As of right now, the ninth chapter of Glitter Mage is published,do check it out!
The times are changing. The Empire grows more tyrannic. The Rebels are gaining power. And in the middle of it all is a young High Fae named Ray.
The only thing Ray has ever wanted in life is to be a Mage, to rain fire on his enemies, build great palaces, or even synthesize wondrous potions with Alchemy. But his dreams are dashed when he fails a test, and finds himself barred from even joining the Academy.
Ray, however, is not ready to give up. But when a failed attempt to prove himself ends in disaster, Ray is saved by the System conquering his world. And it is then that Ray realizes that all is not what it seems in the world. After all, life is never easy when you’re a High Fae in the Empire of Humanity.
Can Ray really survive in an Empire that lovingly calls his kind a ‘prohibited substance’?
And for those still undecided, the chapter 1
Eritrae Rosenmund:
Mana affinity: Outstanding
Element: Grade F(Glitter)
Mana pool: Grade F
Ray looked at his mark sheet with growing horror. A grade F. In two areas. The Mage Academy would never take him now. Nor would the Alchemic College or any other affiliated colleges. What would he do? What could he do?
Ma was going to be heartbroken, she'd sacrificed so much to get him into the program, never mind paying for everything. Dawn to dusk, she'd work the streets with her bakery cart running from the low river in the Commoner’s district where the fishermen would launch in the mornings before moving all the way across town to catch the nobles and their plays in the high reaches of the Merchant’s district at night.
And now a decade of effort was wasted because of something they had no control over. Professor Revelia had assured them that he was talented, and he had to admit, he had shown all the signs of being one, yet here he was.
The Element could still be nudged if he could prove that glitter was a useful element—but mana pool? The only way to increase that was to kill beasts and absorb mana from their blood.
And was that even an option? The Academy did not allow its students to leave until they were 18. Ray’s mind went haywire as he panicked, desperately trying to think of a way out of this situation. The Mage Academy was the only way for one to become a Mage in the Empire, something Ray had been working towards since he was five. Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Metal and Lightning were the most common elements, but about a third of Mages had a 'special' element. Ray, obviously, fell into the latter category.
Were they right? Was he really a lost cause? Ray could practically feel his classmates’ gazes on him as he hurried out of the hall. The test was final. Ray had been relegated to the lower strata of society permanently. A non-mage would always be of a lower station than a mage; the Emperor had decided it, and so it would be.
Huffing at his run, Ray stood at the Academy entrance thinking over what he could do. The only way he could turn it around was if he got a retest from the Academy and managed to get a license to hunt somehow. The Empire of Humanity strictly controlled who could hunt and when, and how much mana they were allowed to gain from a hunt.
To get a license was hard, at least for someone like him, and crossing the gates without a license had a death penalty attached to it. But at least this path sounded like a plan. Now, who did he know that could get him a retest, and a license? Hmm, the second could come from Anita, she was a real noble with a title. A license was nothing for her, but everything for him.
But the first requirement still stood as a barrier. Anita did not even attend the Academy program, and she couldn’t influence it even if she was. Ray’s mind went into high gear again, thinking, planning, who did he know that could get it done. And then he had it. Torin, Ray realized. The arrogant boy's father was a professor in the program, could he move things?
But would Torin help him? Torin wasn’t his friend, he had helped others bully Ray for years. Though he had never participated. But now he was Ray’s only hope. Rushing off, Ray looked for him on the school grounds, looking for him in his usual spots.
And he found him, right there, practicing his swordsmanship in the garden. Torin stopped as Ray approached, saying:
“What do you want, pretty boy? Here to finally fight?” Torin asked, smiling as he took a combat stance. Ray knew he couldn’t beat him, Torin was just too practiced, with too much muscle on him.
And there was even less of a chance, now that Ray knew he would never be a Mage of any kind. A pang of sadness went through him at the thought of losing all of his dreams.
“Torin, I…need your help.” Ray said, watching as Torin looked at him in surprise. “I, um, scored too low in the test, I need a retest.”
“And you came to me because my father is a professor,” Torin deduced. Loosening his stance as he began circling Ray.
“Yes.” Ray replied, taking a deep breath in as he waited for his answer.
“And what is it that you can give me in return?” Torin asked, still circling him threateningly.
“I don’t have much, but I do have some mana coins saved up-” Ray began before Torin interrupted him.
“I don’t want your piddling coins. But how about this. I will give you a retest as long as you promise to not lodge any complaints about my behavior… ever. I got an admission into the Mage-Warrior’s order you see, and they have this stringent code of honor…” Torin trailed off, his meaning clear.
Ray was ecstatic. Torin had to pass a character check to gain entry into that order, one that he might fail if Ray lodged a complaint. And that meant Ray now had leverage on him just as he needed it.
“Well, Torin, we have a deal.” Ray held out his hand, grinning at his victory.
“So we do.” Torin stated, looking at Ray’s outstretched hand for a while before going away. Ray quickly withdrew it, acting like nothing had just happened. But the difficult part of his plan was over. Now it was time for the next, easy part.
Ray snuck out of the school, heading to the park where he and Anita met every week. The two of them had decided to meet today after his test, to celebrate. But there was nothing to celebrate anymore.
As usual, Anita was the first one there, hiding in the bushes trying to fool him. Anita’s element was classified Grade S, Void, the element allowed her to not only inflict fatal blows on others, but also turn invisible to nearly all detection. But there was one flaw in her technique, a flaw Ray knew intimately by now.
Ray opened his eyes, driving his mana to them as he used his mana affinity to sense out. A shimmer appeared on a tree, outlining the form of a Human girl.
“And found you.” Ray said, jokingly, to what he thought was Anita’s face.
“The same shimmer again? I fooled Mom to get here, but you still caught me! I swear, if you start outshowing me in the Mage Academy with this ridiculous affinity of yours, I will complain to Aunt Matilda.” Anita complained, pouting at him.
“And we can’t have that, can we? The Void princess must be satiated!” Ray said, grinning, but then turning serious.” But you needn’t worry about that… I failed the test.” Ray said awkwardly.
“Wait what? The Academy failed you? But how, you have such a high affinity…” Anita exclaimed.
Ray sighed as he opened his palm, conjuring his element. Glitter. “The combination of my element being glitter and my mana pool being Grade F convinced them that I wasn’t worthy of staying in the program.”
Anita looked at the glitter, seemingly absorbing the information. And then she stared at him, her eyes narrowing as she said, “Ray, I’ve known you for a long time. And I know that the only reason you’re here and not somewhere planning is that you already have a plan, and it involves me.”
A black stick appeared in her hand as she pointed it at him threateningly, “So, spit it out. What do you want? What did that brain of yours cook up this time?”
Ray tilted his head away from her, backing away as he looked at the stick warily, “Um, could you stop pointing that void stick at me. I get a little nervous around things that could kill me with a touch.”
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Anita grinned, saying, “no, you’ve tortured me with your inhuman affinity long enough, payback is fair play. But anyway, spit it out. What do you want?”
Ray sighed, accepting defeat. “Ok, fine, I need a license. Torin has assured me that he can get me a retest, but to pass, I require a bigger mana pool. And if I can prove that I can hunt by myself, the professors will have to rate the element higher, so I don’t fail and still have a chance to get in.”
“And with Mom helping along the way, you can get into the Alchemic College at least,” Anita noted.
Ray nodded, he did not like relying on his aunt, but the truth was he would need her if he wanted to become a Mage. The Alchemic College conferred a Mage-Alchemist degree instead of a Mage degree, but he would take it.
“Yes…will you do it?” he asked.
Anita shook her head, dismissing her void stick, “Yes, I will. Did you think I would let my brother get called a cripple? And besides, this is a win for me. The Alchemic College is far away from the Mage Academy, and that means that I don’t have to live with people comparing me to your pretty face every day.” Anita said, smiling.
“Now go home and act like everything is ok. Aunt Matilda is busy and won’t be home till late, so you can get away with not talking to her today. I will get you your license as quickly as I can, ” Anita said. As she backed away, dissapearing from view, her telltale shimmer heading towards the Nobles district.
Ray turned to head back, but held turned back to ask one question.
“Are you sure you won’t get into too much trouble for doing this?” Ray asked.
“No, and you don’t need to worry about that. I am the older one, you know, a whole week older!” Anita said, appearing again.
“Hey! I am adopted, I could be older, you know!” Ray answered, repeating the same argument they’d had so many times.
“Yeah right. Just go, little brother, I’ll get you your toy.” Anita said as she disappeared again.
Ray shook his head and headed back home. Anita called him brother, and if he were being completely honest, he saw her as his sister too. But the truth was that they weren’t, and never would be, he was adopted by Ma, Aunty Ariana had just tagged along for paperwork.
Though Anita might think differently, the law was very clear on the matter. The adoption lasted only till he was eighteen years of age, after which he would revert to orphaned status. A status far different from that of Anita Salazar, heir to General Salazar and Marchioness Ariana.
Not to mention her other status as Void princess, the spectacular genius that entered the Academy at the mere age of thirteen. The only way he could still maintain contact with her was if he was a Mage of some kind. Ray wasn’t allowed to enter the Nobles’ district as it was.
But that was all for later, for now, she was his sister, and he loved her dearly.
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Ray shivered as he walked through the cold streets to the city gate, one hand clutching his precious cargo. The night was freezing, but Ray was too determined to let it stop him from getting what he wanted. Anita had left the license on his table sometime in the evening, sneaking in and out before he could detect her. Now it was time for the next part of his plan.
“Oi! What are you doing here, kid?” A voice yelled from within the gate. Ray calmed his breath, trying to remove any sign that he was uncomfortable.
“A good night to you I would like to pass into the woods. I know it's later than recommended, but I need an important reagent for my test tomorrow and none of the stores have them. Here, I have my license ready.” Ray replied, using what he knew about formal speech to disguise himself as a noble.
The key here was to not arouse any suspicion. A noble brat with a personal license to hunt was nothing special, but a commoner from the Merchant's district would have them asking for his papers. At which point they would discover that he was fifteen, three years too young to even apply for the license. And that was ignoring the other problems.
“Well, everything seems to be in order, but I would be careful out there, sir, the woods is acting mighty strange today. I am sure the instructors at the Academy would not want a diligent young man like you to fall to some crass beast. Or worse, a filthy elf,” the guard replied from within the gate, opening the small gate to let him pass.
“I thank you for your warning, sir, but I am well-equipped to handle anything in these woods.” Ray replied, exiting the City with all the poise he could muster. The license would remain with the guard until he returned from his ‘hunt’, a way for the Empire to keep record of who went in and out.
But he had done it. Crossed the city gates and emerged on the other side. And all he needed to do now was hunt a beast, and would be one step closer to his goal. Ray observed his surroundings, looking for a suitable place to set his trap.
Although he had never left the city before, he had read extensively on the subject. The key to hunting was patience, and the ability to observe one's surroundings. But was the woods supposed to be this quiet?
The Hunter’s guide said that the woods would only quiet when a predator was near. But was this quiet enough? The questions abounded in Ray’s head, his nervousness collaborating with his paranoia.
The more Ray saw, the more eerie the woods looked. The only sound was the occasional hoot, and the rustling of the leaves. But Ray continued on, trying his best to muffle his steps as he looked for a decent patch of green grass.
The blood-eyed rabbit, his chosen prey, was known to prefer the grass to hide itself from predators. A beast barely entering Tier 1, it was Ray’s preferred prey. The only reason it was even a beast, not an animal, was its ruby red eyes that held mana. The rabbit had no special features other than that.
At last, Ray found his patch of grass. A green patch of knee-length grass between two trees that was dense enough to hide a trap, with the trees giving him a place to hide. Smiling at his discovery, Ray set up the trap as he had learned. When the rabbit came near, the trap would trigger and kill the rabbit, giving Ray the mana he needed to show the Academy that he still had potential.
Just because his element was glitter did not mean that he was useless. And he was more than the ‘pretty boy’. Smiling widely, Ray climbed up the tree, settling down to wait for the trap to be triggered.
The wait would be long, but he was ready to brave it. Ray leaned against the tree trunk, rubbing his hands against his sweater to try to get the cold out, but to no avail. At this rate, he would be sick tomorrow, something that would worry Ma to no end. It wouldn’t look very good to the Academy, either.
What kind of Mage couldn’t take on a little chill? Ray folded his hands, taking a deep breath in, trying to stop himself from making any noise with his constant shivering. Perhaps he should have worn more sweaters, it would make sense that he needed them. After all, he had the disadvantage of not having any body hair at all.
The condition had left him vulnerable to many diseases, and made sure he cemented his image as the weak pretty boy. But all that would end as soon as he killed the blood rabbit. But where was the rabbit? The moon was already setting, soon it would be time for him to head back.
Ray looked at the trap anxiously, hoping for a rabbit to come to his trap. But it didn’t come. The moon was setting, and he would have to go back soon. Ray watched the grass with increasing impatience, clinging on to hope. And he was rewarded, the grass shifted about, marking the presence of a small creature within.
Ray watched with fascination as the creature approached the trap, his heart thumping against his ribs in excitement. At last, a snap sounded out as the creature was caught in the trap. Ray smiled, reveling in his victory.
Ray got down from the tree, approaching the trap, ready to remove the eyes and absorb the mana within. The Academy would have to accept him now that he had killed a beast. And his Ma would never have to know that he had failed the mana pool test yesterday.
But he had presumed victory too early. Ray watched in horror as the rabbit raised its head, a horn adorning it. A horned rabbit was not weak, not remotely. Standing up as quickly as he could, Ray ran in the opposite direction, hoping to get away before the rabbit freed itself from the trap.
The horned rabbit was an evolved form of the blood rabbit, slower than the average rabbit, just a bit faster than humans, but it was marked by its deadly attacks. The horn of the rabbit released pulses of mana that were marked to be at the peak of Tier 1, far too powerful for Ray, a Tier 0 with minimal magic, to handle.
The rabbit’s flaw was its susceptibility to fire attacks, its fur was extremely flammable, but Ray could not conjure fire at all. Breathing heavy from the run, he ran through the woods, abandoning all caution.
But even his untrained hearing could not mistake the rabbit behind him. The constant cracking of twigs and footfalls of little feet told him that he was being pursued by a very dangerous predator.
Dodging trees and stumbling across twigs, Ray raced towards the city gate. The horned rabbit, like most beasts, hungered after sapient blood, especially the mana within. A creature evolved from absorbing mana from other magical creatures. And sapients had the most mana rich bodies. Just Ray’s blood would allow a blood rabbit to evolve into a horned one.
And then it happened, Ray heard a whoosh behind him, and immediately dodged, the blast scraping past his shoulder and hitting a tree instead of his head. But the damage was still done. Flashes of pain emerged from his shoulder as Ray tried to block the wound with his hand as he ran. The rabbit was no doubt preparing another blast already.
To make things worse, the attack had hit a vein, and he was bleeding right through his hand and onto the ground, attracting more beasts in the vicinity. Ray grunted as he ran, blood running down his hand as he tried to unsuccessfully block the wound.
Scrambling to find a solution, Ray threw his backpack at the rabbit. A satisfying crunch gave him hope that perhaps he had killed it; a hope that was dashed as he heard the rabbit tear through the backpack. Grunting in pain, Ray continued on, trying to increase the distance between them.
The constant movement was not helping him, and the wound had slowed him down terribly,. but Ray perservered, trying to use his lead to make it. The constant blood loss had already started to affect his concentration, but running did not take much thinking.
Ray ran for his life, desperately hurrying through the woods as he approached the city. The rabbit was closer now, closing in on him. Just as Ray found his hope dying, the white stone walls came into sight, glistening in the light of dawn.
Ray rushed to the walls with renewed vigor, even as his mind dulled, ready to return to safety, only to have his hopes dashed. The rabbit attacked again, and this time hit his leg. Ray collapsed on the ground as his leg gave way and began bleeding profusely.
The rabbit charged at him, ready to absorb his mana and absorb his blood. Ray found it hard to even think, his mind too clouded by blood loss, sleep hovering over his eyes. But perhaps because some unknown part of him had yet to give up, Ray opened his palm and let out a single burst of yellow glitter at the rabbit.
Ray had no idea what he was thinking, perhaps he wasn’t thinking at all. But even his sleepy mind could not help but hope as the glitter met the rabbit. Perhaps it would get stuck in the eye and blind it, irritate it… But none of that happened. The glitter settled on its fur as Ray began to accept his death.
And then something changed. Ray felt mana itself oscillate for a fraction of a second as the glitter suddenly turned into fire, right there on the rabbit’s very flammable fur. A feeling of shock penetrated his foggy mind as his eyes widened in surprise.
A blue screen appeared before his eyes as they closed, his body having lost too much blood to even finish processing what had happened.
The System has conquered planet#13577
Please wait as the System finishes recalibrating the planet’s mana.
The Class System has been activated.
As of right now, the ninth chapter of Glitter Mage is published,do check it out!