Every ten seconds, they forgot their purpose in Professor Silkwood’s office.

“Look—it’s one of the rarest items that had been stopped in production because it’s considered inappropriate and illegal!” exclaimed Morten. His hand had been itchy to touch any of the stuff. But alas, Florian was always next to him to prevent that from happening.

Vxon hastened towards him, hands on hips. “What’s that?”

“It’s a pipe listener that can help you overhear something in such distance! But WSA (World Sorcery Association) considered this item inappropriate, so the files of this item have been destroyed, and the production stopped a long ago—even before we were all born,” Morten answered, excitement thick in his voice.

“I’m curious, just from where do you know many things?” Florian queried. It was a question he had been holding back since earlier.

Morten’s smile widened at his question. “My uncle is a genius craftsman in making magic tools. He used to teach here in crafting extracurriculars, but then stopped because he was accused of stealing.” He paused, and his face shifted into an expression as if he was about to laugh. “Though he did steal something but never willed to tell me what he stole.” And that last shocking statement was followed by his loud laughter.

Florian gave him a surfeit sort of expression, rolling his eyes. He had guessed Morten would answer his question with the long back story that was not really necessary to be told. “Sure, but now, can we focus?” He peered over his friends, cold and intense.

The others cast a quick, stiff nod and followed the order. But not all of them actually looked for the Maneuxler: Xiulan, of course, was thoroughly focused on searching because she did want to check her mana; Florian was squatting while searching for any little jade orb, but he was, in fact, secretly peeked over the interesting books on the shelves next to him; Morten was busy examining some magic tools; Vxon was in the west corner of the room, searching for the little orb around the shelves filled with herbs and potions; and Thomas was not even sure what he was searching on the rack with ten drawers near the door.

But after another long three minutes of searching, Florian found a fist-sized jade in blue mixed with some gold that wedged between two books. Skeptical, he tried to grab it very carefully—just like how he usually sneaked a chocolate biscuit from a glass jar at midnight. He examined the orb for a few seconds. It was indeed prettier than the one he saw in the Magic Institute. Much smaller. Compact. And heavy.

“Is this…the Maneuxler?” he voiced indecisively. And everyone immediately turned and approached him.

“Oh, you found it!” Morten's face brightened as he darted toward Florian. His hand seemed ready to touch the only item that could be touched.

“Yes, that’s a Maneuxler!” exclaimed Xiulan, then snatched the orb from Morten’s hand. “And look how pretty it is. Let me do it first!”

Morten, Vxon, and Thomas shared a long side-eye glance, seemingly to oppose her decision, for it was clear that Florian should be first.

Florian, however, just agreed in such a delightful way. “Sure, you may do it first.” Let’s see if it’s really a Maneuxler and not broken.

Xiulan promptly delivered her cyan-colored mana to the Maneuxler, and it shone, growing darker to determine the color of Xiulan’s mana core, and then stopped in a color that was close to orange but still had a shade of red. It was peach.

“What’s rank between Mugler I and Moyner III?” Florian tossed the question and glanced at Xiulan’s stats.

[Special Identification lv. 2]

Name

Xiulan Wu

Rank

Mugler I

Race

Human

HP

2350

Intelligence

22

MP

2010/2100

Charisma

24

Florian wanted to tell Xiulan that her rank was still at Mugler I, but he didn’t want to disappoint her.

“If you were in a Magic Institute now, the royal sorcerer would ask you to cast some magic to ensure your rank,” said Morten, pulling up his shoulders once.

At least, make it orange. Xiulan released a feverish sigh and looked away. She had been working so hard in her free time in the dormitory to improve her skills, by reading books for hours and practicing her magic skill. And it was all just to achieve the expectations of her family in Irnakalshi.

What was her dream all this time? Even Xiulan didn’t know it.

Ever since she was young, all she knew about her life’s purpose was only to ‘Be the best or nothing. Be Wu’s greatest descendants or nothing.’

“Be the best or nothing. You are someone from the Wu family—one of the greatest families in the Eastern Empire. You have to be great or nothing. Choose wisely, Xiulan.”

Xiulan repeated her father’s words, and the weight of the expectation she must fulfill just became so palpable. Heavy and suffocating.

Moving to Arcsvere and attending Groundlush Academy wasn’t easy for her, especially with the costs that were not inexpensive—oh, extremely not. Without a bit of help from Morten’s family, House Sommer, she wouldn’t be able to attend this upscale academy. I need to learn and practice more, she said silently and chewed her cheeks.

Seeing a frustrated look had fallen across Xiulan’s face, Morten could roughly guess what she was thinking. Although he wasn’t that close to her since school started, he had heard how strict and scary the Wu family from Irnakalshi was.

“Oh, you don’t have to mind it at all, Xiulan,” began Morten, trying to cheer up his distant relative. “Say, compare to me, you are way greater,” he proudly claimed, patting Xiulan’s shoulder once.

But his cheering did not seem to help the grim on Xiulan’s features better.

“Well, compared to everyone in the class, you are the only Mugler I, the highest in the first year. You should be proud,” added Vxon, his gestures and voice sounding somewhat nervous. And again, he quickly drew his gaze away when Xiulan’s eyes fell on him.

Xiulan snorted a smile at Vxon’s words, her slanted eyes curling until they looked like a crescent moon. As a girl from Irnakalshi, she had that sleek jet-black hair that was always tied in two braids, with a few strands braided with gleaming red and golden thread. Her bangs always looked immaculate. Beautiful was rather not a suitable word to describe her, but lovely was hers. She looked adorable with her round face, but her sharp, slanted eyes added a hint of malignant and solemnness to her face.

“First year, indeed, but compared to all of you, I’m the oldest in the class and will turn fourteen in a few months, so I’m supposed to be in the third year or fourth year, and even—sigh.” Xiulan trailed off; her eyebrows shot upwards in relaxation, then her soft lips twisted into a bitter-sweet smile.

The surroundings grow quiet; the others, the three boys except for Morten, just dumbly stared at her, unable to find words or expressions to respond to this new fact they had just learned.

She is the big sis, they harmonized inwardly.

But a cynical sigh from Florian ruined this silence. “Who cares about age, anyway? You will get older the more you think about it. Be the greatest among the first-year or the weakest among thirteen-year-old wackos. Everything depends on how you see yourself, and where you put yourself,” he said in an indifferent tone. “Someone once said to me that the only valid person you can compare yourself to is you in the past. Not someone else.”

“Wise words,” Vxon nodded in approval.

“As expected of our prince.” Morten clapped his hands dramatically.

Thomas didn’t let any comment and just nodded approvingly and shyly, with a thin smile on his slightly flushed face.

Xiulan couldn’t help but scoff through a grin as Florian put on his snobbish smile. Even though they had only been friends for less than a week, as the eldest in the room, Xiulan could catch the real meaning of his words which instead sounded like ridicule.

Xiulan handed him the Maneuxler with a satisfied look on her face. “You are right. I shouldn’t care too much about comparing my strength and my age. I could be the greatest in the first year.”

Florian received the jade orb and perfunctorily replied, “Please, take care of me, ma’am.” He added with a playful smile and a wink.

Xiulan scoffed, then laughter followed.

Oh—when was the last time she felt amused by simple humor? Even though she had many siblings, cousins, and friends in Irnakalshi, she was never as amused as being with her friends here.

Arcsvere is not so bad. Xiulan did not regret her family’s decision and coercion to move to Arcsvere. Not at all.

Vxon let out a fake cough as Xiulan ceased her laughter. “And how about we return our focus to our true purpose in this place?” he asked, glancing at Florian.

Ignoring Vxon’s look, Florian ordered the system to unlock his dark mana and delivered his golden mana to the Maneuxler. But what escaped from his mouth was an order to his friends.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“You guys must leave the office through the window—now!”

“Wait, what?” Morten voiced with a bit of surprise.

“Thomas, watch the do—" Vxon commanded, a bit frantic, but Florian cut in as he said, “We have no time, so just get out through the window—quick!”

Florian hid his nervousness when hearing the chattery of the nature spirits.

‘Oh! The great quarter-faerie is coming in a minute! He is walking with two boys!’

‘I think we should go, Florian! Otherwise, you will get caught!’

Xiulan breezed towards the door, pushing Thomas away, and peeked through the small open gap.

“Oh, shit—Professor Silkwood is coming!” She warned and rushed over the window but stopped at Florian, who was still waiting for the Maneuxler to determine the color of his mana core. “Just put it back, or you will get caught!” She tried to reach for Florian’s forearm, but Florian dodged.

“Just go first. I’ll pretend to be the student who delivered the parchment. Easy.” Florian insisted. “I’ll be doing fine.”

Xiulan frowned, consternation filling her face. “Oh, dear sage dragons, don’t try to bear it all alone!”

“Then, I shall use my authority and give you an order instead,” Florian pressed, his voice decisive, fitting his royal character. He lifted his chin and eyed Xiulan with a gaze that made her unable to speak a word. “Since I’m the core of this silly mission, it will be a hassle for me to make an excuse to save all of you.” With no further elaboration, he drifted his gaze back on the Maneuxler.

The others seemed like they were holding a sigh or perhaps any honest response. But none of them could argue with his statement. It might sound like a satire and aversion rather than an order, but they could comprehend that Florian wanted to save them and be responsible.

Before Vxon got out through the window, he tossed the last glance to Florian and said, “We will wait for you at the back garden, so don’t immediately leave the academy.” His tone was the threatening one, and Florian snorted at it before slowly pulling his lips into a smirk.

“Close the window.” Florian glanced at Vxon over his shoulder and saw Vxon nod before slipping out through the gap.

Then a subtle bang echoed as Vxon and the others forcefully closed the huge window. Florian, meanwhile, still waited for the result of his rank while the nature spirits kept giving him an update on how long Professor Silkwood would arrive at his office.

‘Fifteen more seconds!’

Florian’s heart began to pound even faster.

Just why the heck is this thing so slow?

Indeed, unlike when determining Xiulan’s mana core, the Maneuxler took longer to determine his rank. And once the orb’s shine reached the red shade and got darker, Florian groaned.

“This is hopeless.”

‘They're arriving!’

With the shout of the wind spirit, Florian dropped the Maneuxler and kicked it into the corner, rolling under the cabinet. With the last glimpse before the shadow swallowed it whole, he saw the color stop at black, the same pitch-black as the last time. But he could not let out any grunt as the clicking sound of the opening door startled him.

Worse, he saw Charles and Lucas after Professor Silkwood.

“Oh, what are you doing here, little brother?” Lucas’s cocky voice never failed to make Florian roll his eyes, but he managed not to do it now.

“Why are you here?” Charles repeated the question and squinted in suspicion.

“I just delivered some parchments.” Florian’s answer managed to sound steady and clear. “And good afternoon, Professor Silkwood.” And he did not forget to greet the professor.

Professor Silkwood returned Florian’s greeting with a slight nod and smile before approaching his desk, apparently not minding Florian’s suspicious presence in his office. He just casually took his smoking pipe, put in some tobacco, and cast fire magic to light it, as if he was ready to listen to the interesting conversation between the young princes in his office.

“Unusual. I believe it’s Vincent’s job to deliver them,” Charles clarified and approached Florian, who seemed relaxed as though he had done nothing wrong.

“Vincent is my friend’s older brother: Vxon. And I delivered the parchment because Vxon has something urgent to do with his brother, and I happened to be with them then.” There was no hint of hesitation or edginess in Florian’s voice. His face even looked convincing as well. “And I was hooked by all these interesting tools in Professor Silkwood’s office. Thus I took some time to look around.” Then his eyes moved to rest on Giffrey Silkwood, who enjoyed his time smoking and listening to the conversation. “I apologize for my impudence, Professor.” He sketched a slight bow, adding more politeness to his acting.

Giffrey Silkwood waved off his apology with the motion of his hand and settled deeper into his own chair while smoking.

“I do not mind. Every student tends to do the same if it’s their first time visiting my office,” said Silkwood, the corners of his lips twitching. “And princeling, here is the list of the maze ideas.” He tapped the files on his table, then Charles hastened towards his desk to take them.

“Thank you, Professor,” Charles said with a polite nod and then twisted around. “I guess I’ll see you later, little brother.” He flashed Florian a taunting smile. Lucas gave no further comment and followed Charles just like a loyal guard.

See you later, my ass, commented Florian inwardly, managing not to roll his eyes when he two menaces left the office.

Of course, Florian did not want to stay in the office longer, either.

“Then, I apologize once again, and I will excuse—”

“I wonder how the color of your mana core could be dead-black,” began Silkwood suddenly, his voice very low, but Florian heard it clearly.

Florian failed to keep himself calm; his face hardened, and his breath tightened. As he lifted his chin, he found Professor Silkwood standing in front of him with a smoking pipe in his hand and an intrigued smile on his tired face.

[Special Identification lv.2]

Name

Giffrey Asella Silkwood

Rank

Grand I

Race

Quarter-Faerie

HP

4260/4300

Intelligence

78

MP

7120/7650

Wisdom

60

“Shall we talk?”—Silkwood exhaled smoke-filled air, billowing right Florian’s face—"princeling?”

Nerves twisted in his stomach, but Florian tried not to show it. “Sure, professor.”

Professor Silkwood stretched his lips into a wide, satisfied smile.

“Well, I guess I need to do something so the imps, ahem, I mean your curious friends unable to overhear our talks,” said Silkwood before casting a soundproof spell in the office. His hand movement and magic circle were too quick for Florian’s eyes to follow.

They are still here? Florian peered over the huge window that connected to the back garden and caught the faint sight of Morten’s white curl.

Then Giffrey Silkwood offered Florian to sit on the couch near his desk, and they sat opposite each other, with a coffee table in the middle.

Since when did that coffee table appear? Florian squinted at that table long enough and got startled by Silkwood’s voice.

“Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?” Silkwood kindly asked as he leaned on the couch and crossed his legs.

“Water is fine, and thank you,” answered Florian, letting loose a long breath through his nose to steady himself.

“Good. I actually only have water, anyway.”

Silkwood casually let his finger dance as he created a magic circle that made the water jug drift and poured some water into a teacup, and then the teacup flew and landed on the table.

Florian ensured his throat didn’t dry so he could seamlessly lie.

“How’s that sneaky faerie—Cithrel?”

But the sudden question from Silkwood made Florian choke on his water, yet he managed to answer calmly.

Sneaky Faerie? Florian repeated, taking a deep breath. “I haven’t seen her since I arrived in Arcsvere,” he managed, wiping his mouth with a napkin he took from the inner pocket of his jacket.

Silkwood snorted a brief chuckle. “I see—interesting. She always avoids seeing me, either.”

Florian waited for another word, but Silkwood seemed busy smoking and looked so content and relaxed. But a minute had passed. “Have you ever visited the faerie land?” So he began instead, “Professor?” and did not forget to be polite.

“Lapsterra?” Silkwood hauled his light-blue eyes to look at Florian, whose face seemed eager to wait for an answer. “I have been there once—wait, no—twice, when I was…still young, I believe. Maybe a century ago,” he answered, with an expression as though he grappled with his thoughts to try to remember something. “But why do you ask? If you haven’t gone there, it’s good. Lapsterra is a place where you must have a bold heart, thick skin, and a high level of patience to survive—especially for us, not pure-blooded faeries.”

“Wow. Sounds like hell than what it’s described in a book,” commented Florian, words coming without a thought.

Silkwood’s powerless laughter echoed through the room. “Anyway, princeling, let me go this straight.” He paused and eyed Florian rather intensely that Florian had to hold a breath and became so alert.

But everything suddenly turned strange—Silkwood’s features and the aura he emitted, to be more precise. And that only made Florian start to wonder what kind of power a horned faerie had.

What’s the power of horned faeries? An incredible sense.

Although Giffrey Silkwood was only a quarter-faerie, he was still able to use faerie power, even almost as equal to the pure blood.

His light-blue pupils were nowhere to be seen as he focused on Florian, but a flat white and a few eye retinas appeared around his eyeballs. Some visible pulses were around his eyes, and his horns shone. This strange moment happened around ten seconds, and Florian was astonished to see it; he even forgot to blink.

“Hmm. Peculiar indeed you are, princeling. Why do you only have four spirits within you? And I sense death flying around you. What is it? And why do I feel death in you, either?”

All the strange things that happened to Silkwood’s eyes and horns stopped when he finished with his questions, leaving Florian so tensed that he forgot to hold back his shocked features. But Silkwood had yet to stop giving Florian vicious facts.

“And your mana is oddly dead, princeling. Strange it is to be not a Dark Mana.” Silkwood sighed sharply and shook his head. “Therefore, your mana could never grow and will be stuck at black—because it is somehow… dead.” He shrugged and exhaled smoke. Despite how surprising the facts he got from Florian, his expression remained the same; exhausted and indolent.

Can I faint? Emotionally, Florian could not comprehend all the sudden truths about himself. But rationally, in his mind, he had slowly put the scattered puzzle pieces together—the information about himself and the mysteries he wanted to discover.

But what are all these? My mana is dead? But don’t I still lock my dead mana?

Florian thought he had been careful enough. Locking his dark mana while at the academy was a decision to make him careful not to use it, because he was still unable to control the power of his dark mana properly.

But neither encountering Professor Silkwood nor letting him use his faerie power on him was the plan. He absolutely never envisioned being in the current situation. But it happened, anyway, so he guessed playing along with the quarter-faerie, who happened to be someone important, wouldn’t be so bad.

Right?

Florian took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair, eventually adjusting himself to the truth and situation. His confused and shocked look had shifted into his usual expression, calm and settled.

With that, Florian started over.

“Professor, do you know a thing or two about the person who gave birth to me?” Also known as the Queen of Arcsvere?

His words emerged with such urgency and force as he looked at Griffey Silkwood, his eyes on sharp alert. Despite the tens of questions that flashed through his mind, Florian chose to utter that question.

Silkwood raised his eyebrows and wore a mysterious wide smile at Florian’s question. And a slight of amazement was evident in his eyes—something about Florian’s demeanor intrigued him.

“Poor you, little princeling. I cannot tell you anything about it. Faeries cannot lie, let alone break an oath.”

“But I can—lie,” Florian responded within a second.

“Of course, you can. Because you don’t have the spirit of the tree of life within you.” Giffrey Silkwood snorted short laughter. “Which means you don’t have the innate trait of faeries.”

“Tree of life?”

Silkwood nodded and relaxed his sitting position. “Faeries are creatures that were born and blessed by the world tree, the tree of life—well, legends said so. I don’t know much about faeries, to be frank,” he explained and shrugged, none of the seriousness visible on his face or his tone. “Not having one of spirit except tree spirit is rare and not impossible. However, it’s impossible for a faerie not to have a spirit of the Tree of Life because Faeries are always born with five nature spirits, especially the tree spirit—except you, which is very weird. What are you, actually? A fake faerie? A chimera—absolutely not.”

Just what the hell? Florian dropped his jaw.

“And how do you even have two kinds of mana?” Unlike before, Silkwood’s voice and gaze had turned into a serious one, leaving Florian to get a strike of urgency. “Your mana is divided into two—no, there are two: both are strong and unstable, but one is undoubtedly stronger. And I sense something holding and suppressing your mana, the stronger one. So—can you tell me something about it, princeling? Hmm?”

A silence descended over the office as they just stared at each other.

Florian flicked his eyes at the surroundings before returning to Silkwood. Something on his features showed a hint of unease. “If I meet another horned faerie, would they be able to sense what you sense?”

Giffrey Silkwood formed an amused smile, thinking how Florian could easily change and control the topic.

“Maybe I forgot to tell you this, Your Highness—not all horned faeries could make their horns shine when using their power.”

And that could be the most convincing words coming from him since the beginning of their conversation.

Florian just stared at Silkwood for a few seconds while arranging the mess in his mind.

“I am new in this country, even as a prince who is hiding his half-fae identity. Then with the situations I have learned so far—about my family, the crown, I’m required to be careful about finding people I trust, especially not to confide in anyone about my secrets. This secret,” Florian explained and took a second pause to inch up his chin, his look vaguely sardonic. “Let's say I trust you that faerie can not lie—but what can guarantee that I can trust you, Professor?”

For the first time in his life, Silkwood found himself stunned by a twelve-year-old boy.