His eyes interlocked with the closest giant, the orange light revealing a total emptiness and apathy inside. The teen boy hoped that by playing possum the golem would not show him any interest, but instead it locked on to him, and began walking in his direction at a hurried pace, with its arms stretched out to prevent him from running around it.

Shit, what did my ancestors ever do for me to deserve this...

Realizing that there was no way out without a fight, Altair checked the status of his core, appalled to find it almost completely empty, with all three types of channels at his disposal just barely pumping out tangible mana, which had probably been aggravated by his exhaustion.

Not good! He tried not to panic as just a dozen feet remained between him and the artificial creature. Thrusting his hands forward, he decided to blast it with everything had had from the fire and pure mana reserves. He never had tried a hybrid spell like that, but he suspected that using just one of the energies would barely put a dent it the golem's advances. He conjured a burning sphere the size of a watermelon and at point-blank range unleashed it against the attacker's chest, who was ready to take a swing at him that he suspected would crush him like a fly.

The giant was pushed back and fell on his bottom, not showing any emotion. Before Alt could celebrate any victory, the ruckus had attracted the attention of its two companions, who had been using the interruption to grow even bigger in size. They marched in his direction from either side of their fallen comrade who was already in the middle of standing up.

Alt looked left and right in desperation for something he could use, or for a path to escape. The only avenue for retreat was the cave hidden behind the waterfall, and he seriously considered heading there since the giants would likely not be able to pursue him there without getting stuck. Seeing their might as they obliterated every obstacle in their path, he quickly realized the foolishness of the idea – even if they couldn't crawl after him, they easily would be able the cave to collapse, dooming him to a horrible demise.

There was not enough time to refill his reserves to conjure another blast capable of inflicting any serious damage, and the teen boy wondered if there was something he could do with the only reserves he had left – the water mana. The aquatic environment behind him was conducive to fuel intense mana use, and he put his recently learned ability of absorbing mana while unleashing a spell to good use, spurting a jet from his hands to thwart the advance of the closest giant. He succeeded in slowing down the movements momentarily, but the creature persevered and slowly continued its approach, while its companion continued unimpeded towards Alt.

Is this really the end? The teen boy wondered if his journey to become the supposed savior of humanity was doomed to fail so soon.

No, this can't be it... there must be something I can do.

Realizing he had only a handful of seconds before he found himself plastered under the giant's footstep, he sent all three types of mana at his disposal to activate his spiral tattoo.

He was unconsciously trembling in anticipation, feeling like a powerless ant. His tattoo shone brightly, apparently managing to stun the attackers for a brief respite. As the intensity dimmed, the golems appeared to become translucent to his eyes. They still clearly retained a physical presence, and the sliding rocks were proof of that. However, he could now see the flow of orange mana inside of them, circulating in a mana core.

This is... Alt gasped at the realization of his x-ray vision. If they rely on mana, maybe I can affect them?

The teen boy chose the closest giant as his target and focused on the orange particles which he suspected were made of some type of earth mana. Remembering how painful any interactions with the nucleus had been, he started sending particles towards the center. Moving an unknown type of particles from a distance should have been nearly impossible at his current skill level, but he felt it was a breeze, with his concentration peaking as if he had just ingested a barrel of the witch's potion. Apparently, the stars have aligned, and the tattoo answered his call when he needed it the most.

As soon as the first particle reached the nucleus, the giant twitched, and after a barrage followed, he fell down on one knee. The other two creatures paused, clearly puzzled by the sudden development to which they couldn't attribute a cause. Altair continued to wreck havoc in the fallen giant's core, immobilizing him.

It is working! The rush of success made him try even harder, as the creature was now on all fours. Alt was ready to take things up a notch, and with whatever fire mana had regenerated he sent a surgical blast towards one of the orange eyes, piercing it and causing the giant to collapse.

Headshot! He felt like a sniper in an FPS. It was hard to believe he brought a creature several times his size down and was keeping two others at bay with his sudden onslaught. The two remaining giants were enraged by the fall of their comrade, and after beating on their chest like a gorilla would they charged towards the puny human, who had to again jump out of his depth, in order to affect two cores at the same time, freezing them dead in their tracks.

I have no clue how I am suddenly doing this... is this all the tattoo's doing? Alt wondered, amazed at the boost in his abilities that allowed him to wield spells he never had before. A smirk crept on his face, as he decided to try another way to deal with the giants. As soon as he managed to collapse them by messing with their nucleus, he focused all his efforts on sucking the earth mana they were generating. His core quickly filled out to the brink, clearly unsuited to host such a mass of energy. He adjusted his strategy, leaving the excess mana to dissipate outside while running the giants dry. As their reserves emptied, their bodies began to crack, and they started losing chunks of rock they had previously accumulated. After they were reduced to their original size, Alt dealt the finishing blow with his passively recharged fire reserves and let a breath of relief out. He really had done it and survived against unimaginable odds.

Feeling the earth's energy circulating haphazardly across his core, he decided to make good use of it and condense it into a new Origin Point, using the steady supply of earth mana to complete the channel. He thought it would be a good idea to have one, since this was probably one of the easiest energies to replenish in this world. To Alt’s disappointment, while he succeeded, the carving process hadn't gotten any easier than previous times, so it seemed like his overclocked abilities were temporary again.

He wondered if his trials were finally over and got increasingly disconcerted as nothing was happening. Was that damn witch coming for him? All this time, part of him was distracting himself by coming up with creative insults to throw at her for when they met the next time.

A half an hour passed, and Alt decided that nobody would show up, and pondered what came next. Just walking out through a completely unknown area in the middle of the wilderness with dangerous beasts lurking around every corner was complete madness. Was there something he was missing?

Alt's gaze then fell on his second tattoo, that the witch originally bestowed him with to summon him into this world. Did it have any properties he could use? He considered the idea since the spiral tattoo, while unpredictable clearly had incredible effects. Sitting down on a smooth rock resembling a stool, he focused on the star with the ten points. The little break he took while waiting for a savior to come had partially recharged his pure mana reserves without having to undergo the excruciating purification process, and he channeled it towards the design, not sure what to expect. The mark starting to glow, intensifying as he added elemental mana into the mix. Faster than he could react, the world faded, and he found himself across an all-too-familiar dimensional tunnel, this time his journey taking a fraction of a second but leaving him disoriented nonetheless, as he found himself on the ground in front of a beacon that the witch had prepared by her hut, where he usually ended up after being summoned.

I am back! Alt felt tears of joy almost form in his eyes, never imagining he would be so happy to see the witch's rustic lodging. Her figure emerged nonchalantly from the door, yawning and walking without a care in the world.

"How was your little road trip?" she asked, as he got up to his feet, still dizzy. Altair was sure that her choice of words was intentional to irk him.

"Very relaxing. Thank you for arranging my stay to be so comfortable," he replied sarcastically.

The old witch chuckled, inviting him in. As he stood up, he found himself enveloped by a warm yellow light, that felt like it was going through his entire body in a gentle massage. He felt lighter, like the past three days had been just a bad dream. He rubbed his cheeks, feeling the skin to be smoother than ever.

"Think of it as a beauty treatment. We need you looking your best for the Entrance ceremony and not scaring the poor girls away," the witch commented after seeing his puzzled look.

"Thank you, you sure have a way with words," he mumbled.

"It's all to build mental toughness. Seriously though, we need to find a happy medium between your own appearance and that of Big Alt, so you don't look too different to the casual observer."

That made sense to Alt.

"What day is it today anyways?" he asked, no longer confident he tracked the time correctly.

"It's Saturday evening here, meaning soon the move-in day in your world will start. I will soon send you on your way, but first let's have a little chat."

To his delight, Altair found a full course meal ready for him inside that he jumped to devour without waiting for an invitation. The witch waited patiently for him to stuff himself, and only after he was done and burping in a way unbefitting of anybody trying to broach Levantian high society, did she begin to speak.

"First of all, I want to apologize. I know I have been harsh on you."

"Harsh? You left me out there to die!" Alt exclaimed; however, his indignation had been slightly appeased by the delicious food. Was that a part of her tactics?

"Believe it or not, you were never in real danger," the witch spoke serenely. "Those golems would deactivate before laying an actual hand on you. After all, you would be of little use to us if you are dead."

"What was the point then? Dropping me there without any guidance?" he asked, looking skeptical.

"No guidance I could provide would be as valuable as facing and overcoming a life-or-death situation on your own. In other circumstances, we could afford to take things slowly, but with the school year right around the corner, I decided to bet on your resilience, and it looks like it paid off."

Alt analyzed her words, finally beginning to calm down.

"I did a lot of things out there that I had no idea were even possible... heck, some of them I am not sure I could replicate right now," he admitted.

"What matters is that you were able to tap into your counterpart's powers."

"What? You mean, he was capable of all of that?" Alt asked, bewildered.

"That and much more which he never got to find out," she answered gravely.

"But it doesn't make sense... if he is just a commoner like me, with parents struggling to put food on the table, then he wouldn't have learned even basic magic, most likely...," the teen boy concluded.

"You are right. But maybe some of your assumptions aren't entirely spot on. But that is a conversation for another day," she said, indicating the topic was over.

Alt thought about the cryptic hints she was dropping but couldn't find anything to grab on to. He would get to meet his second family one day anyways, and he would have a chance to snoop around then.

"So, what's next anyways?"

"Well, next, you are supposed to enjoy the golden years of your youth!" she proclaimed. "Sorry, I couldn't resist the moment," she added, seeing his dejected expression. "For now, concentrate on fitting in with your peers, and on not flunking in your very first semester. After you master your foundations, we will continue your training. I will be reaching out to you here and there. In the meanwhile, try to make friends and live a normal life. Unfortunately, that won't last forever."

"But can I really afford to? If the enemies coming here in ten years are so powerful, shouldn't I be working every minute I have to stop them?"

The witch smiled at his fierce determination.

"What must be, must be," she spoke. "If stopping the threat was just a matter of becoming the strongest, then we have plenty of archmages who could step in for the role. No, you must live your own life to the fullest and see what Fate has in store for you. I don't know all the details myself, but there must be something unique in your path, perhaps somebody you will meet together with whom you will be able to make a difference. Until that time, try your best to stay alive."

"Now, a final warning. I advise you keep your pure mana aptitude a secret for as long as possible. You should keep developing it but using it in public as a first-year student from a backwards province would raise too many red flags in the current paranoia climate. Between border conflicts and forbidden magic practitioners, the authorities have their hands full with going after suspicious elements."

"Got it," Alt acknowledged. If this society was anything like the Levantia he knew then stirring the pot too soon was bound to be dangerous. He realized the value of not revealing all his cards anyways, leaving them for when he really needed an edge.

"Last few details... take this," she handed him a bag with what appeared powder inside. "This is to make the tonic you have been taking. Remember to not abuse it... I know how you kids like your drugs these days."

"What if I run out?" Alt asked, ignoring the jab.

"There is a paper with a recipe inside. Just go on a little forest hike to hunt for ingredients and you will be good to go."

She can't be serious, right? He looked at her incredulously.

"Just kidding, the ingredients are rather common, and you can buy them at any local market. I recommend you not venture to the forest, or in fact outside Darsenius for the foreseeable future."

"Is it that dangerous?"

"More than ever. There have been other incursions by the Chaos denizens with similar loss of life. So far, the government has been able to sweep it under the rug with a big top-secret stamp on any associated investigations, which just ends up with people being more careless and not taking precautions."

"So, the government knows?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just a few big shots. Now that we are on the topic, just like you shouldn't reveal your powers in your own world, the last thing you should do right now is to cry wolf about the demon invasion. It would just sow useless panic and end up with you behind bars or six feet under faster than I can summon you here."

Alt gulped at the prospect.

"Okay... and how will I get to school here from my world? Don't I always end up in front of your house?"

"Oops, I almost forgot. Here, take this, and protect it with your life," she said, handing him over an amulet in the shape of the familiar ten-pointed star. "I don't mean that literally but be very careful with it. It’s made from some very rare materials, and the shape is bound to raise some eyebrows."

"What is the star thingy anyways?" he tried his luck again, asking the same question the old lady had already deflected in the past.

"You're ten years too early to ask about that," she said. "The next time you come back, I will drop you at Baignard myself, but afterwards this amulet will serve as a beacon for teleportation. Wherever you leave it here, is where you will reappear after returning from your world. "

"Wow, really?" Alt asked, amazed at the possibilities. Still, considering what he had experienced so far this just was one more wonder in a long list. "Can it do anything else?"

"Not with an Agate core powering it, no. Beyond that, you will have to find out for yourself."

Alright, Alt thought excitedly. Even if the old lady liked to blabber her mouth, he could see she was encouraging him to advance in her own way.

"Time for you to go. You should take it easy for today, your core is on your last legs."

"Wait please, I have two questions." Now that he had time to think a bit about his past week, he remembered various doubts he had accumulated when testing things out.

"First of all, when I activated my spiral tattoo the last time, I was able to see mana with my eyes open, even inside the golems themselves, but now I can no longer do it. Is that a normal ability?"

"No, it's not. Add it to the 'keep things a secret' list."

Seeing that she would not offer any additional information, he moved on to the second query.

"And what about Souls? Can I see at least my own, and how does it relate to the core?"

"Now that is a word you should completely forget while at the Academy. You see, anything dealing with Souls is considered the realm of Forbidden Magic, so even mentioning it in public is a big taboo. That's why all the aptitude tests usually only focus on the mana core," she said with apparent sadness, as if she was reminiscing about something. "Depending on your natural aptitude, you may begin sensing your Soul all on your own, and maybe we will pick up this conversation then, away from prying ears."

The unusual gravity in her tone and expression left no room for doubt that this was her sternest warning yet.

"Alright, now you're overstaying your welcome, and interrupting my evening yoga," the witch said, clapping her hands. Before he could process things, he was again tumbling across the dimensional tunnel, this time leading to his own world.

He found himself in the middle of an opulent room, which was larger and worth more than his parent's house.

Huh? Where am I? He wondered, glancing around from the antique clock to the chandelier adorned with crystals. His eyes fell on a chic bag that was lying on the sofa. It looked intimately familiar, as if he had spent a considerable amount of time near it before, even if he usually paid no mind to such things.

And then the realization struck him.

Oh noooooooooo! FML!

This was Ronel's apartment, there was no question about it. It took Alt a moment to come to terms with it, as he was disoriented from the teleportation and the place looked different with the morning sun creeping through the windows, but when he did, he was ready to pull his hair out.

He was sure that sadistic witch had done this on purpose.

Yoga my ass!