academy (Wizard-in-Training Academy). When he finally returns to the main fields of the military academy, he notices a few classes going on. However, as usual, most of the front fields are empty since the higher ranks are almost always on missions. He heads toward the main building in order to apply for a mission. As soon as he enters, he notices Cassidy immediately. Not only that, but a few other of the people standing around he recognizes as well. He notices that a group of ten or so students were chatting happily, and at the center of the group was three people, Rylinne, Jasper, and Ryan. With a twinge of regret at having forgotten about them, he does notice that he¡¯s now nearly the same height as Ryan who seemed to be around 6¡¯3. He wasn¡¯t the only one who had grown, Jasper had a huge growth spurt as well. He was even taller than Ryan! And, saving the best growth spurt for last, Rylinne. (At least for any male with eyes.) She had developed a fiery figure to die for. Her face had matured quite a lot as well with ruby red lips, gentle green eyes, and an unmarked face. Sighing quietly, he walked away. ¡°Hey Cassidy!¡± ¡°Ah? What?¡± She looks up at Bayan from her seated position. ¡®You don¡¯t remember me. Oh well, I can¡¯t blame you.¡¯ Despite being slightly disappointed, he was angry at himself for letting all these friends or acquaintances slip through his fingers. ¡°I¡¯d like to apply for a mission.¡± ¡°Very well, name?¡± ¡°Bayan.¡± ¡°Age?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ About 16.¡± That needed a moment¡¯s thought considering how much time had passed. ¡°Rank?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I haven¡¯t been keeping track¡­ Hehe.¡± Bayan responded somewhat awkwardly. Cassidy raised an eyebrow and handed him a jet black tablet meant for judging ranks. As Bayan placed his hand on the tablet, a ranking appeared on her computer screen. She exclaimed with slight surprise, ¡°Rank 5 Peak Eon Stage?! Wow! Quite the talent you have there. Anyways, would you like a C Rank or B Rank quest?¡± ¡°B Rank please.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­The only one currently up for grabs is a drake extermination. How does that sound to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it!¡± With that, Bayan registered for his first mission.