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Chapter 1: The Weakest Boy
In a crumbling orphanage tucked into the edge of the city, a boy with white hair jolted awake. Sweat trickled down his back, his breaths shallow, haunted by the nightmare he couldn't quite remember. The room was cold, the mattress beneath him hard and worn.
Tory.
That was his name — whispered, mocked, ignored. In a world where every child awakened an element or ability by the age of thirteen, Tory was now fifteen and still… nothing. No flame, no lightning, not even the faintest spark of power. Just a white-haired boy with a sharp mind and a body too used to bruises.
The other orphans laughed behind his back — or directly to his face. He was the weakest. The matron tried her best, but even she couldn't stop the cruel whispers or the fists that sometimes followed.
But Tory wasn't completely alone.
He had Jim.
Jim, the boy they called the Elemental King — the prodigy who had awakened not one, but six elements: water, earth, fire, wind, lightning, and darkness. Some whispered he even had a seventh — light. A monster in power, but fiercely loyal. Jim had chosen Tory as his brother and protector, and no one dared touch him when Jim was near.
Even the mighty Raging Flame Faction, the third most powerful hunter group in the city, had begged Jim to join them. But he refused — for Tory. Again and again, offers came from powerful guilds, and Jim turned them all down, shocking everyone. Why would someone so powerful choose to stay in the shadows?
Because of Tory.
But not everyone was pleased.
Jason, another genius from the orphanage, hated Jim. With his dual elements of lightning and earth, Jason had always seen himself as the best — until Jim outshone him. Fueled by jealousy, he joined the Raging Flame Faction, who gave him luxury and status. He returned to the orphanage flaunting riches, handing the matron a pile of cash with a smug smile.
"Tory will always be a loser," Jason said coldly. "Jim should've left him behind."
But the matron only smiled, eyes wise and kind. "One day, Tory will awaken. He and Jim… they'll rise together."
Jason's smirk twitched.
What no one knew was that Tory had been preparing — not with power, but with invention. He built weapons, tools, and gadgets from scraps. Most of the working lights, heaters, and tools in the orphanage were his handiwork.
And one night, under a moonless sky, Tory and Jim made their move.
They slipped past the city guards, causing a small explosion with one of Tory's smoke bombs as a distraction. Then they sprinted into the wild forests beyond the city walls.
They were going to hunt a beast.
It was illegal without a hunter's license — practically suicide — but they had no choice. Beast cores could be sold for money. Their bodies harvested for armor. If they could get just one good kill, they could feed the orphanage for weeks… maybe even craft gear strong enough for Jim to enter the hunter guild.
And maybe, just maybe, Tory could awaken.
The deeper they went, the thicker the trees became. Strange cries echoed through the woods. They were near the mountains now — the territory of awakened beasts. And soon, they saw them.
A swarm of giant mutated ants, nearly a hundred in number.
Jim stepped forward, lightning crackling around his body, flame wings spreading behind his back. "Stay behind me," he warned, voice calm.
Tory didn't listen.
He drew a blade he had forged himself — a dark, jagged weapon crafted from the remains of a previous queen ant Jim had killed. His armor was made of the same carapace. His tools clanked softly at his side.
Jim leapt into the horde, lightning spear in hand. With one thrust, he impaled ten ants, electricity bursting through their shells. Tory darted forward too, slashing left and right. His sword cut through their thick armor with terrifying ease — the work of a king-class beast material fused into it.
As they fought, Tory began to feel something. A strange white light flickered around him. With each kill, it grew brighter.
Jim noticed. "Tory… something's happening to you."
Tory panted, his eyes glowing faintly. "I think… I'm awakening."
They fought for over an hour. The ants grew stronger, their exoskeletons harder. Tory learned quickly — his sword glowed faintly now, wrapped in a strange energy. Ashy black streaks swirled in the air when he swung.
Eventually, they found shelter in a cave.
Jim sat down to absorb the core of an ant general. Unlike most, Jim had a Heavenly Purification Flame, which let him burn away the beast's instincts from the core and absorb the power safely. Few humans could do that — they were called Children of Heaven, gifted but hunted by many.
Jim's power surged. From master, he stepped into the realm of Lord.
Then, deeper in the cave, they found her.
The Ant Queen — massive, wounded, near death but still deadly. Her red eyes fixed on Tory.
"It is an honor to be killed by the Great Sage…" she whispered.
Tory hesitated. "What did you call me?"
But the queen said no more.
Tory stabbed her through the skull with a blade of ash-black energy.
Her core, the size of a human head, pulsed with power. But before Tory could touch it, the ash orb from his necklace broke free. It devoured the core in a flash, sending a violent wave of ash energy crashing outward.
Tory screamed. The orb spun faster. Everything around them — the cave, the walls, even the corpses of the ants — began to disintegrate, swallowed by the darkness.
Jim barely had time to act.
He sealed the queen's body in his spatial ring just as the energy reached them. Tory's hair turned black. Ash-black flames swirled around him, consuming everything. His eyes burned like a dying star.
He stepped forward, calm and godlike.
Then he vanished — and reappeared above the Ant Empress who had crawled from deeper underground.
He stabbed her once — just once — and the empress, a creature on the verge of emperor rank, was obliterated.
Even Jim stood frozen.
But Tory didn't stop. The ash energy around him grew wilder, and the forest itself began to die.
Jim turned. Outside the cave, Jason stood with ten hunters from the Raging Flame Faction.
"Hand over the queen's body," Jason demanded. "Or die."
Jim stared at them, eyes burning. "You want it?"
He raised his lightning spear.
"Come take it."
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