Chapter 2

[A/N: You guys can flame me however you want in the comments because I haven't uploaded in a long a** while. I probably deserve it. Thanks for reading anyway. I'll attach pictures to the corresponding characters. ]

The gradual golden sun shined over the back mountains, casting shadows over buildings and the people. A kid holding a pot with strings arrived in front of a school gate.

Mo Fan arrived at Shui Nan Middle School, his old middle school that he just graduated from yesterday. Of course, he wasn't here to waste his time here, but he was here to pay respect to his passed away friend, Old Man Ying. He respected the man very much with his lush forest cottage in the back mountain of the middle school, and he worked as a back-entrance gatekeeper making sure that no middle schooler escaped. However, no one used the back entrance which made his job pretty easy.

The man didn't have any family or friends, but he lived a humble and honest life. As for Mo Fan, he accidentally got familiar with the gatekeeper, which to Mo Fan was probably the best accident to him.

Back to Mo Fan's past life. Old Man Ying was the person that told Mo Fan tales about the magical parallel plane and gifted him the world breaking Little Loach, bragging it as a heaven item. Naturally, as a sane person, young Mo Fan didn't believe any weird spouting or fantasy talking of the old man, but he did enjoy his energy and appreciated the old man's viewpoint of life. When Old Man Ying died, Mo Fan thought he passed on to his next life of the magical plane, but...

Mo Fan was carried to the magical plane by the Little Loach. Thanks to the old man, now Mo Fan was in the magic parallel universe…

"Well technically, it is my second time living my life again." Mo Fan thought.

Mo Fan carried incense, flowers, and a pot of alcohol. Mo Fan helped Old Man Ying throughout his middle school years, and they both got very familiar with each other. As his final wish, Mo Fan helped bury him in the mountains by his thatched cottage.

He laid down the flowers and poured the alcohol over the slightly dirty tombstone.

"Old Man Ying, thank you for everything that you have done for me. I am living very content with this magical world." Mo Fan clapped his hands together and prayed for him. A few moments passed, and Mo Fan was just about done. "Where ev…

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

Mo Fan's indestructible Nokia feverishly ringed in his pockets. Mo Fan ignored his ever-so-loud Nokia and a slight annoyance mark on his forehead. The call passed by, and Mo Fan refocused Old Man Ying, but it immediately started again.

Ring~Ring~Ring~Ring~

Somehow, the Nokia was sounding even louder. Mo Fan promptly picked up the call and in an extremely annoyed tone, "What is your problem?! Who are you?!"

"..." The person was so enraged by Mo Fan's comment that he forgot to respond. "KID! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? YOU WANTED TO WORK FOR THE LIBRARY, AND SIGN UP EVERYTHING YESTERDAY! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO COME, WE CAN FIND OTHER PEOPLE." The person on the phone exhaled a gigantic steam cloud.

Mo Fan blinked. And again. Finally realized his mistake, and apologized quickly. "Hehe… Sorry about that Chief Library Supervisor Gu. I will be right there at Tian Lan Library, and I was just praying for someone." Mo Fan knew he forgot something in the morning and smacked his head to make sure that it was working properly.

"Since you have the time to pray for someone, then you should ask for someone to pray for you when you get in the library working. Hope to God that you wouldn't be fired. Anyways, better be here quick. Also on the way here, buy some nice looking book tabs…" Old Man Gu kept on talking through the phone.

Mo Fan knew this person would not stop talking once he started. "All right, All right. I will do all of that. Be right there."

Mo Fan finished his final few words with the gravestone and promptly started running off to catch the bus.

Two Months Later…

The summer quickly passed for other students who were grinding League of Legends or having a good vacation time. Some friends stayed in touch with each other, but many locked themselves in either reading some novels or being scolded by Asian parents saying that they didn't improve in anything during the summer.

But for Mo Fan, it was the most boring time of his life. He thought living a second time for his life would be grand and amazing, but…

He couldn't cultivate because there was no point in cultivation without awakening magic first. He was just lifeless sitting on the chair in the library. Mo Fan had read most of the books in the library, and he would skip the ones that were spouting nonsense about magic. 'Reading technical books every day is just slowly dying from hunger,' Mo Fan left out a heavy sigh. 'On the positive side, today is the first day of school, and I get to finally awaken my powers.'

But he did start working out, so the summer was not a waste. Another unexpected benefit of exercising was that Mo Fan grew taller. It wasn't much, but Mo Fan was already pretty tall within his class, so he can passively flex himself as the main character.

Ding Dong*

The first bell finally rang. Mo Fan slung his backpack onto his shoulder and headed toward the entrance of the school. Tian Lan Library was already in the school, but Mo Fan headed to the entrance to wait for his monkey, Xiaohou.

"Little brat! I wish you luck. Awaken a fire element! That will allow you to hold an advantage over other Magic students. Other elements are fine like the Rock and Wind, but Fire element is the best when it comes to battle prowess" the Old Man Gu exclaimed while Mo Fan was walking out.

"Yep, thanks Old man." Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan already knew the early distinction between the Seven Main Elements.

Destructive Element > Elusive Element > Defensive Elements. 'The better the element, the harder the chance to awaken it. With that, there are clear distinctions and better treatment if someone awakens a super rare element.' Mo Fan thought.

But the theory falls apart when mages train themselves high enough to a degree; however, that is when the mage climbs high enough and works themselves to death.

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Mo Fan arrived at Tian Lan High School gates, and there were hundreds of students walking through, in groups and alone. The air was mixed with excitement and nervousness; the day was chilly but not cold. It was a big day for first-years. It was Magic Awakening.

Mo Fan stood near the entrance casually waiting for Xiaohou. Instead, he ran into his old middle school bullies, Mu Bai and Zhao Kunsan. Mu Bai was the young master and a branch family of the big Mu Family in Bo City, and he was relatively handsome with short blue hair and had the air of pride being in a branch of a rich family. Zhao Kunsan was basically his fat and useless servant, and he would do the usual dirty work that Mu Bai wouldn't do in class. Trying to belittle Mo Fan.

Zhao Kunsan in a decently loud voice trying to spread gossip, "Yooo, is this our classmate from the same middle school. You are also attending Tian Lan High School, too? Or are you here trying to sneak into the class? I heard this high school only accept students that have done well in Magic Exams."

'Mu Bai does become more mature as he experiences life, but Zhao Kunsan never reached over the first stage of magic development.' Mo Fan thought and ignored his comment.

But he did hear a few snickers and received questioned looks from other students. Mo Fan decided it was not worth wasting his energy in talking trash to a fatty.

Zhao Kunsan seeing Mo Fan not responding. "Hmmph!" Both Zhao Kunsan and Mu Bai strolled into the glorious Tian Lan High School.

Finally, Xiaohou showed up beelining towards the school gates. Mo Fan walked up to the running monkey and questioned. "Come on let's go… Why are you late? Are you nervous in which element you will awaken?"

Xiaohou slowed down and replied while gasping for air. "Not really, but *breathes* the breakfast line was a little longer than usual." Xiaohou had a bag of steamed buns and handed one to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan accepted and quickly finished it. Mo Fan didn't want to be late for Magic Awakening, so he continued to walk into the school and the monkey followed him.

All 1500 first-year students were placed in an orderly formation in the big field waiting for Principal Zhu to speak. Mo Fan remembered him being a benevolent principal and had a prodigious reputation around the entire Bo City, and he spoke up for Mo Fan in his past life.

"Students, do you know what it means to become a Mage?"

"No matter what kind of Mage you turn out to be, do not forget that we magicians exist to further allow humanity to grow. We protect the most important mission of humanity. Do not forget that outside of this safe city, countless Magical Beasts are watching us like a tiger watches his prey."

In society, there are two types of people. Ordinary people who do basic jobs and work. Mages who defend and protect cities allow humans to prosper and live comfortably. Hence, this is why mages are look-upon by many people, and they are usually known as the hero or savior of people. The treatment between a good mage and a rich ordinary man is like heaven and earth, and the amount of respect for the mage is tremendous.

'Money is good, but respect and praise of the public is something else that can make legends rise and titans fall.' Mo Fan thought from experiences from his last life.

After the Headmaster finished his spiel, all of the first-years couldn't hold back the excitement for awakening magic. Every student is trying to fit through the door to get to their seat and prepare themselves ready.

Mo Fan and Xiaohou walked into Class 8 with a number written on a paper. It didn't matter too much which class you belonged to, but your student number dictates how intelligent you are on magic. Mu Bai who had done really well on the middle school finals was Student Number 1 which indicates that he is the best in the class in magic knowledge, and so on and so on.

Mo Fan however had Student Number 48, the last place. The last few student numbers would be known as idiots of the class, and they would usually get verbally bullied and ignored.

Mo Fan didn't care much since he couldn't change his number now. If he was able to retake the test, he would definitely beat Mu Bai by a long shot.

*step* *thud*

A teacher quickly walked in. He simultaneously introduced himself as the students' homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng, and placed a dark sphere-shaped orb in the front smoothly.

Xue Musheng was around thirty years old with glasses on while wearing an old-fashioned suit (without a tie) that looked around his age too. He explained, "This is the Awakening Stone, and you will be able to awaken your element from this. But before we are going to take a couple of minutes of reviewing the elements."

Booo ~~ Students were disappointed about this decision.

Xue Musheng sighed and added, "I'll make it quick."

"There are seven main elements that most students would awaken from the start. These are Lightning, Fire, Ice, Wind, Earth, Water, and Light; once you awaken, the orb will glow color according to the elements," Xue Musheng seeing the students not paying much attention. "Okay, Okay, time for awakening. I will call you by the class number from 1 to 48. Number 1 Mu.."

When Xue Musheng, the homeroom teacher, was about to call on Mu Bai to awaken, Zhao Kunsan asked a question about not being able to awaken magic. "Wait teacher, what happens if someone from a class fails the simple step of awakening?" Zhao Kunsan ended up staring at Mo Fan while smiling.

Xue Musheng replied. "It would be rare that a student wouldn't be able to awaken an element," He paused for a second before talking. "We would have to ask the student to leave school."

Some students started to worry and some began to talk with others near them.

"Anyways *clap* Number 1, Mu Bai." Xue Musheng called out and gathered back the students' attention.

A young and handsome man walked up from the back of the classroom with a sense of pride. Meanwhile, other students are discussing either how handsome he was or attracting the attention of other students because he was Number 1.

Mu Bai wore an indifferent expression. His eyes, however, revealed that he was enjoying others discussing him; He relished being the center of attention. He walked to the front and stood tall before the homeroom teacher, a humble and confident smile on his face.

"Mu Bai, you're from the Mu Family who is renowned for their Ice element right?" Xue Musheng asked with a slight smile.

"Precisely."

"Good, if you awaken the ice element, then you will be superior compared to others. However, don't forget to put in the effort too. After all, talent isn't the decisive aspect of everything." Xue Musheng encouraged him.

Mu Bai nodded, but he thought to himself, "Yes, talent can't decide everything, but without talent and family resources, then one would have to live forever at the bottom of the society." Mu Bai slightly took a look at Mo Fan.

With permission from the homeroom teacher, Mu Bai slowly placed his hands on the floating Awakening Stone.

A thick, star-shaped compass emerged, along with a clear palm print on the Awakening Stone. Mu Bai seemed tranquil, but his heart was nervous as he placed his hands on the Awakening Stone…

Mu Bai wanted to awaken his family's signature Ice Element because he was able to surpass among his peers with his family background and he might be able to get close to Mu Ningxue. It was two birds and one stone.

Everyone was impatiently watching Mu Bai awakening his element, and it was everyone's first time witnessing magic awakening. Many wondered what element would the number 1 student get.

A sudden frosty air floated around the Awakening Stone.

The air became denser and denser. It slowly froze the surface of the Awakening Stone, forming a layer of frost!

"Ice Element! It really is the Ice Element!!!"

Suddenly, a person behind him began yelling. Following this yell, a few girls screeched.

As Mu Bai heard the noises, he opened his eyes in joy!

'It was the Ice Element! Now it would be easier to get into the main Mu Family.' Mu Bai smiled like a fox at the thought.