10 people stood shoulder to shoulder in line; they all wore the same black mana skins and maroon-colored wyvern leather armor. They stood in the center of a pit the size of a high school football field. The ground was covered in a thin layer of sand and dirt with traces of blood and burn marks covering the ground. There were wooden racks filled with many different weapons at the edge of the pit. There were maces, longswords, spears, pikes, halberds, rapiers, great axes, claymores, war hammers, bows, and arrows. Those weapons let off a cold glint as the sun rays bounced off them. They were not props or replicas; they were implements created for one purpose and one purpose only.
'Killing'
Toshiro narrowed his eyes slightly and looked up. He took a deep breath in and breathed out slowly. After catching a glimpse of the weapon racks Toshiro felt uneasy. He had considered the possibility throughout the last month, but this was the first time it really hit him. He would have to fight and kill others to survive in this world. People that would have families, friends, lovers, beliefs, and emotions.
Toshiro was no fool. He wasn't so naive as to believe that there was a possibility of living in a world where no one died. He was called the Mad Doctor for a reason. 1 year ago, Toshiro Ryumori had presented era-defining research in the fields of genetic engineering and healthspan extension. He had successfully found a way to delay the negative effects of aging until the age of 60 through a series of gene therapies, drastically increasing human health and lifespan.
Toshiro was hailed as a genius after this achievement. But this success came at a cost. 3,248 men and women from the ages of 30 to 65 died as test subjects. They were all criminals with life sentences for atrocious crimes: rape, murder, terrorism, torture, the whole shebang. These convicts were prisoners used for human experiments by the United Nations. Normally this kind of inhumane research would never be allowed. However, Toshiro was given special consideration due to the end goal of his research as well as the high chance of success. Toshiro personally stuck the needle of death into the arms of over 2,000 people. This later led to a major breakthrough for all of mankind. Toshiro never really thought much about his actions from that time. From his perspective, he was merely recycling worthless trash for the benefit of everyone else. He didn't feel much guilt for the criminals he experimented on and dissected personally.
However, now was different. He wouldn't be killing irredeemable convicts while intending to save others' lives. He would be cutting down innocent soldiers defending their land so that he and his friends could go home.
This realization made Toshiro's blood run cold. His back started sweating as he did his best to keep up a neutral expression. Toshiro then remembered the faces of his family. He then took a glance at Fumiko and Alex next to him. They wore serene and cocky expressions respectively. Toshiro clenched his fist, refusing to let them down. He would do everything he could to get home. Although he was nervous he couldn't help but also feel a level of excitement. He was going to learn real magic after all.
Toshiro looked across the faces of everyone else. They were all a mixture of unease and joy. Toshiro sighed in relief at not being the only one feeling uneasy.
Two people were standing in front of the group of students. It was King Isaac and Queen Lidia. The two monarchs were both enthusiastic to participate in the training of the heroes. The pope had offered to send their most skilled priests and templars to assist in the training, but Fumiko declined on behalf of everyone.
Queen Lidia was the first to address the group with a smile on her face.
"Now, young heroes as you know, any and all magic requires the most basic level of mana manipulation. In order to cast a spell as well as monitor your own mana pool, you must master the basics of mana manipulation. This should be relatively simple for most of you. Now, close your eyes…"
The scenery of the training arena was replaced by darkness as the group all closed their eyes.
"Focus. Focus on the beating of your heart. Feel the blood flowing through your veins."
Toshiro focused on the steady beating of his own heart, completely shutting out the surroundings. He soon noticed a soothing warmth circulating through his body.
"You should feel the heat flowing within you. That is mana. Focus on that heat and direct it with your will."
Toshiro focused on the warmth within his body. He imagined the heat flowing into his hand. The warmth quickly concentrated into his palms and digits, filling them with more intense power.
"Hold on to that feeling. Focus on controlling the flow of your mana. Hold on to that feeling until it's as easy as breathing," Queen Lidia whispered softly.
Everyone remained in a trance for about 30 minutes until they opened their eyes, they had all grasped the sensation. All of the students were adept at focusing their minds to the point of tuning out all distractions, so this type of meditation didn't present a challenge.
Toshiro opened his eyes. He was surprised to find a teal light emanating from his hands. This soft light didn't shine intensely, it could even be described as gentle, but it was steady. Staring at that light gave Toshiro a soothing feeling, as if everything would be alright.
He looked around to find something similar happening to his classmates.
But on a completely different level.
Everyone else's hands were radiating a light so intense it could outshine the sun.
However, there was one girl discharging a luminance more dazzling than everyone else. It was Fumiko.
Her arms were discharging a vermillion radiance upwards of 10 times more intense than her peers.
"Excellent," King Isaac said with wide eyes.
"Hmm, Miss Fumiko, judging by the density of your mana, you have about 100 times more mana than the average mage. You are quite extraordinary. You are 20 times more powerful than me, at the very least," Queen Lidia said while scanning Fumiko with an intrigued smile.
She looks across the group, her eyes stopping on Toshiro. Her eyes rested upon the gentle teal aura emitting from his hands. The Queen's eyes widened in confusion. She focused her senses upon Toshiro, attempting to perceive the mana flowing throughout his body.
Mana flowed calmly through the boy's body. It was completely different from the raging whirlpools of mana rushing throughout the bodies of his peers. The Queen looked slightly disappointed.
Everyone else opened their eyes, looking at each other. 9 pairs of eyes stopped on Toshiro Ryumori. They were confused by the gentle light Toshiro was discharging; it was easy to tell it was inferior to the energy they were all discharging.
The Queen wore an awkward expression when looking at Toshiro.
"Well, most of you have mana pools about 10 times that of normal Mages. However—,"
"This young man is extremely average," King Isaac said blankly.
Queen Lidia shot him an ice cold glare in order to silence the fool. Then she looked at Toshiro with a gentle expression.
"Sir Toshiro, while your level of mana may be ordinary by mage standards, we have yet to identify your magic affinity or other talents. Please do not worry," Queen Lidia said in a soothing tone.
Toshiro remained silent. He witnessed the dazzling mana discharged from the bodies of his friends. He knew at a glance that they were on a completely different level from him. He could only hope that he would have an excellent affinity to compensate for his average mana or even the talent for mana manipulation.
But this hope was dashed away completely.
After spending the entire afternoon at the training grounds, mastering the sensations of basic Control and Sense, all of the students were handed an iron plate the size of a playing card. It was a Magic tool called a Soul Slate. After each student dropped a bit of blood onto the card it displayed a series of important statistics. Since Magic and mana manipulation are supposedly linked to the soul, the Soul Slate is able to record relevant information in a way the user can understand. This is the information from everyone's Soul Slates.
Toshiro Ryumori
Mana Capacity: 110
Magic Affinities
Healing
Barrier
Mana Manipulation Talents
Control:
Mana Transfer (High C)
Physical Enhancement (Low F)
Sense:
Presence Detection (Low E)
Magic Detection (Low E)
…
Fumiko Kizaki
Mana Capacity: 9,790
Magic Affinities:
Ice
Lightning
Air
Water
Mana Manipulation Talents
Control:
Mana Transfer (Intermediate S)
Physical Enhancement (Intermediate A)
Sense:
Presence Detection (High B)
Magic Detection (Low S)
…
Alex Grayson
Mana Capacity: 1,180
Magic Affinities:
Light
Barrier
Mana Manipulation Talents
Control:
Physical Enhancement (High A)
Mana Transfer (Low C)
Sense:
Presence Detection (High C)
Magic Detection (Intermediate B)
…
Li Chang
Mana Capacity: 1,430
Magic Affinities:
Material
Water
Dark
Mana Manipulation Talents
Control:
Physical Enhancement (High D)
Mana Transfer (High A)
Sense:
Presence Detection (Intermediate B)
Magic Detection (High B)
…
Irina Orlov
Mana Capacity: 1,005
Magic Affinities:
Lightning
Fire
Air
Mana Manipulation Talents
Control:
Physical Enhancement (High D)
Mana Transfer (High C)
Sense:
Presence Detection (High A)
Magic Detection (High B)
…
Daksha Anand
Mana Capacity: 1,590
Magic Affinities:
Material
Earth
Mana Manipulation Talents
Control:
Physical Enhancement (High C)
Mana Transfer (High A)
Sense:
Presence Detection (Intermediate S)
Magic Detection (Low C)
…
Oliver Williams
Mana Capacity 1,000
Magic Affinities:
Material
Fire
Water
Mana Manipulation Talents
Control:
Physical Enhancement (High B)
Mana Transfer (Intermediate B)
Sense:
Presence Detection (Intermediate C)
Magic Detection (Intermediate C)
…
Yi Choon Hee
Mana Capacity: 1,400
Magic Affinities:
Water
Lightning
Control:
Physical Enhancement (High B)
Mana Transfer (Low C)
Sense:
Presence Detection (Low B)
Magic Detection (Intermediate A)
…
Leni Meyer
Mana Capacity: 3,180
Magic Affinities:
Dark
Material
Control:
Physical Enhancement (High E)
Mana Transfer (Intermediate S)
Sense:
Presence Detection (Low D)
Magic Detection (Intermediate S)
…
Leonardo Meyer
Mana Capacity: 2,500
Magic Affinity:
Dark
Control:
Physical Enhancement (High A)
Mana Transfer (High B)
Sense:
Presence Detection (High D)
Magic Detection (High C)
The average mana capacity for a human mage in Ioglerah is usually about 90 to 150. In terms of talents, the average talent value is usually High F to Intermediate D. Toshiro realized he was extremely average among the residents of this world.
After taking a look at everyone's soul slates, Toshiro could understand absolutely one thing. He was the undisputed weak link. His talents and level of mana were abysmal, he didn't even have any Magic that could be used in combat. Healing and Barrier Magic were nominally categorized as Special Magic because no one understood their full potential, Toshiro had thought they were categorized this way for another reason. Healing and Barrier Magic have zero offensive capabilities. Additionally, both of these affinities were so rare that not even Queen Lidia had much to teach him. To make matters worse, it would be impossible for Toshiro to have any future in close combat. The talent value represents the upper limit, growth rate, and potential of an individual's abilities.
According to Queen Lidia and King Isaac, there is no precedent for a personal ever raising his talent value. In other words, although Toshiro was a fast learner and a hard worker, he would reach his limit very quickly compared to everyone and wouldn't even be able to compare to them later on.
…
It was the middle of the evening as Toshiro stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. He couldn't help but grumble at the ridiculousness of his situation. Everyone else has complete cheat levels of mana and excellent talent and potential. However, he was merely an average mage.
Toshiro thought back to everyone's reactions. No one teased or harassed him, obviously. They were all either his friends or respected classmates. He and Irina may have ended things on a sour note, but she didn't hold anything against him. And although Li Chang saw Toshiro as a bastard, their relationship was in the current state due to their deeply contrasting personalities. They only looked at him and were pitying gazes. Even Fumiko and Alex, his closest childhood friends, looked at him with worried expressions.Toshiro had never received a look like that from anyone until now.
Those sympathetic looks pierced through his chest like an arrow. He knew that they were only worried about him, but he couldn't help but feel vile emotions rise to the surface of his mind.
This sense of bitterness and jealousy was a feeling completely foreign to Toshiro Ryumori. He was the 3rd ranked Mad Doctor of the International University. There was never a problem he couldn't surpass with a little effort. Nothing could be more depressing than being told that no matter how much effort you put in, it is impossible for you to excel. Muddy feelings continued to grasp at Toshiro's heart. He knew he shouldn't feel this way. It wasn't anyone's fault.
"I need to figure out what I'm going to do," Toshiro spoke aloud to focus his mind.
Knock knock… knock knock knock… knock knock
It was then that Toshiro heard a knock on his door.
"It's open," Toshiro said in a voice carrying a hint of annoyance.
A slender Japanese girl and a well built American young man walked in with complicated expressions.
Alex and Fumiko walked into the room, at a complete loss for words after seeing Toshiro's sour demeanor.
"What's up," Toshiro asked with a grumble.
"We came to see how you were doing," Fumiko said with an awkward smile on her face.
"You look like you swallowed a fly or something," Alex quipped with an awkward expression.
Toshiro gave a hard stare at the both of them before letting his expression soften. He couldn't stay bitter forever, especially in front of these two. Plus, it would be a lot more efficient if he could figure out what his next steps were.
"What can I say? I'm not used to pulling the short straw," Toshiro sighed.
They both scratched their heads with no idea of what to say to this. Neither of them had any idea how to console Toshiro in this situation. They were all on similar levels their entire lives. The sudden inequality in their capabilities made it hard to think of anything that would help. It was a minute before Fumiko finally spoke.
"I think it's a bit early for you to start making that face. You haven't even learned about the full capabilities of Healing and Barrier Magic. You might not be able to help in a fight, but you definitely will be able to support everyone," Fumiko said with a strong gaze.
"Miko's right. I mean come on man. You have Healing Magic! Healing Magic! Apparently it's 1 in a million for there to be a healing mage. It's perfect for you. There's no one I'd rather have watching my back than you, man," Alex exclaimed as if this was fate.
Toshiro sighed inwardly before smiling softly. He felt slightly better after their yapping.
"Alright I get it. I'll stop feeling sorry for myself. Now, get outta here, I'm going to sleep," Toshiro said in feigned annoyance as he let out a soft chuckle.
The trio smiled at each other and laughed loudly.
Toshiro drifted off to sleep with a relaxed mind. He couldn't help but laugh inwardly at his own behavior. He wasn't done for yet. He's barely even gotten started. It was completely unlike him to give up before putting in effort.
'If I can't fight I'll support them from the back. Who the hell wants to be the protagonist anyways," Toshiro chuckled inwardly as he drifted off to sleep.
…
That same night, no one in the trio noticed the crow resting outside of the room's window, watching the conversation between the 3 unfold.