Beginning

A youth marred with sweat swung around two axes in an empty hall with nothing but whistling sounds accompanying his heavy breathing. 

He had dark hair and eyes, as his physique was robust and lean, standing over one hundred eighty centimeters.

His eyes were beaming with unshakable focus as he executed a beautiful yet deadly dance. There were two wooden dummies standing on opposite sides of the hall.

As he neared the completion of his training routine, he crossed his hands over, forming an X shape with both of the axes perfectly aligned toward the dummies. 

"Hoooo..." he exhaled as his arms sprung out with an unprecedented amount of force, launching both of the axes right into the dummies.

The sound of sliced and broken wood echoed in the hall as both axes plunged deep into the necks of the dummies.

The young man slowly relaxed his tensed body as his muscles rippled with each breath. 

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Not bad, Marcus!" a blonde man with an unshaved beard stepped into the hall as he walked towards the youth.

"Professor Maroon!" Marcus swiftly performed a bow towards the broad shouldered man, who wore elegant brown-green robes with jewelry adorning all over them. It quite suited him and signified his status and workfield in Sky Guardian Academy. 

"No need for such greetings, you are now practically under my wing." Professor Maroon said with a laugh as he patted his shoulder.

"But I must confirm, are you truly willing to pursue Earth Element? It is not as flashy as Light nor is it fluid like Water. For someone with your battle style, I would have advised Water Element since you will be on the active battlefield by becoming an adventurer." Professor Maroon had probably said this a thousand times. 

The youth didn't seem to be moved by those words, as his gaze remained steely. 

"Professor Maroon, I see potential in Earth Element since it is so versatile. Moreover, it is something that the forefather of my Omnivilion family had dedicated his entire life path to too."

"He was one of those who laid the foundation for future generations. Because of people like him, the Magic Association and Solaris Kingdom can prosper as a whole. It is a mistake to discard other Elements just because they might not have as much offensive power as others." Marcus's words struck a chord in Maroon's soul once again.

'So he had made his final decision...I should not have showed off my spell when he was just a clueless kid.' a regret filled sigh escaped Professor Maroon's mouth. 

"You must know that controlling even a hundred grains of sand is hard, let alone the tens and hundreds of thousands that would be necessary to form a basic [Earth Spike]." 

"Let alone mud, can you imagine fighting on such unstable terrain? Solidifying it into proper ground be damned." Professor Maroon went on listing countless variables and intricacies that surrounded the Earth Element. 

Marcus didn't interrupt him, nor did he refute his words, he simply listened to him attentively, just like he would on any other day. 

"But you can do it." he suddenly said to Professor Maroon as his mouth hung open mid-sentence.

"Aren't you someone who managed to do all of this? You earned so many honors from the kingdom and even the United Guild."

"Weren't you nicknamed Death Worm for your ability to instantly create pot holes in the places where people stood, making them fall and then crushing them into red powder with the surrounding earth?" Marcus too, listed off the many feats that this man had performed.

Professor Maroon became silent as he looked toward the ground.

"Becoming an Earth Mage is a long path. Many of my comrades in arms had died due to my incompetence, I even lost my arm in the process." he showed off the prosthetic metallic arm that was almost identical to his intact one, if not for the complete lack of human skin.

The silence reigned over the hall until Marcus broke it.

"Professor, everyone makes mistakes. You fought for a greater good, for the people behind the walls of our cities. You can't keep blaming yourself for the deaths that you couldn't control. Life is cruel and it likes to play cruel jokes on the kindest people alive." 

"You shouldn't drown in the guilt of your past weakness, you should instead look forward to your future strength." Marcus stared deep into Professor Maroon's eyes as a spark of life seemed to have appeared again.

"Ha..ha..."

"Thank you." the man said as a single tear streamed down his cheek. He seemed to have released all the pain that he had been holding inside. 

"No need to thank me, but yourself. Only a select few people like you can withstand the corruption of intoxicating power while retaining their rationality and humanity." Marcus shook his head.

"Hahaha. You are truly a young man with a valiant heart." Professor Maroon laughed uproariously as tears of joy darted around.

"I am no hero, just a man who wants to make it big." Marcus corrected the professor as his laughter reached an impossibly high threshold.

-----

"Dear cadets of Sky Guardian Academy, I am honored to be the one who has fostered you all into these fine men and women." 

"Today is your special day. You get to choose an Elemental Seed of your choice. Ranging from Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light and Darkness." a man wearing round glasses and elegant blue robes spoke with a pride-filled tone. 

"The first steps you take are the most important, laying the foundation for your future success, so don't slack off even if you can afford a truck ton of Light and Darkness Elemental Seeds." the class erupted in laughter. 

"Now, choose your Elemental Seed." the man waved his hand as a transparent hovering screen appeared in front of each student.

[Name: Marcus Omnivilion]

[Age: 16]

[Credits: 11,372]

[Select a seed]

Marcus pressed on the icon as the list consisting of six elements appeared in front of him.

[Darkness Elemental Seed: 3,231]

[Light Elemental Seed: 3,200]

[Wind Elemental Seed: 1,132]

[Fire Elemental Seed: 1,000]

[Water Elemental Seed: 1,000]

[Earth Elemental Seed: 300]

[Note: the price is scaled by the rarity, difficulty and power of the seeds.] 

Marcus just skimmed through, unsurprised by the steep prices nor rejoiced by the fact that he could just by them all.

He simply pressed on the last option without an ounce of hesitation or regret.

[Earth Elemental Seed × 37] 

[You will receive Earth Elemental Seeds at the distribution point of Block-A Campus.] 

The screen disappeared, inevitably attracting the curiosity of his classmates as they looked at who had chosen so fast.

As everyone was glancing towards Marcus, the man who was a homeroom teacher of this class had a face filled with shock, confusion and disdain.

"Marcus, have you perhaps made a mistake and would like to change your choice?" the man asked with a somewhat forced smile.

"No, I had finalized my decision." Marcus had expected such a question and answered without a pause.

"What? Why would someone like you, who was one of the top ten successful students would choose something so basic as Earth Elemental Seed? Only those who are failing would choose something like this!" the man said with a somewhat furious tone.

Marcus just stayed silent, he had already voiced his opinion and there was no need to say more. He didn't bother to express his opinion on the matter or his aspirations regarding it. Only when he had true power to back it up would he showcase Earth Element's brilliance to the world. 

"Okay! Okay!" the man said as his mustache billowed from all the air rushing out of his lungs.

"If you desire the Element, so be it!"

"But why would you choose thirty seven of them? One is more than enough to make you an Earth Mage! Two is overboard! Three is a suicide!" he practically shouted with anger, but did his best to hold himself back from cursing.

"Plus, you still have a year of academy ahead of you! Spending all of your credits on this is plain foolish!" the man said as his hands banged on the table, leaving cracks all over it.

Marcus remained silent and unmoved, as if this wasn't about him.

"Ugh, fine! Do whatever you want! You shall reap what you sow!" the man finally calmed down as he exited the classroom with a loud bang following the closing of the door. 

Murmurs started to resound all over the classroom as many eyes looked at Marcus with disdain and ridicule.

'I guess, this is where my true journey starts.' he smiled as he left the room too, to get his Earth Elemental Seeds.