Lin Chao was a student in his third year, majoring in Computer Science. He was a lonely child, with no siblings and just a caring mother. His father was an alcoholic who made a single right choice in his entire life - he left them. In his free time, like any normal person, he enjoyed reading novels and playing games on his PC. This was also a reason as why he chose to become a programmer, wishing to create interesting games for other teenagers.

The last novel he has read, was one of the most popular at that time, precisely because it had a unique peculiarity. The protagonist died. No reincarnation, no new chance. He has simply just died. After overcoming hardships and unlocking new powers, one more amazing than the other, raising from the ground to the sky, almost conquering the world, the protagonist was murdered by his peers. Maybe because of fear or maybe because of hate.

And now he has somehow transmigrated into the said protagonist, at the start of his journey when he was still a child, after dying tragically in a car accident.

The novel was unique and interesting but had a lot of plot holes. So this boy wasn't orphan, but it wasn't ever mentioned if he was adopted or not, or why did he inherit such powers, the possibility of controlling the dark elements.

That morning, Lin Chao woke up in a strange bed, in an unknown room. At first he thought it was something about a kidnapping, but after analyzing the strange surroundings he realized it was not the case. His head was still hurting, when he heard a *ding* sound inside his mind.

[Soul file loading.... 100%

Transfer completed successfully.

Welcome to 'The Supreme Dark Elementalist']

At first, the boy was scared, thinking maybe it was a ghost or something, until he realized that this noise was all inside his head.

'Who are you?'

[I'm the System. You've been selected from a dozen of candidates, winning the chance of a new life. I am here to help you adapt and overcome future obstacles.]

'Who am I then?'

[You are Lin Chao, the protagonist of 'The Supreme Dark Elementalist'. You're role is to rise to the top and avoid death.]

'I see. What part of the plot is now?'

[There are still three days before the Sky Academy admission]

So he was at the very start of the book. The protagonist had to participate in the admission to make himself a name and help his parents with their debt. His family had a small business in the village, but because of some rumors started by the children of the rich people, it started to decline, until they had no more customers. These kids were jealous on the protagonist because of course he was outstanding, with bewitching features and unheard talent. One day, the boy manifested one of his spiritual vines by burning an entire tree when he was angry. Soon the entire village found out that the protagonist could control fire, a very rare and powerful element and so his family started to be hated by the others.

Every five years, the Sky Academy was recruiting new students by testing their spiritual veins. It was one of the more prestigious schools, so the fees weren't cheap. But if you had potential, you could be exempted from paying them and also be part of the Elite Class. Of course our protagonist was one of those students with high prospects. What he didn't know was that later his Water vine would also manifest, making cultivation and improvement very hard, hours of hard work with no progress. No one expected that actually this was the way the dark veins manifested. But this was a story to tell later.

'System, do I have to follow the plot? To go to the Sky Academy?'

[No. You are free to make your own choices.]

Lin Chao pondered for a while, thinking what to do. If he didn't go, this meant he would remain there, with no chance to practice cultivation or improve his powers. The fact that he knew the plot was in his advantage, making things easier, giving the possibility of avoiding future troubles. Also, this was a fantasy world for god's sake, he had to explore it! And he couldn't just let 'his family' go on the verge of destruction.

'System, I'll go.'

Anyway the admission process wasn't very hard, you just put your hand on an orb, so it wasn't like he should know any techniques. In three days he was going to start the adventure of his life!

In the morning when Lin Chao was going to leave to take the admission test at the Sky Academy, he spent the whole time fussing around stressed. At first he was elated by the thought he was going to study magic.....like real magic. Everything still felt like a dream he was going to wake up from in any moment. But now a new matter pressured him. What if he failed? What if he wasn't going to be accepted? Or maybe he'll do something wrong and embarrass himself in front of all those people. The System promised to guide him if any unexpected difficulties would appear, but still!! Ahh, he just couldn't calm down, couldn't stop his hands from shaking uncontrollably.

His new family made the effort to rent a carriage so he won't have to walk on foot till there. Although he didn't love them, Lin Chao really felt touched but their kind gesture and even felt the need to somehow repay them, make them proud of their son which now was no more. The boy really tried to not think too much about the fact that he stole someone else's body and life.

On his way towards the Academy, Lin Chao looked on the window at the beautiful view that was unfolding before his eyes. He watched in awe as great mountains loomed before him, cold grey crevices holding the blood of many battles. While the lower passes wore a cloak of greenery, the peaks were crowned with a headdress of ice. The Mountain of Despair was one of the many places where the protagonist unlocked a new power, found another teacher and of course fell in love with a girl. And from what he could recall, it was also one of the special training destinations of the Academy, where those from the fifth year went to improve their control over the elements and haunt different types of beasts.

The Academy was a quaint and picturesque massive building, surrounded by a dense forest, training grounds and some smaller constructions, probably the dormitories. The place gave a mysterious feeling, especially when black crows and other strange birds were flying around, some spitting fire and others bringing you shining objects or even a flower. The fauna was amazing, it couldn't compare with any of the fanarts he has saw. Not even with the official ones!

They stopped the carriage near the front gates, and the boy stepped out. He looked around and saw not far away a river. There was something about the sparkle upon the blue, a melody without a rhythm. He lifted his face, letting the light and shadow dance across his skin. Lin Chao inhaled the fresh air and continued on, delighting in the sound of the wind whistling around trunks. His family led him to the group of children that was waiting, all of them clearly excited. They hugged and wished him success and firmly stated that whatever the result would be, they were both proud of him. How could he not be impressed by all this care and affection?

Lin Chao went near the other kids and waited to see what the next steps would be. The thought that yes, he was in a fictional world and yes, he had superpowers finally sank in. He didn't wish to be the most powerful being or to conquer everything, as long as he managed to learn some magic and integrate in this new and different place, it was enough. At least for the time being.

Suddenly, Lin Chao felt a hand squeezing his shoulder. He turned around to see a nice guy, a little taller than him, with mediocre features and clothing and black hair. Oh, this was either one of those canon fodders or one of the future good friends of the protagonist.

"Hello there. My name is Yi Zhen." The boy said as he smiled brightly.

Yi Zhen? This was one of the best friends the protagonist had. At the end of the story, he didn't participate in the assassination of his said friend who turned out to be a dark Elementalist , but didn't raise a finger to help him either. Lin Chao had mixed feelings about this guy. And it was another thing that bothered him. Later, when the protagonist has met a certain boy, Yi Zhen started to tell him different rumors he has heard about the guy's family. Under the influence of Yi Zhen's words, the protagonist refused to befriend the boy who has came to talk to him, this way earning a new bully and a later enemy to defeat. Was the guy really so bad or the author just liked using the 'let's bully the protagonist to make him unlock a new power' trope? Lin Chao had no wish to fallow the plot or just judge a person based on a paragraph he read in a random book. This was the first time he really understood that all people around him were real, humans with flesh and bones, with feelings and thoughts and not just words on paper.

"My name is Lin Chao. Nice to meet you." He presented himself looking straight into the other's dark eyes.

"Have you also came for the admission test? What elements have you manifested until now?"

"Oh, just fire. What about you?" Lin Chao replied sincerely.

"Fire? Then we'll make a wonderful team. I have the wind and water spiritual veins." Yi Zhen spoke excited.

Equally a powerful ally and a fearsome enemy. It was basic knowledge, you didn't even have to read more than 10 chapters to realize that the wind amplified fire and the water almost always defeated it. Lin Chao was not the type of guy to use people or take advantage of them, but he was more than aware this was the kind of strong Elementalist with whom you should have a good relationship if you wanted to escape a few future difficulties.

The Dark Elementalists were rare and very powerful, and usually not very good people. The capacity of destruction their strength hold was immense, so the others started to fear them, the fear later transforming into hate and their hate becoming their sole motivation to annihilate anyone who manifested that kind of veins, despite the said person's heart or actions. The single reason why the protagonist even reached maturity and survived for so long was besides his intelligence, well.....the fact that he was the protagonist!

Suddenly all the murmurs came to an abrupt end, being replaced by a deadly silence.

"Welcome to the Sky Academy. We are pleased to see so many candidates this year! Let's not wait any longer and finally start the examination!" An old and hoarse voice echoed through the entire crowd.

Ah, calm down, it will be fine! Lin Chao kept repeating himself in his head.

"The examination will be divided into two rounds! First we'll test your innate talent and type of spiritual vines and then your capabilities. Good luck!"

It wasn't so bad....wait! What? What capabilities?

"Yi Zhen, what is the second round about? Didn't we just put our hands on an orb or something like this?"

"Of course not, silly. It's not enough to just be talented! You also have to possess some fighting skills." Yi Zhen explained while laughing.

****. He had no fighting capabilities! The plot wasn't like this! He knew he shouldn't have ditched those karate classes when he was younger! Alright he had participated in some street fights, but he really wasn't on the winning side.

'System! You said it's just an orb! You liar!'