My Pride, His Pride.

"It has been five hundred years since our Earth joined the Inter-Species Alliance or ISA. We discovered that there was life beyond our solar system; we were also not the only humans. There were many other human settlements across the universe with whom we joined hands and progressed to what we are today. We went through different wars, alliances, and much more, but we progressed by leaps and bounds through all that. Be it making cars fly, be it spaceships or anything else which was once imaginary", said a man standing in front of a big screen while looking at the children sitting in front of him. He moved his gaze to every student that was in the class before continuing.

"Over the years, we have grown close to many species, and with many, we are at war. Even right at this moment, somewhere out there, we are fighting a war. Be it over resources or personal interests. But of all the species, Nejiks and Insectoids are the greatest enemies we have so far. They are one of the species that are common enemies of most of the other species..." he said but stopped when he saw one of the students raising her hands.

"What is your question Sina," he asked.

"If they have so many enemies, then how come they have not been killed to extinction by other species just like Lelyods, the ones who started The Great Gina war in Ginata Galaxy," Sina asked. Everyone had similar thoughts as well. As strong as a race can be, it can never take on the full brunt of other races combined.

"As strong as a race can be, it can never take on the full brunt of other races combined. This is what you are all thinking, right?" said the professor, which surprised the students. He ignored their surprised faces and continued.

"It is not that it hasn't been tried, but it has consistently failed. Why, you may ask? Because Nejiks and Insectoids never attacked the mighty races like Primals, Dragons, Elves etc. They have always been at war with the races that are as strong or weaker than them. This is just one of the reasons. Another factor to this is their race qualities. Nejiks are very good at mana manipulation. They are one of the species which are most attuned to mana. They rank 12th among all the races known in their control of mana. You all may know, there are as many races as there are solar systems in the universe, so being 12th in them all is not a low ranking. We have significant progress in things like space-travel or extraordinary weapons, but all of them are wasted when confronted with absolute power like Mana. Nejiks are good at mana from the day they are born. They use it to make spells that can alter the very nature around them.

On the other hand, Insectoids are not very good at mana manipulation, but they use the mana to strengthen their bodies. At first, it may not seem much. Still, when combined with the innate physical strength of the race and their study body covered in scale-like armours, it is a formidable force, and they reproduce fast, which helps them have a numerical advantage over other races", answered the professor.

"If they are so strong, then how did we fight them. I mean, Humans of the Earth were known to be not very good at the use of mana", asked a black-haired boy sitting in the front row.

"Well tho it is true that humans were not the best when it came to the use of mana, but they made up for it with their wits. As for how humans of Earth came to know about mana and using it, I can't say much but what I can say is that Elves played a significant role in helping the Earth in its early days. Later on, we also adapted to the same power system used by other humans. Once again, I cannot speak much about it as humans cannot control manna until they are sixteen, which most of you will be after one year. You will learn more about it in your universities after your coming of age ceremony".

The professor then went ahead and kept talking about different things throughout the lecture. While he was doing that, in the remote corner of the class, a boy was sitting without care of what was going on in the lecture, looking outside at a board with all his focus and determination. It was an advertisement for recruitment for Global Army Institution. He had black hair, black eyes, brown skin. One look at him, and you could tell he had long legs. He was handsome but not so overly that girls would kill to be with him. He was just above average. He had a determined look on his face while his hands were clenched tightly into fists.

After Earth came in contact with space, they dissolved all the countries, put aside all the differences, and united against many invasions and wars. And to oversee all this, they made an organization with the 10 Earth humans who played a significant role in the wars and rose to power as the leaders. They named it Global Army. Every year they recruited people into their institutions to be later become part of the army after graduation. There were many other institutes whose graduates joined the military but those from GAI were known to be cream of the crop. It was a dream for all the sixteen-year-old.

This was the last class of the year, and finals were going to start after week. The professor decided to do some history overview to give the students a jump in morale for their upcoming exams, though he knew it did not have much effect as all the students wanted to run away as soon as possible. The exam was just a pre-test before the actual selection test, which these children would go in about a year. Hence it was used as a way for them to be prepared for what was about to come and how to deal with the unexpected. It was mainly a theory exam followed by a physical examination to learn about their strengths and weaknesses. Still being a good teacher, he decided to give them a little treat for their last day in school.

"Now, the things I mentioned before were not the only imaginary things we have done. We have progressed enough to do something like this as well", he said while raising his right hand in front of him. The air around his palm started to twist, and soon a tiny ball made of compressed air was formed.

"WOOOOH. "

"It is an actual spell."

"No way did he just show us what I think this is."

"It looks so cool."

Sudden shouts woke the boy out of his thoughts, and even he became excited when he saw what his professor was doing. From what he knew, it was not allowed for the teachers to use real mana-based spells in schools as if they went out of control; they could cause massive destruction. Once there had been a case where a professor tried to show off in front of the students and ended up losing control of his spell, which led to all students in the class and those in their neighbouring classrooms being burned to ashes. Due to this reason, the students were shocked when their professor showed them a magic spell. And as they had guessed, the professor soon cancelled the spell and looked at all of them with a smile.

"Don't worry, I am confident with my skills, plus I am a GAI graduate. I come here for teaching experience before I apply as a professor is GAI itself; hence I am confident. I was awakened with wind element when I turned sixteen. Every one of us has an element we have an affinity with, but in some rare cases, it can be two or maybe three, though I have never seen someone with more than two elements. Mana can be used in two different ways, and the one you choose leads you to a different path: Warrior and Mage. It will be up to you what you want to be, and some can even try both though it is tough to do that. You will know once you start your journey. With this, I will end this lecture, and you are all free to go to your homes and please be on time for your finals next week".

It took them all to come out of the shock, but they soon cheered once again and started packing their bags before leaving the classroom. Just as the boy looking out throughout the class was about to leave, the professor called his name.

"Kouen, I would like you to stay for a minute. I need to talk with you".

The boy paused his steps, moved near the teacher's table, and stood beside, waiting for the professor to speak up.

"You have been distracted for the whole class today," said the professor while looking at Kouen and continued, "It is unlike your focused self. Care to explain what you have been thinking the whole time? I might be able to help you if you have any problems."

"It is nothing."

*SIGH*

The professor sighed and waved his hand, a gesture that he could leave. But just as Kouen was about to leave the door, a voice was heard.

"You need strength to enter GAI. But you need determination and courage just as much; believe in yourself and work on yourself in this one year. Never stop thinking; sometimes, you have to go through the worst to be the best. What happened to your father is sad, and I can't help you with it, but all I can say is what he did was something that needs the courage to be done. But going against the orders and killing someone on the same side is not forgivable; being released without any punishment says enough about his merits. You may have to go through all the bullying, but I think you should not blame him for that..." said the professor, but before he could finish, he was cut off by Kouen.

"I never said I hated my father. I am just as proud of him as I was before and will always be. 'Traitor's Son' they call me, but who said I ever cared about what they said. The man he killed deserved to be killed, and I am proud that my pops did what he did", said Kouen. Then he turned around and looked the professor straight in the eye. He felt like he was being watched by a beast when he looked at those black eyes.

"You asked me why I have been spacing out, right? I was making a decision", said Kouen.

"And what was that decision," asked the professor with interest.

"I will go to GAI and join the army. Tho I don't care a bit about what they all say, but I will make sure to shut them up for good", said Kouen and he turned back and started walking but once again he opened his mouth.

"Thank you for trying to help me and I appreciate it but I will be fine. 'With A Lion For A Father, The Son Cannot Be A Dog'. He is my pride, I will be his".

*THUCK*

The doors closed and silence filed the room.