Shaden’s bones cried and rattled as he struck away a heavy strike aimed at his head. The blood was screaming inside of his brain, telling him to run away from the ferocious creature in front of him.

“Focus, Shaden!” shouted the Instructor. “If you stop circulating, you might break some bones.”

Shaden knew that. He dodged a kick then thrust with all his might. However, Mistilia quickly jumped over the blow and swung down on his exposed arm.

“Gah!!”

He momentarily loosened his grip on his weapon but held it tightly as he created some distance between himself and Mistilia. She, however, wasn’t finished. With something like a snarl coming out of her throat, she jumped at Shaden like a wolf jumping on a sheep.

Time slowed as Shaden’s vision was filled with Mistilia’s bared canines and yellow eyes that screamed hostility. He sensed something at that moment. The pressure of the situation made something click—

—as the wolf girl’s stick bashed against his forehead.

“OW!!! OWOWOWOW!!” Shaden howled, as he fell on the floor and rolled around in pain.

“I didn’t even circulate for that. Your guard was completely off!”

Mistilia crossed her arms and nudged at Shaden with her feet. “Get up. Instructor’s waiting.”

Shaden rubbed his skull and applied some healing magic. The pain quickly subsided, and he sat cross-legged on the floor. Wait, he had felt something. He could use this.

“Misty, could we go through that one more time?” asked Shaden. “I think I’m about to have a breakthrough.”

“Are you sure? It’s not that simple.”

“Please. But come at me with all you’ve got.”

“Everything?”

“Everything.”

She looked at the Instructor for directions, and he gave her a nod.

“Okay!”

〄 〄 〄

Shaden’s arm was wrapped with bandages as he and Mistilia chewed on some bread together. He felt like he had fractured a bone, and he wasn’t too sure about casting pure healing magic on himself. It had been a long time. For now, simple support healing would suffice. It usually completed the job within two hours.

Nowadays, after their physical training in the morning, the Instructor allowed Shaden and Mistilia spar continuously during the afternoon. There was no greater motivator than a rival. Since Mistilia wasn’t allowed outside and had no friends, Shaden kept her company.

How had this happened? Simple. With some pocket change he had obtained from his father, he had bought some cake for the little girl. It was small and a simple act of reconciliation (though Shaden only had a vague idea why Mistilia had been so negative towards him), yet it worked like a charm. The girl loved the fluffy, creamy baked good and had instantly warmed up to Shaden.

Children were so easy to please.

“So, no breakthrough?” asked Mistilia.

“No…”

The feeling had disappeared, and he forgot the sensation. He had been so close to understanding the flow of his mana. His control over it was much better now, but it wasn’t what he wanted. It didn’t feel refreshing like a river flow that everyone described.

‘The moment will come,’ they had said. He had almost found that moment today but had lost it.

“It’s okay! Your moment will come,” comforted Mistilia as she happily swung her legs. She was a glutton as far as Shaden could see, and he could never determine where all the food she consumed disappeared to.

“Really, now,” Shaden muttered.

“Yep!” replied the naïve wolf girl. She didn’t understand the concept of sarcasm yet.

He had been this close to opening the pathways of mana within him completely. With a slightly depressed mood, Shaden chewed on the bread.

The snack was great. It really helped him soothe his nerves.

〄 〄 〄

After saying goodbye to Instructor Reedock and Mistilia, Shaden treaded on the road that led to his home. The streets he had gotten so used to over the past few months lay to the sides, with the same shops and stalls and colors decorating Shaden’s view. Sometimes he wished he was an actual resident of this world, someone who breathed and lived in real life.

Then again, it really was like living in a different reality, so he didn’t have any complaints. Just that…he wished reality was as simple as his dream. Make your mind up on something, then fulfill it.

Or perhaps this was the reality and the other world a dream. Perhaps everything he experienced in reality was not real at all.

Weird thoughts like this crossed his mind at random intervals. Nothing serious—just pondering about random things.

He took off his bandages and stored them inside of his pocket. After determining that his arm was in prime condition again, he gave it a swing and punched the air. It felt raw, but good enough. Just to be extra careful, he enveloped his arm in another healing spell.

His body relaxed as a dull, soothing sensation washed over it. Overuse of healing magic made him feel too comfortable and peaceful. He yawned and stretched at the sudden wave of tranquility. The air felt surprisingly good. The late-spring weather and the warm sunlight filtered by the clouds really made the mood for an afternoon nap.

Along the way, he spotted a small water fountain on the side of the road. The water weakly trickled out of the top, filling the sides slowly and comfortably. There was even a bench in front of it.

The mood felt too great. Without much thought—his head light from the healing magic—he lay down on the bench. Just after ten minutes, he would go home and sleep some more.

Just ten minutes…

〄 〄 〄

“Shaden. Shaden!”

“Wha-what?”

Shaden tried to blink his blurry vision away. A figure with brown, short hair was shaking his shoulder. “Rother? Is that you?”

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“What are you doing out here? The sun’s already coming down.”

Shaden sluggishly sat up on the bench and rubbed his heavy eyes. The sky was streaked with orange and gold, and the other side of the horizon was already dyed in deep navy-blue.

“Oh. I think I fell asleep.”

“Duh, you did. Come on, get up. Don’t make me carry you over.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Shaden yawned loudly and stretched his arms out while getting up on the floor. That really had been a good nap.

“Let’s go.”

The two brothers walked down the peaceful road. The day still felt very cozy, and Shaden spotted various men entering something that looked like an inn or a pub. Probably a group of workers retiring home for the evening, grabbing a fresh cup of cool alcohol along the way to quench their parched throats.

His brother’s presence was fluctuating all the way home.

“Rother, are you circulating?”

“Duh. My instructor told me to do it as much as I could before sleeping. Increases mana capacity and helps with training.”

“Cool.”

“I know I’m cool. Your older brother is a really cool guy!”

Rother grinned in satisfaction.

“Okay. You are cool.”

After that, they didn’t talk much. Rother was focused on breathing while walking while Shaden tried to clear his still-drowsy head. He wanted to be in top condition for the food. He couldn’t risk missing out on the glory that was his mother’s cooking.

Finally, they arrived at the door. Rother opened the door and climbed the stairs, his presence still leaking out of him. They reached the top floor and headed into their home. The smell of frying oil and the aroma of Melsei’s special herb-and-monster sauce entered both of their noses. Their stomachs growled in anticipation, and Shaden quickly took off his shoes.

“I’m home!” shouted Rother and Shaden simultaneously.

“Welcome home~!” greeted their mother. She was currently frying a long piece of meat on an equally long pan. “Both of you, wash your hands and necks. You’re covered in dust! Shaden, did you roll on the ground?”

“No—”

“Hey Mom, Shaden was snoring on a bench next to the fountain near the bakery. I woke him up.”

“Shaden did? Honey, did you sleep on the bench?”

Shaden nodded. “I was sleepy.”

“Mm-hm. Next time, come home and sleep, honey.”

“Okay.”

Melsei smiled. “Now, both of you~. Hurry up and wash.”

“Yes, Mom!” said the brothers. They dashed off into the bathroom.

When they returned, they helped their mother set up the dishes and eating utensils. Melany, who was one and a half years old, was awkwardly crawling and walking all over the place. She was one energetic sister.

Finally, Garthan entered the house. Just like usual, they enjoyed the dinner, the males hogging the food down their throats while Melsei scolded them to mind their manners. Rother wiped Melany’s mouth as she drooled out some pieces of soggy bread and meat juice.

After thanking their mother, Rother and Shaden got off the table and went to Rother’s room to train and do other fun things.

Then Shaden realized Shidey was missing. He came out of the room while Rother began to read while circulating.

“Mom, where did Shidey go?”

“That cat? She was clawing at the door around the time you were supposed to come, so I opened the door for her.”

“You what? But Shidey never goes outside!”

“It was unusual. But she was meowing so much. And hissing. This is why cats are so…”

“Mom! Dad! I’m going to go outside for a bit. I need to find Shidey.”

Shaden headed to the door.

“Son? You are too young to be walking the streets alone a night.”

“Don’t worry Dad. I won’t go far.”

Shaden tiptoed and twisted the doorknob. Failing to hear the complaints of his mother, he closed the door behind him and ran down the stairs. Shidey never left the house. He had trained her to do that, reassuring him whenever he came back. Had she gone out because she had been worried about him?

Garthan reassured Melsei.

“I’ll watch over him.”

〄 〄 〄

Shaden dashed out the door of the building and frantically started to search around.

“Shidey!” he called. “Shidey, where are you!”

The sun had almost disappeared, and the pearly white moon was visible in the sky. The street lamps hadn’t turned on yet, so the neighborhood was darker than Shaden liked. He didn’t know night vision magic, so he couldn’t do anything about it. A simple light spell wouldn’t be enough.

Wait a moment. Shaden had a better solution.

“Scan the area, find movement – Detect Life.”

With a shortened version of the spell, Shaden inputted a large amount of mana into his incantation. The wave of detection magic rippled out from the body, going out of him like an invisible, expanding dome. More importantly, he had learned to tell apart the individual signals based on their feel. Shaden knew what Shidey’s presence felt like. He had always used it to find him.

After failing to find the specific signal, Shaden focused, expending an even greater amount of mana this time. The dome of detection reached around two hundred meters then dissipated. Still, there was no signal of Shidey. Only the presences of people inside their homes some blocks away.

Shaden put his hands together and thought. If he had been sleeping on the bench which was around two kilometers away, and Shidey had disappeared to find him, she was most likely in that direction. Without a second thought, Shaden began running towards the direction of the Academy.

He continued to cast detection magic. A few passing guards stared at him with puzzled expressions, but he ignored them and kept running. Where was the blasted cat?! Why had she vanished? Was it his fault?

After non-stop sprinting while circulating, Shaden reached the fountain within a few minutes. Catching his breath, he forced out the magic words out, only to be met with nothing but random presences.

He couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’ll just use a lot then—Detect LIFE!”

With a small shout, Shaden poured his mana into the spell without restraint. He felt the mana flowing through his body and coursing throughout the area, marking things along the way. Then he sensed the familiar figure to the Southwest, in an area he was not familiar with.

“Shidey,” he breathed. “I’ll come and get you now.”

The location was clear in his mind. He dashed through the alleys and buildings, crossing street after street as he neared the location Shidey’s presence had come from. But something had felt wrong. Something different from Shidey had been near.

“A river…?”

When Shaden emerged from between the buildings, he was at a place where a small stone bridge crossed over a narrow canal. And Shidey’s presence had come from the left. He turned his head and saw an area of mossy stone next to the water. Above it, a small sewer hole the size of four basketballs steadily dripped murky water out of it.

“Shidey!” Shaden shouted. “Come out!” He re-casted the detection magic. Shidey was surely within the hole. However, something was behind her. He cast the magic again. Shidey was approaching him. And there was something chasing her.

Oh no, he thought. This presence…it felt unnatural. Different.

Hostile.

Suddenly, Shidey rocketed out from the hole, jumped lightly on the sides on the canal, and boosted herself onto the floor where Shaden was standing in. After seeing Shaden, she jumped on him and clawed on his clothes.

“What’s wrong?!” he asked. Shidey just meowed. Her eyes were open wide in caution. A gurgling echo seeped out of the sewer entrance, and Shidey hissed her fangs at the presence. Shaden, for the last time, activated detection.

A single presence was just within the hole. A hostile, icky presence.

Shaden gulped. But he was awfully curious. He could defend himself if he needed to.

He waited. Shidey trembled in his arms.

But.

Nothing visible came out. The sun was basically gone now, so the street lamps would be illuminated at any moment. Thankfully, there was one nearby. But there was enough light to see. However, nothing came out.

“Huh. Shidey, let’s go—”

At that moment, Shidey yowled and turned her head towards the left, the opposite direction where the lamp was located. She hissed and jumped out of Shaden’s arms, her fur bristled and sticking straight up in hostility. He didn’t see anything.

His magic could.

Shaden cast detection magic and gasped. Something was right in front of them. He felt fear. The presence reeked of danger.

“Stop!” he yelled at the invisible creature. “Or I’ll smash you!”

The lights flickered on and Shaden saw a bulge on the ground. A very large and unusual bulge. A lump of texture that looked like it blended in with its environment. Shaden quickly picked up a small stone from the ground and threw it at the anomaly with all his might. The floor leaped back with a hiss, revealing itself.

The giant rat’s black, beady eyes met Shaden’s. He froze. The rat’s fur seemed to undulate, changing colors as its long, bushy tail slithered behind it like a whip.

Calling it a giant rat was an understatement. It was the size of Shaden himself. Maybe bigger. It bared it’s razor-sharp fangs and hissed, eyeing a moment of weakness from its prey.

What was he supposed to do? Shaden panicked. He had never fought a monster before! It had been such a long time since he used offensive magic, and would it even work?

The rat dangerously lashed out its tail—

—and died with a squeak as a dagger pieced its massive skull.

“Dad!” Shaden exclaimed.

Garthan appeared out of the darkness and pulled his dagger from the rat’s bloody head. He wiped the grime on the rat’s coat and sheathed it inside his uniform. Where had he come from? He hadn’t sensed him at all!

“Son, go home. This beast—” He nudged the dead corpse with his shoes. “—isn’t something that is supposed to be here. I know you can handle yourself, so return to your mother. Tell her I’ve got work to do.”

“Dad? What do you mean?”

Garthan grabbed the rat by its neck. “Keep an eye on Shidey. The city is changing.”

He jumped into the darkness and vanished. Shaden’s eyes completely lost him.