My body jolted and my eyes peeled open.  All I see is light; now a figure standing over me. Am I dying? Is this really it? I didn't even get to... oh well.

"Wake up you fucking rat!" My eyes widened as a burly figure stomped his steel-toed boot onto my left shoulder. "I'm not done kicking your ass, so get the hell up! Who the fuck permitted you to be so weak?" My eyes darted around, filling in the gaps in my memory.

A tournament. I was participating in a tournament for the top of my class. What happened to me? My memory is blurry.

Blood spurted out of my mouth as he stepped on my chest, "I can't believe they put an elite like myself up against a pathetic tag user, bastards..." he murmured. Elite? This guy is only a D rank... how cocky can someone get when they beat up someone weaker? I managed to squeeze out one last sentence, "...you.. have no talent." before I blacked out.

-----12 hours earlier-----

"Meritum?" my teacher asked during the affinity check. "Please place your hand over the affinity checker". Shaking nervously to find my affinity, the power I would have for the rest of my life, I placed my hand on the small glowing ball that seemed almost incorporeal.

"Red... most likely another fire affinity. I'll write you a slip to talk to the head nurse after school about this." my teacher groaned. Out of all my luck, I get the weakest affinity. Make's sense, I'm not special and neither is my family. The natural order is what they call it. I started to make my way back to my desk when I bumped shoulders with the next person in line. 

Just my luck, the weakest of all the affinities. First not having a quality, then being a fire user. If only I had at least Water... with Fire being the weakest, then Earth, Water, Wind, and finally Lightning. I could have had a successful path in life if I had at least Water as a tag user. 

"Ruck, please place your hand over the affinity checker". I glanced back, my eyes widened as the orb glowed an electric yellow. A lightning affinity. "Oh my.." my teacher's mouth gaped. "Ruck, you don't have a bracelet on your left arm, meaning you aren't a tag user. A lightning affinity, with a quality to back it up. The archmage has surely blessed you and your family!". 

Damn, that's what you call lucky. He could skip school and it wouldn't affect him... that's how much affinities affect your life. Get a good one? You're set forever, but a lightning affinity and he possesses a quality to top it off? His grandchildren will be living lavishly as well.

"Friar, please place your hand on the affinity checker... orange, a Fire affinity."A-Are you sure?" he nervously replied, "it looked yellow to m-"  "Next!" As I continued to walk towards my desk, a shiver was sent down my spine. I was the only one in the room with a weak affinity paired with a tag. I could feel eyes burn into my very soul with each step I took, when suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

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"Hey, don't let it get to you; not everyone is born equal". I looked back and saw Ruck, the lightning user, staring back at me. The nerve of some people, cocky as soon as they get their hands on more power. "Aw, don't worry about me," I replied as I wiped his hand off of my shoulder, "I'm sure I'll do just fine".

I felt an agonizing shock within my body before I blacked out.

I awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling. I peeked to the right to see a beautiful woman in a white coat walking towards me. "You've been out for a while now, better hurry up and get out of here before the tournament starts". Fuck, that's right, the tournament for class picking is today. "Where's my phone?" I said after noticing that it was gone from my pockets. "Completely toasted. You can check the tournament brackets for your class on the bulletin board outside the infirmary. Run along now.".

Ah, great. Up against a C-rank water user. Since they aren't at E, that automatically means they have a quality. Seriously? They picked a fire affinity to go against a water affinity with a quality to back it up? Talk about harsh. 

I ran to the arena which was located outside the gymnasium doors, quickly got into the elevator and arrived just in time to watch the match before mine. They're both tag users, which would normally make it a relatively even fight. However, their affinities had a different story. Water against Wind. The wind user has the natural upper-hand, but he's getting his ass beat. That's the difference in combat experience being slapped right in front of your face... no matter how good your affinity is, if you don't know how to use it properly, it's almost as good as useless.

The match quickly ended, meaning my time was here. I've never used my affinity before, meaning my loss was already guaranteed, if it wasn't guaranteed enough just by knowing how much higher of a level he is. At that point, combat experience doesn't mean shit. 

As I walked out onto the stretch of dirt, I noticed how large the arena was. It was like a colosseum from ancient times, but much more modern. I didn't have much time to admire the colossal arena, as my opponent, whose name happened to be Breezer. Fitting name for someone who's going to kick my ass in a bre- "GAH!" an unsuspected punch landed right into my gut. How the hell did he move so fast? Did he propel himself with water? Cheeky bastard... 

"Pfft, I was in your class today you know. Being so weak must suck. Pull out your fire now, will ya? I want to extinguish your ass in front of everyone and beat you into oblivion.". My god, he must be a shitty comedian as a side job. I regained my balance and put my fists up with my elbows at my side, guarding myself. He propelled himself forward with water, confirming my earlier theory. I pivoted my right foot and leaned my body to the left just in time for his jab to graze my cheek, barely drawing blood. "Huh? Who told you that you could fuckin' move?". Was this guy serious? Did he think I was going to let him kick my ass in front of everyone so easily? Might as well try my hardest.

"Huh?" I retorted as I dropped my hands, "You know the guy with the lightning affinity AND a quality? What will you do if you go up against him? Piss yourself and beg for mercy on your knees?" His face turned 50 shades of red before dashing towards me, this time even faster; faster then I could track. I couldn't dodge. A punch? No, he's not throwing a punch. A kick? I didn't even know what happened before I was on the ground, clutching my chest, gasping for air. Before it all went dark, I saw him smirk and whisper "Learn your place, fucker".