The mysterious man

Axel turned around and saw a man with a dagger in his hand; the man wore a mask and slashed out at Axel, who responded by jumping to the side, nearly getting hit by the blade. 

He took out his Dagger, and the man continued his assault while Axel ran away from his apartment.

The man followed, pursued, and yelled, "You will not escape, Axel. I know of the power you possess." 

Just then, Axel gained enlightenment on his Dormant ability just as the man threw a fireball at him.

Axel Pinpointed a weakness in the fireball and slashed at it before the fireball could hit him.

This ability—it can dispel? That's new, Axel thought in awe.

The man kept attacking, Axel dispelling most of the man's weak abilities. 

He is weak, no higher than the 9th stage of the Collection plane. Axel thought as he dodged an attack.

It's time for me to go on the offensive; he needs to be stopped before all of my energy disappears.

Axel swiftly dodged all of the man's attacks and struck him with his Dagger, slightly wounding the man's arms. He then used a basic wind blade to damage the wound even more. 

The man responded with a pained yelp and then took the defensive to avoid getting hit more.

Axel kept attacking and soon saw a mishap in his defense. He made another hit to the man's arms, severing it.

The man dropped in pain as he cursed Axel. 

Axel then proceeded to swiftly deal the finishing blow to the man's chest, blood spurting out in torrents of red.

Axel went up to the man's dead body and noticed an emblem on his cloak.

It was a silver eagle with a dagger through the head.

Axel cut out the symbol and put it in his pockets. It may be useful to keep on hand, he thought.

With a sly smile, Axel checked the man's pockets, saw a note with his name on it, and said, "Mysterious."

The next morning

"You said a man attacked you?" Asked Monica with a frightened tone.

Axel pulled the emblem of the cloak he cut out last night.

"They had this on their cloak. It may be a lead." Axel responded with a nod.

"My—that's the symbol of the notorious Black Eagle mercenary group. However, their leader is only in the third stage of the Origin plane, so his organization is quite weak," Monica said in response.

"You should be fine; they are at least slightly moral and won't kill you, more likely kidnap you." 

There was a long pause as a face of disdain washed over Monica for mere seconds.

"You should train more, Axel. Start with some cultivation," Monica said, then took her leave.

Axel returns to his dorm after picking up at least a week's food.

A few weeks pass

Axel is even stronger than he was a few weeks ago. He comprehended how to dispel anything up to the fourth stage of the Fusion plane in power. However, each use to dispel above his power level will use a lot of his mana. 

Axel had also just gained enlightenment and had reached the 5th stage of the collection plane.

I should experiment more. After I finish my month of training, I think it would be interesting to learn more about how dispel works.

To end his training, Axel got weighted gear for his legs, arms, and chest, each weighing around 50 pounds, for a total of 250 pounds.

He trained for hours and hours before he fell to the ground, defeated. "This is much harder than I expected," Axel said, not to be heard.

Should I rest? No. I need to keep training; it's important to gain strength.

Just like that, Axel continued sweating profusely.

30 minutes later, Axel thought it may be a good idea to cultivate. 

He walked to his compound and entered, only for an odd sensation of increased mana in the area, which was strange since it was unexpected.

However, he shrugged and continued, not minding the odd experience.

He went to cultivate, getting in the average lotus position, and then started his cultivation.

He was aware of his surroundings the entire time as he decided to absorb mana faster than usual with his time element, increasing his cultivation speed by about 15%

As time passed, a conversation took place in the academy's Principal's office with around 30 people all talking about some odd Schism in the middle of one of the few oceans. The Schism has increased water flow activity due to some significant events. A specific treasure is created in the middle of the Schism, which is classified as a type of trench without water.

The Schism was created by a god in the Second Great War of the Gods when a large object was thrown into it; most say it looked like a large spear.

The trench was approximately 1400 miles long and 200 miles wide, which is quite a massive area considering it also had a depth of 29,000 feet.

"We need to send someone to check it out." Said a large, well-built man seemingly in his late 50s

"It isn't safe to just send 1 person, and I'll be damned if the other academies haven't figured this out and sent their people," said Michael Harps, clearly disdainful.

"I know who may be able to do it, or well, a group that can." Said a mysterious Fox Woman

Everyone turned to Monica to hear her suggestion. 

"Well, spit it out," Michael said.

Monica looked around at everyone and noticed their piercing eyes, which had a hint of greed. The only person whose eyes did not have greed in them was Michael.

"Well, my disciple and his friends. Of course, we would need a ship crew as well, as they are only 12-15 years old. However, as Axel is a time elementalist, it may be of use to him as some of those Ocean hearts have been said to be of the time element." Monica said all of that, attempting to support her amazing disciple and his friends.

Some of the men started shouting in rage at the outlandish suggestion; however, the Principal started laughing and said, "That may just actually work."

Everyone stared daggers at Michael. They were all quite angry because he had agreed to Monica's proposal.

"You just agreed because your bastard of a son is one of his friends!" The man who said this went in to attack, throwing a wind blade at the Principal, who responded by slightly stepping to the side. 

"You know, attacking me is quite the serious offense?" Michael said as he appeared behind the man and hit a pressure point on the man's neck.

To think this idiot would attack me

Michael smiles and then says, "Take him out of my sight. He will be suspended for a month." 

2 guards take the man away as the meeting continues 

The meeting lasted another 30 minutes, and we talked about other topics.

The meeting ended, and Michael asked Monica to stay for a private talk.

Everyone except Monica and Michael left the room, and they started their conversation.

"So, who all do you plan to go with them exactly: said Michael with a bit of interest in his voice.

"Well, Axel Stray, Gravity Risen, Winter Harps, Neo, And me, respectively," Monica said with a smirk.

Michael looked at her with a smile and said, "And I will have the crew set up for you. You should go tell the group about it. It should be quite interesting to see what they return with. They will also, however, need a few strong people you can trust to help protect them."

The room suddenly shifted as if alive, and a door opened.

"I hear you guys are talking about that trench." Said a man in white and black, with pale skin and black boots

"Father." Said Michael.

"Hello, Michael, it's been a while, it has. Mrs Withers, I am Bruce Harps." Said the man with a smile.

"Why are you here? You are not needed." Said Michael.

"Ah, I heard you guys had a new student, Axel Stray. He is an interesting one, and he even has the time element! Such a prodigy must not be under Shackels."

Monica stared at Michael and asked, "Who is he?" 

Michael looked at Monica with tears. "He is one of the few Time elementalists." 

"That I am! You remembered my dear son; however, I was not here to take your student. I'm letting you know that the secret order is watching. And they will find out if you do anything to Axel Stray."