The first-year students burst out of the assembly hall and fled in every directions, running through hallways and gardens, jumping through half closed windows and even scaling buildings in an attempt to flee the pursuing forces.

Alas the first years whilst full of potential, were currently weak and untrained in the art of being a Hero, The second years and beyond quickly caught their respective preys and formally challenged them to a duel.

Teachers and newly introduced disciplinary members exited the hall calmly as they moved towards the closest duels to proctor over them and ensure the terms wagered were met.

The fights were brutal and vicious, but quickly settled as the older students held all the advantage.

The older students had no time to torment the first years and chose to end the fights as quickly as possibly as they hoped to either find more prey, or to at least arrive to class on time.

Many of the first years were angry, indignant, un-resigned, but there were two groups that were the exception to this.

The first group was the students with connections, those that belonged to organisation that protected their own and made sure that no other student challenged them, for their strength was the organisations strength.

An example of this would be Arai, and the large group of older students that were fervently hunting for Bryn with faces that displayed something between a desire for revenge, and a sick ecstasy of a person imagining that revenge.

The second group were those that were watching both the fights and the large groups that were manoeuvring around the school either hunting for other students or being led towards their next class.

Bryn, being the first student out of the assembly hall and the one with the biggest head start in escaping, was a part a part of this group.

He was currently hiding in a bush about thirty yards from the same set of doors he had used to flee the assembly hall.

Stretched out on his belly with his arms under his head, Bryn was looking through a gap in the bush as he witnessed one duel take place after another, and he had no doubt that if he had been caught, he would have been stripped naked without a chance to fight back at all.

It had only been five minutes and after seeing everything that had happened he had no doubt that there was no chance of him winning a single duel, he would lose everything.

‘What the hell?’ Bryn thought to himself as he watched the one-sided fights, ‘how the hell are these guys so strong, at least when I was against that hero in Melbourne I could at least escape with my strength, but these guys make that hero look like a Civi’.

‘Oh god, should I just bury my stuff here and come get it when I’m strong enough to keep a hold of it’ he thought to himself but quickly dismissed that idea, “No, I can’t do that, too many people are after me and if I give them such an opportunity then they might take advantage of it to get rid of me permanently’ Bryn thought as he dreaded the worst.

A group grew closer to where he was hidden and stopped before him, “Where the hell is he?” Bryn heard a young teen shout out and he could immediately tell the owner of the pissed off voice was Arai.

“I don’t know, I swear I saw him run in this direction but I lost him in the crowd” one of the older students in the group said as his head turned on a swivel.

“Enough, Arai, Do you know the kids last name, we can check his first class” an older student and de-facto leader of the group asked.

“It’s Gideon Bryn”

“The Demon spawn, damn, how did you get involved with it” One of the students called out in amazed surprised.

“Orders” was all Arai said, the student who had called out was about to keep the conversation going but was elbowed in the stomach by the leader, “enough, he’s got techniques first so he’s heading for the Clifftop Keep” the Leader said before pointing towards a part of the grounds that was towards the edge of the campus.

Bryn could see it partially from within his bush and it looked like a well-maintained castle from the middle ages with a tropical garden surrounding it.

It was beautiful and otherworldly in is prestige, and in this current moment, a distraction he could not afford to have.

He would appreciate and explore the academy as soon as he wasn’t being hunted.

Seeing Arai’s Group in the distance, Bryn made sure the coast was clear and for the most part it was, the older students had either finished up there fights here and taken off after more prey or towards their next class, or they hadn’t taken part in all the action and simply did not care about the first years and caught up with their friends after summer break.

Bryn less than stealthily got out of the bushes and took off after aria’s group, He was warily checking each corner in case there was any older students still on the hunt but for the moment he was only coming across those that were finding his James bond routine amusing.

It may have been amusing, but it was working.

He had made it to a path that led towards the Clifftop Castle and could finally hide within the surrounding garden so he wasn’t quite so exposed any more

Creeping up on Arai’s group, he was glad to hear that they were amused as to having failed to find him, they had even him led him directly to the room that was being used to hold the first years technique class!

Without much fun fair, as the group waited outside the room deciding what to do next, Bryn rushed towards them without a second thought, he knew that if he waited, then they would realise that him not being there meant that he hadn’t reached the classroom yet and by them simply blockade the entrance so that they would catch him eventually.

Being as quiet but as quick as he could Bryn jumped and used the shoulders of two of the students in the group before they could turn to swing past them and into the classroom, he swivelled on the palm of his foot and under the surprised gazes of aria and his group, gave them both middle fingers as he walked backwards into the room”

“Thanks for the directions” Bryn said as he rubbed it in as he passed the boundary with a truly bright and smug smile on his face.

“you fucker” Arai reacted immediately and moved to charge into the classroom but was stopped by the leader of the group.

“What? Why are you stopping me?” Arai angrily asked but the leader just shook his head at the challenge, “the Teachers don’t look kindly onto students who make trouble in the classrooms” he said expecting Arai to back down, but was quickly disappointed.

“So? Who cares what they think, there is no rule against it, the teachers can’t do shit” he said matter of factly but as the leader looked past Arai to the teacher who was sat waiting for class to start in the room, he knew that Arai couldn’t have been more wrong.

“There is a rule for it and yes, the teacher can do something about it, they can beat you into the ground and leave you three, Rule 2 doesn’t just apply to students, it applies to the teachers as well” he said before turning around and motioning for the rest of the group to follow him.

Arai looked towards the leaving group angrily before looking into the room and seeing Bryn head for the seat, he motioned to Bryn that he was going to slit his throat but Bryn simply wiped away his invisible tears with his fingers that were still extended.

The minutes passed after Arai left and the rest of the first-year students that hadn’t been as lucky as Bryn began to enter the classroom.

Most of them were beaten and dirty, covered in cuts and scrapes, but all of them were moaning about the academy and swearing revenge upon the older years.

They convinced themselves that the students that had attacked them were just ‘holding’ onto the stuff for the mean time and after they had learnt what they academy had to offer, then they would be coming back for their stuff and when they did, they would be taking interest!

There were a few exceptions though, and he even knew one of them.

“Bryn! You made it, and from the looks of it none the worse for wear” Armarni said as he walked into the room whilst waving off a group from the edge of the door before taking a seat next to Bryn.

“Damn, was half expecting to find you a bloody mess somewhere” Armarni joked as he patted his friend on the shoulder.

“I got here just fine not for their lack of trying, Arai and a group of Older students were hunting me like an animal” Bryn said and piqued Armani’s interest. “Ah, you must have run into the local chapter of the yakuza then, They tend to not like it when you screw with one of their guys” Armarni said matter of factly as if Bryn should have known this was going to happen and it was his own fault.

“What about you then, how come you made it here no problem?” Bryn Asked curiously as he was feeling a little petty due to the tone of his response.

Armarni held up two fingers, “Two reasons, like most people here I’m connected and the organisation I rep has a large presence in the academy, and secondly, I’m a chemist studying to be an alchemist” He said and expected that to explain everything.

Whilst Bryn could follow his train of thought in regards to the first reason, he didn’t understand why being a trainee alchemist would keep people from robbing him.

“How is you being a chemist going to keep people from duelling you” Bryn asked puzzled but Armarni upon hearing Bryn’s words, looked at him as if he was a cute and innocent child.

“Bryn, tell me how many jobs do you think there are for a chemist in a criminal organisation” Armarni said as he rested his cheek on the palm of his hand.

Bryn thought about it for a second and his eyes spread wide, “You cook up Drugs!” Bryn said a little too loudly for Armani’s taste so he motioned for him to quiet down a little.

“Chill man, take it you were a goody too shoes before coming here” Armarni said as if that was something to look down upon but Bryn quickly fired back.

“Screw you, My best friends dad was a smuggler and even the local gangs knew not to mess with us” Bryn said defensively, and if he was being honest with himself, with a bit of pride as well.

“Ha, you just keep telling yourself that” Armarni said in a way that denoted his true beliefs.

The two entered a lull whilst their words sunk in but Bryn now had questions he wanted to ask.

“So, what can you make?” He asked subtly whilst Armarni smiled in response.

“Partied before have we” Armarni said as he jokingly elbowed Bryn in his side, “I can make pretty much everything that you can think of but as for what I will provide for the student body, I think I’ll keep it to ‘party favours’ and ‘downers’” he said whilst making the stereotypical motion for each type of drug.

“Fair enough, that mean you not doing any of the hard stuff” Bryn ask off handily but he saw Armani’s face change, he was no longer playing and completely focused on Bryn.

“Don’t tell me you do any of that shit?” he asked forcefully to which Bryn quickly responded.

“Nah, no way, I was just curious” He said defensively as he was not amused by Armani’s tone.

“Anyway, what’s it matters to you, you literally make the stuff so why you acting like this” He asked as he did not enjoyed being look down upon, too many people had been doing it lately.

“I ‘MADE’ it, because I was forced to, didn’t really have much choice in the matter otherwise I would never have touched the stuff” Armarni said with a tinge of spite and anger in his voice

Bryn could tell that this was a sensitive topic for Armarni so he let go of the anger he felt from before and calmed the situation down, “Sorry man, didn’t mean to trigger you, it was just strange is all” Bryn said as he tried to hopefully end the conversation with that, but the now calmer Armarni felt he needed to say more.

“Nah, it’s my fault and my own issues I’ve got to deal with, Guess a Chemist hating what they make is a bit off huh”

“a bit”

“Look, it’s not like I hate what I do, I love it actually, done right, I can help a lot of people, but those types of drugs can never be used right, they have been corrupted by profit and addiction to the point where lives are lost and only the dealer wins” Armarni said Heatedly before dropping into a lull as he thought over the memories in which he had witnessed those people too far gone into their addiction.

“So…you cook illegal drugs to help people, and you think learning to be an alchemist will help you with this” Bryn Asked as he tried to change the subject again, something that Armarni was only too happy for.

“Yeah, I’ve got plans you know, big plans, and they all start with me learning Alchemy” Armarni said before learning back into his chair and gazing into his future, determined to make it a reality.

“Are you going to tell me then?” Bryn asked with interest but Armani leant back in his chair, “no, I don’t think I will” he said.

Bryn wanted to protest but he had run out of time, the teacher had decided to begin class.

Getting up from their seat in the corner, the teacher made their way over to the centre of the courtyard as the classroom wasn’t so much of a room, rather an open-air balcony over-looking a lake with a small stone courtyard where he could teach from.

The teacher was a middle-aged black man with long dreadlocks that flowed down to the base of his back, he wore a white outfit with a sleeveless coat and his chest partially exposed, each piece of the ensemble had the symbol of the academy imprinted onto it, his tattoos, although white as well gave off a soft glow that his clothes did not.

“My name is Kane Jackson but the world outside of this classroom knows me as the Juggernaut, I am a Hero that has specialised in [Skill] Mastery with a focus on [Aura], and for that reason I have been placed as the teacher in charge of [Techniques] for the first years at the academy, In my class you will learn the foundation to become a top-tier Hero, something that you apparently desperately need” Kane said as he looked at some of his injured students. “I can see that a few of you have already been introduced to the academies version of ‘Hell week’” he asked as he guffawed over the state of some of the students.

“Yeah, what the hell was that!” one of the injured students shouted out in annoyance, “Was that all planned, was that entire assembly an ambush” they asked to which the teacher smiled.

“In a way, yes” he answered, “it is a tradition that the first years have to go through”

“What? Hell” a student asked sarcastically but the teacher responded with a predatory smile.

“Exactly! Who here has heard of this saying before ‘Para bellum, det illis infernum’” The teacher asked as he walked to and from on the stage.

Some of the students looked on unknowing whilst another held up there hand to answer.

“This ain’t high school, if you’ve got the answer then just shout it out” the teacher said to the student.

“Sorry, It’s what the Headmistress said and the rest of the school responded with” The girl said with a hint of embarrassment showing on her cheeks.

“Exactly, now who can tell me what it means” he asked but this time nobody knew or responded.

“Nobody, well I’ll tell you, ‘Para bellum, det illis infernum’, It means, ‘Prepare for war, Give them Hell’, It is also this Schools moto” He answered, “It means, as a hero, you will be tasked with completing any number of missions, and to do them, and survive, you must do two things”

“Train you mind, body and spirit so no situation can overwhelm you, and when the time comes to face the dangers that each and every mission will hold, spare nothing as you burn the land and salt the earth in your wake” The teacher said and his tattoos glowed brighter as power filled the room and stifled the students for a moment.

“There are no half measures when it comes to doing your Heroic Duty” The teacher said before releasing his power and the room as a collective let out an involuntary gasp.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“If you put in the effort then within a week, they will no longer dare to challenge you, some of you may even be able to claim back both your dignity and gear within a month If you truly try”

“Why a week?” a student in the class asks.

“…Because within a week the techniques that I will teach you within this class shall start to bear fruit” he said as with a flourish, a golden circular array floated above his two palms and rotated with power and mysticism.

“The Headmistress briefly mentioned it within her speech but this academy is different than many others because instead of sending you straight to the Altar to buy your desired skills, we teach you to hone and use the true power that the Altar had already given you” he said before swiping his hands and making a crystal ball appear on each of their stone tables.

“The gift that I am talking about, is your mana veins” he said before turning around and manifesting a bolt of pure power from his hands and blowing up a target that was fastened to one of the walls.

“According to the system, the technique that I just used is called [Mana Bolt]; it costs a single tier 1 token to buy and is a common skill amongst active heroes, but is it worth the price” he asked contemplatively.

“I myself, unlike many heroes, never bought the skill, I learnt how to use it through learning how to manipulate mana myself, and do you know how long it took me to learn how to do it?” he asked the class rhetorically.

“Three days” he said without any fan fair.

“Three days of effort for a single token, do you think that is worth it, I mean, there are a lot of skills on the market that even now, we have no clue as to how to replicate them sheerly through mana, but this, I ask again, if something that can be obtained through hard work worth a token? And if this is replicable, what other techniques are on the market can we learn without having to pay for them?” he asked as his eyes glowed with fever.

In the next moment his body glowed as an aura of power cloaked his body, his eyes turned golden whilst arcs of electricity flowed around him.

“[Aura], [Elemental Attunement], [Hyper-sense], These and so many other techniques are readily available on the market for a number of tokens, but each of them is freely available to those with the desire and will to learn them” he said before shutting off his abilities, and by the looks of the eager students in front of him, he knew that his little display had the desired effect.

“Of course, having you learn these techniques at the moment is impossible, before you can learn them, you need to learn the basics” he said before picking up one of the crystal balls from a student’s table.

“This here, is a power stone, it naturally draws out the latent power stored within you and absorbs it”

“Your job during this lesson is to feel the flow of power within your bodies, feel the mana veins that have been implanted within your body and trace it back to its source”

“What is its source?” a student calls out.

“You’re Soul” he states mysteriously.

“What we have learnt since the Altars decent is that firstly, souls are real and every being alive has one, and secondly, that they are constantly generating energy that is passively used to maintain its host body”

“Through the Mana veins given by [Aegis], we can actively use this energy to power techniques like I have just shown you, as well as to use techniques bought via the system”

“Excuse me sir, but if what you just said is true, then doesn’t that mean that we are redirecting the energy away from our bodies, isn’t it that like bad? Don’t we need it to live” the same student that answered the question about the moto asked.

“Good, you noticed the problem” the teacher said happily, “Your completely correct, our bodies naturally use this energy to maintain our bodies and if it does not have enough energy to pay the ‘cost’, then our bodies will naturally pay the cost instead”

“Now, who can tell me, what would this cost be?”

Bryn thought about it for a moment and thought back to what the teacher had said before answering unsurely, “…Ageing” Bryn said quietly but the teachers hearing allowed him to hear it as if it was directly spoken into his ear.

“Exactly, the amount of energy our bodies require is constantly increasing because we are not perfect beings, we are forever deteriorating, it is what creates our natural lifespan”

“So, what happens when we interrupt this natural process and cause a deficiency in the energy supply before it occurs naturally? The same god damn thing, your body begins to break down in the form of growing older, and in the case of using too much energy when your body is already weak, you may die” The teacher said to which the Students who were just beginning to appreciate the power that they had been given now feared it.

“Of course, there are ways to get around this limitation, I mean, you must have seen Heroes wield magnificent powers with seemingly no effort on TV, right?” he said to abate their fears.

“There are techniques to strengthen and train ones soul, and it is also possible to use other sources of power other than one’s own soul to power your techniques” he said whilst flourishing his own power before extinguishing it.

“Of course, all that is for another lesson, we must focus on the now and not the future for the moment”

“Today’s lesson is all about feeling out the new parts of your body that you have never had access to before, for the moment they are akin to a limb that you’ve never had access to before but they are still a limb, once you have familiarised yourself enough, you will be able to manipulate them just as well as you would an arm or a leg”

“Now, take a hold of the Power stone and let it draw the energy out from within you, feel it as it rotates around your body and is absorbed into the power stone”

One after another the students picked up the power stone and felt as the power began to flow through them.

One by one their stones started to flicker as power flowed into them before eventually levelling out whilst giving off a weak glow.

Their eyes naturally closing as they focused upon the feeling that the flowing power generated, they entered into their own worlds as they attempted to grasp the power that was inside them.

Well, almost all of the students had.

One was still stuck at the very first step.

‘Damn it, Why isn’t this working’ Bryn cursed as he shook and bashed the power stone in his hand impatiently as he fell behind the others, even Armarni next to him had a power stone that was glowing weakly.

‘Concentrate, Concentrate’ Bryn said as he tried to calm himself down and copy what the others students around him were doing and focus within himself.

‘Concentrate’ he kept repeating to himself as if it was a mantra, his eyes glued to the power stone, the world fading away as he focused.

*flicker*

The power Stone flickered for a second and Bryn felt a power flow through him for a moment but in the next it was violently stomped out as a wave of pain spread throughout his body.

“Argh” Bryn called out as he clutched at his heart, a golden light glowed from under his top whilst Armarni was disturbed from his concentration and jumped away in fright, “what the hell” Armarni called out as he saw the golden light and his friends pained face.

The teacher quickly attended to Bryn and touched his palm onto Bryn’s chest and closed his eyes as he investigated what was going on.

At first he was worried that Bryn had done something wrong, then he was confused as he investigate further, then he was angry for what he had found.

With a bit of concentration and power on his part, the light began to die down and the pain receded in its wake.

“What the hell was that” Bryn called out as he was finally able to catch his breath, he was looking at the teacher as if this was his fault but from the look that the teacher gave him, he understood that it wasn’t his fault, it was Bryn’s.

“Someone has implanted a spell within your body, a seal, from the looks of it, it’s designed to prevent you from actively using any mana whatsoever” the teacher said before taking a step back and crossing his arms as he thought something over.

“If you try to force it, then it will activate and forcefully stop you’re mana whilst inflicting pain as some form of ‘punishment’, if you continue to persist beyond that, its second phase will active and boom! It self-destructs taking both the seal and you along with it” he said before looking at Bryn’s desperate face as he began to truly comprehend the teachers words.

If he tried to use mana then it would essentially torture him until he gave up, and if he didn’t then it would kill him.

Who had done this to him?

For how long had he had this ‘bomb’ placed within his body?

“Is there any way to remove it?” Bryn asked hopefully but from the way the teacher was looking at him, he didn’t have much hope.

The teacher looked at him as if he was questioning this too, but only he himself knew that he was questioning whether to give him the answer.

He knew the names of everyone in his class, He knew exactly who Bryn was and what his answer could entail.

“…yes” he spoke finally after debating with himself for several seconds, “I can speculate as to the spell but I don’t know enough about them to do anything about it, but there are a few teachers at this academy that do” he said before pausing to think about who was best to send him to.

There was a couple of teachers that knew enough about spell work to try to help Bryn but as for whether they actually would or not was a different matter.

The teachers were…split, as to their opinions on the young boy, it was to the point where there were actual factions that were opposing each other as to how he should be treated on campus grounds, or whether he should even be there at all.

The professor considered sending Bryn to the Headmistress, she could have helped him for certain but he knew that she would give him hell for getting in the way of her ‘research’.

No, he knew who had enough knowledge to help but lacked the prerequisite care to be put off by who he was.

“You need to go and see Professor Blackwell, she teaches Spell creation to the second years and up, she should be able to tell you more about the seal” he said before giving Bryn directions to her class.

Walking from the room, Bryn didn’t go straight to the room Professor Kane had directed him to but instead stopped at a balcony that overlooked both the lake and the academy below.

He rested against the stone railing and dropped his head between his hands that rested atop it.

‘God, calm down, it’s just another obstacle to overcome, you got this” he said to himself as he tried to calm himself.

He looked up and across the academy as he tried to take his mind off of everything.

The sky was blue and the sun was high in the sky, he could see no cloud in the sky so wherever the academy was, it wasn’t anywhere close to his home.

The Academy itself wasn’t of a centralised structure but multiple buildings made of cream brick and red roofs that surrounded a central palace that was built within a cove that flowed into a lake.

It was large, far larger than he expected an academy could ever be, almost a city unto itself, but off in the distance he could see a town with a harbour, but beyond that, he only saw water.

As far as he could tell the academy was built on an island.

Slapping his hands down upon the balcony, they stung but they proved he was still alive and so long as he was alive, then he had a chance to move beyond all of this.

Bryn passed down the staircase leading into the academy, wild flowers and blossoming trees on either side as he went.

The way was beautiful and took his mind of his problems, but the journey was only so long and he had soon arrived at his destination.

Voices were coming from the other side of the door so Bryn guessed that the professor was in the middle of giving a class, he was unsure as to what to do, enter or come back later, but he was also worried about his problem and the longer that it remained a problem, the longer it would take to obtain the strength that would ensure hi safety.

He opened the door and unlike the previous room, this was more in line with a traditional classroom with a slanted room with chains circling the teacher that stood atop a stage at the bottom.

Bryn entered and noticed that only a few others were within the room, far too few to fill the seats.

He walked down the stairs at the side, aiming to speak to the teacher as soon as possible but she had noticed him when he was but only halfway.

“Now, now, now, I’ve heard of being late to class but this is taking it to a whole new level” the younger teacher joked to which a few of the other student gave a small laugh”

“I’m sorry professor but …” Bryn spoke out and tried to explain but suddenly found that he suddenly could not speak nor move.

“Not now, I’ll hear your excuses after class” she said and with a swish of her hand, Bryn found himself walking towards the closest seat and sat down, his ability to move still taken.

“Now where were we, Spell creation is the next step in the techniques taught at the academy after mana manipulation, in your first year you learnt how to harness and manipulate the mana you create within your bodies, but that is child’s play, The true ability of mana doesn’t come in to play until you try to use it to power spells.”

“You’ve seen those heroes on TV that fly about, shoot lasers out of their eyes and turn into the living embodiment or fire, well they may have gotten them from the system as [Skills] but they were originally created as Spells! Each one of them had started out as only a dream in some wizards head before they learnt how to manipulate mana in way that brought it to life, and they learnt how to do this through the use of runes” she said and continued to lecture as Bryn sat frozen atop his seat throughout.

At the beginning he was angry and frustrated; he could not move and was restricted against his will! It was like he was a kid again and a bunch of older children had dog pilled on him and he felt like he was suffocating under their weight, but as he let go and calmed down, he listened to the professor and what she had to say.

His worries seemed to disappear.

It was safe to say that this single class had changed his entire life.

The class ended and even when the professor’s spell faded, he still didn’t move.

He was too entranced by what he had heard.

“You can explain yourself now” the professor called out from where she was leant over a messy desk, scrolls and book misplaced.

She was young as he noticed before, far younger than he expected a teacher to be, she looked to be barely in her twenties with caramel black skin, large bushy brown hair flowed down her back whilst various oddities and religious paraphernalia dotted her body as accessories.

Standing before the desk, he was unsure as to what to say, he knew what he had come here for but now.

“That was brilliant” Bryn shouted out as he tried to speak normally and was quickly embarrassed with himself.

Professor Blackwell looked up from her work and smirked at Bryn, “It’s not very often someone understands the true grandeur of my class but it’s not enough to wain my wrath, why are you late to my class” she asks as she leans back in his chair and waits for his response.

Bryn was even more embarrassed by this; he had gotten off topic with an issue that could potentially put his life on the line.

“Erm, I’m not actually supposed to be in your class, see, Professor Kane Sent me...I need your help” Bryn responded solemnly.

Hearing this, the professor was no longer so laid back and whimsical; she leant forward and inspected Bryn with a discerning eye.

“Show me” she said as she stared at his chest almost as if she could see the spell already.

Bryn started to strip, taking off his clothes until his chest was exposed.

He stood before the professor and she began to touch and massaged his chest as she looked at something only she could see.

The minutes past and Bryn’s discomfort over the entire situation only grew with each passing moment.

“Erm, have you figured anything out?”

“Hmm, oh yeah, it’s a really interesting seal, alabaster has really upped his game” she said offhandedly as she sat back into her chair.

“Alabaster?”

“Yeah, Challoner Alabaster, he’s a Chinese based Hero that specialises in Seals, he was the one that put the seal on you, but it’s weird?

“Weird how?”

“I’ve never heard of him to do a seal like this before, its…Dark, I’ve used similar seals before but only when I’m fighting as a Hero, I’ve definitely never placed them on another human”

“So, you can tell what it does?

“Oh yeah, it has three functions, the first is its main function, it restricts any and all mana that is not vital to the maintenance of your body, secondly, if any mana does flow along your mana veins, then it will actively attempt to restrict the flow whilst releasing stored energy to cause intense pain throughout your body as a ‘punishment’” she said up to this point then took a break so she could prepare both herself, and Bryn for its final purpose.

“Finally, if the mana within your veins is unable to be stopped, then it will implode all of the stored energy within the seal to kill the host”

Bryn had heard as much from professor Kane so he was dulled towards her answer, He wondered why they had done it but he knew that they believed he was a threat, even the people advocating for his safety did not dispute this, it was only reasonable that they would put steps in place to prevent another ‘Hong Kong’.

Or at least that is what he tried to tell himself.

“Do you know when it was implanted” Bryn asked under his breath but he could see from the doubt in the professor’s eyes that she knew, and it wasn’t good.

“…its old, you probably had it implanted in you when you were still a baby” she said softly in an attempt to break the news to him, but it was of no use, Bryn could only think one thing.

No matter what had happened, what his father had done or who he had killed…

…they implanted a bomb in a baby.

Who Does that?

Weren’t these people supposed to be the good guys?

Weren’t they supposed to be Heroes!

Moments passed whilst his thoughts were a stir, Professor Blackwell wanted to say something to him, but even she as a professor didn’t know how to breach this subject.

“Can you remove it?” Bryn finally asked, his eyes were different from before, whilst he was sad and hurt from the knowledge, now he was just determined, determined to move beyond it.

“Yeah, no problem” she said as he her fingers began to glow and several runes made of spiritual fire appeared atop the tip of her fingers.

“This may hurt but it’ll only take a few seconds” she said as she thrust her hand into Bryn’s chest, her tips melting into his skin whilst lines of energy flared and bored out the flesh around his heart.

“Argh!!!” Bryn screamed out in pain, almost dropping to his knee but was instantly held aloft by the professor’s free hand.

“Hold on for a few moments longer” she called out as she forced more energy into his chest, “c’mon you damn…Piece…of…got you” she called out in joy and pulled her hand free, blood dripping from the tips.

Bryn Fell back and doubled over in pain, but it only lasted for a second and then he was on his feet.

He felt fine.

No, he felt better than fine.

“How are you feeling?” the teacher asked as Bryn ran his hands over his body, looking at his chest that only had a few drops of blood atop the skin.

“I’ve fine, better than fine, I’ve never felt this good” Bryn called out in joy as he looked to the professor, but when he did, The professor stumbled back in shock as she stared askance at his face.

“What’s wrong?” he called out as he unconsciously touched his face but it was too late.

He felt something on his skin, it was cold and hard and It was spreading.

Professor Blackwell watched as the white chitin poured out of his pores and began to mask over his skin.

In seconds the entire left side of his face was gone and it was spreading to the other side at an unstoppable speed.

A pair of curved black horns similar to that of a gazelle’s pierced through the white chitin and grew to half a foot in length.

Four slit like eyes with golden iris and black pupils rolled into focus, whilst a fifth eye with a purple iris and a red pupil popped up in the centre of the mask’s forehead.

A wide mouth filled with teeth and tusks appeared below a stubby nose.

The mask was complete, it had fully formed.

The professor continues to stare at Bryn who had his head slightly down, she reached out to see if he was okay but something inside her made her stop.

“Are you okay?” she asked but immediately regretted it.

Bryn’s golden eyes locked onto her instantly, his head turned a second in contemplation before he dived at her with an ungodly speed.

With a flick of her hand a barrier appeared and rebounded Bryn across the room and sent him careening into the amphitheatre as he rolled across the desks, but even with the amount of power she had put in the barrier, it was nowhere near enough to stop it.

“Student Stop!” she demanded as she herself dropped into a fighting position, preparing herself for whatever may come.

Four of Bryn’s eyes flickered around the room whilst the main and largest fifth eye remained trained on the professor.

“Get a hold of yourself!” she tried again but it was of no use.

Bryn jumped at the wall and dug claws that had appeared at the ends of his fingertips in to the wall as he rapidly crawled along it in an attempt to charge the professor.

With practised ease she repositioned herself away from her desk as he jumped and escaped from his claws as he desperately raked at her pirouetting back.

The Desk was destroyed and everything on it sent spiralling across the room but Bryn didn’t care, he slowly stood and tilted his head once again, staring at the professor in confusion.

“Don’t make me do this, don’t make me put you down!” she said as she gathered power within her hands, Runes and sigils forming as it gathered.

Bryn looked questioningly at her hands before he looked at his own, seconds past before he looked at her again.

She knew he was going to charge, but she was not expecting the wave of mana that burst from his body as he awakened to the power within.

*BANG*

The professor was flung against the wall as the surprise shock-wave hit her when she had no defences up.

The professor instinctually rolled to the side, dodging the claw that had embedded itself within the floor.

Like every teacher within the academy, she had been an active hero, and the instincts she had polished in that time still stuck by her side.

“God damn it” she shouted as power erupted from her side, a bolt of energy struck Bryn in the chest to no apparent affect.

Bryn moved to go forward but it was the end.

*BANG*

Bryn was thrown back as the profession motioned with her hand; he smashed into the wall with enough speed that it formed a crater but he shrugged it off and pulled himself out of the stone.

“Tch, let’s play it that way then” the professor said before flickering her finger in one direction after another whilst Bryn’s body was forcefully made to follow each change.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

She continued to brutally smash Bryn into the stone walls of the classroom but it was of little effect!

Finally, she drew him near before smashing him face first into the floor just below her feet.

Without giving him the chance to get up, she stamped his head into the stone before touching the back of his head with her other hand.

Bryn was able to shrug off the brutal physical force with little effort, but as soon as her hand reached his head he was out, the fight was done and so to potentially was his time at the academy.