-Oriana Mengral's point of view.
The tension was incredibly high after the director's words.
A man whose age seemed to be between 50 and 70, yet, being a wizard with an affinity to time and one of the ninth circle, he was among the most powerful in the world.
Certainly, Oriana would be afraid of him, but in reality she felt a strong respect for Director Wilbek.
However, observing his face, she noticed that he looked rather nervous and somewhat tired.
Well, the tiredness Oriana could understand, but she would never have expected Headmaster Wilbek himself, one of the most powerful wizards in the world, to be somewhat nervous.
His words came as a shock to everyone.
"What do you mean by a world-class problem?"
In fact, all the teachers present were wizards, at least, from the eighth, seventh and sixth circles, however, seeing the headmaster's reaction, they began to feel nervous.
It was obvious their reaction; if one of the most powerful wizards shows that expression, it means that the news he is about to give will be complicated to process.
Still, Oriana remained calm.
She knew that this was a situation in which the headmaster meant business.
Therefore, he was not to be interrupted.
Perhaps it was such important news that it would involve every continent in the world.
Whether that was the case or not, the director's words had to be heard.
Then, finally, the director responded.
"This is news that came to me recently."
Oriana kept her gaze fixed, she was rigid, her hands on the back of her waist, her eyes sharp and showing no emotion.
"It was really unexpected news."
Every time the principal stopped talking, the tension in the place increased.
The other teachers began to question whether the principal was joking.
But, of course, that wasn't true.
Every word the principal uttered was absolutely serious and cold.
The teachers knew very well that this was serious.
Whatever the news was, it was serious indeed.
"A dimensional rift has appeared."
The faces of all the teachers were perplexed; they were in shock and some broke into cold sweats, while others began to shiver slightly.
Oriana simply sank into her thoughts.
A dimensional rift.
Why did something like this suddenly appear?
This is over then, it's the end.
Certainly, the mention of a dimensional rift meant only one thing.
The end of the era.
The end of all continents.
The end of the world.
The end of humanity.
Of course, there might be opportunities to emerge victorious.
However, no one knows what new race of even more powerful monsters will emerge from a dimensional rift.
This left Oriana in a state of shock.
However, she could not control herself.
Her thoughts...
They were a complete mess.
But she tried to calm herself; the news had been sent to the director, which meant that the rift was not yet dangerous.
Still, Oriana couldn't believe it.
"This is a serious problem, though..."
The principal paused.
He looked at each of the teachers and then focused on Oriana.
Her hair did a flip, she opened her eyes in surprise and looked at the principal.
"The good news is that we have plenty of time to prepare."
This eased some of the tension in the air.
But still, it was clear that it wasn't easy not to be frightened at the sudden appearance of a dimensional rift.
"According to reports, we have at most ten years; at worst, the rift will open in six or seven years."
The tension persisted to the end, though.
Certainly, while there is time to prepare and worry about others, this is certainly to be feared.
Oriana remained calm, but seeing her classmates in shock, with some about to fall to the ground from the shaking, certainly Oriana was the only one who seemed calmer.
However, that didn't mean she felt the same inside; she was scared too.
With the appearance of the dimensional rift, it meant a war between humanity and the new monster races that would emerge.
The first dimensional rift that appeared centuries ago certainly reduced much of the human population and almost led to its annihilation.
However, at that time, magicians appeared who had been hiding in society and training for decades.
Thanks to them, they managed to end the threat of the dimensional rift and close it completely.
But with the appearance of the second rift, the situation was different; humanity was close to extinction. However, the most powerful mages of the royal family of each continent, with the help of tamed grade 1 monsters, managed to survive.
The war with the monsters was successful, and they managed to close the second dimensional rift.
In total, two dimensional rifts have appeared in the story.
This is the third one.
The first one was tough, the second one brought even more powerful monsters, such as dragons, and now the third one.
Quite simply, no one knows what will come out this time.
As the tension in the air was palpable, the director's voice echoed again.
"There's also a report, something strange."
"The scientists identified that there is holy magic overflowing from the rift. That means some monster with that mana could be present, and possibly the strongest of all."
However, they are not yet sure if this is the case.
Research continues, and Director Wilbek knows this all too well.
If there are monsters with immense holy power that even overflows from the rift, that means it is the first most powerful monster ever seen, even stronger than the so-called "Dragons."
Although no one knows where the dragons are, no one has ever fought one either.
In the second dimensional rift, the appearance of those creatures with large wings and scaly bodies was reported.
But when those monsters came out, immense power emanated from them, and yet, the most powerful mages of ninth circle could not bear the pressure of just seeing the dragons flying in the sky.
It is even said that hundreds of wizards almost died solely because of the presence of the dragons.
"For the time being, that's all. I have a warning for you."
Oriana swallowed saliva as she realized that the headmaster began to emanate large amounts of dense mana.
"If any of you spread the news I mentioned to you, you will be executed with the death penalty, understood?"
"Yes, Mr. Director!"
Everyone raised their heads and put their hands to their foreheads, as the military does.
The director's words certainly instilled deep fear in everyone present.
However, Oriana was used to it; after all, she was trained by Director Wilbek himself.
She knew his time magic.
She also knew that the director was looking for a transcendental power that infinitely surpassed the ninth circle.
And that is the so-called tenth circle.
There have been reports that, at some time before the era known as the Age of Dominance, there was an era when it was believed that there were magicians proclaimed as gods, with the so-called tenth circle.
However, none of that is known for certain.
"Dismissed."
Slowly, the teachers began to leave. Oriana was the last, but then the principal stopped her.
"Oriana, wait."
She turned and looked at the headmaster, who now had a broad smile.
After all, they were teacher and disciple facing each other.
"He's so good..."
She immediately knew who the headmaster was referring to.
"He's even more than you thought."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"So, do you think he's the key to achieving my goal of finding greater power?"
Oriana didn't respond to that.
She knew the director was looking for the power known as the tenth circle, but she wasn't sure.
Did the tenth circle really exist?
And if it did exist, how powerful would it be?
The records found mentioned absurd things, such as that a tenth circle could easily destroy an entire continent, with immense power and infinite mana.
They were certainly exaggerated claims.
"I'm not really sure, but I think it's possible," Oriana replied.
"Hehe, fine, you can go," said the director.
Oriana quickly left the room as the director pondered.
"I wonder if he will manage to reach that level of power. If so, then this coming new war will be a victory for humanity."
***
-Scene change.
-Gloriana Mengral's point of view.
As Luna and Asher conversed, Gloriana was extremely nervous. Her emotions and thoughts oscillated between doubting whether she was really in love or not.
However, it soon dawned on her.
Her heart was pounding every time she was near Asher. His sudden change in behavior and the blush on his face were clear signs of infatuation, and she had confirmed it.
"I... I'm in love with him," she said to herself.
It was then that she definitely understood everything. Her heart was slowly melting just being near him.
However, she was too embarrassed to tell him what she thought; it wasn't the time yet.
"I should wait a little longer," she thought.
She wasn't ready, and she felt she should be a little older too.
She wanted to express her feelings, but she knew it wasn't the time yet.
But, of course, seeing Luna trying to get closer to Asher, Gloriana knew that Luna was well aware that she liked Asher.
However, she still didn't want to express her feelings.
But the moment Asher slumped down and his head fell on her legs, Gloriana's face flushed intensely, almost bursting with embarrassment.
However, realizing that Asher did not seem to be in his normal state, especially because of his last words, which sounded strange, and seeing him slump and close his eyes, Gloriana was petrified. She could not react.
But then, after Luna's words, "Wake up, Asher," she snapped out of her trance and finally reacted.
Minutes later, Asher was lying on his legs and Gloriana didn't move.
"I'll go get a doctor," were Luna's last words before rushing off.
Gloriana was left alone with Asher.
She moved closer to his face, coming within three centimeters of him.
One more move, and they could have kissed. However, that was not Gloriana's purpose.
"He is breathing sharply, has no fever, and seems fine. He also doesn't seem tired or have any other symptoms."
She quickly drew her conclusions.
"He's fine, but there's something..."
She noticed.
However, she couldn't identify what it was, but an idea crossed her mind.
"Maybe I could use my light magic, but... I don't know how to do it."
Since awakening as a mage and discovering her affinity for light magic, Gloriana had never been able to use it or try to do anything with that magic.
But she knew she had to do something.
She felt that her magic might have some positive effect on Asher and that might help something.
However, she didn't know how to use that magic, so she opted to wait for the doctor.
She slowly began to walk away from Asher's face, but just at that moment, a very familiar voice reached her ears.
"Wow sis, you're bolder than I thought."
Sure enough, it was Oriana, who appeared right next to him, sitting down, as she looked at Gloriana who seemed to be about to kiss Asher.
However, that lasted only a few seconds, and Oriana spoke up.
"He's fine, but..." she paused.
Gloriana then pulled herself together, turned her face away from Asher's and looked at her older sister with eyes full of concern.
"It's a very big problem. Asher is slowly losing his sanity; his mental state is deteriorating and perhaps he will spiral out of control in the future."
Her words were hard to process, however, Gloriana managed to pull herself together and grasped her sister's words well.
"How do we... cure him?"
Her voice sounded broken. Seeing Gloriana's state, Oriana spoke up.
"You care enough for him, but, unfortunately, there is no cure for the mentality. He himself must strengthen his own mentality."
Yes, that was quite harsh.
But it was the truth. One way to recover from a state of mental exhaustion is simply to sleep for a long period of time; however, only a small amount is recovered.
Therefore, the person himself must strengthen his own mentality, and if he does not do this himself, then he will lose all sense of rationality and become a madman who will destroy everything in his path. He will not differentiate anyone and will attack anyone.
No matter who you are, if Asher loses himself to mental exhaustion, then there is no turning back.
"I... I won't allow it."
Tears fell, they were Gloriana's.
"I'm sorry, but this can only be done by Asher."
Still, Gloriana did not accept reality. She knew Asher would recover from his mentally exhausted state and be like before.
But Oriana was beginning to doubt; however, she too had some hope that Asher would recover on his own. She didn't show it, but in reality, inside, Oriana was extremely worried and almost couldn't help it, but she kept in line with her situation.
She had already recently received the news of the crack, and now her disciple was in a bad state....