1 A Normal Day

Thursday, January 30th, 2025. 7:30 AM – Ares' Room

Ares woke up in a tremendous amount of pain, his entire body was covered in bruises. He was beaten up again at school yesterday.

The world had drastically changed over the past six months. The catalyst that sparked these changes was an occurrence known as the "Gifting". Everyone had fallen unconscious for a duration of three hours, and when they awoke, ninety percent of the population had realized they received supernatural powers.

Ares wasn't one of the Gifted, he was a "Peasant", one of the few people on Earth who didn't receive a Gift. Both the government and the police had been severely weakened. After all, there were people capable of destroying entire countries by themselves, no organization could prevent them from doing as they pleased. Because of this, laws have become far laxer, and power was valued above all else. Peasants were treated just as badly as livestock, and Ares' life for the past 6 months had become a living hell.

"Wake up and come down for breakfast, dear!" Ares' mom, Samantha, cheerfully shouted.

"Alright, I'm coming, mom!" Ares yelled back, with an equally cheerful tone.

Ares had learned how to control his emotions after months of abuse at school, he knew that being upset or angry about his lack of ability wouldn't do anything. He swore that he would never show weakness in front of his mother, so that she wouldn't have to feel worried for him.

Ares walked out of his room and down a flight of stairs into the living room. Samantha was preparing breakfast with her back to him. Ares's mom was tall and beautiful, with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. She had a curvy, athletic body and she looked no older than twenty. As she turned to look at Ares, he felt a pang of pain in his heart. Her youthful appearance and cheerful demeanor couldn't fool him. Ares saw the bags underneath her eyes and detect the slight slump in her shoulders. She used to be the CEO of a large multimillion-dollar company, but now, after other stronger Gifteds stole her position, she was forced to work as a secretary. Ares knew that in this lawless world, beauty was a terrible curse, without the power to defend yourself, you would only be taken advantage of. Although Samantha was a Gifted, she was one of the weakest, and because of this, she was constantly harassed at work, and many people wanted to take advantage of her. Luckily, her co-worker, and best friend, was extraordinarily strong, so she had remained safe.

"Ares, quickly sit down and eat, or you'll be late for school!" Samantha said, smiling.

"Alright." Ares turned and sat down at the dining table, "Good morning dad, morning sis."

Charles is Ares' father. He's a tall, bulky and handsome man, with black hair and eyes. Whereas Eve, Ares' little sister looked very similar to their mother, with blue eyes, long blond hair and an attractive face.

"Good morning son." Charles said with a gentle smile.

"Mornin'." Whispered Eve in a daze, obviously still not fully awake.

After Ares greeted the rest of his family, he hurriedly ate and rushed to school, if he took any longer, he really would have been late.

8:00 AM – Path to School

Ares started walking to school, this was his favorite part of the day, for these 20 minutes, he didn't have to worry about the fact that he was a Peasant, and he could just enjoy the peace and quiet.

"I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me! Someone, help!"

In an alleyway to Ares' right, he saw a thug straddling a teenage girl, ripping her clothes off, their eyes met each other.

"Help me! Please!" She yelled desperately, with tears running down her face.

Ares looked away, ashamed.

"That's right kid, just walk away." The thug sneered, "After I'm done, if I'm feeling generous, I might even let you do her once."

Ares looked up and grinned at him, "Really?" He said innocently, "I think I've seen this bitch before, she deserves what's coming to her."

Ares walked closer to the girl, she was beautiful, with emerald eyes and long brown hair. He crouched down and looked her in the eyes, "Run." he mouthed.

"Alright kid, back off and wait around the corner, I'll tell you when I'm don..."

Right before he could finish his sentence Ares spit in his eyes and kneed the thug's crotch. He then pushed him off the girl and ran away as fast as he could. The girl also got up and ran in the opposite direction.

"You fucker!" The thug howled behind him, he recovered, got up and wiped the spit from his eyes in just a couple of seconds.

*Am I going to make it?* Ares thought to himself, running as quickly as he could. When he started running, he was only about 60 meters away from the busier streets. However, he also knew that the thug behind him was probably a Gifted, and if he got caught, he'd very likely be killed.

Ares started to feel the burn in his legs, his breathing started to become fast and shallow. He could hear the thug behind him getting closer and closer, 30 meters, 20 meters, 10 meters… Suddenly, Ares burst out onto the street and dashed past a large group of people. Then, he slowed down and started to walk normally.

Ares heard sounds of shouting behind him, "When I find you, you'll wish you were dead, you little bitch!"

The thug ran past Ares and through a crowd of people in front of him. Ares smiled to himself and continued walking to school.

8:30 AM - School

"Mana is the most efficient source of energy that this world has ever seen! After the Gifting, monsters appeared all over the world. These creatures have Mana Crystals embedded in their bodies, allowing them to be much stronger and faster than we thought possible. The conversion from Mana to other forces is known as Magic, and people who are proficient in the use of Magic are given the title of Magicians." The lunch bell rang, and students got out of their seats, heading to the school cafeteria.

11:30 PM - Hallway to Cafeteria

As Ares started walking to the cafeteria, a mocking voice came from behind him.

"Hi doggy, I've been looking for you."

Ares turned around, in front of him were three people, two boys, and a girl. The one who had just talked, Tony, was tall and fit, he was incredibly handsome and worked as a model in his free time. Beside him was his equally beautiful girlfriend, Tiffany. The last person standing there was their lackey, Phil. He was incredibly tall and buff but also remarkably stupid.

"Hey there little doggy, aren't you excited to see us? Come on, bark for us!" Tiffany said.

"Woof woof!" Ares barked, he squatted down and began acting like a dog. Tony's dad was a high-ranking executive in the business that Ares' mother worked in. Ares didn't want to offend Tony, fearing that it might affect his mom's life at work. Ares didn't care about his pride, what was most important to him was that his family was happy and safe.

"You're such a good dog! You want a treat, don't you?" Tiffany said mockingly, getting a dog treat from her pocket and throwing it onto the floor. She crushed it under her foot and pushed the pile closer to Ares.

"Woof!" Ares barked. He moved closer to the pile of dog treats and began to eat it off the ground, Tony and Tiffany began giggling and a crowd began to form around them, curious about what was happening.

"Alright, I'm starting to get hungry, let's get something to eat." Tiffany said once she finished laughing, she walked closer to Ares and kicked him aside.

Ares was thrown a few feet away, Tony and his friends left while joking amongst each other and the crowd dispersed. A gorgeous girl stayed behind after everyone had left. The girl was tall and well developed, she had long black hair, a small mouth and, most strikingly, large purple eyes., She gave Ares a sad look, then walked past him, following her friends to the cafeteria.

The kick had caused Ares so much pain, he was knocked unconscious. He only woke up due to the ringing of a bell, notifying students that lunch had concluded. Ares stood and dusted himself off, then began walking back to class.

3:50 PM - Classroom

"Remember class, the first schoolwide Gifted Fighting Tournament begins in two months, if you're planning to participate, I suggest that you put more effort into your training."

The school bell rang, school was finally over. Ares left the building from the back entrance, he wanted to avoid meeting people on his way home. Ares didn't pay any attention to the fighting competition, after all, he wasn't even Gifted, if he joined, he would be killed in the first round. Waiting at the entrance was the beautiful girl with purple eyes.

Ares walked past the girl, pretending not to notice her.

The girl's name was Violet, she was Ares' childhood friend, although she was weak, her father was given an incredibly strong Gift. Because of this, no one dared to mess with her at school. Although Violet and Ares had feelings for each other, Violet's father refused to accept Ares and warned him to stay away from his daughter. Violet's father wanted her to meet someone who was strong enough to protect her in the future, which was something that Ares would never be able to accomplish.

Violet simply hugged Ares from behind, "I love you." She whispered into his ear, and without waiting for a response, she turned and left.

Ares stared straight ahead and continued his walk home. He couldn't bear to look back at her. Over the past few months, he was trying his best to distance himself from Violet. They had no future together, and if she was seen hanging out with him, their other classmates would probably try their best to avoid Ares and Violet. Ares didn't want Violet to have to sacrifice everything just to be with him, so the only thing he could do was stay as far away from her as possible.

4:30 PM - Home

"I'm home!" Ares yelled once he walked in.

"Welcome back!" His sister shouted back, from the second floor.

Ares walked up and entered Eve's room, "What's going on? What are you doing in here?" He asked her with a grin.

"Nothing much, I'm just talking with some friends."

"Hmm, any boys?"

"A few." She started rolling her eyes, she knew where this was going already, her brother always made this joke.

"Which one's your boyfriend?" Ares asked innocently.

"None of them, you're so annoying." Eve giggled, "We're going to play some games, want to join us?"

"Obviously." Ares replied. the game they were talking about was a popular one that hundreds of millions of people played worldwide. Ares used to be one of the game's best players, he was already good enough to participate in worldwide competitions. However, after the Gifting, the standards of players had greatly increased, the average reaction speed of the player base had greatly increased. Now, though Ares was still a fantastic player, he was no longer considered one of the best.

8:00 PM - Dining Room

Ares just finished cooking dinner right when Samantha and Charles arrived home. They both had low paying jobs, so they were forced to work longer hours, or they wouldn't be able to continue living in their two-story house.

Ares, Eve and Samantha talked cheerfully, talking about their day, what happened at school and what had happened at work. Ares was concerned, usually, Charles was cheerful and liked to joke around while eating, but he was strangely quiet today.

After dinner, Ares washed the dishes and headed upstairs. He walked into Eve's room and motioned for her to be quiet, their parents had stayed downstairs to talk and he wanted to listen in on their conversation.

"What happened today, dear? Are you alright?" Samantha's voice came from downstairs.

"I was fired, I'm sorry." Charles said, he sounded incredibly disappointed in himself.

"Again? You're sorry? How many times has it been already? This has been your eighth job in the past two years. Is it really that hard to keep a job? Huh? You're the most useless man I know!" Samantha said, struggling to control her voice. She sounded like she was close to tears, and by the end of her rant, she was almost yelling at him.

"I'm sorry." Charles responded. A long silence followed.

"No, I'm sorry." Samantha sighed, "I know it probably wasn't your fault, I've just been... stressed lately."

"It's okay, I understand. A business nearby is hiring a janitor and I'm going in for an interview tomorrow."

Samantha sighed again and things went silent.

"We'll get through this, I promise." Charles said.

Ares stopped eavesdropping and let out a deep sigh. Eve was sobbing beside him. Ares wrapped an arm around her. He quietly comforted her for a while, trying to get her to stop crying.

When Eve had calmed down, Ares retrieved a few tissues from Eve's desk, used one to wipe her eyes, and held the rest up for Eve to blow her nose into.

"There we go! Now, stop thinking about what just happened and start thinking about your homework! I know that you haven't started yet today!"

"Pftt, you didn't start either! You just played games with me once you got home. Get out of my room and start working! Humph!" Eve pouted and shoved Ares out of her room, slamming the door in his face.

11:30 PM – Room

Ares said good night to the rest of his family and prepared to go to bed.

12:05 AM - ???

Ares woke up feeling cold and uncomfortable. His back ached, and he could hear the sound of dripping water nearby.

Wait... Where am I? He thought to himself, sitting up and looking around.

The ground was made of stone, it was dark, but a small white light illuminated Ares' surroundings. He was located right next to a large pool of water; the walls were gray, and he could see large stalactites descending from the ceiling.

Am I… in a cave?