The pages felt rough, yet as Wu's fingers gently brushed against the anvil of history, it was as if his body was transported back in time in a similar way that the remnant did to him. At that moment, he was alone in the narrow corridors of the college's library. Despite the echoing of pains within him, Wu tried to focus his mind on the present. The book must have been hundreds of years old, and a Cast was overlaid over its cover, ensuring that its integrity remains intact through the ages. It is the year 4023, half a year after Wu's arrival onto this world, and the book detailed the stories of legends going all the way back to that of the first savior. However, page 140 was actually about the third. Wu vaguely recalled what Lera said about him traversing through the land of demons and bringing one along with him, but beyond that... "The third savior was brought here by the portal, Through Space and Time, yet as he crossed the boundaries between the worlds, his soul within the old world was snatched away, leaving him reborn with a common birth in the Western continent of Olympus Prime. He carried a strange mark with him since the beginning, and there was not a hint of the Wave within him. Instead, it was a strange demonic being that is capable of even dispelling the strongest of Casts and Manifests. "The third savior possessed the power of the Anti-Wave, and when he traversed through the worlds, guided by the Portal, he moved through a dimension of demons. This fact was only revealed later when he recovered fragments of his memories after conquering the demonic dimension towards the end of the War of the Third Millenium, though it had always played a major role in his upbringing. "Back then, the Western continent was divided into four separate countries, being that of the Clover, Diamond, Spade, and Heart. The third was reborn in that of the Clover, and he later channeled the power of his demon through a Book of Casts..." Hm...this seems eerily similar to something else... Wu scratched his head slightly, trying to recall where the heck he has seen this progression of plots before. But...why the heck is the note telling him to come here and read the stories of the third? Wu continued working through the pages as the sounds of Charlie's loud chatter and jokes came from the corridor outside. However, as his voice came and go, Wu was able to focus on the story at hand. The writing on page 140 outlined one of the more famous of the third's stories, and it's his battle through the realm of demons. "Leading his allied forces, instead of listening to his closest friend and lover at the time, he charged headfirst into the demonic dimension with the coalition armies from all over the Western continent. It was a courageous journey through the Portal after they have cleansed the entire Western and Eastern continent of demons. "There, he experienced hundreds of battles, and lost all of them. Within the realm of the demons, he experienced nothing but defeats after defeats." Wu held his breathe, and his eyes quickly darted to the next paragraph. "His army was one hundred thousand strong as they crossed, and he alone returned barely after his last remaining friends sacrificed himself to buy time. Upon returning from the portal, he found his love there waiting for him with reinforcement, and as the oceans of demons came flooding through the opening that he forcibly created...his love was killed in the battle shortly after, along with all of the allied forces that she brought. "The invasion of the world is once again occuring, and the higher echelon's of demons were about to ravage the entire world. In the meanwhile, those political leaders in power also sought to use the excuse of his defeat to bring him down, while establishing a new world order with the Lords of the demons. With nowhere to go, and nothing but despair in his head, he decided to take the path of power that only he knew how to do." Talk about being down horrendously bad...Wu swallowed hard and imagined the burdens of one hundred thousand lives and many more. The visions shown to him by the remnant came flooding back, and that scream of Lera's was still so brutally vivid. He shivered lightly before he continued to read. "Along his journey, he has defeated countless oppositions in the different kingdoms, the Ten strongest of his past opponents were referred to as the ten Passengers of Hell. He sought after them, confronting their pasts and promising those with revenge, with forgiveness, with riches, and with battle, as he worked with his old enemies and conjured up a new coalition of forces. "Then, he stepped into the inner realm of his, coupled with his memories of the past, confronted the demon within him, and came out victorious. With newfound power, allies, and support and desperation of the people that do not wished to be enslaved by the demonic dimension beings, the army launched a surprise attack in the night on the demon's main camps after months of training and sealed up the Portal, cutting off the lines of troop transport for the invaders. "Then, they hunted the demons all throughout the Eastern continent, dwindling their numbers until they no longer possess any hints of strength. Some demons survived by blending into the various tribes and clans, but most were extinguished like flames in a stormy night. "As the bell of the final battle rung, the third savior put his sword down and carried the hatred of the entire world for his past failures with one of the Ten Passengers taking revenge on him in a manner of public execution. As he died after saving the entire world from demons, his legendary story lived on. If there is anything to summarize the story of the Third Savior, it's that of failure, and fighting through it no matter what. "Even after the countless losses, even after the waves of desperation knocked him down time and time again, he kept on fighting, because he knew if he gave up, those that were left behind would not have forgiven him. The regrets for the future will have been far worse than the pains of the past..." Wu bit his lips, and he lingered his eyes on the last line. Then, he cracked into a smile as tears welled up in his eyes. How ridiculous is all of this?! How is he one to complain and give up, when compared to the Third? Like the remnant said, he will experience countless failures and defeats before the completion of his journey, and if what the Third gone through was any bit relevant, then this little bit of bullying in a fucking school is nothing in comparison. Not to trivialize the matter of bullying, but a lot of the times, it's about the reframing of mindsets. Wu smiled lightly and placed the base of his palm over the picture of the Third savior enveloped in his darkness, his face serious though his eyes deadly, the illustration showing the years of war and death on his face, yet he still fought on. Wu wondered if he felt relieved after his death and whether he felt it was all worth it? Would it also be like for him at the end of his road?? His finger tips became ice-cold, and he imagined the mountain of responsibilities that was now layered over his shoulders. By the anime laws of escalation, it's way too fucking likely that his journey will be far worse, and... No. That's just not the right way to think. Wu shook his head and folded the book back up. He told the remnant that no matter how many times he failed, he will keep fighting. Those are no just words, but a promise to himself to never give up, no matter the odds, no matter what happens. Even if he is powerless, and even if he is constantly beaten down. As long as his mind is at the right place, and his body is holding up, Wu still has the luxury to breathe another breathe before stepping into another fight, and now, he is going to treat it as such. Looking back at the history of science and engineering, there had been ample times where the shift in the mindset triggered far greater changes than anything technology could have achieved alone. "Wait for me...Lera..." Wu murmured, gripping his hands around the book before preparing to put it back. However, he hesitated at the last moment, wondering more about the stories of the other Saviors of this world. Plus, it's just a hell of a bed-time read for when he's recovering from the repeated beatdown themselves. When Wu walked out with the book in hand from the Library, his glance caught Charlie holding Ita in his arm as he burped and waved a hand at Wu. "Hey Wu! Hope your days are...productive!" He joked, his eyes looking at the book before he burst into obnoxious laughter, "Becoming an author, I see?" "You are partially correct." Wu smiled, walking past Charlie with a swift lightness in his step that annoyed him to the core, "I am going to write my own legendary story, and you will have your dedicated paragraph." Charlie's eyebrows jumped, and he swung his head back before teasing Ita again angrily, his hands looping around Ita's thin waists and tickling her as she giggled. So far, he has been banging his head against the immovable wall of the three underlings from the nearest college, and Wu had been trying everything that he could do to break through the constraints and holds. He fought desperately and without many strategies. However, what if he thinks of this as training? What if what's truly remarkable about the Infinite Academy is not its classes, but the environment in itself? What if he uses those bullies as his training partner to get better? He knows that they are there whenever he steps out onto the footbridges, and they will be there at all times and that they will always give their all to beat his ass. In a way, they are the perfect training partner. Depending on if they are just sent there to keep Wu trapped in the prison of the Ville college and isolated from the outside world, Wu could always run back into the college for safety. It's a bit of a dumb idea, but still worth testing out. The next day, Wu prepped himself and stepped out onto the footbridge with an excited smile on his face. And as the trio of Wave users gathered together to face him, Wu put a hand up and cut them off. "Are you all such pussies that you have to fight three against one?!" The three shared a glance of confusion mixed with amusement before the Channeler stepped forward with a laugh and replied, "I shall take you, twig." Then, with his full power, the Channeler dashed towards Wu. His speed was incredible as always, though Wu slowed down his breathing and calmed his nerves, watching his steps closely and lowering his body, preparing to respond to his movements. Without using the gauntlet, Wu evaded the first three of the Channeler's furious punches as he jabbed twice and swung his massive wrist horizontally, forcing Wu to duck down. Then, as he continued his momentum into a spinning back kick, Wu instantaneously conjured up bubble bubble for the briefest moment, using the formation of the shield to knock his attack aside. There was a moment of opening, and he reached forward, tapping his palm against the solid muscular body of the Channeler before he leapt backward without actually delivering the hit. The Channeler looked up and down a few times, and his face turned bright red, "ARE YOU PLAYING WITH ME?!" With steam coming off his massive head, his body expanded and grew as more Wave was channeled into his body, and before he broke every bone in Wu's body, Wu turned tailed and ran all the way back to his college. "What-" The trio's eyes were wide as boxes and their jaws were on the floor. Did...did that guy just run away from a...fight, after asking to take them one on one? Wu's heart was racing, and he was thankful to have made the right choice. He turned to see the trio of Wave users also turning around and arguing with one another as the rest of his Ville college-mates headed out for their classes and other activities. With a smile of victory, he returned to his room and noted down the progress made today. He was able to use short bouts of activation of bubble bubble and use it as a quasi-offensive spell to redirect melee attacks, though even he can tell that there is potentially a limit to that parrying ability. However, he also learned that by reading the posture, rhythm, and sequence of movements while staying calm, it's like he's back playing basketball. Everything just seemed to slow down, and the jerky movements of the Channeler became far easier to react to. With swift progress made and the realization that he can still become far more adaptive and skilled in the art of combat, Wu trained his body in his bedroom and waited for the new day. Now that he has a plan and a direction, he knew for sure, that he had a future. This is where the story of his legend truly begins.