Today was another great day at the academy. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the students were making their way to their first class. Everyone was wearing their new student uniforms, made primarily of blue and white, colours representing the Kingdom of Avangarden. Reginn and Sivrit had a Combat Magic class, taught by Eidgaon. Despite his looks, Eidgaon could use enhancement magic and other simple spells effectively without wasting any mana, an important skill in the field. While Reginn did not particularly need this, he wanted to enjoy an average school life so he just chose classes that seemed interesting. Sivrit on the other hand had to have her schedule aligned more toward Reginn's. It was at this moment that she realized that her mission was much more important than she thought.

At the sound of the school bell ringing, the first period had officially begun. After the anthem and the announcements, attendance took place. Sivrit noted all the significant individuals from this classroom including Kallen. Sadly her childhood friend Attila was not here, but she did share another class with her. The lesson began with Eidgaon's instruction.

     "Good morning everyone, my name is Mr. Eidgaon and I will be your combat magic teacher for this year. As you can see, your peers may be different in age, skill and size, remember that you are app comrades. Also, there is an annual competition between classes, so make sure to familiarize yourselves with each other" announced Eidgaon "But first, I have a question for you: Why do you want to get stronger? There are already plenty of warriors and knights out there and it'll be extremely difficult to surpass them. So why do you train and fight?"

A small pause, then many students put their hands up.

     "Reginn" picked Eidgaon

     "It is the natural human instinct to want to become stronger. In this world, strength can create rivers and shape mountains. Who doesn't want strength?"

     "A good answer. Magic allows us to overcome any boundaries and limitations. Strength allows for possibilities and change, not just violence" replied Eidgaon, content "Now, Rhine"

     "Well, I want to become a warrior, not the strongest warrior. While the strongest may be the most important, the thousands of weaker warriors are crucial to protecting the kingdom, and I think that's admirable"

     "You're absolutely correct. What is a leader without his soldiers? Strength is not the only metric of importance. Without our city guards, foot soldiers and trainees, the kingdom would not be as peaceful as now. Finally, Kallen''

     "Strength allows one to achieve great things like protecting your loved ones and fighting for what you believe in. I wish to get stronger so I can atone for my sins and accomplish my goals.

     "Uhh, that's a bit specific to you but I suppose you're right. Strength is needed to do what you want in this world"

Eidgaon was satisfied with another batch of great students. He could see their ambition burning in their eyes and was raring to unlock their full potential.

     "Our first lesson today is just teaching you about various ways of making yourself stronger using magic, does anyone know any examples? Yes, Sivrit"

     "Enhancement magic, enchanted equipment and magic items"

     "Ding ding ding! You got them all! Except for one that is. This technique isn't known much, but there actually is a fourth way and it is called Limit Breaking"

Reginn's interest was instantly piqued. Limit Break? This must be some new technique invented after his death. Reginn never missed a chance for more strength and so paid close attention to Eidgaon. Many other students did the same, seeing that this was an elusive technique.

     "Limit Breaking is the process in which the body sees a great jump in strength. This occurs when you reach your maximum potential and continue improving onward through gruelling training. This accumulated magical potential stored in you will then 'burst' and you will gain exponential strength, bypassing your base potential. This is pretty rare as getting to your maximum potential is already rare, but with enough training, it should theoretically be possible for anyone. So far only one of my students ever Limit Breaked, and his name is Reason, the current head guard."

Murmur broke out in the classroom as everyone knew who Reason was, except Reginn. He was too preoccupied with thinking how powerful he would become if he Limit Breaked. He was delighted in learning that the sky was not the limit, perhaps he could become even more powerful than the Goddess. Though he did not truly believe in that. He looked over to Kallen, who also seemingly did not know who Reason was. Reginn had been keeping a close eye on Kallen for a while now as he was pretty suspicious. His unnatural strength and the black and white artifacts, as well as his mannerisms.

Sivrit was a bit surprised with how composed Eidgaon was during his classes in stark contrast to his usual self. It seemed that a lot more went inside his head than she gave him credit for. The classes ended normally without any hitch but a loud noise of the ground rumbling sent everyone to panic, though it ended a few moments later.

     "What is it this time..."

Reginn senses that there was a great power emanating outside, and decided to investigate.

     "Sivrit, when anyone asks where I am, just tell them I've got a terrible stomachache"

     "What? Are you skipping class?"

     "Yeah"

Before Sivrit could reply, Reginn was at the end of the hall. Without hesitation, he jumped out of the window and made his way to the centre of the noise.

...

After claiming the greatsword Kaizer, he returned to the academy but did not feel like attending classes. He instead went to the colosseum to test out the claymore. It turned out that without the possession, this was just a regular sword. Kaizer could not even speak in this form, which was great for him. He soon became bored and went ahead to leave the arena.

     "You there!"

Reginn turned around expecting a staff member to tell him that this was a restricted area but was surprised to see Kallen.

     "...You're a hero aren't you?"

     "And if I am?"

     "I am a hero as well, Kallen, the 13th hero. I wish to cooperate with you to find out why we were resurrected"

     "As if I believe that, you seem far too weak for a hero"

Of course, Reginn believed what Kallen said, but after the disappointment that was Kaizer, he wanted to have a battle.

     "I know that" replied Kallen, frustrated "but I'll prove to you that I have what it takes to be a hero"

     "I like the attitude!"

Kallen summoned his black and white gauntlets.

      "These gauntlets are called 'Sapienta'' and 'Justita', they're specialized in causing status conditions such as stun, sleep, and paralysis"

     "And why are you telling me this?"

     "Well, I thought a future comrade would need to know that"

Reginn grinned hearing this, this confidence was exciting for Reginn. Now he knew that even if Kallen was weak, he would not be disappointed.

     "Here I come!"

Reginn vs. Kallen

Kallen charged up his gauntlets with white light and struck his jaw. But just like the battle before, nothing happened.

     "I see... your gauntlets don't have much power but they can inflict these status conditions?" said Reginn "Since you told me a bit about your abilities, let me tell you something about myself"

Reginn took off the top part of the school uniform, exposing his torso. Dark marks began to appear on his body, giving him an almost Pravusic appearance

     "I am what they call a 'World Beast', creatures created directly by a god," said Reginn "I was created by the Goddess as the guardian of humanity"

Kallen was shocked about this revelation, but his status as the World Beast explained his unusual strength. World Beasts were the pinnacle of lifeforms, created to be the harbinger of the gods. They enacted god's will, protecting valuables and destroying all in their path. If he was a World Beast created by the Goddess, that meant that...

     "That's right, I am Reginn the 2nd hero of mankind!"

He was one of the first heroes, meaning that he was one of the strongest. There was a pattern that every consecutive hero would become weaker generation after generation. Of course, there were many exceptions to this rule, but it was uncontested that the first few heroes were one of the strongest entities ever in this world.

     "My status as the World Beast allows me many luxuries, such as immunity to status conditions and having multiple forms and phases. My immunity to mana is all me though. That is a unique talent granted to me by the Goddess."

Kallen knew that this meant that he had no chance of even scratching Reginn. Even though he was a pretty ancient hero, he was still weaker than even his successors. He relied on a gimmick which was why he failed his goal of protecting the kingdom...

But he knew that the goal of this battle was not to win but to prove his determination as a hero. Therefore, he continued to fight, knowing that it was in futility. He tried out every status condition he knew; silence, sleep, stun, paralyze, confuse, disorientate, brittle, slow, stagger and even Death's Door, a trump card status condition that cursed the opponent to die after 7 days, but made them unable to die during that period. He had a unique version of this Status effect that acted instantly at a cost of a large amount of HP and mana. This was the status condition that he used to defeat the demon lord of his time, but it seemed that even this did nothing to Reginn.

Reginn was starting to get bored again and came up with a new idea. He took out Kaizer and pierced the ground with it. Though Reginn himself had no mana as he was immune to it, he could utilize the mana around him to perform some spells he learnt from the Goddess, one of which was ⌈Angelic Summoning⌋. This ability allowed her to summon a Pronus, a holy servant with no will of its own. Rather, it followed any instruction from the summoner, unlike a Pravus with its own ambitions. Pronuses were emotionless and efficient, a perfect servant.

The summoned Pronus had white hair and came equipped with armour. Her appearances were very similar to Kallen's, which made Reginn wonder if Kallen was related to Elysium. Elysium in this world was not Goddess's home, rather it was where souls were sent when they were extinguished on the Plane of Existence. It was in the opposing direction to Hades with the Existence at the center. Elysium and Hades were ruled by a single entity, though it was never known who they were. It was still mysterious to Reginn how and why the two realms existed and he had never been to either of those realms. However, he knew from the stories the Goddess had told him that bother realms were made completely of mana, creating what is known as Imaginary Spaces. When mana concentrations are extremely high, they start to react to each other even though they are usually inert. This continuous chain reaction causes great chaos in these spaces, with an incredible amount of energy output. Elysium and Hades were ImaginarySpaces which were conquered by the unknown entity, with order returning to the area. However, the mana concentration still gave the entities born there great strength, such as this Pronus here.

Summoning a Pronus or a Pravus was no simple task, however, it was always with it. They were otherworldy beings with a natural proficiency in mana control. Together with heightened stamina, strength, speed and defence, he thought that perhaps giving the Pronus's body to Kaizer was a tad bit dangerous. Yet he was confident that he could just kill it if things got out of hand. To be completely honest, he took a twisting liking to Kaizer, it was entertaining how docile she had become after the brutal defeat, but he liked her better when she was cocky so this would be a good opportunity to give her some confidence back.

     "Here, take this and let it possess you"

Without a word, the Pronus grabbed hold of the sword and Reginn could see that Kaizer's mana was flowing into Pronus. While this was happening, Kallen had an enticing sense of familiarity with the Pronus, though he could not remember from where. Nevertheless, he had to focus on the now. He deduced that he would most likely be tested by battling this Pronus. Though he was unsure what the purpose of the sword was, if he could at least put up a good fight, he would prove himself worthy. He would first test some status effects to see if the Pronus was immune and hopefully, it would not be immune to all like Reginn. If one worked, it was perfect, but if none did, he would need to resort to a much more offensive tactic and focus on strengthening himself.

     "...Huh?! What is this crazy new body?!" shouted Kaizer from the Pronus's mouth

     "It's a temporary body, be grateful. Maybe I'll make it permanent if you put up a good fight"

Hearing his voice, Kaizer was reminded of her defeat and gulped. She was unsure how to feel toward Reginn as she had never had to stoop under someone nor had met anyone stronger than her. She was not even sure of her own fate. However, for now, she would play along as not all hope was lost.

     "...Alright then"

     "Also, don't kill him"

Reginn walked away a few paces before sitting on the ground. The air was silent and the clouds drifting by darkened the arena. The tension was slowly building and Reginn could physically see that manifest in the two heroes' mana flow. He realized that things were never interesting when he got involved. From the back of his mind, he only knew around 15 individuals stronger or rivalling him, and most of them were inactive or in another realm. This was going to be fun.

     "Well, what are you waiting for?!"