-So It Begins

-25 years after the war-

In the capital city known as Harbolt

The large city was the capital of the Alster Kingdom, a kingdom formed after the world peace treaty was signed by the Ascendant members.

The citizens of Harbolt enjoyed their peaceful lives, contributing to their Kingdom's economic growth and prosperity. At least on the surface, it looked that way.

In reality, the more powerful individuals of the war were appointed nobility positions in the kingdom. The political and monetary influence that they held, along with the strong powers gifted to them by the meteorites, corrupted a majority of them and they abused their power daily.

The noble youths of the kingdom were enrolled in Griffen Academy, a school that prioritized power over lineage.

"If you're expecting me to bow down and beg for mercy you better have packed a large lunch. It's gonna be a while" A small-statured teen chuckled to himself, tears in his eyes and blood dripping down his forehead, tainting his eyes with crimson red.

"I won't have time to eat while I'm beating your power 0 ass, Hunter!" a large boy towered over Hunter's bruised and beaten body snickering to himself and his friends.

Hunter's build was the same as a prepubescent 13-year-old, even though he himself was 17 years old. He didn't know why he never grew alongside his peers, all he knew was that he was weak, they were strong, and that pissed him off. The rest of Hunter's characteristics could be described as... average at best.

It wasn't that he was a bad-looking kid, it's that the bags under his brown eyes from stress-induced lack of sleep, and his unkempt, shaggy brown hair hindered his looks by a significant amount.

"Come on guys, why do you have to pick on me constantly, cant you broaden your horizons? Or is that too much work for your lazy ass"

Hunter's remark was received by a swift kick into his stomach by one of the boys.

"See, it's because of the dumbass shit that comes out of your mouth that we kick your ass" Bryce boldly laughed at the thin boy sitting on the dirty ground.

"Oi...Fuck..off...Bryce" Hunter spoke while taking quick, staggering breaths in between his words.

Bryce loomed over Hunter as he was struggling to breathe, giggling to himself seeing Hunter's pitiful appearance.

The academy was filled with nobles and rich kids with daddy issues. Basically, it was a poison jar full of the kingdom's future powerhouses and positions of nobility.

Bryce was laughing hysterically, his 6 other lackeys joining in on the laughter

"You think you have room to talk like that? The only reason you're at this school is that your deadbeat parents contributed to the kingdom after the war. Luckily for you, the academy decided to enroll you in this school as it was the least they could do for the filth you used to call parents"

A thick pressure filled Hunter's head, he could feel the blood building in his head while he listened to Bryce's slandering comments on his parent's questionable death.

He could take the beatings, he could deal with the harassment and bullying, and even the constant visits to the infirmary he was able to handle.

But to insult the memory of his parents, who left the world, only leaving behind their only son.

Hunter was enraged.

"Take it back, don't you ever mention my parents again!"

Hunter yelled and thrashed under the pressure of the larger boy.

"Looks like I touched a nerve there boys"

Bryce chuckled and looked at his friends for affirmation.

"Class is about to start Bryce, finish this up, if I get another tardy my dad said he's going to cut down my weekly allowance again"

One of Bryce's lackeys pointed out the time and the others realized that they had their next class starting in a few minutes.

While Bryce was preoccupied checking the time to confirm his friend's claim, Hunter took the opportunity to land a sucker punch on Bryce using his full power.

*Bam*

Hunter's fist landed straight into Bryce's unsuspecting face.

Due to his low power level, Hunter's fist did little to no damage to Bryce. However, because his fist planted directly onto Bryce's nose, a thin trickle of blood could be seen slightly dribbling out of Bryce's nose.

Recovering quickly, Bryce spun on his heels to face the thin figure of Hunter.

"Hunter! your dea-"

"Hey! What going on over there" A loud, girthy shout sounded a distance off from the boys.

"Shit we gotta get out of here, Bryce we'll get him later, just drop it for now" One of Bryce's lackeys pleaded.

Before Bryce and his gang sped off, Bryce gathered white-like energy into his right hand. A buzzing sound pierced the quiet courtyard. With a hateful glare in his eyes, Bryce aimed a power-induced fist toward Hunter's face.

Hunter, realizing the danger, cursed inwardly at Bryce for using his strength-based ability against the powerless nobody like him.

Bracing himself, he took the hit head-on, not wanting to show fear to Bryce and his lackeys.

'I'm a dumbass' he thought inwardly

*BAM*

Bryce's fist slammed against Hunter's face, instantly shattering his cheekbone and leaving a lengthy gash forming from his eye to his thin lips.

He struggled to maintain consciousness and could feel his mind slipping. Before that could happen, he could have sworn he heard a small ding sound in his head along with a few lines of a monotonous voice.

<Hosts Life Deemed In Danger>

<Initiating Reaper Symbiote Protocol....>

<Progress...01%>

<Time Until Installation...24 hours>