"Lucy, 8 points!!"
As soon as the math teacher, Mr. Dai Wei, announced it, the whole class burst into laughter.
Almost everyone turned to look at the boy with short black hair sitting in the back row of the classroom. That was Lucy—the guy who had scored an absurd single-digit mark.
"Lucy, you need to learn from William. Even with such a tough exam, he scored 98 points. How come you only got a fraction of that? Don't let down your top entrance score," Dai Wei said with a sigh.
How did his class end up with such a problematic student? Clearly, he had been the top scorer upon entering the school, but as soon as he got to high school, he suddenly plummeted. His grades were unbearable to look at, dragging down the class average relentlessly.
"Teacher, he's already living up to his entrance score. Isn't being last still being number one—from the bottom!" said the student named William.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Well said!"
"Trust William to insult someone without using a single foul word. He's indeed number one—the last one!"
The classroom was filled with laughter, which only subsided when Dai Wei began teaching.
...
"That William is so annoying. Does he think he's all that just because he's handsome, gets good grades, and can play music?" said Guan Gu, the dark-skinned boy sitting next to Lucy.
"Just an immature jerk," Lucy scoffed.
"Want to play some games after school?"
"Got something to do, can't go."
"Helping that old man Ying again? You're the only one who dares to go to that shabby hut behind the mountain. Oh, I got some good movies—want me to lend you one?"
"Put it in my backpack. But you should cut down on those discs; you're getting obsessed," Lucy said.
...
To students, the most delightful sound is naturally the dismissal bell. After a whole day of tedious classes, Lucy yawned and slung his backpack over his shoulder, heading toward the back of the mountain.
The back mountain was behind the school's rear gate, and hardly anyone went there.
Guan Gu's mention of "old man Ying" referred to the guard at the back of the academy. To ensure student safety and prevent boarding students from sneaking out through the back mountain to skip classes, the school had old man Ying stationed there.
The old man had no relatives or friends. When he passed away some time ago, no one cared, and the school gave him a simple burial.
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Lucy was quite familiar with old man Ying. Before he passed, the old man said he had left something for Lucy. It was only today that Lucy remembered the old man's kind gesture and decided to visit his hut.
Old man Ying always claimed he was the heir of some powerful historical figure and that he possessed an ancient ring passed down for over a thousand years...
Lucy had seen that ring before. It was pitch-black, hardly resembling any antique. Most importantly, Lucy had taken it to be appraised, but the shop owner impatiently chased him out, saying that such a copper ring, probably made in a coal furnace, wasn't worth bringing in as an antique. After that, Lucy no longer believed old man Ying's boasts.
Out of respect for the old man's final kindness, Lucy decided to accept it as a memento.
Old man Ying was an open-minded gatekeeper who viewed life and death quite casually. Lucy wished him well—maybe death was just him quitting this "server" and starting anew in a new one.
"Do you believe that parallel to this science-revering world, there's a magical realm where people study magic instead of science..."
This was something old man Ying often said to Lucy, sounding quite crazy. So when Lucy saw him pass away, he was convinced the old man had gone to another "server" to start anew, making a splash there.
The ring was easy to find—in a wooden box under the bamboo bed.
Lucy opened the box and faintly felt a murky aura emanating from within. It felt rather mysterious, but Lucy was fifteen or sixteen and certainly didn't believe magic truly existed in this world, let alone old man Ying's claim that by wearing his ring and learning its magic, one could save the universe.
The pitch-black ring was just an ordinary band. If there was anything special about it, it was that the inside had eight tiny cavities—something any craftsman could make.
The ring was icy cold. As soon as Lucy put it on, he felt a chill to the bone, shivering despite the summer heat—it was a bit strange!
"What nonsense," Lucy thought after a moment, dismissing the absurd idea.
He still had to work tonight, and a wave of drowsiness washed over him. Lucy arranged the bamboo mat and lay down in the hut to take a nap. At ten o'clock, he had to go work the night shift at a 24-hour convenience store until six in the morning.
...
Sleepiness overcame him, and Lucy drifted off immediately.
The setting sun cast a blood-red beam through the mountain crevices, staining the woods of the back mountain and the small hut.
It was as if a giant gate in the darkness was slowly closing, reclaiming the light that had spilled into the darkness bit by bit. When the sun completely sank beneath the mountains and darkness took over, the back mountain seemed to be cloaked in a layer of strange hues.
From afar, this area seemed illusory, like a hazy reflection on water—a mirage under the blood-red sun!
The boy sleeping soundly in the hut continued to snore, unaware that the ring on his finger was emitting a piercing hum, as if responding to a call from the real world reflected in the mirage.
"Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm"
It vibrated, and the entire space vibrated along with it!
Norbu High School was situated on the southern slope of Norbu Mountain, which towered over the city.
The city was already ablaze with lights—the streets, shops, and skyscrapers all shining with vibrant colors. Elderly people taking evening strolls, youths dancing energetically in the square, children chasing each other through alleys, couples on dates in the parks...
The night didn't bring any unease or fear to people. Instead, they were enjoying the leisurely comfort after school, work, and dinner. However, if someone gazed toward Norbu High School on the southern slope of Norbu Mountain, they would notice that the campus, which should have been lit up, was now shrouded in a layer of chaos!
Space, originally calm like a still pond, was now being swallowed by a vortex—a sudden spacetime void—growing more intense yet remaining silent!
On one side was a peaceful, brightly lit city.
On the other was a black vortex engulfing half the mountain.
Together, they formed an incredibly shocking scene in the just-fallen night!
All this spatial and temporal anomaly originated from that scientifically inexplicable void.
And the center of that spacetime void was the small hut behind the mountain...
The enormous vortex suddenly expanded, then dissipated, as if nothing had happened.
A certain boy, still sound asleep and dreaming, was unaware that everything had dramatically changed and that he had fallen into a parallel realm.