[BREAKING NEWS! A 7-Year-old Northwestern Student Awakened the Legendary Excalibur!]

The eyes of a young man shone with fervor as he watched the news currently displayed on the television while wolfing down store-bought ramen noodles.

Due to the darkness of the room, the television scene was being reflected on his round brown eyes while some excess droplets of ramen soup were being spilled on his thin pink lips.

Sounds of slurping and chewing as well as the newscasting echoed inside the small apartment while the young man ate comfortably on a worn-down couch.

He was Max Enderwood.

Max was currently 12 years old and displayed a height of 4 feet and 7 inches tall, an average height for boys of his age.

With a high and straight nose bridge, a raised nose base, long eyelashes, flat eyebrows, and an oval-shaped face - his looks could be considered above average.

His body was built with a thin frame and signs of fatigue were observed on his young and fervent face.

"What good luck!", Max thought to himself as the news about a student awakening a legendary spirit relic was continuously being reported.

[The Northwestern student is said to possess a golden spirit body and has a high affinity to holy and light attributes thereby awakening a legendary spirit relic called Excalibur.]

Max listened to the news report with occasional glints of envy in his eyes.

[The Excalibur is confirmed to be a sword-type spirit relic and is investigated to be wielded by a legendary knight during the Age of Gods! This young man will surely reach great heights!]

The news ended with the newscaster giving words of praise to the said student.

Max heaved a sigh and wiped the spilled ramen soup off his mouth using his thin small hands.

"How does it feel to possess such power? A legendary spirit relic plus golden spirit body with affinities to two attributes can already be considered a prodigy!", Max mused to himself.

The present world was currently in the year 1330 of the Age of Spirit Relics

In this era, every human possessed a spirit body. This spirit body would awaken a spirit relic when the necessary conditions were met. In turn, the awakened spirit relic would give magical powers to the user.

"I wonder what spirit relic will I awaken? Maybe I can at least get a legendary relic just like the student from the news", Max imagined in his head while a small smile formed on his thin lips.

He shook his head and extracted himself from daydreaming. He laughed at himself knowing that only the chosen geniuses with great luck could acquire such great powers.

Max stopped his wishful thinking and took the remote control from a small wooden table placed in front of the couch and turned off the television.

Standing up with the ramen's plastic cup in tow in his left hand, he walked a little less than two meters and arrived beside the trash can right by the window. He threw the cup inside the trash can and stood beside the window. There, he overlooked the far city.

"How can an orphan like me possess such great luck?", Max pondered as he looked outside the window with a melancholic gaze.

From afar, he saw the city skyline glittering with colorful lights that emanated from street lamps, tall buildings, and moving vehicles. "Isn't it spectacular how these massive buildings are only tiny motes of light when seen from afar? I am insignificant in this world, in this life. I can only hope for such great dreams, I can only desire such strength".

Under the moonlit sky, various thoughts appeared in his head. He raised his head and peered into the distant sky. "Maybe my life can be compared to a shooting star. In this world, I can only pass by, just like how my parents gave me hope and quickly bid goodbye".

"Furthermore, anything can be used to describe me aside from being lucky", he chuckled with a hint of derision towards himself.

Max became an orphan at the age of seven and was currently living all by himself in a run-down ten-storey apartment in the Azul Suburbs outside Azetric City.

It had already been more than five years since both his parents died.

Aside from a measly amount of spirit dollars that were only enough in sustaining his simple way of living, his parents only imparted him an unknown meditation method when he was 2 years old.

Heaving a deep sigh, he dissipated his subconscious thoughts and directly went to his bedroom.

He sat cross-legged on top of his bed. The bed had a single-sized rusted metallic frame laden with a thin mattress, a worn old blanket, and a single piece of a flattened pillow – clear evidence of his poor living condition.

After sitting himself in a position he was used to, he practiced the unknown meditation method left by his parents for a couple of hours before falling asleep.

--------

Beep beep beep beep beep.

Max woke up at the jarring sound of the alarm clock. He puffed his face in irritation as he turned off the alarm.

He got off his bed and directly went to the bathroom to take a shower. He was standing absent-mindedly like a statue, staring at what appears to be the nothingness. He was only doused to reality when the water from the shower started pouring over his head.

After a couple of minutes of washing, he walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his torso. He quickly donned his school uniform which was a pair of white long sleeve shirt and navy blue trousers and proceeded to his small kitchen.

Moving uncomfortably in this cramped little area, he quickly made cereals for breakfast. "Cereals first", he muttered to himself. After eating the cereals at the kitchen countertop, he quickly brushed his teeth and wore black leather shoes. Afterward, he rushed from his house to the subway station.

The subway station was only a couple of meters away from his apartment, hence, he only ran to quickly get there.

After arriving at the subway station, he bought a train ticket going to Azetric City. The trip only took five minutes before reaching the destination due to the use of spatial passageways.

Spatial passageways were entrances and exits for vehicles that were imbued with the rule of space. It was based on the concept of wormholes and worked in a similar way as teleportation portals.

After arriving at the destination, he alighted the train and rushed out of Azetric City subway station. His school was only around a kilometer away from the station, therefore he only walked quickly to arrive there on time.

Following several twists and turns, he finally arrived in front of a huge metallic gate. The top part of the gate frame was a silver arch printed with huge letters each around two feet in height. The letters, printed in a Roman-style font, were read as 'Nightlocke Spirit Academy'.

Beside the gate were two identical silver statues of an old man. The old man had a long curly beard and hair and he displayed a kind look. The statues were donned in their long robes and were standing at the two extreme end pillars of the gate. They were facing each other with both of their hands clasped together.

When the sunlight hit the two statues, a bright metallic luster was given off, giving an otherworldly look to the statues. Furthermore, it made the lookers view the statues as two gods overseeing the mortals.

Max was taught that the man depicted in the statues was the first head of the school. He gazed at the statues with a look of gratitude and sometimes with a sparkle of appreciation.

He averted his gaze from the statues to the widely opened metallic gate. His determined look was replaced by a seemingly unconfident one. Heaving a sigh, he walked forward with slouched shoulders and a drooping head.

He walked for around twenty meters and arrived in a wide square. In the middle of the square was another statue, but this statue was different from the two outside the gate.

The statue stood tall with a height of ten feet, towering over everyone's sight.

It was coated with sheets of gold making it look very majestic and grand. On the eyes of the statue were two embedded blue cat's eyes gems, making it as if the statue was looking at the very depths of your soul.

Depicted in the statue was a middle-aged man with a very muscular build. He was shouting with all his might until his veins were protruding around his neck. The action depicted by the statue showed a deterrent force against its enemies. Furthermore, a sense of security was given off by his posture, as if he was the academy's guardian and the students' protector.

On his right hand which was raising forward was a spear with a long blade. The spear and the fierce expression of the statue displayed a balanced heroic harmony which gave off a shocking valiant aura that reeks of royalty and victory.