In a quiet classroom, the students all focused on writing on a piece of paper. This quietness lasted until finally, the teacher opens his mouth and declare.
"Alright everyone, the time's over, put down your pen and put your paper where I can see it".
After that, the teacher walks around the classroom and collects the papers of the students one by one. When he stops at one of the students, he took his paper and examine it.
"As usual, your essay is always good to read, good job Ren Miller", The teacher said.
"Thank you, teacher", the student in question, Ren Miller was a boy with black hair, obsidian black eyes, and an average face. He humbly nodded and keep his head low.
The teacher nodded and then continued.
When you heard of the teacher's praise you might think he is the best in the class until you saw the expression of ridicule on his classmates.
"Alright, the written exams are over, you guys can go to the practical exams immediately".
The students around, all happily scurried out of the class except for one that has heavy steps when walking out.
Ren Miller, took every step as if it was his last, heavy and unwilling.
The teacher took notice of this and sighed. He stopped Ren and said.
"Don't give up Ren, I know it's hard but there are better things to do out there, no need to be too obsessed with one thing".
"ahaha... I know teacher, don't worry", Ren bowed and continued his steps outside.
The teacher looked at the place Ren previously stand, "Poor boy, such a pity".
...
Ren followed the hallway and entered a changing room for boys. He took out black tight clothes and wear them. The clothes were tight to the body but still felt breathable and easy to move in.
He then took a step to the door that was slightly open. He took a deep breath and open the door. The outside world immediately revealed itself to him. A field big enough to fit a passenger airplane. The students from his class were already standing in an orderly manner and in front of them is a beautiful woman in her early 30.
She took notice of Ren and shouted, "That student! come quickly, the exam will start soon".
Hearing that, Ren hurried to stand in line with the other student, but the student in the same line as him slightly distanced themself.
"Alright, since everyone is here I'm going to introduce myself first", The woman in front of them started talking after seeing Ren already stand in line with other students but slightly frowned when the student in the same line as him started distancing himself from him. For 'normal' people they won't notice such a thing at all, especially since Ren stood at the backmost third line.
"My name is Amanda Salvator. Because the designated examiner for you has some problem, I was sent by the Union to replace him".
When the students heard her they immediately started clamoring excitedly and even Ren who is gloomy at the back heard the word 'Union', can't help but have a little bit of light in his eyes, but then that light was extinguished and replaced by a complicated feeling.
"Alright, since we went through the introduction part, we can immediately start the exam".
"First of all...", Amanda flicked her hand and the students found a small white crystal flying in front of them.
"let's go with Mana Gathering", That's right, you heard it right, she said [Mana] gathering. This world was one of the worlds with the so-called superpowers and other awesome stuff.
"Try to gather mana around you and I will calculate your score based on your crystal color. I won't say which color is the best so you can start now".
After hearing her words, the students around started gathering mana around them and Ren tried to do so as well, but...
'I can't feel anything
After a while, Amanda raised her hand and stopped all of them.
"Good, now put your crystal in front of you so I can see it".
The students obliged and put the crystals in front of them, Ren embarrassedly did the same as well.
Amanda started writing on the paper on her clipboard but then she noticed something. Among all of the colors yellow, orange, and red, there's one singularity.
"Hey you, that late student just now, come forward".
'Late student' was surely Ren. He gritted his teeth and came forward.
"You don't even try, don't you want to graduate?", Amanda immediately questioned him.
Ren can only stutteringly answer, "I- I t-tried really...".
Amanda looked at the white crystal in front of him and raised her eyebrow, "Really?".
Suddenly, one of the students raised his hand and said, "Miss Amanda, Ren can't feel mana at all"
"Can't feel mana?", Amanda turned to the student and then at ren, "I see..."
"Well, I guess you can go back first".
Ren returned to his line. He can hear the slightly muffled laugh from all of his classmates.
He can only clench his fist and grit his teeth as he looked at the transparent screen in front of him.
The status screen. a transparent screen with information on it that everyone has that tells them about themself.
------------------------------------
[Ren Miller]
Age: 12
Mana: 0
Talent: Talentless
Skill: None.
Special Power: None.
------------------------------------
[Talentless], he had not a single talent, not even an F grade talent. It's because of this that he can't do anything.
'It's unfair'
"Alright, let's move on".
"Next would be... Mana manipulation. I want all of you to make a fire in your palm. Remember, just 1 rune is enough".
Everyone except Ren is more or less immediately able to create fire on their palm, the difference would be their time, some do it in 1 second and some in 5 seconds. It was simple one-circle magic, even Ren understand the basis behind it. But understanding it and being able to do it is different.
"Hmm... not bad", Amanda nodded and then noticed Ren again. She sighed and continued.
"Well... next... Element Conglomeration. I want you to combine fire and wind like this", Amanda stretched one of her hands, and fire and spinning wind started to gather on her palm. After that, the fire and wind combined and became something like a fire tornado.
"Now You do it".
...
After a few more tests the exams finally concluded.
"Alright, everyone. you can go back to your class, the result will be announced in a week".
The students screamed in excitement and started running toward the changing room.
...Hm?
"Hey you", Amanda looked at the student that stayed on the field. It was of course Ren with his pale face.
"The test has already concluded, you can go back now".
"..."
"Is there anything you want to tell me?"
"...I..."
"I?"
"I-I'm sorry", Ren bowed and then went away, to be honest, he was just waiting for all of the students to finish changing their clothes and wait for the changing room to be empty.
Amanda looked at his back and toward one of the transparent screens in front of her.
"Ren Miller... a talentless huh... that's rare, not in a good way though".
Amanda took a last look in the direction where Ren was and went away.
...
This is the first and last exam day, after all, there's not much to do other than the Magic theory exam and practical exam.
Since it was so, everyone started to leave the school early, with the teacher's permission of course.
Ren also doesn't have any choice but to go home.
He discreetly took a taxi home. Although he's not bullied in this elementary school, he developed a little inferiority complex after all the mocking he heard.
A failed Genius
The reason he entered Elementary magic Academy is that it was the only kind of academy that has a balanced theory and practical lesson. Others such as warrior Academy and such had much more practical and so very little theory.
This is also where his titles came from because at first he was hailed as a genius when he took all the theory classes like a breeze. But in practical class, he can't even do a basic 1-circle magic because he can't feel mana.
Ren rest his chin on his hand and looked outside scenery from the taxi window.
...
On the way, Ren noticed a slight disturbance on his way home.
People started running away from the way to his home.
"I'm sorry, boy but I can only take you here, you don't have to pay".
"No, I'll pay, thank you", Ren always remember his parent lesson to him to pay if he owns something. Since the taxi driver already drove him here, that means he owns him for the distance he brought him.
Ren took a stack of bills called Grants, the bills that are universally used in the whole world. He gave some to the driver and then got off the car.
Ren stop one of the running people and asked, "What happen?".
Looking that it was a kid and he seems to run quite a distance the man stopped and said, "A dimensional distortion is happening over there. You should run too kid".
Hearing the word 'Dimensional Distorsion' Ren turned pale.
The man shook his head and continued running.
"N-no...", Ren clenched his fist and run toward his home.
After a while, he arrived at the empty street, and in front of him was a pretty good apartment. He looked up and saw the dimensional distortion that was actually above the apartment.
"Mom! Dad!", Ren barged into the apartment as he shouted and took the stairs up.
After he went through a few floors up he immediately took out the key to one of the rooms and open the room.
"Mom! Dad!", He search around the actually pretty big apartment room until he saw a piece of paper in front of cooked ramen on the table.
'Ren Dear we're going to shop for a little, take care of the house while we are out okay? lock the door and eat your ramen. Don't leave the vegetable uneaten!'
"A.ah... thank god... Ah!", Ren took a sigh of relief. He then realized his grave situation and turned to run away but before he did that, his sight turned white, and the dimensional distortion swallowed him.
...
...
Ren woke up in an unfamiliar place.
He looks around and found out he was in some kind of palace without any exits other than the sunlight that seeped through the window at the top.
In front of him is a stair and on the top of the stairs, was a golden throne.
There's nothing else except him and the thrones, so he started climbing the stairs until finally, he reached the throne.
He stopped right in front of the throne and examine it.
It was a simple throne with no jewelry except for the color gold. Though, something seems to tempt him to sit on the throne.
But although Ren is a 12 kid, compared to most he was already mature because of all the experience he went through in 6 years of elementary school.
Since the throne looks very suspicious he decided to not touch it at all and went somewhere looking for the exits.
Unfortunately, there seems to be none, even when he checked the floor he was met with solid marbles.
In other words, he is trapped here.
...
5 hours or so has passed and Ren felt hunger and thirst as he still not gave up looking for a way out. As for the throne? He doesn't want to touch something so suspicious.
But after a while, it seems like there was nothing more he could do.
He looked at the throne as he muttered,
"Mom, Dad, If I die or get cursed, I'm very very sorry".
After that, he slowly sat on the throne and tightly closed his eyes.
...
"Eh? nothing happens?", Ren opens his eyes and found himself in the same place. He was somehow relieved but also frowned, after all, if even this does not work then he is indeed fully trapped here.
"Ah... I don't know what sins I committed but please god save me", Ren said as he started praying.
Suddenly.
[There's no such thing as {GOD} you know?]
Gaaah!
Ren jumped from his seat and looked around, he found out that there was still no one there.
"Who is it?! Where are you?"
[No need to look after all I'm in front of you]
"In front of me?", Ren looked in front of him but he was sure that he was not seeing anyone, not even a shadow.
Suddenly, a transparent screen with an emoji-like face appeared in front of him.
[Taadaaaa]
"Is this you?".
[Mhm, I am the so-called, beautiful, powerful, smart system~]
"System?"
[That's me]
"... is this a scam? is there a camera somewhere?"
[What? no no no, it's 100% genuine, for example here, let me show you my power]
After saying that, another windows pop up in front of him while the emoji face minimizes as it moves around and explains what it is.
[Here here, you see this? this is an {item store}]
[And ah, this too, it's a {private dimensional space} where you can store your stuff, Though... it's pretty limited because you're too weak]
[There's also this, it's your very own {Wheel of Chances}!]
[There's also-]
"Wait, wheel of chances? I'm interested, what does it do?"
[Ah, glad you ask, it's simply spinning the wheel to get some rewards!]
"Oh? what kind of reward?"
[Many things! such as limited items, weaponry, talent, and much more!"
"Wait, did you say talent?".
[Yes I did, a talent, for example, the weakest would be an F-Grade talent while the strongest would be an SS+-graded talent]
"SS+?", If he remembers correctly, the strongest human in history only has S+ Grade talent. But of course, this information is what the Union gave the public so it might not be true, still, this is very surprising.
[Yup, SS+ talent! to be honest, there was is also an SSS graded talent but it consumed too much probability that if you got one then you can only be classified as an anomaly by the world]
"I see", Ren nodded. He would be more than happy if he could at least get an F-Grade talent from the system, at least he won't be called trash by anyone anymore.
[Then let's explain what this great, marvelous, and awesome system do. As my host, you will have to travel dimensions to-]
"Wait, hold on a minute, travel dimension?", Ren once again disrupts the system word.
[Host, please let me finish first]
"Ah right, I'm sorry, go on"
[Alright, ahem, so as the host, you will be traveling dimension to another world to fix anomalies in that world. In exchange, if the host succeeded, you will get some probability from that world and that share of probability will become probability points that can be used to exchange for some items in the {item shop} or to use it to spin {Wheel of Chances}]
[Now, you can ask questions host]
"I mostly understand, but what is this probability?"
[Hmm... how to explain it...]
[Let's say each world is a story and each of them has a fixed amount of probability and each time the story went through changes, whether when something gets stronger or someone creates a treasure, that world would consume a certain amount of probability, the story will also consume a probability to help the so-called 'protagonist' of the story to power up and defeat his/her enemies. If the probability run out before the story is finished, the world itself will crumble]
"So it's basically the essence that produces changes to the story?"
[Correct, each time a probability is consumed, the story changes, doesn't matter if it's good or bad]
"Then why does the world want to give me some of their probability if they can't do without it?"
[Well, remember that we're fixing anomalies right?]
"Mhm?"
[Those anomalies are the same as disease. They feed on too much probability of that world and slowly destroy it. So what would that world choose? to get itself slowly destroyed or to pay some probability to get that disease away?]
"I see... I kinda get it now"
[Ah as expected with the host I choose you're really smart!]
"No need to flatter me, I know you choose me because no one has been here for a long time", That's true because he felt the dust piled up on the throne when he sat there.
[Err... Ehehe but I'm right when I say the host is very smart]
"Sure then tell me why are you here?'
[Umm... I also don't know... I only remember being here, waiting for a long long time]
"Can't you get out?"
[Well as you see, I don't have any physical body so I can't move anywhere, besides, this world is a detached dimensional space so I don't know how to get out either]
"Uh... you don't know how to get out? then how am I supposed to get out of here?"
[Don't worry about that host]
"You can just call me Ren"
[Yes! Ren, So I can anchor the dimensional travel to route to your home world]
"I see, then can you do it now?"
[I can but after we went through, I might not be able to talk for a while because I'm consuming some probability from myself]
"En... but wait, can we somehow return here?", To be honest, this place is a good hideout, he can stay here if something happened.
[Ah, this place is also one of the features of the system, but it would consume some probability points to get here]
"That's fine, then let's go out", Ren's nodded, as long as he can return it's fine. he can use this place as a training space or store his stuff and he doesn't need to be worried since no one else can get inside anyway.
To be honest he was a little surprised that he can accept all of this with ease but he knew the reason for that.
Because this system can give him new hope. Something that he lost for some time.