....Dark...

And...cold...

The...light...

In front of me, a screen flickers to life, it is the only light in this dark, cold world.

In the monitor, I see.

The game...The End.....

I feel sick and dizzy. My head hurts so much...

Ah... I'm falling now...

As I passed through the monitor, it breaks into countless pieces.

Each piece, a shard of memory. How do I know? I don't know how.

I kept on falling, but there is something else. A tune? Or melody...

I remember...music...playing...

I'm suffocating, suffocating in this song, what is it? Someone...Please help me...I'm...dying...

Then I hear, laughter?... Are you laughing at my agony, my pain? It sounds joyous and fun. It makes me want to laugh too...

Then a tug, a hand, glowing brightly like the morning sun, grasp onto my outstretched hand. I was begging to be saved, and I didn't even notice. No one did. Only this person.

I tried to look at them. But I only see glimpses. A smile full of joy. Long hair. Flowing robes. A voice like the sweetest honey wine.

"I hear you, silly. You don't have to sing so loud. Well, enjoy!"

===

I gasped and bolted up from my bed.

What was that!!!

It was different.

So different from before.

I had this dream before, always falling. Always dying. That dark, cold world. There was no one there. But this time...

Then another thing happened that made my jaw drop to the floor.

Radiant golden light shines at the back of my right hand. The light is so radiant and bright that makes me unable to look at it directly. But as if hypnotized, I stared at the light. After what seemed an eternity yet all so brief, the light faded. And in its absence, a mark remains. A Stigma. A blessing from a God. I'm...a Blessed?

===

The earliest of morning light filters into the dark room. Yermen Caliser is enjoying what was left of the night by rolling in his bed. But he knows that this is temporary. Thursday is a special day because the first class is Practical Magic taught by Prof. Henry. The professor is quite harsh if one were to be late to his class, so Yermen knows that he has to wake up soon. Knowing and doing are completely unrelated though. Just as he is getting ready to wake up, the red haired boy hears a loud crash coming from the corridor outside.

The sound was so loud that he bolts awake, alert, and no traces of sleep left. Warily, he began to reach for his glasses and his wand.

The simple wooden thing was adorned with a single red-colored gem, but he knows it is anything but simple. The wand is secretly and painstakingly enchanted by his father and him, creating the most powerful catalyst that's ever been made in the history of their little shop.

Well, his father said that, but he's not sure. Nevertheless, he gripped it tightly, ready to blast whoever is the thief or assassin or bully that is hiding behind his room's door.

Yermen waited, like a cat stalking a mouse.

Or it would be if his hand is not trembling. He had heard stories of students in this Academy disappearing in the night or becoming maimed due to some high nobles holding grudges, or a prank went horribly wrong leading to one vomiting their guts, literally, instead of slugs. And so he waited.

Sounds of thundering footsteps immediately rule out the possibility of an assassin sent by his father's business rivals to take him out in an ill -attempt to hurt his dad. And when it reached his door (while he himself begged that it would go to another instead), his door was knocked on instead. A polite bully then. And Yermen only knew one polite bully that would knock on his door in this un-Godly hour. More than a little irritated, he asked out loud to confirm his suspicion.

"Who's there?"

"It's me!" came a hasty yet clipped reply.

Yermen began to have a bad premonition. The bully in question is one Alean Steelight, the one and only student in the Mages' class who looks like a Knight more than a Mage. He groans deeply in his mind. He couldn't for the life of him figure out how it had come to this. Befriending someone like Alean was unthinkable for him in the past. Their personality was so far apart that if he were to go to one of the many moons of this planet, it would still not be enough to measure the distance between him and Alean.

Yermen sigh again in his heart. Well, he actually knows the reason. And that's why he can't hate Alean either. Afterall, Alean did save his life

===

At first, Yermen was curious. Why would a Knight-looking guy like Alean, awoken to become a Mage? He was taller and more muscular than any of the students in the entire class. Even compared to other Knights, this guy is taller than most. But then he saw his personality, Yermen became disgusted and afraid of him instead.

He would go everywhere, picking fights and breaking school property. He was crass, a foul mouth bully, and a horrible student. The worst thing was that Alean's seat was right next to him in class, making things even more nerve-wracking for poor little Yermen.

But then, he noticed something else. Something nobody else saw on the bully. Bandaged cuts, not from falling in fights, but a sharp object. When he saw it, it reminded him of someone. Someone so important. Someone he held dear, lost to their own demons. He saw in Alean once again what he saw in his brother. Broken. Stressed. Lashing out like a wounded animal. He couldn't bear to see it again.

So he tried to help. To reach out. To not make the same mistakes. But what he got, in the end, was a broken nose and a purple eye. Still, he persevered. He secretly stalked the bully, intending to stop him if he did something truly stupid. He saw Alean make more trouble for himself and pick more fights with senior Knights. Yermen himself was scared that he might get hit again, so he only dared to leave a first-aid kit in front of Alean's door whenever he got into fights.

Things then escalated to the day of the Incident.

That day, during lunch break, Yermen saw Alean sneaking into the Dark Woods within the school campus. That area is strictly restricted to 3rd years and above, so Alean sneaking into it would be grounds for expulsion. Cursing his own fate, Yermen stayed at the edge of the woods at the point where he saw Alean enter.

He was debating whether or not it was worth rushing in to drag the idiot out. On one hand, if he got caught, he might get expelled as well. On the other hand, what if Alean did something stupid like take his own life in the woods. That thought made him sick.

It almost brought him back to the time when he lost his big brother.

While he was walking around in a circle, trying to finally man up and run after Alean, Yermen suddenly felt a dreadful sensation. Quickly looking towards it, his face immediately paled.

It was a monster. Not any monster. An E-ranked Hobgoblin.

An ugly thing that is slightly bigger than normal goblins, but is actually more than twice as strong. It was also more cunning, and it has some crude armor and a rusty dagger as a weapon.

Seeing this, Yermen brain short circuit. He had read about the wards the school put in place to keep the denizens of the forest from getting out of their designated area. The wards are put in place to both keep the 1st and 2nd years safe, but also provide a controllable environment for students to explore and challenge monsters suitable for their ranks. But this monster was not where it's supposed to be. It must have broken through the wards somehow.

Yerman stared, transfixed at the monster. His legs were shaking so much that he felt if he took a step, he'll just fall over and die. His hand was sweating and trembling, his back slick with cold sweat.

The monster had not hidden its own bloodlust, that was how Yermen noticed it. It was blatantly reveling in his fear, it's mouth curled into a smile that showed too many yellowed teeth, sharpened to a point.

Yermen was panicking, his mind was telling him to run, but his body felt rooted to the spot. He had never faced a monster before, having only ever lived in his family's shop. He had thought that his first monster experience would be with an F rank slime or rabbit or something, not this.

The monster was crouching down, preparing to lunge at him.

When Yermen thought all hope was lost, with a loud war cry, Alean came rushing out of the nearby woods. Wooden practice sword and shield in hand, he rushed and slammed into the monster, his steel eyes burning with anger and determination.

Yermen's chin was dropped on the floor. He knows that Alean and himself are of the same rank, so the bloodlust that Alean felt from the monster was also the same as he felt, but the muscle-brained idiot rushed at the monster that was a higher rank than him without hesitation.

"You're mine!!" yelled Alean. Yermen can feel the desperation in his voice, his resolve as steely as his eyes.

Yermen did not know what he was supposed to do, his shock once again rooting him in place.

But then, his brain and body snapped back into focus. He knows that Alean can't win this alone, and if he fell, then Yermen can only pray to the Gods for mercy.

In fact, right now, Alean was losing ground.

Alean seemed to dance around the monster, his footwork light and fast. His sword unleashing brutal strikes at the creature's vitals, intend to weaken it. His shield, the chipped wooden thing, was raised precisely to block the monster's incoming strike. The fight was happening so fast that Yermen felt that he almost missed it.

Alean seemed to be winning, but if one looks closer, that could not be further from the truth.

Yermen saw his hand shake hard whenever his sword landed on the monster, or when its rusty dagger struck at the shield. Yermen knew that he's losing, and fast. Already, sweat was thick on Alean's brows, his face scrunching in pain. So Yermen acted.

He did not spend all this time thinking and doing nothing. In fact, he was gathering as much mana as he can onto the red gem atop his wand. He knew that a weak damaging spell won't work, so he had to overcharge a rank F spell so it could actually hurt the thing. The spell, Spark, was meant to only light a small fire or as much as a bonfire, but it was the only spell he'd known at that time that could do damage.

He was not training to be an Adventurer or to join the Military, after all, so only basic damage spells are enough. But right now, he was overcharging the spell so much that it threatened to spiral out of his control. He had to focus unless he wanted the spell he worked so hard for to fizzle out.

When Yermen felt that he was ready, disaster struck. The flimsy shield that Alean was using to guard his vitals was shattered after a powerful blow from the Hobgoblin. With a wild chuckle filled with murderous glee, it immediately thrust its dagger again, deeply penetrating Alean chest.

When he saw that, Yermen's heart went cold. From his angle, he couldn't see if the dagger was thrust into Alean's heart or lungs. Either way, it's really bad.

Alean himself seems to be alive, grasping at the monster's arm, keeping the blade from being pulled out as he attempted to wrestle with the monster. That lasted only for a moment as the monster's free arm punched harshly at his side, knocking the air out of Alean's lungs and dropping him to the ground.

The monster then cackles with even more joy, happy that it killed the annoying bug that smashed its face with the shield. It was so engrossed in its victory that it missed the raging red light that is coming of Yermen's wand. When it turned towards him, it was too late.

With a desperate cry, Yermen unleashed the stored spell, causing the monster to burn in a pillar of fire.

Its laughter turned into maddened shrieks as the creature tried desperately to put out the magical flames, but it was all for naught. The spell meant to create a lasting fire latched onto the creature like a stubborn leech, burning away its flesh so fast that it lived for only another 15 seconds before falling dead on the ground, charred beyond recognition. At which point Yermen promptly empty his stomach. The combination of disgust at how effective his spell was and the pounding headache for overcharging it was too much to bear.

But Yermen needed to do something else. He had to check on Alean. Scrambling over on unsteady legs, Yermen knelt down near Alean. The larger boy usually looks so imposing and menacing, was now paled face and gasping for air. The vulnerability displayed on Alean's features was so different from when he usually is, Yermen was at a loss for words. Well, not entirely.

"What were you thinking! Charging in and fighting an E rank monster melee like that! You're a Mage!!"

"I...needed. Gasp. to prove..."

"Prove what!? That you're a rank A idiot or something!"

"Prove...that I am worthy...then maybe."

"Alright, stop talking! You're making it worse."

"I...only ever wanted to be...strong...Hurg". A large amount of blood flowed from Alean's mouth, and then he fell unconscious.

"Hey... Hey! Don't sleep! Hey! Stay with me!" Yermen was desperate. He leans down to listen to Alean's heartbeat. It was weak and fast as his heart struggle to pump any amount of blood in his body to keep it alive. Yermen knew a little about anatomy, so he guessed that the dagger must have punctured Alean's left lung. He was losing blood and drowning in it at the same time.

"Urgg... Why must you be needlessly tall!" Yermen complained to no one as he struggled to lift Alean's body from the ground to rush to the infirmary. Along the way, he screams out for help.

"Help!!! Anybody, help!!! He's dying!!!"

"Come here, let me see!" Yermen's heart leaped out of his chest as he suddenly heard a voice nearby. When he quickly turned, he saw a female Professor with purple eyes and flaxen hair rushed over. At that sight, Yermen almost collapsed in relief. He recognized her. He had read the information on many Professors that he wanted to study under. And Professor Grace Gentielle is a master potioneer.