"Back in this dark void huh..." I thought to myself while regaining some semblance of consciousness. "If you can hear me turn the lights back on!" I yelled into the void. No response. "If this is a joke, I'm gonna be mildly inconvenienced~" I sang. "Hm, maybe I really did die. I guess this is the afterlife." I thought to myself.
Yawn
"What's with all the yelling, I'm trying to take a nap here!" the voice shouted at me.
"Oh, so you were here! I thought I died, haha!" I replied.
"Ah, you again. Well, if you die, I die so I guess I should count my blessings" they retorted.
"What do you mean If I die you die? Who are you exactly, it's about time you explain." I demanded.
"Yeah, sure. I guess I can explain. We have plenty of time after all." he said. "Alright how do I put this. Do you remember before you originally went into a coma?" he asked.
"You mean when the fissure happened, and the goblin knocked me unconscious?" I replied.
"Well, yeah. But I mean before that. Like wayyyy before that." he said seriously. "Do you remember any traumatic or strange experiences?" he asked.
"Uh...not really, my life was pretty mundane from start to finish. I don't think anything odd or traumatic enough happened that I can remember." I said assuredly.
"I see. Well, the first step then is to remember. Once you remember, the pieces will start to come together. For now, I'll tell you, my name." he said smiling softly. " **** *****." he said.
"W-what? That's impossible?" I said with a shocked expression. My mind went blank.
"It's not impossible, as you can clearly see. It'll all make sense in due time. For now, just think about what I said. Don't dwell on it too much. Make sure to live your life." He said with a warm smile. "It's about time you wake up, if you don't things might go haywire." He spoke.
"What do you me-" suddenly my body jolted upwards, I was laying on the ground of the mana chamber. "Ah!" I yelled while grabbing the side of my head. "My head is killing me, what happened." I said, wondering if anyone could even hear me.
"Well, looks like you survived." I could hear Adira's voice through the intercom. "Bummer..." she muttered under her breath.
"...I heard that." I said staring at the door. "Whatever, let me out. This place is way too stuffy." I said while massaging my temple.
"Mhm. Before I let you out let's test one thing, don't wanna risk you blowing up later." she said jokingly. Adira opened the door to the mana chamber and walked up to me. She grabbed my wrist and took off my watch, replacing it with a new one. "You already know what this is, this is an official Status System. From now on this is yours to keep, let's test it out. Circulate your mana into the watch that way we can see where you're currently at strength wise. Just for your information we rank Guardians based on letters from F minus to S plus. Currently the strongest measured Guardian is S plus. Eventually there will be someone in the SS range, but that's in the far future." She stated. "Either way don't be too discouraged with your result, even S ranked Guardians started from the bottom." She stated.
"Don't worry, I'm not expecting too much." I spoke. Let's be honest though, I still hoped for something promising. "Here we go, hmf!" I groaned while I began circulating mana. After a few seconds I felt the watch pinch my arm. "Ow?" I said, it didn't actually hurt, it was just surprising.
"Oh yeah!" Adira said gleefully. "The first time you measure your strength it'll prick you and take a little blood. Just to help get a slightly more accurate value!" she laughed.
"Good to know." I sneered. After a few minutes of loading screens and calculations the watch stopped.
"Your report is ready, Vernon Arias." a voice came from the watch.
"Oh okay..." I said as I pressed onto the holographic screen. "Interesting, so it also runs diagnostic tests on my blood, not really that important since I just had them done at the hospital a few weeks ago." I thought to myself. "Alright, let's see." I spoke. "Oh...huh." I said with a hint of sadness.
"Is it that bad? What does it say, whatever rank it's not that bad. You can still climb higher." Adira tried to comfort me.
"It says E plus. Sorry, you're probably disappointed after all that training you did for me." I said, ready to give up.
"Wait...E plus? That's actually extremely good given the circumstances." she said surprisingly.
"Wait, what. How is that good? It's barely above F which is the worst grade." I replied.
"While that may be true, think about it like this. The average human is F minus rank, that's why that rank exists in the first place. Aside from that, the average Guardian is D+ ranked. There are only a handful of S ranked human Guardians, as well as only a couple hundred A ranks, a few hundred B ranks, and so on and so forth. But that's not the point. Most guardians start at the high end of F rank, or the low end of E rank." She stated.
"Vernon!" She yelled firmly, grabbing my attention. "This is just the starting line, and you're already miles ahead of everyone else in your shoes. This is a good thing; you should prepare yourself. Trust me." She spoke with confidence.
"I... I see. Well, if you're saying it so confidently it must be true." Until she spoke, I felt myself resigning to my fate. I was ready to give up like I always had at a moment's inconvenience. "What's the point of getting so strong when my mind is so weak." I thought. "I have to change." I affirmed.
Slapping my cheeks, I said. "I'll fight!" for some reason that became my motto. 'I'll fight.'
"What a funny guy." Adira whispered.
Slam
A door slammed open in the distance.
"Adira! What happened!? Is he okay?" Gerard yelled while entering the room. In the corner of the room, he saw a young man slapping himself in the face yelling something strange. "Oh no, what happened. Is it an adverse effect of the mana chamber? Let's get him to the hospital quick." He spoke.
"Pft." Adira started laughing. "Chill Unc. He's just settling himself down from all the emotions he's feeling." she stated. "Besides that, guess what?" she said.
"What, what happened?" Gerard asked seriously.
"E plus rank." She grinned.
"Woah, seriously? E plus from the get-go? What a monster. Well, I better go shoot my shot then." Gerard said as he straightened his collar after saying something strange.
"Vernon!" Gerard greeted me. "I've heard the good news, haha! E plus rank! Congratulations~" he said cheerfully.
"Yeah, thanks. I don't know what to make of it yet, but it's a start." I said humbly.
"Exactly! So, with that being said would y-"
"No." I interrupted him.
"What? What do you mean no, I haven't said anything yet?" he questioned.
"I don't want to join the F.C.F. At least not yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for what you've done for me, but I need to explore myself, and the world before I make my decision." I stated firmly.
"Ah. Not only are you a monster but you're stubborn as well. Alright, whatever. You're another ray of hope for the future of humanity, that's all I can ask for. Just promise me this, before you accept any offers from any other guilds or organizations, let me make a counteroffer. Alright?" He pleaded.
"Yeah, of course. I won't snake you, don't worry!" I said with a half-smile. The truth was, although they've all helped me, there are still things I don't know about this world or myself. Especially after the dream I had, there's clearly something I'm missing. I need to see it for myself. Everything.
"Alright, now that this is out of the way, I think it's finally time we gave you a tour of all of Lyons. It'll be good to take this opportunity and familiarize yourself with everything." Gerard spoke.
"Oh, good idea. I was actually gonna ask for a tour, so this works out great." I spoke.
"Haha, okay let's go. Jin is out front waiting on us, and he's a bit impatient with these things so let's go." He spoke.
***
We are currently driving down an empty highway on the outskirts of the city. Gerard said the first thing we should do is visit each Zone. Zones are where Guilds, the F.C.F., and the Guardian Association keep monsters in check. Researchers from all over the human domain have created portals that lead to different dungeons and danger zones created by the Fissure. These Zones are given the same ranking as Guardians. A Guardian can only go into a Zone at or below their current rank.
"Alright, about a mile from here is the first zone, Zone F. Zone F is currently under the ownership of the Guardian Association. The Guardian Association exist to manage Guardians that don't belong to any Guild or Organization. They also hand out Guardian Licenses, which are just a way for the government to keep track of Guardians and their accomplishments among other things. "Before we head to Zone F, we're gonna stop by the Association to get you your license." Gerard said.
"Yes, sir." I said while gazing out of the window of the car. From the highway I could past the city walls. In the distance I could see a dense forest beyond the horizon. In the background of all of this was what looked like mountains. "It's hard to believe all of that beautiful nature is swarming with monsters." I thought to myself.
We soon arrived at the Guardian Association headquarters. We were greeted by the head of the Guardian Association, Victor Hoss. He was a tall, lanky, man with gray hair, and piercing blue eyes. Looking at him sent shivers down my spine.
"Hello, Gerard." said Victor, expressionless. "I see you've brought a guest. Let's get on with it then, follow me." he said, squinting his eyes as he looked towards me. "What's your name?" he asked me.
"Vernon Arias." I spoke.
"I see, Arias huh..." he muttered under his breath.
"Okay, Mr. Arias. Follow this path to the testing room, the examiner will record your rank and then lead you to the testing grounds." he gestured towards the hallway.
"See you in a bit Vernon!" Gerard smiled.
"Yeah, see you..." I waved as I walked away.
Walking towards the testing room, lining the walls were posters and plaques recognizing Guardians from throughout the year. The ones the stood out the most were of course Gerard, next was a picture of Alexander Lyons, the greatest hero. "He looks awfully familiar..." I shivered as I looked away.
"Hello~" I kindly greeted the examiner. "I'm here to receive my Guardian License." I stated.
"I see, very well!" She said while eyeing me up and down.
"My name is Grace, and I'll be your examiner today. Pleasure to meet'cha!" she said gleefully.
"Pleasure to meet you." I replied.
"Alright, first things first, we have to record your rank." she explained. "I see you have a Status System on your arm, so you'll get the gist of it. Instead of the watch, we'll be using this!" she pointed to an arm shaped slot attached to a large machine. "This is a more advanced version of the Status System. This will be a completely accurate reading of your mana, as well as what your highest elemental affinity is within mana. Lastly, it can also determine your latent ability, essentially what your limit is in terms of how high you can rank." she finished explaining.
"Wow!" I was pleasantly surprised. "That's a lot more advanced than what I was expecting. So, what do I do, just circulate mana?" I asked.
"Exactly! Circulate your mana until this monster core you see in the middle stops glowing." Grace replied.
"Okay, here we go then." I said with a bit of gruff in my voice. I entered my arm into the machine and began circulating mana into it. The core in the middle of the machine was large, most likely from a very strong monster. It glowed a very bright white, and then began to darken."
Crack
Suddenly, a small crack formed in the middle of the core as it stopped glowing. "Uh...Did I break it?" I thought to myself in a daze. It felt as if the core took all of my mana from me.
"Oh wow!" Grace exclaimed. "This hasn't happened in a long time, I bet your results will be great." She spoke. "The last time this happened was with a Guardian with a latent ability of S rank. What was his name again? Jason, I think? Either way, this is great, let's see your rank!" she squealed.
"Oh-okay." I said, still in a daze and out of breath. The results started to display on a holographic screen in front of me.
Current Rank: E+ (Mana density indicates subject is close to breakthrough.)
Highest Elemental Affinity: Light, Fire. (Subject has a high concentration of light mana, with
strong traces of fire mana, and little to no other elements within said mana.)
Latent Ability: Subject's latent ability could not be properly calculated. The closest estimate
the Status System could determine was between A plus to S minus.
Mana affinity: Subject has a high affinity with mana at 91%, the highest recorded mana affinity.
Suggested Class: Mage, Magic Swordsman, healer.
Summary: Subject's potential ranks within the top five percent of all recorded Guardians.
Subject's ability to absorb and condense mana extremely high, can be fatal if not maintained.
Subject has slight abnormalities in their processed mana, further diagnostics and research
suggested.
End of Report.
"Woah..." Grace said puzzled. "This is AMAZING!" she screamed. "91% affinity with mana? That's a first ever, you're going to be famous..." she said, in a trance.
"Ugh..." I groaned. "Fame is not something I'm interested in. Hopefully Gerard can help me out here. " I thought to myself.
"Hurry, follow me. Let's finish the physical exam!" Grace said excitedly.
"Yeah, sure..." I said lethargically. "I may have been too careless." I wondered. "Oh well, what's done is done. No going back now I guess." I decided.
"Alright, this part is simple. Using only mana, you have sixty seconds to destroy every target on the wall. Fifty total targets, when you're ready hit this button." she pointed to a translucent button on a podium.
"Wait, only mana? I've never used mana like this before..." I replied.
"Wait, what really? That should be impossible given your rank, wouldn't you have been using mana for the past few years now?" She asked.
"Well, I've been in a coma for a long time, I just woke up a month or so ago. I'm kind of new to this, haha." I chortled.
"One month..." she said, mouth agape. "Anomaly..." she muttered under her breath. Pinching her arm she said, "Okay, never mind that. Listen it's probably going to be hard but think about it like this, as you circulate mana through your body, imagine condensing that mana into your hands or feet. Then try to imagine shooting that mana towards the objects while maintaining your output of mana. With your mana affinity you should be able to keep whatever attack you manifest pursuing the targets no matter how far it gets from you. Just keep trying until it works okay." She explained.
"Okay, makes sense, kind of?" I thought. So far what I know is that I have an affinity to light and fire, I plan on continuing to use a sword. I don't have a sword on me, but I've practiced the motions enough to form an attack using the motion of my arms. Now, all I need to do is condense mana into an attack as I swing my arm. "Okay." I adjusted my stance as I got ready to go. "Ha!" I yelled as I pushed the button. Swinging my arm horizontally from left to right, I imagined mana forming at each of my fingertips as light. The goal was to try and push as much mana into an attack and create a sort of beam that would trace through the targets in the area. What happened was much different though.
Boom! Crackle!
The sound of thunder echoed through the room. What looked like electricity followed the path that my arm took across the room. In an instant ten targets fell down, crackling with residual sparks from the attack. "Eh?" a strange sound escaped my lips. I knew my affinity was with light, but I wasn't expecting lightning. "Ah, I'm running out of time. Thirty seconds left." I thought to myself. At this point I got the hang of it and started swinging my arms continuously, creating a path to as many targets as possible, it was fast. The attacks themselves were powerful, the targets broke pretty easily. There was one target left, so I decided to try something. "Eight seconds left." I said softly. Aiming my hand forward, I condensed mana to the tip of my middle finger. I imagined forming a ball of energy at the tip of my finger and then propelling it forward towards the target. "5 seconds left." I continued condensing the mana. "Just breathe..." I said as I calmed myself. Next, I imagined shooting the energy at the target. What happened next left me speechless. Rather than a ball of light mana shooting at the target, a large blue beam shot out instead, completely incinerating the target.
"T-that's...not what I meant to do..." I said aloud.
"I..." Grace said as she suddenly fell back into her chair. "What the %$!@ are you?" she said, seemingly out of nowhere.
"I... I don't know." I said realizing how drained of mana I was I began gasping for air.
Clap Clap
"Very impressive!" A shout reverberated around the room. The man speaking was none other than Alexander Lyons.
"Although it did take you the full sixty seconds, I'm impressed. First time using mana huh?" He said with a fierce pressure bearing down on me.
"That's enough." Gerard put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't want to kill the kid, do you?" he said half-jokingly.
"Alright, alright. Anyways, that was really impressive, that beam. I want to see it again." he said firmly.
"I don't think I could even if I wanted to." I said while still gasping for air. Suddenly, I felt a gaze that sent shivers down my spine. Looking up, I saw what made me want to crawl out of my very own skin.
"You..." I said as I fell unconscious. "Stalker..." was the last word I could utter.