Six months later...

  In west school

  In a classroom filled (40) fith students, a middle-aged teacher named Alaric Voss stood at the front, lecturing about the history of humanity's rise against the demon beasts.

  "Two thousand years ago, a human reached the divine rank and slew seven god-level demon beasts who once ruled the world. After his victory, he ruled over humanity for a hundred years before mysteriously vanishing. During his reign, humanity was unified, and the first seven sectors were established for better governance. From nothing, the current Sector One has grown into the home of the royal family, who are direct descendants of the first king. Over the last two thousand years, humanity expanded to twelve sectors. Then, seven hundred and fifty years ago, for better governance, the royal family approved the formation of the Central Court, consisting of 175 members who now decide the fate of the human empire. This shift in power caused the royal family to lose its military influence, bringing us to the current state of the empire."

  Gale, seated at his desk, turned toward Lumiere and whispered, "How much progress have you made in filling your mark?"

  Lumiere grinned and held up his palm, revealing a small shard of ice hovering above it. "I’ve completely filled it."

  Gale's eyes widened in shock. "That’s impossible! It normally takes nearly a year to activate a mark!"

  (The speed at which a person awakens their mark depends on their elemental affinity. The higher the affinity, the faster they can gather mana. For most people, it takes the same amount of time to fill the mark unless they have access to rare resources to speed up the process.)

  Gale scoffed. "Don't try to fool me. There's no way you could have awakened that fast."

  Lumiere chuckled mischievously. "Oh, didn’t I mention? My father is a demigod too."

  Gale froze for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "Wait… that's impossible. Demigods can’t have children after ascending. Only before they become demigods can they bear offspring. It’s a well-known rule."

  Lumiere burst out laughing. "Finally! Took you long enough to figure it out. I was messing with you."

  Gale groaned. "Don't joke with me like that again."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  A sudden stern voice interrupted their conversation. "Gale and Lumiere, out of the classroom. Now."

  Gale shot up from his seat, ready to argue, but before he could, Lumiere grabbed him by the collar and dragged him toward the door. The teacher sighed and said, "Lumiere, you should choose friends who help you, not those who bring you trouble."

  Lumiere smirked to himself. "He makes the best punching bag. Never gets tired of causing problems."

  Gale shuddered at the look on Lumiere’s face—he knew what was coming. After school, Lumiere walked ahead with a satisfied smile, as if he had accomplished something great. Behind him, Gale followed with a bruised face, groaning in pain.

  Lumiere turned back and grinned. "Starting tomorrow, combat training begins. Don't forget that."

  Gale felt a chill run down his spine.

  ---

  That night, Gale returned home, stepping into an empty room. He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. A soft breeze surrounded him as he held a wind elemental stone in his hand.

  (Elemental stones are extracted from the hearts of demon beasts. They help cultivators absorb mana faster. Only the prodigies of powerful clans have access to them regularly. At the academy, these stones are provided only for those who have awakened their marks—and only for a limited time.)

  As Gale meditated, he entered his mind space, a vast expanse of blue sky. In front of him stood twenty-seven streaks of light.

  (An awakened individual must fill the streaks within their mind space. Low-rank talents have three streaks, mid-rank talents have six, and high-rank talents have twelve. Once all streaks are filled, the person can use their awakened mark. Activating the mark allows them to circulate mana through their body, strengthening them and granting access to their elemental abilities. Reaching this stage means stepping into Tier 1. However, after reaching Tier 1, a person must refine their mana to break through to Tier 2. But for Gale, he has been absorbing refined mana from the start, making his growth unique.)

  Gale focused, attempting to observe all mana particles around him. However, he could only perceive light blue particles—natural wind mana.

  (Normally, people perceive all mana types in their mark and then subconsciously filter out the ones they don’t need. However, Gale could only see and absorb wind elemental energy.)

  Holding onto the wind stone, he absorbed mana at a rapid pace. His surroundings became turbulent, and the air around him twisted unnaturally. As he filled the ninth streak, his mark began glowing intensely. A sharp pain shot through his body, and before he could react, darkness overtook him.

  The disturbance within the villa was immense, but no one came to check on him. The servants only stayed during the day and left in the evening once their duties were complete. The house was empty.

  When Gale finally woke up, his body was drenched in sweat. He sat up, breathing heavily, and glanced down at his mark. What he saw left him speechless.

  (Note: If a person fills all their streaks, only then do they reach Tier 1. After that, they must refine mana to break through to Tier 2. However, for Gale, he has been absorbing refined mana from the very beginning, making his situation highly unusual. This entire event took place after six months.)