Chapter 2: Aeolia

500 years ago, an extraterrestrial race from another world called Zoan invaded the world. Their physical characteristics are not much different to humans except for their huge horns in the forehead and their Grayish- white hair.

In the complex and interconnected fabric of existence, their presence casts a shadow of terror upon the world. With each calculated step, they wove a tale of destruction, leaving behind a haunting trail of disaster.

Even then, the scariest aspect of their existence lies not in their presence alone but in their ability to devour the very paths of a living being. Their penchant for consuming the Reincarnation Path is particularly chilling, rendering those unfortunate enough to have it devoured incapable of reincarnating until they become a lost soul.

To fight against them, all races in the world united and made the Floating Island of Aeolia with a purpose of nurturing warriors.

But, it was still not enough. The innate talent, strong physical capabilities, and high level magical prowess of the Zoan race gives them the ability to dominate any kind of battlefield.

Of course, that didn't mean that that was the end.

To lower the gap of strength between the Zoan and other races, 4 people from different races established 4 different Schools in Aeolia; the school of assassin— Altair, the school of craft— Hephaestus, the school of sacred teachings— Pantheon, and the school of heroes— Elysium.

Enrolling in one of the 4 schools is not easy as it sounds, you need to have at least an S-Rank trait or higher.

That's why students of the 4 schools are known as a monster among geniuses, but reality feels so different for me.

Despite becoming a student of Elysium, I'm not a genius let alone a monster among geniuses.

I suck at using any type of weapons a typical warrior uses, I don't even have talent in magic. The only reason I'm in Elysium is because of my S-Rank Trait Intuition.

Furthermore even though I have an S-Rank Trait, my level is barely above average, and because of my lack of skills in combat, I am practically useless in any combat . The only thing my level can do is increase my mana pool capacity. I also can't increase my physical stats, it feels like something is restricting my physical growth.

Even then, I will not give up. I will become stronger and better than everybody else no matter what and survive in this hellish world.

..

[4th class- Alpha]

4th class refers to the first year of the academy, while Alpha is the name of the class. Simply put, I was in year 1 class 1.

I knew what was in this class.

In a copy of the class record given to us, I caught sight of the names of a few famous people that you can even find articles about them in the internet; Ciel Fross, Sierra Flamme, Ye Xuan, Chang Sooyeon, Ken Tetsu. Those 5 are known as the strongest in our batch, boasting incredible potential possessing SS rank or higher traits.

If it's a novel, then it's no doubt that those five are the main character of their story, and  of course, wherever the Main Character stands, trouble follows them. As a member of this class, I would most likely be swept regardless of my will.

"Huu."

After collecting my breath, I slowly and carefully opened the door.

The interior was sleek, pristine white with no sign of dust or damaged and 4 long columns of desk cascading up.

Where should I sit? I looked around and found Ye Xuan sitting in the Farthest seat in the back next to the window. With his head rested on his arms, as if taking a quick nap. Next to him was his childhood friend, Chang Sooyeon chattering with Ciel Fross and Sierra Flamme which both seated in the seats in front of her.

The three of them didn't pay any attention to me.

No, I think no one just really pays attention to me.

Well, good for me.

But anyway, why would no one sit in the first row? Most of the students sat in the second row onwards, the first row is the only one without anyone who sits there. I tried asking anyone the reason but I don't know anyone here and I'm too shy to ask strangers.

Well anyway, I'll just leave it to fate.

I sat down in the first seat in the first row. I checked my classmates reaction but nothing changed.

So like a proper background character, I just pay no mind and look straight ahead.

There was no whiteboard that we were using since primary to middle school, but a small white machine that projects holograms in 3D.

Looking back in the past, I couldn't help but sigh. I can't really believe I'm a student of Elysium now.

"•••sigh..."

Just being here in the Elysium for a short while already makes me realize that I'm just one of the frogs in the well. Despite having High requirements in enrollment, we have at least 1000 freshmen.

Just thinking about what I blabbered yesterday makes me embarrassed. Why did I even say that? Luckily, no one heard me, or it would have been a dark stain on my history.

Elysium semester began in June and right now is the first day of the semester.

The outside was hot and humid, and the inside being cold made me comfortable.

Currently, it is 7:55 Am. Class began at 8:00Am.

In truth, I thought I was going to be late earlier. Since I don't really expect to overslept especially since it's the first day of the semester.

Anyway, I'll take a quick nap while the instructor is still not here.

Closing my eyes, I dropped my head on the desk

—GOOD MORNING STUDENTS!!!!

A thunderous shout woke me up.

When I open my eyes, the instructor is already behind the podium.

The classroom is already filled by students, even the vacant first row earlier has students sitting in.

"Today's the first day, so there won't be any real classes from all your instructors. However, they will conduct a discussion about the scope of the lesson they will discuss, so listen carefully."

No classes?

°°°Oh, right. I forgot about that. Most of the schools from primary to middle school don't conduct any classes from the first days, and I thought Elysium will be different because it's a prestigious school.

Sigh, I worry about being late for no reason.

"Now, let's start with self-introduction. I'm Garry Novaric, the instructor in charge of you all in your Basic-Orientation for the whole year."

"My Ascension Rankings in the world Association is 1,200th. By their standard, my realm is around Rank 9."

The student's eyes lit up, it was understandable. There are around 10 billion people in the world, with most knowing how to handle mana. Being ranked 1200th means he's very skilled; more importantly, his realm is around Rank 9.

Reaching the realm of Rank 9 is already considered legendary in the countryside, let alone reaching even higher realms.

"I think that's enough for the introduction"

Instructor Garry seemed to have liked the students reaction as the corners of his mouth curled up to a grin.

"The first day will feel special. You might be too excited or worried to sleep, or maybe you're just happy to improve yourself. And hey, you might also be excited to see your crushes again"

The students broke out into a small laughter. But the instructor froze his expression sternly.

"However, Elysium has changed. I assure you, there won't be time for relationships. In Elysium, or rather, Aoelia, you'll experience numerous actual combat scenarios. Brace yourself for the reality of how daunting the real world truly is."

His roguish smile sent a chill down my back.

Combat training, I need to take part in that too.

"Next, Elysium's objective or rather, the whole Aoelia. The Aoelia's goal is to nurture an excellent warrior that will fight against the Zoan race. The only indicator of your success in Elysium will be your grade. Guilds will only look at your grade. Thus, we will grade you accurately and strictly. If you underperform, you will be held back. Statistically, less than half of Aoelia' s students graduate without repeating a semester. Even then, you can only be held back up to two years. Any more than that, you will be expelled. If you can' t become a warrior worthy of bearing the reputation and honor of Aoelia, you will become an agent or a mercenary. I take it that that' s not what you want."

After giving the students a scare, the instructor paused and scanned the students faces.

"I can already see a few faces I' m familiar with."

He's mostly talking about those five in the back.

'Wait! five? I didn't see Ken Tetsu in the back. He should be in the back.' Azazel thought before continuing, 'Wait, Why would I even care if he's here? We're not even close.'

"Before I end the discussion, I will give some advice to all of you. Please become the best version of yourself in this place, always strive for improvement of yourselves be it your Character or strength and more importantly, love yourself."

With that, Instructor Garry announced as he ended the class.

"Class dismiss!"