5-Year Protection Deal

Ray immediately jumped up from the couch and ran towards the door and opened it.

"I'm back, bitches!" On the other side of the door stood Ash in all of his fiery glory.

"Welcome back, fucker!"

"Oh shi, RAYYYY!!!" Ash yelled in joy and they both hugged each other. As he hugged Ash, Ray saw fire trails extending all the way to the cobblestone path with no sight of it ending.

"Wait, why are there two fucking trails of fire behind you?" Separating from the hug, Ray asked confusedly.

"Obviously they came from me!" Ash pointed at himself, proud of the job that he had done.

"Huh?"

"Just watch me!"

Ash stepped out of the house and did a quick dash producing a fire trail from his legs. He stopped and said, "Cool right?"

"It's definitely cool but...stop being a menace to the public!" Ray said seriously.

"Are you the only one in the house?" After entering the house again, Ash asked while looking around.

"Yeah. Have been for two months." Ray smiled.

"We know." Ash patted his shoulder.

"Oh, how?" Ray was curious.

"Our instructors gave us periodic updates about each other." Ash explained.

"Ahh, I see." Ray gave a nod of understanding.

"Okay, fuck all of that! Tell me what stage did you reach at!!" Ash was oddly enthusiastic.

"I'm at the 7th stage." Ray answered with a bit of pride.

"Huehue, I just entered the 8th stage!" Ash said smugly.

"Tsk! I bet I can beat you in a fight." Ray said with crossed arms.

"Tough talk from a 7th stage noob! Hahahaha!" Ash laughed.

Suddenly they could feel a disturbance in the elemental energy around them and immediately paid attention it. Using their acute senses, they traced the disturbance to a dark corner of the house. As they reached the corner, they saw dark tendrils seeping from the shadow and in it emerged a tall dark figure.

""BRYAN!?!?"" Both Ray and Ash were feeling jittery.

"Oh hey!" Bryan stepped out of the shadow and casually waved them at them.

"It's good to be back..."

"That was straight out from a horror movie..." Ray said.

"Yeah, this bitch did it to intentionally scare us!" Ash nodded.

"Haha, cool right?" Bryan smiled.

"COOL MY ASS!" Ash screamed at his face.

"Ugh..."

"Here they go again." Ray shook his head.

"What's up, guys?"

At this moment all three of them turned towards the door and saw Algo and Asif standing side by side. Algo had a wide smile plastered on his face and Asif had a small grin, staying true to his nature.

"We're finally back together!" Asif slowly said.

"It's been an arduous two months for us." Ray said.

"True that!" Ash agreed with the rest.

After observing Algo and Asif closely, Bryan pondered and said, "So Asif is at the 8th stage, close to breaking through the next stage and Algo is at the 7th stage who is also in a similar situation."

"Very keen observational skills." Asif praised.

"It's nothing much." Bryan lightly smiled and scratched his head.

"Nothing much...fucking boohoo!" Ash flipped him off.

"Oh right, I have been meaning to ask something." Algo butted in.

"What's up?" Ray motioned him to continue.

"What's with the fire outside?"

"Oh..." Ray just pointed at Ash who guiltily rubbed his head.

"Ash?" Asif stepped forward and called out.

"Yeah...?" Ash not liking where this is going.

"Stop being a menace." Asif said each word in a rigid tone.

"..." Ash stood there speechless.

"It's amazing that we're back, but I'm hella curious about our mastery over our elements." Ray smiled.

"Me too!" Asif said while staring at Ray with the intent of fighting but they were soon interrupted.

*Cough cough*

Hearing the familiar cough, they all turned towards the entrance and saw Old man Reid standing there with a smile and hand gently cupping his chin.

"Good to see you brats back together!"

"As much as I'd love to give you kids some time amongst yourselves, but time is short and there are critical events that need to be discussed that involves the five of you." Without wasting any time, Old man Reid beckoned them to follow him.

The five were disgruntled but followed him nonetheless as their curiousity overcame their discontentment.

Not before long, they reached the central building and entered it. Old man Reid then led them to an underground basement where two golden robed men were awaiting their arrival.

"Um where are we?" Ash looked around in wonder. He could see many fascinating things like a miniature firefall, a luminescent ethereal lotus, a black watered small fountain, life-like paintings et cetera.

"We're at the main teleportation chamber of the academy." One of the golden robed men answered. The five recognized one of the golden robed men to be the Director of the academy but they couldn't recognize the one who answered Ash.

"You must be confused with my identity. My name is Zac Hall and I am the Guardian of the Human Federation Academy." Zac answered their confusions.

"Ohhhh..." Ash exclaimed.

"Are you the br-"

"Yes, I am the Director's younger brother." Zac cut off Bryan.

""Wow!"" The group did not expect that. Old man Reid left the group and joined Alexander and Zac.

"You guys must be wondering why we brought you here." Alexander said.

"What I'm about to tell you mustn't leave the basement. This concerns the life and death of every single human on Earth."

Upon hearing that, the five brothers immediately felt the intensity of the words and couldn't stop themselves from being shocked.

"As you know, there are numerous countless civilizations out there in the universe. We are but a tiny, a very tiny insignificant planet blended in with the rest of the universe. We are just an extremely miniscule part of the universe but even fate cannot protect us from the dangers out there."

"Only the strong can survive out in the universe and they have the ultimate power to do anything. Five years ago, our planet was visited by multiple alien civilizations. Through blind luck, they were not hostile and instead were part of the Universe Alliance, a colossal neutral alliance that cannot be perceived by us yet."

"They offered us protection from any rogue or war mongering civilizations for five years in exchange for doing something for them." Alexander explained slowly.

"What did this Universe Alliance need from us?" Bryan asked with a frown.

"Humans!" Alexander sighed and answered.

"Excuse me...?" Bryan couldn't believe what he heard.

"Huh?" Ray and the others were flabbergasted.

"Yes, they want us humans. More specifically, they want 5 elemental mages from us for every protection year." Alexander looked at his brother and Old man Reid and answered the five.

"I don't understand, what do they need us for?" Ash asked in confusion.

"That is the problem, we don't know. We have been trying to find out ever since they visited us but we found nothing so far." Old man Reid shook his head.

"I assume you called us here to tell us the five-year protection deal with them has ended?" Asif spoke.

"Yes, it has." Alexander answered.

"Are you going to extend the protection deal?" Ray asked in a blank tone.

"No, we are not. We have never liked the Universe Alliance." Alexander said resolutely.

"We came here ready to accept whatever will be thrown at us but this is not what I expected." Bryan uttered.

"What about the Aeron Empire? Can't they help us?" Ray asked.

"Their hands are already tied down with plenty of other civilizations, so they won't pay attention to us yet." Alexander answered.

"Without the protection from the Universe Alliance, is our planet in danger?" Algo inquisitively asked.

Alexander shook his head and said, "For now, there is no immediate danger but once the news of us having no protection spreads, then other civilizations will come knocking at our door. Be it intelligent or non-intelligent civilizations, our planet is extremely vulnerable now. So, this is why I called you here."

"You five kids are the key to the solution of our problems." Old man Reid said.

"What the fuck are we supposed to do?" Ash still shocked.

Not minding his language, Alexander continued, "The Aeron Empire is hosting a tournament that will encompass the entire Aeron starfield and there is a possibility of other starfields joining too."

"The tournament will test the participants fighting prowess and capability. There will also be rewards given to the participants after reaching a certain place amongst the many others. The rewards given to the top 100 of the tournament include a 10-year protection from the Aeron Empire."

"This way, we'll be directly under the jurisdiction of the Aeron Empire without having to sacrifice anything. So, I want all five you to participate in the tournament and do your best."

"A tournament..." Ray muttered.

"How is the Aeron Empire compared to the Universe Alliance?" Asif curiously asked.

"In terms of power, the Aeron Empire can't compare to the Universe Alliance but the Aeron Empire has the Battle King." Alexander smiled.

"The Battle King?" Algo tilted his head.

"The Battle King is the current ruler of the Aeron Empire and is known to possess strong integrity. That is why I trust the Aeron Empire more than the Universe Alliance." Alexander said.

"Sounds like a cool guy!" Ash coolly said. They all looked at him with a dead stare.

"How many will be participating in the tournament?" Ray inquired.

"Around a million or so." Zac curtly answered.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Ash yelled in astonishment.

"A million participants?" Bryan stared at this hands.

"Holy shit!" Ray couldn't stop his smile from growing.

"Interesting..." Asif donned a small grin.

"Maybe they give will me some of their food?" Algo drooled at the thought of different cuisines.

"Well, it seems they are excited instead." Zac shook his head and said.

"They will do it. I know they will." Old man Reid said confidently.

"Me too!" Alexander smiled.

"Listen up, the tournament will have two divisions. The first division will be solo battles and the second division will be group battles. The group battles require five participants from a civilization or an empire to form a group. I don't know if this is destiny but you five fit the requirements perfectly."

"Can we all participate in the first division?" Ray interrupted.

"Of course you can." Alexander smiled and answered.

"Awesome!" Ray nodded.

The five brothers had to process a lot because this concerns the wellbeing of their planet beyond the scope of anything they've ever been a part of.

"Wait, so that means are we going to space?!?" Ray excitedly asked.

"Not exactly, we'll be using the teleportation platform behind us to get to the Aeron Empire." Alexander pointed behind him.

"Ohhh, so that's what it was..." Ash and the others understood.

"Keep in mind that you'll be seeing and meeting all kinds of peculiar aliens. So, have an open mind and don't cause any trouble." Alexander reminded them.

"What if they start causing troubles for us?" Asif asked.

"Do what you best see fit." Alexander smiled.

"Understood." Asif nodded.

"Are you all ready?" Old man Reid asked.

""We're ready!"" They said in unison.

"I'm so fucking excited." Ray was thrilled.

"Me too!" Algo said.

They walked towards the platform and saw the Director place an elemental ore on each of the ten pedestals. The runes on the portal lit up and the teleportation platform got activated soon after.

"Don't forget our goal!" Asif reminded them.

"Of course we haven't, but we must have fun once in a while right?" Bryan smiled and said.

"Alright, cut the chit chat. Follow us!" Zac interrupted them.

Old man Reid, Alexander and Zac entered the portal who were soon followed by the excited and nervous five brothers. As soon as they entered the portal, Bryan felt as he was being squeezed through a spinning pipe disorienting his mind and making his stomach churn at the motion.

*Whoosh*

Soon after a few seconds, the group came out of the portal and landed on a solid platform. The five staggered a bit and felt like throwing up but soon was quickly replaced with amazement.

Alexander smiled at them and said, "Welcome to Planet Aeria!"