Months had passed yet again. With the innovations brought to light by awakened power, the world began to extensively explore its potential. From various abilities to the limits of applications of mana. Nations began to form departments for the awakened individuals. With their support, the system of educating awakened individuals became more productive. Along with other programs for adult awakened, each country began to race for further breakthroughs.
A race with an unseen finish line.
“Okay class, it’s time for an announcement.” (Mr. Leon)
“Hey, its time.” (Lei)
“What is it Lei?” (Sei)
The class 6B, that Mr. Leon is an adviser of, fell in silence upon his sudden announcement.
“An… inter school competition?” (James asked scratched his head)
“Precisely, to be specific, it’s for those who possess awakened abilities.” (Mr. Leon)
“Is that even authorized, and what even is the point of the competition?” (Lorelei)
“Hey, this is an announcement from the Awakened Association. Under their supervision and approval of the government, they will hold this event in order to assess the latent potential of the awakened.”
“Also, the prize for being overall champion would be the enhancement of the Awakened Department for the winning school. That includes better facilities, artifacts, barriers and such so…” (Mr. Leon hesitantly said, as if he was pointing fingers at someone)
“...” (Everyone turned their eyes on Seiya and Alice, looking like they were staring at two ticking time bombs)
“What’s happening, uh, guys?” (Lorelei looked around in confusion)
“Let’s just say… your number 2 spot had been stolen. By a large margin at that.” (James patted Lorelei in her shoulders while shaking his head)
“It’s Seiya, isn’t it?” (Lorelei)
“Well, it’s time for a rundown of the types of abilities or magic whatever you want to call them that you’d encounter from other schools.”
“Firstly, like me, there are awakeners who possess the ability of amrmament manifestation. Armament users for short. Depending on their skill level, they could make varying weapons in accordance to different situations such as close combat and ranged combat. The awakeners on my level of skill with similar abilities usually prefer close combat as the Battlesuits bring out our full potential with physical enhancements and weapon attachments. Mana enhances capabilities of each weapon in order to bring out a new level of firepower.”
“Second is the mages, you all probably already know a thing or two about them. Would you like to state something of your specialty, Alice?” (Mr. Leon)
Alice stood up and began to explain mages on her terms.
“Mages are a term used to identify awakeners who possess the ability to directly manipulate mana. Through spells, whether they are chanted or not, carved into runes and circles, they can produce a specific form of mana to their liking. The nature of their spells also depend on their affinity to an element, process, or any specific phenomena. We, contrary to armament users, prefer fighting from a distance. As our power output usually correlate with time.”(Alice)
“Then there’s this guy. What are you again?” (Alice pretended not to know anything about Seiya’s powers)
“I’m a martial artist!” (Seiya said proudly, harboring confusion of everyone)
“I see, he’s probably using mana to enhance his capabilities that relate to martial arts. Unlike Mr. Leon, he enhances them internally, which offers more flexibility though I doubt it’d be any easier to execute and master without messing up your insides to the point where death is considered mercy.” (Lorelei)
“Huh? What’s with the expression?” (Lorelei asked everyone who turned quite pale from hearing her explanation)
“Let’s just say… your number 2 spot had been stolen because of Seiya. By a REALLY large margin at that.” (James patted Lorelei in her shoulders while shaking his head)
“Are you taunting me or something?” (Lorelei said with quite an annoyed face)
“Well, enough of that. Let’s get to training. Today, I’ll be grouping you in order to gain experience in fighting the both mages and armament users with the exception of Alice, Jin, Seiya, and Lorelei.” (Mr. Leon)
“Huh? Why me?” (Jin)
“You know what I’m talking about, Jin. Join them.” (Mr. Leon said with a serious tone)
“Right, I’m going.” (Jin)
“Why are we training on our own now, sir?” (Lorelei)
Mr. Leon stopped walking, and the rest of the class followed. A sudden wind blew outside bringing leaves to fly as if they were dancing. It was to say the least, a remarkable scenery.
“You know sometimes there’s things that you should learn on your own, just like in academics. By gaining experience through sparring, you’ll figure something our yourself that you could use in order to maximize your strength.”
“A leaf travels far and wide, not because of the strong wind that blew but because the tree simply couldn’t take hold of it. I’m sure I already taught you enough that any more would be much more effective if you figured it out yourself.”(Mr. Leon spoke with his back facing Lorelei’s direction, extending his hand into one of the falling leaves)
“Thanks, sir. I’ll do my best to win this competition with our class.” (Lorelei)
“...”
“I think… Mr. Leon just doesn’t want to spar with those monsters. Not like I could blame him though…” (The rest of the class thought simultaneously)