Chapter 9 - Hesitation

Alex probed Raiden with a few questions, "So did you really not know before?"

"That's correct, I wasn't aware until just a few minutes ago" Raiden replied.

"Incredible…" he whispered, Alex still excited to have another Superior in the class. "So what are you gonna do now? The teacher seemed pretty interested, I doubt he'll leave you alone tomorrow at all."

"Dunno, I was going to go grab lunch with Kai after he gets to the infirmary," Raiden said, Alex now looking at him puzzled.

"Hold on, all that fighting just a second ago and now you're friends?" He asked.

"Not friends," Raiden replied, his eyes sinking a little. "But I'm willing to make a few rivals I guess, some people I know I can compete with." He finished, smiling at the two of them.

Alex laughed at that, Salem looking at the two of them and gesturing for them to follow.

On the walk towards the infirmary, Alex continued posing questions. "So what does it feel like? That shadowy dark element, I mean." He asked, still hungry for information.

Raiden tried his best to answer all his questions while they waited for Kai, saying that his second element felt kind of otherworldly, unfamiliar, and exotic, but at the same time nostalgic and omnipresent. It was an odd but powerful energy.

It was about fifteen minutes before Salem showed himself once again outside the medical building. The cut across his face was gone, his face clean and clear. The bruises however still present.

"Welcome back Kai, you both ready for lunch?" Raiden asked immediately, hungry. "And what's with the bruises, they didn't heal that too?"

"When I asked they explicitly told me they wouldn't heal them, saying that it built... Character…" Kai replied.

"Figures," Raiden added.

"Oh! Salem, can I call you Kai too?" Alex asked.

"Nope, I only let people I've acknowledged call me by my nickname." He replied, not showing the same timidness he exuded when Raiden arrived in the arena.

"Okay, so what do you want for lunch, Kai?" Alex said, a wide grin on his face.

Raiden thought he heard Salem mumble to himself after that, but he wasn't certain. They all began walking towards the building in the center of the dorms.

Waiting in line at the local restaurant that found itself on campus, they all ordered something different. Raiden bought water and some french fries, cheap and high in calories, what he'd figured he needed right now.

Kai bought a chicken sandwich and carbonated water, drinking his fill immediately upon paying.

Alex on the other hand splurged, buying a sandwich, fries, and a soft drink.

Still can't taste it… Raiden thought to himself. Getting his mind off of everything happening outside the academy made his days easier, but whenever he thought about everything weighing him down. It felt all the more substantial, so much self-imposed pressure causing him to stress over every detail.

"Hey, you alright? You look pale," Salem said, finding Raiden in a bit of a daze.

I'm alright… "I'm fine, feeling great now that I know I'm actually a super-strong Superior!" Raiden replied, poking fun at Alex.

Alex snorted, both he and Kai laughing at that, Raiden’s successful attempt at humor keeping his doubts hidden. The three boys ate their food, a few questions asked here and there, nothing heavy or inquiring to Raiden’s new abilities. It wasn’t long before they needed to attend the next class, only thirty or so minutes before class started.

All being men, Raiden and Salem headed towards their dorm for a change of clothes. Raiden needed to go shopping eventually, now needing more clothing on top of today’s set being ruined.

Using the money he had from his father, he knew he could afford it as long as he stuck to his idea of joining a rogue monster hunting group.

The concept always perturbed him, fighting real beasts, his life on the line. While Raiden couldn’t deny excitement, he was nervous, all this effort for his family. His intentions to provide for his sister had nearly taken over his life, the only other emotion a thirst for blood. Avenging his father was no easy task, all he knew of the man’s killer was that he was likely a Deviant and controlled lightning, similar to Raiden himself. To get his revenge, Raiden would simply slay every lightning affinity Deviant he encountered, it was the start of a long battle, one he would fight for likely many years from now.

Changing to his favorite black hoodie, Raiden set out in a fresh set of the same light grey pants. Encountering Kai in the halls, Raiden joined him and followed him down the stairs. Salem chose to use stairs, when Raiden suggested the elevator, he was quick to decline.

Exiting the stairwell, Raiden combed his white hair up with his fingers and walked towards Alex who found himself beside the elevators. It’s getting a little long…

“You both ready to head for the academy?” Alex asked them, Raiden nodding and making his way towards the blue-eyed man.

They chatted on the way, Raiden asking Alex about his progress on his wind matter imbuement, his sword not yet having been properly enhanced. The man explained that he would practice all night until he eventually got it.

Arriving at class, Raiden pushed the doors open to find his teacher still writing in one of her books. Emily Glory was their technical teacher. Throughout their first year, she was to teach them information on the seven elements wielded by humans and monsters alike, the basic and advanced beasts they would encounter, and how to deal with humans they found outside the walls.

The class went on, pretty much the same way it did the day before. This time the teacher explained the monster tiering system, what could be found inside said tiers and also gave a brief history lesson.

“Most monsters on Coranth used to be animals,” she said. “While non-life-threatening animals still do exist, they've still all developed an aptitude for dark matter.”

She elaborated by including that most cattle and poultry were too dumb to utilize their abilities, and so they still provided the main sources of nutrition.

The collapse about twenty years ago resulted in many rampant alterations, causing some creatures to mutate and evolve. Some common domestic animals became serious threats. While not every creature mutated, all of them gained the ability to wield an element. These simpler beasts were named Commons, they're the weakest of the six tiers of monsters. Essentially, they were the more intelligent of the basic animals who now wielded elemental powers.

Commons would typically pose a threat to the general populace, but even an untrained human could likely win in a life or death situation. At least as long as they fight intelligently and know basic self-defense using their matter. Commons are about as powerful as a typical evolved human but with lesser intelligence. Professor Glory mentioned them to be a typical training beast.

More dangerous, uniques pose a serious threat to the general public, more often than not capable of killing weaker Frontline recruits, but not enough to pose a threat to an entire city or region. They are akin to a Superior human without formal training in terms of ability.

The more dangerous creatures began with chaos-tier monsters. They are as the name suggests, enough to cause widespread chaos. They are often very large creatures and have powerful Superior abilities and mutations. An example of this type of creature would be lizards who've evolved into beings reminiscent of wyverns or drakes, mythological beings that were previously thought to be fiction. They are creatures with intelligence comparable to that of a human. Are about as strong as the most elite non-Superior frontline Pathfinders and capable of destroying city walls. They currently pose a critical threat to human life.

Next, Miss Emily went into Behemoth tier creatures. Of unbelievable strength, a single behemoth is capable of decimating entire settlements and cities. These monsters range from the strongest possible mutations and Superior evolutions to weak aberrations. Aberrations are a form of sentient existence born from dark matter itself. Nobody knows how old they are, where exactly they come from, what their intentions are, or how large one might be. It's been theorized that since aberrations are incredibly intelligent, there may be some living among humans.

Worth keeping note, however, is that weak aberrations are still nightmarish creatures of incomparable strength to mere beasts. Their size can vary from that of a pebble to that of a small island. These absolute monsters always call for the strongest humans on Coranth to rally together, often the Superior Pathfinders who constantly find themselves out on similar missions against chaos tier creatures or higher.

"Finally, the most dangerous beast that humans ever encountered", according to Raiden's teacher, "was an Eternal type aberration. This creature, who called itself the Wendigo, appeared on the continent of Elyria." Emily finished.

She continued to explain that this monstrous being, bearing inhumanly long slender limbs, the head of a stag and steel skin that absorbed light like a black hole; was challenged by all of the Pathfinders who were available, most losing consciousness and being permanently injured just being in its presence.

The Seven Sentinels, each of them the strongest matter wielder of each major continent and representing their various nations, banded together for the first time in the past twenty years to kill the aberration. Unfortunately, all but two of them are believed to have died.

At first, nuclear weapons were fired, doing nothing to injure the seemingly unending destruction the Wendigo brought. In the end, it was a long-fought battle, lasting several days. By the end of the fight, all human settlements were wiped from the continent of Elyria, and expeditions to visit the massive landmass don't yet exist.

All continents weakened, it was a time where the crime was high and the Deviants ran rampant, slaying innocent people from city to city. This event took place about thirteen years ago, many losing their lives to the horrific creation of dark matter.

Fortunately, a similar event has not occurred since, but it still worries many prominent figures that a similar occurrence could happen again.

Or worse, Professor Emily told a tale of Ragnarok.

Ragnarok is exactly as the name implies, the end of the world, the "God-slayer". These would be calamity-tier beings of unimaginable power, intelligence, and abilities.

Emily finished the heavier class by explaining that scientists hope Carenth never has and never will see such a being. Because it is believed that the world Raiden knew would be decimated beyond repair.