Minutes later, a figure emerged from the academy's gates. Her robe, adorned with silver veins, clearly marked her level of power.
A gust of wind sent Kael and Lian's hair fluttering as they watched the figure approach.
"I came as quickly as I could. You must be Lian, right? Patrick praised you highly, saying you're special… That guy is always so mysterious," she said.
Lian was mesmerized. "What the hell? Why are all the girls I meet so beautiful?! So it's true that my town is just a backwater…" His thoughts, thankfully, didn't show on his face. He struggled to maintain a calm expression.
"I'm Elora," the woman said with a smile, revealing a row of pearly white teeth that shone brighter than the academy's marble walls.
Lian swallowed hard. "Damn…" he thought, quickly bowing his head in greeting to hide the flush creeping across his face.
"P-pleased to meet you, Mage Elora," he stammered, his face as red as a ripe tomato.
"Don't be nervous," she replied, tossing an object toward him. "As you know, this is a spatial ring. Inside, you'll find books and general concepts every Mage needs to know, along with your Mage uniform. But first, follow me—I'll show you the academy."
Elora was a genuine Silver-rank Mage, one of the academy's instructors, her presence radiating a quiet strength that commanded respect.
Lian froze momentarily, his eyes locked on Elora's retreating figure, but his mind was on the spatial ring. "Finally!!" he thought, slipping it onto his finger with a surge of excitement.
He gave Kael a quick nod before hurrying after Elora.
"You're from Dustwall, right?" Elora began casually. Patrick was a highly respected Mage, hailed as a rare talent capable of shaking the current magical system. His words carried weight, and if he praised someone, it meant they were worth noticing. That's why Elora had personally taken on this task. After all, it was unusual for a Mage of her caliber to serve merely as an academy guide.
Lian, warmed by Elora's gentle voice and her interest in him, became talkative. "Oh, yes. Have you ever been to Dustwall? It's a very welcoming town. You know, I have a little sister who thought Mages just went 'Boom' with their—"
But the moment Lian crossed the majestic doors of the Astralis Academy, an impossible event, defying every law of reality, erupted without warning.
Zzzzt-CRACK!
An electric hum, like lightning shattering the sky, tore through the air. The sudden sound was so piercing it shook the academy's stone walls, triggering a chorus of alarms that rippled like a shockwave through every corner of the city.
Such alarms only sounded in moments of extreme crisis, like a magical beast invasion. Yet nothing of the sort loomed on the horizon.
VVOOOM!
The space beside Lian warped. The air vibrated, strange magical particles fusing together to form a vortex.
It was the birth of a Gate. And as with every Gate, its first phase was clear: instability. No one could enter it.
But what happens when a Gate forms in the exact space where someone is standing?
Well, obviously… no one had ever experienced it before. It was an entirely illogical event, devoid of magical or scientific basis.
Yet that was exactly what was happening.
"Huh?! HELPPPPP!" Lian's scream, swallowed by the blaring alarms, was all Elora heard before she turned to see his terrified face, crying for help as he was sucked into a strange portal.
The only thing Elora saw was his horror-stricken expression as the portal consumed him.
"What the hell?!" she gasped, her face a mix of shock and fear.
She hadn't even had time to process the scene before Lian was swallowed by the Gate. The alarms continued to blare relentlessly as Elora stood with wide eyes, sweat dripping from her forehead. Her smile was gone, replaced by pure terror. "If I had been a moment slower, that could've been me!" was all she could think, her heart pounding like a war drum.
"A Gate appeared here?" Kael's voice snapped Elora out of her thoughts. "Where's Lian?" he continued, looking around.
Elora stared at the portal for a few more seconds before turning to Kael. "Lian… he was sucked into the portal…" She could hardly believe her own words, yet it was the truth.
The alarms rang on for several minutes before Grimreach's most powerful and prominent figures learned the cause.
Patrick was stunned, Sera was shocked. She had started to like that froggy—he was an easy target to tease…
Meanwhile, the person in question, Lian, found himself face-down in the sand, eyes closed.
His form was barely recognizable. His clothes were shredded, stained with blood. Yet, despite all the blood he'd lost, not a single grain of sand was stained, as if it had been absorbed.
Time passed…
Despite its passage, the sun never shifted its position. A faint breeze swept through, emphasizing the desolation of the place, a wasteland frozen in eternal stillness.
Suddenly, something stirred. It moved swiftly beneath the sand, undisturbed.
Lian noticed nothing—he was unconscious. The terrifying sensation of teleportation had overwhelmed him.
Drawn by the blood, the figure beneath the sand reached Lian's position in seconds. Abruptly, a head emerged from the sand. It was a monster.
Its form resembled a worm, but far larger than any ordinary worm. At least a meter long, its mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth. Devoid of eyes or other organs, the only distinguishing features besides its teeth were small holes dotting its body. Its sandy hue made it invisible as it slithered.
The worm circled the bloodied, unconscious human, assessing the threat level.
Lian didn't move at all.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the worm approached, its mouth gaping, ready to devour him whole.
But its sharp teeth barely grazed Lian's right ankle before a deafening scream halted the creature.
It was Lian.
The worm's bite had jolted him awake, and the pain of his battered body made him scream.
Moments later, seeing the human only screaming, the worm approached again, more determined. Its mouth wasn't large enough to swallow the human whole, but it knew to target his mobility.
It aimed for Lian's right ankle again, ready to chew through it.
But as its teeth sank into his flesh, they barely penetrated. His body was tough.
Feeling the sharp, nagging pain, Lian screamed louder, turning to witness the absurd scene before him. "Who the hell are you? Where am I?!" he cursed, summoning his strength to kick the monster away.
Using his arms to drag himself, Lian put distance between himself and the creature he'd kicked. His kick wasn't strong, but it sent the worm tumbling a few meters.
However, if there was one thing the monster didn't fear, it was pain—it couldn't feel it.
"Damn monster, give me a break! I still haven't figured out how I ended up in this shitty place!" Lian tried to flee with all his might, but the worm pursued, snapping at his leg.
"Cursed thing, you asked for it!"
"Geometric Spell, Circle!"
Seconds later, a fireball shot from Lian's hand, straight into the worm's open mouth.
"Die, monster!" he shouted, pausing to watch the creature… catch fire?
[Accuracy: 50%]
Far from catching fire, the worm didn't even flinch. A small puff of smoke was all that emerged from its mouth before it slithered toward Lian with renewed vigor.
"Damn, you're a masochist!" Lian hissed, scrambling to his feet to run.
"Let's see how you handle this. Geometric Spell, Circle."
Dodging the worm's bite, Lian traced the circle in his mind.
And just before completing it, he roared, "Ignis Arde, Ignis Globus!"
---
Author's Note!
Things are finally getting interesting!