"Get up Rey!!! It's the first day of school!" shouted my brother as he punched me in the abs.
"Aren't you tired of always being late?" He added, visibly exasperated.
"No need to hit me so hard, Kaiser," I said, my voice trembling in pain.
Indeed, it was the first day of school, and while I was getting ready, Kaiser, already prepared, was admiring himself in my mirror, probably wondering how many girls he could attract on the first day. His confidence matched his physique. All the girls agreed that Kaiser was a handsome guy with a perfect athletic body. His golden eyes were enough to bend any girl to his will. He had short red hair with a strand running down the middle of his face. He exuded the energy of a leader. I wasn't exactly the opposite—I had light blue hair that fell to my neck, slightly wavy and pulled back, leaving only two strands to cross the sides of my face. I had green eyes, and having undergone the same training as Kaiser, we had the same physique. The question of who was more handsome had long been a source of division among the girls at the Academy.
"I'm done," I said, putting on my white leather jacket.
I was dressed in black cargo pants that slightly hugged my calves, a gray t-shirt, and a white leather jacket with white sneakers. Kaiser, on the other hand, wore a red leather jacket over a black t-shirt and black jeans, along with black sneakers that had red lines around the soles. Soon, we caught a remarkably appetizing smell filling our lungs, coming from what seemed like pancakes, likely from the kitchen downstairs. We rushed down the stairs to check it out with Kaiser, already guessing who it might be.
"Yoko! What a nice surprise to see you here!" Kaiser exclaimed, eyeing the pancakes, clearly indicating why he was so happy.
"Hey, guys! I came by to pick you up because I figured someone needed to shake Areyos awake; otherwise, he'd slack off on the very first day. And I thought you'd enjoy some pancakes while I was at it," she said, smiling brightly.
"Well, you did the right thing. Guess what? This lazy bum was still asleep 10 minutes ago. Anyway, thanks for the pancakes," Kaiser replied.
"Okay, okay, no need to make a big deal out of it," I said, narrowing my eyes, taking on a sulky expression, and looking away.
Yoko is a childhood friend with whom we grew up and learned to fight. She had golden eyes like Kaiser and very long red hair tied in a ponytail that reached down to her thighs. Her dream is to become a great general like Kaiser's father. In fact, Kaiser and I are not biological brothers. I was adopted by his father, Barrios. My mother entrusted me to this man when I was just a one-year-old baby for reasons I don't know, and Barrios simply told me she had good reasons for doing so. As for my father, I never knew him either, because according to Barrios, he died in the war that shook the continent decades ago. Yoko, Kaiser, and I have been a trio since we were little. After our delicious breakfast brought by Yoko, we hurried to get to the academy. Fortunately, the ceremony had just barely started.
"Look! It's Areyos and Kaiser, they're so handsome, my God," the girls around us whispered loudly, which seemed to boost Kaiser's confidence as he immediately began to show off, closing his eyes and keeping his hands in his pockets. We arrived at the gathering place, which was gigantic and outdoors, and from a balcony stood Director Gold.
"Good morning to all," he said to the crowd in a strong voice. A magical system allowed his voice to be amplified from the academy building's balcony. "As you all know, today is the first day of school. I hope you had a good vacation. For the new students who don't know me yet, I am Mr. Gold Moore, Director and founder of Moore Academy, and on this special day, I warmly welcome the other races joining us for their final year. I give you my blessing for this last academic year. Give it your all, and this applies to those whose journey is still long. Don't give up, and bring out the best in yourselves. On that note, I wish you all an excellent first day." Mr. Gold said with a big smile, triggering a wave of applause and admiration.
The Moore family was well-known throughout the kingdom of Baringer, as well as the rest of the world, for being wealthy and powerful nobles and excellent investors. I had heard they create the best weapons on the market, highly coveted by the armies of different kingdoms and adventurers.
"This final academic year is going to be interesting," Yoko said as she glanced at the other races.
"Very interesting..." Kaiser said with a strange smile, clearly not thinking the same thing as Yoko, as he stared at the elven girls known for their beauty.
"I have the feeling we're not thinking about the same thing," she said after a sigh, putting her hand on her forehead.
"How come the other races are here this time? They weren't in the previous years," I asked Yoko.
"It's a new system born from the agreement between the Kingdom of Baringer and the other races. During the final academic year, a large number of students from across the continents join Baringer after a rigorous selection process."
"Why is that?" I asked again.
"Well, because the final year training at Baringer far surpasses that of other academies, and those who pass this year here will be able to take the Prodigy Exam with less difficulty."
"The Prodigy Exam?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, my father told me about it," Kaiser said, taking a focused expression as he searched his memory.
"It's an exam that gathers the continent's elites to sort out the best among the warriors. Those who pass are highly sought after by major guilds and the army, as well as secret organizations," he said.
"Exactly. That's the exam I need to enter the elite troops of the Baringer army," Yoko said, excited as she imagined herself already part of the elite unit.
We arrived in our new classroom, which was quite large. The seats were arranged in a stair-like formation. I noticed many magical devices, like ones that allowed the lights to turn on or the windows to open from a distance.
"We're taking the seats in the back," Kaiser and I said simultaneously.
"What?! No! You just want to sit in the back so you can sleep without the teacher noticing. I know you!" Yoko said, leaning toward us, narrowing her eyes as she pointed at us one by one.
"Okay, okay, we'll take the second-to-last row then," I said, scratching the back of my head, ignoring the fact that it wasn't much better than the first suggestion.
"Excellent idea," Kaiser said, patting me on the shoulder, his eyes closed and nodding in approval.
In no time, we were seated, arms crossed and sulking in the fourth row from the front, our heads still steaming from the powerful punches Yoko had given us, forcing us to take a seat much closer to the board.
"You see, when you want to, you can do it," she said with a bright, angelic smile on her face, despite the aggression she had just inflicted on the two handsome guys we were. Apparently, our charm no longer had much effect on her after all the years we had spent together.
The teacher finally entered after a long wait. The noise from the students of all the present races gradually died down with each of the teacher's steps and disappeared altogether when he reached the center of the board.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm Professor Shiki, and I'll be your teacher for the Energy Understanding course," he said, slightly bowing his head as a sign of greeting and respect.
"Good morning, Professor Shiki," the audience responded.
"An Energy Understanding class? This is going to be boring!" Kaiser exclaimed to Yoko, who was indifferent to his complaint.
"Ah ah ah, come on now, Mr. Kaiser. Being the son of the General Barrios, I understand that this class might seem boring at first glance, but you might learn more than you think," the professor responded softly.
"I'd like to see that," Kaiser replied, taking a serious expression.
"Let's begin. We can't talk about an energy system without first discussing about the existing races. Who can name them?"
"Well, there's us, the Metaryons, who are robust beings with two chi natures: fire and earth. The Aegyls are winged beings with two chi natures: air and lightning. The elves have a chi with water as their unique nature, and finally, humans are born with the potential to assimilate any energy system, essentially having the ability to learn any power," answered a girl with long black hair and red eyes, with a graceful appearance, dressed in a black dress stopping midway down her thighs.
"As expected from the mysterious Shelter family. That's a well-detailed answer about the other races, Miss Erina. These knowledge points will be useful for this year," the professor said, smiling.
The other students and I stared at her for a moment, wondering who she was. Murmurs could be heard from all corners of the room, some saying that, given her confidence and charisma, she would certainly be class delegate or even top of the class.
"Who is that?" I asked Yoko.
"Erina Shelter. Her family is very mysterious, and no one really knows who they are. But what is certain is that you don't mess with them—they are theoretically rich and powerful."
"Theoretically?" Kaiser asked.
"Yes, given their influence and mansion, one would assume they're rich. But the problem is they don't have any retail centers or known businesses, and anyone who takes too much of an interest in them ends up disappearing. After so many disappearances, the investigators eventually gave up, fearing they might vanish as well," replied Yoko.
"You're serious!?" I whispered loudly, simultaneously with Kaiser.
"Shhh! You're too loud," she exclaimed, putting a finger to her lips.
"Calm down, please. Let's continue the lesson," said the teacher, putting an end to the class's murmurs. "Ms. Erina raised some interesting points, specifically about the nature of Chi. This is the first topic we will address today," said the professor.
All the students were attentive, and not a sound could be heard among them. The teacher then placed his hand on a sphere surrounded by magical runes, and a yellow light emerged from it, acting as chalk. Everything important that the professor said was immediately written on the large blackboard.
"The Chi is an energy system with five natures: earth, fire, air, water, and spirit. The Chi is present from birth, allowing mastery over these five elements and their production," said Mr. Shikki, creating a ball of fire above his palm.
"Each of these elements has derivatives or variants, if you prefer. These are known as sub-elements," he said, transforming the ball of fire into a ball of lightning.
"Can anyone tell me what they know about sub-elements?" asked the teacher, glancing around the room. Erina Shelter raised her hand again, but the professor decided to call on someone else.
"Mr. Areyos? Do you have the answer?"
I stood up from my seat, with all eyes on me, some admiring, others merely curious to hear my answer. I began to speak through the magical voice amplification device.
"The number of sub-elements varies depending on the element. The people of the Baringer Kingdom are Metaryons and have mastery over fire and earth.
- Fire has three sub-elements: lightning, plasma, and combustion, which is essentially mastery over explosions.
- Earth has six sub-elements: sand, crystal, metal, lava, gravity, and bone manipulation. But no one has ever understood how to use the latter, except for one person whose name has never been revealed," I said before being interrupted by the loud exclamations from the other races regarding the final point on bone manipulation.
"Professor Shiki! How is it possible to fight someone who can control bones?" shouted the crowd.
"A little silence, please. It's nearly impossible to defeat such a person if you're an ordinary fighter, but it's still, in theory, possible—trust me," said the professor with an embarrassed smile, knowing the Metaryons had such a potent ability at their disposal, fearing it might demoralize students of other races.
"Let's allow Mr. Areyos to finish. I'm not Mr. Zemus, your combat teacher. You can ask him about it later," continued Professor Shiki.
"They're already surprised by that? How will they react when they find out we can master two energy systems?" Kaiser said, laughing.
"No doubt, we're the most powerful race," shouted the Metaryons sitting in the back row, trying to intimidate the other races, until the professor asked them to quiet down and gave me back the floor.
I resumed from where I had left off, with the eyes of the class fixed on me, as if expecting me to drop another bombshell about the Metaryons.
"- Air has two sub-elements: sound and astral projection, and… that's it for air," I continued before being interrupted by the same Metaryons laughing in the back.
"Seriously? That's it? They won't last long against our flames, haha!" they mocked, before suddenly starting to choke. It quickly became clear that an Aegyl with sleek blonde hair, parted into two sections that fell along his cheeks down to his neck, was sitting in the fifth row just behind us, his right palm aimed at Troy, the Metaryon who had been mocking the other races.
"I wonder how your flames will save you this time," said the Aegyl.
"Mr. Corvus, please lift your suffocation bubble, and as for you, Mr. Troy, apologize immediately," the professor said, panicked.
Corvus lifted his suffocation bubble from Troy's head, drawing everyone's attention to him, while Troy gasped loudly, struggling to catch his breath.
"A suffocation bubble?" Yoko exclaimed, looking at Kaiser.
"Air mastery allows the most skilled to create vacuum zones. Without oxygen, it's impossible to generate flames, and they can make anyone suffocate by simply removing the air from their lungs," I explained seriously.
"Wow, that's handy against fire and any creature that needs air to survive," Yoko marveled.
"I see tempers are already flaring, but you'll settle that in combat class, not now. I'm sorry, Mr. Areyos, could you finish your answer?" asked the professor.
"I just have one thing to say before I continue... No one interrupts me when I'm speaking. I hate that."
"Hmm, or else what?" Corvus retorted.
Just after those words, an overwhelming pressure filled the room, and with one look, Corvus understood the insurmountable difference in power between me and Troy, whom he had ridiculed. But more importantly, he realized the gap between his power and mine as he began to suffocate under the weight of the killing intent I directed at him. This lasted a few seconds before Kaiser tapped me on the shoulder.
"I think he got the message, Areyos."
The professor and many students were shocked and silent after what had just happened, while others displayed a smirk or were simply surprised, as was the case with Erina Shelter.
"Interesting, Areyos Mendoris, I think no one will stop you anymore. Please finish what you started," she said with a charming, charismatic smile.
"If you ask so kindly, I'll continue," I said before going on.
"- Next, we have water chi, which has the most sub-elements, including snow, ice, healing, plants, and blood, through which one can also master physical chi, as well as spirit sub-mastery, making a total of seven sub-elements.
- Finally, we have spirit mastery or soul mastery, with one sub-element: necromancy.
This shouldn't be confused with spirit sub-mastery."
"Excellent answer," said the professor, still a bit shaken by what had happened.
"But Professor, I'm a talented elf, yet I've never seen anyone transform water into ice through water mastery, not even my instructors. At best, they use healing mastery, but never ice," asked an elf.
"Well, that's because elves don't have that sub-element. Only two races can use ice mastery, and humans are one of them," replied the professor.
"Two races? What's the other one?" asked the whole class. Indeed, among the races mentioned by Erina, only one had mastery over ice.
"Ah, that, you'll have to ask Madame Thea, your history teacher. Have a good day, everyone. I'll leave you now, Professor Zemus will be here shortly," said the professor as he headed for the exit, leaving us with more questions...