The Melody Can Learn

As Manus exited from the Gargoyle Tower, ready to scour the wilds for his next meal, he was greeted by a woman in maid clothing.

"Under the order of the headmaster," The maid bowed her head, "I will be your overseer for today's event."

Looking at the maid with suspicious eyes, Manus recalled the headmaster had said something about someone constantly keeping an eye on him whenever he was to head to the academy. The event was news though. What did the maid mean by today's event?

"We're already late young master." The maid was still bowing, "Why don't we head off now?"

Wanting to see what event required his attention, Manus followed the maid.

Making their way through the winding path to get to the main academy building, the rough cobblestone path slowly changed to a smoother one that seemed to glisten under the sunlight. And when the trees no longer blocked the sky, Manus saw the most exorbitant building of his life.

It was almost as if the entire world's funds were poured into this academy as the building was lined with gold and inlaid with gems that would most definitely cost a small fortune. It might as well be a world wonder with its decadent ivory-white marble slanted roofs and perfectly cut stone walls. In the middle of this mass of wealth, there stood the tallest point, a spire, which was quite a bit taller than the Gargoyle Tower. Rings of solid gold wrapped around this spire and gems the size of humans ran up and down it.

Manus was one to appreciate shows of wealth, but this, this was far too much.

Shaking his head in disappointment, Manus continued to follow the maid until they were pushing through redwood doors that led them to a hall with diamond-shaped alternating gradient stone slab floors and stone walls painted gold, white, gray, and a touch of pink. The hall was also large enough that it allowed crystal chandeliers to freely hang from the ceilings.

Noticing he was getting left behind while gawking, Manus caught up to the maid and proceeded to a training yard. The training yard was luckily the only normal-looking place as it was a barren, bleak sand-covered pit.

Looking up though, Manus found that the stands looking over the training yard, besides being full of students in similar uniforms to him, were just as elaborate as the hall.

"Ah, Student Manus, I see that you've finally decided to grace us with your presence."

Able to instantly pinpoint where the voice was coming from, Manus found himself staring at the highest stand overlooking the training yard where a man with a thin mustache, tired face, and lousy attitude sat.

"Since you're finally here… we can proceed with your match. So," The man sighed, "Can Student Theodore please make his way to the field?"

Giving an inquiring gaze to the maid, Manus realized that she had already left him. Confused, Manus stood there until he saw someone standing at the completely other end of the training yard. If Manus had one word to describe him, it would be – protagonist.

Theodore had a strong, angular build and face while also having black, slightly messy hair and bright blue eyes. Manus then watched as Theodore jogged over to a rack of weapons.

With a wooden sword held above his head, Theodore made his way to the center of the training yard. Seeing how Manus hadn't moved yet, Theodore tilted his head.

"Student Manus…" The tired voice rang out, "Could you please make your way to the center of the training yard so we can move on?"

Manus groans in discontent, but he does want to know what is going on. Manus starts jogging to the center, but seeing the sword in Theodore's hand, Manus could infer that they were doing a spar. So, Manus went to his weapon rack and picked out a familiar weapon – the rapier.

This action elicited a lot of "What?" or confused gasps from the crowd.

Standing a fair bit of distance away from Theodore, Manus couldn't help but ask, "If I may… What are we doing here?"

In a rather optimistic deep voice, Theodore replies, "This is the semiannual skill test the academy gives to ensure we're making proper progress on our powers and to ensure that we're not using the power of the Gods or Demons."

Clapping at Theodore's response, Manus blesses him with all his heart, "Finally, someone that has given a full response to my question, rather than leaving something out. I mean… there are still a few things I have quest--"

Manus was cut off by the pencil-thin mustache announcer, "When you're both ready to start, just say ready."

Realizing it'd be rude to continue taking everyone's time, Manus placed one foot slightly in front of himself and then extended his rapier out toward Theodore.

"Ready." Manus swishes his seaweed hair aside.

"Why…" Theodore wasn't entirely sure what Manus was doing, "Why are you wielding a rapier? You're a magic-user…"

Chuckling at Theodore's words, Manus shook his head, "Your imagination must be rather vibrant to believe that magic exists… We are but human my dear compatriot… magic is beyond our reach."

It was clear that Theodore wanted to correct Manus, but with a cough from the announcer, Theodore got into his stance, which placed the sword by his side and both hands on the handle, his right hand in a reverse grip.

"Ready." Theodore nodded.

With the blow of a whistle, Theodore burst forward at a much faster pace than Manus was expecting. Because his body couldn't keep up with what his mind was seeing, the stab Manus conducted to repel Theodore brushed past him and Theodore was suddenly parallel with Manus.

Unsheathing his sword from his side, Theodore brought it up above his head and gripped it tight with both hands, causing a red color to exude off the blade. Watching as it's brought down, Manus quickly spins to the right, barely dodging the overhead slash. Manus prepared to counterattack but quickly halted upon seeing the aftermath of the slash.

With his blade not even having touched the ground, a large gash in the training ground remains prominently visible. Backing away from Theodore, Manus points to Theodore, then the gash, and then back to him.

"That goes well beyond the realm of humans." Manus nervously laughs, "Are you a monster perchance?"

Theodore, who was shocked at the fact that Manus dodged his attack, awoke when asked if he was a monster.

"Um… that's my superpower. I-I can… use energy with swords. Surely you know this… we've told each other what our superpowers were before." Seeing Manus stare dumbly at him, Theodore smacked his lips, "This… This is a Superhero Academy, where those with powers go. That means that everyone here can use powers that push them beyond their natural limitations. I mean… in your time while being here at this academy, surely, you've seen at least one person use their superpower?"

Thinking back on his short time here, Manus remembers the fact that Nova had been floating.

"Ah," Manus' lips grew small, "I'm no longer on the same plane of existence as I was before."

"You all right man?" Theodore was starting to worry.

"So, when she said I had a music power, she meant that literally…" Manus had a lot of thinking to do, "I forfeit."

"…"

"""…"""

"Good match, but I have research to do."

Walking back in the same direction he came from, Manus exited before anyone had the chance to verbally react. Not aware of the chaos he was leaving behind, Manus started to scour around for a map to try and find the library.

Eventually finding one, Manus abandoned his maid overseer and walked confidently into the empty library.

"It's a wonder what I'll find." Manus rubbed his hands together and got to work.

Without any sense of how much time had passed, Manus exited the library, his brain full of new knowledge and his stomach hungry for something.

Manus had found that almost every human on this planet was superhuman because their ancestors were blessed with abilities from Gods and Demons. The superpowers that were gifted could evolve into something stronger with the typical number of power evolutions being three. An example Manus found gave the evolution of someone who had progressed through the three stages which were Wind Manipulation -> Control of Wind -> Control of Air.

A normal person can only achieve the starting stage of their superpower's second evolution unless they use the power of Gods and Demons. But that comes at a heavy cost. In fact, the cost is so heavy and causes so much pain that the Gods and Demons started enjoying the suffering they put their human 'champions' through.

The Demons would target the societally weaker humans who wished to have more strength and power while the Gods targeted the successful ones who wished to get more out of life. Humans, however stupid the Gods and Demons thought them, learned of this and decided to fight back against their temptations no matter what.

Thus, the continent Manus stood on fell under one ruler who used his vast knowledge from his first-class intellect superpower to create ways to block the temptations and ways to improve powers without having to rely on Gods and Demons to get there. The place to learn all this comes from – the academy or its official name – United Front Academy.

But why are the Gods and Demons so dangerous to take power from?

Well, as Manus found out, it's because anyone who does take their power becomes a Fractured.

A Fractured has their skin crack and flake, revealing a dark, murky substance that starts to crawl under their skin. Additionally, the person's eyes shatter, giving them an insectoid look, which allows the affected individual to perceive everything around them. As the Fractured continues to exist, there eventually comes a breaking point as the body can no longer sustain that heightened superpower level.

Those that fall to the Demon's temptations will have their power sucked from their bodies just as their body can't take anymore. This results in their black sludge, which holds their flesh together, disappearing and turning them instantly into a bloody pile as they bleed from every orifice. It is said to be one of the most harrowing events to witness.

The Gods on the other hand aren't much better as those who fall to their temptations have their power explode out of them in one final show of dominance. The affected person is said to balloon out and start radiating a golden color before exploding in a rather large area so that anyone around will be instantly vaporized.

So, why would anyone take the power of the Gods and Demons if these are the consequences?

Manus could find nothing to answer that question…

However, the Gods and Demons did not appreciate the fact that the humans were calling on them less and less, so they decided to send their armies to the northernmost and southmost parts of the continent. The north belongs to the Gods and is a frozen wasteland, while the south belongs to the Demons and is a desert.

Occasionally, they send a few of their monsters to attack human outposts to seemingly test the humans. Thus, the academy, whose original purpose was to stop people from falling to the temptations of the Gods and Demons, now was training their students to be able to fight back against the horde of monsters the Gods and Demons sent.

Reciting everything he learned while hiking back to the Gargoyle Tower, edible berries in his possession, Manus realized a problem… he hadn't a clue how to use magic.

"I suppose I should have spent more time in the library then…" Manus gave a small sigh just as the Gargoyle Tower was coming into view.

As Manus got ever closer, a figure could be seen standing just outside the open entrance. It was, of course, the maid that Manus had long since ditched.

Upon seeing Manus, the maid strode with a vengeance before slamming a thick envelope into his face. Taking it from her hands, Manus peered at it but couldn't find any discernable features. Wanting to ask the maid what it was, he looked up and around before finding her already stupidly far away.

"May we never meet again."

Manus could only barely hear those words, but he responded in kind by giving a deep bow and smiling, "I'll try my hardest."

Peering back down at the envelope, Manus took it to his room, tore it open, and found a rather interesting letter.