Rundrus Academy holds belief that the young students should be independent, a secret to the success of the graduates of the academy as they prided on meritocracy. Throughout their school years, they face many trials, whether it is self-imposed or forced through external means. It was a method to train the students’ ability to lead others and to be able to think for themselves.

Of course, the benefits of independence comes with the risk of responsibilities, including death. As much as the environment is controlled at the academy, the world was definitely not a safe place. It was also publicly known that the academy was built on top of a low-leveled dungeon, the perfect place to obtain battle experience. However, despite the risks, the rewards were much greater.

In the academy, there were varieties of buildings that people commuted to and from, depending on their desired courses.

On the rooftops of the main academy building, a lone boy stood, staring down at the city as the shadows slowly shroud the city. Fayn observed the populace from afar. It was lively. The marketplace flourished, restaurants and bars slowly became crowded, and inns received large groups of customers.

‘It’s peaceful,’ Fayn thought with a frown. It wasn’t that he hated peace itself, but the fact that people will lose that peace.

‘There were already signs of movement.’ Fayn recounted his memories. There were incidents in the past that led him to this very point. The very first incident 10 years ago caused him to lose his smile. Fayn clenched his fists, enough for his knuckles to turn white and his palms on the verge of bleeding. 

‘Told you… We weren’t strong enough.’

A voice in his head told him, back then when it happened. He didn’t start hearing voices then and there, though. The voice inside him was there the moment he gained awareness when he grew up. It had told him very clearly and repeatedly: get stronger fast, but he had ignored the words and paid the price and lost his family.

‘Yeah, I wasn’t.’

Fayn took a deep breath, as his thoughts replied to nothing in particular. He could no longer change the past. All that mattered was the present.

He turned his attention to his right hand, where a black-ice ring was worn.

The ring was special as it was given out to students of the academy when they enroll successfully. It was by no means cheap to make because it was delicate and required the inscription of runes onto the ring, more specifically, the engraving for a magic storage.

What truly made this ring special was that the ring itself was made out of pure magic crystals, one untouched by the mana of others, and they weren’t easy to come by. These pure crystals adapt to the mana it first interacts with, changing the color depending on the mana’s nature. This allowed for the selected mana to smoothly flow through the crystal, whereas, unfamiliar mana would be resisted.

Fayn focused on his crystal ring while he controlled his magic. While the mana was injected into the ring, images of items he had stored flowed into his head. He focused on one item in particular as he put his hand out and pulled the air.

The space in front of him distorted and his desired item appeared. A simple wooden flute although well-worn.

“An elegy for all of you,” He said as he turned around to the presences behind him, facing the clusters of ghosts that followed him around.

Fayn slowly pressed onto the flute and began to play with a melancholic look.

A slow tune, not too loud nor too quiet. Fayn slowly lost himself to the passage of time and closed his eyes as he played. Sometimes going faster, sometimes more upbeat. The sounds mainly played were tunes that allowed one to feel relaxed.

Twilight approaches and his performance is about to meet its end.

The two lifeless eyes are opened once more to the unjust world.

“You still haven’t moved on, yet,” Fayn said apathetically, “I really am weak.”

Within his eyes, he could now see a handful of ghosts in front of him. His audience of phantoms had left or at least most of them did. They were people he knew very well-- ghosts from the past that had followed him ever since those days.

Although the other ghosts had let go of their regrets, the ghosts in front of him were people with strong connections to the boy known as Fayn Nova and refused to leave. 

‘You aren’t ready.’

It was as if they were trying to convey that to him. He could only frown in his heart since he knew it was the truth.

Having no choice but to give up, Fayn returned his treasured flute to his storage and left for the exit.

》》《《

Fayn walked along the path leading to the dorms that were lit by the streetlights. It was the end of Winter, and the warmth of the world was slowly returning but it was still cold, the remaining patches of snow that has yet to melt being the evidence. The cold felt just right for him, though.

Fayn stopped basking in his reverie and ran into a sprint in the direction of the forest near the dorms. Although it was for an instant, he felt a spike of mana before it completely disappeared. Fayn would’ve missed it if it weren’t for the fact that he was walking towards the general area.

‘That mana. I’ve also felt it before.’ 

Fayn coursed magic throughout his body and strengthened it, allowing him to move far faster than a normal adult.

‘There’s some light in the forest.’ So he ran towards the source, dodging the trees along the way.

The trees slowly spread, revealing a slightly open area with two people. Flames were burning the ground and provided light. A person was towering over a downed, red-haired boy with a sword in hand, but that wasn’t what mattered.

Fayn came to the forest following mana he had sensed and felt before. It was the moment when he saw the person holding the same type of mana he felt before-- mana filled with malice.

“Demon.”

Fayn would never forget nor will he ever forgive. His thoughts were immediately filled to the brim with bloodthirst. The mana coming from his body was strong enough to change the atmosphere. It simply became cold to the point that even the flames that were burning the grass didn’t seem to provide any heat.

‘Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.’

The apparent bloodthirst alerted the demon-- the being holding the sword at the fallen, and he turned to look at the cause. The demon was clearly shocked and immediately raised his guard against the new foe.

The downed boy, despite not being the target was still feeling the pressure and struggled to breathe. It didn’t help that he was already beaten down, all he could do was rely on his willpower to stay awake so he focused on the demon and the boy whom he had never met before.

Suddenly, the pressure disappeared as if it never existed, to begin with. Fayn had immediately reigned in his killing intent and turned it into a chilling blade. He controlled his mana and let it escape from his body as if the mana dissipated from his body.

This action confused the demon. Where did his mana go? The crushing mana he felt was suddenly nowhere to be seen nor felt.

“Disappear.”

Fayn commanded. The demon widened his eyes as his gut instinct told him to move, so he jumped from his original position.

It was too late, though. 

A spike of ice pierced through the demon’s stomach, holding the demon mid-air. The mana that was released immediately turned to thousands of blades that surrounded the demon before stabbing into the defenseless target.

The blood of the demon dyed the ice made of magic red.

The fallen boy could only watch with a conflicted look as Fayn mercilessly created more and more blades and stabbed the demon with emotionless eyes.

‘I know that he tried to kill me but…’ he thought seriously while slowly losing his consciousness. The boy truly did not know how to feel about it. On one side, he was about to be killed but this was simply too much for him. Eventually, his battered body relaxed and decided it was time for him to sleep since he knew he was no longer in danger.

Eventually, the demon was encased in crimson ice shaped like a lotus. 

Fayn swung his arm diagonally. In response, the crimson ice split into smaller red shards of different shades and scattered into thin air, leaving no remains of the demon behind.

The demon wasn’t allowed any final rites of any kind. He was killed ruthlessly and will now be forgotten by the world.

When it was over, Fayn took a deep breath, releasing a white cloud when breathing out. Remembering that there was an injured boy, he decided to take a look before the staff arrived. There was no way they didn’t realize the amount of mana he had released when he killed the demon.

“Zzz… Herooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo punch…”

‘Ha?’ Fayn’s brain short-circuited when he was met with the boy sleeping carefreely, in a freezing atmosphere no less (even though it was Fayn’s fault). Let it be known that Fayn labeled the boy as an idiot and will continue to call him like that in the future.

‘Tch. Can’t leave him here like this.’ Fayn was reluctant to help but couldn’t help but remember a senior who felt similar to the idiot right now. Even though the two had never met before, he really thought that they had the same nature.

"Idiot." He muttered as he remembered a certain person in the past.

Fayn took off his blazer which was enchanted and threw it at the boy, which had conveniently covered his body.

‘I have more than enough mana reserves to spare.’ Fayn thought as he spread out his mana into his surroundings.

And exactly as how he guessed the scenario would play out, he felt two exceptionally strong mana run towards his location. The teachers would arrive any second now. Deciding not to stay here any longer, Fayn left the area without a sound.

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