I NEED INFORMATION

"Me?" I pointed at myself. I assumed this was the owner of the seat. He looked older for a student, but since I had heard of an elderly woman who completed her secondary school education, I quickly approached him.

"Great esteem, sir," I began. "Yes, I did a foolish thing sitting in your chair. I didn't even know about it, sir. I have memory loss, so I've forgotten some basic etiquette. Please forgive me, esteemed sir."

It's better to be humble when facing someone who can catch you, even if you run a few miles.

"What are you saying? The likes of me fighting over a chair? I have over a thousand perfect grade artifacts to worry about, not a chair with dense mana around it. Besides, I'm not the guy who owns the chair."

"Then who are you?" I asked. "Did you kidnap me? What is going on? I literally just woke up clueless, and..."

"Be quiet, boy," he said. "I summoned you here because you have what I need as a successor. A boy with no mana. An irregular. I have been waiting for years. Now listen well, the world of heroes is coming to an end. It has been predestined. Somebody without mana will save the world from the evils of the future. It was not revealed who, but here you are. Now kneel to receive your heritage."

Huh? Kneel? Ha! As if? Is this a prank? I thought.

"Esteemed sir, I don't quite understand what you meant by 'somebody without mana.' There are literally other people without mana. I don't even know where I am to begin with. If..."

"Questions and doubt. Ah, in that case, we will do it the hard way."

He poked my forehead, smiling—a crazy smile. I looked at him in confusion for a while before stumbling. Alas, I fell asleep.

"Oh. He resisted. That's a start. I haven't seen anyone with that kind of resistance since 5000 years ago. More so, a kid. Ha, indeed, worthy of my heritage."

He then drew a magic circle on the ground and placed Femi within it.

"Now we begin," he said as a rush of wind filled the entire underground.

****

Ahh, I woke up with a scream. Strangely, I was in my dorm room. How? Today was just filled with so many questions. I needed answers, I thought.

The goal was to find answers. I jumped out of bed in haste, and I was about to open the door when I saw a box fall from the bed and roll towards me. Looking sideways, I checked if there was anyone else in the room, but it was only me. Strangely, I picked up the box, or should I say I was drawn to it to the point of touching it. I picked it up, and a hologram appeared. I saw a shaking box with some words below it saying "Tap at your own luck." My hand unconsciously went towards the shaking box, and I tapped it. It shook furiously and then opened.

[You have received SUPERIOR PHYSIQUE AND TREASURE MAP.

SUPERIOR PHYSIQUE: You have the physique of a peak SSS rank. Your body will undergo a tremendous change, and no attack below SSS, whether physical or magical, shall harm you.

TREASURE MAP: You will be alerted to any treasure, whether minimum grade or perfect grade. Also, a map will guide you there.]

I felt sudden changes in my body, and then the feeling disappeared. The box I was holding crumbled into dust and disappeared without a trace. I shook it off. Maybe what I saw was a prank. Maybe it was an illusion. I just needed to get information. Where to, then? I thought. Ah, the library. Why didn't I think of that? I just had to find it.

I rushed out of the dorm and started asking for directions. I reached the library, and I was out of words. It was a majestic building overlaid with gold. The staircase outside was glittering. I snapped out of it and entered the library. Now I was even more astonished as the inside was breathtaking. I went to the librarian and asked for the section on history books. She asked for my year and directed me to the general section and the history stand. I picked up seven books and started reading.

Apparently, this world was also called Earth. People were advancing into the age of advanced science and technology when the dungeons appeared. At first, it went unnoticed, but when the sun darkened and the air grew stagnant, they realized that something was wrong. The dungeon doors opened, and all sorts of monsters came out, displacing humans from their homes. Many people died that day. However, hope emerged as mana appeared on Earth, allowing people to protect themselves and their loved ones. Thus began the GREAT WAR. The seven continents remained, but many areas were still sparsely populated. Barriers were created on each continent to repel the monsters, and humans started reclaiming their land.

In Africa, where I was, the South and West had been reclaimed. The North was infested with monsters, and the East had fewer humans. Teleportation machines were invented, allowing people to move between countries and continents. The union of world leaders established the Hero Organization, which maintained balance among humans, monsters, and rogues, along with the Hero Academy to train young heroes. Every youngster was expected to enroll in the Hero Academy by the age of 15 for a five-year training. In Africa, there were five Hero Academies in different regions. My school ranked within the top two hundred, which was acceptable since there were about 500 schools worldwide.

Given the language barrier in this world, students had to choose between English and French schools. At graduation, most youngsters worked for the Hero Organization. Even if you didn't work for the Hero Organization, it was mandatory for youngsters to attend the academy. People could still retain their jobs from the old world and take on new ones in the new world. There were also ranks to determine the level of a human, ranging from F to SS, with no known SSS rank. Skills, potions, and artifacts boosted human power, enabling them to fight monsters and maintain balance in the world.

"What a long read," I mumbled. "So, since I'm in Class One, that means I'm fifteen years old, with the body of a fifteen year old and the mind of a twenty year old. Not bad. It's even mentioned that there's no SSS rank. Ha. I knew it was a joke, though the man felt real, which is a pain. I can't rule out the possibility of an illusion. That's for later times. Huh, I wonder if I have parents. I guess I have to do some digging. It's nice that this academy is an English-speaking one. Since people can take up old-world jobs, maybe I can become a doctor or a professor, and also a hunter. The list of new jobs is welcoming, like adventurers and merchants. Some jobs are not for me, especially the Hero Organization. The military is a no-go area for me."

It was decided in my heart to become a hunter. I returned the books to their section and headed out of the library.

****

"Huh!" the librarian exclaimed. "Didn't he enter like twenty minutes ago? How did he finish 7 big books during that time? It should take a C rank about 25 minutes to even finish all, and I haven't heard of any first-year reaching the level of rank C. I should note his face. This is interesting."

****

As I was leaving, I heard someone call my name. I turned back and saw a guy rushing up to me. He then led me to a private corridor.

"Where have you been?" He asked. "I've been looking all over for you."

"And you are?" I asked, unsure of what to say.

"You mean you don't know me? Ah well, it's expected as a result of what happened yesterday."

Yesterday? Another round of questions emerged from my heart.