Chapter 1

On an ashy and hot battlefield, two armies fought for what they wanted. One side wanted to expand and rule while the other side wanted to simply survive.

Rocks shot out from one side as they aimed to crush their enemies while fire raged forward with the intent of burning its enemies.

The fire nation and the earth kingdom were at war and war was not without loss. This was evidenced by the countless bodies spread across the field.

The corpses wore the uniforms and armors of both sides showing that both sides had lost a considerable amount of fighters.

Dark red and green scattered around but the number of fallen green were much larger than that of the red.

A sharp blade slashed forward, cutting into the exposed part of the arm around the base of the neck.

The head of the earth kingdom soldier fell as the masked fire nation soldier moved on to his next opponent.

Unlike the vast majority of fire nation soldiers that participated in this battle, this one lacked the ability to firebend.

The same soldier slid under a large rock that was sent flying towards him. Continuing his quick slide, he was immediately in front of the attacker, quickly slashing the blade through his knees.

Jumping out of the sliding motion, he cut through the soldier's neck as the earth kingdom soldier-now a corpse- fell to the floor.

It continued like this as the soldier cut down his enemies with the sword in his hand and the assistance of his fellow soldiers.

He shifted to the side, quickly dodging a misplaced stream of fire that threatened to burn him.

The flames instead consumed the earth bender who was in the process of raising a decently sized rock.

Friendly fire wasn't common but it definitely wasn't uncommon as some people were either careless or lacking in control.

"Fall back!" A gruff voice among the ranks of earth benders shouted out.

Following orders, they turned defensive as they moved back while defending. They bended the ground to form shields of earth to cover their retreat.

The fire nation soldiers attempted to follow them but with all of them now focused on covering their backs, it was difficult.

Only after the first twenty men lost their lives in their attempt to pursue did they give up and held their position.

As they watched the earth benders retreat into the distance, a man who unlike everyone else, was missing a fire nation helmet shouted.

"Celebrate! Victory is ours today!" He declared with a cruel smirk.

The surrounding soldiers raised their fists into the air, letting out shouts of victory underneath their masks.

Amongst them, there was one soldier who didn't shout nor rejoice with the others but they paid him no heed.

His mind was otherwise occupied by something else.

[*Ding!*]

[You have leveled up!]

He looked at the screen with a solemn look on his hidden face as he mentally dismissed it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fire nation troops retreated to their camp in a joyful mood. They had won the battle and were one step closer to conquering a part of the earth kingdom.

Upon returning to their camp site, they immediately entered their tents to rest up for the trip back to the fire nation.

They had been sent to wreak havoc and draw the attention of the earth benders to fight in order for the main troop to strike where their forces were most vulnerable.

They were able to not only keep them occupied and distracted but also greatly reduce their numbers and force them to retreat.

Everyone played their part in the battle but many of them couldn't help but glance at the soldier with the sword.

He had been part of the army for years and had performed excellently in each bout. Though some of them refused to acknowledge his strength due to him being a non bender, they secretly couldn't help but fear his ability to cut down their enemies.

It was still a sight to marvel every time it happened. One man without the ability to bend easily dispatching several benders with only a sword.

Though, that wasn't the main reason they feared him.

The masked swordsman calmly walked to his own tent. He seemed unaffected by the few glances he garnered and enter the tent.

Upon entering and closing the entrance, he removed the fire nation helmet, revealing his feature for none to see.

Long spiky black hair with chin length bangs that covered the sides of his face were revealed. Pale skin, the feature of someone born in the fire nation and an unusually young face that would be considered very attractive.

The most unusual feature about him would be his eyes. It was common knowledge that you could tell what nation a person belonged to by the color of their eyes.

Blue for the water tribe, Green for the earth kingdom, grey for air temple and yellow embers for the fire nation.

His black eyes alienated him from such categorization, separating him from others and more importantly, signifying his status as a non bender.

'Status' He thought, pulling up his status page.

[Name: Aroh

Age:16

Title: Child Soldier

Level:42

Chi:2150/2150

Str:45

Dex:57

Vit:63

Chi:43

Points:35]

His stat points had increased upon leveling up, putting him at 35 points to spend. He pondered where to spend them for a moment, remembering the standard stats for an average adult in this world is around 15.

He let out a tired sigh as he moved to his skills list.

[Skills:]

Hand to hand Proficiency Level [30/50]

Sword Proficiency Level [37/50]

Blunt Damage Resistance Level [23/50]

Throwing Proficiency Level [32/50]

Wire Manipulation Level [13/50]

Fire Resistance Level [19/50]

Poison Resistance Level [5/50]

Meditation Level [45/50]

Chi Manipulation Level [7/50]

Stealth Level [29/50]

Danger Sense Level [21/50]

Bloodlust Level [10/20]

Despite how short an unimpressive it looked, it had helped him survive. Skills were hard to gain and even harder to level up.

It was only last month he had figured out [Chi Manipulation] and he worked tirelessly to level it up, with it only reaching level 7.

All of these were what he had gained in the ten years he had been in the army.

That's right…he had been dragged into the ranks of the fire nation army at the young age of six. He remembered it like it was just yesterday.

~~~~~~[Ten Years Ago]~~~~~

'Where am I?'

Black eyes opened as they tried to focus on their environment but failed. He felt like he was moving but he couldn't figure out how.

'What happened? Last thing I remember is…what do I remember?' He thought confusedly as his head ached lightly.

Flashes of different scenes appeared in his mind. The blurred image of a destroyed car that lay upside down appeared in his mind.

'I was going somewhere and…' He tried to properly recall the events but it kept slipping away.

The scene of an explosion played in his mind before it was consumed by nothingness.

'I died!' He thought as he managed to remember the burning pain he felt moments before now.

'What happened to my memories?' He thought as he tried to remember his name. He couldn't remember personal details but he still had a grasp of general knowledge.

He remembered the things he did and watched and things like his age being fifteen but things like friends and family were out of his reach.

'Where am I?' He thought as his eyes finally found focus on his environment.

He was on a wagon being pulled by two weird creatures. They were a bit familiar but he just couldn't put his finger on where he remembered them from.

Around him were grown men who sat in silence as the wagon moved. They wore dark red armor with pointy shoulders, some of them wearing a helmet with a skull-like face.

Upon looking at the armor and helmet, an image of several armored men shooting fire from their palms played in his head.

'Are they cosplaying?' He thought as he looked around the men who hadn't noticed that he was awake.

Only then did he realize that something was very wrong about the situation.

'Why do they look so big? Rather, why do I feel so small?' He thought as he brought his hands to his face.

He resisted the urge to scream in shock as he stared at tiny hands that couldn't belong to anyone above 6 years old.

'What the hell is going on!?' He screamed internally as a text box appeared in front of his eyes.

[*Ding!*]

[Host has awakened!]

[Uploading Memory File!]

That was the only warning he got before it disappeared and unfamiliar scenes played instantly in his head.

'So I got reincarnated. Or is it considered transmigration?' He thought as he somehow maintained his calm.

'Six years old, I guess I wasn't too far off.' He thought as a groan escaped his lips.

The memories showed what happened prior to his awakening. He was a six year old boy named Aroh in the fire nation.

He had lived in the orphanage for as long as he could remember. Suddenly this morning, a man in fire nation armor belonging to the higher ranks barged into the orphanage.

He spoke to the matron for a moment before she left to bring him to them. He wasn't aware of what was said between them but what he was aware of and what he was told by the man was simple.

He was going to be enlisted in the fire nation army, whether he liked it or not. Though, it raised many questions to his now conscious mind.

Why would the fire nation recruit children as young as he was and why was he the only one being dragged into it?

Did they specifically come for him or did they pick anyone and he was simply unfortunate? He didn't remember anything like this happening in the show.

"You're awake, good. I thought I'd have to kick you up." One of the men who had a short beard spoke up, now noticing that he was conscious.

This alerted the other men as they turned to him but they simply looked away with disinterest.

He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't a bit offended by it but he preferred to stay alive so he pushed that down.

"I don't know what the general is thinking bringing a kid like you to the frontlines but don't think for a second that we're going to pamper you." The man said as his eyes furrowed before continuing.

"The battlefield is not a playground. It is a dangerous place especially for a non bender like you. We're not going to hold your hand an…" His words were tuned out as Aroh focused on those words.

'A non bender like you. I can't bend? How the hell am I going to survive here?' He thought before quickly remembering the text box from before.

'If I'm right it should work. Status.' He said a bit unsurely at the end.

[Name: Aroh

Title: None

Level:1

Chi:500/500

Str:4

Dex:5

Vit:5

Chi:10

Points:0]

'That's quite pitiful. Then again, I don't know what the average stats for this world are.' He thought as he tried to distract himself from how pitifully weak he was by going to the part labeled skills.

He mentally selected it, only to be met with an empty list.

'Not surprising.' He thought a bit depressingly as he tuned back in to hear the man's final words.

"…o you understand?" The man finished, looking at him with strict expectation.

"Yes." He said slowly, inwardly cringing at how young and squeaky his voice sounded.

The rest of the trip was silent as Aroh went through the system to familiarize himself with it's functions.

One of such things he realized was his lack of an inventory which made him sad at the lack of such an overpowered skill.

'No health points?' He also noted the lack of that parameter with an internal sigh.

The trip came to an end as they reached their destination.

The fire nation army barracks.

This was where he would be beginning his painful journey. Despite how much he wished he could escape this, he knew it was just that…wishful thinking.

He stayed silent as he was pushed forward into the building.

'It's my first day and I already hate it here.' He thought as he held back his irritation.

~~~~~[Present]~~~~~

Although they worded it like he was going to the forefront immediately, even they were sensible to give him some form of training.

Sending a six year old to war like that was pretty much suicide. Though, that was where their use of logic ended as after only four months of basic training, he was sent alongside other soldiers to fight.

'Still, it's been a rough ten years.' Aroh thought as he pulled off the armor, leaving him in a sleeveless black shirt and black shorts.

The arm guards were the next to go off as they were discarded in a pile. Unlike the rest of the fire nation, he refused to tie his hair up in a knot, seeing it as unnecessary.

This raised many eyebrows but they looked at it as disrespect from the non bending peasant. Though they thought this, they had neither the courage nor the time to confront him.

He did wonder though. Ozai was the fire lord and Azula was 16 and he was wondering when the plot would start.

From what he remembered, Azula was 14 when the plot started but nothing had happened as of yet which made him worry.

Despite being in the fire nation army, he had yet to properly decide which side he was on.

Up until now, his sole goal had been survival but now he felt he was more than strong enough to survive. Now the question had once again returned to his mind.

To join the avatar and save the world or to truly join the fire nation and conquer the world. No matter which one he picked, there was one thing that was certain.

Ozai would die.

If he chose to stay in the fire nation, he would work his way to killing the man. He refused to live in a nation and serve the whims of someone else.

On the other hand, if he chose to aid the avatar, he would still kill the man to end the war. He didn't agree with the avatar's decision of leaving such a threat alive.

In the end, it all came down to the steps taken before that would happen.

You would think that after ten years he would have an answer but that wasn't so. He wasn't so comfortable with the idea of even having an avatar in the first place.

It just creates room for people to push the blame and work on others and wallow in mediocrity themselves. The avatar is a self claimed title made by a pair of arrogant fools and carried on by even more foolish people.

He didn't feel so comfortable with leaving the power to decide his future in the hands of a temperamental child.

He hated to admit it but while arrogant, the avatar was a very powerful entity. So while he would rather just kill them both, he had to choose to side with the avatar.

At least until he had a reason not to.

Just as he lay on the bed to get some rest, the entrance to his tent opened up as someone's head peeked inside.

"You okay kid?" They asked, their features hidden under the dark helmet.

"The same as always. Exhausted and in need of a break." Aroh answered simply as the man let out a small chuckle as he entered the tent.

He stood in front of Aroh who made no move to sit up.

"You know, while it's not exactly stated, it's prohibited to remove your armor while on duty." The man said only for the boy to snort.

"Oh please. That armor is impractical as it is ugly. I'll spend as much time as possible out of it. It's not like you don't feel the same way either, Chen." Aroh retorted with slight exasperation.

The man shook his head as he pulled off the helmet to reveal straight black hair that was tied in a lose knot and ember eyes that held amusement.

"After how many of those guys you put down today, most would find it hard to believe that you were being slowed down by that armor." Chen said, his lips twitching in amusement.

"Let them believe what they want to believe. It doesn't really bother me. It's not like I have any choice but to be here." He said as he turned to lay on his side.

Chen looked at the boy silently before releasing a soft sigh. The two had met when Aroh inadvertently saved his life, on multiple occasions at that.

Like Aroh, he was forced into being a soldier but unlike the boy, he was dragged into it at the age of 18.

While he lacked the talent that the other soldiers had, he managed to survive this long. Partially due to Aroh but the point still stood.

As for how they knew who each other were under the mask, Aroh was easily the smallest among the troops so it was easy for Chen to identify him and meet him.

He sympathized with Aroh as he had lost the years of his childhood as they were spent at war and it would continue like that for some time.

"You've always been a tough kid but it's okay to relax every once in a while. Take it easy." Chen advised as Aroh let out a hollow chuckle.

"Right. That luxury was lost the moment I put on that armor. You came here for a reason. What is it?" He asked bluntly, growing tired of the previous subject.

Chen took a moment to sigh before speaking.

"We'll be meeting up with commander Zhao's forces tomorrow to join them on the road back. Just try not to cause a scene like last time." Chen said as he put on his helmet and left.

Not a moment after he left, Aroh's fist clenched as he thought of the arrogant commander who had been a source of pain a while back.

'I do not serve anybody.' He thought as the scene of the man hurling a blast of flame at him came to mind.

Aroh's face was calm but the aura being exuded from him betrayed his expression.

'Zhao, you're living on borrowed time.' He thought as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to truly rest.