Two thousand years ago, a war broke out, one that humans still take pride in to this day. A war that united all the kingdoms of the world against a single kingdom known as Angels. A tyrannical kingdom with unimaginable power. The war lasted for years until the streets, rivers, cities, and even the seas turned red.
The alliance of kingdoms emerged victorious, and the Kingdom of Angels fell. With its fall, five kingdoms rose and became known as the Five Great Kingdoms:
Anastasia, Elvan, Ogrulia, Great Nest, and Varsian.
These five kingdoms were the greatest in Shinta.
Shinta is an energy that has existed in the human body since the dawn of time. It is the cause of everything.
And two thousand years after this war, in the Kingdom of Anastasia, two seven-year-old boys sat atop a green hill, a gentle breeze blowing as the sun set. Despite being twins, they did not look alike.
Leo looked at his brother Sai with sharp, slightly angry eyes. "Damn him. He has no right to mock us just because of some silly money we don't have!"
Sai glanced at him for a moment before returning his gaze to the ground. "He has more money than us. He wasn't wrong," he said in a quiet voice, his eyes sad.
Leo looked at him with the same firm gaze and an annoyed tone. "No! He was completely wrong! Who is he to judge us and say such things in the first place... what a ridiculous world."
"This always happens anyway." Sai then sat down on the grass.
Leo looked at the moon, and a big smile appeared on his face. He had an idea. "What if one of us became the Sacred Warrior? Then we would be incredibly strong, and everyone would love us! And then we would change these circumstances!"
Sai's eyes sparkled, but he immediately shook his head. "Villagers like us cou—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Leo interrupted him. "That's nonsense! There are no empty dreams, Sai!"
Leo stepped toward his brother, extended his hand, and said, "Take my hand and stand up. This is how we'll declare the beginning of our shared goal!"
Sai felt everything around him in that moment. The chirping of insects, the blowing wind, the moonlight, the interwoven stars—but the most important thing he felt was his brother's determination at that moment. A small chuckle escaped him as he said, "Our shared goal... Let's see which of us reaches it first!" Sai took Leo's hand.
Years later, after Leo and Sai graduated from middle school...
Leo Vitalite
I heard my name being repeated—about three times—but eventually, the voice stopped. Then, I was suddenly drenched in water, forcing me awake. I slowly opened my eyes to see my brother Sai, annoyed by how late I was in waking up.
Despite being twins, we do not look alike. The only thing we share is our fair skin with a slightly tanned undertone. His hair is shiny brown, and his eyes are bright blue like the sea. He has an average height and a well-defined jawline, which is why they call him "the protagonist" at school.
On the other hand, I am his opposite. My hair is pitch black, without even a faint shine, and my eyes are sharp, dark brown, nearly black. The only things I surpass Sai in are my sharper jawline and that I'm slightly taller—but that doesn't really matter. Who would want every girl on the street to stare at them anyway?
After getting ready, we said goodbye to our parents and headed toward our awaited destination: the academy entrance exam.
I carried a wooden sword, while Sai wore simple protective gloves.
"You studied for the paper exam, right?"
The moment Sai said those words, I hesitated. I slowly turned to him. "...No, I didn't."
Sai chuckled and patted my shoulder gently. "It's not like you need the paper exam anyway. The practical exam is enough for you."
Seeing him laugh, I couldn't help but laugh too. I didn't understand why we were laughing, and I doubt Sai did either—but maybe it was because of our nervousness? We were about to face the world.
Because I had woken up late, we arrived just as the exam was about to begin. The director, Yarasu, announced to everyone, "We will begin calling your names in a few moments."
We sat quietly, waiting for our turn. The atmosphere was sharp and serious—so intense that I felt like we were about to fight each other. But, of course, it would be like this. This exam would determine the future of many people.
Sai spoke amidst this tense atmosphere. "Will we pass?"
I smiled with great confidence. "Of course."
My name was called next for the test. I gripped my wooden sword tightly and entered the exam hall.
It was an empty space with only a single training dummy and two supervisors.
Yarasu spoke with a small, reassuring smile. "All you have to do is strike the dummy three times."
That's it? I suppose that's enough.
I used my ability—darkness—on my sword, making it sharp and shadowy. I dashed toward the dummy, and in a single moment, I cut it into three pieces that fell to the ground.
The dummy was solid, unusual—or rather, infused with Shinta.
The supervisors' expressions did not change at all. Was my performance bad...?
"You may now leave and proceed to the paper exam hall."
Are they robots?
I left the hall and immediately entered the paper exam. Let's not talk about it... a complete disaster.
After the exam ended, I reunited with Sai. We thought we would have to wait a long time, but the results were announced quickly.
"The top three in the practical exam are:
First place: Kinto Shinga!
Second place: Leo Vitalite!
Third place: Sai Vitalite!"
"And the top three in the paper exam are:
First place: Sai Vitalite!
Second place: Kinto Shinga!
Third place: Mary Litari!"
"You got second place, Leo! Congratulations!" Sai said with a broad smile.
"Second place...? I should've been first... And I ranked fifty-third in the paper exam..." This is really frustrating.
Sai tried to console me. "It's okay. At least you passed."
"True..."
Our conversation was cut short when two people suddenly appeared in front of us.
Without any introductions, one of them spoke. "Hello, Sai and Leo. We will take you to the director 's office."
Sai asked, "Did we do something wro—"
A portal suddenly opened beneath us, and we fell into it, landing in the office of director Yarasu.
"To be honest, that was surprising," I said as I brushed the dust off my clothes.
There were two others in the room with us—a boy and a girl.
The boy spoke. "You should remain silent in the presence of those superior to you."
I glanced at him for a moment. "Who is this now? Where have I seen you before...?"
Sai answered, "That's Kinto Shinga, the first-place winner in the practical exam and second in the paper exam. And that's Mary Litari, third place in the written exam."
The moment Sai mentioned 'first place,' I shot Kinto a sharp look and a confident smile. "So you're the one who took first place."
He glanced at me from the corner of his left eye. "You really have no respect for those above you, do you?"
He had black hair with three red streaks, sharp eyes like a hawk, and blood-red pupils. He was clearly taller than me and carried two daggers. A distinctive look, to say the least.
"We really don't need any racism right now," Mary said, crossing her arms.
A silver-haired elf girl with tied-up hair and green eyes. She carried an ordinary bow and was of average-to-short height.
"What did you just say?" I said to Kinto.
He stood up from his seat. "Are you deaf, or what?"
I stepped closer to him and looked him straight in the eye. "You seem awfully arrogant for someone who was just born special," I said with obvious sarcasm.
He stepped closer too. "You have the audacity to say that to my face?"
"Guys, can we calm down a little?" Sai said, trying to separate us.
Mary immediately agreed.
We ignored them completely.
Before Kinto could reply, we heard a loud clap. "Why don't we settle down a bit, just as Sai and Mary said?"
Director Yarasou had entered the office.
We didn't pay much attention to him and went back to arguing. I wish I hadn't done that...
"Do you really think insulting me with words is a good idea?" Kinto said after his eyes returned to me.
I replied as I placed my hand on the wooden sword, "Not just a good idea, but the be—"
My words were cut off by a Shinta pressure unlike anything I had ever experienced. I felt every muscle in my body contract in an instant, and my lungs were crushed under the overwhelming force.
This is inhuman. If this pressure continues even a little longer, I'll pass out!
The pressure finally stopped, and Yarasou spoke a single word: "Sit."
After we sat down, Yarasu continued, "Now, I will explain some things to you. You have been chosen to enter the global academy, Limitless."
I had never been more shocked in my life. Judging by the expressions of the others, they felt the same way.
I... am going to enter Limitless Academy? Seriously?
Before we could dive deeper into our shock, Yarasu spoke, "Let me explain the situation you will be in once you enter the Limitless Academy:
1- There will be student dorms, and each room will have two students.
2- You will have lectures from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
3- Your lectures will be both theoretical and practical. Theoretical lectures will be on certain days, and practical ones on other days.
4- The academy will provide everything you need.
5- The academic year will be 8 months, and the break will be 4 months.
That's all you need to know for now."
Yarasu handed us a map showing the secret location of the academy.
"Why doesn't the academy just take us there?" Mary asked.
"You should be grateful we gave you a map," Yarasu replied. No one said anything after his words. I mean, what could we say?
"Mary, Kinto, we must go together since we have one map," Sai said. Oh, you stingy director, I have to go with this arrogant guy because of you...
Kinto closed his eyes and said, "No other choice." Mary sighed after his words.
I stood about four steps away from everyone and raised my hand slightly, "Beatless." After saying the name, a shadowy creature that resembled a small dragon began to form. "Let's go."
Mary and Kinto were astonished when they saw it. I'm sure that damn Kinto couldn't do something like this!
"Wow, Beatless!" Sai said as he hugged it.
We all mounted Beatless, and it started flying.
In the director's office, his assistant Crystal was preparing some Nescafe for him. After she made the cup, she asked, "Why did you act like that, director? We could have just calmed them down easily."
Yarasu took a sip of the Nescafe and said, "They seemed very confident in themselves, so I had to show them there are people stronger than them to make them a little more cautious." Crystal nodded and left the office. Yarasu looked calmly at Beatless flying in the sky from the window. "You said something, Rivan. You said something."
"The director's aura was stronger than anything I've ever seen in my life. There may be stronger people than us at the academy, but certainly not as strong as the director, because they're just students, but they will still be stronger than us... I'll surpass them all and become the Sacred Warrior."
After a few minutes, we got closer to a large forest.
"We're almost there, but there's no sign of the academy," Sai said as he checked the map.
Kinto was about to say something, but suddenly, Beatless vanished, and we fell into the forest. Luckily, the trees reduced the damage from the fall.
Mary crawled out of the pile of leaves. "Seriously?? Why did your bird vanish like that?"
"I-I don't know." I was a bit nervous since this had never happened to me before.
Despite the situation, Kinto remained completely calm. He placed his hands on his hips and looked up. "It's possible flying is prohibited here. We can still use our powers, so nothing prevents us from using Shinta."
"Should we continue forward?" Mary asked. Tension was evident on her face.
"Is there anything else we can do?" Sai replied to her. But unlike her, his expression was relaxed. He always wore a smile to make those around him feel comfortable.
The four of us continued walking through the forest until Mary spotted a rabbit on the path. She stopped to play with it. "How cute you are." It was a peaceful moment. But in the midst of the calm, the rabbit opened its mouth, and its mouth grew much larger. This was a Shinta beast trying to devour Mary. Mary didn't have enough time to retreat, but Kinto quickly stepped forward, using one of his daggers to stab the rabbit in the neck.
Mary fell backward in surprise, and fear began to show on her face. Kinto cut off the rabbit's head before saying, "It seems like this forest wants us dead."
Sai placed his hand on Mary's shoulder. "Be more careful next time, Mary."
Mary nodded, thinking things had calmed down for a moment, but I saw something we didn't want to see now. "I don't think the next danger is far off." I drew my sword, and Kinto drew his daggers.
Then, beasts the size of humans appeared beside a giant.
"I'll handle these small ones. You take care of the giant," Sai said after using his ability, Physical Enhancement. At the same time, Mary prepared her bow.
I covered my sword with darkness. When Kinto saw me do this, he smiled and said, "You're not the only one who can cover his sword. I've covered my daggers with poison."
Sai launched at the beasts with an unusual speed and strength, easily decapitating one. Sai's abilities increased by 5%.
Sai was injured, but he healed instantly. He looked behind to see that Mary had shot him a healing arrow.
Before we rushed forward, Kinto said while carefully inspecting the giant's body, "I need to find a gap in this beast. Can you distract it for a bit?" I smiled confidently, boasting. No one can blame me for this. This jerk admitted he needed my help. "Of course, fighting beasts was my morning routine before you knew about daggers."
Kinto's face showed annoyance, but he did nothing.
I lunged at the giant, and I was about to strike its foot, but the giant anticipated this and tried to stop me. I spun around its foot and attempted to strike it from behind, but I stopped and drove my sword deep into its foot.
Kinto attacked the giant after it focused on me, he stabbed it three times, letting the poison spread into the giant's body. I jumped on the giant while it was focused on Kinto, who retreated, and stabbed its eye before backing off.
"It's in a frenzy, be careful. The poison will take 20 seconds to kill it," Kinto said.
This will take a while.
I rushed at the giant and sliced the flesh of its back foot to make it fall on its knees. I jumped and stabbed its other eye.
Kinto rushed to cut the tendons in the giant's hands. He then whispered into its ear, "Zero."
The giant was killed.
I heard Sai's voice behind me, "So, it looks like you're done too." Sai was covered in the beasts' blood. His clothes, face, and hair were all soaked in blood. Seeing him like this made me feel something strange. Even though we've killed beasts in the wild many times, this feeling was new to me. I shook my head and smiled. "I don't think this means the end. There could be more beasts in this forest."
We continued our way through the forest until we encountered more beasts. This was going to be a bit of a long journey.
After an hour and a half of fighting and walking, we reached a place with a lake, and a person was standing in front of it.
As soon as we saw him, we quickly grabbed our weapons and prepared to use our powers. But he pulled out a card showing that he was the guard of Limitless Academy before speaking in a calm tone and offering a welcoming smile. "Welcome, new students. Congratulations on crossing the forest. I'm Sylan."
Kinto pressed his daggers harder. "Was this a test?"
Sylan simply and clearly answered, "Yes."
That's why they didn't take us to the academy themselves. They wanted us to go through this test. But is such a test enough to qualify us for entry into the Limitless Academy?
Before we could ask, Sylan pointed toward the lake and said, "The academy is here. Jump into the lake to reach the academy."
We had no reason not to believe him at this point, but I felt a little uneasy.
We jumped into the lake and, indeed, emerged on the other side, standing in front of the academy. We floated to the ground. The ground below us looked like the sky, and above us, the sky resembled the sea. The academy had a magical, royal, eye-catching appearance. Its colors were white and gold... the gold turned into purple... and then back to gold. Its size was strange. It felt small at first, but then, after a while, it felt huge. Is this the true nature of Limitless Academy?