Pedro Picard is a fighter. Has been, always been and he's proud of it. At the tender age of four, he's already fighting. He looked like a baby in the ring, but the ring is never something he feared.

It's his crib. There, he was nurtured and protected from the real battles. But he doesn't like it, he might be a child but getting stronger is his life goal. Fighting stronger enemies in the name of growth and progress.

The Picard name has some repute traced to the ancient times when the Hero King doesn't yet exist. They were feared warriors in skill and talent, but that later stopped as the monsters called sorcerers and mages appeared one by one. Some are called the blessed warriors of god, while some aristocrats claim it's an ancient power awakened from their bloodline.

Pedro can still remember that day. He was 8 years old when he confronted that arrogant prick in a duel. The prick made a toy out of him.

The memory still haunts Pedro to this day even though he now also possesses such miraculous power. Bloodline? Blessing? Special Ability? He doesn't care, it all translates to power in the end, but no effort is helping him to have the confidence of beating that bastard in a rematch. Still, he trained in blind enthusiasm.

It's not the trauma but his objective assumption as he watches that monster soar without limits.

Pedro's Special Ability is a joke.

His fellow students possess power that surpasses his own by margins. Even those with lower potential grades than him. It doesn't matter that his potential grade is at 42%. A joke is a joke.

After training his body and exploring his powers, he found himself once again stuck. Looks like his only path to getting stronger is through pushing his potential grade, and rediscovering his Special Ability.

The training facility is wide, it's the same arena grounds where the combat assessment took place. There were plenty of stadiums to accommodate the students, divided into spatial folds created from their most advanced technology.

Pedro watched in envy towards the sparring Deron and Pierre. They have techniques, applications, and a sense of their power.

"I don't even know what is mine's nature."

His fist glowed with an almost indiscernible yellow. It's subtle but flashy. It possesses a mysterious feel to it, but this flashiness is without any substance at all. His strength or any of his attributes were not amplified. He doesn't also feel any changes. In the end, it's just a joke.

He punched hard towards the mobile dummies swinging their wooden swords with finesse. He dodged all of them, and with every single strike, a dummy was incapacitated, either its head or chest crushed by the heavy blows.

This skill is what allowed Pedro to showcase some combat abilities worthy of a hero in the assessment. He fought with his basic mutant physique and skills. His potential grade is high, at Ability-grade like his classmates from Class A, but the utility of his Special Ability is nill. Zero. Useless. Null. Void.

Aside from glowing, it does nothing. He awakened this ability at the age of 11. Since then, he experimented with and consulted experts.

5 years passed and he still got nothing. Tomorrow is Sunday, it would be another day to train for Pedro. Sunday is his favorite day because there would be lesser people in the training facilities on Sundays.

When he was about to return to his dorm, he chanced upon Cain. This Cain is a genius with a seemingly useless ability, but he didn't stop just at that. With his genius, he broke common sense. This Cain also shared Pedro's predicament. That was before though. Now, Cain is a powerful monster in his own right.

Pedro mustered his courage to ask for a bit of advice.

"U— Ummm... M-mr. Cain!" That came louder than Pedro expected, like the quack of the duck. Cain frowned at the sight of a panicking Pedro.

"Cain is just fine. We are classmates after all."

Huh? He is surprisingly friendly.

"I want advice. My ability is useless, I want to make it usef—"

"There is no useless ability."

Cain cuts Pedro's words then continued "Neither useless people nor useless purpose. They don't exist. Everything has value, and it is never zero."

"Purpose?"

"Yes, purpose. Everything has a purpose, even the virtually useless stuff. Like what I said, everything in this world has a value."

"So, I have to find my value..."

"Not like that, it is purpose. Find your purpose, and eventually, you will find your answers. Special Ability or not, you'll find your place in this world."

With these parting words, he left. Pedro doesn't give a damn about the philosophical meanings of Cain's words. Pedro believes in practical results, the same as practical solutions.

When Pedro found himself in his dorm, he can't help but lambast Cain.

"If you don't want to answer then don't."

He gritted his teeth hard, grinding them as if to express his dejection.

He can't find anything useful from Cain's words. He opened his door exhausted from the extensive training, only to be greeted by a pink envelope.

That suddenly changed his mood.

Wha—aaat? Is this a love letter?

***

[Pedro's POV]

I never knew someone would send me something this fancy. It's either a prank or the real thing. I took the envelope with nonchalance, opened it then read the damn thing.

'Meet tomorrow, 8:00 pm. Downtown ridge at the flat hill. Let's have a duel. I want to show you something —Alfir.'

"Fuck. It is not a love letter."

It's something better.

It's a letter of challenge.

Hahahaha... This guy is nuts!

I slept, eager to end the night.

***

When I woke up, I started reconditioning my body with the smallest warm-ups. I made sure not to overexert myself. I only ate a light breakfast.

When the time is right, I made my way downtown. I didn't bother to search for Alfir since there is an agreed time and place for us to meet. The flat hill looks like a perfect stage for battles. I can even trace some battles that happened here before. The flat hill as its name suggests is a flat hill, it's like a mound severed horizontally removing its peak in place of a wide stage.

I took off my top revealing my scarred exterior. The wounds came from various types of weapons that grew with me since I was a child. My muscles bulge in power. I feel excited. I left my training pants and shoes as it is. I did some stretches to prep myself.

Finally, Alfir arrived. It's already night, but the full moon is giving us all the illumination we need.

"I am sorry I made you wait, Pedro."

"You are wearing something fancy tonight. Perhaps, you are not taking this seriously."

A different kind of aura enshrouded me, far from the timid version that usually interacts with my classmates.

The Picards answer to challenges ceremoniously, and seeing Alfir like this is very insulting to my pride, very insulting indeed. I came here with a resolve to battle, but the challenger seems to be not taking this seriously.

"How about the curfew, why this time of the night?"

"I had a date... Though that wasn't really it. Curfews don't reach places like this, do you know that? I don't want any prying eyes to this duel of ours. The flat hill is a sacred ground of battle, possessing mystical attributes. Even the principal won't see us here. Spots like this in the academy is quite rare." Alfir answered smoothly.

So he wanted our duel to be off books? I am starting to look down on this person.

Alfir removed his clothes from top to toe leaving his shorts as his only garment, it was his inner garment, a black boxer. He also did some stretches.

I am surprised by the wounds on his body. It doesn't pale in comparison to mine. There were cuts and mostly burns but I can imagine the pain he endured to get through it.

"Where is your sword?"

"I don't need it."

I watched him stretch as my anger starts to grow. I am aware that Alfir is a swordsman, though I don't know to what extent is his skills. It's either he is looking down on me or he is crazy.

"I will make you regret not bringing your sword. I heard you're a somatic type that boosts your physique. It's very fitting for warriors. But don't be mistaken, my skill will surpass your power."

"Big talk from a guy that doesn't even know the nature of his Special Ability."

I calmed myself. He wants me to attack. This is why he is provoking me. In terms of specs, he is above me given his advantage in Special Ability. My way to victory will be a successful counter.

He nonchalantly walked forward. This guy is looking down on me! Come closer! I will beat you into a pulp!

Then he stopped.

"One more step and I am in your range. I've made my move. What is yours?"

Does he already know my range? This is dangerous. I don't even know his range. He stood straight, his hands behind his back.

I raised my fist in the basic boxing stance. He does know my range. I can't see myself hitting him from this distance. The Picards' martial arts are the maximization of human output. Its special characteristic is that it can learn by itself as its practitioners continue to advance in terms of technique. This also works the same when observing the others' martial arts.

Techniques are all I need. If I become better at it more than everyone else, then I have hopes of rising against all odds— this is what I believed.

But I cannot say the same anymore. My enemy felt relaxed, but I can feel his tensed lower body and the perfection of his center of gravity. I am seeing a technique beyond my understanding right at this moment.

If I move first, I am certain that I will lose.

"Good move." He complimented, then stepped one foot into my range, then slapped. It was fast but I can perceive it. It's coming from my right. I ducked then punched hard.

My right fist met his knee. It was a good block, I must admit. I plan to follow up with a left jab, but I can feel the air swooshing behind me. I dashed backward seeing a blur of an elbow almost hitting my spine. If I advanced or stayed, I would have been a goner because of that elbow strike.

"You're not half bad." I complimented him. I felt his center of gravity shift. Then BAM!

It was a body blow. I was able to cross my arms just right on time before impact. My bones are fractured, and my muscles are torn. He was aiming for my chest!

I was flung like a kite against the wind. Was that his Special Ability?

"This is called a mutation. Yeah, that's what I call it. We know it as Special Abilities, Blessings, etcetera, but I prefer the word mutation. It sounds better and more accurate."

What is he going at? Mutation?

"Do you know what mutation means?"

"Stop being cryptic. We are here for a fight and not a lecture, aren't we?"

"Yes, we sure do."

CRUNCH! CRACK! GRACK!

A painful squelching sound echoes in the night as the moonlight shines above him.

Wings grew from his back, feathers of black, his life intact of a man that doesn't lack— power, pain, and everyone that should pay.

He who possesses the ledger of who he shall slay. This world is not his, but he desires it nonetheless, and even in the form of the devil, he will gladly accept it and never rest.

Until then, for the fated time, when this world ultimately becomes his— he will return it to its rightful place, to where it should have been.

I saw glory and majesty I can't describe with words. A pressure of a higher life form started to overwhelm my existence. I felt something like this before, the pressure of a higher existence— it was my first ever encounter with a true legend.

***

The aesthetic and the power aren't a lie. I am certain. This power resembles the Hero King's, albeit lesser.

"My mutation isn't complete yet, so are yours. All of us do. We haven't realized it yet, because we are being obstructed by the norm of what is our mutation's limitation."

I remember. His words flowed from my ear to another, but this form, Alfir's current form is reminiscent of the ancient monsters spoken in the legends. Nay, there's more, a mirage of the ancient gods. A reflection of the Hero King.

"Mutation is the significant and basic alteration in the human body. We remained on the basic alteration for so long. We never dared to cross the path of evolution..."

Somehow, I can understand what he means. The current system relies too much on the potential grades when these grades aren't saying much about an individual's combat abilities. For example, me. I have a strong potential grade but I barely compare with my compatriots.

"The Hero Kings succeeded with their perfect mutations at the cost of another, but his method isn't really helpful to the majority."

He, Alfir, stared at me. He slowly descended as his wings softly and silently flap in the air.

"This is what I am offering to you— a new path to strength."

"The human perception is hindering you, stopping you from advancing. This form I am showing to you is only a phony replication of what we could have been. Join me, and together, we shall find strength."

"Become the prologue, my Prologue. The start of everything, of the story of strengths and the preaching of the strong. Join me. Together, let's get stronger. We will fight the world with you as my vanguard!"

He spoke in fervent enthusiasm full of hope and yearning. He placed his palm on my temple, and with a jolt, I felt a surge of information. It was brief, but I was shown ambition, his ambition— Alfir's ingratiating desire for world domination.

Is this it? Is this what Cain meant by a purpose? I can feel it... A new path of strength. I won't remain as the obscure character in the background anymore. I can become something more.

The Picards have always craved Special Abilities but again and again, their bloodline failed to produce an heir with significant powers. This caused their decline.

What the Picards don't know is that they can't awaken a satisfactory Special Ability is because they are doing it wrong. The blood that flows in them is already mutant, to begin with. The Picards are a rare case of diluted mutation.

Alfir knows much of them because of his knowledge as the author. The Picards' ancestors after all will become a big bad boss in the future. It came quite a surprise to Alfir when he learned that Pedro is a Picard. After learning so, he decided that Pedro will be an important piece to his quest for world domination.

"So, what says you?"

***

TRIVIA! (This is the closest visualization I can get from waifu labs...)

Pedro Picard— He was an extra, a part of the mob. But suddenly, he now gets a complicated backstory because of Alfir's interference. He is one of the initial members of Alfir's organization representing the name 'Prolouge'.

"I want to get stronger."

He has comprehensive human skills. He is still researching his Special Ability.