“Hi, I’m Onaji.

What else can I tell you about myself besides that? Great question. I wish I knew the answer to it myself.

Well, okay, I know a little bit. Like the fact I’m definitely not from this world. Where am I from? Another great question. Such a strong audience today.”

“Onaji, are you talking to yourself again?”

The ladder the boy stood on began shaking rapidly, almost causing him to fall over.

“Why would you think that? I’m just… practicing.”

“Climb off, now!”

“Fine, fine.”

The thin legs began waving in the air, pushing the mantle away from the ladder's steps so as not to trip over it on the way down. The result of a lesson Onaji has learned the hard way.

“Stop skipping classes.” A pouty redhead made an annoyed grimace, waiting for me to get down impatiently in the spacious halls of the library.

“Stop stalking me.” The boy adjusted the fringe of his hair away from the eyes, as he often did.

“We are graduating very soon, all of what we learn now will be crucial during exams.”

“Who cares, the world’s gonna end in like a hundred days.” Onaji smirked.

“No, it won’t! The Prot-”

“Here we go again…”

“Shut up...” The girl’s cheeks grew a little redder. It was hard to notice but Onaji already had experience reading Magnolia’s emotions. For some reason, she has been following him ever since he enrolled in the academy. They even had a quick one-month relationship period that didn’t really lead anywhere. To the boy’s surprise, instead of avoiding him after he dumped her, Magnolia Sideslick kept being around Onaji like nothing even happened. Maybe she never really cared about the romance in the first place.

Her short height, messy hair, and round face highlighted the girl’s nerdier side, making her look quite cute. The green robe of an enhancer she wore was covered in elegant white flowers that Magnolia was clearly a big fan of, having thematic pins, hair bobbles, and all.

“Let’s just head back to class.”

“Alright, alright.”

As they passed by the exit, Onaji’s eyes stared intensely at the librarian, who only helplessly shrugged his hands in response. That day a promise of trust between two men was broken.

‘I guess we would have to continue our dialogue here,’ the boy thought. Not a boy now, a lad rather. It’s been four long years since he joined the academy here in Tut’real.

If you think studying in an academy is already difficult, imagine doing this without having any relevant knowledge of the place you now live in, and now imagine doing that without having any irrelevant knowledge about it either. Through sheer luck, talent, perseverance, and constantly being mistaken for a clinical idiot, Onaji somehow managed to survive.

‘My memories are clouded. Most of what I remember is either something basic, like the concept of multiplication, or comes from after I woke up in the middle of a wheat field, wearing what seems to be a magic robe of sorts(He was wearing a bathrobe) and a mysterious magical tome I couldn’t decipher(He is referring to a copybook with “Diary” clearly written on it). I’m not sure where I got the idea to try to communicate with someone through thoughts, and it has not been a fruitful endeavor so far, but it did help me relax, and now it’s a habit.’

“Wait, where are you going?” Onaji gasped.

The girl passed the class and quickly turned around to him while holding a finger up to her lips.

“Shush. Just follow.”

‘What’s going on…’

Onaji tried not to cause any commotion for the up-and-coming wizards standing in the halls of the building aimlessly. All of them were talented in some way. The biggest requirement to joining the academy was having a major arcana, which is quite a high bar to clear by itself.

‘Wait, you might not remember our arcana conversations. Ehh, in short, you either have arcanas or you don’t. The major one is rarer than the minor which is basically just applying your magic power like… electricity. That should be good enough.’

“The Magistress’ Office” was written on the menacing door made out of pristine black oak.

‘Oh god, oh no, no, no. Everything but the magistress.’ Onaji looked at Magnolia with fear in his eyes.

‘Is she trying to expel me? During the last cemester before graduation? This can’t be happening!’

The redhead meanwhile promptly opened the large doors with visible difficulty and rushed inside, gesturing for Onaji to come along.

‘This is the end.’ The fringe of the hair immediately fell right back onto the boy’s face. He had a sudden urge to fall to his knees and scream. The young wizard would have to give up the purple robe with all the elegant decorations he put so much effort into if he was expelled. Give back all the books he is yet to finish. Not be able to get any potential jobs. He will go back to the streets, just like when he first arrived in this world. A nobody. Or worse. Forced to become a thief. The scum of the earth.

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“Will you come in already?” Magnolia just kept staring at the flabbergasted young man for a good minute.

The shoulders that were proudly wobbling just before were now lowered. Confidence fully disappeared from Onaji’s eyes as he limped towards the doorway.

‘I knew she was playing the long game. Revenge is a dish best served cold. She waited just for this moment to make me waste as much time as possible. Wretched little-’

“Hello, Onaji, darling. How are you today?” A middle-aged woman playfully asked while putting away a large stack of books. Some of them had the most bizarre names, like: “Should gravedigging still be considered a crime?” and, of course, the classic “Young Exalted Flesh.”

‘She always gave me the creeps.’

“Madam, may I ask you why exactly am I here?” Onaji’s voice wavered, but the hope lived on till the very end. Perhaps there was time to haggle.

“Not for punishment… not this time at least.”

“PHEW.” The boy sighed loudly.

The woman puffed a trail of thick smoke adjusting her small sunglasses in confusion.

“Sit down, young man.” She pointed to a chair with her hand. Six clearly different wedding rings were stuck in place on her fingers shut.

Magistress Felina’s office was a little dark. The windows were covered by thick veils not too dissimilar from those used during weddings. Bones of various animals were hanging off the ceiling and used as decorations. You had to maneuver through them before getting to the desk.

“No, don’t touch the… Yes, the walrus’s skull is very brittle… Okay.”

Finally, the three of us were seated face to face.

Magnolia seemed oddly excited.

‘How come I’ve never noticed her sadist side before?’ Onaji wondered.

“Congratulations you two,” the magistress said before puffing out another cloud of smoke.

Then silence ensued. A long kind of silence.

Still, Onaji wouldn’t dare to break it. He wasn’t allowed to even look at the woman’s face. That was the kind of presence she had. Boy’s eyes jumped wildly from Felina’s elegant red mantle, bookshelves behind her back, and Magnolia’s oblivious smirk.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Tired of this farce, Madam Felina suddenly hit the table with her fist. Onaji already prepared for the worst, but the ruler stayed in its place on the desk.

“Fine,” the woman finally said.

The truth was, the magistress absolutely hated socializing. However, she also hated being disrespected. Madam Felina was a woman who was really difficult to talk to, and every student in the academy had to come up with their own method of interacting with her if they wanted to survive the study process.

“Many have tried to find the new Hero before. And by now, it must be obvious that none succeeded. It becomes more apparent by the day that the people have become lazy and oblivious. They know that the prophecy will come true and aren’t even thinking about the alternative. I commend your spirits for being brave enough to help us find him once and for all.”

“Wait, wait, wait, what are you talking about?”

“Shush.” Magnolia hit me in the shoulder.

“Your mission will be a dangerous one. I can’t guarantee that the two of you will come back in one piece. Especially not with the major arcana like yours.” Felina pointed at Onaji.

‘Rude.’

“Still, I am proud to have graduates like you who are without questions ready for a secret mission like this one.”

“I didn’t agree to…” Magnolia covered my mouth with her palm.

“Oh, oh I see. Well, doesn’t matter much,” the magistress must have understood what was going on but rolled with it either way.

“Sideslicks, Magnolia’s family is a long dynasty responsible for Hero’s upkeep since the dawn of time. They are the closest we may have to Hero specialists out there. She has been trained to lead the team consisting of all of your classmates, though it seems only you have… agreed?”

“Mhhm… mhh.”

“Uhum, so… We have located the place where the Codex is, and we cannot wait any longer. That’s why both of you are graduating early. Now, as my respectable colleagues, you are tasked with retrieving it. Find allies, secure the Codex, and help the Protagoni to emerge. That’s what the academy wants from you.”

I pushed Magnolia’s hand away from my face.

“What do you mean by that?! What the hell is Codex, and where it’s located? What will we get out of this even?”

Magnolia sighed, “That's why you shouldn’t skip History. Codex is a book that keeps track of every major magical tool. It will help us track down the pieces of Artifact spread around the continent.”

“And the reward would be plentiful should you succeed. As for the location…” Madam Felina made a long pause to smoke out of her pipe, “Warlock’s spire. Home of Merthal.”

“That’s… That’s suicide!”

‘I added a little bit of dramatic flair there, but really that isn’t even a big deal. The main reason why I was so upset was in a little different kind of conundrum. You see, I don’t want to seek out the future Protagoni. I am the Protagoni.

Let me explain.

First of all. How often do you see a guy just get transported to a different dimension? Hmm? Fate sent me here to fix up this world’s prophesied mess and gave me four years to prepare for it, it’s obvious. Think about it. Magic prowess, check. Special treatment, check. Luck, mostly check. But they don’t know about most of my story. In fact, they don’t even know I’m not a total idiot who had to relearn how to read and write as an 18-year-old. If I say now that I will save the world they would actually think I’m crazy. Early graduation would be useful, and I’ve already been preparing to go off on an adventure seeking out Artifact’s fragments anyway. I’ll play along for now, and once it becomes obvious that I’m the new Hero, I would already be rich, powerful, and have everything I could ever want. Once again, the world is on my side. Time for the suffering in this academy to finally pay off.’

I glanced at Magnolia with a dumb look.

‘Sideslick, huh? Maybe they are destined to meet every new hero. That would explain why she keeps following me around. Of course.’

A wide smile appeared on my face.

“I knew you’d love the idea once you think about it. Let’s save the world, Onajin.”

That’s an absolutely terrible nickname.

“But why does the mission have to be secret? Aren’t everyone waiting for hero to arrive.”

“Ha… Hahaha,” Felina giggled.

‘Oh no.’

“My sweet little Onaji. The walls have ears! They are everywhere! The agents of Merthal! Don’t you understand, they are all everywhere. A secret cabal that wants the world to end. Especially professor Flitwick. Have you seen the way he walks?”

“He has a prosthetic leg.” Onaji sighed.

“I know, but still-”

‘How did professior Flitwick even fell in love with this woman…’