Furvusdraco was a seventeen-year-old teenage boy who was utterly surprised when he received a notice stating that he was elected as a Mage candidate. Knowing that Mages were mostly girls chosen before the age of fifteen, he found it rare to be selected at his age.

Perhaps his doubt was evident from his expression, as the Mage who found him smiled and said, “You can reject the offer, but I suggest giving it a try. It’s an unforgettable experience even if you aren’t chosen.”

Furvusdraco looked at the Mage standing before him, recalling the moment he was saved by a Mage during a dark beast invasion incident. It was a Mage dressed in dark pink hue, which struck him as unusual, given that Mages typically appeared gentle and warm; the Mage who saved him seemed rather fierce and scary. Despite this, the scary Mage had rescued him, and he had wished to express his gratitude ever since. Accepting the offer, he thought, might provide him with the opportunity to meet the Mage and convey his appreciation.

He had tons of questions to ask her. How was she now? There hadn’t been any news about her from any media - was she hurt? She had been taken away by another Mage, a male Mage he never expected to see. He remember the odds when he noticed the male Mage seemed quite mature compared to the other girls...

“Okay, I’ll attend the test. Thanks for the notice!” Furvusdraco happily accepted the offer. However, he had no sense of direction. Before he reached the hall where the door to the secret realm had opened, he was already late by about an hour because he kept going down the wrong path and found himself lost in the subway system on the way to the Big Hospital. His arrival surprised the Mages who were waiting in front of the entrance.

A lady in uniform glanced at him while making notes on her clipboard and, after letting out a sigh, remarked, “I’ve seen many candidate who come in late, but you are the first one to arrive after the test started an hour ago.”

“He’s a candidate? But his age...”

“Many things happened this year that were very different from previous years,” The lady shrugged, “Two stones were suppose to have three candidates each, so six in total. But one of the stones gave a very intense feeling toward this boy, so we ended up with seven candidate this time. Okay, enough with the talk, send him into the realm.”

Furvusdraco, anxious and nervous about what was going to happen, didn’t have as much time as he planned to relax entering the secret realm. He hastily greeted the Mages and officers standing beside the entrance, braced himself, and walked into the misty white portal.

He hasn’t been briefed about what to expect before getting into the realm. Although he thought he might need to run across some field or be chased by wild animals, or even sit an exam, after all, it was a test, wasn’t it?

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However, he didn’t expect to see two people lying unconscious hand in hand on the ground, wearing attire he could still recall from that thrilling moment of his life - it was the dark pink figure and the male Mage!

“It really is them!” He rushed to their side, confirming what he saw was not an illusion. Now that he had bent his knees beside them, he could finally have a closer look at them and check their conditions.

The Mage in dark pink attire indeed had a fierce and sharp appearance, even when lying on the floor unconscious. The other man, whom he thought was a Mage, turned out not to be one because the attire he was wearing looked more like the battle suit worn by a rogue or something from a sci-fi novel - something people could make without using magic. They lay on the floor hand in hand, and he noticed a stone floating in midair just above their hands.

It was a reddish-black stone that seemed opaque, reflecting dazzling light gracefully, and elegantly. A beautiful stone, emitting a dangerous hint, sending chills all over Furvusdraco’s spine when his eyes was upon it. He sensed the danger, yet there was an urge that emerged from beneath his heart, telling him to grab the stone...

Cold sweat covered his back when he snapped out of that hypnotizing moment. He quickly withdrew his hand, which had almost touched the stone, gasping at the threat that had lured him into contacting an unknown object.

So this is the challenge the secret realm gave me, huh? Testing if I could concentrate on saving lives even when I’m distracted by something attractive? There’s no way I will fall into this! He thought to himself confidently and immediately focused on what he initially wanted to do: helping the two lying on the floor.

He nudged the man on the floor to try to wake him up, but no matter what he did, the man remained unconscious. The same was the case with the Mage. He tried to move them to places far away from the stone, but was unable to do so as they held their hands tightly; he couldn’t separate their grip. So, unless he could move both of them at the same time - which he couldn’t - he was unable to take them away from the stone.

Could it be the stone was the reason they both collapsed on the floor? Or does it hint at something else? Furvusdraco, believing this is the challenge the secret realm gave him, thought about how he could solve the problem, or maybe, move the stone away instead?

He nodded at this brilliant idea, took off his bag and encased the stone without touching it, then quickly tossed the bag in a direction away from him, expecting the stone to follow. The bag landed at a distance from him,and he grinned, but soon he was surprised when he turned around because the stone that was supposed to be in the bag was still floating above their holding hands, just like before.

He quickly grabbed his bag and looked inside; only a few of his belongings were laying messily in his bag, with no sign of the stone that he was sure he had encased in it.

Well, seems like removing the stone was not the answer...So, I should put the stone onto them instead? Furvusdraco carefully covered his hand with the fabric of his bag, slowly pushed the stone, making sure it touched their joined hands.

Nothing happened.

He tried it on the Mage’s body and the man’s body, but again, nothing happened.

So, this means that I should touch the stone, right? He gulped, put his bag aside, took a deep breath, and slowly stretched his hand toward the stone, while reminding himself not to be bewildered by it...Something did happen.