In this world, the iron fist of power is determined by the elemental strength each person can wield and their mastery of it. Although science and technology have advanced greatly, the overwhelming and intense elemental power has become the unwritten law that divides social classes. And so...
Wang Meng. I am a powerless child. Born without a single trace of element flowing through my veins, possessing only a mind slightly sharper than ordinary people and physical strength slightly superior to others. But in this world, where a five-year-old child can shoot fireballs or create whirlwinds, what I own are merely worthless fragments. They are like precious gems buried under the mud of contempt, like a flickering light in a vast universe that will never be acknowledged. Every day I wake up, I swallow the pain of being different, biting my lips to endure the pitying or contemptuous gazes of those with "dignity." I am a shadow in the brilliant world of the powerful, an existence that creation seems to have forgotten to grant the most basic gift. And this powerlessness is not merely a deficiency—it is an open wound, a cold emptiness in my heart, reminding me that here, you are nothing but pitiful if you cannot wield magic.
The summer I turned 11. My father—Wang Mo—was a thin man, 1m70 tall, with a gaunt face from heavy labor. His hands were calloused, his hair already quite silvered though he was only 37 years old. His job was merely working as a construction worker. He possessed the Wind element—the weakest element—and only at the elementary level, so he was looked down upon by others, only able to do heavy work to earn meager coins.
My mother—Ha Vu Nuong—was also as thin as my father, only 1m57 tall, her hair already streaked with a few white strands. She was 35 years old, working as a street vendor selling food to students.
I, Wang Meng, was a powerless child. Because at that age, other children could already manifest some abilities. Despite this, my parents always cared for and loved me. Although I often asked my parents to buy technological devices from the mad scientist Van Phong to use and tinker with: smoke bombs, stun grenades, armor... those things were very interesting to me. And my parents always saved money, giving me funds to buy them.
I once thought I was the happiest person in this world. But no, that was just an illusion. On the autumn day I turned 11—also when I entered the elementary level (from 11 to 14 years old)—everything began to collapse.
The first morning of school. My mother woke me up. Her gentle voice rang out:
Meng, wake up, it's time to get ready for school.
My mother entered, carrying a tray of breakfast. I opened my eyes and saw her smiling. She helped me adjust my uniform, every button, every fold of fabric. For breakfast, mother still made my favorite dish: roasted chicken with honey sauce. I wished my parents a good meal, then ate together with plenty of rice until I was full.
Eat slowly, son. – My mother reminded, her eyes looking at me with concern.
My father—Wang Mo—sat silently beside me, his face thin but his eyes full of love. After breakfast, my father took me to the school named Eternal Magic.
Remember to try your best, son. – My father said, his voice warm and deep.
The entrance examination had two parts: theory and practical. Theory was quite simple for me because I remembered things quickly. I was given a pair of glasses by the mad doctor Van Phong that could record documents. But in essence, theory was still very easy even without it—I would still score high. It was just math, physics, chemistry, and the diversity of elements: Wind, Rock, Lightning, Plant (the power to control plants), Water, Fire, Ice. And there were two special elements: the Darkness element with the power to absorb and become stronger, and the Light element—the synthesis of the seven basic elemental powers.
The order of strength was from Wind to Light. For each element, people could train through levels: elementary, intermediate, advanced, and peak.
Basically, the theory test was very simple, so I scored 5 points. For the remaining 5 points, I don't understand why, when I took the practical exam... When I demonstrated my abilities, it suddenly rained very heavily, causing me to be mistakenly identified as having the water element, earning me 2 practical points. This gave me 7 points total, enough to pass into Eternal Magic School.
At the opening ceremony, I learned about the school's evaluation system. It still maintained 5 points for theory and 5 for practical, so I thought I could get through and then get an office job to avoid exposing my true nature.
After that was class assignment time. I was placed in a class with those at the elementary level. My class had many people with abilities ranging from low to high, and with all the basic elements. Especially, there was one person who possessed a very powerful element combined from the seven basic elements—that was the Light element, considered the strongest. People said that once one reaches the peak of Light, they could become the ruler of the world. That guy's name was Sheng Guang Yi, currently at a level not yet elementary.
After that, everyone in the class began testing. Some had Wind element, some had Rock. Most were Wind and Water users.
I knew I was powerless, but it was still my turn. I slowly stepped onto the Testing Stone to be examined. Anyway, I knew I couldn't avoid it, but the truth remains the truth. I placed my hand on the Testing Stone. It showed no elemental reaction whatsoever. A world apart from the person before me—Sheng Guang Yi—who made the stone shine across a whole section of sky, proof of the one who would become king of this world.
And of course, after I finished the test, everyone looked at me with judgmental and contemptuous eyes, full of malice, as if looking at a useless, weak, and incompetent person before them.
I understood that I had no talent in this world, so I remained indifferent, my expression unchanged as I returned to my seat. And of course, being a powerless person like me, I would sit alone and be isolated in these classes full of powerful people.
Everything continued meaninglessly until school ended. I was overhearing some people gossiping:
How could this powerless bastard get into this school?
The guy named Minh Khai, who had Fire attributes, even said to my face:
You damn coward, are you the useless one from the test? If I remember correctly, your name is Wang Meng. The name is quite nice, but its meaning is "the king of nightmares" is fitting... then he cursed: weaklings should just die!
Because I had mentally prepared myself, my face remained expressionless, not caring about him. I walked past him. Suddenly, he used a small fire spell and shot it at my left thigh. The burning pain caused me to lose my balance and fall to the ground, my face hitting the pavement and breaking a tooth.
But because I wanted to be able to get an office job and needed to study, I tried to swallow the anger that made me want to fight back and stood up to leave.
Returning home after a day at school that felt like torture. When I got home, my parents saw my forehead red and swollen and the scratches on my face. I still said nothing, only briefly:
I wasn't careful walking and tripped on a stone by the roadside and fell.
My parents temporarily believed what I said and told me to come in and eat. I ate with a gentle expression. This was perhaps the moment I felt most happy during the day, after being considered useless, trash, garbage at school. I also told myself I would get through this time to strive for an office job to help my parents in some way.
And while eating, my parents asked about my studies at school. Although they knew their son was powerless, they still asked to be able to help him in some way.
But I froze, my eyes becoming expressionless as I said:
Fine. Today I made many new friends.
After a short moment, I then said:
I'm going to Scientist Van Phong's house to work on some things.
And so I went outside and ran to Mr. Van Phong's house. He was a guy with Rock element abilities but would never reach the Elementary level. He was spared from being looked down upon, but in reality, he couldn't make a living either. But he enjoyed a huge fortune, had a wife, and a 6-month-old daughter. He saw my passion for science, also paid me a small amount of money, and treated me like a colleague.
I didn't tell him anything either, immediately went into the laboratory with him to continue designing and completing the jet-powered shoes. They had the function of boosting the wearer's speed to an astonishing degree, and even over a short distance of 6-7 meters, could surpass someone with the Lightning element. But they needed about a second of rest time and were very difficult to master.
I practiced all night and discovered a flaw, fixed it, and they became usable. But because I hadn't mastered them yet, they only had what I called a "dash" function—boosting speed quickly over a short distance. For longer distances, I would run combined with the assistance to run faster.
Early in the morning, Van Phong had just woken up and saw that the shoes were working stably and could be brought into practical use. He jumped up happily looking at me, but then he saw the dark circles under my eyes and the many injuries on my body, so he held back his voice to ask about my condition and invited me to breakfast. Then he refilled the nitro fuel in the shoes and handed them to me, telling me to go to school.
I held the shoes, feeling their weight in my hands. This was perhaps the only thing I could be proud of. But in my heart, there was only a vast, cold emptiness. The ideal of a normal life, of being recognized, of making my parents proud had shattered. I was a powerless person in a world of the powerful, and my tragedy had only just begun.