《The Strongest Loser》


 Chapter 1 - Curiosity

    I didn''t look back. I was sure that if I did, those guys would have caught me. "I really shouldn''t have done that," I thought while running away from three guys. They were persistent. Despite their size, they were still able to keep up with me. No, they were catching up. I could have gotten away if only I could rest for a couple of seconds and gather enough mana to make a powerful sprint.


    This wasn''t the first time. I often got chased by all sorts of people for annoying them, usually with my questions. That''s why I led those three guys through a small alley, which was always empty. I knew up ahead there were a bunch of dumpsters that I could easily avoid, since I was pretty skinny and agile.


    I was sure it would work, as that was my method to get away from any trouble of that sort. And it did. Those guys couldn''t get past the dumpsters as quickly as me, and this gave me enough time to hide in another dumpster that was right around the corner.


    I sighed in relief when I saw the pursuers run past my hiding spot. After a couple of minutes, I decided to get out. "This adventure is enough for today," I thought as I started my walk home.


    The reason I was chased was that I asked those guys about ten times what they thought magic actually was. I was a curious guy, and there were a few things I wanted to know about this magic.


    As I was walking, thinking about what might have happened to my pursuers, something caught my eye. I was looking at the store in front of me. Outside, it was starting to get dark. Above the entrance, on a big piece of wood, it was scribbled, "History of Magic."


    Through the window, I could see a library that seemed way bigger than the building. The shelves were arranged as if it were a complex labyrinth. Each shelf had books sorted by color and size.


    I still had a bit of time left before dinner, so I decided to take a look inside. I completely ignored the sign on which was written, "1 hour = 100 eretes."


    This was the currency in our zone. From what my grandpa told me, we were living in the "Eastern Zone," and the "e" in "eretes" comes from "east."


    My grandpa was the only member of our family to ever leave the Eastern Zone, as he was sent on a mission to the "outer world," as he called it. He always refused to tell any of us about that mission, but I knew for a fact that he kept a diary somewhere.


    As he told me, back then, only a tenth of people had magical powers. At that point, almost everyone had at least a bit. That was the reason I wanted to check this store out. I was really curious as to why this inflation of mages happened.


    I was sure my grandpa knew the reason, but I already knew I wouldn''t get a word out of him.


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    To be honest, I had no idea how this would help, but it could give me some clues. As I entered the store, I saw the seller''s desk right at the entrance. Luckily for me, whoever was working there wasn''t there at that moment, so I was able to sneak in pretty easily.


    I walked around every shelf to see if I could find something, but most of the books were about different researchers who had something to do with the advancement of people''s understanding of magic. Even though it was a store with books about the history of magic, I still found a lot of books about Kraner.


    Kraner was the leader of the Eastern Zone, and he was known for being extremely crude and unfair to weaker mages, such as most of my family. It was also said that he executed anyone who tried to escape the zone.


    Occasionally, I would find books about artifacts. I didn''t know much about them except that they could enhance the possessor''s magical powers or sometimes physical or mental abilities.


    After looking for some time, I noticed a metal door that was closed, and on it was written, "Restricted Access." "The book I''m looking for must be there," I thought with a grin on my face. I made my way to the door. I tried to open it, but the door would only open a little bit every time I used my full power to push.


    I was starting to sweat when I finally opened the door, except this time, instead of opening a little bit, it opened fully. Since I was using a lot of power, I couldn''t stop myself and fell down. The door made a ridiculously loud noise, and I could hear from the other side of the store a female voice shouting, "Who is there?!" Then it went silent. I looked around.


    This was just some kind of storage. It was a room filled only with different kinds of boxes, and not a single book. Disappointed, I turned to leave. I peeked around the corner and saw a woman at the seller''s desk. She seemed scared and didn''t look older than 25.


    She relaxed as two men came in. "She must''ve called the cops," I thought. The men wore a kind of short cloak, which indicated that they were cops. I knew that if I were caught, given my status, my entire family would be in trouble.


    As any smart guy would do, I simply ran past them to the exit. They were so surprised that they didn''t chase me until I was already outside.


    As I was running from them, I was actually having fun, not caring what would happen if I were caught. Just as I was about to show them my middle finger, they stopped. I also stopped and stared at them, confused.


    As they turned around and left, I realized they probably understood that I didn''t steal anything, and despite being 15, I was pretty short and definitely didn''t look like 15, so they mistook me for a small kid or something.


    Outside, it was already dark. As I was getting closer to my house, obviously being late for dinner, I decided that I would insist that my grandpa tell me about the mage inflation.


    On my way, I realized why I had so much free time. My mom had sent me to do something, but I mostly wandered around our town the whole day and completely forgot what I had to do.


    I stopped smiling, knowing that I would probably be grounded for a week or so. As I got home, I looked at it. My house was built in an open and usually crowded area. The lights on the second floor were off, which was odd. We were sharing a house with another family, and my family was living on the second floor.


    By the way, my name is Akira Kurogane.


    As I stepped inside, the first thing I saw was my mom sitting at the table in the kitchen. I gulped, getting ready. "Umm... Hi." But something unexpected happened. My mom raised her head, her eyes red.


    "Your grandpa died."

 Chapter 2 - Worthless

    I stared at my mom.


    Her red, long hair was messed up, and her black eyes were filled with tears.


    I never thought I would see my mom in a state like this. She was always taking care of the whole house, my younger sister, and my grandpa, who had been paralyzed for a few years. On top of that, he had lots of health problems, yet I had never seen or heard her complain.


    "He died from a heart attack..." she sobbed. The thing is, I was a guy who didn''t care that much about anything, but seeing my mom cry made me sad.


    I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Sakako, our neighbors."Hello, Akira," said Mr. Sakako, forcing a smile.


    While I didn''t know much about Mrs. Sakako, I used to spend a lot of time with Mr. Sakako when I was younger. We used to play a lot of different games, and he seemed to enjoy games involving luck."Unpredictable is fun, don''t you think?" This was his response whenever I complained about playing yet another dice game.


    Both he and Mrs. Sakako had grey hair, yet they still looked younger than they were."Sup. So, why are we in your house?" I said in a casual tone, quickly realizing it was a mistake as the mood in the room darkened even more. I left the question unanswered as I heard a deep, quiet voice behind me."Alright, Lili is sleeping."


    It was my dad. Lili was my younger sister, just 5 years old. She never seemed to like me, which didn''t bother me. My dad looked at me with a serious expression."Where have you been?" he asked, frustration evident in his voice.


    "Outside," I replied casually.


    "What do you mean ''outside,'' you ignorant rat!" he snapped. I looked at him, confused.


    Had Grandpa''s death affected them that much? Dad was usually very calm and understanding. He rarely yelled at me and would even defend me occasionally, even when he knew I was at fault.


    Then I remembered.


    Earlier that day, my dad had told me to get a bottle containing some liquid from his cousin, who lived in another part of town. I had wandered around until I eventually forgot about the bottle and ended up at the bookstore.


    "That bottle was for Grandpa?" I asked.


    "Yes," he replied simply.


    Everyone was staring at me, making me uncomfortable."Listen, I understand that Grandpa died and you all miss him. I also wanted to ask him some questions. But since he''s dead, just let him be, right? I mean, what can you do if he''s gone?" I said.


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    My mom got up and left instantly, crying, with Mrs. Sakako following her. I saw Dad''s face filled with anger. The next second, he punched me. I could feel he used magic to strengthen his fist, and it caused me to faint.


    ---


    I woke up in my room with a crazy headache. My face hurt, and I couldn''t open my mouth without feeling a sharp pain across it. I got up and tried to leave, but my dad had used a spell to make my door as hard as metal¡ªit wouldn''t open.


    I looked around. My room was the same as always: grey walls, my bed pressed against the left wall, and a big closet against the right wall. Next to the bed was a small desk with a chair, and on the desk sat a lamp and a few sheets of paper with random things written and drawn on them.


    I made my way to the window between my desk and the closet. As I drew the curtains, I realized it was daytime."Did that punch knock me out for that long?" I thought to myself.


    Since I couldn''t open the door, I decided to use the window to get out. I took a deep breath, drawing particles of mana from my surroundings.


    Mana was used to create different magic spells. It was everywhere¡ªeverything had some mana. My parents never taught me how to properly use it, though. They kept saying it was for my safety, so I had to learn on my own.


    I used mana to strengthen my legs so I could jump down without getting hurt. Since I didn''t feel like wandering around town, I decided to head to the beach.


    I wasn''t sure about the other zones, but the Eastern Zone was surrounded by a vast ocean on three sides. The beach was unusually quiet, with no one there. It had soft sand, and the water was clean.


    You could even go fishing a little further out. I didn''t do anything exciting¡ªjust imbued my fists with mana, punched the sand to create a hole, and waited for the water to fill it. I was so focused on the hole that I didn''t notice the old man who approached me.


    "Hello." He startled me.


    "Oh... hello. Can I help you?"


    The man took a quick glance at the hole."I was wondering why you punch the sand instead of just reforming it to create the hole," he said.


    "Oh, I can''t do that yet," I replied casually.


    I could only manipulate mana from inside my body. Also, I noticed he didn''t assume I was a kid.


    "Yet? Boy, kids five years younger than you can do that naturally!" he said, surprised.


    "My parents just don''t want to teach me, and I''m not particularly interested in being a powerful mage," I said, finally focusing my attention on him.


    Despite being old, he was very fit and had a scar on his right cheek."May I ask, what would you like to do?" he asked politely, sitting next to me.


    "I don''t know. I don''t really do anything except wander around and try different fun stuff."


    Though he had just sat down, he got up."Here''s some advice," he said in the tone of a scolding parent.


    "You will definitely need to use magic at some point in life. And you don''t want to learn to control mana better. In fact, you don''t want to do anything. So I advise you to stop playing in the sand and do something productive."


    This felt different. I could tell he didn''t truly care, unlike my parents.


    I bit my lip."As you are now, you are completely worthless," said the man.


    Before I could say anything, he just disappeared.

 Chapter 3 - Starting point

    I didn''t stay on the beach any longer. What the old man told me was starting to bother me, so to calm myself, I decided to go to the central area to get some snacks.


    On my way there, I passed a family laughing at some joke and thought about my own family. Could they be laughing together like this if I weren''t there?


    Despite my ignorance, I was fully aware of how wrong I was and how much of a burden I was for everyone, not just my family. In a way, I knew the old man was right. I was completely worthless.


    But still, I was too lazy and ignorant to wish to change.


    Before I realized it, I was already in the central area, called Branho. An odd name in my opinion, but it was the only area of the town that had a name.


    I have been to other towns only on certain occasions, such as my aunt''s birthday. Except on her birthday, I have never interacted with her, so when I found out she died, I wasn''t necessarily sad.


    I thought about it for a while, then realized I had ended up in an area I hadn''t explored before.


    I was excited, as this was a pretty rare thing, so I completely forgot about the old man and my aunt. I started exploring. It was a kind of alley that people didn''t really use. After around 10 minutes, I felt a cold hand on my shoulder.


    I backed away from the hand and looked in the direction it was coming from. There were two guys, definitely older than me. One of them had short black hair and a round face, and the other one had long blond hair and was pale.


    I figured they were up to no good, so I started running. That wasn''t a good idea. Since they were much taller than me, they caught up easily, and the blond guy pinned me against a wall. There was no one around.


    "Hello," I told them, trying to remain calm.


    "Where yer'' trying to run?" the guy asked, taking a few steps backward.


    This is pretty usual, and talking doesn''t work most of the time, I thought.


    Before I could say something, the blond guy raised his fist and punched. I was barely able to get out of the way of his punch, and by the cracks it left in the wall, I could tell he had used magic.


    "Wait, Aron, do you sense this guy''s mana? I surely don''t," the guy with black hair said.


    "Actually¡­" he smirked, "I don''t even think he can feel it, let alone use it or something!"


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    I silently agreed with him, but a part of me wanted to prove him wrong.


    While they were making fun of me, I gathered mana in my fist and punched Aron. He was so surprised, he didn''t react. However, my punch was still very weak. His expression shifted into a laugh.


    "Yo, check this out! He supposedly can control mana, but I didn''t even need to shield myself!"


    They started laughing. Then Aron punched me in the gut. I fell to my knees, the pain was something I''d never felt before, and I could feel blood spilling from my mouth. I had never taken a mana-imbued punch like this.


    Then the guy with black hair kicked me in the face, which, luckily, wasn''t enhanced.


    "Such filth should not be allowed to exist," Aron said as they left.


    After around half an hour, I managed to get up. It was starting to get dark again, and I still had to face my parents.


    This experience determined me to find Grandpa''s diary, so maybe I could find clues that would lead me to fully understanding magic and mana.


    As I got home, I noticed that, again, only the lights from the first floor were lit up.


    As I got closer, I heard whispers.


    "Are you sure we should''ve let the Sakakos go?" a deep voice asked.


    "They aren''t our target, and it''s not our business if they tell someone," an older voice replied, almost casually. "Let''s just find the diary and get out of here," the older voice continued.


    My blood froze. Had they come for Grandpa''s diary? Was it that valuable? Where did Mr. and Mrs. Sakako go? I had lots of questions, but I kept listening.


    "I can''t believe your plan actually worked, and they all thought that he died from a heart attack," the deep voice said.


    He didn''t get a reply.


    I was just standing there, unable to move. I wondered if my parents were safe. I wasn''t willing to admit it, but I was really worried. Then the door opened.


    "You were right! He really came by himself!" said the deep voice.


    The other man sighed.


    They were dressed in black and had masks on their faces with only their eyes visible. They grabbed me by my arms and started to drag me. I was still in shock, so I didn''t resist.


    When I finally recovered from the shock, I was tied to the table in the kitchen. I looked up and saw my mom, dad, and Lili tied in front of me, all unconscious. I panicked. A man took off his mask. It was the older man. He was balding and had sunken cheeks.


    "Listen, kid. I don''t wanna kill your family, but you gotta tell me where that diary is," he said calmly.


    "I... I swear I... I don''t know," I said, frightened.


    "Fine, let''s try again," the older man said, giving me a menacing look. "Where is the diary?" he asked again.


    "I swear I don''t know!" I started panicking.


    Then I saw the younger man raise his finger and shoot a condensed mana bullet toward my dad, which simply blew him from the inside. I was absolutely horrified.


    Tears started rolling down my face as I finally understood why my parents suffered so much from my grandpa''s death. The mental pain was unimaginable.


    The older man kneeled in front of me with a look of pity.


    "For your good, where is the diary?" he whispered.


    I didn''t reply. I saw the other man shoot the mana bullet at my mom. I couldn''t look. It was as if my heart was slowly being torn apart.


    "We will take the girl," said the older man, pointing at Lili.


    The younger man nodded and took Lili.


    "Wait!... P¡­lea¡­" I couldn''t finish.


    The older man untied me. "He is in shock. Let him be, and let''s burn the house."


    The two men left.


    Shortly after, I saw the walls starting to burn, and I could feel the heat from the fire reaching me like a sharp claw.


    I couldn''t fully process what had happened.

 Chapter 4 - Hardship

    I Was looking upwards. It was getting very hot, and some of the walls had already collapsed. I just wanted to die.


    I could hear everyone screaming around me, especially children. Everything I was feeling at that moment was replaced by anger. Why did those stupid kids have to cling to their parents, watching my house burn, while I had my parents killed in front of me and was about to be swallowed by the flames?


    My anger turned into hatred, but it disappeared just as quickly.


    "It''s not their fault. It''s mine," I muttered as I realized I was the one who had refused to spend time with my parents and had only caused them trouble.


    "I just want to die," I thought. Then I remembered Lili. She wasn''t killed, but the two men had taken her. They didn''t look like heartless people, given that they hadn''t killed her on the spot and the way they questioned me.


    Still, I managed to get on my knees. Most of my body was already burned.


    "I have to save her," I thought. Determined, I got on my feet. "I must do at least this for her."


    I made my way out through a big hole in the burning wall. I was met with about a hundred people who happened to be nearby. Outside, it was dark. All of the people were staring at me, and some children started screaming, thinking I was some kind of monster.


    To be fair, I did look monstrous with burns on my arms, face, and legs. My clothes were partially burned, but I figured most of the burns wouldn''t leave scars.


    However, none of them did anything to help me; they just stared. I didn''t care and decided to go to my dad''s cousin. He wasn''t the nicest man, but my other option was my aunt, and getting to the other town would take too much time.


    I got there in what felt like ages. All the streets were empty. To be honest, I had no idea how that many people had gathered around my place.


    My dad''s cousin was named Jan. I knocked on his door. His wife opened it. She had silver hair and looked around 25, despite her obviously being older.


    "Dear, Akira came!" I could feel the frustration in her voice, but I had no choice. A minute later, I saw Jan. He looked me straight in the eye.


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    "What happened to you?" he asked, not particularly worried.


    "I''ll tell you, but I need to get in," I said.


    "No," he replied flatly.


    "Please, my family got killed, and Lili was taken away," I pleaded, a little shocked.


    "Can''t you hear? I said no. And I don''t care," he said as he closed and locked the door.


    Even though I expected such an outcome, I was still shocked by his indifference. It felt as if everyone had left me, like I was completely alone and abandoned.


    I had never imagined that I could be in this situation. I was still completely broken by my parents'' deaths, but I had to move on. "For me and Lili," I thought.


    I was starving, so I tried asking for food at a few houses, but I was treated like filth. With no choice left, I had to scavenge through


    different trash bins until I could find something edible.


    I lay next to a big house and fell asleep immediately, praying that when I woke up, everything would be back to normal.


    I woke up to someone yelling. As I stood up, I saw a man who looked around 30.


    "Why are you sleeping near my house? Don''t you have a home or something?! I don''t want to be seen as someone who helps homeless trash! Get out now!" he yelled, continuously insulting me. I left quietly.


    I had never realized how miserably people like the current me were treated. I believed that my family was treated badly, given our status, so I had never thought about anyone else.


    I needed to find a way to master my usage of mana, so I decided to go to the beach again. I intended to try to reform the sand itself, and on my way there, I thought about how I could achieve that.


    When I got there, I sat on the sand with an idea in mind. I gathered mana in my palm and touched the sand with it. I tried to transfer the mana from my palm to the sand. I visualized it, and it seemed to work. Partially.


    The problem was that every time I tried to transfer the mana, one of two things happened. Either I lost focus and blew the sand away, creating a big hole, or I barely managed to transfer anything. It felt as if something was blocking or rejecting my mana.


    "Regardless, I must be on the right track," I tried to comfort myself. And so I kept practicing.


    Before I realized it, it was already evening. The sky had a beautiful reddish color, so I decided to forget about everything¡ªmy parents, Lili, Jan, and even all the people around¡ªand just watch the sunset. I hadn''t made any progress in transferring mana, but for the first time since it all started, I relaxed.


    It didn''t last long, however, as I realized I hadn''t eaten anything that day.


    Frustrated, I made my way to the town to look for some food. However, something caught my eye.


    I saw a bunch of children, younger than me, sitting near the beach under a few big trees. Facing them was the old man who had warned me about my attitude. The children seemed to be practicing magic, so I knew this had to be a sign. I approached them.


    The kids got scared, immediately stood up, and ran away. "This is better anyway," I thought.


    I turned to the old man.


    He spoke first. "Hello, can I help you?"

 Chapter 5 - Magic

    I looked at the old man. I knew from the look on his face that he hadn''t forgotten me."Teach me how to use magic," I told him.


    The old man looked at me. "Oh my, did you actually listen to my advice?" he said, genuinely surprised, ignoring my appearance.


    I kept staring at him insistently.


    "Fine," he said eventually. "I assume you don''t have anything to bring with you, right?"


    I nodded. I had already figured he knew about what happened, and I didn''t necessarily want to talk about it.


    Soon, we were on our way. "So, where are we going?" I asked. "To the forest," the old man replied casually.


    I had heard about the forest from my grandpa. According to him, the forest occupied around forty percent of the eastern zone, and it was home to a lot of monsters that could be used for training.


    "By the way, why didn''t you take anything with you?" I asked curiously.


    He thought for a bit, which I found a little suspicious. "It''s a long story, and I don''t feel like explaining," he answered after a while and winked at me.


    I stared at him. He seemed to be a chill man. "Do you have a family?" I asked, actually curious.


    He stopped walking. "Listen, I''m not asking about you, and you shouldn''t either. I''m just helping you, got it?"


    I nodded.


    We walked for the rest of the day. In the evening, we reached a town. I had never been to that town. We went to the first inn we found and got ourselves a room to sleep in. We then settled down and ordered some food.


    "I''m surprised you''re not tired after all this walking," the old man said while waiting for our food.


    "That aside, why are we going to the forest?" I asked, not in the mood for chit-chat. "To train," the old man replied simply. "Also, you can call me Master Xela."


    I looked at him, amused. "That''s a weird name."


    After eating, I went to sleep. Master Xela told me he''d stay for a little longer, which wasn''t really a problem for me, given that I didn''t necessarily feel comfortable sleeping with a man in a relatively small room.


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    It felt so good finally sleeping in a bed, even though it had only been a few days.


    The next day, we were off. We got to the forest around noon. ''I believed the eastern zone was bigger''... I thought.


    The forest was very different from what I had imagined. There were a lot of trees of different sizes, and they seemed to form different layers of leaves, casting a huge shadow on the ground. It was scary.


    I gulped.


    We entered the forest. "Akira, was it? How do you use magic?" Master Xela asked me as we walked past huge trees through long, thick grass.


    "I gather mana from my surroundings, then push it out through a specific point, for example, my palm."


    Master Xela thought for a bit. "So you can channel your mana through your body, and you can gather it from around you. But you can''t control your own mana? I mean, can you use your spirit?"


    He looked confused. I shook my head. "I don''t know what that is."


    The old man pointed ahead to a spot that wasn''t dark. "Let''s go."


    The spot was illuminated by the sun. It was a small area, but there weren''t any trees, so they didn''t block the sunshine.


    We sat down. "The very first thing a mage should learn to use is their spirit," Master Xela said.


    I listened carefully.


    "Gathering mana from your surroundings like you is a more advanced skill, and as surprised as I may be, the level at which you can use it makes it useless," he continued. "So, what about the spirit thing?" I asked, impatient.


    "Everyone has their own mana, or the so-called spirit. You use your spirit to create a matter that you can see, but can''t touch unless the caster wishes otherwise. You see, once you cast this matter, you can control it with your will. Simply think about what you want it to do, and it will obey. This matter is called ''Magic.''"


    This was way more interesting than what my parents were teaching me about how to behave or to read. The thought of my parents made my heart sink, but I refocused my attention on Master Xela.


    "Now, the mana you were gathering from outside your body is a little different. At low levels, it has the same properties as the spirit, but with enough training and understanding, imbued with the right amount of spirit mana, one can create objects¡ªfor example, a metal bat, a perfect clone with the same properties, or the caster can even change them if they wish."


    Master Xela stood up. "Let''s begin your training."


    I jumped to my feet, excited. I didn''t need any instructions. I already knew what I had to do.


    I relaxed and closed my eyes. I was trying to feel the mana inside me. I was able to easily achieve this since it was a lot easier to feel than the other type of mana. I managed to easily channel it through my body and make it appear in my palm.


    I opened my eyes. I could barely see it. It was a kind of shapeless matter, barely visible. I thought of a small flame, and immediately, I could see a small flame in my hands, just as I had envisioned it.


    I got super excited and lost my focus, and the flame disappeared, but I didn''t care. I had finally done it.


    "Looks like your experience with environmental mana helped you a lot," Master Xela noted.


    "Well, since you can''t run anywhere, time for your next assignment."


    I looked at him, excited.


    "Get an echo without leaving this spot, then call me."


    I stared at him, confused. The old man winked at me and disappeared.

 Chapter 6 - Training

    It was getting dark. I had spent the whole day trying to set up a camp, although I wasn''t really successful. I only managed to gather a pile of wood that happened to be scattered around¡ªa sign that there had been trees here at some point¡ªand made a campfire using magic to create the fire.


    I found it really easy and convenient to use magic.


    I also gathered some berries from the bushes nearby, and they were actually tasty. They were sweet, different from all the candies back home.


    I only ate a few of them since fighting with a full stomach could be bad, or so I had heard from my grandpa.


    As it got completely dark, I decided to stay awake and practice my magic, since I was pretty sure that whatever echo I was supposed to get would appear here.


    I started using the spirit mana in different ways, like imbuing it into objects, which could change their durability, or simply creating random flames.


    That was when I realized the difference between spirit and outer mana. Outer mana was an extension of spirit mana. With spirit mana, I could only create the four basic elements, but imbued with outer mana, I could go beyond that.


    I was starting to feel tired, probably because I had used too much mana and hadn''t trained enough to handle it.


    As soon as I laid down next to the campfire, I heard steps¡ªloud steps, as if whoever was there wanted me to be aware of their presence.


    I jumped to my feet, scared. ''Why am I scared? Why?''


    Soon, I could see a figure approaching from the forest. As it got closer, I could distinguish it: a kind of wolf. A weird type of wolf, with a tail twice as big as a regular wolf''s, and its body was very small compared to its tail.


    It was approaching the fire. I could see it clearly. It had black fur, and the top of its tail was white. I was scared, but then I thought about Lili. I gulped and got ready for a fight.


    The wolf stopped a few feet away from me. I reinforced my fist using earth-type mana, and in an instant, I dashed and punched the wolf with all my strength. The wolf let out a strange howl, and I could see a lot of blood on the side of its neck where I had punched it.


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    ''That wasn''t enough?!'' I thought, surprised.


    The wolf backed away from the fire, and to my horror, it simply regenerated. Just like that.


    Panic surged through me as the wolf came at me with insane speed. It swung its tail, but I managed to duck just in time.


    ''This thing''s range is huge!'' I thought, quickly glancing around. That one attack left a deep cut in several nearby trees. I immediately rushed to the closest tree. Before I knew it, I was already up in it.


    I looked down. The wolf didn''t hesitate and swung its tail once, twice, thrice... Even though the tree was very thick, I could feel it starting to lose balance. ''Shit, if it cuts this tree, I''m done for...''


    I took a deep breath and cleared my mind, as if it were a normal situation. I had no idea how I managed to pull that off. Suddenly, I got an idea. I took another deep breath and jumped from the tree.


    I reinforced my fist again, and as I fell, I punched the wolf''s back. It let out a louder howl and retreated. I watched it carefully. It stopped between a few trees, a little farther from the campfire, then turned back and started approaching me with the same ridiculous speed.


    At that point, I barely had time to climb into the nearest tree again. I looked at the wolf. It was completely healed.


    A spark lit in my heart. ''I might be wrong, but it''s worth a shot. This guy attacks me regardless of where I am, but if I injure him, he retreats. What''s strange is that he retreats exactly so he doesn''t stand in the area of light the campfire creates.''


    A small smile appeared on my face. I was so close to figuring it out. ''So his weakness must be fir...''I stopped. Something was off. Then it clicked.


    ''It''s light! I haven''t seen him at all during the day while I''ve been here, and it would perfectly make sense since he probably heals only when he isn''t in the range of the light that comes from the fire.''


    I felt confidence flowing through me, so I repeated the previous attack. I jumped from the tree, trying to punch him. The wolf moved aside just enough so I wouldn''t reach him.


    ''How fast!''


    I could see him preparing to attack with his tail. As I was falling, time seemed to slow down. In that moment, I wasn''t thinking about anything.


    Nothing existed except me and that monster.


    I unconsciously channeled a great amount of mana into my fist and turned it into fire. My hand felt like it was about to explode from mana overload, but I didn''t care. I fell and punched the ground.


    In that moment, I released all of the fire in my fist.


    I heard a loud Boom! like thunder striking right next to me. I couldn''t see anything except fire around me¡ªfire that, instead of being hot and burning me, felt warm and pleasant.


    The next moment, a big waterfall fell from the sky and extinguished all the fire. I was suprised, however , I could see the wolf in front of me... but blue.


    "It''s his echo", I heard Master Xela say as he simply waved, and the waterfall disappeared. "It looks like a projection, but if you are licensed, you can pick it up and sell it for some nice money," he continued.


    "Umm, hi," I said, pain starting to spread through me.


    "You should really learn to control the output," Master Xela said seriously.

 Chapter 7 - Interference

    The old man tossed me a pouch.


    I barely caught it, but when I opened it, I was surprised to see it was filled with eretes. They emanated a faint blue light.


    "This is for the echo," he told me.


    "What do I do now?" I asked.


    The old man looked at me. "Well, for now, you have to undergo an echo bestowment. The next one is... let''s see... a few months from now."


    I stared at him, hinting at my curiosity. He gave me an amused look. "Generally, mages aren''t allowed to know what an echo bestowment ritual is until they actually undergo one, nor about the process itself. However, I advise you to attend a magic-specialized school that could prepare you. I think the application period starts... in a few days."


    I gave him a look that clearly expressed my dissatisfaction.


    "You can try attending Chorus School in the town near the forest. I think you can be accepted there."


    As Master Xela said that, he turned around and disappeared.


    I was left in the middle of the forest, alone with all sorts of monsters lurking everywhere.


    ''damn that guy, just dissapearing like that.''


    Taking a moment to calm down, I looked around.


    The wolf I fought was pretty strong, but I knew for a fact there were monsters with abilities far beyond that of the wolf''s.


    I decided to spend a week in the forest. "If I am able to survive without losing any limbs, then I will be ready to apply to a good school, to help me undergo echo bestowment faster... whatever that is."


    For most of that day, I rested, and until nighttime, I gathered more logs and set up a tent using some thick sticks, covering it with leaves supported by thinner sticks.


    Not too cozy, but it felt safe¡ªeven though, realistically, it wasn''t.


    That night, I was visited by three other shadow wolves, as I started to call them.


    I dealt with them the same way as the first one. They were pretty far from each other because of their long-ranged attack, but for some reason, they came closer when I was in the tree, which meant they couldn''t cut the tree without killing each other.


    ''Are they idiots or something''?


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    I also figured that my magical output was most likely linked to my emotions.


    Since I was calmer than the previous night, when I did the fall-and-hit attack, I didn''t set all my surroundings on fire. I also discovered I could cancel the spell and the fire would disappear, just like what Master Xela did with the waterfall.


    The third day and night were uneventful. Nothing showed up. No shadow wolves, nothing.


    The next morning wasn''t as peaceful. Just as I was preparing to go to sleep¡ªthe sun already rising¡ªthe earth started trembling.


    I immediately got prepared. Not long after, I saw a giant creature approaching me.


    I could see it only because of all the trees that had disappeared after the first encounter with the shadow wolf. Its steps were what caused the trembling.


    It was very thin, considering how it was making the earth shake. It looked like it was made out of... Wood?


    I locked eyes with it. The monster raised a long blue sword and swung it. It cast a kind of ranged slash that was aimed at me, cutting every tree in its path. However, I had enough time to dodge.


    As it came close to me, I started to panic. It was so big and thin, with a sword as long as two whole trees, and it had four red eyes staring straight into my soul. Despite this, I dashed at it and hit its leg with my punch, infused with all the mana I could gather from my spirit.


    No effect.


    The wooden abomination looked down at me for a second before swinging its sword at me. I barely dodged again, but the impact from the sword hitting the ground blew me away.


    I wanted to try using outer mana to create a sword or something, but my mind wasn''t working properly. My instincts took over, and I used mana to make a powerful dash.


    I didn''t look back.


    I kept dashing and dashing until eventually, I realized I was out of the forest. I was exhausted, but luckily, the monster couldn''t be seen.


    ''I failed.'' I thought simply.


    Slowly, I made my way to the nearest town. I managed to find an inn and paid for a room for two days. I planned to rest that day and spend the next asking people about nearby schools.


    Having survived that situation, I was sure I could defeat anyone and anything... almost.


    The moment my head touched the pillow, I fell asleep.


    I woke up to find it dark outside. I expected to sleep through the night, but I got up and decided to eat something.


    As I was waiting for my food at a table near the window, a guy who looked about my age came up to me.


    "Sorry, can I sit here?" he asked.


    I nodded. "But why? There are a few empty tables around here."


    "Are you going to apply for a school?"


    The question surprised me.


    "Uh... yes. Why?"


    "Well, I will as well. I thought maybe we could talk since we have something in common."


    ''Another weirdo.'' I thought.


    The guy introduced himself as Eki. After telling him my name and chatting a little, I realized I could ask him about schools since he was applying to one as well.


    "What school are you applying to?" I asked, finally interested in the conversation.


    "The Magic Academy," he replied.


    "What kind of school is that?" I asked, confused.


    "No, no, it''s not a school. It''s an academy. The only one in the eastern area, right here in this town," he said proudly.


    "Good for you. I''ll be there as well," I said with excitement.


    "Oh, really?!" he replied as if he forgot that I didn''t know what an academy was. In fact, I had just made up my mind to go there. I was confident I could be admitted after having survived the wood monster.


    "When are you going to apply?" I asked him.


    "Tomorrow. And tomorrow, we''ll get the answer as well," he said while swallowing some meat.


    "Could you show me where that is?"


    "Sure."


    We spent some time talking, after which I decided to go back to sleep. We agreed to go to the academy together the next day.

 Chapter 8 - Aplication

    The next day, Eki and I met at the same table where we had eaten the day before. I was actually worried that I might have overslept, but things turned out to be fine. We had breakfast and silently set off.


    Along the way, I could feel Eki''s excitement, but when I asked him about it, he denied it.


    ''Weird guy.''


    I kept following him, since I had no idea where the academy was. We passed by a few big buildings, bigger than the ones I saw in my hometown.


    The people also seemed to be dressed nicer and they were more polite, and most importantly, they all were of a higher status. I could tell since they didn''t try to conceal their magical presence, and it was a strong one.


    Despite that, they didn''t seem to look down on me... It was as if... They were just straight-up ignoring me.


    I brushed off that thought. I started to become anxious seeing this many powerful mages. ''It will be fine, after all, I survived in the forest. It will be fine.''


    Finally, I broke the silence.


    "So, are we far from our destination?" I asked loudly, hoping this would soothe my nerves.


    "Nah," Eki replied, trying to hold back his excitement.


    I didn''t ask him anything else. Soon enough, we were in front of the academy. I imagined it would be a big, colorful building, with a lot of decorations and sculptures, big towers and a lot of floors.


    However, it wasn''t any different from a regular school. In fact, it looked more like a big flat where richer people would usually buy their own rooms. But it had 2 towers on each side of the building, with minimal decorations, almost a block of stone and a big gate surrounded by brick walls that differentiated it from a regular flat.


    After a good look, I thought the walls surrounding the academy were fancier than the academy itself.


    However, in front of the gate, there was an infernal line of people, mostly children with their parents or siblings.


    "They must be waiting to apply!" Eki said, not bothering to hold back his excitement anymore.


    I rolled my eyes. "Does applying take that long?" I asked.


    "Didn''t you read the rules before coming here? They clearly mentioned it there," he asked, confused.


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    "As I told you, I just made up my mind to join the academy, so I guess I didn''t." This was the first thing that came to my mind, but Eki didn''t seem to mind.


    "You have to fight one of their students, and the ones that you will fight are the weaker ones," he said.


    ''Piece of cake.'' I thought.


    Even though the line was long, our turn came pretty quickly. We were greeted by a lady who asked our names, age, and the previous school we attended. Luckily, she didn''t seem bothered when I told her that I was going to a school for the first time.


    She noted all our answers in a notebook and assigned us a number. She even gave me a piece of something that felt like cardboard, with the number 065 written on it. From what I saw, Eki''s number was 628.


    ''Another weird thing, do they just assign the numbers randomly?''


    As soon as we got inside the building, we got separated. It was very crowded, and I could barely see anything around me. I could only look upwards.


    I was in a big room, with a few floors, which were also crowded. In the middle, there was an open space, and from what I figured, we weren''t allowed to go there. That space also had a big spiral staircase that connected every floor, but nobody was using it, so I assumed there were some other staircases.


    ''Ugh, so many people here,'' I thought while trying to understand why there were so many. Eventually, I gave up. ''Nothing really makes sense here.''


    And as if to prove my point, from a speaker, a male voice started to speak.


    "Welcome, applicants. We are very happy to see so many talents gathered here, eager to become stronger and polish their magical abilities."


    Everyone went silent.


    "As you know, our academy is known in the whole eastern area, and we create the strongest mages, even some that are given permission to leave the eastern area," the voice continued.


    "As for the conditions of being accepted, you have to defeat your opponent or prove that you are worth our attention. The first candidate is number 065. Please proceed to the underground arena."


    The voice stopped talking.


    I didn''t even question why number 065 would be the first one. I started making my way towards the middle. That had to be the entrance to the underground arena. I felt hundreds of people watching me, which made me shiver.


    I was right. As I got to the middle, two guards fully covered in armor opened a gate for me. Beyond the gate, I could see a long staircase.


    ''It''s now or never.''


    The stairs were built out of stone, the same as the walls and ceiling. There were torches on the walls, placed far from each other, but in a way that they wouldn''t leave any spot completely dark.


    As I was descending, I lost track of time. It felt like a few hours, but I eventually saw the end of it.


    I entered a big room, bigger than the last one. It closely resembled a fighting arena. The floor was made of a different type of stone than the staircase, and it was big, very big.


    Surrounding the floor, there were pillars of something that looked like marble¡ªI wasn''t too sure. The pillars were supporting a second floor, which looked like it was designed for an audience; however, there was none.


    The pillars had a lot of beautiful carvings, representing different scenes from a battle. I suddenly remembered my grandpa''s diary and my curiosity but quickly dismissed the idea that was forming in my head. ''I must focus.''


    Then I saw something that shocked me. On the second floor, facing me, there were three people watching. I couldn''t really see their faces from that distance, but I still managed to recognize one.


    My jaw dropped. I was pretty sure I couldn''t possibly mistake that face.


    It had to be him.

 Chapter 9 - The first real battle

    I stared at the three people watching me. It had to be him. After a few moments, Master Xela turned towards another man with a white and long beard. He told him something, then turned his attention towards me.


    I couldn''t believe that the old man was going to be one of the people that would judge my performance. Then, I had a thought. ''Even if I fail, he might put in a good word for me and get me accepted.'' Still, I needed to try as hard as I could.


    The man with the beard spoke. Despite him being so far away, I could clearly hear him as if he was standing right next to me. "Welcome, Akira Kurogane. Just a reminder that even if you do defeat your opponent, it doesn''t guarantee your admission. With that, let the fight begin."


    As soon as he finished speaking, a guy entered the arena from below the place where the three men were standing. He was a little taller than me and about the same age as me. He had his eyes covered almost completely by his blonde, messy hair. He was lean and dressed casually.


    After studying my opponent, I heard the bearded man speak again.


    "Uhm... Sorry for the interruption, but I forgot to mention that you are allowed to use only the first stage of your echo, both of you."


    I was confused, as I obviously had no idea what he was talking about.


    I had no idea echos had multiple stages, as I had just discovered that echos exist a couple of days before. However, this was a great opportunity to learn about them through fighting.


    A wide grin appeared on my face.


    I was ready


    The blonde guy looked me in the eyes. He looked bored, as if he was waiting for me to entertain him. ''Tsk, he''s one of those guys that think they are superior beings.''


    After about five seconds of staring at each other, I suddenly felt a strange chill. My eyes widened. My opponent became surrounded by a kind of grey aura. Possibly caused by whatever that aura was, it felt like the air was drawn out of my lungs, slowly suffocating me.


    I started to panic as I couldn''t do anything. Just as I was about to faint, I stopped feeling that pressure, and I couldn''t see that guy''s aura either. His face didn''t betray any emotions he might have had at that point.


    ''This guy is a real problem.'' I thought, thinking about my next move.


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    I decided to take him by surprise, so I used mana to dash towards him with the intention to land a punch. In less than a second, he moved with tremendous speed and punched me in the stomach.


    The punch was very fast and powerful, and the fact that he hit while I was dashing made the impact worse for me. I also felt a sharp pain as if I got electrocuted. I looked at the boy in front of me, and I saw that he was about to throw a spear of electricity at me.


    "Oh shit."


    I tried to dodge, but the spear was too fast and hit my arm. I felt like all my insides were burned, healed, and burned again. However, I could still use my arm, and it didn''t seem that damaged, except for a black spot where the spear hit me. ''This guy can use electricity that easily?''


    I was trying to think, maybe Master Xela hasn''t told me everything about how mana works. ''But why?'' I shook off that thought and focused on my opponent. I could see sparks of electricity at his feet.


    Knowing there was no way I could dodge, I tried to predict where he would dash. And it worked. His punch barely missed me, but to my surprise, he instantly turned around and punched me again. Except this time, on top of electricity, he strengthened his punch with water.


    This made the pain I felt from the electro spear feel like rainbows compared to what I felt at that point. Before the blonde boy dashed, I covered myself in protective earth armor, and it just happened to save my life.


    I managed to stand up. I was not used to that level of pain. I wiped the blood from my face and got ready for round two.


    I already had an idea to help me deal with the guy. From the way he moved to attack me, I could tell that despite his lean body helping him speed up, he wasn''t as skilled in slowing down. I was going to exploit that.


    I remembered how I used to escape from anyone who was chasing me back in my hometown, by leading them into an alley filled with different dumpsters and trash bags on the ground, making it hard for them to keep up with me. I started running. I was expecting him to instantly catch up.


    I gathered outer mana in my legs. While I was in the forest, I practiced my outer mana control a little. I figured that If i was near some trees, I could easily create wood by drawing the mana particles from the tree. To test my theory I tried the same thing with a diamond.


    As I obviously wasn''t close to any diamond, I failed to create one.


    I hoped that I could transfer the mana from my legs the same way I could from my arms. It turned out that I was right. I created a small stone block behind me. As I expected, my opponent sped up and tripped over the stone block.


    I was already prepared, so as he fell down, I managed to kick him in the face.


    A moment later, he got up. His nose was bleeding. I tried to punch him, but this time, the earth mana that was covering my fist simply broke apart after I made contact. I looked at him with a dumb face.


    "You sure like to use earth a lot, don''t you?" he said, as if he was trying to provoke me.


    "Wh..."


    I couldn''t finish as I got punched again and sent flying over half of the arena. Everything inside me was hurting. I was bleeding all over.


    But I needed to win this. I needed to get stronger.


    He was walking towards me slowly. I used that time to think. I figured using earth was useless and probably water as well, given what happened earlier. That left me with only fire and air, which I wasn''t really sure how to use yet.


    Suddenly, I had an idea.


    ''This might work. It''s my last chance.''

 Chapter 10 - The first real battle Part 2

    My opponent was getting closer and closer while I was revising my plan. ''This must work. It must!''


    I couldn''t fail. Attending that academy would be a great step towards saving my sister, and later, finding out what magic was, how people found it, and how it spread so quickly.


    I felt that by finding the answers to these three questions, I would discover something big, a game-changer. I locked eyes with the blonde guy.


    I had never been to any school, but despite that, I knew from my dad, who had attended one when he was a kid, that one of the best ways to counter lightning would be with some metal.


    I was able to create a stone block since I was surrounded by stone from which I could extract mana particles, but metal was a different story.


    From what I saw, there wasn''t anything made out of metal nearby. Then I realized that the gate from which my opponent came out was a big metal door.


    At least I hoped so. I was aware I couldn''t just run, so I tried to stop him by making him trip over stone again. However, that failed, as he had anticipated it and managed to avoid my spell. He punched me again, with such force, that he blew me a few feet away.


    Standing up, I noticed that he most likely hadn''t picked up on what I was planning, and although unpleasant, the only option I could think of was to bait him to blow me towards the metal door.


    I was starting to feel weakened, as I had used a lot of mana, but I was close to the entrance.


    As I was already in a good spot to execute my plan, I just continued to run and get hit, and after doing it two more times, I was close enough to the gate.


    I could feel its mana particles, and to my relief, it was made of metal. ''Perfect! I might have a chance!''


    I was very excited as I started to gather mana in my body. I had to predict the guy''s attack again. It was spot on. He tried to punch me, but I caught his punch, which lost its speed and power due to my spell. His eyes widened as I started to crush his fist.


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    Then something felt wrong. Before I could react, a big spike of stone pierced my leg, and the insane pain I felt caused me to let him go.


    He retreated as I set myself free. I was worn out and hurt, but I wanted to win no matter what, and this kept me going. I didn''t even care that my opponent was still in almost perfect condition.


    I figured out his weakness.


    The look on the blonde guy''s face made me understand that he was still confused, and he was still underestimating me. ''Cocky bastard.


    This confidence will cause your defeat.''


    I was almost smiling. I attacked, and the guy dodged. He tried to counterattack, but again, it had no effect. I punched him.


    Metal seemed to do more damage than just using regular earth mana. ''Makes sense,'' I thought. I realized that the reason I hadn''t passed out yet and could still fight was because of all the adrenaline that I had at that moment. It felt like I was losing my mind. I wanted to beat the guy, like it was the last thing I''d do.


    At some point, I even started smiling, letting it all out. The blonde guy managed to land a solid punch again, but this time using fire. I knew he wanted to try and melt my metal somehow, but I just couldn''t stop myself from smiling.


    It felt great, much better than all the fights I''ve had back home.


    My opponent stopped and looked at me. ''You look like a psychopath. Why are you even here?'' he asked me coldly.


    I proceeded to attack him and got countered again by his fire. To my surprise, he immediately switched to lightning again and managed to land another painful punch, since I wasn''t able to absorb metal mana that quickly.


    I also noticed that we were getting farther away from the gate, so I made a run towards it, but he appeared in front of me instantly.


    ''No, you don''t,'' he said seriously and punched me away from the gate again.


    At that point, I couldn''t even feel the metal mana, and by the looks of it, my opponent figured out what I was up to. ''Not good.''


    I tried to come up with another plan, but my mind seemed to have given up. I noticed the guy wasn''t attacking. He was looking at something.


    Then I noticed it.


    I could see the bearded man raising his hand and slowly lowering it. I was confused, but then the boy said something that terrified me.


    ''Alright, enough playing. Looks like we are running out of time. I will end this.''


    My smile instantly disappeared as I started to have the same feeling that I had when the match began. I could see his grey aura, and for once, he looked totally serious.


    I could tell that he had just become a few times stronger than what he was before, and in that moment, all my will to fight had left me. All my hope and determination disappeared.


    The boy appeared right in front of me as if he teleported and punched me. On top of the sensation that I was suffocating, that punch felt like it drained every single bit of energy I had left inside me. I fell down, unable to move or do anything.


    My opponent started to walk towards the gate.


    I had reached my limit.


    My vision became blurry, then everything went black.

 Chapter 11 - Restart

    The first thing I noticed after I woke up was that all my pain and fatigue were gone. What''s more, I didn''t have a single bandage on me.


    ''Huh? Was that all a dream or something?'' I looked around, unable to recognize the place.


    A door opened, and the old man who taught me about magic and echoes entered the room. "You seem to have recovered. You have been out for a few days."


    I was barely holding back my urge to ask about my results. But deep down, I already knew what he would say.


    Master Xela looked at me, not showing any sign of emotion. "Can you tell me what has happened in the past week?"


    I started to tell him about my time in the forest and the wooden monster. Except I told him that I managed to damage the guy a little, then made a ''wise'' decision to retreat.


    At that moment, I thought that by saying all this, I could improve my chances of getting accepted, so I tested my luck. "So, uhm, did I get in?" The old man stared at me,


    bewildered. "What kind of question is that? You obviously didn''t."


    My heart sank. "The guy you fought wasn''t even using his echo for most of the fight. Not only that, he was just toying with you the whole time, and despite that, you barely hit him. The damage he sustained can be healed without any magic. You are lucky that the bearded man chose to take care of you, because if it were up to me, I''d let shit like you die."


    I was lost for words. I wasn''t able to process everything. Who even was the man in front of me? Why did he help me to begin with?


    The old man stared at me with a scary face and whispered, "This academy is for talented people. The sole fact that shit like you wants to attend this academy ruins its reputation."


    I was filled with anger. Who did that old fuck think he was!?


    "If you are so smart and powerful, and call other people shit, then why didn''t you fucking tell me everything!? What''s the deal with the lightning that guy used!? Why didn''t you tell me about echoes!? You didn''t tell me a single shit!" I started yelling at him.


    "You should probably learn some manners," Master Xela told me, not bothering to hide his sense of superiority. Words couldn''t describe how much that annoyed me.


    "But fine, I''ll tell you." I didn''t know what to expect. That man was insane. "As you know, when you are born, you become able to use the four basic elements. In order for one to go beyond that, for example, to use lightning, he would have to use outer mana."


    I tried to hide my shock. ''Is one of the weakest guys at this academy that strong? He was using it without much effort!''


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    That thought was very scary, but then the old man spoke again. "However, that''s not always the case."


    ''Huh?''


    "You see, there are people who, at birth, get an additional element that they can use with the help of spirit mana. Your opponent was like that."


    "And why did you make the fight so unfair?! Is it because I have a low status? Tell me!" I said furiously.


    "You could''ve at least made him use his echo... Peasant." He looked at me. "As for echoes... You won''t find out."


    He smiled.


    "That''s because you won''t undergo the echo bestowment process. And that is because... we decided to take away all your rights to attend any sort of school. Since we are such an influential academy, believe it or not, we can do that."


    "No, you don''t!" I screamed as I punched him. He caught my hand and punched me with his other one, knocking me out again.


    When I woke up, I wasn''t in that room anymore. I didn''t even know where that was, but I was assuming it was somewhere inside the academy. This time, I was outside. I was in the middle of the road. "That bastard!" I was very stubborn, so I thought of going to another school right at that moment, just to piss him off.


    But then I remembered how confident he sounded when he told me about being unable to go to any school. I punched the ground as hard as I could, letting out a scream. Tears started rolling down my face. ''This can''t be... What do I do now!?''


    Luckily, I wasn''t on one of the important roads, so there was no one nearby.


    After screaming and crying for a while, I finally got up and decided to wander around the town, just like when I was home. That made me think of my parents, which made me cry again for a few minutes.


    It was frustrating. They were always in the back of my mind, but I just couldn''t afford to cry over it. But at that point, it felt like everything was over. There was nothing I could do.


    I sat on a bench, looking at the sky. I wanted to try and relax for a little bit before I would think about what to do next. I wondered if Eki would pass.


    Was it an hour, perhaps two? I didn''t know. I was just staring at the sky; people who were passing by were completely ignoring me, so it was fine. A guy even sat on the other side of the bench, as if I wasn''t there at all. Except he didn''t completely ignore me.


    "Are you alright?" Surprised, I looked at him. He looked around thirty years old and had a mustache. His face was pale, and he was wearing a baggy sweater.


    "You''re weird. Can''t you feel how hot it is outside?"


    He let out a laugh. "My body is weird; I feel cold regardless of the weather outside. So, what about you?"


    I was debating whether to tell him or not, but he spoke instead. "If you want, you can join my guild. You know, we are currently recruiting."


    "What is a guild?"


    "Oh, really?" The man said thoughtfully. "Well, a guild is where mages go and gather the necessary experience for the echo bestowment, for the most part."


    My sadness suddenly disappeared.


    "Some of them choose to go on their own, create a guild, or some even remain in their old one. Well, generally, you would need to graduate from a school to be able to join a guild, but I like to scout for people without such possibilities who have the potential to become great mages."


    It felt like he was daydreaming, but I didn''t care. That guy was my only hope.


    "So you can help me!?"


    He looked like he got distracted from his thoughts and turned to face me. "So I was right. You do need help."


    He smiled gently.

 Chapter 12 - A new home

    We stared at each other for a few seconds, then I told him, "Yes, I would really appreciate joining your guild."


    His expression changed. He looked menacing. "What makes you think I''m not going to kill you or something?"


    I did think of that possibility, but it seemed unlikely.


    "First, if you really wanted to kill me, you probably wouldn''t ask me such a thing. And secondly, even if this is just some sort of bait, it''s my only chance to achieve what I want."


    "And what is it that you want?"


    I thought for a bit. Up until that point, I believed I wanted to save my sister and then focus on figuring out the secrets of magic, but I wasn''t so sure anymore. At that very moment, I didn''t seem to care about magic.


    The very reason I was going this far to become stronger wasn''t to understand magic.


    "I want to live a peaceful life with my family," I said simply.


    "Why come here?"


    ''Tsk, he''s really gonna make me spill it out now?''


    "To become stronger," I replied, with a hint of irritation in my voice. The man seemed to have understood that I wasn''t going to tell him much, as he didn''t ask any more questions.


    "Let''s go. Our meeting place isn''t very far away."


    We started walking. I was super curious about what this guild would be like. A week before, I had no idea that guilds, academies, or even that echoes existed. I couldn''t help but wonder if my grandpa knew about this but hadn''t told me.


    ''After I save Lili, I will find that damn diary.'' I started to think about Lili. What was she up to? What did those guys do to her? I hoped that I would make it in time. She would have to hang on for a while.


    "So, what is the guild like?" I asked the man, so that I could stop thinking about my sister.


    "What do you mean?" he replied.


    "Uhm, like what are we doing, how are we doing, this type of stuff." He glanced at me and narrowed his eyes.


    "Why were you there? On the bench."


    "I wanted to take a walk. Now answer me."


    The man laughed. "What an interesting one I found! Fine. Our guild is made up of seven teams." I didn''t know if that was a lot or not.


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    "The first two teams are veterans or powerful members, and they take care of the dangerous stuff. Teams three and four are new members, and five, six, and seven are the kids we scout. They usually haven''t been bestowed with an echo, so we help them in that regard, then place them in higher teams if they prove to be useful."


    I sighed. ''Again, this status bullshit. Looks like I can''t escape it anywhere.''


    "By the way, what is this echo bestowment?"


    He looked at me thoughtfully. "Can''t tell, sorry."


    I figured there must have been a reason why no one would tell me about it. I also figured from my fight with the blonde guy that this echo bestowment would grant me a huge power upgrade.


    Soon, we were at the guild''s meeting place, or base. Apparently, everyone in the guild didn''t have their own place, so they were all living there, according to the guild leader. That fact comforted me a little, knowing that I would be with people the same as me.


    The man told me to call him Boss. Everyone in the guild called him Boss.


    The base was a big house at the edge of the city, and beyond it was just a big field with flowers and rivers, and in the distance, I could see the forest. It was a nice view.


    As we entered the big house, I could see a lot of people there. They all looked like they were having so much fun.


    Some of them were in a corner playing some kind of board game, which I thought was kind of weird. Most of them were eating at a big table, and another group was in front of a TV. I had never seen one before, and I never thought I would. On top of that, the interior was so much cleaner and more beautiful than my house.


    Suddenly, Boss spoke. "Hey, people! I brought this interesting guy! Hope you get along!" Then he whispered to me, "You are in team five. Now go and make new friends." He winked at me.


    I got super excited and started to walk towards all the people as they started to gather around me.


    Most of them seemed about my age, but there were a few older ones that didn''t bother to get closer. ''Those must be the veterans Boss was talking about.''


    Everyone started asking me a lot of questions, but I made sure not to reveal much about my background. I only told them that I was homeless and had no family. But a few were insistent about it, and it started to get on my nerves.


    "Now, how about you leave him alone for now. I need to show him his room. Juta and Hboy, he''s your roommate from now on," I heard Boss say.


    Everyone became silent. I couldn''t tell from their reaction who was Juta and Hboy. The leader gave me a sign to follow him. We went past the older guys and entered a long hallway. "Your room is on the third floor. Room number 7. Also, in case you are wondering, your roommates are also your partners for your missions." He handed me a key. "You better not lose this.


    ***


    The toom, or house, as I could call it, since it was pretty big, was clean and beautiful. We had a small room that was connecting the bathroom and our three rooms, which were separated by a thick wall.


    Suddenly, I heard a soft voice behind me.


    "Your room is on the left."


    I turned to see a guy with his left eye bandaged and another skinny guy with a pretty round face that was standing out. I decided to keep my mouth shut.


    "Thanks. Also, my name is Akira. Nice to meet you."


    The guy with the round face spoke. "Nice to meet you. I am Hboy, and this dumbass is Juta," he said with his soft voice.


    "Sup," Juta said simply.


    "So, why are you called Hboy?"


    He frowned and said, "When I was small, I lost my memories. I don''t even know why, so I ended up here. I didn''t remember my name, and I thought Hboy would be a cool name."


    "Weirdo."


    I forgot to keep my mouth shut, but he just smiled at me. "I get told that a lot. Anyway, you should go get some rest. We will meet tomorrow."


    I nodded and entered my room without saying anything else.


    The room had a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk. I had a lot of free space, and I was assuming that I was free to do whatever I wanted. But I had enough for that day.


    I rested my head on the pillow and fell asleep instantly.

 Chapter 13 - A new home Part 2

    I opened my eyes. I felt refreshed. It was the first time in a while that I had slept properly without any worries.


    I got out of my room and noticed that Juta and Hboy weren''t there. ''They must be eating already.''


    The key Boss gave me was for my small room, as I figured, but I didn''t feel the need to lock it.


    I studied our ''apartment''. It had white walls. Right at the entrance, there was a big mirror with a wardrobe. A little further away was the bathroom. At the other side there were the three doors leading to our personal spaces.


    I left the apartment.


    I had to ask a guy to help me find the dining room. Apparently, the big table I saw the day before was mainly used during parties.


    After we made our way through a few halls, the big house started to feel more like a mansion. There was no way I could remember all those halls and where they were leading. Most were decorated with statues and paintings. Some had big wooden doors, while others just led to more halls. It felt like I was navigating a big labyrinth.


    "Is this guild a strong or popular one? I mean, how can you afford such a mansion?" I asked the guy walking with me.


    "Yes, the leader used to be the boss'' father. He died and left him in charge. Apparently, his dad was a very powerful mage. But don''t worry, we still have enough strong mages," he answered.


    We soon got to the dining room. I was expecting it to look like any other dining room, but I was wrong.


    The room was big, with colored banners on the walls and large chandeliers on the ceiling. It was all made of wood, like most of the mansion. It had a big glass wall, revealing the beautiful landscape outside.


    "Wow! I could sit here all day!" I said, mostly to myself. I even forgot to thank the guy for helping me.


    It was beyond my imagination.


    "Glad you like it," I turned around to see Hboy. He pointed towards a table near the glass wall. "Let''s go." As we got there, we were greeted by Juta, who had already gotten his food.


    Hboy turned to me. "I haven''t gotten my food yet, so let''s go together."


    "Sure," I replied.


    On the other side of the dining room, there was a wooden table with a bunch of books on it. "These books are the menu. You can get whatever you want," Hboy said.


    He started looking through the book. There were so many dishes I had never heard of, so I decided to stick with something I knew of. Steak. I had only had steak a few times before, but it was one of the tastiest things I had ever eaten.


    The moment i thought about it, the steak appeared on a plate instantly, freshly cooked. I wasn''t that surprised anymore. We returned to our table and started to eat. The steak tasted so good, it made me forget about why I was there.


    It felt like I was in heaven.


    As we were eating, Juta, who I figured was the quiet type, unexpectedly spoke. "I think that if we are going to work together, we should know each other."


    "Mhm," Hboy said without taking his eyes away from his plate. I nodded.


    "Alright, as you know, my name is Akira. My family died in an accident a few years ago, so I don''t remember much about them. As for me... umm... I am... uhh... curious. The reason I came here is to get stronger and have a new home," I said.


    Juta was looking at me the entire time. His green eye was scary for some reason. "You know pretty much everything there is to know about Hboy. Except that when he''s eating, he won''t participate in any sort of discussions. And he is too kind sometimes," Juta said.


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    He looked at Hboy, who indeed seemed to be in another world. I wanted to ask them why they were two in the team, but for some reason, I couldn''t. I hoped he would bring it up by himself.


    "My name is Juta, homeless and no parents. I lost my eye a few missions ago. That was mostly because we never had a third teammate. That is about all," Juta said. I nodded. "Nice to meet you."


    We ate in silence as neither I nor Juta were as talkative as Hboy. After a while, a girl came next to our table. "Can I sit here?"


    "Sure," I said without taking my eyes off my food.


    "What team are you on?" she asked.


    "We are on team seven," said Juta.


    I immediately turned towards the girl. ''How did she make Juta say a full sentence?''


    She was taller than me, with long and weird hair. It was violet mixed with black, but I doubted it was dyed. She was pretty cute, so I decided to try and join the conversation.


    "Umm, hello. My name is Akira. May I ask what team you are on?"


    "She is on team two," said Juta. I frowned. ''What''s up with this guy?''


    Then I understood.


    I smirked at him, trying to indicate that I figured out what he was up to, but he ignored it.


    "Yes, I am from team two. My name is Hana. You must be the new guy Boss brought in yesterday. Nice to meet you," the girl smiled at me. That made me nervous, so I quickly turned my face towards my plate.


    The truth was that no girl had ever really spoken to me. I was that type of weird guy who would fall for anyone that talked with him.


    I continued to eat in silence while Hana and Juta were talking about all sorts of things. I didn''t really pay them much attention, though.


    Suddenly, we could hear several footsteps. I saw on the other side of the room several people standing up and heading towards the exit.


    "Looks like team one and Boss are finally going," said Hana. "Going where?" I asked. "Team one was supposed to go on a very important mission to the border of the eastern area, but it got delayed a few times."


    "Is someone attacking us? If so, why has it been delayed?" I asked, although I wasn''t all that interested. If it were up to me, someone taking over the eastern area might have provided a chance for me to go beyond the borders without losing my life.


    "That information is limited to team one members," said Hana.


    "Well, whatever," I said, figuring that I wouldn''t get any more information.


    After we were done eating, Hana stood up. "Alright, you have about an hour before training starts. Take care and don''t be late!" she said as she got up and left.


    ''Surprisingly'', Juta became silent again. "So you like her?" I asked him with a smirk. He looked at me with a sad face. "Yes."


    Taken aback by his honesty, I decided against making fun of him.


    "Why do you make it so obvious?" He scratched his head. "I don''t know how to make her notice me. She is nice like that with everyone."


    "Ahhh, this was so tasty! Why do you both look so depressed?" I heard Hboy, who had just finished eating.


    I stood up. "Hboy, can we meet here in an hour so you can show me where the training hall is?"


    "Sure thing."


    "Alright, I''ll get going." He seemed confused, but I ignored it and left the dining room.


    I decided to explore the labyrinth of halls, trying to remember the way I took so that I would be able to get back and meet with Hboy. After a few minutes, I stumbled upon a double door that was open. It led to a garden.


    I wasn''t really sure that aimlessly wandering around the hallways was going to help me in any way, so I decided to spend my time taking a walk outside. The garden was beautiful. As I got out, I noticed a long footpath made out of a beautiful white material.


    I couldn''t tell what it was, but it looked like some kind of stone. Here and there, a few benches were built, as well as lanterns placed on wooden blocks. On both sides, there was a big garden with all sorts of flowers that I was seeing for the first time, and a lot of trees.


    At some point, I even noticed a pool, although it looked like it hadn''t been used in a while. I started to admire everything while I was walking.


    For the first time in my life, I actually admired something.


    Before that, I had never paid enough attention to anything, just annoying people and getting out of trouble. That was all I ever did. I got lost in thought and was lucky to find a small clock tower. Otherwise, I would have completely forgotten about the fact that I had training to do.


    Luckily, the garden wasn''t that far from the dining room, so I managed to remember the way back.


    As I got there, I saw Hboy and Juta sitting at the same table. "Hey, I''m back," I told them, wondering if they hadn''t left the table all that time.


    Hboy stood up. "Alright, time to go."


    Hboy was leading the way, as if he knew the way better than anyone else. Juta and I were following him. At some point, Juta turned towards me and whispered, "He doesn''t know. Please don''t tell him." I nodded. He was talking about Hana, but I couldn''t understand how they were teammates if they weren''t even sharing their secrets.


    ''I am one to talk here,'' I silently sighed. They didn''t really know anything about me, and I didn''t know anything about them. Going on missions together could be difficult.


    Soon, we were in front of a big door. It looked more like a gate than a door, and it was open.


    We made our way into a room bigger than any room I had seen in the mansion until that point. On our way there, Hboy said that people fight real duels there, as the room is made of a kind of material that was indestructible, although I had my doubts.


    However, that was all. It was just one big empty room. I felt kind of disappointed.

 Chapter 14 - The prodigy

    We were waiting in the big and empty room. There were more people besides us, but it was unusually quiet.


    I decided to wait and see what would happen. Suddenly, everyone began to line up facing the entrance.


    I did the same. The girl we met earlier came through the door. "Attention everyone!" she shouted. The atmosphere suddenly became tense.


    "Since Boss is currently on a mission, he has asked me to be the one supervising your training today," she said, in a calm tone this time.


    I turned towards Hboy. "Why is everyone..."


    I couldn''t finish my question, as Hana''s voice rang like thunder. "Akira of team six! I see you are superior and therefore don''t need this training! One hundred push-ups. Now!"


    My heart froze. Her cuteness disappeared, and I could only see a monster that seemed happy to make me suffer.


    "Eh, so you are superior?" I said under my breath, but unfortunately for me, she heard it.


    "You are going to do them with Antonio on your back." I really wanted to tell her some stuff, but I thought it wasn''t worth the trouble.


    ''That is probably why everybody here became so tense.''


    I was wondering who that Antonio was. I was expecting him to be some overweight kid, that for some reason was getting special treatment, but I was wrong. In fact, he wasn''t even a human.


    I got ready, then I saw Hana bringing a big rock, with the name ''Antonio'' scribbled on it.


    Before I could ask any questions, the rock appeared on my back. I felt like my spinal cord was on the verge of being destroyed. I made exactly four push-ups before I fell down.


    Hana looked at me and smirked. "Did someone tell you to stop?" she barked at me. ''How weird can Juta be to like this sadist.'' I thought while barely being able to do six more. The rock was so heavy, I couldn''t continue. ''From now on, I''ll just have to keep my mouth shut.''


    I fell down and was forced to continue over and over again. My arms felt like they were blown off, and I was surprised that I could still hold the rock on my back.


    Meanwhile, the other teams that were gathered there started with some drills to improve mana control or something, then they started a couple of duels. Apparently, only teams five, six, and seven were present there, so I assumed that it was a kind of lower-level training.


    I didn''t think much about it as I wasn''t doing well myself. At some point, I needed all my willpower and focus to be able to perform a single push-up. I had gone past my limits, and I was only at seventeen.


    Suddenly, a guy entered the room. "Hello, Hana," he said in a friendly but polite tone. The girl looked at him, and I took this chance to rest, even if for a few seconds.


    "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.


    The guy thought for a few seconds. "Why do you act like that? You scare them."


    He was around the same age as me. He had long, black hair. By taking a look at his face, I could tell that he could probably get a girlfriend anywhere and anytime.


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    He looked back at me. His eyes weren''t filled with hatred or superiority, but with worry and curiosity.


    I instantly became interested in that guy. He seemed different.


    "I will ask again. What do you want?" the girl told him, this time more menacing.


    "I was just wondering if I could train with these guys."


    "Listen, Rover. I understand you want to become as strong as possible, but a prodigy like you won''t reach its full potential with this level of training."


    The guy named Rover frowned. "I told you not to call me a prodigy. I swear it is annoying." Hana chuckled, then a second later became serious again. "Whatever."


    ''Looks like Juta has got some serious competition.'' I genuinely felt bad for him. There was no way he would win against a guy that looked like a model.


    "If you really wanna fight someone that badly, how about this guy?" said Hana, pointing at me.


    "Shouldn''t I just fight you? You know, give them a demonstration or something," said Rover timidly.


    "You fight him or leave."


    "Fine."


    Antonio disappeared from my back, which almost made me too comfortable, despite the severe pain in my back and arms.


    "What''s your name?" Rover asked me as he was tying back his hair. "Akira," I replied, still happy that I had escaped the torture Hana made me go through. "Nice to meet you," he said, with a wide smile.


    ''Why is he smiling like that?''


    "Stop, everyone!" the girl with dark and violet hair barked. Everyone instantly finished their duel and became silent. "This fight will be a demonstration for you. You will see what happens when you don''t obey your superiors," she continued.


    I gulped. I became sure that it would be worse for me to fight that guy than to do those push-ups, seeing how Hana decided to use me as a way to warn the others. Also, I was too tired to fight.


    "And, start!"


    I sighed, getting ready for the worst.


    ''Taking my opponent by surprise is my only chance,'' I thought as I rushed forward.


    Rover smoothly got out of the way of my punch and tapped me at the place where my gut was. "That''s one. You shouldn''t rush in like that," he said, smiling. I instantly pulled back. ''The prodigy'' was staring at me, probably waiting for my next move.


    This time I started to close the distance little by little, being careful not to get caught off guard. He wasn''t doing anything, just standing there. ''Is he testing me?'' That was a big possibility since it didn''t seem like he was looking down on me or anything.


    Then at one moment, he looked away. I took this chance and punched. He instantly caught my fist and looked at me. His eyes were black, and he had a mustache that was barely visible. He tapped me again. "That''s two."


    He let my fist go. I immediately tried to punch him again, except I did a feint. He saw right through it, and the next moment, he was behind me, and kicked my ankle in a graceful way, making me fall down.


    "That''s three." I was speechless. How could such a guy even exist? I couldn''t do anything. He was probably stronger than the blond guy I fought at the academy. He looked at me thoughtfully.


    "Here are a few tips. First, you should know opponents will try and trick you, just like I did when I looked away. Second, when you punch, use your full body, not just your arm. You gotta use your hips and legs to generate more power."


    He held out his hand, helping me get back on my feet.


    "And most importantly, you got four different elements at your disposal, each having different strengths and weaknesses. Why do you only use earth? On top of that, you only use it to punch, nothing else."


    I couldn''t reply. I hadn''t even realized it. I had barely used anything else other than earth for strengthening my punch or my defense.


    "Thank you," I replied quietly. "No problem," he smiled gently.


    "Really? How is this motivating the other guys here to be obedient?" asked Hana, a little frustrated.


    "Being obedient is not the way to become a strong mage, I am pretty sure. Plus, they all witnessed our fight and probably learned a thing or two," Rover replied. Nobody was saying anything.


    "Alright. Today you are dismissed a little early. I need to have a talk with this smartass," said the girl. To be fair, I had some doubts that she said the truth, but I didn''t fret over it.


    Everyone started talking again and making plans with their friends. I wanted to be alone for a while, but I heard the soft voice behind me.


    "That''s how new people usually get treated the first time. But to have a fight with a team two member... It''s a new thing. Even though he was going easy on you," said Hboy.


    I agreed. "Listen, can I get some time for myself? I''ll be there for lunch."


    "Sure," said Hboy.


    I also exchanged a quick look with Juta. I figured he also knew about Rover and Hana.


    I still had two hours and a bit before lunch, so I decided to explore around the mansion.


    I really needed some time to think.

 Chapter 15 - A big family

    [Sorry for the big delay]


    I skipped lunch, even though I told Hboy I would be there. I wasn''t hungry. I needed to think, but I couldn''t. I had to find a way to use magic effectively.


    I wandered around the halls, starting to get bored by seeing the same sights over and over again. I even entered and explored some rooms that weren''t locked. I didn''t find anything special except another big, empty room and a kind of meeting place.


    Eventually, I decided to go back to my room and take a nap. The chain of events that had happened in the past two weeks had made me extremely tired, and it wasn''t often that I got a chance to relax a little. As I got to my room, I noticed that no one was there. I thought they were probably out for a walk, which made me happy. I didn''t want anyone to be beside me. I just wanted to be alone.


    I never intended to work in a team with other people, but it looked like I would have to deal with it if I wanted to achieve anything.


    I sighed. I started to look around; maybe there was some food somewhere because I was finally starting to get hungry. But I had skipped lunch, and I would have to wait until dinner. I lay in my bed and fell asleep pretty quickly.


    ***


    It was dark outside. I went to eat early since I was very hungry, and I still didn''t feel like being with my roommates. It was just that Hboy was too talkative, and it annoyed me. I had to answer all his questions so as not to be rude, but it was tiring.


    I got myself some steak again. However, this time I got a kind of sauce, which made the steak even tastier than last time. Despite that, I ate quickly, and as more people started to gather, I got up and left.


    I went outside into the giant garden. It was extremely beautiful during nighttime. No one was there, which made it a perfect place for me to stay for a bit.


    I began walking down the white path again, but it felt like a completely different experience. It somehow made me feel at ease. I sat on a bench, listening to the subtle wind. "This is so addicting," I mumbled. "It really is."


    I jumped to my feet. I turned around and saw Rover. He had the same weird smile on his face as when we sparred. ''I''d rather stay with Juta. Can''t even have peace here,'' I thought as I tried as hard as I could not to show my frustration.


    He sat on the bench. I would have just turned around and left, but I decided to be polite. "You know, I just happened to come across you, so I thought I''d tell you. Try not to misunderstand Hana, will you?" His tone was polite and friendly.


    "Why are you so friendly? Did you ever think it might annoy people?" I asked, my frustration disappearing. He looked confused. "Well, you are the only one who has told me that until now."


    I wasn''t surprised. I had already learned that too many weird things would be happening. We sat in silence for a while. For some reason, it became awkward. I decided to say something.


    "So, what about her?"


    "As you know, we are all a family. I care for my family, and so does she." He turned his face away from me. "Most of us here have lost or never had parents. Hana is the same. I am pretty sure she has been through more than what she has told us."


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    I was itching to ask about it, but I figured it might be better not to know. ''It must be somehow similar to my situation.'' "She is like that because she cares about everyone. She wants them, and you, to be prepared to face any danger." Rover continued as if he was telling a kid some sort of fairy tale.


    I looked at the sky, fully relaxing. "Do people like that really exist?" I asked, having a weird mix of feelings I couldn''t even understand.


    I thought about all the people I had encountered up to that point. They were all a bunch of scum. Everywhere I went outside of my house, I was always seen as an inferior being, not worthy of living. The only ones who could truly understand me and be by my side were my parents.


    I was holding back my tears, biting my lip. My past was going to be a big obstacle for me, so I needed to set it aside somehow. Lost in my thoughts, I didn''t even realize that Rover hadn''t answered my question.


    "Do you also have some sort of tragic backstory, or did you simply not know your parents?" He didn''t reply. "It''s just that I would need some advice from someone who can understand me," I added quickly.


    "Are you saying people who simply didn''t know their parents had a better life?" he asked, with a mix of sadness and frustration. "Don''t they?" I replied quietly.


    "Most of the time, no." A long silence. Then he continued.


    "Most people who have experienced the reality of having a low status and no parents have lived the same. Starving, freezing every night, and sleeping under bridges, since no one wants to help people like us. We had to learn how to survive by ourselves."


    I was amazed at how he wasn''t talking with a single hint of hatred in his voice, just sadness, a deep sadness. Then he finally turned toward me. "What is your question?"


    "Doesn''t getting rid of your past help you live on?"


    He frowned. "Get rid of it?"


    "I mean just forcing yourself not to think about it, forget it."


    "I can''t say. I have tried, but it''s just there no matter what I do." He stood up. "I have faith that someday, people would stop being like this." His sadness disappeared, being replaced by determination. "That is the reason I am here. I will bring happiness to everyone."


    ''What a stupid and foolish dream.''


    I didn''t say anything as he told me he had to go and left. I stood on the bench for a while longer. I finally wasn''t bothered by anyone, but I still wasn''t happy.


    So kind people actually existed. I was so lucky to have been accepted into that big family. Now, I just had to forget my old family. But I couldn''t. I felt like I was abandoning my sister.


    ''I am going to save her and bring her here.'' I smiled, closing my eyes.


    I stood there for a while, just enjoying the evening. When I finally decided to get back to my room, I noticed that I couldn''t hear any voices. ''Did everyone go to sleep?'' Turned out I was right.


    There wasn''t a single light that was on, and the halls were dark and empty, giving me the creeps. Luckily for me, the door to our room was unlocked. I quietly entered and locked the door. The key was next to the mirror, as if waiting for me. I went straight to bed afterward.


    The next day, I woke up to someone knocking on the door of my small room. I opened it and was greeted by Hboy, who seemed worried.


    "Hey, what was that? It felt like you completely disappeared. As if you were never there," he told me in a childish voice.


    "Good morning," I said.


    I saw Juta behind Hboy getting dressed.


    "Today Boss returned. And he said he has an announcement for us before breakfast," he continued. "Whatever," I mumbled, still half asleep.


    I followed my roommates to the hall where I was greeted a few days before. It was crowded, and in front of us were standing a few few people, including Hana and Rover.


    Eventually, Boss came as well. He coughed, signaling he was about to give the announcement.


    "So, as you all know, the Guilds'' Rise Festival will take place in a week. So I will select a few people from teams five, six, and seven. I will assign them a mission that they will have to complete before the festival, and based on their results, I will decide if they will represent our guild this year. Also, the mission will be harder than the average mission, so get ready."


    Boss proceeded to name around fifty people and told them to go and wait near his room, which I didn''t know the location of. Then he assigned a few missions to other teams.


    As everyone was getting ready to leave, he said something I wasn''t expecting.


    "So, since I have assigned so many missions to you today, I thought I would give Akira, Juta, and Hboy one as well. You know, so they can get used to working together. Come to my room after I am done with the others." He had a silly smile on his face.


    ''Wow, three days in and already a mission.''


    For some reason, I had a bad feeling.

 Chapter 16 - The first step

    Boss'' office was pretty close to the main hall. We didn''t have to navigate the mansion''s hallways to get there, unlike every other important room I had been to so far.


    After only a left turn, we were in front of something that looked like a simple office door. I was confused as to why the leader would have the least fancy door, since all the other doors I had seen were big, double doors.


    We knocked. We heard a voice telling us to come in. To my surprise, I wasn''t feeling much. I had expected to be nervous or excited.


    The inside of the room was pretty small. There was a desk in the middle, with a small table in front of it and two chairs. Behind the desk, there was an empty wall. On the left, there was a small bookshelf, and on the right, another door, which I assumed led to his actual room. The wooden walls were painted black, and for some reason, it made me feel uneasy.


    Boss was standing at the desk, relaxed in his chair. Initially, I wanted to take a seat at the small table, but I decided against it when I saw that both Hboy and Juta were standing there as if frozen in place. I couldn''t understand why they were so scared. Boss seemed like a chill and nice guy.


    My thoughts were interrupted by the leader.


    "Eh, so you were supposed to be assigned your first mission a bit later, but something came up, and I thought this would be a nice opportunity for you to get used to working together."


    "So what is our mission?" I asked.


    "You will go to the nearby town to find a bunch of cats."


    I couldn''t believe my ears. What sort of mission was that? Why did I have to do it? I had a few questions, but I decided not to object. Deep down, I was scared that I could be thrown back on the streets with no chance of a nice future.


    "Why do they need a guild from another town for such a simple mission?" asked Hboy, obviously frustrated as well.


    "Because we are the closest available guild to that location. On top of that, the town doesn''t have a single guild, and I thought this would be a perfect first mission for Akira. If you do well, I will send you on more serious quests, as you are finally a complete team."


    We left the room shortly after. We would leave the next day, so we had to get prepared and have a good rest, as there was a high chance that it would take more than a day.


    We had just finished eating our breakfast. The dining hall was filled with people, except this time they didn''t seem to enjoy the meal like usual. It looked like they were in a rush since most of them needed to head out for a mission. Neither Hana nor Rover had been assigned a mission, but despite that, I hadn''t seen them at all.


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    My teammates and I had brought our bags with us to the dining room, as we were planning to leave immediately after.


    We didn''t take much with us¡ªjust a few clothes, food, water, and money. We had in mind to spend our nights at an inn or something.


    Just when we were about to leave the mansion, we were greeted by the boy with long hair that everyone called a prodigy.


    "Good morning! Are you leaving already?" said Rover, who was obviously in a good mood.


    "Yes," I replied shortly, since I didn''t feel like talking with him.


    "Alright, take care!" he said, grinning.


    I sighed. "Why is he like this? It''s sometimes annoying," I asked my teammates.


    "He tries to be friends with everyone," replied Hboy.


    We were already out of the mansion.


    "He hasn''t told anyone about his past, but he has proved to everyone countless times that he sees us as his true family. He says that he trains in order to protect his family and change the world," he continued. I nodded. I had heard the same thing from him.


    "He''s really strong, isn''t he?" I mumbled.


    "Yes, apparently he is in the second team because he doesn''t have enough experience. But he is super strong. He hasn''t shown any of us his full strength, and the other guys from Team Two who are his partners won''t talk about it," said Hboy.


    "The guy is also said to have two extra elements," added Juta, then sighed. It felt like he was comparing himself to Rover, probably because of Hana again. I was thinking of saying something to cheer him up, but ended up telling him that Rover was an interesting guy, which he seemed to ignore.


    The town we were headed to wasn''t that far, so we arrived there at noon. We were told that we had to meet a man in a park, and that he would tell us more details.


    We had no idea which park Boss was talking about, so we sat down on a bench a little farther from the main road. After we ate and rested for a bit, we decided to ask citizens if they knew something about a man who had lost his cats and requested the help of a guild from another town. It turned out to be a bad decision, as we were called incompetent and irresponsible by a few people.


    Eventually, we asked someone to tell us where the closest park was, as that seemed to be the best option we had, since Boss had told us that the mission would be pretty close to our town.


    We ended up finding the man as it was getting dark outside. He was about as tall as me and definitely over 40 years old.


    "Took your time," he said, sounding tired.


    "We''re sorry, something happened on the way," I replied quickly before any of my partners could say anything.


    "Here''s the thing. I had a few cats, and they disappeared a few days ago. I feel like this is more than them just running away, as there have been similar cases in the last month," the man said, looking straight into my eyes. "Please help them."


    I nodded as the man turned to leave.


    That night, we found an inn nearby, as


    planned, and paid for a room for three days. I didn''t know it was possible to rent a room for multiple days, but my partners thought of it as normal. That was probably due to the lack of experience between us.


    The evening went by fast. We didn''t even talk about our mission. While we were getting ready for bed, I figured that there was a reason why the cats had disappeared like that.


    "Someone must have stolen them," I said while lying in my bed.


    "Obviously," replied Hboy casually, without looking at me.


    I was surprised. It seemed like it was natural for him that someone was stealing the cats, but I blamed the experience gap again.

 Chapter 17 - The kidnapper

    The next day, I woke up pretty early, even before my partners. The sun was barely visible, so I decided to head out for a walk. When I was back home, I would go on night walks whenever I had the chance. It felt like I was in a different world. There was no sound outside of the wind, and the stars made the sky look artificial and beautiful, as if it was magic itself. I was always captivated by those walks. They were among the few things I ever enjoyed.


    Except this time, it was different. The sky was just as beautiful, even as the sun was rising, and it was just as quiet outside. When I was home, I would always hurry back whenever I saw the sun rising so that I wouldn''t be caught. But now, I couldn''t return home. Despite the fact that I thought I was over my past, I still shed a few tears before wiping them away and forcing myself to think about our mission. It was annoying. I didn''t want to cry over it like a baby, but I just didn''t have any control over it.


    After a while, I went back to our room and waited for Hboy and Juta to wake up. We had breakfast, then headed out.


    "So, what''s the plan?" I asked, hoping that we could find those cats as quickly as possible. "I think we should split up and look for them," I added.


    Hboy looked at me thoughtfully. "We''ll split up and ask people whose cats have disappeared if they noticed anything beforehand. We''ll find them by asking around, okay?" Hboy said, his idea sounding more like an order.


    I nodded. I wasn''t good at socializing, so that task instantly became a lot more difficult. At first, I just wandered around town, thinking about telling the others that I hadn''t found anyone who had lost their cat, but eventually, I changed my mind. I was sure they were relying on me, and I needed to be able to at least speak to people if I didn''t want to be thrown into the streets again.


    I gulped as I approached a girl walking nearby. She didn''t seem to be in a hurry.


    "Umm, hello. Can I¡ª" Before I could finish asking, she looked at me and frowned.


    "Sorry, I have a boyfriend," she said. Suddenly, she looked like she needed to get somewhere fast as she walked away.


    Was I really that ugly? I also wondered if things would have been different if Rover was there. That guy could get any information he wanted out of anyone.


    I figured that the most reliable sources were older people. From my experience, they didn''t have a problem talking about this sort of thing with anyone. As I walked around an area filled with shops¡ªranging from daily necessities to furniture¡ªI decided to ask two old women sitting peacefully on a bench, seemingly undisturbed by the crowd.


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    "Hello, can I ask if you know anyone who has lost their cat recently?"


    One of them replied, "I lost my cat about a month ago. Why do you ask?"


    I felt lucky that I''d found someone so quickly. "I''ve been hired to investigate these disappearances. Could you tell me if you noticed anything strange before your cat went missing?"


    The woman thought for a moment. "I don''t know, young man. She was sick¡ªher fur was falling out¡ªso I took her to a vet. The next day, she was gone. To this day, I think that doctor had something to do with it, but I don''t have any proof."


    I thanked her, since she couldn''t remember anything else, and continued walking. We had agreed to meet around noon to discuss our findings, but I still had about two hours left. Instead of looking for more people to question, I decided to get some ice cream.


    It was the first time I''d ever had anything like it. It was sweet¡ªpleasantly sweet¡ªand really cold. I couldn''t figure out why, but it was delicious¡­ and expensive.


    Just as I was about to leave, I saw Hboy and Juta walking toward me.


    "Hello," I said.


    They ignored me, and then Hboy spoke. "Alright, let''s sit here and go over what each of us found."


    I was confused. Hboy seemed serious now, unlike how he''d been back at the guild. I guessed he also wanted to take on more important missions.


    As we sat down, I bought another ice cream¡ªthis time with something called caramel. I decided to start the discussion. I told them what the old woman had said, except I framed the suspicion about the vet as my own idea. I thought they''d congratulate me for uncovering a lead, but that wasn''t the case.


    All of our findings had one thing in common: the cats had been sick, with their fur falling out, before disappearing. That meant the culprit probably wasn''t the vet. I instantly felt embarrassed and decided to keep my mouth shut.


    I glanced at Juta. He seemed to be enjoying the ice cream just as much as I was, even though he''d lived here for a while.


    Eventually, Hboy spoke again. "Whoever stole the cats has something to do with their sickness, which appears a few days before they disappear. I think our best lead is to ask a vet who might know about this illness."


    Juta and I silently agreed. Shortly afterward, we were on our way. There happened to be a veterinary clinic not too far away.


    When we entered, we were greeted by a man in his forties with blond hair and a trimmed beard. He was really tall¡ªalmost touching the ceiling of the small room. Inside, there was an examination table, a desk covered in papers and bottles, and some strange tools.


    "Welcome. How can I help you?" the man asked politely. He seemed like the kind of guy you wouldn''t want to mess with.


    Hboy explained the situation, and the vet told us to wait while he searched through the stacks of papers on his desk. I realized how lucky we were to have Hboy with us¡ªI was bad at talking to people, and Juta was even worse.


    After a while, the man stood up, holding a sheet of paper. "I had a similar case a few years ago. From my notes, the cat disappeared shortly after showing symptoms, just like the ones you described." He paused, scanning the paper again before continuing, "Turns out this particular illness isn''t caused by any plant¡­ but rather by some sort of monster."


    "A monster? But the only place monsters exist is¡ª" I mumbled, my eyes widening in fear as I looked toward the forest visible in the distance.