Many sages have asked themselves throughout their lives, what made humanity prosper in the face of so many other thousands of species, which existed and ceased to exist in the cycle of life.
Hope?
Force?
Resistance?
Agility?
No. None of these futile aspects.
These traits were nothing more than tools to be used by their advanced intellect, fueled by the greed that made them constantly seek knowledge.
That was what differentiated a man from any beast.
Intelligence and greed.
Knowledge and evolution.
Amazingly, the greed for evolution, held back by men and their counterparts, could not be stopped even by the advent of the red star in the sky — Calamity.
The world might have kind of come to an end after monsters began to appear all over the planet, and bizarre mutations of domestic and wild animals took over metropolises, but so what?
Humanity would not give up so easily.
It was not like men to openly accept defeat.
Hadn't they declared themselves superior to mother nature, reigning absolute above the other species inhabiting the planet on which they lived?
"No matter what comes next, humans will rise again."
That was why the world's largest training institute, at least what was left of the world after the grand unification, boasted many aspects that were essential elsewhere.
An unparalleled level of teaching that no other Academy could match, no matter how much investment or effort was put into the project.
Professors specialized in several specific areas, often being renowned heroes, holders of the title of 'High Epic', highly decorated in society.
People would not be confused when someone mentioned the existence of a supreme institution, responsible for creating those who, one day, would readily put themselves on the front lines in the fight against the Legion and the monsters.
There was only one such place in all the remaining colonies on the planet:
''The commendable Brivid Academy.''
The forge of heroes.
[Brivid Academy]...
Brivid was the name of a huge research and education institution located in the Capital of the colony of Glittero, the largest of the colonies present in Europe.
To get an idea, the Academy itself was said that it was so large that its size could reach almost twice the measurements of Fritz's colony [which had about 5.2 km²].
In this vast area, full of different places to explore and use at will, there were only about 2000 cadet heroes, of which more than 240 were first years, divided into different classes.
Only the cream of the cream of Epics — those who had the ability to get a path of Transcendence — could join the Academy.
Elite cadets from around the world gathered there, making it the most competitive academy on the planet.
That was why, in a way, the place was too harsh and sad to be home to 16-19 year olds boys and girls.
But it wasn't just the trainee teenagers who would have to deal with the pressure.
In addition to 'em, there were training instructors, cleaning women, janitors, recruiters from large guilds who came occasionally, associates from colony governments, engineers who did maintenance, and other things.
It was also worth noting the huge presence of soldiers dispatched as agents of security, specialist doctors and researchers to take care of the cadets, convenience store employees who worked at Brivid and much more.
Altogether, from what Ezran could remember from descriptions in the thousands of chapters in LOTH, some 20,000 people resided there.
It was for this reason, and a variety of other factors, that naturally this highly important place was where the attention of investors and big names went.
'No wonder Harlan del Razón insisted so much that his children attend the Academy.' Ezran thought, as he waited for Pharah to return with the train tickets.
Given the assumption of a hypothetical scenario where the original plot of the LOTH novel was faithfully followed, then the colony he and Pharah inhabited was a world power that could not be rivaled by any other.
Ezran seemed to remember the author listing several reasons for this, but the most obvious reason was that the protagonist, Qilin Darius Styr, was also an inhabitant of the place.
'But back to topic…' Ezran mused, seeing the figure of Pharah gesturing towards him.
She seemed to be calling him from afar for them to join the huge line formed by people who wanted to go to the regions close to the Brivid Academy, on the edges of the capital of Glittero.
He walked towards her, still thoughtful.
'In any case, Ezran was a member of Brivid, so he could be considered an elite.' Thought the boy. 'You mean… I think?'
He couldn't be sure about that statement.
To say that the original Ezran was a combat elite was to assume too much of his abilities—it was more honest to say that he had entered the Academy through external means, such as the intervention of his powerful and influential father.
So that was why Ezran's destiny should have been to live in areas separate from the main characters, only to be there to be cannon fodder for the main plot.
Current Ezran's assumption was that if the old one hadn't tried to steal the main character's important and burdened life, then he could have lived a comfortable, worry-free life.
… And frankly, that was the life he wanted too.
''Come on, Young Master.'' Pharah uttered, pushing him into the train. ''We have to go soon.''
The red-haired man sighed loudly as he surveyed the station that appeared to be crowded—his eyes caught the people moving in the small blocks that went in and out of the station.
That world was incredibly more alive than he'd expected.
'The interior is more pleasant and cozy than described in the novel.'
The seats were very soft and spacious, with a few buttons and television controls placed neatly on the sides.
Straightening his back comfortably, Ezran sat beside Pharah without much thought as he stared at the lines of trains that passed like black silhouettes through the window.
''Gentlemen passengers, please take your seats…'' A voice rang through the loudspeakers at the ends of the vehicle's roof.
The doors closed and the train began to move, gradually gaining speed.
He quickly reached a steady speed of nearly 200 km/h, but the seat held steady as Ezran turned away from Pharah and looked away from his seat.
''So let's go.'' He said, sighing.
Admiring the beautiful green landscape through the vehicle's huge window, which disappeared and reappeared at intervals, he decided to spend the rest of the time resting.
A trip of 4-5 hours.
It would be long, but it would be worth it.
That would be the beginning of his quest for survival.