John/History

## History

### New Bostin

John started out as a powerless cripple with no ability to call his own. This made him a popular target to bully. The only friend he had growing up was Adrion. During his first week of middle school, John was targeted by a group of bullies led by Oliver, who mocked him for his lack of an ability. After they left him, another low-tier named Claire approached him and offered to help him up. She felt that since they were both stuck suffering similar experiences, they may as well support each other. So John's friend group grew to three, and the spent their middle school years having to deal with bullies. Adrion was the only one capable of putting up a fight, so John could only wish to be the one who could put the hurt on the guys messing with them. As time marched on, John became increasingly angry and frustrated with the hierarchy imposed by society. His friends were sympathetic, but had accepted that they couldn't do anything to change the world.

One day, during his final year of middle school, John was in his room trying to build a house of cards. Claire suddenly burst in, and hours of work promptly collapsed. He was angry, but Claire believed what she had to say would cheer him up. John learned that she had a vision of the future in which he was using an ability. He was stunned, but soon told Claire that he didn't appreciate such jokes. Claire was adamant that even in her blurry vision, she could make out a "ray-like ability" being fired from his hand. John thought he was better off not dwelling on impossible dreams any longer. But despite his claims of skepticsm, John couldn't help but get his hopes up. He went and did a lot of personal research on the ability Claire described. He gleaned much understanding, but his many attempts to fire such a ray had no success.

When graduation was around the corner, their group came into conflict with Oliver's yet again. Though the odds were no different than usual, John refused to listen to Claire's advice to just stand down. Oliver decided that such ridiculous defiance had to be punished, and he activated his ability in order to illustrate just how useless John was. This act sparked something dormant within John, and he held up his hand and fired a tiny ray at his aggressor. Oliver dodged it and punched John to the ground. Angry and confused, the bullies left. John's first instinct was to complain about another humiliating defeat. But his friends, having witnessed him in action, pointed out that his eyes were unmistakably glowing when he retaliated. When it dawned on him that Claire's vision came true after all, John and his friends were happier than they had ever been.

The group went back to his house to share the good news with his dad But John didn't manage to voluntarily activate his ability at the time, which left William confused.

### King of New Bostin

Upon graduating Middle School, John and his friends had an entire summer break to figure out just what happened that day. Claire visited John to inform him that she had more visions of him using abilities of all kinds. John was pretty hyped to learn what he was capable of, but his excitement died down when Claire reminded him that they still needed to figure out how his ability worked. At her behest, he recounted everything he tried since he was told about Claire's first vision. When describing how he felt the instant Oliver activated his ability, Claire hypothesized that John had the power to mimic the abilities around him. John felt that this theory had potential, but they had to put it to the test. He asked Claire to activate her ability, but she said that Clairvoyance was too random and complex for either of them to figure out. Something simpler was needed...like Adrion's ability! The two invited him over and explained the matter to him. Adrion was hesitant to engage his friend for this test, but the two of them begged for him to lend his strength to the experiment. (John even bowed!) After getting him on board, Adrion spent the week doing his part by activating his ability and sparring against John. Eventually, Claire's theory was proven. John managed to sense Adrion's ability, copy it, and win his first practice match. The next step of developing this ability was clear: knowledge would give way to power. With Claire's guidance, John studied all types of abilities by reading books, watching videos of professional demonstrations, and by mirroring his future self as seen in the visions. After a summer of preparation, the trio became classmates in New Bostin High School. All it took was one older kid bumping into and threatening him for John to realize that high school would be much rougher than even what he was used to. As anxious as he was to turn the tables, John still had a lot of practice ahead of him. Luckily, the school was the perfect place to put his summer studying to good use. By observing other students and discretely copying their abilities fo training purposes, John got better at fighting back. His continuous improvement led to him finally beating an opponent in a real fight. It soon became apparent that John had a knack for combat, and with Claire's information from the future backing him up, he rarely lost anymore. By the end of freshman year, John's knowledge of ability and aura fundamentals were unmatched, allowing him to effortlessly mirror nearly every ability around him. He took over for Adrion as the trio's primary protector, and they no longer had any reason to hide like cowards.

Then one day, his long-awaited triumph over Oliver finally came to pass. John and Claire relished the sight of their former bully's utter defeat. Unable to fight back, Oliver resorted to calling John a fraud. John became angry at the insults, but Claire advised him to ignore them and walk away. But as they did so, Oliver shouted that no amount of false power would make him any less of a cripple. At that point, John stopped caring about being the bigger person. He marched right back and began pounding Oliver mercilessly. He beat him past the point of unconsciousness, and might have kept it up if it weren't for a teacher hearing the conflict. John was pulled off his victim and sent to the principal's office. For his act of violence, John was given a week's detention. He complained about it to his friends when he encountered them waiting outside. Claire actually thought he may have been asking for it after going overboard in dealing with Oliver. John disagreed, believing that his enemy not taking defeat lying down justified his actions. Despite the consequences, John felt that he ought to take his combat prowess to the next level, and asked Claire for some future insights. She said he'd have to wait for the next vision. Disappointed, John left to seek fodder that might help him level up, with Adrion tagging along.

But soon enough, John's level hit the ceiling at 3.0 after beating every scrub worth fighting around school. John felt that in order to become even stronger, he'd have to take on even greater challenges. He felt that becoming a Royal would allow him to fight even stronger opponents at Turf Wars, and become more powerful with every battle. He told Claire of his ambitions, and said that she'd have to work twice as hard as well. It's unlikely that her exasperated reminder that Clairvoyance couldn't level up managed to penetrate.

Despite only being the 5th strongest person in school, John aimed for nothing less than the top. He challenged Zirian, King of New Bostin High School, for his title. But John would taste the first defeat he had in a long while. John hated losing, but Zirian had to go make it worse by insulting his training methods and calling him a puffed-up weakling in front of an agreeing crowd. Ignoring Claire's attempts to calm him down, John angrily cusred Zirian out and swore that he would take the throne. Later on, he tried shaking something helpful out of Claire. She told him that he made great progress compared to the beginning of the year, but that meant nothing to him if he couldn't beat Zirian. Claire said that she believed John the potential to surpass someone older and more experienced, but it would take time and effort even for him. John was ungrateful for the wise advice, and wished out loud to be able to duplicate Clairvoyance rather than wait for Claire to suddenly be useful.

John tried again and again to become the new King of New Bostin, but his strength lagged behind Zirian's by the end of the school year. So during the beginning of summer break, John spent most of his time searching for people who were willing to "help" him stay at the top of his game. Weeks of no progression passed when Claire suddenly ran up to him in the park. The bad mood he was in brightened slightly when she said that she finally had another vision of him, and he pressed her for deets. This time, he learned that the abilities he copied would be stronger than the originals. Neither of them had a clue on how to make this a reality, so once more, they hit the books. Their research led them to believe that John had to learn how to consciously control the flow of his aura channels. A tall order, as the process was supposed to be involuntary in all ability users. But John was willing to scale any mountain in the name of becoming stronger, and he fought through the fatigue that came with altering his channels and intesifying whatever he copied. Claire faithfully supported him during this period of training. It then came time to test his improvement. He sparred with Adrion again, and when he used Adrion's ability to strengthen a kick, it was to a degree that flung his training partner a fair distance. John was so stoked by this development that he barely noticed Claire's shocked reaction. She complained that he shouldn't be so rough during practice, but Adrion insited that it was alright. He then congratulated John on turning his meager ability into something useful. John told Claire he would like to hear such words coming from her, adding that he couldn't hold back in the pursuit of learning his limits. He then left without giving his pals any aid and called it a day.

When school started again, John took advantage of the true potential of what became known as "Aura Manipulation". He immediately challenged Zirian again. This time, the fight was one-sided in *his* favor, and John mocked the loser as was customary. With his victory, John became the youngest king the school ever had. But as he and his friends walked the hallways, he overheard other students talking smack about the legitimacy of his power grab. One wanted to keep following Zirian because he didn't approve of the way John kept lashing out in response to anything he was displeased to hear. John wasn't pleased to hear this, and he promptly lashed out in response to this disapproval. He insulted his critic for being stupid enough to speak out against him. Claire grabbed onto John and tried to pull him off of his victim, but he quickly shoved her away and kept up his assault. It continued until the school staff came to quell his outburst. This time, John's hair-trigger temper earned him a two-day suspension.

John later got another visit from Claire at his home. She wanted him to apologize for shoving her. John felt that her grievance paled to the humilation he endured being ordered around by a low-tier like her, and demanded *she* apologize to him instead. Claire swore that she only wanted to keep him out of trouble. John was unappreciative, and felt that suspension was as bad as it was going to get. He turned his back on Claire, uninterested in the pain he caused her.

John began leading the school to Turf War victories, but the prestige he garnered was just the icing on the cake as far as he was concerned. For at one of these rumbles, he was able to sense everybody's auras all at once from the sidelines, without even activating his ability. Realizing he must have leveled up, he wondered if it was possible to copy every ability he sensed at at once. He discussed the matter with Claire, but to his annoyance, she didn't seem as invested in the subject as he was. John urged her to remain focused, but she remained apprehensive. John feared that if the other Royals continued to get a fair share of the fighting at Turf Wars, then he would never make his next breakthrough. But he had a fiendishly clever idea to step around this obstacle. He went behind the backs of his fellow Royals and prepared to enlist unwitting subsitutes as teammates for all subsequent matches with rival schools. His chosen victims were his own friends, Claire and Adrion, whom he invited to Turf Wars under the guise that he only wanted them there to watch and cheer him on. They accepted, and John giddily tore through opponents all on his own. Even when his friends realized he used them, John got them to come back and revise these roles in all his subsequent matches. As he planned, his power grew to the point where he could retain two abilities, then three. Naturally, his ego and appetite for violence grew in equal measure. Whenever his friends showed discontent with his methods, he would tell them anything they wanted to hear in order to get them to fall in line. He even agreed to Claire's request to get drinks or whatever.

John had no intention whatsoever of pulling his punches during fights. Adrion eventually stepped in and tried to get John to stop beating up an opponent past the point of defeat. John smacked him away, along with Claire when she tried to remind him that they were his allies. John declared that if he didn't give it his all, his enemies would walk all over him and steal the glory he was trying to win for their school. He then told them in no uncertain terms that he was never to be bossed around by weaklings who relied on his protection. John spat at Claire's suggestion that he try being a little more merciful, reminding her that it wasn't long ago when he was denied such leniency.

John's dinner was later spoiled by the news that Claire had gone to his father and told on him. He reacted to being confronted about his power trips by telling his dad to butt out if he wasn't going to take his side. William told John that he shouldn't be so callous with friends who cared enough to tell him he was going too far. John ignored the words of his father and walked away. When told to return, he turned and asked what a cripple could possibly do to stop him.

Shortly after this, Claire started keeping her distance from the King. John wasn't broken up about it, seeing as how he had another girl replace her in short order. But John couldn't go anywhere in school anymore without hearing others talk about what a horrible king he was. Because of these grievances, John was very irritable and prone to lashing out, and his violent attempts to silence the rumors only worsened them. This vicious cycle of gossip and brutality culminated into a warped personality of a King who demanded total respect and obedience. Every day, students of New Bostin lived in fear of their King. And just as John believed, the reputation he built meant that not even the school's highest powers could touch him. But the scorn of his schoolmates took more of a toll on him than he let on.

John had taken to spending most of his time on the school's roof, the only judgement-free zone available. While brooding there one day, he was approached by Adrion, the only student left willing to approach him. Adrion seemed tongue-tied, so the impatient John grabbed him and demanded that he make his point already. Adrion informed John that he overheard Claire speaking with Zirian about a few visions she had. Apparently, she knew that he'd become a powerful king long before she met him, and wanted to earn his trust early so that she could rule in his name later on. John refused to believe that the connection he had for her was a sham, and smacked Adrion for even suggesting it. Adrion swore by his claim, and added that she was in the midst of gathering forces in order to fulfill another vision in which Zirian would successfully reclaim the throne he lost. John was unable to fathom that he would be so easily duped by a person who helped him so much, causing him to denounce Adrion as untrustworthy. Adrion tried to remind him that the two of them went back a long way, and that he remained loyal throughout everything. He added that it was this reason that he should take his advice and stop letting his pride blind him to imminent danger. John laughed in the face of this supposed danger. He had absolute faith that nothing could take him down, and ordered Adrion to leave his presence.

John later got a note from Claire, say that there was something in the fields that she wanted to show him. No warning of Adrion's could have made John resist following a letter Claire signed with a heart. But when he got there, he saw that Claire was in the company of Zirian and a bunch of angry students, just as Adrion said she'd be. His first instinct was to demand answers. Claire told John that these students represented everyone at school who were tired of the way he treated them, and they wanted to convince him to stop. John, however, was more concerned about Claire gathering up people behind his back. Claire pleaded with him to just understand their point of view, but he refused to acknowledge his tyranny.

John then insulted the other students, telling them they were fools to think that they had any hope of besting him. They were offended enough to activate their abilities and try anyway. Despite being outnumbered, John defeated them all effortlessly before moving on to Claire. It was only then that he acknowledged that Adrion was telling the truth, and sincerely asked why Claire would betray him like this. She remained silent, so he grabbed her and barked orders for her to answer him. Claire slapped him and told him that he was being hypocritical on top of being a bloodthirsty tyrant. She denounced her decision to become his friend and help him as the biggest mistake of her life. Such hateful words cut John worse than any attack, and he commanded her to stop disrespecting him. She declared he'd have to *make her* shut up like he always did with people who talked out of turn. He moved to do just that, but Claire spat out one last insult before going down: "Monster". After John punched Claire unconscious, he turned around, spotted Adrion attempting to call somebody. John immediately asked to be filled in on what the hell he was doing, but it became perfectly clear that his old friend was calling the Authorities on him. Though he quickly knocked Adrion out, it was too late to prevent the consequences. John was apprehended right there on the field still littered with his broken schoolmates.

This incident was the last straw, and John was expelled from New Bostin High. Moreover, he was sentenced 3 months of readjustment courses. Just as he did many times before, John justified his tyrannical methods; however, his instructor, Keon, told John about how late-bloomers, like John, were destined to fail. As Keon grew more assertive, John began to react violently and even head-butted Keon when he was slapped by the official, but Keon managed to subdue John and show him the battered and bruised bodies of the students of New Bostin High School. John continued to justify his tyrannical actions, forcing Keon to continuously use his ability on John's mind. The King of New Bostin began to relive the memories of his rampage against his classmates and was overwhelmed by guilt.

Traumatized from Keon's readjustment program, John returned to his father and stayed in his room in shame, reflecting on his past actions. One week later, William entered his room and left the book *Unordinary*, in hopes to help his mentally distraught son. John picked up the book, and read it all the way through. John thought the story of an all-powerful being choosing to help others made for a nice fantasy. He realized that his dad wanted him to see the hero as a role model. But due to Keon's lessons, John saw himself as a selfish weakling who couldn't help but become corrupted by power.

For the first time in his life, John turned to his father for help. The two of them made up a lot of lost bonding time. William taught John how to defend himself without using his ability. John felt that it would be best if he lived as cripples to for the rest of his life, though he kep it a secret from his dad.

After a while, John wanted to resume his education. He felt that Wellston Private High School was the right fit for him, as the difficult entrance exams would surely mean that academics took priority over showing off one's power. Vaughn, the school's incumbent headmaster, agreed to grant John an enrollment interview despite the expulsion on his record. On that day, John strove to be the best version of himself he could manage, and it paid off. He was enrolled in Wellston as a second-year student. John made sure to ask that his true power and rank be kept secret, which was honored despite him not explaining the reason he wanted to pretend. On top of this cripple act, John further distanced himself from his past by changing his appearance and preparing a false backstory that he was home-schooled all his life.

### Wellston

After he was all set, John bid his father farewell, moved to Wellston Town, and settled into a new abode

John began his first day at Wellston hopeful for a fresh start, away from the scrutiny he experienced in New Bostin. As he was about to go to his mathematics class, Elaine cordially greeted John and struck up a friendly conversation with him. Unfortunately, she was also the first student to shun John upon realizing that he had no ability. John soon realized that in this new setting, the strong dominate the weak in a manner no different from the rest of the world.

Word had spread about John being a cripple, and he later found himself cornered by Crail and Lin to be "educated" on his position in the school hierarchy. He tried to call to Seraphina for help, but she ignored him and John was forced to fend for himself. He was able to distract Crail and Lin long enough for him to run away and sarcastically thank the Queen.

On the same day, after escaping Crail and Lin, John managed to procure a slice of Wellston's famous Triple Chocolate Cake, but Seraphina demanded that he give it to her. John initially refused, but Seraphina threatened to use her ability to take it by force. In defiance of her bullying, John dropped the cake. He was subsequently badly beaten up by her and sent to the infirmary.

### Project Partners

After returning from the infirmary, John and Seraphina were forced to be partners for a three-part literature project, much to the reluctance of both parties. Seraphina proposed that the best course of action would be for her to complete the project alone while John simply read off her notes during the presentation, but he refused and did his own work. During the presentation, John proceeded to improvise most of the presentation by fabricating information, resulting in him and Seraphina receiving a B-. Enraged, Seraphina left to the library, but John followed and overheard other students criticizing Seraphina's current grade. He understood from experience the amount of pressure Seraphina went through to maintain her perfect reputation. While they were at the library, John suggested establishing a stronger rapport, but Seraphina was still angered by her grade and threatened to make his life a hell on earth. John was completely unfazed and surprised Seraphina with his defiance as he introduced to her the concept that instead of living for her reputation, she should do as she wished, just as he did.

With the second part of the project, this time on Speareshake's *McBetch*, looming over them, both decided to head to the library to work. Despite their arguments and John's inability to interpret Speareshake literature, their efforts resulted in an A-. John was more than happy with the grade, but Seraphina was unsatisfied with her and told John to never speak to her anymore. Despite their shaky relationship, John overheard two girls criticizing Seraphina and stepped in to defend her, but the girls started beating him up. Moved by John's selflessness, Seraphina stepped in to protect him from further harm. Unfortunately, John was already injured and needed to go to the infirmary.

It was not until the third part of the project, *Julio and Romiette*, that John became more diligent with his work and asked Seraphina for help interpreting the some of the lines.

On the day of the presentation, John's uncharacteristically serious demeanor caught the attention of Seraphina, prompting her to ask what was wrong. John responded that he disliked the judgmental attitude of other students and apologized for all the flack she got due to his actions. Seraphina accepted his apology and admitted the he was the most persistent partner that she had ever had. The duo proceeded to receive a perfect score on that part of the project. However, they only received an A- on the overall assignment, to Seraphina's mild disappointment. Despite this, John convinced a reluctant Seraphina to celebrate with a drink at Woaba Boba and sparked a friendship that would last well into the next year.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 180
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 181
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chapter 182
4. ↑ Chapter 226
5. ↑ Chapter 183
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chapter 184
7. ↑ Chapter 229
8. ↑ Chapter 63
9. ↑ Chapter 52
10. ↑ Chapter 44
11. ↑ Chapter 54
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chapter 185
13. ↑ Chapter 42
14. ↑ Chapter 91
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Chapter 45
16. ↑ Chapter 90
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Chapter 105
18. ↑ Chapter 212
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Chapter 7
20. ↑ Chapter 26
21. ↑ Chapter 19
22. ↑ Chapter 20
23. ↑ Chapter 36
24. ↑ Chapter 37
25. ↑ Chapter 38
26. ↑ Chapter 39