Chapter 1

In the continent of Abella, people thought there existed only two major cities, Grail and Sabel. In Grail, children were raised to learn long-range magic attack skills using guns, bows, and spears. In Sabel, they were raised to learn close-combat magic skills such as martial arts, swords, and shields. Regardless of which style of combat, they were judged by the color of their auras - going from red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, silver, and white. If someone went to school in Grail, they were taught to have an intense rivalry with anyone from Sabel, and vice versa. No one ever went to learn from the other city, except Mitsuki.

Mitsuki trudged home from another day at school. He had a cut on his lip and bruised knuckles from another fight with his rival, Stefan. Though Stefan didn't see him as a rival, just a punching bag. Mitsuki was a special case in his school because while his dad is a researcher in Grail, his mom is a major general from Sabel. His mom, Raze, wanted to make sure he learned close combat even though he was raised in Grail because she wanted to give Mitsuki an advantage in life. She thought that if he could learn both styles successfully, he would be unstoppable and join her in the military. His father approved the idea because he wanted to see how far the results would go, seeing as how no one had done this for over hundreds of years. Unfortunately, that made him ostracized in both communities, where his classmates in Temple University at Grail felt he had betrayed them and his classmates at Saber University in Sabel thought he would never be as good as them. It also didn't help that Mitsuki was only an orange level in both styles whereas his classmates were mostly at blue or green. Feeling pressure from both styles, Mitsuki never felt particularly motivated in specializing in either.

Opening the door to the dark apartment, he sighed and wished he could speak to anyone about his troubles. Even if nothing was solved, he had become an outcast and his parents were always working and only home on the weekends. Thinking back, he realized he hadn't spoken to another human being outside his family in months. The last time he had spoken to his oldest and previous best friend Marisong was before he started attending Saber. Mitsuki had been ready to confess his feelings towards his friend, who was considered the idol of Temple University. Marisong was talented and pretty but ever since she was labeled as the school's idol, Mitsuki noticed that she started to care about her image more and more. But despite this, she still spent time with him and he knew she was really a kindhearted person at the end of the day. On the day he decided to tell her his feelings, he prepared roses and cooked dinner for her at his parent's house. He had been so nervous all day and when he saw the doorknob turn, he took a deep breath.

"Mari-- mom?!" Mitsuki gasped.

"Hi honey. I have great news!"

"Uh...welcome home? Why are you here Mom? It's a Wednesday." Mitsuki was confused and also nervous that Marisong was going to come over while his mom was home.

"Well this couldn't wait and I wanted to tell you in person. You're going to transfer to Saber University starting next week!"

Mitsuki was silent. He couldn't say any words, his mouth just kept opening and closing. "Wha...what?!" He finally got out.

"Honey, I think it's time you get serious about a career and I feel like you've been dawdling about for awhile now. And it's always been my dream that you follow my footsteps because you always said you wanted to when you were younger. So while this is unprecedented, Saber agreed so you'll be able to learn both skills and become the best general this country has ever seen!" Raze was so proud, she didn't see a light of anger in her son's eyes.

"But Mom, my friends are all at Grail. I can't just leave after two years!"

"I know it will be hard, but you have to think about your future. Some traditions are meant to be broken and I would love for you to see where I grew up and learn the same things I learned. You were raised in Grail all your life, and I want you to explore and push your boundaries a little."

"Do I get a choice?" Mitsuki gritted out.

"Well...no. I've had to pull a lot of favors for this and your father also agrees that if you are successful at both styles of magic and combat, you could start a revolution of new skills."

"You talked to dad before you talked to me?!" Mitsuki shouted. He started to panic and then he noticed Marison behind his mom's body.

"M-marisong?!"