After checking out his new watch Leo returned to his old apartment and brought back some of his stuff to the new house. He'll be living in the academy's territory for the next 5 years.
While unpacking his stuff Leo caught sight of a small medallion. It was the only thing left from his brother. The medallion was made out of glass and had some kind of beast fang inside of it. Slowly eyeing the fang for the 100th time in his life, Leo could've sworn that he saw it glow white color. Had there been a high Rank human, he would've said the same, but Leo, who hasn't even Awakened Mana thought that he was just imagining things.
" I need more sleep "
Putting the medallion inside his jacket's pocket he thought.
Finishing unpacking his things Leo quickly prepared himself a meal.
While eating Leo's thoughts drifted towards the room with dummies and weapons. His hands were almost itching to try out those weapons and pick which one he prefers.
9:30 AM
Leo was standing in the room with dummies, eyeing the weapon rack. He was closely inspecting every single tool.
He had no weapon preference, but his eyes were unknowingly drawn towards a pair of daggers with black blades and a greatsword with a sharp, grey color blade.
Leo took a step towards the daggers and picked them up tightly gripping their handles.
800 hundred years ago, black bladed daggers would be a burden to their wielder. The daggers' weight was unnatural, it was over 40 pounds. Fortunately, Mana strengthened humans, increasing their overall capabilities making 40 pounds easy to lift.
Even though it was light, Leo still felt that it was heavier than a normal dagger. He thought that it might be because daggers' blades were made out of a very resilient metal.
Walking towards one of the dummies Leo raised his weapon.
He wanted to try its attack power.
The weapon cut deep into the dummy's chest, leaving a long wound across its torso. The strike was powerful, but Leo felt vibrations pass through his arm almost making it numb.
Assessing the dummies wound Leo realized that if it was a human he would've suffered a severe injury or even died.
Looking at the daggers Leo carefully put them on the ground.
The only thing that was eye-catching about the weapons were the dark colored blades.
It isn't the first time Leo is wielding daggers, but he has never been able to cut wood that deep.
Looking at the edges of the blades Leo noticed a small hammer symbol.
" The weapons were crafted by the dwarfs "
Leo came to a realization. Weapons crafted by dwarfs are widely known as the best weapons on earth. They are very resilient and powerful, but their price is very high. Dwarfs engrave hammer symbols on the weapons as a quality mark. After all, weapons made by dwarfs would sell 10 times higher than normal.
The daggers' blades were dark as a night sky, but strangely reflected light. They looked fragile, but weren't even scratched cutting the wood.
Putting the daggers back in the rack, Leo moved on to the sword.
Clenching the sword's handle Leo approached another dummy. He raised the weapon high above his head and swung it with all his might.
Leo's sword didn't have any resistance, it cut right through the dummy as if it was made out of paper. The strike was powerful, but Leo instantly felt his hands throbbing in pain.
Massaging his aching hands Leo put the sword against the room's wall and dived into his thoughts.
****
Mana can only be used if one reaches Awakener's rank. To reach it you'll need a Mana circulation / Cultivation technique which could be provided by one's family or given at the military academy after measuring one's talent.
Humans, Dwarfs, Elves and Demons have the same ranking system.
1. Awakener
2. Enchanter
3. Elementalist
4. Refiner
5. Overlord
6. Advanced
7. Elemental manipulator
8. Sage
Awakener being the weakest and Sage being the strongest known ranks. There are only a few beings at the Sage rank - Elven Queen, Demon King and Orc leader.
The strongest human is in early Elemental manipulator rank and will probably not break through to the Sage rank, due to being old and his potential/talent being Elemental manipulator rated.
Due to Dwarfs being more invested in creating mana weapons, sturdier tools and other technological stuff they don't exceed in cultivation, but their weapons are very formidable.
****
To an onlooker Leo would look like he was cool about the pain and could endure it without any emotion shown on his face. In reality Leo was almost tearing up and was quietly cursing under his breath.
He made a note not to touch that sword until his body becomes resilient enough to minimize the pain.
Finishing his small cursing session Leo started thinking about cons and pros of both weapons.
" Daggers have decent attack power and are light. They probably excel at assassinations and long fights. On the other hand if faced against a higher power attack they would render useless and the wielder will have to avoid direct clashes with the opponent "
" The sword is heavy and is probably made for Higher Rank humans. It shouldn't be held by an unawakened Human. It has high attack power, but its weight decreases the wielder's movement speed. The Weapon also has painfully slow attack speed "
Contemplating about two choices Leo finally chose to pick daggers.
The decision was not influenced by the fading pain in his hands...
Totally...
Walking out of the training room Leo sat on one of the couches. He was thinking of saving up his Pecunias and exchanging them for a Dagger Technique.
All the weapons have techniques. What Leo performed against the dummies were a few simple swings and slashes.
True techniques are very powerful, so powerful that one with perfect mastery over the Technique has a chance to go against someone above his Rank.
Techniques could only be received through the Scrolls or taught by its users. Techniques as well as Treasures are ranked from F grade to SSS grade, F being the weakest grade and SSS being the strongest.
Techniques are very expensive. Selling your organs won't do.
10:15 AM
Looking at the watch Leo stood up seeing that he had enough time to do his workout routine.
6 years ago Leo started training his body and pushing himself above the limits. Every single day he woke up early to workout. He went to public training halls and learned how to wield weapons.
Because of his conviction Leo had no friends. His background and crazy training schedule was like a repellent to other humans. Leo spent most of his time polishing his skills and body.
The only friend Leo has was Karl. They met during the 3rd grade and have been in the same class ever since.
They both were obsessed with getting stronger and competed with each other, pushing each other beyond the limits.
Sadly Karl enrolled into the Scythe Academy. Scythe Academy is considered to be the best in humanity's domain. Karl had a chance to enroll there, because his family were nobles.
Leo and Karl still exchange messages from time to time, but it's not as frequent as before.
11:25 AM
Bzzt... Bzzt...
Leo was drying his hair up after the shower when his watch started vibrating to inform him about the upcoming appointment.
_______________
Appointments:
Talent and affinity measurement:
11:55 AM - 12:00 AM
Block I, Building 17, Room 48.
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