The Star Of Annihilation

The Star of Annihilation

Chapter 56 – Energy Theory (1)

Written by : Eleven

* * *

A lot had happened the day of the entrance exams for the incoming first-years of Titanius Academy.

It was probably the most talked about year of first-years in the history of the Academy.

There were several rumors that ended up being confirmed and the rest of the grades in Titanius grew interested in it naturally.

The first, was that the Royal Princess, Sistine Ismenian had enrolled that year and passed her exam in flying colors; showing that she was a peerless talent in the realm of swordsmanship.

There was also a rumor that 3 commoners had joined, but were never to be looked down upon unless you had a death sentence.

A lot of the upperclassmen heard about this, and naturally dismissed it as something ridiculous.

However, the third rumor was something none of them could dismiss, as it was confirmed by the examiners that one of them was a confirmed Apostle, and that there had been another awakening of an Apostle during the test.

Two Apostles had appeared in the Empire- no… the same year at Titanius Academy, and the entire continent was flipped on its head.

“You’re saying that there is a high probability we might have something terrible happen at the next Young Lions tournament?”

A voice rang out in the silent conference room for the Administrators of the Iron Fist Coalition.

“Yes. The Empire is growing dangerous, but it’s odd that they aren’t showing their hostility towards us like usual.”

Grandel, the Dwarven Elder, replied when the other Administrator spoke.

“Do you think it is because of ‘them’?”

“It could be, but nothing is for certain.”

Grandel replied with an uneasy tone of voice when the other administrator brought up the topic of ‘them’.

The Dragons were something the entire continent was watching out for.

The Iron Fist Coalition was a republic that happened to boast a much larger population than the Empire.

The Northern Continent was the largest continent of all, and had many tribes, races and magical species amongst the population of inhabitants.

However, an Entire Kingdom in the East, had disappeared from the face of the political landscape and the perpetrators were beings that could not be measured by any standards known.

The Iron Fist Coalition had already sent a very elite task force to intercept them, but the results were disastrous.

They had lost a total of 3 Swordmasters and 7 Archmages on that mission.

It was safe to say that their military power had lost an entire third of its original strength due to this.

Yet, their sworn enemies, the Empires and other Kingdoms that represented Monarchies, the antithesis to Democracy, did not attack them when they were weak.

“I believe that we need to send a messenger to the Empire.”

“Are you kidding?!”

The other administrators were in uproar at Grendel’s suggestion.

“Hear me out.”

“Why should we even think of sending one of our messengers to the Empire? That’s asking for a dog’s death!”

“Not necessarily. Navarro Ismenian is not the perfect man as an Emperor, but he is not terrible either. The only problem is his sons are not exactly the ideals to the throne in such a time.”

“Even that First Prince?”

“He is a good man. I rarely say such things about an Imperial man, but he is also too idealistic. The coming era is not one of peace, but rather one of war.”

“….”

Grendel’s words sounded out through the room followed with a deathly silence.

Everybody on the entire continent felt a terrible foreboding of this new power emerging, and almost every nation and territory knew that war was only a matter of time.

“We need to see if the Empire holds the same stance as we do on this.”

“….if they don’t, what would be our contingency plan?”

“We reach out to the Tentaheim Council and the Tribe of the Giants. They may be separate in ideals from us, but they are also the most reasonable.”

“And what about the Tournament of Young Lions?”

The question from one of the other administrators brought another bout of silence.

Grendel, however, had already given it much deliberation.

“Other places may not agree with us, but this is an opportunity for us to gather allies if our premonitions come to the worst.”

“How so?”

“We need to bring our most talented individuals without fail. Others may say it’s not a good idea, but we need to show that the Iron Fist Coalition is a worthy ally if push comes to shove.”

They couldn’t hide their cards.

Grendel knew that the opponents were not the other humans and races on the Continent.

At this rate, it was unsure who was on who’s side, but they needed strong allies.

From the information they had gathered the past few years, it was likely that the Demon territory might have been corrupted, but there were still signs that not all the Demon Kings and Queens had defected.

Nonetheless, the situation was grim.

The four major powers of the continent needed to unite.

The strongest power was undoubtedly the Demon Territory. The Empire and the Iron Fist Coalition were the next two major powers and the Coalition had been slightly above them in terms of military might until the recent disasters.

The last power was the most neutral of the four; the Tentaheim Council.

Now there was a fifth power that was upsetting that balance.

“The Dragons are beings that can tear apart Swordmasters and Archmages on their own. It takes approximately a 5 :1 ratio of them to a single Dragon. The worst is that there is information that they have something called the ‘Great Three’. I’m sure all of you know what this means. But, if there’s one thing that is even more worrisome…. It’s that I have confirmed that there is a Lord.”

The entire room suddenly turned cold at those words.

A Dragon was something that already was powerful beyond belief.

The Great Three, were three Dragons that were at least twice… if not three times as powerful as their own brethren.

But now… there was news that there was a Lord.

This information was something nobody wanted to hear, even if they knew it was true.

“We need to do this properly. So, I ask you all again : Are you with me?”

Grendel asked the room of administrators with this final question.

* * *

“And so… this is why-”

Roy’s mind drifted off into dreamland as he tuned out the professor’s lecture in the classroom.

It had been about a month since coming to Titanius Academy.

Things had settled rather nicely, but Roy had been very lost in his own thoughts these days.

Elias, the newest Apostle to appear in the Empire had passed his exam and was currently in the same class as him, Nate, and Elizabeth.

As a freshman, Roy didn’t think there was much that Titanius could offer him, but there was one class that piqued his interest upon looking at the list of classes he was eligible for.

The next class after this boring lecture, would be the one class Roy truly liked learning about.

Not all the other students could say the same, but Roy felt like there was something important for him there as he had felt like he was overlooking a lot of things lately.

“And… that’s about all the time we have for today! If you have any questions please stick around.”

The professor closed his textbook as the students all rose from their seats and started to move towards their next classes.

Yawwwwwwwn


Roy stretched out his arms as he walked down the hallways to his next class.

“Hey Roy!”

Elias, the newcomer to his small group of friends, shouted his name out as he waved his hands excitedly.

Roy smirked and waved back.

“What’s up Elias?”

“Not much… I was wondering if you have time to spar after your next class?”

“Sorry, not today. I got a bunch of homework to catch up on.”

“Aw what…”

Elias pouted like a cute puppy that had just gotten scolded.

Roy chuckled as he saw this and continued to walk on to his next class that he was looking forward to.

It was true he had homework, but it wasn’t unmanageable at all.

The thing was, Roy had been talking more with Ifrit about a couple of things that pertained to Gods and other Transcendental Beings, and what Transcendence was as a concept.

The things he had been doing were mostly for mapping out his thoughts of the future and trying to define these new terms he had never dreamed of in his past life.

This was especially important for him, as his next class had a lot to do with these more conceptual things.

In the past, Roy would have never shown interest in such a topic, but the class he was taking was something that was more of a philosophy class in regards to magic and energy as a whole.

The class Roy was looking forward to, was called Energy Theory.

It was taught by a professor Roy had found great interest in.

…

“So what do we know about mana?”

Professor Williamsworth asked the class as Roy took his seat after entering.

They were picking up where they had left off last week. The class was held once a week, and other than visiting his mother on the weekends, Roy looked forward to this class the most out of his time here.

One of the students in the Energy Theory raised their hands.

Professor Williamsworth, a 5-star Wizard who was nearing ninety years of age, pointed towards the eager student.

“We know that it is one of the several forms of energy that manifests in this world. It’s also regarded as the most versatile of energies because we can use spells and bend the world’s perception of physics with it.”

“You’re half correct!”

Professor Williamsworth smiled at the child.

The child had given the textbook answer and even recited some of the knowledge learned from last class.

“Does anyone know what the other half is?”

Not even Roy knew what it was. He leaned forward in his seat as he expected the professor to continue.

“Ah, so many bright children, yet none of you thought about it? Don’t worry, it’s not something most people know anyways!”

Professor Williamsworth cackled as he grinned eagerly.

“Mana is one of the most versatile types of energy in this world, but in reality, it is not.”

Everyone, including Roy, looked at the Professor in confusion.

“Professor, but every textbook in this academy says it is…”

“Nonsense! If you bring the headmaster here, he will confirm that what I just said is absolutely correct!”

Professor Williamsworth went to the chalkboard and wrote down six different things.

“There are several different forms of energy that we know of. There is dead mana, mana, holy power, aura, and ki… but there are more and even less.”

The explanation only served to further confuse the classroom.

“There are things like spirit energy, gravity, electricity even! However, those are also just other forms of energy that actually have been proven to be stemming from something much more simplistic and universal.”

Roy raised his hand to ask a question and Professor Williamsworth nodded and signaled him to speak.

“Then Professor, are you saying that all these different types of energy come from a singular source?”

“Yes and no.”

“….?”

“There have been many efforts and trials for people to cultivate both mana and ki at the same time, and yet time and time again has proven it is impossible! But there are signs that there is something that governs these energies into something much more rudimentary. But before I tell you anything further, I have a question for you all.”

Professor Williamsworth truly had Roy’s interest.

Roy had been wondering why his body was able to cultivate Demonic Energy and Mana at the same time despite no other human being able to.

Ifrit said he knew the reason but could not directly give Roy the answer. He had to find out why for himself.

“When we form these nebulas, or cores as they are more commonly referred to… There is something humans have never been able to figure out how to replicate in a human body, but we have succeeded and managed to do with engineering.”

Professor Williamsworth paused before a twinkle in his eye could be seen before he continued.

“A core that can utilize any and all kinds of energy. What do you think that is?”

Professor Williamsworth asked the question to the class, yet none had an answer.

Yet Roy, who was sitting in the back of the class, felt like he had been hit with a bolt of lightning.

‘That’s it!’

Roy exclaimed in his thoughts as he suddenly stood up out of reflex.

Chapter 56 – Fin