I remained frozen in front of the screen floating just below my eyes. Like during the earthquake, this screen was bathed in a soft white light. No matter how much I waved my hands around the screen, nothing seemed to support it in the air.
After all, if it was really like in a manhwa, it was normal for nothing to support this screen. I didn't understand most of what was written on it. This system seemed to know my name and real age. Some of my information was blocked by a strange black cube that prevented me from reading. When I tried to touch it with my index finger, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I withdrew my finger, and the pain stopped. Well, it seemed I couldn't access that kind of information for the moment.
My attention turned to my skills; the inscription 'Dark Ether Lv.1' intrigued me greatly. It seemed like a cool power that a manhwa protagonist would have. Or, given my luck, I might have gotten the weakest power that could exist in this world.
Regardless, for now, as I put on my jacket sleeves, the screen disappeared on its own. As if the fact that I no longer paid attention to it was enough to make it disappear. In doubt, I began to think back to my characteristic window, and it reappeared before me. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind, focusing on my breathing. When I opened them again, the window had disappeared once more.
I descended the staircase after fully changing. When I set my foot on the last step, my three companions turned to me. Thaddeus looked me up and down. "Well, that coat suits you well, we really made a deal. To think that old seller thought it was moth-eaten fabric. Hahaha."
"It suits you pretty well."
Park Min-Jae smiled at me while Yoon Jiyeon protested. "I'm sure this coat would look much better if it were on my shoulders—"
"On your shoulders? You have the shoulders of a bear, you would never fit in it."
She shot a furious look at Park Min-Jae, who wore a satisfied smirk. Thaddeus, sensing the situation deteriorating, sighed. "Well, now that you have proper attire, we can finally leave this place!"
"What do you mean, 'we'? This isn't your place?"
He flashed a mocking smile at Yoon Jiyeon.
"Being a member of the 'Order of Archmages' comes with certain advantages…"
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It took less than an hour for Thaddeus to gather his belongings. In reality, many of the items inside belonged to the owner of the house whose door he had forced and occupied shamelessly.
"Let's go!"
He walked ahead, followed by Park Min-Jae and Yoon Jiyeon, while I brought up the rear.
He stopped at the edge of the village and bought tickets to summon a driver. A carriage that seemed to have already seen better days arrived. We boarded. The interior was old and rustic, so it didn't take long for Yoon Jiyeon to lose patience, and Park Min-Jae joined her in her complaints.
Since the journey would last at least several hours before reaching the first inn, I decided to learn more about this system. As soon as I started thinking about my characteristic window, it appeared before me. I tried sliding my finger up and down, but nothing happened. I did the same action from right to left, and this time the window changed.
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Dark Ether Lv.1
Description: Ancient mythical energy. Appeared at the request of a lonely dreamer born without love.
Condition to increase: 0/1000 dreams.
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This description was more than intriguing. I didn't know who this lonely dreamer was, but thanks to him, I had obtained this power. However, I didn't quite understand the end. What did the system mean by 'dreams'? Even if this world was a completely absurd fantasy world, I had no idea what a dream was, let alone how to obtain one.
Furthermore, I still didn't know what this power would be used for. Moreover, the term 'Dark Ether' didn't inspire confidence in me. What if I accidentally ended up like a necromancer and was forced to eat decomposing human flesh to live?
I felt a gaze on me. I looked up, my characteristic window disappearing immediately. Thaddeus was looking at me with a worried expression. It had completely slipped my mind, but if the others couldn't see the system from earlier, I had been staring at the ground and reacting strangely. I smiled awkwardly. He seemed satisfied and looked away.
The fact that I was the only one benefiting from the system forced me to remain discreet. If someone learned of its existence, even in an absurd world, I could risk having problems.
[An entity filled with regret also thinks you should remain discreet.]
It was that entity again. I still couldn't get used to the idea that someone could read my thoughts, even the darkest ones.
[An entity filled with regret shudders and covers its eyes at your impudence.]
Impudence? You're the one reading my thoughts!
There was no response. Apparently, I had offended it; at least I was now left alone for a while, hoping that others wouldn't come either.
As I continued to observe Thaddeus, he asked me, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. I was just thinking that the council members have quite a lively life. Do you often change lodgings like today?"
He ran his hand through his hair. "If I'm to be honest with you, council members actually have quite a comfortable life."
"Why be so nomadic then?"
"Even though my mission is kept secret, council members have ears everywhere, and they don't like being disturbed."
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"Why not just remain a regular council member and live a peaceful life?"
He turned his eyes to the window, looking into the distance and clenching his fist.
"I couldn't live with them… Not after what they've done."
I felt that the timing was poorly chosen to continue the conversation; he probably didn't want to talk about his seemingly painful memories. In front of me, a reddish drop escaped from Thaddeus's clenched fist and crashed to the ground.
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'The Seraphy Magic Academy' was located in the capital of Crownbury. According to Thaddeus, it was one of the most beautiful cities on the continent. To reach it, we had to cross the country by heading north.
The journey across the country was long and monotonous. Following the road, it took us more than three days to reach the capital. Thaddeus took advantage of this time to give us a history lesson about the capital. Crownbury, due to its status, was the largest city in the country. Located in the east of the country, the majority of commercial transactions from other countries passed through Crownbury.
As Seraphy was an angelic nation, the majority of Crownbury's inhabitants were angels. They all swore allegiance to the King of Seraphy, Albert II. Since those who swore allegiance to the king were bound to obey him by the pact they had made with him, transgressions were rare. So much so that, unlike the rest of the country, there were no representatives of royal authority on the streets of the city. I didn't really know how a pact worked, but I suppose the king could give orders from afar.
However, is a society that appears to be free in all its movements but obeys a supreme authority without being able to retort truly free? The passers-by I met in the street didn't seem to worry about it; they probably lived like this for years.
Upon our arrival in the capital, Thaddeus immediately took us to the Seraphy Academy. Shortly after dropping us off at the academy gates, Thaddeus left us, saying he had something important to do.
The academy was located outside the city. A large black fence placed on a small stone wall seemed to encircle the entire academy so that looking to the right and left of the gate, one could not see the end. A large metal gate set into a stone arch, on which the academy crest was depicted, an eye with two wings, stood.
The Seraphy Magic Academy was supposedly created by a mage named Archibald. Few people had ever seen him; according to rumors, he appeared one day and spoke with the king. Albert II then had the Seraphy Magic Academy built and promised to teach it to anyone who declared themselves capable of practicing magic. Since then, many species and mages of all kinds and from all countries have come to study magic at this renowned academy.
"Well, we can't say they do things halfway!"
Yoon Jiyeon began examining the gate closely.
"I don't see a handle. How do we open it?"
As she spoke these words, a creaking sound was heard, and the door opened by itself, making her jump.
"Well, I see they've thought of everything." She boasted as she passed through the gate, and Park Min-Jae and I followed suit.
A long paved avenue traversed the campus. On either side of the avenue, large cypresses had been planted at regular intervals. In the grass around, numerous groups of students were enjoying the sun.
As Thaddeus had told me, there were indeed all sorts of people. I saw some groups of teenagers, but also a group of elderly people who greeted us respectfully. I thought I could make out a group that seemed to be elves due to their long ears. Another group mixed all sorts of people, with an old man leaning on a staff, two elf boys, and a young girl with dazzling white hair. Yet another group was exclusively composed of people with sparkling white hair.
Arriving at a crossroads, a woman in her fifties called out to us. She introduced herself as the dormitory supervisor. She showed us around the campus, showed us our dormitories, and introduced us to our roommates.
We were admitted mid-year. Myself, Yoon Jiyeon, and Park Min-Jae were separated, not being in the same dorm room.
My room was quite large. Three beds and three desks were arranged in the room. A shelf, which seemed to be sagging under the weight of the dusty books it bore, creaked as we passed by it.
One detail that caught my attention was that one of the three beds had a fine layer of dust on it. Even the sheets didn't seem to have been shaken in ages. The supervisor had clearly stated that there were three of us in this room.
"Ah, you must be the new student!"
I turned around to come face to face with a girl in her mid-teens who was smiling at me from the dormitory corridor.
Her long white hair contrasted with her long black eyelashes. Her thin, arched eyebrows were almost invisible. Her slender figure left no doubt that she could have been a model if she wished. Her golden eyes, like two sapphires polished many times, fixed on me. I stopped myself from replying.
"Yes, you must be my roommate."
"I'm Eugenia Everworth."
She smiled at me.
"Kim Honja."
Her gaze clouded.
"I've never heard that kind of name."
"Yes, I come from a distant country to the East."
She nodded and sat on her bed.
"Even though I knew our roommate would be a boy, I didn't think he would be so old."
I nervously chuckled.
"Haha. Who's the other person with us?"
She frowned. "It's a boy. He's about the same age as you, I think." She sighed. "But I've only seen him once at the beginning of the year. He never comes to sleep in the dormitory; all I know is that he's so good that some teachers allow him not to come to class."
The academy operated by dormitory, which meant that my grades depended on those of my classmates. Having a classmate who did everything alone could be both an advantage and a difficulty. But if he was as good as she said, everything should be fine.
I set about unpacking my suitcase and the few belongings it contained under my bed. It was already late, so as soon as I finished, Eugenia and I headed to the cafeteria.
It was in the same building as the dormitories. When we entered, all eyes turned to us. At first, I thought it was because I was a new student, but I soon realized they were watching Eugenia out of the corner of their eyes. I now remembered what I hated so much about school. It was these hypocritical glances.
We quickly ate the food, which was undoubtedly one of the best things I had ever eaten, and then returned to our room.
The next day, the bells of the academy church woke me up. It must have been no more than 6:00 in the morning; the sun hadn't even risen yet. Eugenia, who was a night owl, sat on her bed, half asleep. It was my first day. I had never liked classes, whether in school, college, or high school. Just the thought of it made me shiver, and a weight settled in my stomach.
The dormitories were located away from the main buildings; they were connected to them by a paved path that crossed the academy campus. Eugenia walked beside me. Despite her young age, she seemed to know a lot about magic. When I looked at her, I could see many luminescent particles swirling around her.
"Aren't you too stressed?"
She had noticed me scrutinizing her. I shivered.
"To be honest, I don't really like anything that rhymes with school."
"You don't like learning?"
"I would say I don't like the place where we learn."
She smiled at me. "Don't worry. Since we're in the same dormitory, we'll be taking the same classes. That's how the academy works. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me.
"Thank you."
A young man in his twenties comforted by a fifteen-year-old girl... I must have looked pathetic. Fortunately for me, the path was deserted at this hour. We had gotten up early to visit our head teacher, who wanted to meet me because I had arrived mid-year.
The main building of the academy, where the teachers' offices were located, was a large, elegant rectangular building. We climbed the wide staircase and passed through the large double door to find ourselves in a spacious hall. On each side of it, stairs led up to the floors of the first and second-year teachers. The ground floor contained the offices of the third and final years.
At the top of the building, we crossed a wide corridor with the doors of various offices on each side. A red carpet adorned the floor while oil lamps fixed to the walls faintly illuminated us. At the end of the corridor, we faced the door of our head teacher.
My eyes fell on the plaque attached to the door bearing his name. At first, I thought I was reading it wrong. But no matter how many times I blinked, the name didn't change.
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Head Teacher of 1C: Thaddeus Sinclair
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