Teresa blinked, her elegant brows furrowing in confusion. "Join the academy? But... you are already an Expert Fire Mage. You are an entire rank above my students. Why would you want to enroll as a beginner?"
She gestured to the scorched earth nearby. "The school year has already been running for three months. There are strict requirements for mid-year transfers."
Clei rubbed the back of his neck, his posture shifting from a battle-ready powerhouse to a slightly awkward teenager. "My father... before he left, he suggested I join an academy to learn more about the world," he said, his voice muffled by the mask. "I was just curious about the requirements."
Teresa's expression softened slightly. "Well, aspiring students must be at least F-rank and under seventeen years of age. They also need to demonstrate basic elemental control and the potential to reach E-rank."
Hearing this, Clei was a bit stunned. Not only was he qualified, but he was, in fact, overqualified.
"I'm about to turn sixteen, and I'm already D-rank," Clei said blankly. "So, I should be qualified, right?"
Silence fell over the clearing.
Toshi's jaw practically hit the floor. "How can you be sixteen when you look like... I mean, no offense, but you don't seem like a teenager!" He squinted, trying to reconcile the boy's muffled voice with his physical presence. Even though Clei was slightly shorter than him, his lean frame was packed with dense, corded muscle. It was a bizarre physique for a mage, whose bodies usually grew frail from endless meditation, yet Clei looked like he could wrestle an aetherborn bare-handed.
Clei hesitated. He reasoned that if he was going to travel with them and eventually enter a city, sincerity was required. He reached up and pulled off his black mask.
The trio gasped.
Beneath the mask was a remarkably handsome, youthful face with sharp, feral features and striking amber eyes. A small, pale scar cut sideways across his neck—a stark reminder of a close call in the wild.
"Oh my," Teresa breathed, her eyes wide with shock at both his youthful appearance and his terrifying talent.
"You're already D-rank, and you're younger than me?" Toshi blurted out, his pride as an older student taking a massive hit.
Verdehile, who usually maintained a cold, composed demeanor, felt a sudden, uncharacteristic flutter in her chest. The boy before her was incredibly handsome. It took her a few seconds to process his words and realize the sheer monster of talent she was staring at. A faint dusting of pink appeared on her cheeks before she quickly looked away.
Clei felt a bit embarrassed by their staring and coughed lightly. "I can provide identification papers, or you can use a bone-age mana crystal if you don't believe me."
Teresa shook her head, recovering her composure. "That won't be necessary. Even if you're a bit older than seventeen, with your talent, the Dean would be thrilled to grant you special admission. If you are interested, you can journey back with us to Anatolia in seven days."
Clei smiled, a genuine, bright expression that made Verdehile's blush return in full force. "I would be glad to. I've never been to a major city. I've only been moving around the forests with my father since I was young."
Teresa's curiosity peaked. For a genius of his caliber to be completely unknown in the Human Realm was strange. "Do you have a master?"
"It was my father who taught me everything," Clei replied.
"And what is his name?"
Clei hesitated. But he remembered a conversation with Silas years ago. If anyone asks, my name is Silas Vane. It doesn't matter if you speak it. Only a few people in this world know me anyway.
"Silas Vane," Clei answered.
Teresa tapped her chin, her eyes narrowing in thought. "Vane... Silas Vane... It sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it. He must be a hidden expert."
She smiled and gestured to her students. "Allow us to properly introduce ourselves. I am Teresa Flamewright, a teacher at Ignis Academy. My family is one of the four noble houses that govern Anatolia, and these are my most precious students."
Toshi stepped forward, puffing out his chest. "I'm Toshi Valerius! I'm a second-year student, an Aura Knight specializing in the Holy element. My family is the largest merchant guild in Anatolia. You saved our lives, Clei, so feel free to call on me if you ever need anything."
In the world of Falstne, there were five primal elements: Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth. However, mutated or rare elements like Ice, Lightning, and Holy were exceptionally scarce. For an Aura Knight to possess the Holy element was almost unheard of; it was a trait usually reserved for the Holy Church's Paladins. Given time, Toshi had the potential to become a legendary Holy Paladin.
Verdehile stepped up, her usual icy demeanor returning, though she avoided Clei's eyes. "I am Verdehile Reed. I am also a second-year student. I specialize in Ice magic, a rare mutation of the Water element."
Clei's nervous heart was filled with a strange, warm excitement. Despite his overwhelming combat strength, his social experience was practically zero. Having a pleasant, normal conversation with people his own age was something he hadn't experienced in over a decade.
"I have some things to take care of in the meantime," Clei said, "but I will meet you in Anatolia."
"Actually," Teresa interjected, "our mission this time is to harvest a rare alchemical herb called the Silver-vein Lotus. An alchemist posted it as a high-reward quest, and we happened to pick it up. But beyond just gathering herbs, I am also using this trip to train my students in actual combat against wild Aetherborns. We're currently setting up our base of operations in a nearby village."
"What village?" Clei asked.
"Althea," Toshi replied. "It's a small logging and foraging settlement on the edge of the woods."
Clei's blood ran cold.
Althea.
The name hit him like a physical blow. The warm, bustling courtyard of the orphanage. The smiling nuns. And then—the sudden, venomous glares. The stones thrown at his head. The whispers in the dark.
"Cursed child!"
"Demon! Get away from me!"
"Don't play with him! Do you want to be infected with his curse?"
"Clei? Are you alright?" Verdehile asked, noticing his sudden pallor.
"I'm fine," Clei forced out, his voice tight. He quickly pushed down the rising panic. "The herb you're looking for... it usually grows near the eastern ravines. But be careful. That area is heavily patrolled by Crimson-Eye Wolves. They are Rank 2 Aetherborn, and highly aggressive."
Teresa's eyes lit up. "The eastern ravines! That's incredibly helpful. Thank you, Clei."
They exchanged their final goodbyes, and the trio turned to head back toward their camp.
Clei stood alone in the clearing, watching their figures fade into the trees. The excitement of his first real human interaction evaporated, replaced by a suffocating, heavy dread.
Althea. The very name felt like a curse.
Would the villagers still remember the demon child, or had a decade washed away their hatred? He didn't know which thought terrified him more. But beneath the panic, a quieter, more painful question echoed in his mind.
What if she was there?
He quickly shoved the memory of a tearful, blonde-haired girl turning her back on him out of his mind, but the damage was already done.
A cold, suffocating weight settled deep in his chest, pressing down on his lungs until it was hard to breathe. He turned toward his hidden cabin, the shadows of the forest suddenly feeling a lot darker than before.