Blessings are Dumb as Hell

Walking into the academy, the first thing that hit me was the size of the place. It was overwhelming, to say the least. The lobby stretched wide, with a deep crimson carpet running down the center, guiding the eye toward two grand spiraling staircases that curled upward in perfect symmetry. The stairs had brass railings that gleamed under the bright lights of the hanging chandeliers. Honestly, it felt shameful for someone like me to be walking here.

But definitely not for everyone else. You know, I've always held some resented against rich people. Especially the ones who are born into those lives, like why couldn't I get that lucky. Maybe I'm just an envious hater, but everywhere I looked, there were suits and gowns that looked like they’d been stolen straight from nobles in a fantasy light novel. That was just their clothes, I didn’t even want to look at their jewelry. It could probably buy my entire village.

Damn, rich people.

I tugged at my threadbare shirt. It was rough and faded, and the color of dry hay. My pants weren't any better. They were plain and my boots were laced tight but stuffed with bits of cloth to hold shape. I definitely stood out. It probably looked like so beggar stumbled upon a formal event.

Am I the only one who didn’t get reincarnated into a noble family?

Sure, my life hadn’t been awful and my parents did love me; but at least give me some money to work with. That damn God, being all nice and crap, but when it was time to reincarnate me he sent me to the slumps.

At least I had nice parents.

A light tap on my shoulder pulled me from my spiral. I braced myself for some noble to start mocking me, but when I turned, I found a girl my age. Long red hair, straight bangs, and a dress in deep crimson and black.

“Hey, so… is that what you’re wearing to the event?”

“Event?” I blinked.

“The orientation. The head of the academy will be here soon to explain how things work.” She pointed up the stairs.

“Oh… I didn’t hear about any of that.”

“Didn’t your parents tell you about it?”

“Pretty sure they didn’t know either. We’re from a rural area so not exactly plugged into capital news.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I thought all the celebrated generation were born nobles.”

“That’s a thing?”

“Yeah but—”

“Tsubaki!” A boy’s voice cut her off. Looking over, I noticed a boy with short, spiky red hair in a suit. He strode over, looking pretty upset. “Why are you talking to this lowly commoner?”

She didn’t give him an answer. She just gave him a look which said, “I’m done with your shit.”

“Don’t you know,” he continued, “us nobles are the top of this society. You wouldn’t associate yourself with commoner slop.” As he said that he struck a pose, an overly exaggerated one too. It was hard to take him seriously with that ridiculous pose so I didn't really get offended by what he said. He had his right hand pointing at me, left hand over his eye as if he was a character from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

All I could was stand there, shocked by this idiot. I leaned toward Tsubaki and whispered, “I-is this guy an idiot?”

She turned to me and nodded.

“Hey!” he barked. “That was really mean! And don’t agree with him Tsubaki!”

I raised an eyebrow. “Says the guy who just called me commoner trash.”

“Oh, that? It was just a joke, no need to take it so personal.” He straightened, smiling. “I was pretending to be a douchey noble so I could shock you by revealing that I'm a good guy. Pretty convincing, right?”

“Yup, definitely an idiot." I said.

"Agreed," Tsubaki added.

“Both of you are jerks. At least let me explain why." He pointed his finger up as if he giving us some profound lecture. "See, I’ve always wanted to meet a commoner so I could do this bit. I mean it kind of sort of worked—wish you were a girl, though.”

“...Why?”

“Because…” He glanced down and clenched his fist, as if he was storing up energy. “It could’ve been the love story of the century! The cruel noble who meets a commoner girl and learns to see past the class divide, and falls madly in love. The enemies to lovers story! Then, the crowd would go wild!”

"Idiot," Tsubaki and I said in unison.

That didn't stop him though, he just kept on rambling until Tsubaki stepped up beside him and smacked him in the back of his head.

“Ow!” he said while putting his hands on his head, “that really hurt!”

“Sorry,” she said, “I just couldn't help myself.”

“Don’t make me hit you back,” he threatened.

“See what happens,” she shot back.

Then started to argue out of nowhere. Originally, I was going to step in to stop them but I just stared at them while they bickered with each other. Watching them like this was kind of awkward, but oddly entertaining.

When they finally stopped, Tsubaki turned back to me. “Sorry about him. He’s my idiot brother.”

“No, it’s fine. As long as he didn’t mean any harm.”

“Oh,” he chimed in, “Did we ever get your name?”

“It’s Yakusei Shimizu.”

“Nice to meet you,” he shook my hand with way too much enthusiasm. “I’m Haruki and my sister is Tsubaki.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

“Is it true that you’re really a commoner?” he asked.

“Well yeah. Look at me compared to everyone else here.”

“Yeah, what you're wearing is definitely commoner like.”

“Thanks…”

“Hey, that’s rude!” Tsubaki shoved her elbow to his side.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I kind of brought it upon myself.”

Then, a deep voice echoed across the hall. "Welcome." The air changed. A crushing pressure rolled through the room, heavier than anything I’d felt.

Who has this much power?

I glanced at Haruki and Tsubaki, fear was written on their faces.

“He’s here,” Tsubaki muttered.

At the top of the stairs stood a man draped in a black cloak over a crisp white vest. Gold medals lined his chest. He looked young, late twenties, maybe. But carried the aura of someone who’d seen countless battles.

“I’m pleased to see you’ve all made it,” he said. “My name is Vaeltharion, and I will be in charge of you for the next four years. You will train to hone your powers and will eventually fight alongside me against the Demon King. Most of you know this fact already, but there is another fact that you ay not be aware of. Most of you will not survive. All of the generations before you were able to kill the Demon King, but had to give up their life for the cause." He glanced down on all of us, "Of the 928 here, I doubt even ten will make it.”

The room erupted into whispers. This may be everyone’s first time hearing this news, it made sense to see why everyone was concerned. But at the same time, he must’ve hand-picked everyone for this job so everyone here should be able to handle that fact.

One kid in a plain black suit and a shaved head raised his hand. “Is fighting him optional? It just sounds like you're sending us to our deaths.”

“Sadly, you must,” Vaeltharion said. “Refusal would be treason.”

That set off an uproar.

“So we don’t have a choice?” a kid shouted.

“Why are we being sent to die?” someone else added.

“What about all the other soldiers?” another kid yelled out.

“Everyone! It is only you who can fight. It is only you who is strong enough. Your blessings are a gift sent by the Gods which should be used to save the nation. To save the world.”

All the whispering started to die down. These people here probably has a sense of responsibility since they were reincarnated to save this world. Still though, was that enough to keep everyone in the fight?

The same kid from earlier yelled out. “If we’re so powerful, who’s going to stop us from just… leaving?”

“I… No one,” Vaeltharion said. When he said that, I couldn't help but notice a faint smile. Something about this man seemed off. “Even if you choose not to fight him, the Demon King will still come. And he'll kill all of us." People started to mumble amongst themselves again. They weren't too please that they were reincarnated just to die. "Not convincing enough right?” He bowed. “A personal request from me and behalf of the world. Please, help us.”

The whole crowd gasped.

How important is this guy for everyone to be gasping like that after a bow?

“Don’t lower your head to a coward,” a voice called out. All eyes turned to a blonde girl in an elegant white dress.

“Who’re you calling a coward?” the boy asked.

“The one who’s trying to duck from his duty.”

"So you're fine with being sent to die?" 

"Of course I would prefer to live, but if the world needs us then we must answer that call."

"Wow," he slow clapped, "How noble of you."

"I wouldn't say that I'm noble. More like, you're just a coward."

“Wanna say that to my face?”

“You.” She disappeared then reappeared right in front of him to whisper, “Coward…”

“Bitch,” he mumbled.

A sudden explosion erupted off of him. Everyone who surrounded him was able to split step away, including here. She reappeared above him, just floating in the air. Once the dust cleared, we could see him again. This time, he had a different form. Scales rippled across his arms and hands twisting into claws. “Watch me in awe! This is my blessing: Dragon’s Soul. It is said that the dragon is one of the most powerful creatures in this world. Do you think you can match up to me?”

Holy shit, that's so cool.

As she floated above him, she smirked. “That’s it?”

“Eat shit!” he roared, launching a fire blast at her. Something about it seemed different though. Sensing the build up, it wasn't a mana I could recognize. Sure it looked like fire and had faint hints of fire mana in it, but something about it was different. Something about it felt powerful.

This must be primordial.

She blinked out of sight, reappearing behind him. “You missed.” He swung wildly, but she was already gone again. “All the power just to be so slow.”

He swung at her again but she effortlessly blocked it. "Never mind, seems like you're slow and weak."

“Why you…” he bit his teeth. Finally, he began charging a sphere of raw energy between his hands, its pressure swelling. A ball of pure mana was building up and before we knew it, it had grown. He raised it above his head and was about to slam it straight down. “Try dodging an explosion like this!”

“There’s no need…”

While he swung his arms down she raised her hand. A magic circle appeared on her hand and then, the sphere vanished.

“W-what’d you do?”

“Releasing that would be dangerous, especially in a place like this.”

“Who gives a shit?”

She just floated above him and smirked. It was as if she was looking down at an ant.

“You bastard!” he flung himself at her.

“You’re sloppy.” As he lunged upward, she blocked his attack with ease before laying her hand on him. When she did that, that same magic circle appeared again. Suddenly, he was forced back into his human form. Then she punched him square in the jaw, sending him sprawling.

“This is my blessing: Heaven’s Control. I can manipulate all mana within a certain radius, even if it’s not mine.”

That ability… is so overpowered! What the hell!

She she floated above everyone, she looked down. "Everyone, I know that it may seem scary that we all might die, but it is our duty to be here. Each one of us were born just for this purpose. Please don't be like him and cower away from your duty. Besides, we were sent here to get stronger. I believe that if all of us were to train then we would be the generation that survives the Demon King. We will be the first ones to come home to our families. We will be the first ones to grow old."

Then everyone erupted with excitement. 

Looks like she was enough to give everyone motivation.

Through all the excitement, that kid was transported out by some faculty members. He was completely knocked out so they had to drag him out of there. Kind of an embarrassing display.

“My, my, what a show of power.” Vaeltharion chuckled. “And thank you. As you can see the power of your ally. With all of your help we can surely secure your survival. So please, let us fight togther.”

"Yeah!" everyone screamed in unison. 

Looks like that mess worked in his favor. Something about him seems off though. I can't trust him just yet, especially with that fearful look Haruki and Tsubaki gave.

After that mess, we were herded into a massive theatre-style room. Surprisingly, it was big enough to fit all nine hundred of us. Once seated, the faculty announced that everyone would have to introduce themselves and explain their blessing.

Blessing? Yeah, right. I’d just be standing there saying “I’m useless” in front of the entire academy.

I just slouched in my chair as all the other kids announced their blessings. Eventually, I started to zone out. Not because I wasn’t interested or anything but I was jealous. The God dude promised to make me powerful but I’m probably the weakest one here. Before I knew it, it was my turn.

This is going to be so embarrassing.

I climbed onto the stage, facing the sea of expectant eyes. “My name is Yakusei and uh… I don’t have a blessing.”

Silence. No polite clapping, no murmured congratulations, just a rising tide of whispers.

Rude.

One of the faculty members walked up, leaning toward me with narrowed eyes. “This isn’t the time for jokes.”

“I wish I was joking,” I said.

“How could you be here without a blessing then?”

“I don’t know. Some old man picked me up from my house and brought me here.”

A familiar laugh cut through the crowd, one that instantly irritated me.

Speak of the devil.

“It’s true,” the voice said. “That boy doesn’t have a single blessing yet he is a part of the celebrated generation.”

I turned toward the sound. “Old man… what are you doing here?”

A tall figure stepped forward with a smirk. “Just watching you kids introduce yourselves.”

“Or you’re just here to poke fun at me.”

“Both can be true at once.”

“Old man—”

The faculty woman glared at him. “Sir, how useful can this boy be without a blessing?”

“When we fought,” the man said, “he forced me to use my Arcane Requiem.”

The theatre erupted in gasps.

“He pushed you that far?” the woman asked.

“Hard to believe, right?”

“Watch what you say old man.”

“How rude! Don’t you dare call him that,” the woman said.

“What else would I call him by?”

“His name?”

Oh wait, I never got his name.

“Hey old man,” I turned to him. “What’s your name again?”

He chuckled. “You’re an interesting one. My name is Gareth, General of the Fourth Division.”

“You’re a general?” I asked.

“That’s why it’s so hard to believe that you pushed him that far.” she said.

“Well, it happened.” I replied.

What's with this woman?

Gareth waved dismissively. “Alright, enough gawking. The kid’s tougher than he looks. You’ll find out soon enough.”

I was lucky that he came along to help clarify things. At the same time though, I really hate seeing his face. Once the introduction was finally done, we were sent off to our dorms. They told us that we would have a roommate so hopefully mine isn’t insufferable.

On my way out, a figure stepped into my path.

The blonde girl from earlier with that overpowered blessing.

“Hey,” she said, “is it really true you pushed him that far?”

“Yeah,” but I thought about our fight again. Even though he did use his Arcane Requiem, he was still holding back. Was it fair to say that I pushed him that far, knowing that he wasn’t using his full arsenal.

“No way. Gareth doesn’t get tested that easily. You’re barely giving off any presence—”

“He was holding back. Only used lightning bolts on me. If that makes you feel better.”

She frowned. “Still, you shouldn’t have been able to push him.”

Can she just stop bothering me?

“But he did, and why do you care?”

“Because he was my master. He personally trained me.”

“Cool,” I said flatly, stepping to the side. “Well, I’ve got somewhere to be now. See ya.” I wasn’t in the mood to talk to her, especially since I could be using my time to get even stronger. After seeing what other people can do, I’ve realized that I’m outclassed.

As I walked away, she grabbed my arm. “Wait.”

I turned my head to her, “What?”

“I want to spar with you.”

“Huh?”

“I want to see what we're capable of. The fact that you pushed my master that far, you must be powerful.”

“Wow. Picking on the kid with no blessing. Real classy.”

“Don’t give me that. If you can push master that far then you can handle me.”

“Is this optional?”

“Nope. Meet me at the colosseum, we’ll have our battle there.”

“There’s a colosseum here?”

“You’ve never been here before, have you?”

“Uhm, I haven’t”

“Well, good luck finding it. Don’t keep me waiting.” And with that, she vanished.

I sighed. This is going to be a pain.