"Good morning..., students?" the teacher said as he entered the class. He was a tall lanky man of about 6'4 feet, with blue hair gelled back neatly. He had an air of elegance around him and a kind face as well as he smiled at them. He didn't look much like a fighter either.
"Good morning, sir," Ian and the two other students in the class stood up.
"I never knew there were people without abilities like me," Ian thought as he looked around. He was shocked when they first came in and he hasn't recovered until now. He thought would be the only one without an ability since others were usually either born with it or taught about it from a young age.
"Can we get on with the introductions?" the teacher smiled. "Starting with me, of course
"Ahem," He cleared his throat lightly before flashing his charming smile at them. "My name is Alan Coldwind. As you might know, I am from one of the Pioneer families. I would be your homeroom teacher for the duration of your stay in this class. I hope you guys can prove your growth and potential soon and move to the higher classes. Good luck, and do not think being in class F is the end of the road for you. A lot of great people were born in this class. It might be a longer journey, but you can work your way to the top."
"An introduction turned into a consolation speech," Ian thought as he sighed. "I shouldn't be surprised. No one would want to handle the F class unless they pity them."
"Now it's your turn," he said. "Who's going first?"
The girl who was seated at the front stood up immediately. She had straight brown hair which was cut to shoulder length and held back by a headband. She was the same height as Ian but a lot healthier than him, making her look a little bigger. With eyes that matched the colour of her hair and bold facial features, her brown skin made her a beauty to be desired. She had two daggers strapped to her waist which looks to be a beast weapon.
"My name is Alia Drew," she said a little too proudly for someone who is in the F class. "I'm from the Drew family. The only Pioneer family without an ability. I deserve to be in a higher class than this but the discrimination against non-ability users seems to be everywhere."
"I understand your complaint, Miss Alia," Alan smiled nervously. "I can assure you that it was done for your safety, and you can definitely rise through the ranks without an ability as long as you are capable."
"Hmph," she hissed and sat down. "You had better be right."
"Next?"
"Um...," the boy seated behind her stood up with his head down, his black hair covering his face. "My name is Jake Falcone. There isn't much to say about me and I don't really want to say much about myself. I just hope to get along with everybody."
He looks to be at least Blake's height but is always hunching so it makes him shorter than he normally is, but he isn't nearly as fit as Blake. He seemed to be the type who's succumbed to the pain from all the bullying he's received and now he just cowers away from everything.
"Keep your head up, Jake," Alan smiled. "I'm pretty sure you'll achieve great things in no time. You will also get along with the others quite well."
"And you?" he asked looking at Ian who sat confidently on his seat, staring back at the teacher.
"Ian Yaeger," he said simply without standing up.
"Is that all, Ian Yaeger?" Alan asked.
"There's nothing else," Ian replied. "Unless you wanna hear about my life as a non-ability user, but I think you already know all about it by now."
"Okay then," Alan said calmly. "Shall we start the lesson for today?"
There was silence in the class which he took as a cue to continue.
"First, I will talk about the social structure of the world we live in, and how abilities have affected it. You all must know this quite well but it's school protocol so I have no choice but to bore you with it so bear with me for a little bit.
About a century ago, the Earth was attacked by beings from other planets of outer space. We have chosen to call them Outworlders. Earth was said to have a curious outlook as a planet and they wanted to see what it held. Upon coming here, they liked it and wanted it for themselves, which led to the Era of the Apocalypse as we call it now. Many believed it was the world's end or some sort of divine punishment. Nothing we had worked against them. They were leagues above us, both physically and technologically. We were completely outclassed in every way. We lost a lot of good humans in that war, and even though we weren't born yet, those lives were sacrificed both willingly and unwillingly for the peace we enjoy now. A moment of silence for the dead heroes please."
"You're the only one who's talking though," Ian thought.
"Now, let's continue," Alan said after a minute of dead silence. "In our despair, humans had two breakthroughs. Two breakthroughs that helped humans secure and defend their birth planet."
First, the discovery and awakening of abilities. After a series of tests and experiments, scientists theorized that the Earth's exposure to frequent space and time travel had caused a sort of mutagen to spread around the Earth. This caused major mutations in the human body and they realized they could not only control physical elements, but they could also control other natural and unnatural phenomenon.
Armed with this discovery and newfound power, the humans began their counterattack which was quite successful as it took the invading aliens by surprise. We were able to drive them back somewhat, but humanity's win would not be complete if it wasn't for our second breakthrough.
That came in the form of the uncooperative attitude of our invaders. As I said, the Outworlders were from different planets so they weren't exactly cooperative with each other. They were able to subdue us despite their disputes because humans never stood a chance. When we gained abilities to fight back, their disputes began to become obvious since weaker alien races found themselves in the middle of a pincer attack more often than not. This helped us push them back and chase after them even after they left, claiming their planets in the process. All humans are greedy after all. We also obtained knowledge and technology light years ahead of our time and you can see the positive results of their implementation around you.
After humanity's victory over the Outworlders, the Era of Chaos was born. Humans with abilities abuse them and use them against humans who either had no abilities or had weak abilities. Crime rates skyrocketed, and with no force to check them, it threatened to destroy us faster than the invasion.
The Era of Chaos led to another invasion which dealt a huge blow to us and birthed the hero who was able to garner people's trust enough to create the military and protect the people against the other ability users too. Of course, he didn't do it alone, but he was the symbol of growth in our society.
He was also able to create the academy where he tried to arm every young child like you guys with an ability to at least help you in whatever path you choose as you enter adulthood.
Not everyone shared his ideal to make abilities available to all but they all wanted peace also. That led to the creation of the Pioneer families. Families with the known strongest abilities, who have become the best of the best and maintained that quality until now, making a name for themselves. They are also known to have the strongest abilities of all.
There are eight pioneer families in total. Four are aligned with the government and four are not since they want to keep their abilities within the family only. My family, Coldwind, even though being a Pioneer family is, unfortunately, one of the other selfish Pioneer families. We support the military with manpower but our abilities are private."
He paused for a few seconds to clear his throat.
"Now, about the changes caused by the Earth's exposure to overly frequent space and time travel, not only humans were mutated, but the Earth itself underwent biogenic mutation too. Beasts and dungeons were created and it is a part of our duty to hunt these beasts and clear these dungeons regularly to keep the world in balance. We share this duty with the other Pioneer families and relevant organizations. It is a duty we will pass to you guys one day. Please make sure to maintain the balance for humanity's sake."
The bell rang abruptly, cutting the lesson short before he could finish talking.
"That would be all for now," he smiled. "I would have loved to talk about beast weapons and the names of the Pioneer families, but I guess you will be taught a little about it in your next class."
Ian checked his watch for his next class schedule and his eyes lit up once he saw. It was a class that held hope for him to become stronger.
"Beast weapons class is next!" he thought excitedly as he hurried out after the teacher.