Chapter 1. Sealed Power Unveiled

The year 2130.

London, UK.

A meteor strike on the North Pole in 2030 changes everything. The radiation emitted from the meteor caused animals and plants to mutate, and unprecedented beasts emerged from the ground.

At that point, chaos ensued, nearly wiping out half the world's population. However, humans evolved and adapted. They began to realize they had gained amazing powers from the radiation, which would continue to be passed down to the next generation.

Noah Quill was the only human with no magic or blessing. The 18-year-old dark-haired man had just graduated from high school and enlisted in the Beast Slayer Force.

The examination revealed that Noah had no magic, but they still accepted him because they needed more human resources to deal with the rapid growth of the beasts.

"Look at that loser. If I were him, I'd choose to leave!"

"What exactly did his parents sin that he was cursed with no blessings?"

"He has no right to be in a training ground like us."

TOCK!

They were all gathered at the training ground wearing white uniforms with black patterns, similar to military shirts. Among all of them, Noah Quill was sweating by himself.

He was sweating as he was the only one practicing swordsmanship, along with a wooden puppet that hadn't been destroyed since the training began.

The other cadets were different. They formed small teams and practiced manifesting their magic. Magic in this world was divided into two types, elemental magic and talents.

"You should keep practicing your fire elemental magic; it's more useful for attacking beasts," explained one of the cadets.

Since the radiation emission 100 years ago, humans began to have mana in their bodies. The amount depends on their endurance. The stronger their endurance, the greater the amount of mana they have.

With this amount of mana, humans can use elemental magic and talents. Elemental magic uses natural elements like water, earth, fire, and air.

Talent is a unique ability that only one individual has and cannot be learned by anyone except the talent's owner.

Noah's body bounced while practicing, not because of the wooden doll that attacked him but because of another cadet who attacked him with fire elemental magic.

"Akh." Noah groaned in pain with a bruise on the right side of his body; the other cadets laughed disdainfully. They all felt happy and satisfied when they succeeded in humiliating Noah, whom they considered to be trash.

"What were you doing there? Stop training for nothing, loser!"

"We'll keep attacking you if you don't stop practicing."

The hundreds of times Noah had been treated like that, there was no point in Noah returning the favor. Even if Noah turned around and attacked them, they would beat him up even worse than this.

Instructor Mathias, who was overseeing the training, was indifferent. They firmly stated that all the accidents during the training were meant to make the cadets physically and mentally tougher.

If a cadet dies in the accident, the instructors will not be held responsible, and there will be no culprits. Everything is solely to train the cadets to face the beasts.

"Stand up, Cadet Noah. Don't be a spoiled brat who goes limp just because of one weak magic attack," Mathias replied, telling Noah to get up.

Noah complied. He took back his wooden sword and swung it again at the wooden puppet.

While practicing, Noah occasionally kept an eye on his surroundings in case another cadet tried to attack him again.

After three hours of them all practicing in that place, Mathias ordered the cadets to go and take a break. However, he told Noah to keep practicing until the wooden puppet was destroyed by Noah's sword swing.

"Never stop until the dummy is destroyed!" Mathias pointed at Noah and the wooden dummy. Noah understood his instructor's order. After all, Noah didn't feel like he had practiced enough.

The young man continued to do so until the sun went down, the scene in the training arena becoming dim with the sound of the banging of wooden swords and wooden dummies filling the place.

Noah's uniform was drenched in sweat, his face paled with a gasp. As he was about to swing the sword for the hundredth time, the wooden sword slipped out of his hand.

Noah's body fell on his back, eyes closed and breathing hard. His fingers are cramped, and his arm muscles ached. The young man admitted that he could no longer continue training.

"Is Mathias mistreating you again?" someone asked, making Noah jump in surprise and stand up instantly.

"Instructor Mathias was so kind to let me train all day. I thank him for his kindness," Noah stood tall and spoke firmly, like a cadet reporting something to his superiors. Noah looked forward, seeing that the woman who had come to see him was Instructor Misa.

"Haha, even though she ordered you around harshly, you're still being nice to her," Misa replied, smiling at Noah's kindness.

"I can't possibly hate my own instructor, Instructor Misa."

"That's good. If the other cadets behaved like you, there might be hope for peace in the future." Misa told Noah not to be nervous when talking to her. Noah nodded, picked up his wooden sword again, and began to prepare his stance for training again.

Misa continued to watch Noah train, the wooden puppet before Noah was almost destroyed by the constant impact of Noah's wooden sword. Misa stretched her right hand forward, casting a fire magic spell.

[Fire Magic: Burst of Fireballs]

A red magic circle was created before Misa, instantly releasing dozens of fiery hot fireballs crashing into Noah's wooden dummy until it was utterly destroyed. Noah was shocked.

"What are you—"

"Mathias told you to keep hitting it until it shatters, right? That'll take the whole night," Misa interrupted, Noah nodding.

"Let's just say you managed to destroy it. Now you can rest," Misa replied.

Her right hand extended forward again, not towards the destroyed dummy, but towards the right side of Noah's body that had been injured by another cadet's magic attack.

[Water Magic: Basic healing]

From the magic circle, shimmering water dew began to come out and stick to Noah's right arm. Noah's uniform was also damaged by the cadet's magic attack, but the wound slowly healed thanks to Misa.

"I hear you don't live in the cadet dormitory, do you?" asked Misa, to which Noah agreed.

"I live in the house my parents left behind, in the valley of the Mystic Mountain." Noah explained while still paying attention to the healing magic that if only Noah could do it, he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

"Is that so?"

The basic healing magic worked; the wound on Noah's right hand healed completely. Misa told Noah to return home; he no longer needed to train again for that day. However, Noah had other plans, such as training near a lake in a mountain valley.

He didn't tell anyone about the training, only himself.

After packing up, Noah left the academy to arrive at his home. Noah had no idea he was being followed right after leaving the academy.

Noah was already thinking about what kind of training he would do, so he was excited to do it. Without changing his clothes, Noah immediately took the sword from his house and carried it deep into the mountain forest.

The young man returned to the same exercise by aiming his attack at a tree. He also used a real sword, a legacy from his grandfather.

In addition to the sword, his grandfather had also left Noah a ruby necklace. Noah's grandfather said that the ruby jewel was precious to him and wanted Noah to take care of it.

"I have to get stronger!" proclaimed Noah, alone.

"Hey, humans!"

A soft voice could be heard clearly in the forest, making Noah, practicing alone, immediately stop what he was doing. Noah turned around and glanced at his surroundings, wondering who had spoken.

"Who is it?" asked Noah, sternly.

"It's foolish to train alone in the middle of the forest, human!" threatened someone coming out from the forest's depths.

He wore a long black robe with the collar pulled up, his eyes reddened with two long fangs. His posture was tall, with sharp, claw-like fingernails.

"Damn it! A beast!" growled Noah, immediately pointing his sword forward.

The vampire-like monster smiled, its tongue lolling out like it was staring at delicious prey. Noah's legs trembled with fear, his face pale, and his eyes still staring forward.

"That sword won't protect you!" the monster shouted, lunging forward with a horrified look.

Noah, who was seeing a beast for the first time, immediately cried out in fear as he swung his sword randomly. However, none of his attacks hit the beast.

The beast reached out and moved quickly. It clawed Noah's chest forcefully, leaving his uniform damaged and the cuts from the scratches clearly visible. Instantly, Noah vomited blood.

The ruby gem necklace was broken and split. Surprisingly, a red ball of immense power emerged from within the split gem, gathering right before Noah.

[Touch me!]

Another voice arrived in Noah's ears. On the verge of death, Noah had no choice but to touch the orb. The magic power initially sealed in the jewel earlier begins to enter Noah's body through his right hand. Noah groaned loudly in pain.

"AAAAKH!"

"What's going on?" asked the beast, shocked to realize that the young man before him was surrounded by a thick red stream of blood, Noah continued to scream loudly in pain.

Someone's running steps could be heard from the bottom of the mountain. The woman arrived at the location where the vampire monster was present and immediately slashed the vampire's head quickly. The beast failed to dodge and was instantly crushed into ashes.

"I never thought they'd be here," said the woman.

She turned her head to the side, seeing a young man groaning in pain surrounded by a thick red magic flow like blood fluid. When she was about to touch him, there was a protective field that made her bounce away.

"What kind of power is that?" she asked.

DING!

[Congratulations on Awakening your Talent]

[Synchronization of Talents with Host]

[1%]

[100%]

[Synchronization Complete]

[Talent: Blood Manipulation]

"Blood Manipulation?" the woman asked.

Shortly after the appearance of the system panel, the mysterious magic flow began to enter Noah's body through his mouth. It made Noah fall unconscious with his body covered in blood.

The woman wearing a black shirt with a red coat walked over to Noah, seeing that the blood-drenched in Noah's body had begun to be absorbed into his body. His hair went from black to white ash in an instant.

"What kind of power is that?"