"Scoundrel!" "Disgrace!" "Worthless child!" "Parentless scum!" People often shouted these words at me in disgust.

They hated my very existence and subjected me to their will. It was my fault. I'm sorry...

Ming Su was an abandoned child, his parents died when the bandits took over the Xiefu Village and killed everyone.

Fortunately, he was able escape. Now, all alone, he stole from other people in order to survive.

One day: "You rotten child! It's you again?!" The butcher yelled in anger and threw a hard stone at Ming Su as he fled the market with the fresh meat.

"I'm sorry, sir... I have to do this to live," he thought as he ran.

The angry man went after Ming Su to get the meat, and when he reached him, he aggresively grabbed him by the neck.

"Ugh...!" Ming Su growled.

"Pay or else..." Before the mad butcher could finish his sentence, a woman in a dark cloak threw two golden coins on the ground.

"I will pay for it. Now leave the child alone," the woman said.

The man's expression quickly changed when he saw the gold coins.

He quickly let go of Ming Su's neck and picked up the coins from the ground like a beggar.

Ming Su glanced at the lady in the dark cloak and caught a glimpse of her beautiful blonde hair underneath.

"Waah!..she seems like a nice lady...I just wasted her money, so I should atleast give her an apple right?" Ming Su wanted to express his gratitude, but couldn't speak properly.

The mysterious woman wiped off the dust pigments on the apple, then held it infront of Ming Su.

Ming Su stood there for a moment and took the apple. She also told the boy not to steal from others.

He nodded in response, "T-Thank..." he tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth.

Suddenly the lady just turned around and walked away.

Curious, Ming Su followed the mysterious lady into the forest, but lost sight of her as it was already dark.

He heard running water and went looking. It turns out that it was a river!

He walked along the direction of the river and he came across an abandoned cabin.

It was full of remnants of worthless scraps. The cabin appears to be weak and needs urgent cleaning but still, he had no choice but to take shelter there.

A sharp glass knife caught the attention of the Ming Su, who was surprised to find it.

"It's my first time to see a knife made out of clear glass!" he said in awe.

Ming Su used the same knife to cut down trees and hunt animals to survive.

Soon the cold and sleepless nights passed; for several years not a single person came across the cabin in which he was staying.

Until one night when Ming Su was sharpening his knife; He heard a knock on the door.

He Immediately became cautious and looked through the small door frame. They barged in and tried to attack Ming su.

Ming Su, who was in panic, accidentally stabbed the intruder out of fear.

"W-what have I done?! I-I killed him!"

He backed away and covered his mouth in horror.

Now as blood flowed across the ground, he dropped his knife and fell to his knees, vomitting when he saw the lifeless body.

He looked at his hands, which were spattered with blood.

Later he shed tears knowing that he has committed murder.

When the sun rose, Ming Su quickly got rid of the body and threw it into the river. Hoping no one finds it.

"I'm sorry. I"m sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," He kept whispering quietly.

Ming Su hoped that no one would return to his cabin, fearing he might kill them.

He knew that he would have to sell the animals he hunted to other villages for money.

When he arrived, he couldn't help but notice the disgusted expression on every person he passed by.

"That boy looks so filthy!" "I know right! Didn't his parents raise him well?" It was faint, but Ming Su heard the two maidens conversation from a distance.

Annoyed: "Nonsense, what do they know about my parents? Hmph," he muttered to himself.

Shortly afterwards, a man from the village came running and shouting "T-thieves!!!" Soon all the villagers were screaming.

Some decided to defend themselves, but to no avail: they were stabbed, including their children.

Ming Su froze in his position and watched as children and adults were slaughtered.

"I, I can't move..." he tried, but couldn't really move his body.

"Take their belongings!" Shouted the thieve's boss.

The screams and wails echoed in his head and he slightly felt his whole body shaking.

The thieves burned the whole village down and one of them saw Ming Su,

"there's one left? You bastards can't even do you job properly!" He laughed.

He rushed towards Ming Su, the thief swung his wooden bat except Ming easily dodged it since he was used to hunting wild animals.

"S-stupid kid, stop dodging!" The man was embarassed and tried to hit him again.

This time, Ming Su took out his glass knife and slit the thief's throat wide open, splattering their blood on Ming Su's face and his dagger.

He was unaware of what he was doing, and shortly afterwards he realized what he had done.

"I-I... I didn't mean to... I'm so sorry!" his voice was shaky and nervous, but for some reason he was smiling.

He brutally murdered all the thieves without letting a single one escape.

"P-Please, I just did what they told me...spare me!", the last of them shouted in horror.

"Are you naive?" Ming Su asked. "I have no intentions of letting you go, fool!" He looked at him in disgust.

Ming Su's cold words made the thief shiver in fear of what he might do next.

He walked closer and closer... He slowly stabbed his leg to make sure it was painful.

"A-AHH!!!!" The man screamed in pain.

This continued on until Ming Su was finally satisfied and silenced him.

It wasn't long before he was drenched in the blood of the thieves.

"Haha...HAHAHAHA" Ming Su laughed loudly like a madman and looked up at the cold and gloomy sky.

Soon it began to rain heavily and the blood of the dead was everywhere in the village.

"I don't like this..." he said.

He immediately stopped laughing and stood there in silence.

Fresh blood dripped from his bloody glass dagger. He felt his heart clench and throb non-stop.

Slowly, he pointed his own dagger at himself and slit his cheek leaving a mark.

"A-AHH!! MURDERER!" A villager saw everything and quickly ran away to inform the other villages and so on.

It wasn't long until the news spread and Ming Su was now known as "The Young Crimson".

Ming Su lived alone in the forest for several years. Until one day, he wanted to explore the world more.

In recent years, he has been constantly hunting down wild animals and learning how to use the glass dagger.

At first he hid his face first and soon he has finally arrived in the city.

In the capital: "I got you!" "That's not fair!" The children laughed and ran around freely.

"Hehe, you won't be able to catch me!" As the kid ran, he bumped into a person wearing a tattered cloak. "Ow..." the boy fell to the ground,

"Hey kid, are you okay ?" Ming Su asked. "Hic... hic... Uwaah!!" The child started crying.

Shocked: "How troublesome..." He clicked his tongue and took out a lollipop.

The boy took it and stopped crying: "Good, now go," Ming Su says.

He sighed and continued walking. "Everybody! Line up for the 'mana testing'!" A man shouted.

"Mana... Testing?" He was confused. "Mhm, It's where they test how much mana you posses," replies the lady next to him.

Ming Su asked what mana was and the maiden was quite surprised.

"Well... It's what we use to activate magic! The stronger the mana, the stronger your magic."

The woman opened her palm and began to chanting. "Summon fiery light"

Soon, a small fire hovered over her hand.

"Mhm, I see... How do you know what magic you posses?" He asked.

"Hmm, well... The color of your eyes represents your magic, my eye color is a mix of red and orange which makes up fire!" s

She says.

"Ah... I see." Ming Su stepped forward and asked if he could get his mana measured as well.

Your mana can only expand as far as your body can take it, and when Ming Su placed his hand on the mana crystal,

Nothing happened. That means he has no mana.

"Pfft... loser! Hey folks! This guy has no mana! Get lost!" The man laughed at him and so did the crowd.

Ming Su took off his cloak and revealed his face.

"Red eyes and a mark on his face...

T-The Young Crimson!?" The man screamed and quickly backed away.

"I, I'm so sorry! Please forgive my rudeness!" He knelt down and begged.

"Give me the mana crystal." he says. They quickly gave Ming Su the mana crystal.

When he touched it, the crystal shattered.

"H-Huh? What just happened?!" The man was shocked by the sudden occurrence since that has never happened before.

Ming Su asked where he could find magic books. After purchasing, he returned to the forest to train.

"How did the mana crystal break... He had no mana and yet he managed to break it?!" The man from before thought to himself.

In the forest, "Hmm, so I just have to read these words out loud? ...Well, first I need to know my power"

He took out a mirror and looked at the color of his eyes.

"It's really red. Hm... Perhaps blood?" He flipped the pages and came across the 'blood' power.

"There are only a few spells, what a shame."

He got into position and began to cite the first spell.

"Bloody rain."

Soon it began to rain blood and everything the blood touches melts, except for Ming Su of course.

"It's acts like acid, huh? Not bad!" He smiled and cast the second spell,

"Chains of the Dead."

The ground began to shake and chains came from the sky. They were huge and made out of blood.

The chains were capable of becoming both liquid and solid form.

"Oh wow! Now... Let's see what other spells there are here."

As he continued to turn the pages, he came across something that seemed interesting to him.

"Something that makes my spells more... Powerful?" Although it requires a large amount of mana.

Ming Su realized that he had been casting spells continuously, but he didn't feel tired.

"It's worth a try" He began to casting the spell,

"Rain of Blood: Second Form!"

Suddenly, a heavy rain of blood began to fall and the sky turned dark red.

The range dramatically increased and everything the blood touches, suddenly burns in a high temperature .

"Amazing... This could literally destroy a whole country!" He says as he realizes he still doesn't feel tired.

This is because Ming Su does not need mana to cast spells. That is, he could cast spells constantly.

This went on for years. He was soon bestowed the official title of "The Youngest Archmage."

In his entire life, he never met anyone stronger than him, until one day a psychotic person signed a contract with the devil.

Although Ming Su was strong, there are still people who look down on him.

The person offered hundreds of lives in order to imprison Ming Su for eternity.

"Huff... Huff" Ming Su is panting heavily.

"Who in their right mind would sacrifice countless lives just for me to be locked up?!"

He woke up in a coma to nothing but darkness. "This is ridiculous!" He started rampaging yet nothing.

He had no choice but to stay there for the next 7,000 years.

During his stay there, he was able to learn combos and new spells. Which was very efficient as it was also peaceful and quiet.

He saw light from above and immediately everything went black.

"Ugh... Where am I...?" Ming Su opened his eyes and to his surprise, he was on the street.

His appearance was the same as when he killled the group of thieves.

"My glass dagger- where is it?!" "Activate: eyes of the dead"

His vision darkened and he focused on finding the glass dagger.

"I Found it! Phew..." He reached into his pocket and took it out.

"Ahh... I'm finally free!" He celebrated.

[Welcome back, Archmage Ming Su]

("Who said that?") he said in his mind.

[Your powers are sealed. You're only able to use 60% of your magic]

"What... Reveal yourself!" A blue tab appeared in front of him that only he could see.

[Do you want to retrieve your magic?]

"Well, of course I do... But who are you?!"

[In return, you have to complete tasks]

("T, this thing ignored my question...") He sighs "What tasks?" His stomach growled out of nowhere.

"Ahem! I need to eat first." He says; embarassed.

It was his first time out in the world after 7,000 years of imprisonment.

"Everything seems different..."

"Move out of the way kid!" An old man abruptly pushes Ming Su away,

"Ow! What the hell?!" ("This old geezer has no idea I can kill him at any moment!")

"Air Blast!" "Earth wall!" Children were chanting their magic on the street.

"Isn't that dangerous? Someone could get harmed." He sighs.

"Hmm, not really, their magic is too weak to seriously hurt each other." A boy his age approaches him (Remember: His appearance is when he was little!)

"And you are?" Ming Su asked.

"I am Qin Cheng, a student at the Supreme Mage's Academy"

"Supreme Mage's Academy?"

"Mhm" He nods. "It's where children and teenagers learn how to become a mage."

"Hmm, Is that so?" replies Ming Su..

"But only those who have powerful magic and a good amount of mana can qualify to study there." He scoffs.

"May I ask what your current rank is?"

"Huh? We won't get our rank until we graduate."

"Hm, thanks for the information, see you." Ming Su stands up, turns around and walks away.

[Task 1: Enroll at the Supreme Mage's Academy] The blue tab appears once again.

"I really don't have a choice, I need my powers back as soon as possible so I can take revenge on that devil!"

The entrance exams for the academy will be in four days. Will Ming Su be able to get qualified despite his lack of mana?

Despite only having 60% of his power, he has the potential of an S-rank.

With four days until the entrance exam, Ming Su decided to explore the world again.

("Speaking of magic, can I still perform the second form?") He asks out of curiosity.

("Getting into the academy should be easy, but... I need clothes and money") He sighs.

Suddenly a 'ding!' sound pops up and the blue tab appears:

[ I will provide you finances, clothing and directions. ]

"You again?" He stood there for a moment. "Who are you?"

[ You can call me 'System'. ]

"Very well 'System'... How do I get the money?"

[ There should be a small pouch in your left pocket. I will transfer the money directly into it ]

"Interesting. Thank you"

[ You can call me at any time by saying 'System', and close me at any time by saying 'Close' ]

"I see, 'Close'". The tab disappears.

He reaches out for the small pouch in his pocket and found golden coins inside,

"This should be enough... I should probably buy some decent clothes first."

Ming Su found one of the luxury stores to shop for clothes. After buying and wearing them, he went in search of food as he was obviously starving.

After eating, he went for a walk again. "Ahh... I barely remember what the sky was like." He sighed.

He walked towards a dark alley where no one could see or hear him.

"System"

[ How can I assist you? ]

"Show me the closest place where I can train and wouldn't be able to hurt anyone."

[ Searching... location found, follow the arrow in front of you] A red arrow appeared and began to point the way.

"Excellent." Soon he reached an abandoned training area far away from people.

"Close." The arrow and the blue tab disappear into thin air.

"Summon: Crimson Army!"

The ground began to shake and an army made out of blood rose.

("It's a good thing I could still summon my army.") He sighed in relief.

"Dispose" The army began to melt and disappear into the ground.

He spent the next few days training there. Of course, he also visited the town as well to eat and buy new clothes.

The day of the entrance exam has finally come. Ming Su wore formal clothes selected by the system.

While he was standing in front of the gate, some students deliberately bumped into him on purpose and made fun of him.

("Those brats... sigh. Calm down.") He clenched his fist in annoyance. "("They're just children.")

*The bell rang loudly* [ Ehem! Attention to all participants! Please proceed to the testing field ]

The students made their way to the first field, Mana Testing.

"Hello everyone, I am Lhing, and I am a B+ Rank." "Woah he's a B-rank!?" The students were amazed.

I will be responsible for monitoring and measuring your mana." The teacher said.

"Everyone, please line up!" They quickly lined up and thus the mana test began.

("This is bad, I don't possess mana... maybe I should use my natural magic? Sigh... I'll end up showing off") Ming Su thought to himself.

Finally it was his turn: "Please place your hand on this mana crystal." Ming Su slowly placed his hand on the crystal.

He pours in natural magic instead of mana. He removed his hand and after few seconds the crystal turned red and shattered.

"What the?!..." Lhing felt no mana, but a huge aura filled the entire field as Ming Su withdrew his hand.

("T, This kid...!") Lhing and the other students were shocked at the suddeness.

"Bring me another crystal ball and clean this up! As for you..." He looked at Ming Su, "You passed." The professor sighed and everything quickly escalated.

It was the second round, "Magic Wielding". This is to test the accuracy of using your power.

The students will target a dummy. They have 3 shots in case they miss.

"Fireball!" The kid cited and missed:"Pfft, loser!" A boy named Khang laughed at the student.

"Hey! Don't laugh at others," said the new professor.

"Anyway, It's my turn!" He pushed the kid aside and began chanting,

"Sea Dragon!" The spell was weak, but the size of the dragon was medium.

The dragon hit the target, but it wasn't strong enough to break it.

"Hmph, easy!" He scoffs.

("This kid is getting on my nerves.") Ming Su glared at him and then it was his turn.

"Blood Ball" A small drop of blood appeared on top of his palm.

"Seriously? Do you think a little blood can hit that dummy?" Khang and the others laughed at him.

Ming Su flicked his finger, and in a second, the dummy and the trees behind it were destroyed on the first attempt.

The students were silent and the professor was shocked. "You... Excellent!" The teacher praised him.

Khang felt embarassed and stood there in silence.

The final round, 'Spell Casting'. They are assigned to cast the strongest spell they have.

{They will perform this on a field while barriers are in place to prevent damage}.

One by one they cast their strongest spells. Once again it was that brat Khang's turn.

"God of Water: Summon Trident!" Khang cast his spell with all his might.

"Wait, where are you aiming?!" The teacher yelled as Khang aimed his spell at a student.

"I, I can't control it!" He panicked and couldn't stop the spell.

A huge trident surrounded by water was rushing towards the student,

"A-AAAHHHH!!!" They closed their eyes and screamed loudly.

"H-euh... I'm alive!" They slowly opened their eyes and to their suprise, Ming Su was in front of them, he formed a blood barrier.

The students were shook once more and everything behind the blood barrier was destroyed.

Khang coughed up blood from excessive mana consumption and was treated by B-Rank healers.

"T-Thank you so much!" The student knelt down and thanked Ming Su.

He sighed and after dealing with the commotion, it was Ming Su's turn.

Everyone was watching closely, ("What should I choose? Well, I don't plan on holding back.")

He started citing, "Blood bath: Cries of the Dead".

Suddenly, the ground turned red and everything in the area began to rot and wither. Except for the students and professor.

Everyone was shocked and afraid. After a few seconds it stopped.

Even the other professors in the school sensed the presence of a deadly S-rank threat when Ming Su performed his spell.

("This kid is not ordinary... He was able to cast an A++ rank spell at a young age and his physical condition seems fine...!?")

The other teachers gathered together and discussed for further details.

After the entrance exam, the results were out in just a week.

82 out of 389 students were qualified and one of them was Ming Su.

At the training ground, [Task 1: Complete]

"Finally, what's next?"

[Task 2: Become the grand champion of the up-coming event: Battle between students]

"That's easy, by the way, what is my rank right now?"

[ You are S++ Rank ]

"That's good to hear, well anyways... What else can you do?"

[ I can give you additional skills, information and titles ]

"Extra skills would be useful but titles... Why would I need that?"

[ If you collect enough titles, you will become stronger than you have been in the last 7,000 years ]

"Stronger, hmm... And by additional skills, what do you mean?"

[ I can teach you skills that you are able to master in no time. ]

"When can I learn?"

[ I will let you know as soon as you unlock an additional skill. ]

"Makes sense."

[ I need to inform you of something. ]

"What is it?"

[ 'They' are currently after you. ]

Who? and why are they after Ming Su? Well you'll find out in the nexf chapter.