He tapped the screen repeatedly, desperately trying to contact the academy or emergency services. However, the device continued to display the same message.
There was no Network.
Even the emergency signal transmitter attached to his belt had stopped functioning.
"T-This is impossible... Signal jammers?" he whispered, his voice trembling with fear.
The man's name was Petrick, an ordinary staff member at Novaris Academy. He had messy black hair, now covered in dust, and a pair of green eyes filled with terror.
He continued running deeper into the alley, limping slightly because of his injuries.
"I just need to reach the main road..." he muttered between ragged breaths. "If I can reach the main road, I'll be safe..."
But at that very moment, something suddenly cut through the air.
A sharp whistle pierced the silence.
Slash!
Before he could even react, something sliced through his left leg.
Petrick couldn't comprehend what had happened. Then, he felt an intense wave of pain and noticed a deep gash running across his leg.
Blood gushed from the wound, splattering across the ground.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!"
He immediately collapsed, letting out a scream of unbearable agony. His body rolled across the filthy alley floor as he desperately clutched his injured thigh, trying to stop the bleeding.
But it was futile. Blood continued to seep through the gaps between his fingers.
"M-My leg!! My leg!! Aaaahhh!!"
His agonized screams echoed through the empty alley, but there was no one around to hear him. No one to help him.
Desperate to escape, he began crawling forward, dragging his injured body across the ground with his hands. A trail of blood stretched behind him as he struggled to move.
"H-Help... Somebody, help me... Please..." he pleaded, his voice trembling and growing weaker with every word.
Then, he heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
They were slow, steady, and completely unhurried.
Petrick's entire body froze.
Whoever was approaching seemed to have all the time in the world. There was no urgency in their footsteps, no indication that they were chasing someone.
Fear crept into his eyes as he slowly turned his head. From the darkness at the end of the alley, a figure emerged.
It was a man wearing a dark hooded cloak. His face remained concealed beneath the hood, leaving only his chin visible. Both his hands were tucked inside his cloak, and his footsteps remained steady as he approached.
Eventually, the hooded man stopped a few steps away from Petrick and looked down at the bloodied figure lying on the ground.
Petrick trembled uncontrollably.
"W-Who are you...?" he asked in a shaky voice. "W-Why are you doing this to me...?"
The hooded man didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he silently observed Petrick. Then, in a calm and chilling voice, he asked, "What have you done?"
He paused briefly before continuing. "You have done nothing wrong."
"Then why...? Why are you trying to kill me?" Petrick asked, his voice trembling.
"Oh, you poor soul~" The man's tone carried a faint hint of amusement. "I have no personal grudge against you. It's just that I needed the body of a low-ranking academy staff member, and tonight, I happened to come across you."
He began walking towards Petrick.
"You're simply the unfortunate one. It could have been anyone. Any one of your colleagues would have served just as well. But, sadly, you were the only person I encountered tonight."
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
"W-Wait! Don't come any closer!" Petrick cried out in panic.
He desperately dragged himself forward, leaving another trail of blood across the filthy ground.
His breathing grew increasingly frantic, and his heart pounded wildly against his chest.
However, before he could crawl any farther, the unknown man reached him and grabbed his head.
His palm covered almost the entirety of Petrick's head, while his fingers tightened around it.
"Arrrghh!"
Petrick immediately stopped crawling.
Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes as the man's grip grew tighter.
"Alright... Goodbye~"
"Arrrggghhhhhhhhhh!"
Petrick let out another agonizing scream as his entire body began trembling violently. His arms and legs convulsed uncontrollably, while his eyes remained wide open, reflecting nothing but pain and terror.
Slowly, the light in his eyes began to fade.
His screams gradually died away. His trembling stopped. And eventually, his body went completely still.
Petrick was dead.
The hooded man slowly loosened his grip and released his head. The lifeless body slumped forward, collapsing onto the ground.
The man casually crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, that's done."
However, something strange happened moments later.
Petrick's body began to move.
Slowly, his upper body straightened, and he sat upright.
The hooded man then reached inside his cloak and retrieved a small crystal bottle. Removing its lid, he poured the transparent, light-green liquid over Petrick's injured leg.
The deep gash gradually began to close.
The torn flesh regenerated, and the bleeding stopped. Within moments, the wound had completely disappeared, leaving no trace of the previous injury.
Once the healing process was complete, Petrick's lifeless body slowly rose to its feet.
He stood motionless, resembling a puppet controlled by an invisible puppeteer.
Then, without uttering a single word or even glancing back at the hooded man, he turned around and silently walked away.
The hooded man watched him disappear into the darkness, a faint smirk forming beneath his hood.
"Now, all I have to do is wait a few days. Then I can finally begin..."
His smirk gradually faded.
He remained standing in the alley for a little while longer. Then, without warning, his figure vanished into thin air.
---
Back at the Academy — Training Facility
Noah had been training for several hours.
He was currently experimenting with something rather interesting, and he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Standing in the shooting area, he extended his right hand.
A spear made entirely of ice floated in front of him.
"Nice... Now, let's see if I can control it."
This was something Noah had never attempted before. However, after several days of experimentation, he had begun to uncover another aspect of his ability.
His Ice Creation ability wasn't limited to simply creating objects out of ice.
It also allowed him to manipulate the ice he created.
He had first considered this possibility during his battle against the bear monster, when he had been on the verge of death.
Back then, he had extended his hand, and several ice shards had suddenly appeared in front of him.
At the time, he hadn't paid much attention to what had happened.
However, after carefully examining the incident during his subsequent training sessions, he had realized something important.
He possessed a spell called Ice Shard. However, he clearly hadn't used that spell during his battle against the monster.
After all, casting a conventional spell required the formation of a magic circle.
Yet, no magic circle had appeared when he created those ice shards during the battle.
Instead, he had unconsciously formed them using his Ice Creation ability and launched them towards the monster.
That meant he could create ice and manipulate it without relying on conventional spells.
In other words, he could control and move anything he created using Ice Creation.
Unfortunately, the previous Noah had never bothered to train seriously. He had never taken the time to properly explore the potential of his ability or discover what else he could accomplish with it.
But the current Noah was different.
He was determined to understand his abilities and make the most of their potential.
And so far, his theory had proven correct.
After creating an object with his ability, he simply needed to expend additional mana to make it float. Once he established control over it, he could manipulate its movements as he pleased.
"Although it consumes quite a lot of mana... Well, it's manageable for short periods."
Noah focused his attention on the floating ice spear.
Then, with a simple thought, he sent it flying forward.
Whoosh!
The spear shot through the air at incredible speed, producing a sharp whistling sound as it rushed towards its target.
Thud!
It struck the target perfectly.
The tip of the ice spear embedded itself precisely in the centre of the shooting target.
"Ha... Hah..."
Noah breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling as fatigue finally caught up with him.
His extended arm slowly dropped to his side.
A moment later, cracks began spreading across the ice spear before it shattered into countless fragments.
"Not bad..." Noah muttered with a small smile.
He was thoroughly enjoying his training.
Little did he know that an unknown danger was slowly approaching him, one that would soon threaten not only his life but also the lives of those around him.