In the world of "Maharlika," every living being possesses their own "Soul Weapon" that determines their destiny. A Soul Weapon is assigned to a person from childhood until they grow old. However, in some rare cases, the Soul Weapon itself chooses who its master will be. A Soul Weapon disappears only when its owner or wielder dies.
Cane Academy
Cane Academy is a school where children are trained to master their soul, so that when they reach adulthood, they don't experience a mana overflow and can fully control their Soul Weapon.
"All students, please take your seats," said Teacher Jenny.
Jenny Lionde is an 8th Circle Mage. She once held a high-ranking position in the Maharlika Empire. Some say she was the Vice General of the Blue Rose. Others believe she came from a noble Maharlikan family. Now, she works as a Mage Teacher in a poor and remote village that is hard to reach.
"Today, I will teach you again how to suppress and control your mana," said Teacher Jenny. She looked at her students and suddenly cast a 6th Circle Spell — Mana Read Soul — to see if any of them were ready to receive their Soul Weapon.
She immediately noticed two students with extraordinarily strong mana: Jade, Jin's childhood friend, and Klark, who has noble blood. However, while all the students were showing promising progress, there was one child who caught Teacher Jenny's attention — someone whose soul mana she couldn't sense at all: Jin.
She approached and asked,
"What's wrong, Jin?"
Jin replied,
"I can still do it. Besides, we still have one more day before we're supposed to receive our Soul Weapons, right?"
Jin smiled as he answered Teacher Jenny.
I went home and looked for Kuya Rin because I wanted to watch him train in swordsmanship. I was going to surprise him, but I tripped over a piece of wood, which made noise. Kuya Rin heard it, quickly drew his sword, and shouted:
"2nd Form: Mountain Slash!"
I saw with my own eyes how his strike sliced through many large trees. I felt like my soul left my body. My whole body was trembling. Kuya Rin saw me and rushed over.
"I'm so sorry, Jin. Please forgive your brother," said Kuya Rin with teary eyes.
"Ah... ah... ah... Kuya, I can't breathe!"
His hug was so tight I thought my bones were about to dislocate.
Kuya immediately apologized,
"I'm sorry, Jin. Are you okay? You'll forgive me, right? Right?"
His eyes sparkled with excitement like a puppy.
Then he said to me,
"Jin, watch me!"
Kuya Rin spoke with joy.
I looked at him, and he said:
"4th Form: Mezanno!"
Mezanno is a soul technique that can split an attack into four returning slashes — a form considered to belong only to one of the strongest warriors.
At that moment, I saw that Kuya's attack seemed incredibly slow. I could hear every bird's chirp, every leaf rustling, the water falling from a nearby waterfall, and even the sweat dripping from Kuya's body. Then I felt footsteps approaching in our direction.
Kuya Rin looked at me and asked,
"Are you okay, Jin?"
I was pale and sweating. Then, suddenly, my vision went dark, and I collapsed—