Seven hooded figures huddled around an arcane circle, chanting in a forgotten language. A pile of what used to be human was laid in the center, aligned to mimic the five heavenly bodies. The sacrificial pile pulsated as the symbols lining the circle lit up one by one. Their ritual was nearing completion. Now, their wish would be granted.

To summon the demon that shall bring calamity upon the world.

To summon the god that shall bring salvation upon their souls.

To summon the one they would call their master.

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On the day before my 18th birthday, my life had ended. I scanned the wall one last time, hoping it was a mistake. But my name still wasn’t on there. The name of every accepted applicant to the Royal Knight’s Academy of Astraea was listed lavishly across the wall. But… the name Monika Edelweiss was nowhere to be seen. 

The cheering and laughter that surrounded me mocked my every step. Seeing all the newly admitted students celebrating in the school courtyard made my failure sting that much harder. I couldn’t stand the sight any longer. Under the shadows of the academy clocktower, I followed my fellow rejects and began the long walk back to town.

I failed the entrance exam. It was as simple as that. All my effort had gone to waste. Those countless days pulling all nighters, studying through tome after tome to improve my magic, and practicing swordsmanship until I threw up. All for nothing. 

What was I supposed to do now? Shuffle back home with my tail between my legs? The judgemental gazes of my father and brothers were seared into my mind. I would rather die than deal with all their shit again. That was why I ran away in the first place.

I sighed, and dug through all the junk in my bag to find my coin purse. Still had enough to live out for a couple more weeks. I guess I’d just have to suck it up and find a job. Maybe try adventuring work at the guild. That way I didn’t have to interact with anyone except to turn in requests.

I noticed I was getting more than a couple sympathetic stares from the other academy rejects, which only made me feel even worse. Did I really look that gloomy? I tried my best to ignore it, and vowed to think about all that depressing stuff later. Tomorrow was my birthday, after all.

I stomped my way through the streets of Astraea back to my inn. The crown jewel of the empire, their Royal Knight’s Academy, stood proud in the city center, and the rest of the city served only to reinforce its status. All the nearby shops were all catered towards the needs of the knight prospects. Or, more accurately, designed to suck coins out of all the rich, naive students. Every noble family from across the continent frothed at the mouths to enroll their kids here, and everyone in the city took advantage of that.

Since I was pretty much cut off from my family, I could only really afford a place on the outskirts of town. I didn’t mind, though. I liked the peace and quiet. It might’ve been a bit rundown, but that only added to the sort of charm.

As the sun started to set I finally arrived back at my inn, sitting myself down at the front counter of its tavern. The place was mostly empty, save for a couple of passed out drunks and the owner, smoking a pipe behind the bar. I wondered if I’d eventually end up like those drunks, wasting away the day with nowhere else to go.

I sighed. I told myself earlier I wouldn’t think about all that depressing crap, but it was impossible not to. Maybe if I trained harder, I would’ve passed. Maybe if I ran away from home sooner, I would’ve had more time to prepare. My mind was swarming with all of these maybes.

My moping was interrupted as the owner slammed a tall glass of beer in front of me.

“Huh? W-what's this for?” I asked nervously. I tried to avoid talking to the owner as much as possible. He was this old, gruff ex-adventurer type, and after seeing how he dealt with unruly guests, I really didn’t want to get on his bad side.

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“Drink up. It'll make ya feel better about failing.” He grunted, blowing a ring of smoke from his pipe.

“H-how did you know I failed?” Was it really that obvious? I wanted to just curl up into a ball and die.

“Listen kid, I've lived in this town for decades now. Yer a common sight ‘round this time of year.”

“Still… I can't accept this. Besides, I only turn eighteen tomorrow.”

“I'll turn a blind eye just for today.”

I gulped, staring down the glass of frothy, brown liquid. This was that magical drink that all the adults went crazy for. But after seeing how rowdy the drunks at the inn got at night, I didn’t know if that was a path I wanted to go down. Still, the owner himself was offering. I couldn't just turn down a gift, right?

Taking a deep breath, I held the mug high in the air, then chugged it all down. The liquid burned as it went down the back of my throat, but I forced myself to swallow. How did people drink this?

Before long a strange sort of warmth filled me. From head to toe, I felt all nice and tingly. My mind was beginning to clear up. Why was I spending so much time thinking about all that complicated stuff, anyways? Jobs, family, school; who cared anymore? I just wanted to have some time to relax for once.

I slammed my empty mug on the table to get the owner’s attention. “Lemme get another.”

The owner stared at me before sighing. “The first one was on the house. The rest, I’m putting on your tab.” He muttered, before refilling my glass. That was more like it. I downed another glass. The taste was bitter at first, but it was starting to feel pleasant and familiar. This was definitely something I could get used to.

Now that I think about it, that was a terrible exam. I mean, the written part barely touched on all the new magical breakthroughs we’ve had in the past decades. Still harping on about the old five elements system. Well, sorry I was spending my time learning real magic instead of wasting it on outdated theories. And don’t get me started on all those awful trick questions. What was I, a child? Also, as far as I could tell, the practical exam was clearly rigged. Come on, facing us off against an elite, royal knight and expecting us to stand a chance? Give me a break.

It took me a while to notice that I was saying all that out loud. That was probably the most I’ve spoken in months, but I didn’t care anymore. It felt good to get all that off my chest. So I kept going, ranting on into the night.

The words I was saying started to blend together. Complaining, then drinking, then complaining over and over again. More and more empty glasses piled up in front of me. I couldn’t tell how long I went on like that for, but it was the best I had felt for weeks. 

“Alright, you’ve had enough.” The words broke me out of that stupor. I felt a rough hand grab the back of my collar. The owner physically picked me up with one arm, and proceeded to carry me to the door to toss me out. “Come back once you’ve cleared yer head a bit,” he said as he slammed the door shut in front of me. 

How rude. I sighed, shivering in the chilly night air. Might as well go for a walk. I stuck to the parts of the road lit up by mana lamps. The lights overhead flickered on and off as I wandered through the streets. Despite the cold, it felt nice to walk around all alone like this, with only the sounds of my echoing footsteps to keep me company.  

For some reason, I found it hard to walk straight. My face felt like it was burning up. I ducked into a nearby alley to try to catch my breath, leaning against the walls to prop myself up. 

A sudden wave of nausea overcame me, traveling from the pits of my stomach up to my throat. A sudden outpouring of regret flowed from within, surfacing up in an obscene display of the night’s decadence.

In other words, in the corner of that dirty alley, I vomited out the entire contents of my stomach.

The entire rest of the night was a blur.

Before I knew it, I found myself in bed, nursing an awful headache. It looked like I had found my way back to my room, somehow. Rays of early morning sunshine shone through the windows. The light was irritating, but I was way too tired to close the curtains. 

I still felt half asleep. What happened last night? I remember… drinking. Moping and complaining. Alot of complaining. Maybe some crying. Getting kicked out onto the streets. Then…

It was no use. My head felt all cloudy. I nestled deeper under the covers. Might as well go back to bed and sleep it off. 

“Good morning.” A voice spoke up. Someone else was in my bed. I turned slowly towards the voice, and my heart skipped a beat.

There was a half naked woman lying next to me. A stunningly beautiful woman who looked straight out of a fairytale. Her perfect, enviable complexion, her silky blonde hair that draped around her figure, and her gentle red eyes that stared right through me. I felt embarrassed for staring at her for so long, and turned away with flushed cheeks.

Wait, no, that wasn’t the issue here! Another person was in my room. The one place that was supposed to be my own private sanctuary, free from any human interaction. I mean, I could barely talk to strangers outside. This was way too much to handle.

So, I leapt out of bed, hid behind my closet, and screamed.