Mana light poured across Aetherion, a city where runes and neon shared the same streets.
Sky-trams glided on dwarven rails, elves sold enchanted accessories from floating stalls, and beastkin courier drones streaked overhead.
Every race hurried toward the Awakening Domes—today, fifteen-year-olds across the city would touch mana for the first time and find out what they were born to wield.
Leon Vale rolled his shoulders as he joined the line outside Dome Seven.
He looked calm, though the air vibrated with excitement.
To his left, a dwarf boy muttered about getting "anything but Earth, please, the forge dust's murder on my lungs."
Ahead, an elven girl hummed a spell under her breath, ears twitching to some inner rhythm.
Behind him, a fox-eared beastkin girl stretched like a cat, tail swishing.
Leon smiled faintly. New world, same nervous energy before a fight.
He still had that fighter's build—lean muscle, quiet balance.
Black hair with newly flaring red tips framed a face a little too sharp to be ordinary, and his eyes, once ocean blue, now shimmered frost-pale.
Handsome enough to turn heads, mysterious enough to keep them curious
The mirror that morning had made him pause.
"Inside, floating crystals spun lazily under blue mana beams.
An examiner—a dwarf with glowing goggles—called out, "Next group! Hand on the plate, breathe deep, don't scream if it tingles!"
First came Ryn, the dwarf boy. His orb flared a warm brown.
[Element: Earth | Trait: Stone-Skin | Rank: F]
He exhaled in relief. "Guess the forge dust wins again." Laughter rippled.
Next, the elf girl—Serel—touched the crystal; wind swirled around her hair.
[Element: Wind | Trait: Grace | Rank: E-]
Cheers from her friends. She turned, flashing Leon a grin.
"So, Vale, if you awaken something cool, send me your @ on ManaNet, okay?"
Leon chuckled. "Only if you promise not to brag about beating me later."
The fox-eared beastkin—Lira—went next. A spark of yellow danced at her fingertips.
[Element: Lightning | Trait: Agility | Rank: F+]
She winked at Leon as static curled from her tail. "Try not to fall for me when I light up the room."
He smirked. "Can't promise anything."
Then the display lit with his name.
[Candidate #117 — Leon Vale — Human — Guild Crimson Fang]
The dwarf examiner adjusted the array. "Hand on, breathe deep."
Leon touched the focus plate.
Heat surged. Cold followed. Then both collided—spiraling crimson and icy blue until light flooded the dome.
[Element Detected — Fire + Ice → Hybrid Element: FROSTFIRE]
[Trait Acquired — Dual Harmony]
[Initial Rank — F]
Gasps everywhere.
"Fire and Ice?!"
"That's supposed to explode!"
Even the instructor leaned back. "By the forges… opposite elements, stable?"
Leon blinked, exhaled frost, and grinned. "Guess I'm built different."
Lira gave a low whistle. "Hot and cold both, huh? Dangerous combo."
Serel tapped her mana-link bracelet. "Yup, definitely adding you — purely for academic reasons."
By evening, his name appeared briefly on ManaNet—
#LeonVale #DualAwakening #CrimsonFangHeir #FrostFire #NewHybrid
—but noble prodigies and elven princes soon drowned it out.
He didn't mind. Attention was noise; growth was work.
Back at the Crimson Fang Guild, dwarves hammered in the forge while a pair of beastkin sparred on the lower floor.
The Vale household had always welcomed other races—strength didn't care about lineage.
Draven Vale, Leon's father, met him at the entrance.
Lightning scars crossed his arms, and earth mana hummed faintly under his skin.
"So, my boy decided to juggle fire and ice."
Leon tossed him the results slip. "Didn't explode."
"Good. That means we can train you."
Elara Vale descended the stairs—an elegant mage whose Light-and-Shadow aura seemed to shift with every step.
Her smile was gentle, eyes sharp. "The colors suit you, Leon. Try not to melt the floor this time."
He laughed. "No promises."
Draven crossed his arms, watching Leon slice through the training dummy in a blur of alternating frost and flame.
"Two weeks…" he muttered. "Most kids take a month to reach stable control. He's already circulating like a mid-F ranker."
Elara ran a quick mana scan, nodding. "Dual Harmony's doing its work. He's attuned—body and mana in sync. A rare start."
Leon lowered his sword, panting. The blade smoked faintly with blue fire.
He looked at the panel flickering in front of him—the first time he'd checked it since Awakening.
[STATUS WINDOW – LEON VALE]
RACE: Human
ELEMENTS: Frostfire (Fire + Ice Hybrid)
TRAIT: Dual Harmony
—STATS—
STR: 28
AGL: 27
END: 25
INT: 30
MANA: 45
RANK: F
—SKILLS—
Active Skills:
• Mana Flow Control (Basic)
• Frostfire Channel (Beginner)
Passive Skills:
• Dual Harmony — Stabilizes conflicting mana streams, increases control under pressure
• Combat Instincts (Inherited) — Retains instinctive battle movement from previous life.
He exhaled, watching the frost melt on his gloves. "From F- to F in two weeks… not bad."
Draven gave a low whistle. "Most call that genius. Keep this pace, and you'll be E-rank before the Academy opens."
Leon grinned. "Good. I plan to make some noise when I get there."
He turned toward the open training field, city lights shimmering in his frost-blue eyes.
In the distance, a faint red shimmer marked an unclaimed F-rank Rift.
Rules said no unsupervised dives before academy admission.
But Leon Vale had never been good at following rules.
He twirled his sword once, flame and frost weaving together in a deadly bloom.
"Just a warm-up run," he muttered. "What's the worst that could happen?"
And with that, the heir of Frostfire disappeared into the night.