Jedidiah's Rise To Power

"Have you heard?"

"Shakespeare Academy will be admitting new students next week!"

"No way! isn't that the Academy the current X-rank Sentry attended?"

"I know right? If only I can be a student there too! It must be really awesome to have an X-rank Sentry as an alumni."

"Tsk. With your trashy talent you won't even be accepted as a cleaner there."

"What are you talking about? My talent isn't so bad. At least I'm still above one person."

The entire classroom instantly burst into a fit of laughter as all eyes fell towards a particular desk. The desk in question was solely occupied by a teenage boy with freckles plastered across both sides of his cheeks. Adding his well tucked in uniform and big glasses, Jedidiah had the appearance of a stereotypical class nerd.

"Hm?" Jedidiah had just brought out an inhaler from his pocket when he sensed a presence from besides him.

Bang!

"What do you want now?" Jedidiah gave the fatty besides him an annoyed look. However this facade did little to conceal the terror within his eyes.

- Spencer, although fat; was the most meanest bully in the class. Not many people dared to cross him. Reason was because he was one of the "blessed ones" who succeeded in awakening their meridians.

"Now that you mention it, wasn't there a certain someone who boasted that both his parents were once students of Shakespeare Academy?" Spencer's statement elicited another round of laughter.

"I--I'm not lying! the graduation diploma issued to my parents are both stored in the attic!" Jedidiah tried refuting. However along the line, he began sounding less and less confident in the legitimacy of his claims.

"Hmph. From what I've heard, only the top students of Shakespeare Academy are given a diploma after they graduate.." a mocking sneer tugged across the corners of Spencer's lips.

"If your parents did get that diploma, wouldn't that mean they're geniuses? How the hell did people like them give birth to trash like you then? don't tell me you're adopted?!" Spencer feigned an impression of shock, causing the classmates around them to roar into another fit of laughter.

"Y--" Jedidiah was about to retort when he hesitantly closed his mouth. From a certain perspective, wasn't Spencer correct?

- Although Jedidiah was a straight A student, that was in secular academics like Maths and Physics. When it came down to the essentials, he was a complete trash through and through.

Nobody knew how it happened but Twenty years ago, the entire world changed. Mysterious spatial Gates began popping up and emerging from these spatial gates were dangerous monsters known as Kaiju Beasts. Before the weakest of these Kaiju Beasts, not even the most powerful nuke technology could take them out.

Just when it felt like humanity were going to face extinction, they began to surface. A special kind of humans known as the Elites. They once worked in the shadows to shield civilization from the dangers of mystical threats but with the advent of the Catastrophe, they were forced to go public.

Over time, more and more people began to join the rankings of the Elites till nearly eighty percent of the world's population were Elites. As for the unlucky twenty percent, they were regarded as the dregs of human society and unfortunately, Jedidiah just happened to be part of the unlucky minority.

..

After the electric bell rang to signify the end of the school session, the students of Blue Prep School happily trooped out of the school building. Some boarding the vehicles of their parents while others walked in groups as they trekked home.

As for Jedidiah, he had just located his bicycle and was about to unlock it when he sensed movement. Rising up from his previous squatting position, he noticed he was currently surrounded by five classmates. As for the ring leader, who could it be if not Spencer the mean fat bully.

"I don't want any trouble. Today is our last day of prep school. Next week you're going to enter an E-1 program while I'll look for babysitting jobs and live my life like an ordinary person. After today we won't ever cross paths, so please just let me go.."

"Pft. That's the point. Today is the last time I'll ever see your miserable face so I have to make it worth it!" gesturing towards his band of delinquents, a sneer got plastered across Spencer's lips as he watched them grab both of Jedidiah's arms, pinning him in place.

"Damnit. I'm really going to miss this feeling.." releasing a malevolent chortle, he balled his fist before ramming it into Jedidiah's stomach.

...

Knock. Knock.

"Who's there?" Jedidiah opened the door of his apartment as he noticed an old lady hugging a brown box against her chest.

"Old lady Lara?" his eyes tried dilating in surprise however due to how swollen his face was from Spencer's earlier beating, he appeared more hideous than stunned.

"Your face is swollen again?" old lady Lara frowned when she noticed Jedidiah's current appearance.

"This is the third time this month. Why hasn't the school authority punished that rascal?" after sharing the same apartment building with Jedidiah for almost two years now, she was well informed about the bullying he faced at school.

"I've tried but the school authorities only gives him a slap on the wrist. That doesn't change anything though.." Jedidiah shrugged. Not only were Spencer's parents Sentries, he was also a pseudo Elite with an Awakened meridian. There was no way the school authority would go against someone like that just to stand up for an ordinary person like him.

- Jedidiah was just happy that he no longer had to endure Spencer's hellish torment any longer.

"Don't worry. I'll stop by later and treat your face with ice. Right I also came to give you this. Apparently the mail man mistook our doors." old lady Lara nudged towards the brown box she was holding.

Expressing his thanks, Jedidiah took the box from her and closed the door. Stepping back into his neat apartment, He placed the box on the only sofa present, proceeding to open it.

"Hm? a letter?' opening the envelope inside the brown box, his eyes skimmed through the contents of the letter;

- "If you're reading this, it means two things. You're now sixteen years old and we are unable to be there for you as you begin this new chapter of your life. We have so many things to tell you but time is of essence so this letter will be brief"

- "Attached to this letter is the key. The key to all your questions. Make sure you protect this key, with your life if necessary"

..

"That's it?" Jedidiah frowned, re- reading the contents of the letter to check if he missed anything. From what he could deduce, this was a letter from his parents.

- No birthday wishes, no words of endearment. Just a mission. A mission to protect "the key" ?!

Although Jedidiah felt annoyed and pissed, he did his best to temporarily tone down the bubbling rage as he reached into the farthest depths of the brown box. Retracting his hand, Jedidiah noticed a pendant was now in his grip.

"This is the key the letter was talking about?" he curiously observed the pendant..

Whether it was its design or materials, the pendant looked quite ordinary. Bringing it closer to his face, he couldn't help but purse his lips.

"I wonder what it--" he was unable to finish this thought because the pendant began to release a sharp and resplendent burst of multicolored light.

—[Seal successfully broken!]

Jedidiah had no idea whether it was his eyes playing tricks on him when he saw this virtual screen appear before his eyes. Unfortunately he didn't have the chance to mull over this because the sharp ray of multi-colored light successfully knocked him unconscious.