1 Forgotten Past

The little boy walked down the streets dotted with skyscrapers. It made a bizarre sight to see a little boy who was only 12 walking alone without any of his guardians in sight. He was a thin boy, and although he was only 12, wisps of a mustache were already on his face. The boy's name was Taejun. It was not a common nor uncommon name, something his parents had given him before they both left him. The place he was living in was the outer city of Korea, and every child's dream in the city was to enter the main city of Seoul as a military officer, and once that occurred, glory and fame would eventually follow.

However, these dreams were only for the ones who were lucky enough to be talented. Today had been the day where the potential of the children were measured. The little boy's dreams had been crushed. Although his talent was considerably above average, he knew that that much didn't amount to much. All the kids in the world competed to become a powerful genius.

Of course, there were exceptions aside from being a powerful soldier, such as engineers and mechanics who could create and repair techno weapons. Aside from mechanics, one could also be a logistics officer, a medic, scholar, or a cartographer.

However, all of these required talent, and the boy tried all of these and found himself to be suitable as a scholar or a medic, but he wished to be a fighting soldier. Though he was more mature than others his age, he was still a child. Which child didn't wish to become a hero?

In order to become a successful military officer, one had to enter the military academy alliance, which was on an artificially created island. It was a group of 3 academies with the most influence and power in the world. The requirements were having a talent level of 15 or higher. One also had to pass a hand-to-hand combat techniques test, basic geography and world history, and strategy and tactics test. The ones trained in this academy became the most desired occupation which was the special armed units, which consisted of those who surpassed the boundaries of humans. They were able to unleash their own potential to the fullest and use "magic". This was their will that they can manipulate to appear in reality. Every one of these people had their own unique "powers" they can use. Their fighting power couldn't be compared to normal soldiers who were only capable of using weapons below level 5. Their "magic" and "powers" were commonly referred to as "abilities". One could polish one's own abilities and create unique techniques to fight.

The ranking system of the world was divided into 10s and 20s. The level of weapons were divided from 1 to 10, and the level of mechanics were divided from 1 to 10. Talent level of 12 year olds were divided from 1 to 20. Although potential level 20 was extremely rare, there were many geniuses in the world. The average talent level was 7, and the young boy's talent was barely able to reach level 15. An outsider could look at this and think that he was blessed, but most people who entered the academy were those who had a talent level of 17 or higher. What's more, there was another one who took the test with him who had a talent level of 19, a peak genius.

The boy walked into a library with a sign signifying that it was closed. Taejun ignored the sign and pushed the door and entered. It was an old building that seemed out of place with all the high skyscrapers of the streets. However, no one questioned the old-fashioned building and the antique books inside. With the advances of technology, books were hardly needed. Once one entered the library, one would immediately be confronted by the massive bookshelves that stretched to the ceilings of the second floor. There was a large circular table in the middle of all the bookshelves. The boy walked up the spiraling stairs to the second floor and went up to his room and screamed as loud as possible, the sound echoing through the large halls outside of the room.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"What's the matter, boy?" A man's deep voice resonated through the hallway. He was the boy's guardian, also known as the librarian to the other people. He was old, seemingly to be over 90. This was unusual, as people could keep their youth by using the rejuvenation system available for free every month. He wore casual clothes, but one could tell from his eyes that he wasn't a simple old man. His white beard was neatly trimmed, and his white hair flowed down to his stomach.

However, the strange thing was that no one on the streets knew the man's name. The boy tried asking other shop owners and his teachers at school, but no one knew anything about him. The moment he came upstairs, the boy regained his composure, not wanting to look like a spoiled child in front of him.

"My talent level has barely reached level 15. It can be considered adequate, but that's it." He managed to choke out the words. His frustration and anger could be seen in his eyes.

"Talent level 15, hmmm. Not bad. Isn't that the requirement for going to the world academy?"

The boy snorted.

"The requirement? Those who have talent levels 17 and higher are fighting to have a chance at going there. What could a level 15 do anything to change that?"

"Is talent everything? No it isn't. The whole point of the academies is to nurture geniuses from all angles, those including scholars and medics."

"But I don't want to become a scholar or a medic! I want to be a hero who saves people!"

The man looked into the childish eyes of the young boy in front of him.

"Who said that scholars can't be heroes? Heroes are those who contribute in difficult times and help solve the problem. I know that you want to help save your country from difficulties, but becoming an extremely powerful special armed unit is virtually impossible for you, someone who only has a talent level of 15. The only hope for you is to choose something that requires less of talent and more of qualities that can be learned." The man paused, then continued, "... which is why I'll be teaching you various things during this period."

Though the boy was lazy by nature and wanted to play more than to study, his desire to fulfill his dream was stronger. He also thought of tracking down his parents, but he decided that his parents who abandoned him wasn't worth chasing after.

The lessons of the librarian started. His goal was teach the boy at least the basics of knowledge before sending him off to the test for the academies in 2 years. He took out a blackboard from the attic and started writing.

"First of all, the reasons why humans had such fast development starting from 2219 was because of the nuclear war. Only the smartest and strongest could survive during and after the war. The remains of humanity gathered together and started a new civilization. The geniuses who are nicknamed "the creators" built weaponry and machines exceeding the limits of technology. They are also responsible for creating a method for unlocking human potential. They are still alive today thanks to the immortality project which allows immensely powerful humans to take on metal organs to extend their lifespans."

"After the era of the creators, the united countries separated into different countries, as disputes began to rise among the people. The strong developed their own lands, and the current borders of the world were created. Names of the countries remained the same. Because of the motto of the creators, "War is a fruitless endeavor, capable of destruction of both the enemy and oneself", there has been no large-scale wars yet. However, because of the suppressed desire for destruction, war might soon break out in 10 years or so."

"Currently, the world is divided into many factions composed of different countries. Though there are more organizations and groups you can count, there are 4 most powerful factions. One of them is the World Academy Alliance. Though it is the weakest of the four, it is because the Alliance trains newbies and lets them free at the end of the tuition. However, many excellent students choose to stay at the academies. The three academies that make up the Alliance are rivals, and the three principals of the three academies like to compete in any sort of way. It can be considered a petty rivalry, nothing more."

"The second is the Spirit Arms Factory. The factory is the largest supplier of spirit weapons for both the common soldiers and the special arms units. It is the richest faction out of the whole world, and both its fame and prestige can be compared to the the #1 faction."

"The third is the Women's Rights Faction. This faction was created because the ratio of men with abilities to women with abilities was around 7.5 to 2.5 during the time period of its creation. Though only women can enter the sect, most of all the powerful women all come from the sect. It is best not to offend this sect, as it is famous for holding grudges. Over the years, the ratio has evened out to around 6:4, but they still hold their view firmly and has been showing explosive growth, almost to the point of catching up to the Spirit Arms Factory."

"The last is the United World Alliance, commonly known as the world's strongest alliance. This alliance was found by one of the creators, granting it the authority that other factions do not have. There is not much explanation needed for this alliance. It is simply the strongest, in most all aspects."

"Now, there is one more faction you must be careful about. It's the Shadow Assassination Faction. Although it is an illegal faction not approved by the council of the creators, it has still managed to exist to this day, which is enough to show its power. The creators have decided not to act in the events of the world anymore unless the appearance of a crisis. The Spirit Arms Factory tried to eliminate this Shadow Faction to gain the favor of the creators, but only was shamed and humiliated as the Shadow Faction assassinated many of the key leaders of the factory. This is all for today. After the 1st period of training, which will be on the basics of the world, the 2nd period of training will be on tactics and strategy. Lastly, the 3rd period will be on basic battle skills. But just in case your "ability" is something that aids you with your brain, we'll find out what it is tomorrow."