A dark expanse is all I can see.

Complete utter Darkness.

(Where am I?)

As I float around in the void, I strangely feel at ease, the darkness was comforting. Suddenly, I see the silhouette of a person in the distance.

“Hello?” I yell in their direction.

The silhouette turns back to face me but I can’t make out their appearance from this far away.

“Where am I? Who are you?”

At first, I think they don’t hear me since they just stare at me in silence so I prepare to repeat myself when I hear a male voice talk behind me.

“How peculiar. A child of mine born not from my own.”

I spin around so fast I get slightly dizzy and am met with the hooded figure I was just looking at.

(Wha- How did he get there!?)

I hastily glance over my shoulder and don’t see anyone there. I turn back and am tempted to ask how “he” did that but swallow the query in my throat since I feel it’s a dumb question.

“What are you talking about?” I ask with caution.

Again I’m met with silence.

I try to examine “him” while waiting for a reply but can’t see anything distinct besides his hooded robe.

When I look under his hood to try to get a look at his face all I see is a blackness similar to the surroundings.

I shiver and hastily look away when “he” abruptly speaks.

“Interesting. We shall meet again.” The man promises with a mysterious certainty before he turns his back on me and slowly walks away.

“Wait!” I blurt for some reason.

As I reach out to try to stop him, a bright light appears.

And then I suddenly wake up in my bed soaked in sweat.

I push myself up quickly and scan my surroundings only to see Mary asleep with her head rested on my bed. Papa was also napping against the wall in the corner of the room.

(What was that weird dream?) I wonder.

I remove the blanket from myself slowly and carefully slip out of bed. Mary and Papa stay sound asleep.

(They must’ve been really tired.) I muse.

(The sun is just now setting, so it’s only been a couple of hours since I went to sleep.)

I stretch my body in front of a mirror stand and start studying the changes from the ritual in my reflection.

My new deep crimson eyes stare back at me. I notice that my pure golden blond hair has got streaks of platinum in it now. Many strands of it are now highlighted white.

Recently, I got a haircut because it was getting really long, but now it grew back to just below my shoulder blades. Also, it’s a little bit curly now compared to my usual straight perm.

My ears stayed mostly the same, except now the tips are pointy instead of curved.

Finally, I check my fangs once more. I gained two sharpened fangs that protrude slightly from my top row of teeth. Examining it more closely, two of my bottom row teeth have gotten a little bit more pointy as well, although not as much as my top fangs.

Happy with how I turned out, I check to see if anything else changed.

It was then that I notice that my bracelet was gone!

I look around hastily for it but can’t find it anywhere. I send a mana pulse through the room to try to find any magic items but nothing came back.

(Ohhh, what am I going to do?)

I try to calm down my panic by slowly breathing and thinking calmly.

(For now, I should go talk to teacher) I decide.

She might know where it is or how to find it. I write a quick note and leave it on the table for Mary and Papa. Then, I carefully place a blanket over the two of them and make my way out of the room. The moment I step out, I suddenly hear loud construction noises,

(Teacher must’ve set up a sound barrier around this room.)

Many maids are running back and forth carrying construction materials, I spot Ms. Angela giving orders to various people so I decide to go talk to her.

“Ms. Angela?”

She turns around then looks down at me in surprise.

“Oh, well if isn’t Selene. How are you feeling dear?” She asks sincerely.

“I’m doing much better, thank you. Do you know where teacher is?”

“The mistress is currently resting in her room, I’ve been told not to let anyone interrupt her but...It should be fine. Tell the guards I gave you permission.”

“Thank you, Ms. Angela!” I politely thank her.

“You’re very welcome, dear.” She responds with a calm smile.

“Now, I have some work to do, take care.”

I bow to Ms. Angela and make my way up the stairs. Teacher’s room is the only room on the top floor, it can be immediately seen at the end of a short hallway. After I reached the top of the stairs, I see two maids standing guard. I tell them that Ms. Angela gave me permission and they let me through. I thanked them and a short walk later, I reached the double doors to teacher’s room.

The door has a special magic seal that will only open to certain people. After I became teacher’s student, I was allowed to operate this door.

After placing my hand on the seal and pouring in my mana, it opened. I peek through the opening in the door to see teacher meditating on her bed. I quietly make my way in and softly close the door behind me. I take a seat on a table near teacher’s bed since it would be bad if I interrupted her meditation. Teacher’s room is messy as always, the floor is flooded with books on magic and runeology. Teacher studies all aspects of magic, including magic inventing.

I skimmed through a book on advanced runeology research as I wait. I really can’t make out the contents at all. From talking with the maids, I know that teacher is an icon in the magical community, famed for creating many new spells through her research of ancient runes. Teacher even created a whole new dhampir ritual for me, I’m not sure about the details, but I know it’s a lot of hard work. I feel like I’ll never be as amazing as teacher.

“That book is too advanced for you right now, try ‘Arcadium Volume I’ if you want to get into runeology research.”

I turn around and see that teacher is standing behind me.

“Teacher!” I hastily stand up.

“Fufu, how are you doing, my student.”

“Good! But...” I excited answer then nervously fidgeted.

“Hm? Is there something wrong?” Teacher asks in a worried tone.

“N-no, it's just, my bracelet is missing.”

“What.” She says with a dumbfounded expression.

Teacher abruptly knelt down and grabbed my hands.

“How strange, give me a moment.”

Teacher then walked over to her bedside and rummaged through a box. After a while, she pulled out a palm-sized crystal with runic markings and walked back over to me.

“Alright, let’s see where it is. This is a special magic item that amplifies the range and efficiency of search magic, if it’s within a 1-kilometer radius, I’ll find it.”

A wave of mana pulsated from teacher as she clenched the crystal. It passed through me and proceeded outside the room. A couple of seconds later, the pulsating stopped and teacher had a bewildered expression.

“What’s wrong, teacher?” I hesitantly ask.

“I searched for the residue mana from your bracelet and the search came back that it’s right here. More precisely, it’s inside of your body, your magic core.”

“Huh?”

“The ritual must have accidentally absorbed the magic formula during the second step. But that’s impossible.” Teacher starts thinking out loud.

A magic formula absorbed into my core? What does that mean? There’s still so much I don’t know about magic, I spent all my time learning spells but I hardly know anything about the principles behind it.

“...Well, don’t worry Selene. We still have a month till your admission to the academy, so I have time to study this.” Teacher says with confidence.

“Oh, I’m not worried about that. I was just thinking, I wish I knew more about runeology, all I know are spells that you’ve taught me, I don’t know anything about how to change or adapt them like you do, teacher.” I explain.

“Hmm, well, I can recommend you to Layla when you start your studies. Her course is quite acceptable.”

“Layla?” I inquire with a head tilt.

“Layla Maybell, head runeologist at the royal academy. She has a course on intermediate and advanced runeology that accepts students only by recommendation, I’m sure I can get you in quite easily.” Teacher says with a grin.

“Really? That’s awesome!”

“We only have a month..it’s not enough for me to teach you all the basics to runeology research but we can at least give you a head start. It’ll be up to you whether or not you can keep up in her class, but I’m sure you’ll be fine.” She says while patting my head.

“I’ll do my best!” I say with a guts pose.

“As for your magic instructor, there’s no need for you to get a darkness magic teacher so that leaves wind...and water...ugh.” Teacher ends with a nasty scowl.

I give an inquisitive stare but teacher only says in a grave tone.

“Listen, Selene. If you get approached by a man named Alister, you must reject him completely, do you understand?”

I wonder what has teacher so angry. I thought there wasn’t anyone alive that would dare offend her.

“O-okay.”

“Good.” Teacher nods with a satisfied expression the says with folded arms “Hmph, as if I’d let that slacker teach my student.”

“Anyway, it’s strange that the bracelet’s runes were absorbed into your core, but it shouldn’t have any adverse effects. Is there anything else that’s troubling you?”

“Hmm, no, I think that’s it,” I answer.

I debated asking teacher about my weird dream but decided it was probably nothing.

“...Alright then. By the way, where’s Mary? I wouldn’t think she’d let you go so early.”

“Mary’s asleep. She must have been really tired.”

“I see, that’s fine. The ritual took a large toll on them as well, they’re probably suffering from mana fatigue. Give it a few days and they’ll be back to normal.” Teacher reassures me.

“I saw the state of the mansion on the way here...I’m really sorry to have caused you so much trouble because of my selfish request.” I sadly say.

“Haa. Silly girl.” Teacher places both her hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eye.

“If I couldn’t do this much for my pupil, what kind of teacher would I be? Don’t forget, I am Serah Babylon.” She arrogantly declares.

I hug teacher and remind myself just how blessed I truly am. Even though I’m excited to make new friends at the academy and meet Alex again, I’m going to miss this place so much. After we part, teacher gives me a smile and then proceeds to pick me up and princess carry me over to her bed.

I blush, feeling embarrassed at being carried around like when I was younger while hugging teachers neck for comfort and support.

“We still have a lot of time till the evening, let’s go over some of the things you need to remember before entering the academy. For starters, although my connections are getting you through the door, it’ll be up to you whether or not you get to stay. The royal academy has strict rules regarding performance, especially their magic division, so don’t ever slack in your studies.” Teacher explains after setting me down and sitting on the other side of the bed.

“Mhm, I know. Mary’s been giving me daily lessons to prepare for all of my mandatory general education courses as well. Oh! I’ve been curious about one thing, how come you don’t want me to take any warrior courses? Isn’t it better to have diversity like you’ve taught me?” I ask while thinking back on a previous conversation I had with teacher.

“Well to answer your question, you must first understand why magicians are so highly valued. Most people can make use of mana, and some can even use a number of spells. Mary can be considered a 1st tier magician under the Einherjar ranking system, although I don’t really agree with how it’s decided. Anyway, that’s the limit for maybe 9 out of 10 people who try to learn magic. The purity of one’s mana once they’ve awakened is a tell for how talented they are in the magical arts. This is the lifeline of a magician that dictates how successful they’ll be in learning runes and conjuring complex magic spells.”

“Papa told me he can’t learn magic, is that because his mana purity is too low?”

“That’s right. The magic core, it is important to think of it as an organ, just like your heart. It’s not only responsible for housing our mana reserves, but also for refining it. Mana is life energy, it exists all around us. The air, the ground, the plants and the trees, all contain mana. However, the mana that surrounds us is all in a diluted form, making it invisible to the eye. The purest of mana is said to be shining blue, dense enough for us to see.”

“Does something like that actually exist?” I ask in awe.

“No one alive has actually seen it, but it is recorded that the father of magic, the great sage Corrian, possessed such mana. Also...”

Teacher then suddenly stares at me without saying a word. I tilt my head in confusion which prompts her to continue.

“Nothing, anyway, back to the topic about warriors. Even without having a magic core capable of granting the user talent in the magical arts, there are those who can use mana to forge their physical bodies. Those are what we call warriors, your father is one of them. For a mage, this is rather moot, rather than spending countless hours slowly training our bodies, we can achieve what we want through spells instead. That’s not to say that warriors can’t become strong enough to rival mages. The beastmen are born with a special trait that lets their body naturally absorb mana, this results in strong physical abilities that let them perform rather fantastical feats.”

“So it’s not a waste of time, I’m just better off sticking to learning spells instead?”

“That’s right. Your magic core may be decided from birth, however, there is another part to magic that is equally important. Do you remember what that is?”

“The magic circuit. The connection between our core and our body.” I answer without hesitation.

“Correct. Our magic core is set at birth, however, our magic circuit can be trained and strengthened. It’s like a muscle, the more we use it and stretch its capabilities, the stronger it will get. With it, our ability as mages to conjure and control magic will strengthen.” Teacher finishes.

“I see, magic really is deep isn’t it?” I say to myself with a nod.

“Fufu, this is just the basics of the basics, my dear. The depths of magic reaches far more than just this. Runic research has expanded the possibilities of magic now more than ever, and we’ve just begun to scratch the surface of what the limits of magic really is. Especially recently, when...” Teacher excitedly starts explaining.

I sit quietly and listen to teacher rant. It’s pointless to try to stop her when she gets like this. Teacher really loves magic. I don’t really mind it when she does it, it's just, I never really understand any of it!

“But anyway, I think that it’s truly unnecessary for them to use such an incompatible catalyst, the interference caused by runic overlap would surely decrease the spell’s power, those humans are so silly.”

After teacher ended with that remark, we heard a knock on the door.

“Enter.” Teacher commands.

One of the senior maids enters the room. An elf named Sylvae Bania. Along with the head maid Ms. Angela Auvri, they’re the only two elves I know. I remember hearing that they’ve been with teacher for over 800 years.

Sylvae gives us a bow and says,

“Mistress, the repairs are now complete. The evening dinner arrangements are proceeding as planned.”

“Mm, very good. Thank you for your hard work in Mary’s absence, Sylv.”

“It is my honor to serve you, mistress.”

“Alright, tell Angela and the rest to take a break for now. You guys deserve it.”

“I understand. However, we still need to take care of a few things for tonight. We shall quickly finish the preparations before our recess.” Sylvae says still in a bow and then exits the room.

“Hey wait, that’s not, oh whatever. Such a workaholic.” Teacher complains with an exasperated expression.

Teacher then bent over her side of her bed and grabs a book off the floor.

“Here we are, Arcadium Vol 1. It’s part of a series of compiled notes written by the elf sage Tiariel, a 9th tier mage. The author of this book explains the principles behind Tiariel’s work rather simply, it’s a good place to start.”

Teacher hands me the old book. I curiously flip through a few pages to see that teacher has some handwritten notes in here as well.

“Thanks, teacher!”

“No problem. Now, let’s talk about magic. We have at least an hour or two before the evening, plenty of time to teach you a few things.” Teacher says with obvious excitement.

Teacher’s rants are always long-winded and hard to understand, but if I want to become the same caliber of mage that she is, I have to try.

Time passes as I listen to teacher talk.

***

After two hours of listening to teacher rant about magic items, it’s time for the evening plans. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, for some reason, no one told me anything. I walk with teacher to the dining room and once we arrive, I see Mary and Papa talking in the hallway outside of the room.

“Papa! Mary!”

I walk closer to examine them properly.

“Are you guys feeling better?” I ask.

“Yes, much better, thank you for asking. How about you? I see you’re up and about.” Papa says.

Mary just pats my head and gives me a solid nod.

“Well, shall we enter?” Teacher interjects.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Right away, mistress.”

As soon as papa pushed open the door, I saw it.

A huge cake sat right in the center of the dining table.

I gasp in surprise as everyone simply smiles at me.

“I may not know the exact day you were born, but today is the day you received our imprint. So, happy birthday, my daughter.” Papa says slowly with a soft smile.

“Oh thank you so much, papa! Teacher, Mary, you guys knew didn’t you!”

“Fufu, of course. In fact, Mary baked the cake herself. Quite impressive, isn’t it?” Teacher boasts.

“I only did what was expected of me, mistress.” Mary humbly says.

“Thank you so much, guys! Let’s hurry up and eat it!”

I began to run to the table but Mary caught me by the collar of my dress.

“Uh-uh. That will come later. First, we must have our meal. Have you forgotten all your lessons in table manners already?” Mary scolds.

“Aww.” I pout.

“Nope, just because it’s your birthday, doesn’t mean you can do anything you want. You won’t have me to watch over you once you attend the academy, so for the next month, we’re going to rehash all of your lessons.” Mary cruelly adds.

“Noooo!”

“Well, let’s give her a break for today, Mary.” Teacher chimes in.

I give a hopeful look at Mary, silently begging her to let me off for today. Mary gives out a soft sigh and loosens her grip.

“Fine. But just one slice of cake for now. We need to curb that sweet tooth of yours.” Mary compromised.

“Yay!”

“Okay, everyone take a seat! That means you too Angela, don’t be shy.” Teacher beckoned to all the surrounding maids.

“Mistress, I don’t think-” Angela tried to respond but teacher then interrupts,

“No buts, that’s an order. I order you to eat with us. Everyone else has already gone to take the rest of their day off. Let’s relax, just for today, okay?”

“...Yes, mistress.”

After everyone got seated, I indulged myself in Mary’s cake. It tastes so good, almost as good as that vial of blood I had today. Life is good.

As I enjoy my first official birthday celebration, I couldn’t help but wish Alex could be here for this. I can’t wait to see him next month.

We take our time enjoying the occasion, talking around the table late into the night.