Haruki woke with a start, shortly before dawn. Excitement coursed through every fiber of his being as he dressed himself quietly, shrouded in the darkness of early morning.

'I can finally find out my other affinities! I already know I have wind, but I hope I have enough to pass. I think it was at least 2 affinities of a certain strength to qualify?'

Now that he was dressed, he sat cross legged on his bed, tapping his fingers impatiently. Haruki caught himself stressing, so he deciding to spend his morning training. He could clear his mind and warm his body at the same time. Haruki had gotten used to most of his current techniques, but he still practiced them daily. Ketrel would often bellow out pointers or new techniques as he watched from the side.

Despite Ketrel's undeniable skill with weapons, his teaching ability was quite low. Both began to feel their training had reached a bottleneck, so they often turned to sparring instead. Haruki still remembered his first match with shame... He'd been disarmed and flipped upside down before he'd even blinked once.

As they sparred more, Haruki began to notice his growth. Even though they were small increases, seeing constant progress created a demon deep within him. He trained with new a found fervor, bordering on compulsion.

'Gotta get stronger... Need to move faster...'

While Haruki was finishing his normal routine, the morning sun finally stretched out lazily across the eastern mountains. His training space was flooded in warm, golden light, halting him mid-swing. Haruki stood for a moment to enjoy the warmth as his sweat puddled on the hard-packed dirt beneath him.

'This warmth feels just like her...'

As Haruki bowed his head respectfully towards the rising sun, he felt at peace. This small tradition was something he'd recently started doing on a whim. Even if he still wasn't certain about becoming an Envoy, Sara had saved his life many times now.

'Respect is earned, after all. If I didn't at least bow after everything that's happened, I'd feel like a douche...'

During one of the first morning rituals he tried, Haruki had been overcome by a strange impulse creeping into his mind. At first, he ignored it. He was somewhat used to having weird, compulsive thoughts, so he tried to distract himself to no avail. The more he resisted, the stronger it became until he finally broke.

'With nothing else to do until breakfast, now is a good time to try it out. No-one will hear me if it doesn't work...'

“Inventory”

A white window solidified in the air in front of him, lined with empty columns and rows. After a brief inspection, Haruki focused his mind on the ring. Guiding his magic towards his towel and water skin, they vanished in a puff of black smoke. The now familiar slurping sound concluded with a wet pop and two squares filled up in his inventory.

1x Cheap Towel - 10s

1x Water Skin (439/600u) - 5s

With an excited yelp, Haruki hurriedly dropped both items from the ring. With another small puff of smoke, they reappeared before him, floating at chest height. Intrigued, he grabbed his water skin from the air and drained it into his parched mouth. After determining that it tasted normal enough, he spent the short time remaining before breakfast absorbing anything and everything he could find.

Haruki quickly discovered that he could drop or loot items that were within a range of about 2m. By simply casting his magic through the ring, he could spawn or loot items, at will, anywhere inside that 2m radius. If he wanted to, he could even drop weapons directly into his hand.

'It feels strange not having their weight on my belt though...'

Slightly over-zealous from his discovery, Haruki eventually packed everything he owned into his ring, including his money. When he'd first started helping around the farm, his father offered him a weekly wage. It was only 1s a week, but that was still more than most local children earned in a month!

The monetary system in this world was quite basic, so it was easy for most people to learn and calculate. The coin types were the same as the Adventurer rankings; Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum. To exchange a lower currency for a higher one, it was a 100:1 ratio – 100s = 1g and so on.

With his inventory now sorting everything for him, Haruki noticed that his total life savings only came to 3 gold, 47 silver, 23 copper. A few items, such as the ruby, were worth a little more, but he'd held onto them. Since he still looked quite young, the last thing he needed was to be taken lightly and cheated by a merchant.

In preparation for the Academy, Haruki had once asked his mother the value of money:

“A stay at a cheap inn might only be 5s a night, but meals there tend to be more expensive.

A street vendor might sell a full meal for 10s and snacks for half that.

A beginner weapon, perhaps 20s.

Armour could be up to a gold, more if you want plate or good stats.”

So while Haruki knew that he was far richer than most kids, he was actually quite poor over all. As there was nothing worth buying in his small village, it began to slowly burn a hole in his pocket.

'What's the point of having money if you never use it?'

Breakfast passed quickly, long silences were punctuated with light teasing and jokes. After a short rest to let the meal settle, they gathered at the front door. Ketrel chuckled, seeing his son nervously shifting his weight. Ketrel had once known same feeling as a child.

“Don't get too excited lad, you'll run off and get lost!”

As Ketrel roared happily, a small cloth-covered carriage appeared from inside a cloud of dust, turning off the main road. It trotted slowly up the driveway, coming to a clattering halt before them.

A middle aged man dismounted, his clay coloured robes whipping gently as he landed. With a dour look, he bowed briefly.

“We'll leave when you're ready. If you need help with baggage, just ask me.”

“Wait, we're riding there?” Haruki turned back, puzzled. Walking for an hour was considered nothing, in this world. Most wouldn't hire a carriage unless they had days of travel ahead of them.

“Of course lad. I'm not going to let your mother's beautiful feet touch those filthy roads!”

Haruki and Ayako glanced at each other, shaking their heads with a sigh. Secretly, they were both happy to avoid walking.

After a short, almost boring journey, they arrived at the western gates of Touhama. Compared to the cities he'd lived in previously, Haruki wasn't all that impressed by the size, but the gamer in him caused him to choke up a little. He'd never been to Touhama before, since there had never been any need to. Even though it was only an hour's walk, he held no desire for civilization. Even so, it felt like a true fantasy city. He remained silent as he lost himself in nostalgia.

As his father spoke to the guards posted by the gate, Haruki noticed that they all seemed to be showing great respect towards Ketrel. He watched his father with a new found pride as the guards bowed politely, allowing them to entrance without hassle.

Suzu had been pacing nervously for quite a while, now. Despite her excitement, her stomach was unsettled. When she finally spotted Haruki's carriage entering the city, her body stiffened for a moment as her stomach performed a perfect double back flip.

“Haru!”

Shortly after the wolf incident, Suzu had plucked up enough courage to ask him if she could call him casually.

“I'd actually prefer you did.” Haruki responded immediately, flashing a happy smile while staring deeply into her eyes. His normal silver had changed to a deep, ocean blue that stole her breath away.

The whole ordeal had sent her into a slight daze, so it was another few days before she actually tried. The shame of her first attempt still burned hot on her mind. She'd been so embarrassed that she'd jumped into the river to cool off and hide her face, much to the amusement of Haruki.

After everyone had finished their greetings, Haruki offered his roughened hand to Suzu, gently pulling her onto the wooden seat beside him. As the two chatted and joked, the carriage jerked onto the empty cobble road in a light trot.

Touhama was quite a well structured city, when seen from the air. There were 6 main streets, stretching out in an asterisk pattern from the town's center. Easily wide enough for 3 carriages, they linked the gates to the central square. Ten concentric circular roads grew out from the center, making daily navigation simple. Even if you did get lost, you simply had to keep walking forwards until you found a main road. From there, it was a simple task to gain your bearings again.

In the central area, there was a large open-trade square, Many stalls were staffed by citizens or adventurers, selling various items such as skins or cheap weapons. Occasionally, large auctions would be held for the more expensive or rare items. The Church and Adventuring Guild also had their main buildings in the square, proudly overlooking town.

The cathedral was carved entirely from a smooth white stone. As the sunlight struck the sparkling blue roofs, it scattered across the walls, creating an effect like water rippling over unblemished snow. The many towers were dwarfed an enormous main spire, constructed entirely of gold. Taller than the towers by half, the bulbous spire tapered to a sharp point. As it glowed under the sun like a beacon, a golden radiance was reflected over the town, bathing it in a warm light.

It immediately reminded Haruki of a middle-eastern temple.

'It feels familiar. Like the old world and games clashing together.'

As he thought of all the games he'd never play again, Haruki's nostalgia dredged up a feeling of melancholy. With a forlorn sigh, he turned his sight towards the other major building in the square.

The Guild hall was constructed entirely from black slate. Seated next to the white cathedral, the scene created a strangely ominous aura. As if light and dark were perpetually fighting to a standstill. The hall itself was an entirely utilitarian box, favouring defense and function over beauty. The occasional crude wooden embellishments and ancient, iron-bound doors added a comfortable, rustic feel to the otherwise gloomy exterior.

'It truly feels fantasy, now.'

When the carriage halted in front of the Guild hall, Haruki looked to his father for an explanation.

“Ahh, the trials are held here, since the Guild has all the equipment for testing already, it would be wasteful for the academy to buy a separate facility. The actual academy is over on the North-Eastern wing of the town. It occupies the entire district.”

After gently carrying Ayako to the door, Ketrel barged through them like a rampaging beast finally returning home.

*BAM!*

Everyone in the room fell silent at the impact, leaving Haruki with an anxious feeling in his gut as he stood at the doorway. It felt like he'd just walked into a western. The entire bar glared at the group with a smothering silence.

Sweating a little, Haruki shuffled his stance uncomfortably under the weight of so many eyes. Ketrel simply stepped forward and bellowed out a round of thunderous laughter. Directed towards no-one in particular, it echoed around the room for a short while. With a last dying echo, the atmosphere in the building immediately changed back to normal, as if nothing had happened.

'Is this normal though? Is HE normal!?'

Haruki turned towards Suzu, hoping to save his sanity. With a thankful heart, he noticed that she was just as bewildered as he was. After so long, it was nice to know that someone else agreed with him. His father was definitely strange.

'If everyone else considered that normal, I might have snapped...'

Mere seconds after the booming laughter faded, a feeble looking old man hurriedly scurried over to their group, beaming happily at Ketrel.

“Ahh, nice to see you again, Rhino. It's been too far long! This place finally feels like home again, hearing you bellow.” The old man gave Ketrel a friendly slap on the should as he greeted him.

“Magnus, you old fucker! Good to see your head hasn't softened too much!” Ketrel roared back with a bestial grin, casually slapping wispy old man into a nearby stone wall.

Ketrel scooped Magnus from the ground and into a rough embrace. Speaking of the past, the two quickly vanished into their own little world. Ayako cleared her throat, sending a sharp glare at their backs. As if feeling the gaze of a predator, both men shivered, getting back to the main topic.

“Ahh, the academy exams? Excellent! Follow through here and register. After a short wait, you'll be called to the testing room to give blood. If you are successful on the first test, there may be follow up questions, but don't worry too much about all that.”

Haruki and Suzu both nodded as they stiffly followed the man through a large metal door, behind the counter.

Quickly finding seats in the waiting room, the two exchanged nervous small-talk. There were five other children there, chatting like old friends, so Haruki and Suzu both felt completely out of place.

After about 10 minutes, Haruki finally heard their names called. Bolting upright, they both noticed that they'd been unconsciously holding hands for a while now. Sharing a quick grin, their nerves melted away as their eyes met. Hand in hand, they stepped through the door with confidence.

As they entered small room, Haruki immediately noticed a dozen or so grumpy old men wearing sky-blue robes. They were sitting at small stone tables, each with various metal instruments, talking quietly among themselves. As they stepped forwards, a harsh, dry voice rattled throughout the room.

“Name?”

“Abe Haruki”

“Step up here please, I'll take a little bit of blood, then ask you some questions.”

Without any prior warning or even basic human compassion, the old man deeply pierced Haruki's thumb with a small dagger. After hearing a pained squeak from his right side, he assumed that Suzu had just suffered a similar assault.

After dropping a disturbing amount of blood onto a small stone tablet, the robed man gruffly barked at Haruki to stand by the door. Without waiting for a response, he lowered his balding head, once more engrossed in the strange tool in front of him.

Suzu joined him by the door shortly after, so the two were currently standing around awkwardly sucking on their throbbing fingers as the old men discussed something in hushed tones.

“Did that bastard go all the way to your bone too?”

Suzu nodded, her eyes sparkling slightly around the edges.

“Some people have no respect... They were much nicer when taking blood in the old world...”

After taking a moment to vent, Haruki noticed the strange mood that had been building in the room. A dozen elderly men were now huddled into a tight group, constantly glancing sideways at the two of them. Even though Haruki couldn't make out their words, he was certain that they were getting quite heated over something in their results.

“Haruki-kun, Suzu-san, do you know of anything special about yourselves? Were your parents powerful adventurers? Or do you perhaps come from an ancient family lineage?”

Haruki and Suzu both shook their heads, slightly bewildered. “My Otou-san is the gold-ranked adventurer, Rhino, if that helps?”

The old man shook his head. “No, he's not at this level. Truly, this is astonishing...”

Tension filled the pair immediately. Their hands found each other again as they shared a glance of unease.

“Ahh, no, you can both relax. We're all just quite excited. Touhama Academy would be happy to offer you both a full scholarship, based off your first blood tests alone. You can both start next year, if you wish?”

'Scholarship...?'

Haruki had never been a great study, so he'd never even used the word in conversation before. Giving Suzu's hand a light squeeze, his face broke out in a stunned smile at the unexpected news.

“We'd, uh, need to discuss it with our parents first, I think? But we're both excited for the opportunity.”

Suzu nodded quietly by his side, agreeing with his words.

“Excellent. I'll speak to them now, while you're doing follow up and the like. Follow Raleph here to the next room and we'll talk about it afterwards.”

With those words, he pointed a gnarled finger towards a tall, thin man bearing brilliant violet eyes. When Haruki turned to look, he was slightly shocked by the man's willowy appearance.

'He looks waaaay too much like an elf...'

“Whew!” The examiners collectively released their held breaths, all heads snapping back to the data.

“Two from the same town, both with 4 strong affinities!? This is unheard of!”

“They're certainly not the to have 4, but it's even stranger that they've arrived together.”

“Nonono, what's strange is that boy! He has opposing Dark and Light affinities!”

The whole room was silenced with those words. Until now, it had been a basic law that dark and light could not co-exist. The energies would violently oppose each other, causing a violent explosion. While many were been born with either light or darkness affinities, no-one had ever been born with both.

“How does the child simply not explode?”

Mutters rose, agreeing. Many broke out into emphatic discussions about magical theory, while others simply sat there in a stupor, staring at the evidence that seemed to invalidate a fundamental law of magic.

There was only one man who wasn't excited at the arrival of this new genius. He sat cross legged, in a dark corner of the room, scowling to himself.

'I must notify the church, right away!'