The Academy of Aetheria was not a place of learning so much as it was a battlefield of prestige. Sprawled across a floating island, the campus was physically split by a massive chasm known as the "Rift of Origins."
To the North stood the Spire of Arcana, a towering structure of gleaming white marble and floating rings where the Wizards resided. To the South lay the Wilds of Yggdrasil, a sprawling forest-campus of stone temples and roaring arenas for the Beast Tamers, connected by a gravity enchanted gray bridge only crossed when authorized by the 'Headmaster'.
In this world, the power system was a hierarchy of utility and raw destruction:
Rank Wizard Progression (The Nine Circles)
Novice 1st - 2nd Circle: Basic Elemental
Adept 3rd - 5th Circle: Complex casting,
Master 6th - 8th Circle: Mass destruction,
Exalted 9th Circle: Continental-level spell casting
Beast Tamer Progression (The Soul Bond):
Manipulation F-E Rank: Simple telepathic link with small beasts.
Flight/Shielding D-C Rank: Synchronization (Sharing senses/stats).
Reality warping B-A Rank: Fusion (Beast and Tamer become one, contract more beast depending on mana capacity)
S Rank: Sovereign Bond (Commanding Legendary beasts)
Wizards were considered the elite. Magic was precise, repeatable, and didn't require feeding or cleaning up after a temperamental monster. A 5th Circle Wizard could decimate an entire battalion of C-Rank Tamers before they even finished summoning beasts. This led to a toxic culture of superiority.
Arthur Wells walked through the northern halls of the Spire of Arcana, his boots clicking against the enchanted tiles. His uniform—a dark brown robe with a single, lonely silver thread—identified him as a 1st Circle Wizard. In the book 'I am the Hero, Am I?', this was the joke of the school. Arthur Wells was the son of a wealthy merchant who had donated half a library just to get his talentless son into the 1st Circle.
"Look at him," a student whispered, a 3rd Circle fire-mage juggling small embers. "The 'Merchant Prince' is still struggling to ignite a candle in Professor veil's class."
Arthur ignored them. His mind was elsewhere. He had no talent for Beast Taming—his "Taming Affinity" had been tested at a dismal 0.05% earlier that morning. And his Mana Capacity was "Below Average," barely enough to power a household lamp.
But as he walked, he felt a cold, heavy pulse in his mind.
The Egg.
It sat in his mental palace, dark and demanding. It didn't care about the Academy's ranks. It felt like an ancient black hole, waiting to be fed.
"If they only knew," Arthur muttered, his eyes narrowing. "The 'elite' wizards were the first to be eaten in the ending."
He made his way to the balcony overlooking the Rift. Below, in the Beast Tamer section, he could see a crowd gathering. There in that crowd somewhere must be a young man with messy black hair, and eyes that looked far too mature to be a seventeen-year-olds.
Ace Maximus.
In the original timeline of the book, Ace had been the greatest 9th Circle Wizard in history. He had reached the peak, but when the "Foreign Beast" descended from the stars, his magic was like throwing pebbles at a hurricane. Magic, it turned out, was just "refined energy"—the perfect snack for a World Beast.
Now, Ace had regressed. He had realized that the only way to fight a beast was with a beast. He had abandoned his slightly-above-average magic talent to become a Tamer, using his "cheats" and knowledge of the future to hunt for the most powerful legendary summons.
And standing beside the protagonist in the book, would be Jane, the blonde-haired beautiful heoine as always, who to be honest, reminded him of that witch, Liora (the woman from the island) who tried to kill him, both being blonde. She was a natural Tamer, her aura already attracting small spirit birds.
So, the Hero has begun his second life, Arthur thought, leaning against the railing. He thinks he knows the enemy. He thinks if he becomes a Beast Tamer, he can stop the 'Devourer'.
Arthur's hand flicked his nose playfully. He's wrong. He's training to fight a monster, but he has no idea that the monster's seed is currently resting in the brain of the wizards class failure, "I can't wait to meet him".