Chapter 1:

As the image of quite possibly the greatest man humanity had ever known faded from the student's minds, they slumped back into their chairs. While they had heard stories of the majesty and awe a glimpse of the Founder would inspire, they still were shocked. And not at how great the man seemed, but by how very human he seemed. Instead of resembling the mythical figure, defender of humanity, and heroic warrior that they knew him to be he instead just seemed... mortal. Sans the mystic energies he possessed, of course. these children had, of course, seen this moment in many forms and at many times. The Founder's first display of the Paths was a famous moment taught at every school throughout the galactic federation, but it held special purpose to those that reside on Earth. The birthplace of humanity.

As a result, truly countless children would try to join the First Path Academy every year. It was once the most prestigious school in the entire federation, based on Earth and founded by Alexandre Cataliss himself. Why was it only the once most prestigious school? Well, when you have an intergalactic federation that spans hundreds of thousands of worlds, there are bound to be great schools here and there. To be entirely honest, it's well known the only reason that the First Path Academy continues to rank highly is out of respect to it's history, but it is likely to drop out of the top-tier high schools ranking and enter the ranks of ordinary first tier schools quite soon.

This reality didn't affect the teenagers, though. Despite having seen this probably over a dozen times on average they still were in awe of Alexandre. The entire foundation for humanities progress was laid down by that man. Unfortunately, in the name of progress, much is left behind. The earth and the solar system, along with all its extractable resources had long been exhausted and so Earth, despite its status as the birthplace of humanity sunk into the annals of history, merely a remnant of it's former glory. The only great thing left on the planet was it's academy, but at this point the only thing holding it up was it's history.

This is where our story begins, and coincidentally also when a boy named Hendrick 'Rick' Wells awoke.

His mind was a bit foggy, but this was quite normal for him. Hendrick was a very smart child, from a young age his dark green eyes seemed to signal his intelligence, a fact which made many other children distance themselves from him. He had a very hard time making friends at a young age. The adults liked him for his cleverness, he always got attention from the teachers, and he had a very intense focus even as a child. These problems only made him less likable to the other boys, as they considered him to be very odd. However, that isn't to say that he had no one interested in him. The girls around him always gravitated towards him despite him ignoring any attempts at conversation. The boys would often gnash their teeth as some pretty girl they liked went up to talk with Hendrick of their own accord, only to be ignored.

Hendrick was about 5'11 and his height growth seemed to be slowing down. His facial features are very strong, he has with a triangular jaw and high cheekbones, intense greenish-blue eyes, long eyelashes, a sculpted nose and dark black hair that naturally fell into a casual yet attractive mess. His body was naturally lean and athletic, but what really made Hendrick attractive was his focus. He always approached what he did with an intensity that highlighted his positive qualities, and girls always regarded him as the best looking guy in the school.

Unfortunately for Hendrick, children are prone to jealousy and envy, and so despite his goals he was often dragged into competitions of every kind so the others could try and claim superiority over him. These challenges quickly stopped coming though, as no matter what common or uncommon comparison the students tried to make with him they always found that Hendrick would crush them completely without even trying. Crying from children with bruised egos was always a common sound wherever Hendrick went.

The only saving grace for these students was that Hendrick mostly kept to himself, engrossed in a book or journal article. Instead of embarrassing them by comparison Hendrick mostly just kept to his studies, absorbing knowledge far beyond what any pre-Path kid had a right to, and mastering it in unbelievable time.

Today was one of the rare times Hendrick could be seen without a book. As today was the first day of Path school, even the disinterested Hendrick was putting in at least a cursory effort to listen to the slow lecture. Hendrick did try and pay attention, but would doze off from the obnoxiously slow pace of a lecture made for ordinary children, and made worse by the slow talking speed of the teacher. "Well as you all know, today is the first day of Path School. I am very glad that you students will soon be moving onwards in your life. As you know, your brains finish their necessary developments by around this age. Can anyone tell me why this is?"

One blonde-haired kid immediately replied, "Because of the advancements in our technology! Humans grow faster and live longer!"

The teacher nodded once, slowly, before continuing to drone on. "Good enough answer. The laws of the federation mandate that no being may begin their ventures onto the Paths until their minds are completely developed. This is due to the terrible incidents that occurred far too frequently before this rule, where children would mutilate, maim and injure each other with no regards to the consequences of their actions. Quite unfortunate, I say. I'm very glad they implemented this rule. I've heard stories from some ancient people who spoke of the terrible events. Well anyways, all of you should have passed the required tests to prove your readiness to embark upon the mysteries of the universe, and so I request that you follow me towards the testing areas. And please, mingle with the other students. Few of you should have met before as you all come from numerous schools, and so it is of the utmost importance that you get to know your classmates as we move towards the next item on our agenda." With this, the teacher began to lead the children out of the classroom.

Hendrick quickly stood up and followed, truly focused on school for the first time in many years. As he moved, he looked back at the other students jumping up from their seats, and while he didn't show it, he was uncharacteristically excited. 'Hopefully we get this done quickly. I've waited for so many years for this moment! I can't wait to get started on finding my Paths!' Thinking this, Hendrick quickened his steps. Suddenly, a voice rang out behind him. "Sorry! Sorry! Just move out of my way! … what do you mean slow down?! I said MOVE idiot!"

Hendrick glanced back only to see a kid pushing and shoving his way too the front. The first thing he noticed was the boys short stature, several inches below the average for the group. The second thing he noticed was the boy's shiny head. And not because he was bald, but because his hair was slicked back with an obnoxious amount of oil. He was built like a beast though, which was likely why he had managed to make it so far towards the front.

One strong looking kid tried to get in his way, but the short boy slapped him aside yelling, "I have no time for you weaklings! If you don't get out of my way I'm going to beat you all until you start crying for mommy! And if you don-" The teacher turned his head back halfway and glared at him, instantly silencing the boy. For about five seconds, then the boy started talking again at a lower volume. "Hmph. Count yourself lucky that I, Magnus am a magnanimous deity, and so I won't hold your disobedience against you. Just move aside and nobody will get hurt." The others reluctantly moved out of his way, until he was second to the front. Having already forgot the glare from the teacher, he stuck his nose in the air and said, "Hey you, stick boy. You may be handsome, but unfortunately for you I don't swing that way. Move or be moved."

"....."

"Fine, your mistake!" he shouted before trying to shove Hendrick. Hendrick didn't budge, and his steps didn't even noticeably change. Magnus immediately tried to shove harder, increasing the strength he was using. Despite his arrogant words, he wasn't using any strength that might have injured someone. However, as he increased the strength he was using, he broke out in a cold sweat. Despite him using ten percent of his strength, Hendrick didn't even show signs of noticing.

"Fine!" Magnus roared, "I'll go all out then!" Beginning to shout, he immediately changed from a silly kid into a angry beast, his muscles bulging grotesquely. His power grew immensely, and even Hendrick was forced to take notice. He immediately adjusted his position slightly allowing Magnus' full strength to go flying past, directly into the teacher! The teacher whipped around, stopping his full strength tackle with a finger, blowing everyone around him away in the process. "Control yourself. I don't mind if you two fight, but don't break anything or I will break you." Gulping, Magnus nodded.

"Sorry teacher! I was just interested in seeing how someone as impressive as yourself would stop the attack of someone as insignificant as me, cause I know that someone of your grandeur would never stop to punish a lowly junior such as me!"

The teacher smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Shameless, but I can appreciate it. Maybe you're not just a dumb brute. My name is Frederick Cataliss, but you can call me Mister Frederick. However, I should not be your main concern right now. Take this as lesson one from your teacher: Never lose focus after starting a fight."

Magnus narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment, then his eyes widened as he whirled around just in time for his nose to crunch into Hendrick's fist.