A young man with black hair and green eyes walked through the halls of what seemed to be a school. He was one meter and sixty-five centimeters tall, very high considering he had just recently turned fourteen.
Although the boy was not particularly handsome, he had a stoic expression, and his eyes glowed with a resolute light. That, plus his well-defined body, should have made him pretty attractive.
However, all those who saw him walking through the hallway stared at him contemptuously. Some even make mockery remarks and do not bother to lower their voices.
The young man was used to those stares and did not let them affect him as he kept walking to the exit.
Unfortunately, someone shouted from behind just as he was about to leave.
"Cain, are you leaving without saying hello to your old friend?"
The one that shouted those words was a skinny young man. He was not even one and a half meters tall, and his constant smirk made his face quite unpleasant.
Unlike their behavior with Cain, when the other students saw that skinny young man, they all adopted respectful expressions, with some people even bowing.
Cain's eyes narrowed as he turned around and stared at the skinny young man. He saw two people accompanying this one, and his eyes landed on the only woman before looking away.
"What do you want, Jonathan?" Cain's voice was cold, clearly showing how he felt about that skinny young man.
Before Jonathan could answer, one of the people accompanying him shouted with rage.
"Garbage with a Low Tier 1 Wave Talent, how dare you use that tone with Lord Jonathan!"
The youth that roared had a large body. He wanted to initiate a fight, but Cain did not even look in his direction and kept focusing on Jonathan.
Being ignored only angered the youth even more, and he was about to jump toward Cain when Jonathan raised his hand.
"There is no need to be hasty, Kiron. But I must say, Cain, that your coldness harms my feelings. We used to be close last year, so I wanted to say goodbye now that school has finally ended."
Jonathan's words sounded nice, but everybody saw how the smirk on his face only grew nastier.
"By the way, are you going to enroll in some Wave University? The Hellblazer University has already accepted me. They did me a favor, allowing me to bring Cinthy with me." Jonathan grabbed the waist of the girl by his side, and his eyes were full of mockery as he stared at Cain.
When the girl felt Jonathan's grasp, she only giggled. However, when she stared at Cain, the same disgust the other students had in their eyes appeared in hers.
Cain's eyes narrowed as he saw that. Just the previous year, the three were very close friends. He used to protect the skinny Jonathan from everybody, and his relationship with Cinthy was not as simple as friendship.
However, all of that changed when they turned thirteen and took part in the Wave Talent Test.
Unlike Cain, who scored a Low Tier 1, Jonathan reached an impressive Peak Tier 3. As a reference, the second-highest score in the school was Middle Tier 2.
Cain did not believe their relationship would change just due to some score, but he was too naive.
In this cruel world, where humanity was in a constant war against supernatural forces, being weak was the same as being a waste of space.
As soon as Jonathan realized he would no longer need to depend on Cain for protection, he showed his true colors. It was not enough just to sever their friendship. He made sure to torment his old friend and influence the rest of the school to do the same.
Before Cain could answer, Kiron began to laugh and did not lose the opportunity to mock him.
"Hahaha, Young Lord. How can this trash enter a Wave University? His only path is to join the Imperial Military Force, and even then, he will become nothing more than a war pup just like his father..."
Kiron had not even finished speaking when his eyes widened, and a sense of utter danger assaulted him. He saw a fist coming to his throat, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Luckily for the large youth, a sky-blue mantle covered Jonathan's body before the attack could land, allowing him to display a speed an average human should not be able to achieve.
Cain's punch almost reached Kiron's throat, but Jonathan's palm clashed with his chest first, pushing him with so much force that he crashed against a wall.
Cain threw up a mouthful of blood. He did not scream, but the expression on his face showed the agony he felt.
"Hmph, you dare to attack one of my people without any form of provocation. I am a mighty Level 2 Wave Warrior, and you are nothing but trash. Consider yourself lucky I went easy on you."
Jonathan had a self-righteous expression on his face as he shouted those words.
Everybody knew that Cain acted due to Kiron insulting his father, but no one dared to contradict Jonathan, and they remained silent.
Since he had already got his fun, Jonathan walked away accompanied by Cinthy and Kirin. The trio was laughing, but the last one had an insidious light in his eyes as he gave one last glance at Cain.
It took almost twenty minutes for Cain to gather the strength to stand up. He cleaned the blood from his mouth and walked out of the school under the students' scornful stares.
Cain felt pain with every step he took but did his best to walk straight. He knew that attack would be useless with Jonathan present, but there were no regrets.
More than a year of mockery and bullying had tempered Cain's will, and there were many things that he could resist. Still, no matter what, he would never accept someone disparaging his father, the man he respected more than anyone.
As he walked to the train station, the buildings around him were all not only incredibly high but featured futuristic characteristics that proved the tremendous technological advance of humankind.
Cain was not in the mood to admire those buildings. He took the train, which levitated and did not need any tracks. Despite the train's speed, the youth still required around an hour to reach his residence. He was one of the last people to get out, and after walking another fifteen minutes, he saw his home.
Cain lived in a small apartment, and unlike the futuristic buildings near his school, this one appeared ordinary. Despite the decrepit exterior, everything inside was immaculate and tidy.
After entering his home, the first thing Cain did was head to a small shrine with the picture of a man.
The man had black hair and green eyes full of resolution. He was wearing a black military uniform.
"Good day, Sir." Cain kneeled in front of the picture and bowed for an entire minute before sighing.
"A.I. Chip, analyze my body."
Right after that, Cain heard a robotic voice in his mind.
[Bip... scanning host.]