Chapter 1 Academy

It was just another day in the rumbling city of Polarity. The capital city of the shifted continents. Though it shouldn't be a surprise for everyone in the floating classroom. We were just watching a simulation of it. The real city of Polarity was destroyed ages ago because of the war between the nations. They tried their best to unite humanity but that was clearly a lie. Polarity is now just an ideal that people have in their heads. "Let's start up Polarity" or maybe "I'll rebuild Polarity someday". It's now some kind of joke in our lives to mention Polarity. Except, someday they'll be someone that will actually have that dream come true. I know that somewhere out there someone can rebuild the great capital city of Polarity. The class was still going on with the lecture but at this point I had already disconnected my vision amplifying goggles. I didn't want to relearn the history of Polarity for the nth time. My classmates on the other hand were still under the dream that maybe one of them could be that person by listening intently. However, I was much more excited in the next class. As I looked out the isolated classroom we had, I could see my reflection. Something that I know would never change. My hair was still the same short black wavy hair, pale complexion, and thin fingers touching my face. Just like everyone elses my name tag was on my black and yellow uniform's chest. My name was 24th Arc. I was born under the Arc family. A familia that was known for their hex users. Naturally I've had an affinity for it unlike my other classmates. The other notable familia in the classroom were Nex, Terra, and Nitra. Just as my name says, I'm the 24th of the series of Arc children. Though my other siblings weren't given that designation. I was the special one who was given the name because of my magic. Personally, I wished I didn't have these powers because then I would've lived a far better life. The life of a magic born is arduous.

Teacher: And that'll be the end of today's lesson. Be sure to not to forget the upcoming practical tests for your magics coming up. History isn't something that we honestly shouldn't be studying. We don't want to recreate past mistakes after all. May Adam shine on you all.

Our hologram teacher said with a smile and wave. After a second or two, the doors opened up. The air pressure was going to start to burst creating a huge shockwave soon. Everyone in the classroom started to cup their ears as the door opened up. We were starting to line up next to the door like some kind of mindless drones. I could barely move properly because the door was sucking everything out. To anyone who was new to this, this would've been completely strange for a classroom. We hugged the wall with our lives then one by one jumped out. Did I mention that this was a floating classroom? Well this was a floating classroom thousands of distances away from the ground. I jumped out of the floating classroom into the roaring winds. I could see my classmates triangulating to each other. Like I said, the life of a magic born was arduous.

4th Terra: EVERYONE HOLD HANDS!

72nd Nex: I KNOW! JUST GET CLOSE ALREADY! YOU'RE ALL TOO SLOW!

30th Nitra: WHY DO WE HAVE TO KEEP DOING THIS EVERY MONTH!

24th Arc: NO QUESTIONS! THE DROP IS COMING! FOCUS UP!

The sky was quite dry today meaning that we were going to a tropical biome. Today's lesson was to survive in the biome. We held our hands together as Nitra's eyes began to glow bright blue. Nitra was a girl that had an affinity for anything wind or air related. Meaning that she was able to make sure everyone's temperatures were fine, the air in any terrain was breathable, and we could drop from any distance without a care. She was still 16 rotations when she entered our class. She had a white pixie haircut. Apparently she did this a long time ago in her other classes because it annoyed her when she did magic. Her pink eyes glowed brighter and brighter. Nitra was the second oldest among us. As the drop slowly came closer, Nitra produced a magic symbol with her finger. A giant air tunnel was then manifesting right below us. It swallowed us up into what felt like some kind of white wormhole. We kept our grip strong because if we let go we were going to die. If one of us jumped without Nitra, we would make a giant splat on the ground. This tunnel had two purposes, so when we landed it would lessen the drop and so we could observe the terrain. This biome had palm trees, tropical birds, and worse of all two suns! This was going to be a problem for some of us without good endurances. Water was going to be scarce even with our magic. Nitra was able to find us a plateau to land in sooner or later. As we made it closer, she stopped it. I dropped quite well compared to the first time that Nitra did it. I kept failing to the point it was starting to hurt my knees. Nex wasn't as lucky. It looked like he still didn't have a clue on what to do. He fumbled on the ground rolling this time. Terra landed gracefully like some kind of superhero as the same with Nitra. She was clearly used to it.

Nitra: Oh my! Are you okay?! I should've ended it a bit smoother! Let me help you.

Terra: Stop babying him already. It's about time he got used to dropping properly on his own. Besides that drop was already close to the ground. Any more and the drop would've been harder..

Nitra: Still. Let me help -

Nex: I'm fine! I don't need your help. Terra is right. There's no need to help me out. So please!

Nitra: I see… I'm sorry.

Terra: Don't be sorry either! We don't have time for niceties. Start filtrating the air. I need to make sure this place doesn't have any strange seismic activity.

If anyone couldn't tell, Terra was that hot headed leader type. She was a pain from day one but apparently that wasn't always the case according to Nitra. Her build was completely different to us. She had big muscles compared to me and Nex. Terra had long blonde hair that she'd tie up into a ponytail before every class. Red eyes that looked like they were ready to kill. Her magic was that she could manipulate vibrations! It's quite terrifying sometimes. She uses it to check the ground if the terrain is dangerous. Her power was also used to help us maintain caution if there was something dangerous like a foreign creature. Though most of the time, she made sure that bounty hunters don't find us. She was the eldest of the group which obviously meant she had more experience. Naturally that made her the leader of this group. Though it would help if she wasn't such a constant drag. I came over to Nex anyway to help him up. Nex was the youngest of the group. The most eager of all in the class. He always had something to prove especially to Terra. Sometimes I think he has a thing for her. However, there's no such thing as romance in being magic born. Despite the look that Nex gave me, he still took my hand anyway. Nitra was relieved that he was okay. It's a good thing that our uniforms were quite durable for any situation. The only difference that our uniforms had were that girls could choose to wear a skirt or government issued leggings. Both Terra and Nitra wore the leggings. Our top uniforms were a specially made magic born exclusive shirt that had trackers. It was a black and yellow slim fit shirt that felt a bit uncomfy at first. The idea was that it would be easier to run in no matter what area. Along with that we also had black gloves which had unique symbols and a watch. The watch had a compass. It also doubles as a gps system to our trackers.

Terra: Hmph, Nex is just going to be a big baby if you keep doing that Arc.

Arc: Doesn't matter. I did it because I wanted to. Nothing wrong with that.

Terra: If he relies on you, then I'll make sure it's your responsibility.

Arc: He can take care of himself. Now quit your intimidation and get to scanning. We don't have time to sit here.

Terra: God, you're annoying. I'm just making sure y'all are prepared.

Arc: Just get to it.

Terra: Big mouth.

Nitra: Hey now, let's not fight. We're supposed to be a team.

Nex: Don't worry Terra! I'll be fine!

Terra: Shut it! I can't focus!

Terra's face changed from being an ass into a much serious one. Her hands touched the ground to make a special symbol. After a few seconds, her face changed into an angry one. That only meant one thing.

Terra: Four bogeys on our twelve then a camp on our 9. This is annoying. I thought they'd make this recovery much easier than the last. Arc, you know what to do.

Arc: Got it.

My powers were a bit more complicated. It's the ability to modify elements but only one at a time. I can use my hexes to make snares, fake/real paths, foot prints, and even weapons. Though I can only use pure elements like water, earth, and fire for now. It's a bit lacking right now but I know it's going to be useful if I can imagine better ways for them. Though it would've been easier if I had a mentor from my familia. I came towards the ground then felt a rush of energy on my nervous system. Each time I use my power, it's like a surge of electricity that goes all over my body. My eyes glowed while I concentrated my power through my finger then drew a triangle. That's the special symbol that I saw in my visions. Only magic borns can see their symbols, so I wouldn't know what those three use. The floor started to rumble a bit creating fake footprints everywhere. That way even if someone would try to track us, it would be harder. Sometimes, our magic doesn't even need to be drawn. We can even carry stamps to place them on certain surfaces for them to work.

Terra: That should do it.

Nitra: Where do we head now?

Terra: Towards our destination of course. We don't want to burn daylight. Then again daylight isn't exactly scarce. This is Plaux.

Nitra: What's that supposed to mean?

Arc: You've never heard of Plaux?

Nitra: I wouldn't be asking if I did.

Arc: This was the tropical planet that was supposed to be the number one tourist destination. But after the war for Polarity the project was scrapped. I'm sure we could even see metal remnants of golems and structures if we tried.

Terra: But that's not we're here for. What's the objective Arc?

Arc: According to the documents that they've fed us. We're supposed to find a document that was sent here a long time ago. It was a schematic.

Nex: Of what?

Arc: A supposedly new line of construction golems.

Terra: Geez, all of this just for blueprints?

Arc: This one is a very special golem schematic.

Nitra: How could it be so special?

Arc: This one doesn't need to be powered by a Foxphite.

Terra: Impossible.

Arc: That's what it says on the class debrief.

Terra: How?! Wouldn't that mean- Nevermind! We shouldn't be asking questions. We need to find it and leave.

Arc: Terra is right. We need to go.

Nitra: Is there anything else we need to know about?

Arc: Just like any other mission we've been given.. No time of return. This is another S mission.

Nex: S again?! I thought they said that they would stop those already!

Nitra: S?

Arc: Suicide missions. No return missions, if we call for help no one will come unless we have our objective prerequisites.

Terra: Enough Intros! Move out! May Adam be with us.!

Arc, Nitra, & Nex: Adam with us.

We propped up our black hoodies then scaled the mountain. Nex being 11 rotations, still needed help. I've made sure that the terrain on the ground would be smoother than usual. The funny thing about Nex was that when people would see him, they'd normally think that he'd be too young for these jobs. They don't realize that having someone from the Nex familia was like having an edge on death itself. It made me a bit sick having someone so young being part of these classes but it still felt like some kind of insurance. Terra might be hard on Nex but she knew that having him stronger would benefit all of us. Nex was the smallest of the group too. The first time I've met him, I've mistaken him for a girl with how feminine he can be. He had a tiny torso similar to a little girl and a wavy blue bob cut. I've told him numerous times before that he had to cut it like a guy but he's just so adamant not to. From time to time, I could only see one of his green eyes while the other would be covered.

We moved cautiously around the palm trees and stayed away from open areas. The last thing we wanted was someone spotting us. Sharks in particular were the things that we wanted to stay away from. I've made sure that our physical traces were hard to spot but sharks were something else. They had strong noses that could smell magic born blood. These people were failed experiments during the war. Sharks were the supposed counter to magic users. Hard to believe that people got so desperate to thin us out. Those horrid people even went as far as modifying their bodies to hunt people like us. It's a no brainer we're so scarce now. As we moved on, we've had to start switching to climbing trees instead of the ground. Bogeys were patrolling the areas. Luckily Nitra modified our running boots for us to glide to tree to tree. Terra was in the lead of our formation followed by me. Nitra would be last while Nex right by me. If there was something that went wrong, I could modify the ground to burrow underground. I'm basically a shield for the group too. After a couple more hours of traversing through the trees, we've made it to the shelter located on the briefing. It was an uncompleted building that was said to be the town hall. But that was before the war, it didn't even have widows yet. The roof was still intact however. We synchronized our team watches then moved in closer by using the trees. Nitra flung us up in the air after a swift signal from Terra so we could make it to the roof. There were some makeshift hunters on the ground. They looked dirty with their gas masks and metal spears. Old technology. I looked down to see no one else which I signaled to Terra. I gave her a piece of parchment with the Arc symbol on it. As she dropped down behind them, Nitra slowed the drop to make sure she wasn't heard. As she stamped the paper on the ground, She jumped up with the help of Nitra's air boost. Now it was my turn, I surged in my power to where I could see the symbol then shot a silent energy shot. The earth rumbled which disoriented the guards. Suddenly a giant monstrous mouth opened up with sharp rocky teeth that chewed up the guards. They screamed but there was no use. Terra had her powers active which made sound irrelevant to anyone who weren't close by. Soon my magic stopped. The ground once again returned to normal without even a trace of struggle except for a couple of body parts sticking out of the ground. We dropped down towards the entrance.

Terra: Clean entrance. Let's keep this quick. I could still feel patrols nearby. They're going to notice their comrades aren't responding. Arc, strap the place up. Nitra, blow this place up if we don't signal back. Nex, on me. Meet up on 5. Adam with us.

Arc: Got it.

Nitra: Roger that.

Nex: Yes leader!

I went around the location making sure that there weren't blind spots that we've missed. I've made sure that there were pressure points on the ground to make some ground mines. With each mine I create, I could slowly feel like a machine. This isn't the life I've pictured myself to be in when they said I could practice magic. A killer? They said that this was fun. Though I remember the faces of my other classmates over the years. Their faces are unchanging killing hunters. They forget that these were people too.

Nitra: Are you done?

Arc: Ack! Don't scare me like that!

Nitra: Sorry, I thought y'all were supposedly aware all the time.

Arc: Not all the time…

Nitra: Come, let's regroup already. I can still see them on my sensors moving.

Was Nitra the same as them? The same as Terra at least. I wasn't even sure if humanity was something that magic borns have. We don't even have names. Just designations...

We've walked making sure our backs were covered but there was only so much time left. Terra was just up ahead along with Nex. This building was a lot smaller outside. However, this felt like some kind of crypt than a building or town hall. Rubble was everywhere, furniture molded, and the rotting smell of corpses. Golems were also lying around the place, some even still holding construction tools. Now they're just sleeping dusty forever without a drop of Foxphite. I walked over to one to see what this one's number was. This was one in particular was a butler golem. There just so much dust on this one that it was hard to tell what was written on it. After moving a bit of dust out of the way, I was able to see it. "Ev3".

Nitra: Strange isn't it?

Arc: What is?

Nitra: That golems basically replaced human work. I wouldn't have even imagined a world where no one did anything. No work or jobs for humans to do. Strange huh...

Arc: Now we don't have anything.

Nitra: We? I don't think we can even call ourselves humans. We're magic born. Adam's children.

Arc: …

Nitra: I'm sorry. That is a touchy subject within the Academy huh.

Arc: I don't want to talk about it.

Nitra: Yeah, I get it. Newbie in this class. I shouldn't pry with every member.

Arc: That's not it. Humans died a long time ago in Polaris.

Nitra: Quite the philosophical one aren't you. I didn't think anyone would actually listen to those boring lectures.

Arc: We should keep going. Terra's waiting.

Nitra: Right…

We came closer to the rendezvous but something felt wrong. It was quiet. Something felt way too easy about this. My legs started moving on it's own to run to the point. Nitra after a while started to think the same and sprinted as well. The hall in front of us was filled with golems with missing parts. Some without legs, heads, or arms. They were building something down here! Nitra eyes started to glow then modified our boots again. These mods allowed us to scale walls like some kind of stick shoes. It allowed us to get the drop on enemies expecting us to enter through the entrance. As we ran, there were stairs leading down towards a basement. This is going to be trouble. Nitra must've felt especially heroic today because she ran in without saying anything. This newbie! I had to run after her too. The stairs lead down to a giant storage room filled with scrap parts. The place was giant and had no lights at all. The only thing that helped us see was a red lamp light from the ceiling. Some of the scrap parts towered into mountains and in the middle of the room was a stunned Terra. She looked a bit bruised from a fight. However, there wasn't anyone around the place which made things even more difficult. Not a single target to see. Something was waiting for us to get baited by Terra.

Nitra: Terra! I'm coming!

She must've heard us because she looked our way. Nitra made her way towards her but this wasn't part of protocol! I tried to reach for her arm but she must've boosted her shoes again! She was just beyond my reach by a few inches!

Arc: NITRA NO!

As she moved in closer to Terra, I saw Nex by the wall. His eyes were terrified at something. There was only one thing I knew about Terra. No matter what she would want to make sure that Nex was safe no matter what. He was going to be our lifeline. My body raced towards Nex to make sure that he was going to be safe. I grabbed him by his shoulders and looked to see if he had any damage. Nex wasn't saying anything! He was too terrified to say anything!

Arc: Nex! Are you okay?

Nex: Save Terra!

I turned back to see that the light wasn't a light. It was a giant mechanical Golem that had been looking down at us from the ceiling! It's several eyes were glowing with it's disfigured body clawing at the walls. It was like a giant spider golem made up of several components to keep itself working. Nitra didn't see it but it's sights were right on her! It's red eyes were moving all over the place!

Arc: NITRA STOP!

It was for a split second that I remembered that this was our job. Our job was to fight, survive, and salvage. We were workers for the government. Living and unfeeling workers sent on a suicide mission. Terra's face looked up to see the giant mechanical monstrosity. She knew that it was going to target Nitra. With a frustrated look, she opened up her eyes and shoved Nitra out of the way using her vibration magic. It knocked her back pretty hard. However, the golem must've been relying on motion. It sensed magic from Terra. The vibrations sent Nitra towards us. She basically tackled us but it was fine. She was safe now. I grabbed her hand making sure she couldn't move. At this point we were praying that the golem wouldn't pounce on Terra. It's mass alone was enough to crush her no matter how hard she would push it away. The golem started to make some mechanical noises like some kind of tin can banging with each other. Screws and bolts were falling from the ceiling. This thing was thinking!

Terra: DON'T MOVE DUMBASS. WHY DID YOU RUN HERE! IT'S USING MOTION SENSING.

Nitra: I'm sorry…

Arc: Sorry doesn't cut it! You could've killed us all!

Nitra: I'm…

Arc: Nex, you know what to do.

Nex: We're too far apart!

Arc: I know. This is going to be risky but I know what to do.

I tried my best to make sure my movements were obvious so the golem wouldn't notice. I grabbed something from my pocket. The circular gadget there was going to be something that was going to help us.

Arc: TERRA! I'M INITIATING RETREAT!

Terra: GO FOR IT!

My blood started to pump hard. I could feel the adrenaline rushing in. With all of my focus, I slowly pointed it towards Terra. My aim was pretty good. However, this distance between me and Terra was life or death. I pressed the button on my gadget to shoot a fast hook wire towards Terra. As I shot the Golem's motion sense felt that and it started to shake. The walls of the area started to rumble with it. The hook managed to land nearby on her left side which wasn't what I wanted. I could feel the stress build up in my arm. Nitra was staring hopelessly on the side while Nex was focusing.

Terra: IT'S ALRIGHT!

Arc: Nex, get ready!

Terra: NOW!

Terra jumped towards the wire! The giant golem suddenly pounced off the wall which made the entire building begin to rumble! It leapt off the wall now going towards Terra at high speeds. There was no dodging this! Nex eyes glowed with a bright blue! That was my signal to grab his shoulder too. I closed my eyes. Before I knew it, I could hear Terra screaming.

Nitra: TERRA!

I opened my eyes to see that Nitra sped her way to Terra. We were transported to the room of the structure. All of us were now safely on the roof. I was able to finally catch my breath while the other scrambled to Terra. Nex's power was teleportation. If anything went wrong in the mission, he could teleport any of us to a spot he modified previously with his mark. It makes him an important asset to the class and recon units like Terra. But now, we're facing the first problem of the mission.

Terra: I'm alright. But more importantly you shouldn't be so fucking reckless! Who on Adam's name would sprint towards an obvious trap like that!

Nitra: I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!

Arc: Are you okay? You look terrible.

Terra: Negative. I messed my arm fighting the golem. Guess someone found the blueprints first. New priority, we need to destroy that thing first. Then we can proceed to the main objective.

Nitra: What about your arm?!

Terra: It'll be fine hahahaha. I can still fight with the other! That thing got me before we made the jump. I might need to rest my leg too. It sorta crushed it. But not entirely. I can still walk but running is a different story. Didn't think this mission was going to be easy did you?

Nitra: Terra! Take this seriously!

Terra: I think it just barely got my leg. Any second later, I might have to just amputate it. Thanks to both of you. Nex and Arc. Another good save.

Nex: Let's just rest up.

Arc: I'll get started on the hexes.

As I walked out, they were laughing at her near death experience. I guess it's good that she wasn't too phased on it but that wasn't the point. We weren't supposed to experience any of these things in the first place! These missions were terrible! Something that kids like us shouldn't even experience! However, somebody had to do them. It was either going to us or another class. Terra, Nitra, and Nex... we were robbed.