Author's Note:

Hey, guys. Comments and concerns welcome. I may have made some mistakes; please help me out if I have. Might release another chapter today or tomorrow, who knows ~

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Johan was in the Spark Theory classroom with his classmates. The creamy, spotless walls had the strange quality of putting one's mind at ease. Sitting in this room, Johan felt all his apprehension and worries melt from his body. In front of the room sat Keene Ulrich; his deep eyes sweeping across the students in front of him as if measuring their latent potential.

"Cultivation," Keene began. "First begins with absorbing the essence of the mana around you. I want you all to close your eyes and find your center."

Johan closed his eyes and quieted his mind. He began visualizing the mana particles floating around the room, drifting through the air like glimmering snowflakes. His heart always warmed at the beautiful scenery that cultivation brought.

"Now, I want you to take deep breaths. With each breath, visualize a white mist entering your nostrils and settling in the spark at the center of your chest."

white... mist?

Johan tried inhaling this white mist he spoke of but had no luck. The quality of the air around him was changing faintly; as the students around him drew in the mana particles, the energy in the room was slowly, but steadily, dropping. He started to get frustrated with his failed attempts at inhaling this 'white mist', worried that he was missing out on something. So he did what he was used to and began to inhale the special, powerful floating particles hovering in the air. He wasn't timid about it, he greedily yanked them from the air and began drawing them into his spark.

"Who's doing that!?" Keene said.

Johan's eyes shot open. He nervously looked around him and saw all of the students wide eyed and doing the same. His eyes met Elf's, the same elf that witnessed his cultivation practice in the meditation room. She stared at him with squinted eyes, and Johan just smiled back in response.

I'm guessing that the special mana particles cause the energy levels of the room to drop drastically, while the weak mana particles only cause a slight disturbance...

No one volunteered to take the credit for rapidly draining the energy in the room. Johan didn't want to attract unnecessary attention to himself until he was strong enough to defend himself from jealous and threatened students. So he sat there silently, feigning interest in finding the person responsible for the act.

"I don't know why you want to keep quiet about this," Keene said. "Being able to absorb so much mana makes you a hidden talent! Your sensitivity to the mana in the environment must be exceptional."

Everyone still kept quiet, waiting for someone to take the praise.

"Well, I can't force you," Keene said. He sighed heavily then shrugged.

"Anyway, what you all just experienced was cultivation by meditation. That is primary method most practitioners use to strengthen your spark. But what is the spark?" he asked, sweeping his gaze across the room.

The students mumbled incoherent answers. No one seemed brave enough to give an answer.

"Timid bunch, aren't you?" Keene said, shaking his head. "It's best to think of the spark as a cup. You draw the mana essence around you into that cup with the goal of filling it. When that cup is full, your spark will reform itself; we call that rebirth. Each time your spark is reborn, it is strengthened several times over."

Keene reached into a bag that sat beside him and pulled out two cups. One was a small shot glass, while the other was a large golden goblet. He placed them in front of him for all of the students to see.

"Every cup is not made the same; there are large cups and small cups. Likewise, there are people with sparks that can hold a large amount of mana, and those on the opposite end. Having a large amount of mana means you progress slower than those with a small amount of mana, because you have a larger cup to fill. But it also means that you have a larger amount of mana at your disposal."

Keene poured water into both cups at the same time. The shot glass overflowed almost immediately, while the goblet took a moment before becoming full. Johan leaned forward, eagerly watching all of this unfold.

"We judge practitioners by the amount of rebirths they have gone through. With 9 rebirths and under, you are an Adept. From 10 to 24 rebirths, you are an Arcanist. From 25 to 50 rebirths, you are a Saint. From 51 to 100 rebirths, you are an Immortal. From 101 to 500 rebirths, you are a Grand Immortal. From 501 to 2000 rebirths, you are a God. What comes after isn't known."

The students were all chattering quietly at the information. Johan was shocked; the fact that the spark reforms itself was enough to give him a new goal, but now he learned that to become an immortal you needed to reform your spark over 50 times. He was eagerly plotting new goals in his mind.

Keene let the students chat amongst themselves for a minute, then said, "Cultivation by meditation is the primary way of cultivation, but not the only way. There is also cultivation by assistance. This involves taking pills or drinking potions to absorb mana essence. This is a very expensive method. There are amazing potions out there that hold mana essence more potent than anything you will experience from meditation. However, only the richest families among us will be able to cultivate that way."

Johan gritted his teeth and his expression darkened.

Of course, the rich still have the edge in life...

"The last method we'll talk about is cultivation by refining. This is something that you all won't be allowed to do for some time. It involves reaping the spark from a dead practitioner, and absorbing their essence into your own. This method was created during times of war and allowed people to make leaps in their cultivation levels."

Keene clapped his hands and then abruptly stood up, "Now! Stand up all of you."

Johan was still mulling over all of the information in his mind, getting up slowly like a newborn zombie. The teacher went on to tutor them on how to circulate the mana throughout the body to strengthen the muscles. Johan felt that it was a strange sensation to have mana course through his body. He felt his muscles drinking in the mana and his power increasing as a result. Johan immediately stopped paying attention for the rest of the class and began circulating the mana throughout his body, trying to familiarize himself with the act as soon as possible.

Before he knew it, the class ended and it was time for lunch. On his way to Long Hall, he saw Arvin and Yudai walking with each other, so he went over.

"Hey guys," Johan said.

"Hey Johan, what class did ya have?" Arvin asked.

"Spark Theory. Finally learned how to use mana to strengthen my muscles," he said, sticking out his chest.

"That's cute," Yudai said. "I learned that was I was about 5 years old."

"F—" Johan said.

"Cool, I had history class. Was as boring as you'd expect, but I met this really cute girl," Arvin cut in with his eyes gleaming.

"Oh, what's her name, I wanna see her!" Johan said.

"You'd just scare her off, tell me her name instead," Yudai said.

"You guys will meet her eventually if I can get her to date me..." Arvin said.

"I can give you some advice if you need, you know? Girls want me so badly I have to beat them away with a stick," Yudai said with a smirk.

"Yeah, right. What girls want you, Yudai?" Johan looked around. "There aren't even any girls looking in your direction, you loser."

Yudai spun on Johan with his face red, "That's because you're scaring them away!"

"Don't be mad at me because you suck with the ladies. I even have this cute little elf shining on me," he said, struggling to keep in his laughter. Even Arvin was covering his mouth and chuckling a bit.

"Go f—" Yudai said.

"We're here!" Arvin said, cutting him off.

They got their food and sat at a random table in the room. Johan's plate was filled with a mountain of food. He greedily made sure to take at least one of each meal available to eat. Johan sat there rubbing his hands together with a ravenous gleam in his eyes. Arvin and Yudai stared at Johan with thinly veiled shame and disgust.

Johan shrugged and said, "A big boy's gotta eat."

Johan tore into his food without shame, attacking it like a starved lion attacks it's prey. Even while eating, he was circulating the mana around his body, strengthening random body parts.

"Well, well. If it isn't Yudai," a melodic voice rang out.

Yudai looked up, confusion clear on his face, and said, "Do I know you?"

"I wasn't talking to you," the voice said. "I'm talking to that savage Titan in front of you."

Johan turned around and saw Hidou approaching. Then he went back to eating his food, ignoring the angry stare from Yudai in front of him. Johan almost choked on his food from laughter.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Ah, me and my friends are a bit hungry. Get us some food will you? We'll wait, don't worry—"

"I'm glad your nose healed well. Is everything okay, though? You looked pretty banged up when I last saw you..." Johan said with mock worry in his voice.

Hidou rocked back as if slapped, then stared at him with a cold gleam in his eyes, "Looks like you haven't learn your lesson!"

Hidou started to approach Johan again, with his face distorted in rage. The students nearby formed a circle around them, all of them excitedly making bets on who will win the fight. Johan glanced at Arvin and Yudai and only saw them watching with faint interest. He sighed and got up. Johan relaxed his stance and began to circulate the mana in his body.

Johan towered over Hidou, staring down at him with indifference. The air around him became heavy and stifling, making Hidou flinch back. Then, without warning, Johan slapped him across the face. A thunderous sound echoed throughout the hall, making Arvin and Yudai wince. Hidou shrieked and was sent sprawling backwards into his friends, making them all land on the ground in a messy heap.

Johan was shocked and excited by the strength of that slap. Hidou sat up with a look of rage and confusion on his face. Blood trickled down his lips in small streams. Johan stared at Hidou on the ground and felt laughter well up inside of him. He heard someone whisper from the crowd, "That laughter... He's a demon..."

Hidou lunged at him and sent a flurry of punches flying. Johan didn't bother dodging; he was high off the feeling of power coursing through his body. He accepted and returned each punch, battering Hidou's chest and face. The repeated sound of bone on flesh rattled throughout the room, silencing the crowd.

Johan had a slight advantage. Hidou was buckling under the pressure of Johan's merciless hits and was slowly pushed back until he reached the wall. Johan wasn't even going all out at this point, he was just testing the limits of his power. He looked at the pale, worried look on Hidou's blood spattered face with extreme delight. As if reacting to Johan's pleased expression, Hidou snarled and sent a wild, wide punch at the side of Johan's head. Johan deftly slipped the punch and clobbered Hidou in the ribs. He put his entire body behind that punch, sending Hidou soaring towards the crowd like a ragdoll in flight.

Hidou growled in pain but managed to stand up again. Johan was impressed by his fortitude. He dashed at Hidou, then pivoted to the right and rammed his fist once again into his ribs with a loud roar. The impact sent vibrations throughout Johan's entire body, rattling his bones. Hidou's body went airborne once more, crashing into an empty table a few feet away. Johan heart clenched for a second. He was worried that Hidou was dead. Then Hidou coughed out a mist of blood, making Johan sigh in relief. Johan began to walk over to Hidou to check up on him when a shadow leapt out from the surrounding crowd and landed a heavy kick on his side.

Johan was sent staggering a couple of steps away. Pain began spreading throughout his body. He looked at the shadow and saw that it was a tall student dressed in all black. The student looked at him with indifference, power radiating from his body. Johan knew that he was no match for the student.

"What's going on here?" The student asked.

"This kid won't let me eat," Johan said between pants. "I was just trying to eat when he started a fight with me. You know how people treat Titans..."

The student locked eyes with Johan for a moment, then looked at Hidou before saying, "Is this true?"

Hidou's face was deathly pale. With massive effort, he managed to raise his head to look at the student. His face contorted with pain and rage; he was about to say something until he met the students eyes. He shuddered then mumbled, "Yes..."

The student stood there, rubbing his chin in contemplation. Johan just watched, his body shaking from all of the adrenaline. The student then said, "You both are in sorry shape. Nothing was damaged by the fight. Your own wounds will be your punishment. Don't let this happen again, or I will beat you both within an inch of your lives."

Johan felt a cold shiver travel up his spine, and reluctantly said, "Yes, sir."

Johan looked down at his shirt and saw large splotches of blood. He put his hand to his face and it came back dyed in red. He felt no pain but knew he was clearly in bad shape. Johan cut through the crowd of onlookers and began walking to the Cochaigne building. When he left Long Hall, he heard frantic light footsteps following closely behind him. He looked behind him and saw Elf walking over to him.

"Don't worry, Elf. I'm just fine!" he said, then revealed a bloody grin.

She winced and said with more anger than necessary, "I'm not worried about you."

"Oh well," Johan said. Then began walking and ignoring her presence.

She rushed beside him, trying to keep up with his long strides.

"You're lucky that the brotherhood jumped in when they did. You could have killed him," she said.

"Then that should make him lucky, not me." he said indifferently.

"If you killed him, you would most likely be executed. Killing is punishable by death unless it's in self defense, and what you were doing wasn't self defense."

Johan shuddered a bit, "Seriously?"

She gave him a look and then shook her head. She didn't say a thing for a while; she just kept pace at his side, furtively shooting glances at him.

Johan tried to fight down an annoyed feeling that was creeping over him and said, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Why didn't you reveal yourself in Spark Theory?"

"Who told you that was me? That could have been anyone."

"I've seen you do it before," she said, squinting at him.

"No you haven't," Johan said, as if that solved the matter.

"How many rebirths have you had?" she asked him.

"Zero."

She stared at him for a while before saying, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I only started cultivating after I joined the school. How many rebirths have you had?"

"I'm on my third rebirth," she said.

Johan flinched, and said excitedly, "Isn't that impressive or something?"

"It's not too rare among nobles," she said. "That kid you fought looked like he was on his second rebirth. Yet, you were overpowering him and you haven't had a single rebirth."

She arched an eyebrow at him, inviting an explanation. A pang of frustration flowed through Johan.

"Why don't you ever have anything interesting to talk to me about? Like love or drama? It's always 99 questions with you."

She sighed and then said, "So, I heard that a group of hooded people have been promising students power and money for their loyalty."

Johan laughed and then said, "Oh? Sounds shady. Does this group have a name?"

She shrugged and said, "Don't know. But anyone going around promising people power and wealth is a villain."

"That's funny, because Viktor Yul himself said that he wanted to give us power. What's wrong with that?"

"Anyone who promises you power and wealth is just trying to use you. It's common sense."

"So Viktor Yul is using us all then?"

"That's different."

"How so?" Johan said, then laughed.

"This school was meant to empower us! The school was created as an opportunity for ordinary citizens to become powerful enough to shake the heavens."

"What does 'ordinary' even mean?"

"That—"

"Poor people are the majority in this world, yet there are only a handful of poor people in the school. Poor people, being the most common citizen, should definitely be the 'ordinary' people you speak of. Unless us poor people are so beneath you that you don't even consider us citizens anymore?"

Elf silently stared at him with a pout. Johan smirked at her, enjoying the expression on her face.

"We all use each other, Elf. No one does something without motive."

"That's not my name! My name is—"

"I don't care," Johan said, chuckling. She stood there, shaking with rage. Her face was dyed a shade of pink and she sputtered, trying to form a sentence. Johan ignored her and walked off.

He walked into Cochaigne and retrieved a Restoration Pill. He felt the warm sensation course through his body, massaging his cuts and bruises. He couldn't help but sigh in ecstasy.

"Johan," a baritone voice rang out from behind him.

Johan spun around violently; he hadn't heard anyone approaching him. He saw a large figure covered in jet black robes. A large hood was draped over his head, covering most of his face. The parts that weren't exposed were covered by some kind of leather. An oppressive, malevolent aura radiated from his body. Johan stared at this figure with unease.

"How would you like the power to crush any noble you want?"