35 CHAPTER 34: Mysta

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[The Mysta Clan is one of, if not the best at swordplay. They have bred many swordmasters throughout their history. For seventy generations, they have been at the forefront of sword technique.

Every once in a while, there has been a genius that rises in the Mysta Clan, and when I say genius, I mean someone who is a genius even when compared to all the geniuses in the Clan.

There hasn't been one of those geniuses for a long time and there has been speculation about whether there will ever be another one. Being one of the demon clans that usually has at least one Demon Lord in power, without an exceptional genius to keep their reputation, they've been slowly been declining because of the pressure from the other clans.....Excerpt from: GREAT SWORDMASTERS]

[George's POV]

I watched, on the edge of my seat while Professor A finally explained the whole tier thing to me.

"There are four tiers, and don't bother to ask why because I'll be explaining that right now."

"In the beginning, before you even reach the First Tier, your Hani is practically useless. Most people can't make use of it or even know of its existence before that point, but that changes when you awaken it."

"Most Ranked awaken naturally or use a Hani technique if they're inpatient, but that takes time and is very expensive. But the general rule is that if you have the aptitude you will awaken at about five. Furthermore, even if you have the best Hani technique in the world, you won't awaken if you don't have affinity with the technique."

"Most renowned families have their own personal technique which all their members use to train their Hani and to use it you need to have the bloodline of the family. However, in some rare cases, someone not part of the family can use the technique but that almost never happens. For that reason, it poses a problem for the rest of the population. How are they supposed to become one of the Ranked if they can't awaken their Hani?"

"That was when all the researchers of all the nations started working on techniques that the normal people could use. For a long time, there was nothing that worked until one country succeeded. The name of that country has long been forgotten, but the general technique every country uses and every technique used by everyone except the old families are all modified versions of that original technique."

"There are still people trying to create a whole different technique or even whole method entirely, but so far no one has made any progress."

He paused and looked at every one of us.

"What we used on you guys was one of those methods that was considered to be a possibility. There have been cases where someone's Hani has awakened under strenuous circumstances, so it put forward by a researcher that if we could find out the exact level of stress the body needs to awaken, we might possibly be able to create a cheap way to awaken people en masse."

"The idea was eventually tested and found to be implausible. In the live tests, most people died and almost no one even awakened if they survived. The project was scrapped and forgotten about but there are still some people who try and see if it's actually possible. At this point, you should've guessed it, Freestone Academy is one of those places that still tries."

"That's enough about history, now I will explain why we try to concentrate Hani. We found that when Hani is concentrated to a certain point, it undergoes a qualitative change. A tier is the general range for each level of concentration."

"The point where one's Hani undergoes that change is different for each person. If your Hani can be concentrated to a high degree before it changes, then it means you have high talent."

"That is why one's talent is decided by birth. We don't have a way to measure talent, so it's quite difficult to determine whether it's possible for someone to be a genius."

"Going back to what I said earlier, since you people are past the age of natural awakening you only had two choices to awaken, one was to use a Hani technique or to be forcefully awakened. It should be obvious which one you guys used."

"That said, you are already far behind your peers in the academy who have already awakened and started training their Hani. To catch up with them, you either have to train yourself to death or have some fortuitous encounter."

"The process to increase the concentration of one's Hani is a slow and torturous procedure that may take years and most people don't even make it to the First Tier."

"Now, you may ask yourself, why would I go through that process when I may not even make it to the First Tier and the answer is that the closer and closer you get to the First Tier, the more your body changes and stops being normal."

"That basically means you become a superhuman. But that's only when compared with normal people. Against someone who's crossed the First Tier, you wouldn't even be qualifies to lick their shoes."

"Everyone who's entered the academy has started to train their Hani, so you should understand the gravity of the situation."

I didn't really understand what he meant, but I looked around to see the others' expressions.

Alistair looked anxious, and that was actually amusing to see for me, Alex looked serious, maybe for the first time in this entire thing?

Only Josephine and Amanda looked calm. I wonder why?

Well, it's not as if I should be bothered too much by this. It's not as if I'm going to live long enough to start training my Hani.

"Once a person crosses that threshold into the First Tier, they can no longer be classified as a normal being. In addition, you begin to find it hard to associate with those that are normal."

"Why do you think you almost never see a Ranked act like a friend with a normal? It's the same with a human and an ant. You can't possible act like friends with something that's an inferior species when compared with you!"

"For a Ranked, there are many different kinds of classes for one to choose from, but there are a few that require talent. For example, to be a mage, you have to have elemental affinity and extreme Hani sensitivity."

"To be a ranger, you need to have spatial awareness and unbelievable balance. There are other examples, like the special classes from the famous families that you need a bloodline for."

"But there are classes you don't need a lot of talent for. Anyone can swing a sword and put on armour, can't they?"

He stopped long enough to observe our expressions and then continued.

"You'll know if you're approaching the Second Tier when you can form your aura. The color of your aura is dependent on the technique you use and your element. Initially, the color of everyone's aura is white, but when you eventually reach the level where you can manipulate the elements, your aura will change to match your element. It can take some people a long time to reach that level while others reach it as soon as they form an aura. Those that do that though, are usually geniuses. The aura of a Ranked increases in density and size passively, making it so that it's possible for the aura of a Fourth Tier to be able to destroy a city."

I nodded in admiration. A whole city? That's pretty neat.

"In summary, the way you can differentiate the strong and the weak in the First Tier is by whether or not they have an aura or not."

I chuckled to myself. This is very interesting. Then I remembered something.

I once saw my parents with something colorful around their bodies once, could that have been aura? No way, that would mean my parents are at least in the First Tier.

I shook my head, dismissing the thought.

I'm probably just over thinking it.

But then I stopped.

How many times have I thought that I'm thinking too hard, and then it turns out I was actually right?

Scenes of when I was with Alistair flashed through my head. My face hardened.

Yeah, I should definitely put it down as a possibility.

Professor A made his way out of the room.

"That's all for today. I'll tell you about the other Tiers another day."

When he was almost out of the door, he turned back for one last word.

"Yeah, that's right. The fight club will start in five days, so make your final preparations."

And with that, he left.

Meanwhile, when I heard the words 'fight club', I had spaced out and was now thinking about how to spend my last days.

Maybe I should use my other requests to get a fancy dinner the night before the fight club.

I wandered out of the room behind the rest, planning my last supper.

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