"Leon! The bell rang five minutes ago!" a boy shouted as he came running up the hill before coming to a halt, panting and resting his hands against his knees. "You know father Mason will punish us if we're late to class!"

"Oh? It's time already?" Leon replied, getting up from his position slumped against a tree at the top of the hill, "Thanks Jake, I've gotten in trouble enough this week already."

"Jeez man, the only reason you're always getting in trouble is because you never show up on time!" Jake whined, "You're damn lucky I was looking for you before the bell rang otherwise I would have left you here!"

Leon walked up to Jake patting him on the shoulder whilst giving him an exaggerated look of appreciation.

"Thank you! O, valiant Knight!" Leon said sarcastically, "Lead the way!"

"Asshole." Jake retorted.

The two boys laughed together as they made their way back down the hill towards the large building in the distance.

---

The building the two boys were walking towards was an orphanage, home to young children that had no family or relatives left, for whatever reason that may be. Some were children of farmers that had inexplicably gone missing whilst others had simply been found on the doorsteps of the orphanage as babies. Regardless, the orphanage took them in, no matter the number.

Why? Simple. Everyone in this world gained an ability once they were 8 years of age through a ceremony known as 'The Blessing' and these so-called abilities allowed humans to achieve unbelievable feats that would be impossible without them. Some abilities, of course, allowed people to become extremely strong, or create things that would have been impossible otherwise.

Abilities, for the most part, were hereditary, meaning they were passed down from generation to generation so one would know what they were most likely to become even at birth, pre-determined by their family's abilities. However, at the orphanage, no one knew what their ability could be as they had no family or relatives. Thus, on the off chance, an orphan acquired an ability that allowed them to shine amongst their peers, it was worthwhile for the orphanage to take them in.

Most institutions like this would be funded by this fact, as now and again they would produce a genius craftsman or ridiculously strong soldier that would go on to acquire fame and fortune, and thus give support back to the place that raised them, thus making it all the worthwhile for people to set up these sorts of places.

---

Jake and Leon made it just in time, sitting down in their seats in class just as the bell rang.

"Phew," Jake sighed, exhausted from the dash they had to do to make it back in time, "Next time I'm definitely leaving you, Leon, I'm beat and it's only third period."

"I was wondering if you two were going to turn up, I wasn't surprised when Leon was late but you being gone was odd, being a teacher's pet and all." said a stocky boy from the seat across from Jake and Leon

Jake simply replied by sticking his tongue out at the boy whilst Leon shrugged.

"Just because you're stupid as heck Jamie and can't fathom how anyone can get above fifty percent on a written test" Jake smirked.

Just as Jamie was about to snap back, the door to the classroom opened and a portly bald man wearing a long coat and glasses walked through and stood infront of the class.

"Good morning children," said the portly teacher "As you know the annual blessing that you will be lucky enough to be partaking in now you're all of age is happening in a week and thus I will be teaching you the proceedings of what will happen"

As the teacher spoke all the children in the class sat on the edge of their seats, they'd been waiting for this moment for years, and now it was finally upon them they couldn't wait for the ceremony.

The teacher went on to explain how the ceremony would take place in the town center of Pavos, the town where the orphanage was located, and a priest from The Order itself would oversee the ceremony.

The Order itself was shrouded in mystery but in the country of Lutia, it was believed they were the agents of God who had bestowed abilities onto them all. Thus the Cardinal, who headed the organization in Lutia, was treated equally to the Royal family itself.

Thus even a priest coming to their humble town was an auspicious event for everyone who lived there.

For the children, It was the most important day of their lives not only because it would officially mark the day they were inducted into society and treated as proper citizens of the Kingdom of Lutia but scouts from academies, the military, and various other factions would come to watch the blessing to recruit perspectives into their folds.

However, for the children at the orphanage, it was even more important as many families would be watching, and every year all the children would be adopted into various families once they gained an ability. This was a dream come true for all the children at the orphanage who hadn't received any sort of real love in their short lives.

The teacher then went on to discuss the abilities themselves, and that's when the children's interest peaked further, their fantasies of becoming heroic warriors or genius craftsmen running rampant in their youthful minds.

"Abilities themselves can be split into two major categories and then various tiers," the teacher explained, "Firstly we have the physical ability category, in which the body itself is enhanced beyond its normal state. Wielders of such abilities see every aspect of their bodies take a noticeable increase in performance, however, individuals often have 'specialty' or an area that takes on a far more dramatic change, whether that be inhuman strength, speed, cognitive function et cetera in comparison to their peers. This is also the most common category of ability with over ninety-nine percent of people falling into this ability type."

The teacher paused, looking at the children's excited faces before smiling and carrying on to the next part.

"However, for that other one percent, something truly miraculous awaits them, the second category of abilities, known as Elemental abilities. People who have such abilities can control a single element such as fire, water, air, and so on so forth" the teacher went on to explain, "Due to the powerful nature of elemental abilities, such people tend to go on to become extremely influential people. One such example could be the current royal family, the Lockheart's who are world-renowned for the ability to control the flame."

As of now, every child in the room's eyes dazzled with wonder, hoping to become someone great in the future, seeing this the teacher sighed, knowing that perhaps none of them would be blessed with an elemental ability, the class was small, only about 30 people so the chances any of them would become an Elemental was slim at best.

"However, greatness can be achieved by any ability user," said the teacher. "Some of the greatest warriors of our time were physical ability users so no matter what ability you get you can achieve something in this world as long as you work hard enough."

The period was soon coming to an end so the teacher went on to explain the last part of his lesson.

"Finally every ability can be ranked in the tier system, an ability can be ranked from Grade F, in which a person's ability only just manifests and makes them slightly superhuman to Grade S. Everyone once they awaken will start at the lowest grade F, however that said..." The teacher chuckled, "This does not go to say that you are all equal from the beginning. No, everyone has a limit, a cap if you will, and most never go beyond the realms of F-Tier regardless of how much effort they put in, it's simply a matter of talent. On the other hand, those lucky enough to have the talent and the work ethic can become figures that can shape history."

On that note, the bell rang once again signaling the end of the lesson and everyone got up instantly talking to the others around them about their fantasies and dreams.

"I'm going to be the strongest warrior that's ever graced Lutia!"

"Yeah!? Well, I'm going to become a royal knight when I'm older!"

"You're all brutes, when I grow up I'm going to be unfathomably rich after selling my creations!"

Even the blockhead Jamie had his chest puffed out with pride and his eyes wide in anticipation for what was to come.

Leon inwardly laughed at how farfetched everyone's dreams were, but even he was trembling in anticipation for what the future could hold in store for him, however, someone tugged his sleeve snapping him out of his reverie.

"Leon!" It was Jake, he too was giddy with excitement. "Let's go to the library I want to read more about abilities!"

Leon nodded and they both went off to learn about the exciting new world they would soon be a part of.

---

Jake sat opposite Leon at one of the free tables in the library, the library itself wasn't huge, after all, all the book that were here were donated by the citizens of Pavos which in itself wasn't a huge settlement, but basic information, such as general information regarding abilities or the history of Lutia could still be found.

"Hey Leon," Jake said in between the mouthfuls of a sandwich. "What ability would you like?"

"I don't know" Leon shrugged, honestly he didn't mind too much, he just wanted to finally leave the orphanage and explore the world. "I guess super strength or speed would be pretty handy."

"Come on man! Dream bigger!" Jake said in exasperation. "I for one want to be an Elemental. Imagine how cool that would be!"

Jake thrust out his hands whilst making fireball sound effects, which gained a giggle from Leon.

"I just want to finally leave this dreary place and go explore the world, who knows, maybe I'll even find out who my family was if I ever had one in the first place."

At that remark, Jake's usually cheery demeanor soured visibly.

"Why the hell would you want to find the people who abandoned you in this shit hole? I pray to The Order every day for those assholes to get what they deserve."

"Hmmm, maybe you're right, I don't know. As I said I haven't given it much of a thought." Replied Leon, wanting to move on from the conversation topic

"Anyway, enough of this, we should probably head to our last period. I heard Father Mason is teaching and he'll scold us for hours if we're late." Jake said.

---

Just like that, the week went by pretty quickly, and soon the day of the blessing was upon them.

"Leon! Come on Let's go!" Jake shouted, the children were required to make it to the town square at midday sharp and the ceremony would begin promptly after.

It was extremely early, a couple of hours before the ceremony started and it would only take around ten minutes to make it to the square but for once Leon too was excited so he didn't argue and began making his way towards the place the ceremony would be held.

'Today marks the first day of freedom.' Leon thought.

Once they arrived at the town square, even though it was early the atmosphere was already extremely lively, nearly everyone who lived in Pavos and the smaller surrounding settlements had come to watch today's proceedings and take advantage of the situation.

People had set up vendor stalls selling various wares from street food to weapons and armor, everything was here. However, more importantly, as Leon scanned the crowd, various figures could be seen sporting military uniforms, academy robes, and so on. The scouts of the various organizations had arrived to look for any promising recruits.

Suddenly a cry of excitement could be heard from the back of the crowd.

"Look! Look! They really came! The Volcans are here!"

"Really!? Where are they!"

Leon and Jake were also both surprised that someone from the Volcans had come to today's proceedings. The Volcans were an elemental family that like the Lockheart's were renowned for their ability to control the flame, not only that but they were the family that governed the region of Dern, where Pavos was located. Such people often had important matters to attend to and wouldn't often attend a Blessing at an insignificant settlement such as Pavos.

As the crowd made way, an opulent red and gold coach pulled up to the square and the coach driver made his way to the side door to open it for the passengers inside. At the same time, a middle-aged man dressed rather well for someone coming from the backwater that Pavos was rushed over to the carriage before kneeling infront of the coach door. One would recognize this man as Herman Dest, the current lord of Pavos and thus subservient to the Volcan family.

The carriage door opened and two people stepped out, their auras instantly radiating over everyone in the area, even causing some onlookers to gasp. The first person to step out was a handsome man that looked to be in his late thirties with fiery red hair and green eyes and then turned back to help the second person out of the carriage, after seeing who stepped out of the carriage the crowd once again gasped, this time in awe.

A young girl, who couldn't be past the age of ten stood next to the handsome red-haired man, like the man she too had fiery red hair but hers was long and flowed down to her shoulders and her emerald green eyes pierced into the crowd around. The young girl couldn't be described as anything other than beautiful and once she grew up everyone could tell that she would become a national treasure.

However, even more than her looks, what stood out the most was the aura she was radiating. It was beyond that of the red-haired man standing next to her despite her being twenty-odd years younger, which meant her ability level was beyond that of the man.

'What a terrifying young lady' thought Herman as he knelt head down infront of the two Volcans.

The red-haired man was the first to speak, "You may stand Herman, we haven't come here for any formal reason today."

Herman stood up before replying to the man, "Then may I ask what reason Lord and young Lady Volcan have graced us with their presence today?"

"You see Iris here wanted to come to watch the ceremony, we were on our way back to the Volcan estate from the capital"

"T-That's I-Iris Volcan!?" Herman went wide-eyed when he heard the name of the girl.

"Indeed, her ladyship is the esteemed daughter of Highlord Volcan and a prodigal genius of the flame despite only being ten years old as of last week."

"For your ladyship to be watching over our blessing ceremony is truly an auspicious day for our town," said Herman, bowing as low as possible in front of Iris.

Iris simply nodded before scanning the crowd.

'I wonder if there will be anyone interesting here.' Iris thought with a slight shrug.

---

It was approaching midday and by now all the children had gathered in the square and the spectators had gathered around. The Volcans sat atop a raised viewing platform along with Herman whilst all the scouts from the various factions, academies and military stood to one side below. Everything was in place and the ceremony could finally begin.

On that note, a large bell sounded atop the church of The Order that was positioned infront of the town square before a priest stepped out into the square, before pausing and scanning the children that were all knelt before him.

"My name is Vincent and I am a priest from The Order, as you well know, today is a celebratory day in which these children will gain an ability and thus be inducted into our society from this day forth." said the priest.

The crowd of onlookers cheered for indeed today was a special day for everyone here. Vincent waited for the cheers to die down slightly before carrying on.

"As my time is limited and other matters must be attended to let's begin this ceremony at once."

With that said, the priest went to the first child, the son of a farmer whose family had lived in Pavos for generations. The priest closed his eyes and focused before raising his hand above his head. A sharp ring could be heard and suddenly the priest's index finger started glowing with a golden light. His eyes open once again this time looking down at the boy in front of him.

"Child named Billy, today you shall awaken and your path be opened," Vincent said as he placed his index finger onto Billy's forehead. "Rise child for today you are reborn and take the name of your family. Rise Billy Pax."

With that, Billy stood up and a golden mark was glowing on his forehead, at the same time his body seemed to tremble all over for a brief second before stopping. The golden mark fizzled out but Billy stood there, looking at his hands feeling as if he was born anew.

"Physical, with an inclination towards strength," Vicent said, "Just as your father had."

Billy grinned before making his way out of the crowd, it was impossible to tell the tier of the ability without getting formally tested, but the experienced people in the crowd such as the Volcans and scouts knew that due to the lack of pressure he exerted when awakening, he was likely to be F tier talent, which was normal as this is what the average person would normally get and thus although not making you special in any way, made up the bulk of the citizens in the Kingdom of Lutia and would perform the labor needed to support the kingdom. In this case, it was likely he would go on to take over his father's farm once the time came.

The priest continued to bless the rest of the children that came from families, every single of them a physical ability user, and judging by the similarity in the pressure exerted were almost all F tiers too. The only exception was one child called Gareth who exerted significantly more pressure than everyone else whilst his body continuously convulsed with foreign energy. To the scouts, they immediately recognized this as a D-tier talent physical ability user with a focus on speed, and so far the only promising recruit.

One would think they would be disappointed with this, but a D-tier talent was rare, almost one in a thousand so finding one today was already a victory in the onlooker's eyes, so the interested factions were already putting their plans into action to recruit him.

Finally, it came to the turn of the people in the orphanage, once again the ceremony was the same, the only difference is unlike the others they wouldn't acquire their family name and remain nameless as so to speak, this didn't worry the children at all as they knew they would all get adopted in the coming weeks after the ceremony.

Everything continued as normal, awakening low-tier physical ability users after another, until one child, a small girl that Leon recognized as Lia started reacting differently to the others whilst getting awakened. Instead of her body trembling in some sort of way, the air around her seemed to get sucked into her body creating a brief vacuum around her before the air was released back out of her body causing her to fall back to her knees whilst gasping for breath.

"Oh?" Said Vincent with an intrigued expression for the first time since starting the ceremony, "An air elemental ability, congratulations."

Lia grinned from cheek to cheek as she looked up and around at the crowd who were cheering for her, the awakening of an Elemental would always cause a commotion as it potentially signaled the birth of a powerhouse. With this, the scouts, especially ones from the academies were looking favorably down at the newly awakened girl as elementals were highly sought after in academies.

Leon looked over at the priest and watched as he stood in front of his childhood friend Jake before repeating the same sequence of actions.

'Please let him have something good' Leon genuinely prayed for his only friend.

As if something had answered his prayers, the ground suddenly started to shake violently and the air itself seemed to tremble, Leon looked over to Jake and could see his friend… smoking?

The smoke got more active before embers started floating off his skin and orbiting around Jake, the ground beside him formed cracks as lava from the earth began sputtering around him.

'What the hell is going on!' Leon thought, genuinely worried for his friend.

However, at this moment, the two Volcans who had up until this point, been bored out of their minds sat up in interest.

"He's a flame Elemental, and a strong one at that," Iris said.

"It would seem so, judging by the pressure I can feel I would say at least B tier talent." replied the red-haired man.

"At Least something interesting came out of this, I was beginning to regret my decision, but it seems now we might have a new talent for our family," said Iris with a look of amusement on her face.

"I'm sure the Highlord will be most pleased, your ladyship." he nodded in reply.

Jake was ecstatic, Leon had never seen a smile as goofy or as big plastered across his friend's face as it was now, Jake looked over towards Leon with the same expression portraying everything he was feeling right now.

Leon stifled a laugh and gave a small thumbs up to his childhood mate.

---

At long last the priest finally stood in front of Leon, his heart was pounding in his chest, he could almost taste the freedom he was about to gain, he didn't care what ability he got as long as he could leave this backwater town and explore what the world had to offer. The priest pressed his index finger against Leon's head and he felt… nothing?

"Child named Leon, today you will awaken and your path be opened." said Vincent in an almost robotic tone, "Rise for today you are reborn."

...

He felt nothing?

Nothing was happening?

No pressure was being exerted, he didn't feel any profound change in his body at all?

What was going on… Leon started to feel panic.

'Why is nothing happening to me? Where is my ability!?' Leon panicked internally.

By now the crowd has started to murmur, wondering what was going on and why the child wasn't giving off any feeling of someone who wielded an ability. Unfortunately for Leon, this only added to his panic and he looked up at the priest trying to find any answer at all to what was happening to him.

But the look he got back confirmed his worst fear.

"Y-You have no ability!?" said Vincent incredulously.

There was a myth within The Order that a person could be born without any ability at all and that said person had been forsaken by god. Everyone knew this myth but the pure impossibility of it made everyone think it was just some old tale used to scare naughty children into behaving better, not once did they think it could happen.

For Vincent, who was a fanatic, this look of surprise morphed into one of disgust, for if this child had been forsaken when even the worst of criminals had an ability, then this child must have done something truly awful in this life or the past ones.

Leon saw this look of disgust directed towards him and Vincent opened his mouth to speak.

"This child has been forsaken by God, he shall be stripped of his name and denied entrance into our society."

The words hit Leon like a ram, everything he had hoped for, he didn't wish for power or fame or any sort of fortune, his sole hope of being free crumbled in front of him. The crowd's murmurs got louder and more audible to everyone around, some of them turning into shouts

"Did you hear that!? The kid's got no ability! What use is he now?"

"He's forsaken by God! That thing doesn't belong in Pavos or anywhere in the world for that matter."

"Fucking useless, I feel sorry for the orphanage that used its resources to raise that thing."

"Trash"

"Scum"

Leon didn't know what to do, he looked around helplessly, everyone mirroring the same face of disgust directed towards him, he turned towards Jake, his eyes wide with the hope that his friend wouldn't abandon him at this moment.

But when his eyes met Jake's, what he saw wasn't a warm supportive feeling or any sort of resolve to help his friend, all that Leon saw in Jake's eyes was… Pity.

When Leon saw that look it finally broke him, he felt something break inside him from that moment onwards that would never be able to be put back together. In that instant, that fleeting second, Leon felt what it was truly like to despair.