"Ahhhhhhhhhh! Aaaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaah!"
A disheveled-haired woman wailed in pain; it was clear she was in labor.
One nurse was holding the poor woman down as she squeezed the nurse's hand with all her strength. Her teeth bit so hard into her lower lip that it left a gash.
Another nurse was stationed at the woman's crotch, carefully observing as a baby forcefully crawled its way into the world. "Just a little more," she said, her voice steady amidst the chaos. The atmosphere was filled with shouts and cries, but if one looked at the nurse's face, it was as though she were in paradise.
Soon, a tiny hand emerged from the opening, followed shortly by a head. The child blinked in wonder at the world he had just been born into.
The nurse quickly wrapped the newborn boy in soft cloth and held him up triumphantly. "It's a boy!" she announced, a smile of relief lighting up her face.
Meanwhile, the exhausted mother had a strange expression on her face—an unsettling mix of exhaustion and regret, as though she lamented the very birth of the child.
The nurse immediately noticed the mother's expression and quickly handed her the baby.
But in the next moment, the mother lashed out at the newborn, as if the ordeal of labor had driven her into a frenzy. Her hands swiped through the air, leaving a scratch across the child's delicate right eye.
"Crack!
A boy woke up, perplexed, to find his pillow stained with saliva. He urgently looked around his room, but as his gaze settled on the beat-up walls riddled with holes and the dusty furniture, he slowly calmed down. "A nightmare, eh," he muttered, glancing at the blazing sunlight with reverence.
The boy hadn't always loved nature. His fascination began when he once saved an injured swallow that had landed on his windowsill. Since then, he stared at the sun with amazement, often going to bed early just to witness the sunrise. However, there was one thing he didn't like—the cheerful voice that always notified him when class was about to start.
She should say it right about... now.
"Ryan, wake up. It's time for class."
Ryan snorted and got out of bed, moving to dress and check himself in the mirror. After all, what boy wouldn't take a quick look at himself before heading out to meet his crush?
Ryan's room was simple. His bed faced the door, the nightstand was to the left of the bed, and the mirror stood near the window on the right side of the room.
The boy lazily walked over to the mirror and caught a glimpse of himself: raven hair, brown eyes, average height, and a thin build. "Looks like it's Ryan," he said with a laugh. It was indeed him.
The unique thing about Ryan was that he often viewed himself as a spectator of his own body—or, at times, of the world around him. His mind, a swirl of manic imagination, turned even mundane moments into something extraordinary.
Some people found him weird; others found him funny. But Ryan simply didn't care. To him, this habit of detachment was a hobby he adored. Every time he indulged in it, he felt a strange sense of accomplishment.
Ryan, clad in a red and black uniform with blue stripes adorning his shoulders, strode to the door. He took a deep, sluggish breath and turned the doorknob to open it.
As soon as the door opened he was greeted by a boy who looked to be same age as him the boy smiled sheepishly at him while ryan just stared at him with detached eyes.oh cmon ryan its going to be a fun day.ryan closed the door behind him,''your quite excited lazar''he said.
lazar with a smile said while putting his hand over his friends shoulder''Of course todays the day we learn more about the world''.
Ryan who was suprised by that information raised a rare smile and lifted his hand in the air and announced''finally the boring math will end''
As they walked down the hallway, Lazar said with a skeptical expression, "Ryan, don't you think it's weird that we're only learning more about the world now? It's like they've been trying to hide information from us until we turned 15." Lazar's tone was serious.
Ryan laughed like a lunatic while he said''it sure is fishy''
Lazar, who had been his friend for over 10 years, didn't react. "You're doing that thing again," he said, giving his friend a slap on the back as he coughed from laughing
"I can't help it," Ryan said.
Lazar, with a defeated expression, checked the clock in the top right corner of the hallway. His face turned white with dread—it was nearly 8 o'clock, the time when the class began.
(To run to the other side of the hallway, which had many turns, would take 35 seconds. It's currently 7:59. If we miss it, even by a second, we're doomed.) Lazar thought as he analyzed the time.
In nearly no time, he said, "Run, or we'll be late!"
Ryan, startled by his friend's behavior, reacted two seconds later. After receiving the warning, both of them dashed forward as if being chased by an eldritch horror.
As they ran, Ryan began to lose Lazar, having reacted too late. When Ryan turned a corner, he collided with a random lady who had many trays of papers stacked on top of each other.
My luck, huh? Ryan thought as he ignored the lady and kept running.
Lazar suddenly stopped in front of a blue door made of light metal, which was durable, but not durable enough to withstand a punch from an adult.
Lazar quickly opened the door. What he saw were four rows going upward. As he scanned the students seated in their seats, the male students seemingly grew annoyed when he looked at them, but all the girls shyly avoided his gaze, mesmerized by his appearance. I mean, who wouldn't be? Lazar had gray hair, blue eyes that seemed like they were made of water, and most importantly, he was tall. Kids his age weren't usually that tall.
the teacher with a grin took out a pocket watch from her pocket looked at it noded and said''Lazark your on time but it seems like ryan will be late''her tone seemed like she enjoyed ryan being late.
lazark quickly took a seat on the 3rd row to the far right(hope he gets here on time)he thought while wiping the sweat of .
Ryan, with an exhausted appearance, stood in front of the metallic blue door. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door. Immediately, he was bombarded by a bucket of water. As Ryan tried to make sense of the situation, he saw the teacher grinning as she said, "Get to your seat, student."
Ryan rapidly found a seat next to Lazar in the third row.
Disoriented by the situation that had just occurred, Ryan looked around to find his footing, only to see the girls laughing hysterically and the boys looking at him with pity. As Ryan looked toward the front row, only one woman didn't smile—his crush. Ryan was overjoyed. He had always tried to gather her attention, but this time, he was glad he hadn't.
"Enough," a loud, powerful voice reverberated through the classroom. The students turned their heads to their right to see an old man, adorned in a black hanfu, about 60 years old, with long dark gray hair and deep wrinkles. A beard filled his face. If one looked closely at the old man's legs, they had a different shade of skin color, no doubt a result of him training a technique.
The old man let out a slight cough before speaking. "Welcome to all of you who have joined this institution through enrollment. My name is Eniad Larasuto, and I am the Principal. I hope you have a blessed and enriching experience here."
Is that it? thought almost everyone. My family used nearly all their assets to get me into this institution, and all we get is a half-assed speech? The arrogant ones in the classroom thought.
The institution was a private school meant for nurturing talents that could protect humanity, specifically for the lower and middle classes, located in the city of New Beijing.
Before disappearing, the old man gave a thumbs up to Ryan. The old man always embarrasses me in front of Emilia, my crush, Ryan thought.
Ryan loved his grandpa deeply; he was the only family he had left after his parents took their own lives because of his perceived lack of talent. Ryan despised his parents for their inability to accept him and for abandoning him to the harshness of the world. If not for his grandpa's unwavering love, he would have surely perished long ago. Despite recognizing Ryan's shortcomings, his grandpa never gave up on him and always took him under his care. To Ryan, the man who held the most honor in his heart was his grandpa.
After the principal left, the teacher, in a bored voice, spoke, "Alright, it's time to start." Some of the boys in the classroom wondered why she didn't say her name, as it seemed like she didn't want it to be known.
Anyways, everyone in the classroom focused all their attention on the teacher. Standing up, she opened a book and began narrating. "Mana, or magic energy, was first discovered a millennium ago. Back then, humans were overjoyed at the sight of mana, since who wouldn't want to have magic powers that were once only told in fairy tales? After a century of mana being discovered, gates started to open on Earth. The smallest of them was the size of the Eiffel Tower, and the largest was the size of Mount Everest. The first to be assaulted by the massive demonic hordes were the Americas. It was a total massacre—nearly all of the human population was wiped out.
After seven centuries of fighting against the demonic kind, only the Asian perimeter remained."
"Which we are currently on," the teacher said in a nonchalant tone as she closed the book.
For a few seconds, she observed the reactions of the students: dread, fear, despair, and shock.
It seemed like she was used to this, as she announced, "Class dismissed. Tomorrow, we'll learn about magic and the levels of power."
Ryan stared at Lazar in disbelief. Lazar returned the gaze, and, in unison, both of them placed their hands on their foreheads and muttered, "This can't be real."