A thousand years ago, Earth was at peace. People lived happily, unaware that a catastrophic disaster was looming. Without warning, a massive wave of monsters surged up from the depths of hell and began destroying everything in their path. Chaos reigned as the human race neared extinction. Death and destruction spread across the world like wildfire.
But just when humanity reached the brink of collapse, something miraculous happened. A new era was born. Humans began awakening their hidden powers—magic, martial arts, elemental forces, and more. One by one, they fought back against the monsters, gradually pushing them back. Among these brave warriors, five stood above all. The Five Strongest Humans. These legendary heroes played the biggest role in defeating the monsters and saving humanity.
When the war finally ended, peace was restored. But along with it came a prophecy left by the five ancient legends: A far greater wave of destruction will come in the future. To prepare for this unseen calamity, a grand tradition was born—a global event known as the Tournament of the Strongest, held to strengthen humanity and inspire the next generation of heroes.
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Now, the Story Begins...
My name is Gourav Dutta, but no one really calls me that. Everyone just calls me Bright. I'm 18 years old, a student of Class 12 at the Academy of Glory.
I come from a middle-class family of five. I have two mothers—my big mom and little mom—my dad, and my big sister. My dad married my little mom because my big mom couldn't have children. So, I and my big sis are the children of my little mom.
My dream? I want to become the strongest human in the world. Not just stronger than the heroes of the past, but stronger than anyone in the future too. I know I'm not that powerful yet... but I'm working hard, day by day, to reach the top.
I don't have many friends. But the ones I do have? They're precious to me. I guess I'm a little introverted, haha...
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The Academy Life Begins
One day at the Academy, I was walking through the corridor, heading to class. That's when I heard that a few of my friends were having a sparring match. Curiosity took over and I ran to watch.
In the ring stood a fat guy from Section C, with a fire ability, ranked 102 in the academy, and a muscular guy from Section D with earth element powers, ranked 110. (At the Academy, students earn ranks through tournaments held throughout the year.)
The match began. The fire guy made the first move, launching a fire blast. The bodybuilder quickly armored himself with rock, but the fire attack still caused significant damage. The fire user rushed forward with a flaming punch, but the earth guy blocked it and countered with a powerful slam attack.
The fat guy was injured and got angry. He activated his ultimate skill: Fire Dragon Claw, transforming his arm into a dragon's claw. But he lost control—his eyes turned red and he went berserk. With a terrifying roar, he slashed the bodybuilder with the claw.
Badly injured, the earth user summoned all his strength to unleash Earth Prison, trapping the fire guy within a rock cage. Finally, the fire user regained his senses, and the bodybuilder won.
I, standing among the crowd, thought to myself, If the fire guy hadn't lost control, he might have won.
As I was leaving to do my homework, my class teacher appeared and scolded me for skipping class. He dragged me straight back into the classroom.
Later, I told my friends about the match, and we all laughed. But then the teacher entered and announced something huge.
"In four months, the Academic War Tournament will begin. Only two students from this class will be selected to participate. So give it your all."
Those words hit me hard.
This was my chance.
I clenched my fists and told my friends, "I will win this tournament. No matter what."
One of them scoffed. "Stop daydreaming. I'll be the one to win. I'm ranked higher than you."
That stung a little, but I smiled and replied,
"My rank is 199… I know it's low. But that's only because I haven't fought many matches yet."
In truth, most of my time was spent watching someone special… my crush. For me, my family and she were the most precious things in the world.
I started thinking about her again and blushed. But then, I snapped out of it and said to myself, From today, my real training begins.
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That evening, I returned home.
I gathered my family and told them about my dream—to become the strongest human alive.
My dad looked at me, serious.
"No," he said. "You won't pursue this path."
To be continued...
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