Chapter 01: Prologue
In the Extensive domain of a particular Universe, there was a world known as Arcane, as the name suggests, it was a world of mages and heroes.
Mages are beings capable of doing extraordinary feats, feats that defy the common sense of mortals, like destroying mountains and creating them with a wave of their hand, like shaping landmasses to their liking with the whispers of spells.
Heroes, beings who could sever the ocean with the swing of their swords and spears, create hurricanes with the punch of their fists, they are martial artists who strive for immortality through cultivation.
The mages and heroes are not so different; they actually share the same origin.
It's just that they have evolved to pursue different paths to immortality.
Even their source of power is the same: Mana.
One of the most mysterious forms of energy existing in the universe, it is present in almost everything from the air we breathe to the earth we walk upon.
Now, the territory of the Heroes was divided between five noble hero clans: the Tatsuya Clan, the Shimura Clan, the Kusanagi Clan, the Urahara Clan, and the Asuna Clan.
These noble clans directly answer to the Hero King, Rowan Asuna, who is also the son of the leader of the Asuna Clan.
The Asuna clan and the Tatsuya clan were unique even among the noble clans because not only are they related to each other, but they are also descendants from the first king of the first generation of Heroes of the world of Arcane.
In the territory of the Tatsuya clan, within the personal training grounds that only the main family members of the clan have access to, there was a man with gray aging hair.
However, no one could call him old because he looked like a bodybuilder in his thirties. In reality, he was much older.
He stood with one hand back and in his other hand held a wooden sword. He felt something blow past him and casually moved his wooden sword to block the incoming attack.
"You are never going to land a single attack on me if you keep moving at this speed," he said amusingly.
He looked at the young man in front of him, standing in the stance he taught, holding a wooden sword with both hands firmly.
His dark black hair was drenched in sweat and messy, but that didn't stop him from looking handsome. His eyes resembled blue Zircons.
Even though he was tired from playing catch with his grandfather, who actually trained in swordplay, he still refused to show it in his eyes.
"Dammit," the teenager seemed unfazed by his words, as if he was already used to these petty remarks, but it did successfully provoke him.
He pushed his leg to the ground before launching at the old man like an assassin.
He was very fast, far faster than any human, but to the old man, he was still moving pretty slow.
"Still slow," the old man swung his wooden sword upwards, blocking the attack, but the teenager still found himself hurtling to the ground a few meters away, unable to absorb the impact of their clash.
"Ouch, that hurt like hell," the teenager muttered, lying on the ground, unable to lift his body up.
"Why don't we stop here for today, Sam?" the old man asked, extending a supporting hand as he helped him stand up.
"Yeah, let's do that," the teenager named Sam replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. Then, his eyes went to the screen visible only to him.
---
[Name: Sam Tatsuya/Brunheart]
[Hero Level: 15]
[Mage level: 20]
[Titles: An Anomaly]
[Race: Half Mage, Half Hero]
[Class: None]
[Strength: 18
Agility: 20
Stamina: 20
Perception: 18
Heroic Power: 20
Mana: 20]
[Elemental Affinity(s): Wind, Flame]
[Ability: !@#$%^&* (Unawakened)]
[Skills: Heroic Sense, Mana Sense, Swordsmanship, Spearmanship, Spellcasting]
---
"My agility stat went up by three points since our last training session," he said, still engrossed in the things that only he could see on the system panel.
In this world, everyone had the ability to access an entity called the system.
It served many purposes, but its primary function was to show the status of oneself, quantifying attributes for each person in numbers.
"Is that so? Let me take a look at your stats board." The system panel of a person could only be seen by the person himself, but if he wished, he could show it to others.
Sam raised an eyebrow, contemplating something. "Yes, here you go."
Then the system screen displaying Sam's stats became visible to his grandfather, Jin.
[Strength: 18
Agility: 20
Stamina: 20
Perception: 18
Heroic Power: 20
Mana: 20]
"Interesting. Your talent astonishes me every time I see your stats," his grandfather, Jin Tatsuya, said with a sigh, still unable to get over the talent his only grandson possessed.
"Your level is 15, but your attributes are comparable to someone with level 20. I can understand your strength, agility, stamina, and perception reaching these numbers because they can be improved through training, and you have incredible talent like me. But how did your heroic power stat increase to 20? It should be at o, right?"
"You have yet to awaken your martial potential, which means you shouldn't have any heroic energy within your body. Where did it come from?"
Then Jin shifted his focus to the mana stat, unique to mages. But Sam, a natural-born anomaly, possessed both the powers of heroes and mages.
"It's your mana stat, isn't it?"
"Yes, grandfather. As you know, unlike heroes who cultivate to increase their overall abilities, mages only focus on the mana stat because they can't increase their physical attributes."
"I'm the only person in this world with both Mage roots and Mana veins. When I increase my mana stat, the heroic stat, which remained dorment, also increases simultaneously. I don't quite understand the reason, though."
Sam was born to a Mage father and a hero mother.
It's not that he was the only one born with this type of lineage; there were many who were born to a Mage father and hero mother, and vice versa.
However, they couldn't be both a Mage and a hero at the same time. This is what makes Sam an anomaly, special.
Mages were born with what they call a Mage root.
This Mage root helps them absorb mana from the surrounding environment and store it inside their bodies, forming a condensed structure called the mana core.
The mana core is what stores the mana of the Mages, and using the same mana, the mana core can be expanded to increase the mana pool.
As for the heroes, they possess what they call Mana Veins. These are like vessels present in every part of the body.
When heroes absorb mana, these mana veins convert the mana into heroic power and use this heroic energy to nourish the body, helping them break through levels.
But Sam, who possesses both of these traits, is indeed special. Not everyone knows this secret, only his family members do.
"I don't know how I'm going to explain this when people begin to become aware that you have an unusually high amount of heroic power that's totally incomparable to your level," Jin sighed again, thinking about the potential future trouble that may arise.
"You possessed heroic power even before embarking on your cultivation journey."
"Not only does my grandson possess immense potential, but he also has the potential to become a great Mage. You will become the hot topic for a long time if this gets out," Jin said slowly, contemplating the consequences.
"You haven't told anyone about your special condition, have you?" Jin asked, side-eyeing Sam.
"Of course not," Sam replied instantly.
"Good, and it's better to keep it that way. We don't know how people might react, especially the noble clans."
"I wonder why you are so worried about the noble clans learning about what I'm capable of? It's not like they can do anything to me when you guys are here. After all, both my grandfathers are the leaders of the strongest clans of the Arcane," Sam said with a small smile.
"You are right. We are the strongest. If anyone dares to try anything funny with the beloved grandson of the Tatsuya Clan and Brunheart Clan, they will never see the light again in their life. I'm not scared of the noble clan's reactions; I'm scared that dealing with them would cost me too much of my free time," Jin explained. "That is all"
Sam shook his head in response, as if he shouldn't have even asked that question.
In an instant, they left the training grounds.
As soon as they disappeared from view, a shadowy figure appeared. This figure had been silently eavesdropping on their conversation.
The figure glanced in the direction the grandson and grandfather duo went. A smirk, tinged with hostility, formed on his face before he vanished.