In the year 2012, on the 21st day of the 12th month, the world as we know it ceased to be. An unknown planet appeared close to Earth. Scientists all over the world couldn't explain the phenomenon, no satellite could show how the planet came to be. The planet in question was later dubbed Nibiru, it was a red and black planet and it was roughly the size of Venus.
Multiply spacecrafts were sent to Nibiru to analyze the planet's condition but not a single one made it to the surface they would all be destroyed as soon as they entered the atmosphere. That was until one of them finally managed to get a picture of what was destroying them. It was a blurry image of what appeared to be a bat-like creature with 6 wings, tentacles for feet, and a humanoid face. But the stubbornness of humanity finally led to getting a sample of the planet's atmosphere.
Upon testing the sample they found that none of the elements found in our atmosphere was present in theirs. Their atmosphere was comprised of a single unknown element later called aether. When this element is exposed to any of our planet's natural fauna they rot almost instantly.
After this discovery, the various governments of the world agreed to leave the planet because of how dangerous it was. But unknown to most Russia had gotten its hands on a sample of the aether as well. They were testing it and doing some morally questionable experiments as well, all while the rest of the world was unaware.
During one of the said experiments including nuclear energy, the poor handling of the aether and negligence of the scientists. The two elements made contact and caused a nuclear disaster that far surpassed the likes of Chornobyl and Fukushima. The city of Samara was where these experiments took place and it was the city that burned for a total of 127 days nonstop. But a measly city burning wasn't the main issue it was what was created in that burning city.
Exposure to nuclear energy augmented the aether and by some means caused a rift in space. A rift that connected Nibiru to Earth. Monsters began pouring out of the rift causing a global catastrophe. The weapons humanity had available barely did anything to these monsters. They gorged themselves on humanity all while the aether was merging with our atmosphere.
However, due to the rift being relatively small not a large amount of aether was being released. As the small amounts of aether blended with our atmosphere, the various fauna of our world began evolving to accept the aether. The trees grew taller and healthier, and the fruits they grew tasted even better.
Humans also began to evolve to accept the aether. In the same way, as we use oxygen to gain energy, the aether caused our bodies to become superhuman. But even still our bodies still needed a way to expel or use the excess aether in our bodies, so what other way than to give us superhuman powers to survive against these monsters?
The powers granted to humanity weren't hereditary and they also weren't like laser vision, shrinking, and flight they were elemental. Humanity would then go on to combat these beings with these newfound powers.
After years of fighting, a monster like no other came through the rift. It appeared human except for its featureless face and dragonlike tail, a monster that would later be named The Grand Architect. It had the powers of what humans would refer to as gods and with these powers, it reconstructed the rift. The rift was no more, it was now a gateway that connected the two worlds known as the END.
The monsters that were too big to come through the rift like dragons and titans are now pouring out of the END. But that would also benefit humanity, which grew even stronger in the face of those living disasters. This war fought by humans and monsters would last a thousand years, and in that beings who'd be remembered for centuries gained great renown. Those beings included legends such as the hero Jonathan Baal Carlenan, the dragon slayer Rachel Ashfrey, humanity's strongest Noa Fuimaono, and the blade god Uesugi Gozen. But such legends didn't go unmatched by the likes of the dragon king Qyrroilyg, the blood witch Rauga, and the parasitic swarm Ariloga.
Through many heartaches and despair, the Hero finally managed to put an end to the Grand Architect with the power of his concept otherwise known as a Unique Ability. The Hero thought that by killing the Architect the gate would close but he was mistaken.
While the war was going on the gate became self-sufficient, but thankfully he managed to seal it so powerful monsters couldn't crossover into our world. The Hero gave his life to seal the END, a sacrifice that would be remembered for centuries.
Now, in the year 2376 of the Carlenan calendar, the peace that was ushered in by the Hero gave birth to a whole new Earth. Even though the maps now look nothing like before and monsters are still active in our world means little to humanity these days. Humanity has constructed Kingdoms and Empires upon the ruins of the lost cities.
There are now even races separate from the monsters and humans such as the Erdees who live on the sky continent, Devas who inhabit the island Tartaros, Merfolk who live under the oceans, Nagas who rampage and cause wars as they please, and many more. Even though humanity has averted the world-ending catastrophe, their peace is at stake. Because the vengeful actions of a single being will usher in the Era Of Chaos.
There exist 3 continents in the year 2376. They are, the Holy continent Sacreges located in the northeastern hemisphere, the smallest and least notable Wudong continent in the south, and Aciremea in the far west. Many smaller islands and archipelagos also exist, but those can be saved for later.
What we'll be focusing on is a small empire on the continent of Sacreges known as The Veratian Empire. This small empire is known for its unique fantasy victorian architecture, and the reason we'll be focusing on this empire is that it is home to the top martial institution of the continent.
The Holy Veratian Martial School or simply the academy is the top martial institution because of the generations of geniuses they've produced throughout the 200 years since its founding. The academy was founded by the descendants of Rachel Ashfrey the Dragon Slayer.
The academy is a large building that sits in the capital of the empire. It offers a variety of classes some of those classes don't even have anything to do with martial arts. The students of the academy normally spend four years studying there. The admission period for the academy is normally throughout August. But on the third day of October, a most unusual event would occur.
(Now the story starts)
A young man walks through the doors of the academy and heads for the receptionist all while the students stare at him and whisper. Even though he is barefoot and wearing old clothes, he walks with confidence like no other. Another striking feature of his is the pure white of his hair to contrast with his dark skin. His eyes are seemingly covered by his curly chin-length hair, but despite that, he appears to know where he is going.
He arrives at the receptionist's room shortly after and knocks on the door.
"You may enter." A voice says on the opposite side of the door.
The young man opens the door to a small room with a woman sitting behind a desk across the room. He enters the room and takes a seat in front of her.
'What a shabby-looking man. He's probably a homeless person looking for a place to spend the night.' The receptionist thinks while looking at the man.
"Good evening, how may I help you today?" She asks in the most kindhearted manner.
"I'd like to enroll here at this academy." He says bluntly.
'Ha! He says he wants to become a student at this academy. How laughable. First of all, there's no way he can pay the enrollment fee, and even if he could I doubt he can pass the enrollment exam.'
"I'm sorry but the admission period has already ended, although there is another way to enroll at this academy I'm afraid the fee is too high..."
"How much?" He asks before she could finish.
'Does he think he has the money to enroll here?'
"The enrollment fee is 45,000c and even if you have that kind of money you still have to take an exam."
(1c = 1USD)
He pulls out a bag of money from his pocket and throws it on the table and says "Keep the change."
The receptionist is shocked momentarily but then the door swings open and a young boy enters the room.
"Hey, Aunty. Can I get back my sword now? I promise I won't hurt anyone with it again~" He says failing to recognize the situation.
'Perfect timing you brat!' she thinks.
"Can't you see we're in the middle of something here?" The first young man says.
"Hm? Oh. And who are you supposed to be? A beggar perhaps?" The ginger-haired young man says with a smirk on his face.
"Ahem! Perfect timing Leo. This young man wants to take the enrollment exam. Why don't you be his opponent?" The receptionist says.
"His opponent? Me? You're kidding, right? I bet he can't handle even handle a single punch from me." He says while laughing.
"Are you sure about that?" The young man says as he gets up to face Leo.
"I admire your bravado and for that, I'll accept this challenge and thoroughly show you your place.
-A few minutes later-
"Hey, did you hear?" A student says to another.
"What?"
"Leo's going to fight a new student in training hall 7."
"What? A new student? No one's stupid enough to take on Leo."
"I dunno man, but this is something I have to see for myself."
The two students then rush to the training hall where a crowd of other students is already watching. In such a short amount of time, almost the whole school heard of Leo's fight.
"It looks like you're quite popular. I wonder what'll happen if defeat you in front of all of them." The young man says with a wondrous smile.
"No need to wonder because it will never happen," Leo says confidently as he unsheathes his sword.
"I assume both sides are ready. This match will be considered an enrollment exam and as such will be concluded when either side is unable to continue." The receptionist says.
"Huh? An enrollment exam? But isn't that something fought between the new student and an instructor?"
The students begin murmuring amongst themselves.
"Yeah, you're right but since Leo is the son of the principal he can do whatever he wants."
"And isn't that the homeless guy from earlier? He must be dumber than a bag of bricks if he thinks he can beat Leo in a fight."
The students then start laughing at the young man.
"Now without further ado let the match begin!" The receptionist says.
Leo's sword gets engulfed in flames as he charges toward the young man. But he stops before he reaches him.
"Aren't you going to move the hair blocking your sight?" Lep asks.
"Are you concerned? No worries you can come at me when you're ready." The young man says confidently.
'Well, he asked for it.'
Leo continues his charge and attacks the young man with a downward slash which he easily dodges by stepping to the side. Leo twists the sword and the flames burst outward and engulf the area around him. The young man who was near Leo got caught in the sudden burst of fire.
'I guess it's over already.'
The flames scatter and the young man is nowhere to be seen.
'That's impossible! There's no way anyone could've avoided that attack.'
Leo desperately looks for the young man who appears on the opposite side of the training hall yawning.
"Cold." The young man says pointing at Leo.
"What? What do you mean by that?"
"Your flames. They're cold and easily extinguished. That attack a while ago, it had no 'weight' behind it." The young man says as he walks over to the weapons stand.
"Oh, yeah? Then tell me my flames are cold after this." Leo says getting increasingly angrier.
He raises his sword to the ceiling and conjures a huge ball of fire. He brings down his sword with all his might and hurls the ball of fire at the young man.
'This is one of my strongest attacks...! If you intend to keep your life, the best thing to do is to dodge.'
The young man stands there and looks at the incoming ball of fire as it gets closer and closer. He simply stretches out his hand waiting for the attack to reach him.
'Is he planning on blocking it with his barehand?! That's insane he'll be burned alive!'
Right before the ball of flame hits him the young man says, "Lex #1 Murus,"
The moment he finished saying those words, the ball of fire hit a translucent wall before hitting the young man.
'What!?! Is that Ambient Aether Manipulation!? But how? We only just started learning about it at the academy! Then how is someone like him able to use it? And so effortlessly at that!'
Ambient Aether Manipulation is the rare ability that allows one to manipulate the aether present in the atmosphere. The ambient aether is like a blank canvas without any elemental properties. By chanting the word 'Lex' and one of the 32 known commands, the user manipulates the aether. The commands are numbered from weakest to strongest with the weakest being Murus and the strongest being Ruina.
"What!? Is that Ambient Aether Manipulation!?"
"But how!?"
"Only a few of the instructors can use it."
All the students are in total shock because of what the young man did.
"Don't be surprised this is the least you should expect from someone of my caliber. And please if you get angry and you panic so easily then you're no match for me." The young man says pridefully.
"Don't think that just because you know such an advanced technique you're gonna win," Leo says and charges at the young man once more.
"Then change my mind with your strength...!" The young man says as he gets a wooden staff from the weapons stand.
Their weapons clash against each other and cause a gust of wind. The young easily knocks Leo back with his strength.
'He's strong...'
The young man relentlessly attacks Leo with quick and accurate strikes. Leo barely manages to defend himself much less counterattack. He engulfs his sword with flames and stabs at the young man. But he deflects the attack to the side leaving Leo defenseless. He thrusts the end of the staff into Leo's stomach and knocks him to the ground.
"Is that all you're capable of? Is this the strength you were saying I couldn't take a punch from?" He taunts.
"You... bastard..." Leo barely manages to say.
'Do I have to use my strongest move to have even the smallest chance of winning?'
Leo stands back up, brushes himself off, and says, "Alright then, I guess I have to use my strongest technique if I want to win huh?"
"His strongest technique? Is he talking about the same one that sent one of the instructors to the treatment center for weeks?" One of the students says.
Leo lowers his sword stance and all the flames surrounding his sword vanishes. But they didn't simply vanish into thin air, rather they were focused on the sword's blade. The blade turns red and fades into a light blue at its tip.
'His strongest attack? I guess he finally realized the overwhelming difference in strength. Should I respond with a powerful attack of my own?'
The young man breaks the staff in two and wields the two halves like dual swords. He also takes a lowered sword stance which slightly startles Leo.
'So he's doing the same thing as me and channeling his element through his weapon. His element? Wait, I don't know what his element is! He hasn't used it throughout the fight. And if that's the case, he knows everything about me and I don't know anything about him. Dammit, I'll just attack and anything happens, happens. But what if he opens a hole in the ground, or creates a tornado, or what if he's a spatial type? What should I do? What shouldn't I do?'
The young man looks at Leo and realizes the look of pure uncertainty on his face, he then thinks to himself, 'And so it unfolds,'
The young man dashes toward Leo at a frightening speed. Leo hesitates for a moment but manages to thrust his sword. The young man challenges Leo's thrust with a skyward slash. He firmly grips the stick and it gets surrounded by unusual red energy. The two attacks collide and cause the ground to break under immense pressure. The result of the two weapons colliding causes Leo's sword to snap.
'My sword-'
Leo's train of thought gets interrupted by the young man's follow-up attack. He thrusts the other stick at Leo but he barely manages to evade it by jumping out of the range of the attack. But the young man doesn't let up, he follows up the attack with another and another, nonstop.
'Dammit, How is this possible? His element is aura!? The elemental affinity that is said to appear once in a billion people?' Leo thinks this to himself while enduring the young man's onslaught, 'If this continues I'll be humiliated.'
"ENOUGH!!!" Leo shouts.
A large number of flames explode out of every part of Leo's body and knock the young man back.
"You're right this little game of ours has gone on for long enough. How about I end it with a little flair?" The young man says arrogantly.
"Then get prepared to be burned to ash!"
The young man tosses the two sticks aside and the red aura that surrounded them now emanates from every part of his body. He also moves the hair out of his face to reveal lustrous red eyes. Leo on the other hand gathers all the firepower he can muster into the middle of his palm the fire that was once red has now become light orange. The young man dashes toward Leo as he releases the fire from his palm.
The fire rampages through the whole training hall almost burning some students. The young man is seemingly caught in the rampaging fire, but he suddenly jumps into the air and out of the fire. He looks completely unharmed not even his hair is singed.
The young man focuses the aura into his fist and punches the air downward. The force of his punch scatters the rampaging fire below him as he lands on the ground.
The young man starts clapping as he says, "Congratulations your attacks aren't cold anymore. You should be happy because now you're lukewarm at best."
"You bastard!" Leo shouts as he slashes at the young man with the broken sword.
The young easily dodges the weak slash and jumps behind Leo. He hits him in the back of the neck with a roundhouse kick leaving him unconscious. Leo falls to the ground face first and all the students who were chatting and whispering went silent.
The receptionist who was too stunned to speak for the entire fight finally opens her mouth and says, "Seeing as how Leo is unable to continue this match the winner is... What was your name again?"
"The name's August Stride, and don't you forget it."