"Hey, is that him?"
A young man could be seen walking in the hallway of the academy.
He had jet-black hair and deep brown eyes.
He wore a dark polo shirt with the academy crest on the chest, paired with plain trousers that fit neatly around his legs. The uniform was simple, practical, and gave him an air of quiet focus, fitting for a student at such a prestigious place.
"Yeah, that's him. Zane Thaleward. The weakest in the Thaleward family."
The young man walked through the hallway, ignoring all the murmurs around him.
His face was expressionless, even despite being the center of attention.
'...First day, and I'm already the center of attention. What a life...'
He sighed. His face remained expressionless, but one could tell the weight he was carrying on his shoulders.
…
Zane Thaleward was one of the youngest sons in the Thaleward family.
...And also the weakest in the Thaleward family. So weak to the point that he was even considered the weakest in their family tree.
The Thaleward family was a noble family known for their barrier magic, sealing magic, and magical defenses.
They were even considered the strongest family once in terms of magical prowess.
Their footprints were known worldwide.
Zane's grandfather, Wardell Thaleward, was the strongest mage in history.
He battled one of the strongest demon kings to exist in this world and sealed him with a sealing magic that he created on his own. This sealing magic would be known as the greatest sealing magic ever created, even among the other races.
However, this sealing magic came with a cost.
...And that was his life.
Zane's grandfather sadly passed away after battling the demon king and sealing him, giving him the title of the strongest mage in history.
And to this day, no one was capable of learning this sealing technique.
Not even Vern Thaleward, Zane's father and the current strongest mage in the Kingdom of Ashveil.
Not long after Wardell's death, Vern Thaleward became the strongest mage in the Kingdom of Ashveil, earning him the title of Sovereign Sorcerer.
Vern Thaleward had two children:
Eris Thaleward, Zane's older sister, and Zane Thaleward.
Zane's older sister Eris was marked as an A-ranked potentialist right after being born, and because of that, she was dispatched to Frostmere Castle, a castle that belongs to the Thaleward clan and is used for nurturing talented individuals.
In the Thaleward family, there is a tradition where they measure a child's potential right after being born. Their potential is measured through D, C, B, and A, with D being the lowest and A being the highest.
And they are basically dispatched to a castle based on their potential. Let's say someone had a potential of D rank. Then they would be dispatched to a castle that nurtures low-potential individuals.
The castle they are sent to essentially nurtures them. They teach them basic and common knowledge and train them to be stronger. First, they teach the children basic spells; then, they teach them the basics of Thaleward's barrier and sealing magic.
They train and learn the basics of Thaleward's barrier and sealing magic until they turn 12 years old.
Zane's potential was marked as D rank, and because of that, he was dispatched to Ironveil Castle.
Ironveil Castle is a castle that nurtures low-potential individuals like Zane.
Zane spent his entire life here. This is where he learned how to walk, how to read, and how to cast a magic spell.
The instructors at Ironveil Castle aren't really that great, since this is a castle for low-potential individuals. Well, the Thaleward family never really put much effort into nurturing low-potential individuals.
This affected Zane's learning capabilities a lot, as the instructors rarely did anything to nurture them.
Basically, the higher-ranked the castle is, the more prestigious it is. The stronger the trainers are, and the more luxurious the castle is.
After turning 12 years old, they do a test.
Those who qualify can move to the main house of the Thaleward family.
…Which Zane never passed.
Zane turned 16 years old and never passed the Thaleward qualifying test to move to the main house, thus he remained alone at Ironveil Castle.
A castle for trash and losers.
Because of that, he became a laughingstock.
Out of all the D-ranked potentialists, only he remained at Ironveil Castle.
…
Zane walked through the hallway of the academy, ignoring the students looking at him with judgmental eyes.
'What was my section again?'
'Hmm…'
'Ah, yes. That's right.'
'Section D - Phoenix.'
Focusing in front of him and walking a little bit faster, he headed to his classroom.
After minutes of searching for his classroom, he finally arrived.
'This must be it.'
Standing before his classroom, he stared at it for a while.
He sighed.
'Fuck, I hate school.'
It had been three years since Zane had entered the Arcana Magic Academy.
A prestigious academy only nobles and rich people can get into.
Arcana Magic Academy stood in a quiet valley, its white stone buildings glowing in the soft sunlight. Tall towers reached up toward the sky, covered in runes that shimmered with magic. The academy's grounds were clean and peaceful, with wide lawns and bright gardens where flowers seemed to bloom all year round.
Despite its amazing and eye-catching looks, the students here were full of prideful and arrogant people.
That was why Zane didn't like being in the academy.
Not only was he considered the weakest in the Thaleward clan, but also a target of bullies.
His life was nothing but shit in this academy.
His last name was like nothing. Despite his clan being in the top two of the strongest families in terms of magical prowess, others still treated him like dog shit.
They knew no one in his family would come and back him up if they treated him like trash, which was why his life had been nothing but hell.
…In this world, power was everything.
As Zane stood still before the classroom, remembering how hellish his life had been in this academy, he couldn't help but show anguish in his eyes.
His third year in this school was finally going to begin.
'Another hellish year again, huh.'
Sighing, he slowly entered the classroom.
Bump!
However, right after he entered the classroom, someone bumped into him.
'Crap.'
Slowly regaining his composure, he looked at the man who bumped into him.
He had black spiky hair, his eyes were fierce, and his aura was brimming with arrogance and pride.
'Shit, it had to be this guy!'
Lowering his head, he apologized.
"Uh, sorry about that."
The man with black spiky hair paused for a while. He stared at Zane, then a faint smile started to form on his face.
"Oh, wow. If it isn't Zane. I never thought we would be classmates again, man! I'm glad to see you again."
He said as he put his arm on Zane's shoulders.
Gritting his teeth, he forcefully said,
"Y-yeah, good to see you too, man."
'Damn it. I just entered the room! Just what kind of luck do I have?!'
The man with black spiky hair lowered his head, getting closer to Zane's ear.
"You look like you are training really hard, Zane. Didn't I tell you before to just give it up? You have been in this academy for over two years, yet the only spells you can perform are basic spells. Hell, you can't even perform your family's basic magic spell. Isn't that enough for you to give up already?"
Zane remained motionless. He couldn't really do anything. After all, he was right. He could only do basic magic spells and couldn't even master his own family's magic spells.
Zane wasn't capable of learning any advanced spells or his own family's magic spell because of his lack of mana. Although his learning capabilities were average—he wasn't a fast learner, but at the same time, he wasn't a slow learner—he just had one fatal weakness.
His lack of mana capacity.
His mana capacity was so low to the point that he could only do basic spells.
He never understood why. He belonged to a family where having a large amount of mana was common and normal, yet why did he possess such low mana capacity?
Zane gritted his teeth even more. He knew that he should never let his anger control him, but those words always pierced his heart as if sharp needles were sticking into it.
After all, Zane had worked so hard. He did everything he could to increase his mana capacity and to learn his family's magic spells.
He had worked so hard, to the point he barely slept every day just to train himself.
However, before the situation could escalate any further, someone called out the man with black spiky hair.
Hearing the voice, Zane raised his head and looked toward the source.
Zane stared for a while.
"Zeph?"
Zeph was a person who belonged to the Grimthorn family, one of the top 10 strongest families in the Kingdom of Ashveil.
Known for their powerful fire affinity, he had red hair, red eyes, and looked incredibly handsome. His aura spoke of a prideful young man—a pride that wasn't arrogant but exuded strength and formidability as someone from a powerful family.
Zane noticed the girls around him blushing over Zeph.
"Why would you want to waste your time on someone that pathetic, Vax? Didn't I tell you before not to waste my time?"
Vax's arms finally left Zane's shoulders. He straightened his body and scratched the back of his head.
"Right, right. Of course, young master. How could I have forgotten!"
His tone was dripping with sarcasm.
Finally, Vax started to walk forward but stopped in front of Zane one last time.
"You better pray we don't see each other alone."
He then continued to walk toward Zeph and stood beside him.
Zane watched as they walked down the hallway. He stared until they were almost out of sight.
He could still hear Vax laughing as both Zeph and Vax disappeared down the corridor.
'Hell, I'm dropping out for sure. If it weren't for my damn family, I wouldn't even be here.'
He sighed.
After standing motionless for a while, he finally looked around his surroundings.
People were staring at him.
On the first day of the academy, he had already caused a commotion.
Sighing once again, he tried to regain his composure and scanned the room, ignoring all the gazes and murmurs directed at him.
He looked around the classroom, trying to find a seat.
The lecture hall had a grand yet simple design, with curved rows of polished wooden desks rising higher toward the back. The walls were made of smooth stone. At the front stood a large, empty wall, often used for magical projections or chalk drawings.
After looking around for a while, he saw a young man with brown hair and green eyes waving toward him with a grin.
Just like Zane and the other students, he wore the academy's uniform.
Zane stared at him blankly, slightly shocked.
"Vale? We are classmates again?"