1 A Peculiar Boy

The year was 2498 Gaia Calendar. At the foot of a small hill in Pontia City, a rather perplexing scene could be seen. Lying on the ground, a topless 18 y.o. boy was being squashed by a flattish boulder. His face was red and tense with bulging veins due to the overwhelming pressure, but his smile seemed to betray his predicament.

'Ah, my whole body hurts. It feels like my muscles are going to explode. This feeling is… SO GOOD!'

If the boy's thoughts were to be heard by a passerby, they would definitely label him as an M. 

After a few minutes, the boy wriggled around to remove the boulder. One could see that his body was covered with numerous scars and bruises. He didn't immediately get up but kept lying on the ground, catching up his breath.

'I'm finally done with today's training. My Revelation is tomorrow. I hope I get a strong class that fits my passion.'

Finally, the boy named Drai got up. One could see that his body didn't resemble a teenager. He was built like strongmen of the past but he was shorter in height at around 165 cm (5'5"). His skin was tanned bronze and his hair was black, very short and uneven. Being presentable was definitely not in Drai's top priorities, especially during his daily trainings.

'Let's go home now. I need to prepare for tomorrow.'

Drai walked to his bicycle and wiped his body with his legendary worn cloth which had been basked in his sweat, blood, and tears for almost a decade. Then he wore his t-shirt and headed home.

***

At the front yard of a modest one-story house, Lina Varz was tending to the plants when she noticed someone walking by the front gates.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Varz," said a male teen with a smile.

"Well, good afternoon to you too, Bonny," Lina replied warmly as she opened the gate and walked outside. "Coming home from the Prep already?"

"Yes, Mrs. Varz. A lot of juniors finished early to avoid disturbing the seniors. You know how they get the jitters when it's time for their Revelation."

"Ah, yes. I remember when I was a junior in the Prep, there was a senior called Mixy who had a meltdown and cried for hours on the day before her Revelation. Seeing her snot dripping all over her clothes, the annoyed and helpless faces of the mentors, and the spreading hysteria among the other seniors, I swore to keep a poker face when facing mine," Lina said with a chuckle.

"Luckily, the seniors didn't go that far today or else I think I would've been traumatized," said Bonny wryly.

In the Democratic Republic of Rivideria, traditional school had been abolished due to the System. Replacing it was the Prep which was a central hub available in each district, meant to nurture children from age 7 to 18 to prepare them for the Revelation, including the likes of Drai and Bonny.

The System came to Gaia in the year 2000. People at age 18 and above had a chance to receive a notification and status window which only they could see. They were offered multiple classes to choose from and skill points to spend. After which, they would become evolved humans who could level up and gain more skill points and stats, and even choose advanced classes later.

In addition to the status window, the environment of Gaia also changed. The atmosphere contained mana which most evolved humans needed to restore their mana capacity in their body to use their skills. Animals, plants, and even inorganic materials also received similar evolutionary capabilities as humans. They became more nutritious while others became hazardous and a fraction even gained a resemblance of sentience or even full sentience. Hence, life on Gaia became unbearable for unevolved humans.

Due to these changes, Gaia went through a period of turmoil for more than a hundred years. The strong evolved humans with their newfound powers yearned to rule and disdained the ruling class and their privileges. Only after the constant warring and disestablishments of governments and monarchies did the overall situation on Gaia became relatively stable. From the ruins of the former powers rose the various nations and kingdoms, each either thriving or surviving in the new age and maintaining their hold on the evolved populace through their own ways.

"Actually, there's no need for all these seniors to be overly anxious because the System will adjust itself to fit the needs of everyone," Lina started to explain.

Bonny became intrigued and asked, "What does that mean, Mrs. Varz?"

"Well, after almost 500 years, many evolved scientists interested in the System have studied it thoroughly and gained a modicum of understanding. They believe that the System offers classes to an individual based on their passion and experience, but always leans to one's passion, interest, or even the lack thereof rather than experience.

"Through their observation, the more interested a child is to a particular field or activity, the more classes related to these are offered, and some with stronger traits.

"In more controlled researches, the children were prescribed activities which are out of their field of interest or even things they dislike while prohibited from engaging in their passion. These researches were definitely distasteful, as they forced children to live 'unnaturally', but I cannot deny the results. 

"These researches show that despite constantly engaging in these non-passion activities for almost a decade, the System mostly didn't offer classes directly related to them, recognizing the children's disinterest or dislike for those activities. Instead, the System seemed to isolate aspects of those activities that the children found interesting. For example, a child was forced to tend to plants in a garden. In the end, the child was offered his passion-related classes along with 2 particular classes, 'Minimum Landscaper' and 'Hydro Engineer'."

"It must be because that child had been managing the soil and watered the plants for years!" Bonny exclaimed excitedly.

"To be precise it was because those two were the only aspects that the child enjoyed throughout the experiment. The research journal says that while the child couldn't care less whether the plants thrive or die, only trying to maintain them due to being forced, he always tried to design the garden to be pretty while remaining conducive to the plants' welfare through his consideration of the optimum spacing between plants, sunlight, temperature, and surrounding landscape. He also created an irrigation system catered to each segment of the garden and for each type of plant to make his work less taxing," said Lina while smiling in appreciation.

"Wow, I respect that guy for being able to find joy in his suffering. I wonder what happened to him after the experiment. Did he choose his newfound passion or did he hold on to his stifled passion?" Bonny asked.

"I don't know either since it isn't mentioned in the journal. But I believe that he would be happy with his choice whatever it was. And I believe you and Drai will be happy with your choices too when the time comes," added Lina.

"Thank you, Mrs. Varz. I suddenly feel uplifted. Now I can't wait for my Revelation," Bonny grinned. "Speaking of Drai, where is he? He seldom shows up to the Prep anymore. Isn't his Revelation tomorrow?"

"Ah, my boy is probably training near the hill. I think after he entered his teens, he found the Prep insufficient for his training. I've spoken to the mentors so that they don't misunderstand and think he's ditching the Prep. Well, the Prep is mainly focused on letting the children find their passion while giving a degree of freedom for those who've achieved that. And my boy is quite eccentric so it isn't strange that he's become so dedicated to his passion from early on. I think it's his father's influence," Lina replied amusedly.

"Yeah, Drai is infamous among the Prep students. Some envy his single-mindedness while others find it regretful that he didn't try to explore other things before deciding."

"And what do you think of Drai, Bonny?" Lina asked curiously.

"Well, at first, I was a bit stupefied, Mrs. Varz. I mean… deciding your future path even before entering the Prep? At age 6 I was basically drooling on sweets while watching cartoons with no interest in the future whatsoever. However, after all these years in the Prep, I came to respect Drai because I know how hard it is to focus on one field and not falter in the face of a myriad of other options. I also know many students who engage in several hobbies just to be safe, hoping to get more powerful classes or even hybrid classes which encompass several fields," Bonny answered truthfully.

"I'm glad you feel that way. I've also had my concerns in the past but I've decided to fully support him after seeing him persist throughout his training during his early years," Lina said while seemingly reminiscing about her small boy with those steadfast eyes.

"Drai's training is definitely on the extreme side of the spectrum, Mrs. Varz. I don't think anyone can survive that. And my mom would most likely chain me like a pet dog if I ever attempt Drai's training regime," Bonny chuckled. "From what I know he lifts weights more than 200 kg… that's the 'normal' one. He also punches and kicks stone pillars, jumps into the river from the main bridge while flat-facing the water, rubs himself on the bark of prickly lisda trees, walks on his hands to commute to the Prep and back home, holds a bridge position above a lit bonfire, munches on wild plants ranging from weeds to young tree branches, only bathes with ice water, wrestles with beefaros in the fields, and so on…" Bonny recited with a disturbed look.

"I think he moved on from the river and has been jumping off from some cliffs on the hill," Lina said with concerned look.

"What?!? Won't he die?" Bonny gasped.

"He said there were multiple cliffs with varying heights so he started with the lowest. Although he did come home crawling while dragging his bicycle on his first day," Lina answered wryly.

"Ah…" Bonny didn't know what to say. Since Drai stopped coming to the Prep, the students rarely got updated about Drai's antics. Only once in a while did they receive new info; it was when someone witnessed Drai training around the district.

"Speaking of which, there's a circulating rumor that Drai's recent training is something bizarre even for his standards, Mrs. Varz," Bonny suddenly remembered.

"Bizarre for his standards? I wonder what…" Lina pondered.

"It's a bit improper, Mrs. Varz, but the students named this one 'busting balls'," Bonny said awkwardly.

"Balls? Wooden balls? I don't think normal balls are enough for Drai," Lina said.

"Uhm… human balls?" Bonny's face turned red but he bravely answered.

"Huma…" Lina spoke but suddenly thought of something and stopped. It looks like Lina was quite embarrassed too since her face also turned red.

"Well, this training is noticeable because it follows a route and it's a bit loud."

"Route? Loud?" Lina felt lost.

"Yes, Mrs. Varz. From the edge of the district near the hill, there would be a constant interval of sounds and people who look for the source would find themselves looking at a rather disturbing—

"THUMP!"

"…"

"THUMP!"

"That's the sound!" Bonny exclaimed while being simultaneously excited and frightened of the thought of witnessing the legendary scene.

"THUMP!"

Lina and Bonny turned toward the sound source.

"THUMP!"

"THUMP!"

"THUMP!"

With the red sunset as his background akin to the ending scenes of old horse-rider movies, a buff teen was riding his bicycle in a peculiar way, smashing his undersides on the saddle in a constant interval while smiling.

"THUMP!"

"THUMP!"

Suddenly, Drai noticed the two people in front of his house. His smile widened as he called them.

"Bonny!"

"THUMP!"

"Mom!"

"THUMP!"

"I'm home!"

"THUMP!"

***