"Ugh," Logan groaned, turning his alarm clock off.
Tossing himself out of bed, still exhausted from the day before, he prepared himself to go to school and work right after.
Half an hour later, Logan walked down the road to school.
'First class is literature, then Calculus, then 2 hours of Mana Theory, Monster Classification, and finally an hour of Combat Practice,' he thought, looking at his paper schedule.
'After that, I'll have around 30 minutes to sell the raw mana core before my shift starts.'
Walking through the streets, he passed countless people in the busy morning hour. Most minded their own business. Only some put on a show, making sure he knew he wasn't liked—for example, the couple that was coming towards him.
Paying close attention to both of them, he noticed the quick glance of disgust from the woman before she quickly moved her purse to the opposite side of him.
'Tsk,' Logan thought, despite being used to this kind of behaviour. 'I don't get it though. I don't even look like some criminal or anything.'
Sure, his clothes didn't fit well anymore, but he made a point to wash his hair and face daily to stay clean
"It's not like my affinity is some kind of public knowledge like it is at school either," he said.
Taking his mind off the subject, Logan continued on as usual until he finally arrived at his high school, Ridgeway High.
'The good part of the city,' Logan thought, glancing at the working traffic lights and the skyscrapers in the distance.
Passing through an open metal gate, Logan looked at the lively school building and maintained a neutral expression. He'd been at the school for several years now, being in his senior year now, and he knew the school was far from a happy place for everyone.
Walking through the busy hallways, he kept his head down slightly, wanting to avoid any unneeded attention. Reaching his classroom, he mentally prepared himself before walking through the doorway.
'Looks like David's group isn't here again,' Logan thought, slightly relieved.
Looking around the classroom, a few small groups of students stood around and talked to each other like any other day. Outside of the occasional weird look, none of the them made any effort to bother him.
Logan walked towards his seat in the middle of the back row. Sitting down on the plastic chair, he put the unfinished Calculus homework on his small wooden desk and started working on it.
Logan was still working on his homework when his literature teacher walked in.
"Good morning, everyone," the teacher started, still walking to his desk. "Take your seats and turn to page 48 of your textbook."
With that, his first period started.
None of the students nor the teacher were surprised by the few empty chairs from David and his friends.
'Gifted students are only required to show up for the bare minimum of these common classes,' Logan thought, while still paying attention to the teacher.
'David's B-grade Earth affinity was more than good enough to join the Gifted Students Program, which focuses a lot more on combat skills and so on.'
As time passed, nothing unusual happened as he went from class to class one by one. That was, until the final class—Combat Practice.
As he entered the specially modified gym for combat practice, Logan saw something unusual happen. His stomach twisted as he watched a teacher hand out protective gear to each and every student there.
'What's going on? Usually, they never hand out protective gear to F-rank affinity students since we can't really become hunters,' Logan thought, having a feeling about what was going to happen next.
He wasn't the only F-rank affinity in his class. Out of 40 total people, around 14 were F-ranks, while 10 were E-ranks, 9 D-ranks, 5 C-ranks, and 2 B-ranks.
"Hello Logan, my friend!" he heard above him while the teacher handed him his protective gear.
Looking up, Logan saw David and his three C-rank friends hanging out on the stands.
'Just great,' Logan thought, remaining expressionless.
"We'll be helping you all with some great self-defense techniques today!" David continued with a broad smile while gesturing to his friends beside him.
Looking back at the protective gear, which were just some thin pieces of armor that covered the upper body and a thin helmet, he sighed.
'It was bound to happen someday,' Logan thought, remembering why David bullied him.
In this world, everyone awakens their affinity at 16 years old. Before they both awakened their affinities, Logan had been getting far better grades than David in the majority of classes.
According to what Logan had heard from his classmates, David was scolded quite often by his mother for letting an orphan surpass him.
'Turns out, that isn't exactly great for young kids from rich families,' Logan thought, shaking his head. 'I was too naive back then. I should've never shown what I'm capable of, even when the school protected me for my potential.'
David hadn't let any of it go. And when both of their affinities were revealed, David got even more privileges while Logan was left with none.
'What followed were two years of bullying—not by David himself though, at least most of the time,' Logan thought, sitting down on the stands beside his fellow students. 'No, he's too 'good' for that. That's why he always sends his friends over to do the bullying for him.'
"Alright, students. Listen up," James, the Combat Practice instructor, started. "It's going to be a little different from usual today, but I'm sure most of you already noticed that."
Meanwhile, outside Logan's apartment.
A black SUV with tinted windows and strange engravings came to a stop. And it wasn't alone, dozens more poured in from all directions.
"I'm at the young master's apartment," said a man with a large scar across his forehead, holding a phone to his ear.
"Copy. Secure the area," the voice on the other end of the phone answered.
"..."
Putting the phone down, the man looked at the apartment before silently stepping out of the car.