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The Transcenders.

That was the title given to regular people who, through sheer will, determination, and perseverance, had ascended to higher realms and become gods.

However, only a few could achieve such a feat, and all who tried faced many hardships on their journey to the summit.

This is the story of a few Transcenders who lost much along their climb... pursuing power, revenge, justice, or love.

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It was the year 2220. A long time ago. The Amon guild had flourished since its inception, and 20 years had flown by. The Amon guild's headquarters - a towering skyscraper - stood in Blue City, the heart of the guild. Many aristocrats, such as the Amon family, resided there.

January 20th was Rico Amon's birthday. The 11-year-old waited for breakfast, fidgeting with his utensils. Like his mother, he had pink skin and even pinker eyes. His head was almost as round as a coin.

"Rico, please stop playing with your utensils!" said his mother, Elis Leon.

"Leave him be honey. Today's his day," Daniel Amon, his father, reminded her.

While Rico was unquestionably his son, their appearances differed greatly. Daniel had triangle-shaped ears and bushy eyebrows, while Rico and Elis lacked eyebrows altogether. Daniel’s pale ivory skin contrasted with the pink tone of his wife and son. Moreover, Rico was much chubbier than his father.

As planned, the first meal of the day was a giant omelet.

"Thank you!" the family praised in unison as the old maid arrived with the food.

Her name was Rosette, and she had served the family since before Rico was born.

Daniel was the first to take a bite of the omelet. He laughed. "It sure is great to eat like this every day!"

Elis took a sip of her morning coffee. "Yes, 20 years ago, I could never have imagined any of this!"

"Being the Guild Leaders of this giant territory sure is…" Daniel couldn't finish his sentence. He felt as though something was stuck in his throat.

‘I can't breathe!’ he thought, panic rising. The sensation quickly spread throughout his body. It seemed like every vein in his body was about to burst!

Elis Leon couldn't help him at all. She too was overwhelmed by this strange sensation, which soon escalated into something far worse.

When Rico looked like he was about to take a bite of his omelet, he heard a faint cry for help and looked up from his plate.

"Huh? What- MOTHER! FATHER!" Rico screeched, falling out of his chair.

The Guild Leaders were covered in boiling blood. It was pouring endlessly from their blackened veins. Their skin had charred from the heat.

"ROSETTE! HELP!" Rico cried.

The maid arrived quickly after hearing her name, but it was too late.

…

At the same time, Rico’s older brother, Aaron Amon, was attending the prestigious "Amon Combat School."

While Rico may have mostly inherited his appearance from their mother, Aaron resembled their father far more. Though his blue eyes and dark hair colour differed, his nose, eyebrows, facial structure, skin tone, and ears were strikingly similar to Daniel’s. The only apparent trait Aaron inherited from his mother was his large frame, perfect for building hefty muscles.

In a small classroom, Aaron Amon watched the digital clock’s numbers out of boredom. The teacher was recapping what they had learned last semester, as winter break had just ended.

"There are two main categories of magic: Elemental magic and Dark magic. Everyone possesses and is limited to a single type of magic, which they must learn to harness from within their veins.

"The most common magic types in our West Continent are Fire and Wind, belonging to the Elemental magic category.

"Dark magic types vary greatly, but the most common are Transformation and Telekinesis.

"Remember, magic is a very mysterious power. Even in our day and age, we know next to nothing about it."

Of course, the students didn’t pay attention to her. ‘We aren't nobodies; you don't need to remind us about something so simple,’ one thought.

‘We are prodigies destined to become the best magicians of our generation,’ thought another.

Aaron was eager for the class to finish since classmates would get the chance to duel each other the next period.

"What?! Aaron, look! Quick!" muttered Aaron's best friend.

"Stop playing video games in class, Ricky." Aaron stared at his friend whose eyes were glued to his desk’s digital screen.

Ricky looked straight at him as if he’d seen a ghost. "This isn’t a game! It’s news! Important news!"

Worried, Aaron looked down at the screen integrated into Ricky's desk. There, he saw a body wrapped in blue cloth which had been put on hurriedly, as a pair of black, bloody feet stuck out.

Aaron read the title.

"DEATH OF AMON GUILD MASTERS."

All trace of his boredom had disappeared. His head snapped up to look at Ricky, but his eyes caught on something else entirely.

A box was attached to the window from outside, and a red light on it was blinking rapidly. It was a bomb!

"Oh, they’ve come for me."

*BANG!*

The windows exploded. Smoke and shattered glass filled the classroom.

"Shit!" Aaron quickly slid underneath his desk and pressed a red button. The desk’s four sides closed rapidly, forming a protective cage. Gunshots and screams echoed outside Aaron’s small shelter, yet the thought of saving others didn’t cross his mind once.

Aaron was frozen. He was scared, and he unconsciously burned this emotion into anger. "They are here to kill me, aren't they? These murderers assassinate my parents and then come for me too? If I survive this, I swear that I’ll have my vengeance."

He tried to retain his tears to no avail. Aaron crouched in his cage, listening to the suffocating voices of his dying friends. All of his classmates had been killed, including Ricky. His head had been cleanly sliced from his body by a sword.

Three adult murderers stood in the classroom.

One was dressed in a black suit, with a black cape, and a black bird mask. His nickname was Crow. He was about to sheathe his blade when one of his comrades spoke.

"We killed everyone here, but where’s the youngling?" It was a woman completely wrapped in a metallic pink armour.

Her face was hidden inside a helmet, and her strong arms carried three large bazooka-like weapons, each with sharp edges on one end and a big barrel on the other.

The third assassin knelt on the floor, inspecting the desks. "Oh! Don’t worry, Explo. I believe I’ve found his hiding spot. He must be inside of this desk."

"Good job, Zomb, let me blow it up," the woman said, dropping two of her weapons on the floor. She kept the other on her shoulder and held down a button.

*Bvvvvvvv* A red chunk of magic gradually grew inside the barrel.

Out of their peripheral vision, the classroom door silently opened. Ronald Amon, the school director and Aaron’s uncle, emerged from the hallway.

[Summoning: Spear] a robotic voice in Ronald’s head announced. With a single thought, a green, glowing spear made from his mana appeared in his right hand. The device that allowed him to do this was a magic all-purpose watch - a popular device among Western continent magicians. Magic science had made its creation possible.

Explo’s weapon had finished charging. "It's ready."

"Then kill him!" Zomb ordered impatiently.

‘I have to act now!’

Ronald dashed toward the armoured woman and knocked her back with his spear.

Zomb tried to stop him but only managed to injure his hand before getting knocked into the shattered window.

Two more people entered the room. One threw metallic spikes from a device, while the other charged them with electricity magic to make them even deadlier.

To evade this, Crow revealed his dark magic ability. He turned his limbs into air currents and flew toward the window.

"Retreat!"

The three jumped out of the window. Ronald rushed over and looked around but was shocked. "They’ve disappeared."

A few seconds later, Aaron emerged from beneath the desk. "Uncle Ron…"

Ronald extended a hand to help him up. "You and Rico will both be staying at my house for now because-"

Aaron looked down as he spoke, "I know. My parents were killed over at the HQ. I saw the news. Now they want to kill me too."

Ronald placed a hand on his nephew’s shoulder. "Don't worry. The guards and I will keep you safe."

Aaron’s eyes widened as accidentally stepped on Ricky’s head. He spun around dizzily. He smelt the blood, sweat, and other unpleasant odours coming from his classmates. The fire alarm rang in the back of his head. As the dust cleared up, he saw their mutilated bodies, and tears swelled up in his eyes.

"You should have also kept my teacher and classmates safe."

"I'm sorry, Aaron," Ronald sighed.

End of Chapter 1 - The Incident

Part 1: Cout d’État

Author’s note: Thanks for reading the first chapter of The Transcenders! This is an action-packed web novel with plenty of mystery, drama, and dynamic characters.

Part 1 - Coup d'État

It had been 19 hours since the "Incident". Morning light shone through the wide window in Rico and Aaron’s bedroom. They had slept over at Ronald's skyscraper. Well, they barely slept. Aaron had just woken up from his brief slumber and realized that Rico was no longer in his bed, an airconditioned cylinder with a soundproof window.

Ronald was their only relative left. Having a medium-sized beard and long ginger hair, Ronald Amon was two years younger than Daniel Amon. He also hadn’t slept, being extremely busy with the investigation.

He was patrolling the hallways when suddenly, his magic all-purpose watch unrolled from his wrist and covered half of his forearm. Along with the voice that appeared in his head, the screen indicated:

[Incoming call: Jacob R.]

"To call me at this hour, this must be important," Ronald answered the call and heard a man’s voice in his head. It was Jacob Raider, the vice-leader of the Amon guild.

"Hello, Ronald Amon. I am calling to update you on the investigation."

Ronald sighed. He wished things could go back to the way they were. "Hey, Jacob. I’m guessing this is about the maid. Did you confirm that she was the one who poisoned my brother and Miss Elis Leon?"

"Yes. This means that there are likely other traitors within the guild. And since this is the largest guild on the West Continent… Oh, right! I wanted to tell you that we have put a bounty on the three culprits from yesterday. The first one is 'Explo' which left behind two of her 'red magic cannons' that she possessed.

"Then, there is 'Crow.' He is a dark magician whose unique power allows him to turn his limbs into air currents. This makes him very fast and dangerous. Moreover, he seems to be a swordsman.

"Finally, the last one is 'Zomb'. We do not know anything about their powers, but they appear to be the weakest."

As Jacob finished his sentence, Ronald spotted a trail of blood on the hallway’s floor. "...Blood?! Jacob Raider! Send backup ASAP! I think someone’s infiltrated my home!"

“I will, trust me!” Jacob hung up.

Following the trail, Ronald found himself in front of a familiar room. "Wait, this is Rico and Aaron's room! Where are the guards?!" He quickly realized that the door was locked.

*Crackle\~ Crack\~ Bang!* Ronald's fist smashed the door open\, surrounded by a layer of solid mana that acted as a hard glove.

His all-purpose watch, while capable of conjuring a spear, could also create many other things. It functioned by transforming a human's mana into solid form. Since he was a wind elemental mage focusing on quick movement, Ronald Amon did not need too much mana to fight. As such, he relied on this when battling.

"Oh." Inside the room, Ronald found a figure wearing a half-green and half-brown mask pointing a pistol at Rico's head!

"So we meet again! You can call me Zomb, by the way." Zomb planned to threaten him by holding his nephew hostage.

"I can't hesitate," thought Ronald. He hid both of his hands behind his back.

"Huh? Why are you so silent? Mister Ronald, let me explain to you what is currently happening. You see, I’m holding Rico hosta-"

-SLASH!

In under a second, Zomb's head was completely pierced by Ronald's secretly conjured spear. Because of Ronald's quick dash, Zomb didn’t have time to react. This was the power of wind magic.

His blood splattered all over Rico and stained Ronald’s sleeve.

"Rico, go wake your brother up and hide! There may be more of them."

"Okay!" Rico hid in the corner of the room, beside Aaron’s bed as the older brother was too scared to get up.

Ronald called Jacob Raider, pacing impatiently around the dead body.

"Hello. This is Jacob Raider, vice-master of the Amon guild. Oh? It's you!" Jacob finally answered the call.

"Yeah, it's me. I just killed that 'Zomb' guy. I'm in Aaron and Rico's room - number 1705. The guards are missing, so I might need some help over here!"

"I told you that the Amon HQ was safer, yet you still decided to bring them there. Hmmm… Wait! Mister Ronald, did you get some of his blood on yourself?"

Ronald looked at his arm. The stain had disappeared. "I thought so, but I guess I didn't. Why does it matter?"

Jacob felt relieved. "Oh! Never mind then. I was just worried about your clothes getting dirty, that's all."

"Huh? You aren't making any sense right now… Forget it! Is the help coming or not?!"

"Yes, it is on its way, but I am afraid that the help is not coming to help you. In fact, it is quite the opposite." He laughed arrogantly. "By the way, are you sure that Zomb is really dead?"

Knowing Zomb's power, and realizing that the blood on Ronald had disappeared, Jacob knew that his trusted agent was still alive.

Zomb's body, which had been lying on the floor, was an illusion!

Ronald looked at his feet, and to his surprise, the dead body had disappeared.

"By the way, are you sure that Zomb is really dead?" Jacob asked, smirking.

"Huh?" Ronald froze in place. Was Zomb still alive? Was Jacob a traitor?

Suddenly, he felt a hard object press against his abdomen. He looked down. It was a gun barrel. More precisely, it was Zomb's pistol!

*BANG!* The first bullet was fired.

Ronald clutched his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "How… how are you-"

"Hahaha! Did you ACTUALLY think I would let myself be taken by surprise again? This time, you’re the one on the receiving end! I’ll make sure to take my time killing you." A mischievous grin appeared on Zomb's magical mask, an illusion he made to cover his face.

Shot after shot, Zomb made Ronald bleed as much as possible. But in his eagerness to inflict pain, Zomb made a rash decision. He was enjoying torturing Ronald so much that he revealed his illusion powers.

"Earlier, I set up many illusions! The blood trail, the other me… They were all my CREATIONS to you here!"

In the dark corner of the room, Rico bit his nails, while Aaron had been as still as a toppled statue, pretending to sleep in his sleeping capsule.

Although cowardly, this gave him an advantage. Zomb had completely forgotten about him! Gathering his courage, Aaron picked up the knife he kept in his left pocket that night as a defence mechanism, got out of his bed, and slowly moved towards his prey.

‘If this is really my uncle, then this guy must not be an illusion since he can hurt him,’ Aaron guessed. ‘If I sneak up on him, I might be able to do something!’

Aaron crept behind Zomb. Scared and with horrifying timing, Rico shouted, "Aaron!"

Zomb was now aware of Aaron, but the kid acted quickly. His eyes glowed green as he used wind magic to remove the distance between them.

Zomb was now aware of the situation, but Aaron acted quickly. Before the man with the mask could turn around, Aaron stabbed him, not once, but four times.

Zomb jumped away, quivering, without realizing he had left his gun on the ground. "Argh! Fuck… this! Where did he… come from?!" he cried as he flew through the broken door.

Aaron knelt before his uncle, grasping his shoulders. "Ronald, uncle, you'll be fine… Right?!" he questioned, grasping his uncle's two shoulders and kneeling in front of him.

Of course, Ronald stated the obvious. "Ha… I don't think so! More are coming, and they will make sure to finish me!"

He paused as Rico approached them and then said firmly, "You both need to run. The one behind all of this is our very own vice master, Jacob Raider."

Seeing that his big brother was at a loss for words, Rico arrived at the scene. "Where should we go then?"

Ronald was shivering. His breath was unsteady, and his voice a whisper. "If you manage to get out of this building, take the High Road to the north all the way to the Tremblay Guild."

The High Road was a very long road that ran across the entire Amon Guild from north to south. It was elevated higher than any skyscraper and offered magnificent views of the territory from the sky, hence its name.

While the Amon Guild was the most prosperous guild on the Western Continent, the Tremblay Guild was safer and more stable. It was a democracy, covering the entire northern section of the continent, and was always regarded as the most promising place to reside.

Seeing that the two brothers had remorsefully accepted that they would have to leave their home, Ronald continued, "Once you get there, find 'Henri Tremblay.' He isn't exactly of high status in the Tremblay Guild, but he has some authority and was a close friend of your father.

“Also, Aaron, take this… Zomb dropped it." Ronald was starting to feel it. His blood was running out. "It is one of those multi-use intelligent guns that take... mana to operate… I am sure Zomb had... installed a few special things in it."

Aaron grabbed the pistol and cycled through the different modes on its digital screen. There were dozens of options such as firing an explosive bullet, a light bullet, and a heavy bullet. Each bullet type consumed a different amount of mana. He knew that running away by the hallways would be nearly impossible as their room was on one of the highest floors.

Aaron opened the window. Although he was a wind mage, he knew that even Ronald couldn’t jump from such a height with his magic. However, he could see the High Road which was about 500 metres away.

The young mage cycled through the different modes of the magic pistol and found a solution.

"Thank you, uncle. This pistol is indeed useful. Now, I might have a way to get to the High Road undetected."

Ronald coughed blood. "Oh? How?"

"With this!" Aaron aimed the multi-use pistol and fired a shot. The mode he found was "Sticky Grappling" and consumed 0.15 mana per meter. It was a grappling hook made of solid mana. After a while, the hook anchored onto the road in the clouds - the High Road.

The screen integrated into the side of the pistol specified that the action consumed 92.03 mana points, leaving Aaron with only 4.33 mana points left. He wouldn't be able to use magic for a while.

"It worked! Rico, hold on to me, this will be dangerous!" He paused and looked at his dying uncle.

"Farewell, Uncle Ron." As soon as Rico did as told, he pressed the [Go to the hook] option.

Ronald nodded, absent-mindedly. “Good luck.”

*FWOOOOOOSH!*

And so, the two brothers escaped, soaring through the sky. Rico had his eyes open at first, but after taking a glimpse beneath his feet, he quickly shut them and muttered to himself, "Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down!"

Meanwhile, Aaron looked back and took a final glance at the beautiful city he'd be leaving behind - Blue City, his hometown.