Year 2215

A scrawny brown haired youth walked hurriedly down the hallway. He kept his head down and eyes on the ground. He would look back once in a while in order to find out if he had lost his pursuers.

"Hey Harry, where do you think you're going!?" He heard a deep voice tauntingly say.

Harry flinched when he heard that voice. He didn't want to turn around, he increased his pace once more, without even bothering to look back.

He slightly raised his head; he looked at the door ahead of him. All needed to do was to get there and he might be able to escape his predicament.

As he was focusing his attention on the door, he saw a black-haired youth step out from behind the wall ahead of him. Just a few meters away from the door—his only escape.

The figure had an evil smirk plastered on his face as he looked at the ashen face of Harry. Despite the fact that the youth's physique couldn't exactly be described as muscular, his arm still had some muscle.

Harry tried to turn around out of pure instinct, hoping to at least find another way to escape his situation. Unfortunately, all he could see were two walls on either side of him, and there was no other way out save for the door, which was blocked by the black haired youth.

Harry's dilemma only multiplied when he heard another taunting voice behind him.

"We just wanted to train Harry, why would you be running from a friend?"

Then it dawned on him that he had been caught in a trap. Even though he was aware that there was no chance of him escaping, he kept glancing around in the vain hope of finding some sort of miracle, but sadly, everyone else appeared to be going about their daily lives as usual. With no consideration for helping him.

'How didn't I figure this out? I should have known something was wrong when I didn't see the fourth person!' Harry panicked.

Harry's already pale face only became paler when he saw the figure flash a smirk at him while clasping his hand together.

The black-haired figure then started muttering some strange words. Slowly, the previously intertwined palms began to separate, and a small blue ball began to develop in the center.

As Harry watched the blue ball get bigger, he didn't know what came over him but the next words he found coming out of his mouth were simply, "Nell… please don't."

Harry kept moving back, hoping nothing more than for the earth to open up and swallow him whole.

The other figure flashed a huge grin towards Harry as he launched the conjured water ball with immense force towards Harry's abdomen.

All Harry saw was a blue flash, which was followed by a stinging ache in his midsection. The pain surged up from his abdomen to the rest of his body, as though he had been struck by a massive hammer.

The force behind the water ball lifted Harry's figure by a few meters and finally sent his sliding across the floors of the academy.

"Argh!!" As he dropped to the ground, he shouted out in agony and tightened his grip on his stomach in an attempt to numb the pain.

To make things worse, his body stopped right in front of the feet of those he was trying to escape.

"Nice work Nell." He heard a voice say.

Nell just nodded his head as he looked disdainfully at Harry who was still on the ground writhing in pain while clutching his stomach.

Harry made every effort to suppress the excruciating anguish that was raging through his body as he stared at the four figures towering over him.

"Humph! So you're not even strong enough to withstand a tier one spell. Yet you decided to stay in the academy… trash, humph." One of them said while scoffing in disdain.

"Well… we did learn some new spells and we are eager to try them out. So you'll be our training buddy. isn't that right… Harry? A blue haired student said. The other three students had looks of respect and admiration as they stared at the blue haired boy. From their actions towards him, it was quite obvious that he was their leader.

Compared to the rest of the students, this particular student stood out. This was mainly because of his uniform, his uniform had a gold and black colour which was different when compared to the silver and blue uniform of the other students in the hall—including Harry. The gold was the dominant colour, with the only black colored parts being the collar, pockets and two thick lines running down from the shoulders.

From the design alone, it was obvious that his uniform was made using better quality materials.

Then suddenly, the blue haired student started muttering some strange words, a thick brown colour slowly coated his fists. His fists went through a visible transformation; they literally turned into stone.

He then flashed a mocking smirk towards Harry and decided it was time to continue their 'training'.

He threw a punch towards Harry using his 'brown fists'.

Harry instinctively tried to dodge the punch but unfortunately, it was too fast for him to react to. He received the full brunt of the punch on his left cheek.

Harry felt as if his face was hit by a rock. His head was forced to turn to the right, his mouth opened slightly and a few drops of blood and broken teeth flew out of it.

His body dropped back to the ground with force making a slight thud sound.

He then looked at the four figures looking down on him with smug expressions plastered on their faces.

Then suddenly a huge wave of anger washed over him. Everything around him seemed non-existent except for the faces of the four students surrounding him. Time seemed to be running slowly as he stared at their mocking smiles, different thoughts raced through his mind: anger, hate, disgust—most especially anger.

He didn't know where he found the courage but as he looked at the boy on gold and black uniform, his eyes turned cold. With a voice filled with hate, he said, "I'll make… you… pay for this."

The blue haired boy whose name was Han was stunned for a moment when he noticed the cold look in Harry eyes, he didn't know why but a slight tinge of fear ran down his spine when he heard those words.

However this didn't last long, rather a slight giggle that still had a trace of insult left his lips. "Hehe."

"Seriously?" He raised his brows slightly as he asked. To him, Harry was simply spouting nonsense, after all there was nothing he could do to him.

A smug smile appeared on his face as he looked down at the figure of Harry lying on the ground. "And how are you going to do that? Cry out for help? Hahaha."

"Humph!" He snorted. "Seems you don't get it… leave the academy, it's not like you're needed here anyways, trash. Seems like you're still not 'convinced' enough, maybe a little 'motivation would do the job."

A few minutes later,

A badly injured figure could be seen lying weakly on the ground. His chest kept rising rapidly as heavy pants left his lips. He head was turned towards a particular direction as he looked at the four students leaving while mocking his condition.

His fists were clenched tightly to the extent that his knuckles had turned white.

The figure which was obviously Harry tired getting up. Unfortunately, it seemed like his legs suddenly weighed a ton as he fell back down almost immediately.

"Come on…" He said as he hit the ground once more. No matter how much he tried, his legs just wouldn't budge. It was as if they were stuffed with the heaviest metal.

'At least I don't have any broken bones.' He thought. He didn't even try to get up anymore as he simply laid flat on the ground—he already knew trying to stand on his feet were futile after falling back down thrice.

Occurrences like today's weren't new to him, In fact he faced it regularly but that didn't mean it didn't make him feel sad anytime it happened.

'And is all because of this stupid inability to draw… mana.' He sighed. 'I don't know why I was born without a foundation or… Han's right, I'm truly useless.'

Although some students noticed Harry sprawled on the ground, they didn't do anything to help. They weren't even surprised as cases like this weren't new to them anymore—It wasn't like any of them cared.

After staying in the same position for about twenty minutes, Harry noticed that the pains coming from his legs seemed to have reduced. Although his legs still felt heavy, he could at least walk on his feet.

He slowly got up and then started making his way home with staggering steps.

***

As he walked home, Harry started drifting into his thoughts once more. 'I wish things were different… and I could pursue my dreams like every body else.'

Harry was born in an age where mana was everything. Different feats that could only be considered superhuman or 'magical' could be performed using mana.

This mana could be found in the surroundings, people stored this mana by creating and developing something called a mana core. The mana core would be used to draw the mana which would then be used to perform magic or to strengthen the body.

Those who use mana to perform magic are called elementalists or elemental mages(for full-fledged mages).

One could perform different types of magic depending on their affinities to the respective elements. People awakened their affinities between the age of ten to twelve, there were six known elements.

[Authors Note: check the auxiliary chapter for the information about the different affinities, affinity grades and mana core stages.]

However, unlike every other person, Harry was unable to awaken his affinity even after taking the test three times. To make matters worse, he was born with a shattered mana core foundation which meant he would never be able to draw mana talk-less of forming a mana core.

His parents were also elementalists, although their affinities were only medium-grades, they were still quite powerful.

When they discovered that Harry was unable to awaken an affinity, they felt disappointed. They had high expectations that he would at least awaken a medium grade affinity… just like them. Although they were disappointed, they still didn't hate him—at least not totally.

However, when they found out Harry couldn't even draw the slightest strand of mana, their attitude towards him took a turn around. All the love and care they displayed since his birth vanished.

Harry, who was only thirteen at that time, noticed his parents attitude towards him change for the worse. At times a whole day would pass without them feeding him and whenever he complained about hunger, they would only shout at him, insulting him and calling him useless.

Harry was able to understand their actions—at least to an extent. He knew that his parents were disappointed in him. He even blamed himself for his inability to draw mana.

Harry had a brother who was younger than him by about two years. Unlike him, his junior brother was able to awaken his affinity on his first test—at the age of ten—and it wasn't just any affinity, it was a dual affinity: High grade water affinity and medium grade wind affinity.

Dual affinity awakeners were very rare and were also considered talented. He also awakened a high grade affinity which meant he had the potential to become a grand mage, a feat that those with medium grade or low grade affinities would never be able to achieve.

Harry's parents were filled with joy after the test, they ignored Harry and focused all their attention on his junior brother.

Harry and his brother used to be very close, but some months after the affinity test, his brother's attitude changed towards him.

His junior brother started addressing the same way he was addressed by other people; as trash. His parents were the main reason for this, it was due to their influence and also the attention and looks of admiration given to him in the city due to his talent, it all got into his head.

Harry never hated his brother, the fact that his brother was a lot more talented than him never bothered so he still showed him love even after the test but unfortunately, it wasn't the other way around.

As he grew up, he watched everyone distance themselves from him. From his classmates to his teachers, even those who he used to call his friends.

Everyone was born with a mana core foundation, it was basically the foundation to creating a mana core. The type of affinity or affinity grade wouldn't change that.

One could be without an affinity but there had never been a case where a person had a broken foundation. Harry was the only exception and it was also why the news about the boy without a mana core foundation spread around the city like wild fire.

In a world where mana and mana core stage determined ones standing in the society, he was simply useless.

'If only things were different… if only.' This wasn't the first time thoughts like this popped up in his mind. His hatred for his life kept growing each day. He wished for nothing more than to wake up, realizing that all his life had been a dream. Or even better that he had never been born because why was he even born when he would be so usel—

"Ahhhh!!!" A loud scream suddenly rang out, breaking Harry out of his thoughts.

His eyes widened as his head instinctively turned to the left, where the scream came from.

A lot of people were running from a particular direction. They all had expressions of fear on their faces. Some of them even boosted their speeds by casting low-tier spells, making their speed rise to inhuman levels.

The woman who screamed earlier was also among those running. She kept running without even paying attention to the surroundings.

'Why would every one be in panic?' Harry thought. He felt something dangerous must be happening as people couldn't just be running aimlessly.

It didn't take long before his question was answered as a loud, beastly roar rang out, breaking the solemn atmosphere of the evening.

ROAR!!!

Harry's face paled in fear, he definitely knew what that 'roar' meant.

There was no way a human could make such sound and the only thing that came to his mind was… a mana beast attack!

*****

Join the discord: https://discord.gg/PqCseyu2Kh