The day after Inspector Hatem arrived at Saylar's house...
Location: Baghdad International Airport - Military Base
Several families gather at the entrance to the military base, each family having come to bid farewell to their sons and friends who are going to the academy for their first educational training on the use of Mana. Tears are shed here and there among the families, as most of the people here are not used to being separated from their loved ones. Among these gatherings, we can see Saylar, his friends, his mother, and his five friends.
"So you're really going to this training after all, aren't you?" Sal said with slight annoyance and boredom, as if he was dealing with something annoying with helplessness.
"Yes, I have to. You know I'm going to benefit a lot from this, right? After all, I'm going to learn how to use this in the best way," Saylar says with a boastful smile as he points to the purple sparks that pass between his fingers.
Yami smiles and says sarcastically, "Just don't let those little sparks accidentally burn your brain cells. After all, you're not the only one who managed to get these powers, and there are definitely more where you're going, so be careful." Yami finished his words seriously.
"Yes, my son, take care of yourself and don't trust everyone easily. Although you are going on a training trip, the people you may meet may not all be good people. It is human nature to feel a sense of superiority and arrogance when they get a little bit of power, and they may tend to harm anyone who challenges the validity of this illusion they live in, so be careful and take care of yourself and do not expose yourself to danger. We are waiting for you here after everything, and do not forget to take care of your clothes and try to sleep early and..." The mother continued to give instructions to Saylar for ten minutes until Inspector Hatem came and made a coughing sound to get their attention.
"I apologize for the interruption, but it's time to go. Trust me, ma'am, I'll take care of Saylar's safety. He's a talented boy," Inspector Hatem said seriously.
"I depend on you to protect him, for I have nothing in this world but him," said the mother, Noura, firmly.
"Well then, this must be goodbye. See you later, guys. Take care of yourselves, especially you, Mom," Saylar said as he hugged his mother.
"Take good care of yourself," everyone said as they watched him leave with Inspector Hatem.
Saylar walked with Hatem towards the base airport and looked around curiously as he watched the people around him. "It seems that the number of people who will go on this trip is not small," Saylar muttered curiously.
"It's natural for you to think that. You might think that the ratio of one person out of seventy thousand is a small percentage, but it's actually large. If we take this statistic into account, you'll find about 11,000 people around the world are Mana users, and for some reason there are about 600 people in Iraq alone, so it's natural that you see them as many, and the number is increasing with time. At the moment, it seems that humans are adapting at varying rates to the existence of Mana, although most do not realize they have the abilities until they use them by mistake," Inspector Hatem said seriously.
"But this is strange. Where did Mana, as you call it, come from? And where was it before? It's really strange that it seems to have appeared out of thin air! And I've noticed a change in the world for about five months. Could it be that Mana appeared at that time?" Saylar asked, pretending to be ignorant.
"Well, it's hard to be certain about the source of its appearance. Scientists have so far spent about a month and a half in the World Science Federation to study Mana, conducting various studies on the reason for its appearance, but without any clear results. Also, what you said is true, it seems that its appearance began five months ago, where we noticed the spread of some rumors that the world seems different, but we did not believe them at first. Anyway, leave this talk for later. Now get on the plane and I will send your luggage on the conveyor belt. I'm already late and maybe the general won't be happy about this, as he is a man with a strict military character," Inspector Hatem said helplessly after taking the luggage and urging Saylar to hurry.
"So see you on the plane," Saylar said, waving to Hatem.
After that, he followed the instructions Hatem had given him and found a gathering of people in front of him and an old man standing on a high platform. He stood in the crowd and looked at the old man to listen to what he was saying.
"Welcome everyone, it's great to see the new faces and new blood that will represent the new future. I am Major General Jabbar Jarallah, and I am responsible for distributing and transporting you on this day. You will all go to a secret base for training, and I will not tell you any information about it, because I, until now, no one has any idea about the coordinates of the base other than the World Federation Council, and they will send the coordinates in the middle of the trip to avoid attacks from terrorists, extremists, and people who have different reservations. Now this does not matter, what matters is that you will go to a different and dangerous place. Do not expect that you are strong just because you are able to shoot some sparks of fire in the air, because where you are going there are thousands of people who have the same abilities as you and more. You will be trained to use your abilities in the best way, and they will teach you everything, from its origin and source to its best uses and the basic way to develop it, so do not waste this opportunity and benefit from it well, and do not lose to the fools from other countries. I want you to excel over everyone in all ways, and the most important thing of all this is that you come back safe, because no one can be certain of what might happen to you in this training, so do not be reckless, but also do not be cowards, and pray to God to keep you safe in your mission, because you will be the first faction and the initial interface of Mana users and hunters, so do not waste your chances. Now line up in front of this device, put your hands on it and try to direct the energy that you feel when using your abilities to this device, and it will divide you, each person, into his category, and after that we will take special measures according to your evaluation," said the old Major General Jabbar Jarallah firmly.
Saylar looked at the crystal device in front of him curiously. "Is it possible that they were able to invent a device that detects a person's ability in Mana in this short period? It seems that I was not wrong to send them the information." Saylar thought silently and waited his turn and watched the device work.
It seems that after directing the Mana, the device measures the Mana particles affected by the person's guidance, judges its quality, type, and quantity of Mana, and measures it into ranks, as people appeared with rank F, others with rank C, and even a few of them in ranks A. Saylar was able to deduce the meaning of these ranks somewhat. After a while, Saylar reached the front of the line and it was his turn to test the device.
A soldier with a sullen face stood in front of him, as if everyone owed him money. "Give me your name, age, and the name of the official who discovered you, then put your hand on the device," the soldier said sullenly.
"My name is Saylar Madstar, I am 16 years old, and the name of the responsible inspector is Hatem Al-Taie," Saylar said calmly.
The man looked at Saylar strangely. "Strange name, where are you from, boy?" the man asked, puzzled.
"Sir, I am of British origin, but I was raised in Iraq after my family converted to Islam, so I was raised and lived in Iraq since that time, and I hold Iraqi citizenship, sir," Saylar explained calmly.
"Okay, whatever, just put your hand on the device and direct your energy to it," the soldier said.
"Okay," Saylar said and calmly placed his hand on the device.
"Maybe I shouldn't stand out too much, I'll put in a little more energy than the boy who got an A rank," Saylar thought calmly and directed his energy. The blue crystal shone with a purple color so bright that no one had seen it before on the participants, and the symbol S< and some question marks appeared on it. The soldier looked at him in puzzlement, then looked at the Major General, and the Major General indicated that he should send Saylar to his side.
"You go to the Major General's side, and he will explain your procedures to you," the soldier said with some surprise, and all the people around him were surprised.
"This is strange, did you see this?" muttered a random person from the crowd.
"Yes, his rank surpassed Samir Dardoun," another replied.
"I haven't seen the crystal shine this brightly until now, where is this boy from?" another person wondered.
"Shut up! Keep order!" roared the soldier in charge of the test, restoring calm among the applicants.
Saylar reached the Major General and saluted. "Major General, sir," Saylar said calmly with a slight hint of confusion and nervousness.
"Your results have surpassed the rest, and at the moment there are perhaps only three people in the world who have been able to achieve this result, and these are among the heroes who were on the front lines of the first monster wave," the Major General said calmly, causing Saylar to be surprised. "Did I add too much energy? It wasn't my intention to stand out this much," Saylar thought with a frown.
"This is not a bad thing, on the contrary, these are great results that indicate your potential and talent. Now, unlike the others, you will be sent to a special class that is different from the rest, where you will be trained better and trained by the best people from around the world, and taught how to excel in different situations on the battlefield. Or you can choose to go with the rest to get basic training, so what is your choice?" the Major General asked calmly and expectantly...
"Can I ask about the benefits that I get from graduating from this class?" Saylar asked hesitantly.
The Major General smiled and replied, "Have you heard about the decision to establish guilds?" the Major General asked with a smile.
"Yes, I've heard of it. What about it, sir?" Saylar asked, puzzled.
"Graduates of the special class will have the right to establish a guild, which is funded annually by the state, and it is promoted globally, and the full ownership of this guild will be yours, and the government will not expect anything in return except to conduct scans every two months around the city to kill monsters that approach the safe range of cities, and of course in exchange for a financial reward for killing monsters and for selling their organs and resources to the coalition if you want, in addition to providing a list of distinguished people from around the world in case you want to recruit people into it. You also have absolute authority in the guild, and the government cannot interfere in your decisions unless you break the law," the Major General explained each point in detail.
"But what is the reason for offering such rewards to people who graduate from this special class that you are talking about?"
The Major General smiled and said, "Good question, and this is for a few reasons. The first is the lack of manpower in the countries and the large number of monsters, so we will need people to clean up these monsters to maintain security from time to time to ensure the safety of cities, and secondly because of the talent shown by people in these categories, because we noticed earlier that people who wake up with a high category can reach higher heights than other people, and because it is easier for them to break the limit." The Major General said seriously.
"I understand the part about security and talent, but what do you mean by the limit?" Saylar asked curiously.
"Awakened people have discovered that they can grow quickly through combat and training, but they soon reach the genetic limit that restricts humans, and they cannot grow any further. But we have noticed some people with high ranks who were able to break the limit during life-or-death situations, and while the three people who have the same rank as you were able to break the limit without being in a near-death situation, they broke the limit during combat and reached higher heights," the Major General said, each word with utmost seriousness...
"I understand this. Thank you for the clarification," Saylar replied gratefully, and he understood why he was unable to raise his stats further. "So what the leader is talking about must be the level limit, where level one represents the human level at its maximum potential."
"No need to thank me, this is my duty. Anyway, you haven't told me your decision." The Major General replied very seriously, looking deeply into Saylar's eyes as if he wanted to see what was inside his mind.
Saylar was silent for a while and kept thinking about his decision, and the Major General did not rush him and simply drank his tea silently.
After careful consideration, Saylar made his decision. "I will join the special class, but I hope you will keep your promises," Saylar replied with a smile.
The Major General laughed with joy and replied, "Of course, young man, you made a good choice. Believe me, you will not be disappointed, and do not worry, I will guarantee you the fulfillment of our promises with my neck." The Major General smiled broadly.
"So I look forward to that, Major General," Saylar replied with a smile.
"Beautiful. Then stay with me for a while until I finish sending these applicants, and then I will personally accompany you to the training place for your category, as you will train in a different place," the Major General replied cheerfully.
"I look forward to it." Saylar smiled and kept thinking excitedly about what awaits him in the future.
End of Chapter