A pulsating ripple floated in the distance like a stab wound. Inside the hole was black and unknown what lies within.

“Dimension Tear! Such a rare phenomenon is happening in front of our eyes!” shouted Reynar.

Kane naturally had known and even entered it before. For the sake of not looking strange, he asked, “What’s that?”

“It is essentially a portal to another destination due to unstable space in the region. One may enter it for a randomized period before it disappears.”

“Can they be created intentionally?”

“According to historical findings of ancient times, those people were able to generate dimension tears for traveling to distant places. Regrettably, the method was unrecoverable,” Reynar lamented.

“That’s a real shame.” Kane had not known that explanation before. “I wonder where that portal leads to.”

“Difficult to determine without fully entering it. Furthermore, the black color indicates the location is anyplace in the atmosphere during the night or in an enclosed space, perhaps. Nobody truly knows.”

They did not bother with the hole as it could lead to an unpredictable situation. Kane stared at the hole until it disappeared from his view.

The journey was smooth sailing with a brief rest to replenish the horses’ energy. They stopped in front of the school’s gate to drop Kane off before going somewhere else. At the same time, the nostalgic bell rang twice; the lunch break was over, and it’s time for study. After he changed into his uniform, he went to the classroom.

Behind the closed door, Vauren was speaking already, calling the students’ names for attendance. Kane slid open the door.

“Next is…” Vauren turned his head. “Kane? Where have you been in the past days?”

The whole class began to chatter among themselves.

“It’s too complicated to explain.” Kane then lowered his voice. “You can ask Sir Reynar about it.”

“Fine, please take a seat.”

“Were you kidnapped, Kane?” A random girl asked.

“Mind your own business,” dismissed Kane as he went toward his seat. How did they know that? The power of rumors shouldn’t be underestimated, it seemed.

The students groaned. They could only guess what happened to him, and many believed that he got kidnapped. Kane sat beside Brian, whose eyes followed his movement, not saying anything until they were next to each other.

“You’re back! I thought you’re gone for good…” said Brian, relieved.

Kane slouched against the chair. “Why does everyone think that I got kidnapped? And were there any important things happening while I was away?”

Brian scratched his hair. “Well, it’s just a rumor that some nobles hated you for getting closer with Senior Sharon. As for your second question, there isn’t any, I think.”

“Oh, I see.” Kane then stole a glance at Calypso and caught him looking at Kane before turning away. He was still the same as ever.

“Students, please stand up. We will begin our second lesson of Practical Magic.”

Everyone stood up at the same time. Confused, Kane imitated them and asked Brian in a whisper, “What was the first lesson?”

“Mostly about meditation to prevent any short-circuit when casting a spell.”

“Err… what?”

“It’s like a warm-up before exercising!” Brian shouted in a whisper.

“Now I get it.”

“Ahem!” Vauren cleared his throat. “Kane, Brian, please pay attention!”

He then continued. “Especially you, Kane. You have missed a total of three days worth of lessons! If I caught you talking again, I’m going to give you even more additional homework! Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir!” They both answered together.

“Back to our lesson. We are going to learn…” Vauren turned around and drew a large but elementary magic circle while speaking. It only consisted of three runic letters within a circle… inside the large circle. “…generating a magic barrier. Does anyone know the definition?”

“It’s a protective aura to shield oneself from harm,” Lucrais answered.

“Good answer. Visualize this circle in your hand and pour mana into it.”

Kane had never been interested in learning it because he could create a shield using his vis already to protect himself. Aside from that barriers were more resilient against magic while vis shields were stronger against physical attacks, there was barely any difference between them. It wouldn’t hurt to learn it in case of dire situations, though.

He imagined the drawing and his mana flowing toward it, doing the same thing as creating vis shield. Then, a cold, hard sensation pressed on his hand, emitting a thin translucent light. The barrier was so fragile. Hardly surprising at all since it was an unranked barrier spell. Due to his mana being consumed at a considerable rate, he stopped; he hadn’t fully recovered yet.

Kane checked on Brian’s progress. He was concentrating hard, yet nothing happened. Other people also struggled. Was it that hard? It might be dependent on raw talent, or his experience played a big part.

“Outstanding job, Calriss! You have mastered it before, haven’t you?” praised Vauren.

Everyone turned their heads toward him. Calypso stood upright, crossing his arms as his light-blue barrier surrounded him. He shut his eyelids, ignoring other classmates’ amazement.

“I have been practicing it since I was six years old,” he replied.

“No wonder. Your barrier is comparable to fifth years.” Vauren then darted his eyes at Lucrais. “You’re also doing very well, Lucrais.”

“Thank you for your praise, teacher.” Lucrais bowed. Her barrier also covered her entire body except it was as weak as Kane’s.

“You two are welcome to leave early,” said Vauren.

Everyone gasped and expressed their envy toward them. The two thanked Vauren and packed their stuff.

“Now, has anyone else also succeeded?”

His question was answered with silence. They were all busy trying to form a barrier; some even produced beads of sweat on their face. Kane, too, wanted to leave early, so he raised his hand.

“Yes, what is it, Kane?”

Without uttering a word, Kane created a full-body barrier that lasted for five seconds. “Is this good enough?”

“Very good. You may go as well.” Vauren granted permission.

“Thanks.”

All of his classmates were looking at Kane with disbelief, especially Brian, who then asked, “How did you do that so fast!?”

“It’s just luck, I guess.” Kane grinned as he walked away. “Later, Brian. I’ll tell the story in our dorm.”

When Kane opened the door, neither Calypso nor Lucrais was around. Not that he cared anyway, so he headed toward the library and arrived at the rooftop.

However, something was amiss. At least three unknown people and three magical beasts were visiting this hidden place. Two of them were wearing plain blue mage robes with a flashy lion symbol adorned on the front, standing guard between the doors. On the center lie a triad of griffins — an amalgamation of falcon and lion. They perched on the rooftop, resting.

The last person was talking with Liana — or rather, lecturing her. He was a platinum blond man and wearing a gaudy white robe. The impractical long-sleeved coat was left dangling behind for fashion points. He was too far away to be identified.

Kane quickly hid behind the walls as they smelled like trouble. After a while, they got rid of the griffins and flew away, blowing gusts of wind in every direction. Now, it was clear to go. He crossed the rooftop.

There, Liana sat on the couch, staring at the fireplace. Only after he opened the door, she turned around and ran toward him. “Kane! You’re back!”

“I’m only away for a while.”

“You didn’t notify me or anything…”

“Yeah, it was kind of abrupt. I couldn’t tell you sooner.”

“I understand.”

“Those people from before… Was one of them your father?”

“Yes…” Liana nodded. “He visits me every month to check my well-being. Anyway, where have you been for the past few days?”

“I was out of town.” Hiding his involvement with Sharon would be the best action since Liana hadn’t had a good relationship with her.

“You were going outside? That’s nice…” Her eyelashes fluttered. “Can you tell me more about it? Please?”

“Nah, you won’t be interested.”

“Kane, I’ve been confined here for a long time. I’m dying to know what the outside looks like.”

Kane became quiet for a while, trying to come up with an answer. Then, he got an idea. Why not tell her his journey to Fort Harkensburg instead? So, he described the process and the green scenery. Liana kept bobbing her head as Kane narrated. Interestingly and fortunately, she didn’t care about his reason to go there.

“Whoa, you were flying with a coach pulled by pegasuses? That’s amazing!” she exclaimed. “I bet it was really fun.”

“It was. Thanks to Reynar— I mean, Sir Reynar for the opportunity.”

“Oh, him.” Liana’s tone changed. “Ever since he came here, I’ve been burdened with paperwork and other boring stuff!”

“Huh, I thought you spent most of your time drawing.”

“Because I’m so bored! Not much activity I can do here. I really want to ditch everything and explore!”

“Why don’t you do that, then?”

“I would get shocked every time I crossed the perimeter that my parents set up.”

Kane raised his eyebrows. Did her parents imprint a certain spell on her? That shouldn’t be the case since he didn’t see anything strange on her body during that night. Then, she recounted her past in great detail, interrupting his musing.

Basically, it all began ten years ago. When she was chasing a cat in the back alley, a man blocked her way. He snatched her and tried to run away before her father saved her from the kidnapper. It was the third time that happened, so her parents decided to lock her away.

“That’s the gist of it. Aren’t they cruel, Kane?”

“Sounds like they wanted to keep you from any harm. Someone or some group was targeting you.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.” Liana’s mouth gaped. But still, after eight years have passed they locked me here! Isn’t that going too far?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I need you to find the device that prevents me from leaving the academy’s ground and destroy it. After that, we will visit the city together! Sounds fun, right?”

“No. Another time, perhaps.”

“What? Why, Kane?”

“It’s time-consuming. The device could be anything and not just on your body. It might be more than one, even if your parents are smart.”

“We don’t know that until we try.”

“Then, you should search for them without me.”

“But…”

“Stop nagging, Liana!” snapped Kane. “As I said before, I’ll help you later, but not now.”

“So, you’re really busy, huh? Well, that’s fine. I should’ve known about it earlier.” Liana uttered a sigh as her face soured.

“Wait, I—”

“You don’t have to apologize, Kane. I do understand your reason for refusing my request.” She then turned around. “I appreciate your visit, but please come here again later.”

Before Kane could say anything, Liana already locked the door, rendering him speechless. He scratched his hair as he didn’t expect her to be mad over the rejection. Perhaps he should’ve chosen better words, but his decision would stay the same regardless. Whatever. Kane already

achieved his purpose to visit the place: telling her that he’s fine.

Brushing off any distracting thoughts, Kane returned to the library’s first floor using the elevator and was greeted by the librarian.

“Kane, a man was searching for you. He’s currently waiting in the garden behind the library,” she said.

“Who’s this man and what does he look like?” Kane sensed a possibility of a trap, but it seemed too straightforward for that.

“He didn’t say his name and I was too busy working to even look at him. Now, excuse me as I must return to my duty.” The librarian then walked away.

Great, now Kane had almost no desire to see this mysterious guy. He could be a potential foe from Aravides, perhaps. Despite that, Kane decided to go after him since the chance of being ambushed was low. If he were to sense any hostility, he could simply flee immediately.

In the garden, Kane cast his gaze everywhere. Nothing stood out from the ordinary: the blooming, colorful flowers; people strolling; pairs of lovebirds being affectionate; and a handsome young man reading a book attracting many glances from females. Again, nothing interesting here, so he walked further.

“Boy, don’t you dare walk past me! Get over here!” shouted the young man out of the blue.

Kane immediately halted his steps. Taking a good look at him, he had long jet-black hair, coupled with thick eyebrows and narrow emerald eyes.

“Do I know you?” asked Kane.

“Ah, yes. You’ve never seen my alternate self before.” He then pointed upward. “Pay attention above my head.”

Kane crossed his arms. Why didn’t he introduce himself? Upon focusing on the man’s head, a tiny insect was hovering above him, radiating a blue aura.

“You’re… Maur?”