-How much longer do I have to put up with this shit? -

Louise wondered to himself. Bored and disgusted, he walked through the streets of the Ascension Camp. He hated the stench left by the mortals, and he hated even more having to walk on their disgusting streets. But what needs to be done, needs to be done.

Louise was angry. Just because he had a lower affinity, he had to take on such a menial job. He couldn't join the army or teach as a professor.

"Life is so unfair," muttered Louise to himself,

"Just because I'm slightly weaker than other magicians, I've been damned to be a babysitter for lowly mortals!"

Grumbling, the magician continued down the street. The sun was already setting on the horizon, and only a few mortals were still out and about.

But the magician paid them no attention. They weren't worth his time.

The magician Louise kept going.

He had to go deep into the camp. He was responsible for investigating a disturbance in the 8th district.

Louise yawned and stretched as his gaze met that of one of the mortals. Louise frowned. Normally, mortals would avert their gaze, but this one stared him directly in the eyes. But what was even more suspicious was, that he saw pure hatred in them. Quickly, Louise turned away and continued walking.

-What's wrong with him? - he wondered to himself.

He didn't know why, but an uneasy feeling started to creep over him. He looked around to see the man again. He froze. The man had followed him, but he wasn't alone anymore. A dozen muscular men had also come up behind the magician.

Quickly, Louise turned around and hurried his steps.

-What the hell is going on here? -

Louise glanced over his shoulder again. His pupils shrank as he realized that even more mortals had joined the group. His pace quickened, but he wasn't paying attention to his path. He bumped into something that felt like a stone wall. Louise stumbled backward and fell.

"Ouch..." he muttered and opened his eyes.

His heart skipped a beat as he realized it wasn't a wall in front of him, but a huge muscular man. The man smiled down at him.

"What's wrong, Lord Magician? Did you hurt yourself? Shall I help you up?"

"No, I'm fine..." Louise began, but the man had already grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.

Panic arose in Louise,

"LET GO OF ME!" shouted Louise in anger and swung his fists. He hit the man's nose, and he howled in pain, tossing Louise aside.

Louise rolled painfully on the ground and came to a sliding stop.

"How dare you..." he started as he leaned on his hands, but then realized he was surrounded by mortals.

He quickly got up and turned a full 360 degrees. None of the mortals moved. They just stared at him.

"Get out of my way!" Louise angrily commanded.

He walked in one direction, but a mortal simply pushed him back into the circle.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" he screamed and raised his hand. The space behind some of the mortals exploded, tossing them aside.

Quickly, he made his way through and tried to run away, but one of the mortals grabbed him and pulled him closer. Suddenly a sharp pain surged through Louise's chest.

He staggered back and saw a knife in the mortal's hand, dripping red blood. His blood. Louise's eyes widened as he stumbled backward.

Suddenly, another pain struck him from behind. He whirled around, but another mortal already thrust his knife into his side.

Louise's legs gave up, and he fell to his knees. The mortals gathered around him.

"You'll regret this...!" Louise uttered. Another knife rammed into him and he froze. Another one. And another one. Louise fell to the ground.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

-This must be the end... -

The mortals stabbed at him like mad. After some time, the scene cleared, and the mortals disappeared. On the ground, bathed in the last rays of the day, lay the lifeless body of Louise.

--

In one of the task halls in the thirteenth district, Wang Bo sat at his desk, scraping on a piece of paper with a feather pen. He was jotting down which people had made requests in the task hall today.

He frowned as he looked at his sheet. It was so empty. He picked up a sheet from yesterday, but it was equally bare.

The most common requests were to withdraw from the Ascension. There were always mortals who changed their minds because they wanted to save even more Credits or something like that, but this was more than strange.

He compared it to the past few days. He immediately noticed that a change had come over people's behavior. He furrowed his brow and stood up.

He had to report this immediately to the Lord on the Wall. Something was not right, he was sure of it.

A woman entered the shop and came to his desk. Wang Bo looked at her. She didn't look bad, at least for a mortal. He sat down and smiled at her.

"How can I help you?" he asked politely.

Another person entered behind the woman.

"I would like to sign up for the Ascension," the woman said.

Another person entered the hall.

"But of course. May I have your name, please?"

Two big men pushed their way through the door and went to the task board.

"My name is Lazia Wile," she said with a beautiful voice.

Wang Bo nodded and leaned forward to write her name on his list.

A group of three chattering friends, two women, and a man, also entered.

"Okay, if you could please extend your hand to me..." Wang Bo raised his head and furrowed his brow.

-Why are there suddenly so many people here? - he wondered, confused.

The woman extended her hand to him, palm facing up. Wang Bo blinked and refocused on the woman. He placed his hand on hers to activate her symbol, but the woman suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Wang Bo raised an eyebrow, "Miss, please let go!"

The woman merely smiled and forcefully pulled his arm with all her weight.

With a loud cry, Wang Bo was dragged over the counter. Immediately, the two muscular men next to him grabbed him to assist the woman.

Wang Bo desperately kicked and thrashed. He hit the woman, who had fallen to the ground, in the face, causing her to recoil in surprise. One of the powerful men struck him in the face with anger.

They held him down and pressed him to the ground. Two men held his arms, and another held his legs. Wang Bo hissed and writhed in pain.

"Hello, my friend," said a cold voice that cut through the air like a blade.

A young man appeared in Wang Bo's field of vision. He had deep black hair and eyes as dark as the night. He knelt down in front of Wang Bo's head and looked him in the eyes. Wang Bo froze as a faint smile appeared on the young man's face, and he pulled out a knife from his pocket.

"What do you want from me?" Wang Bo asked with a trembling voice.

"I want you to give me some important information! It won't take long and after that, I promise I'll let you go. I assure you!"

--

'A man ran. He ran as fast as he could.'

"How is the progress on the third project?" Alyssa asked the vice leader of this camp.

He looked at her, "Well, I would say we've completed about fifty percent. But we still need some more information and materials."

"What would it cost to obtain them?" Alyssa asked.

'He's almost here. He had to warn them. He had to warn them all.'

"I estimate around 1,740 Orin coins."

Alyssa raised her eyebrows and turned her gaze to another person in the room. He was the head of the treasury and was in charge of expenditures.

'There's the door. Just up these stairs!'

He quickly calculated in his head, "Yes, we should be able to afford that."

"Very well," she said satisfactorily, "Then let's go..." The door swung open, and a man rushed in.

Alyssa furrowed her brow, "Sir? How can I..."

"The mortals..." he interrupted, gasping heavily, "they're attacking us!"

Two of the magical guards approached the man and helped him up.

Alyssa raised her eyebrows, "What are you talking about?"

"The mortals... they..." he couldn't continue. He froze in the middle of his sentence.

"Sir?" Alyssa asked, "What's wrong?"

Alyssa shook him on the shoulder. The man's eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell forward.

Alyssa stepped back in shock, and horrified screams echoed through the chamber.

A long bolt protruded from the back of the man's head.

One of the guards stepped out of the door. As he just put the first step outside the door, he was dragged aside by a big arm.

A brief cry, then the sound of blood splattering on the floor followed by silence.

"What's happening here?" one of the frightened magicians in the room asked.

"Close the door!" Alyssa commanded the guard, but it was already too late. Just as the door was about to be closed, a big arm grabbed the guard through the gap.

A loud scream was heard as he threw it over the edge. Then he kicked at the door. With a loud bang, the door hit the wall.

Men stormed into the room. Alyssa recoiled in shock. She raised her hand and manipulated the air. A dozen of the men immediately went flying over the railing, but more kept rushing into the room.

"MORTALS! THEY'RE MORTALS!" one of the men shouted.

He raised his hand, and a bolt of lightning struck one of the mortals. The mortal screamed, but another mortal lunged at the magician before he could cast another lightning bolt.

He started stabbing wildly with a knife at him. Alyssa roared in anger and tried to go to his aid, but a heavy blow struck her from behind.

She was sent flying into the wall and slid down.

Her head throbbed.

She saw dozens of mortals massacring the few magicians in the room.

She tried to rise, but her legs gave way beneath her. Men gathered around her, restraining her.

A young man now entered through the door.

The mortals parted and let him through. He surveyed the room, and his gaze fell upon Alyssa.

He raised an eyebrow and approached her. She tried to use her magic, but the men were stronger than her.

The young man knelt in front of her and looked directly into her eyes. His eyes were as black as the abyss, cold and yet filled with a strange pain.

The young man smiled coldly and pressed his thumb against a specific spot on her temple.

Alyssa's eyes immediately rolled in her head and she lost consciousness.