He tapped the screen again and again, trying to contact the academy or emergency services, but the device showed No Network.
Even the emergency signal machine attached to his belt was not working.
"T-This is impossible… Signal jammers…?" he whispered in fear.
The man was Petrick, an ordinary worker at Novaris Academy.
He had black hair, now messy and covered in dust, and green eyes filled with fear.
He kept running deeper into the alley, limping slightly due to his injuries.
"I just need to reach the main road…" he muttered. "If I reach the main road, I will be safe…"
But at that exact moment, something suddenly flew through the air.
A sharp sound cut through the silence.
Slash!
Before he could even react, something sliced through his left leg.
For a split second, he did not even understand what had happened.
A deep cut appeared on his left leg.
Blood gushed out like a fountain.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!"
He fell to the ground immediately, screaming in unbearable pain. His body rolled on the dirty alley floor as he grabbed his thigh, trying to stop the blood, but it was useless. Blood kept pouring out between his fingers.
"M-My leg!! My leg!! Aaaahhh!!"
His screams echoed through the empty alley, but there was no one to hear him. No one to help him.
He tried to crawl forward using his hands, dragging his body across the ground, leaving a long trail of blood behind him.
"H-Help… somebody help… please…" he cried, his voice trembling and weak.
He heard footsteps behind him.
Tap
Tap
Tap
They were slow, calm and unhurried footsteps.
His entire body froze.
The footsteps were not of someone running, not of someone in a hurry, but of someone calmly walking toward him.
Fear filled his eyes. He slowly turned his head back. From the darkness at the end of the alley, a figure emerged.
A man wearing a dark hooded cloak walked toward him slowly. His face was hidden under the hood, and only his chin was visible. His hands were inside the cloak, and his steps were steady and calm.
The hooded man stopped a few steps away from him and looked down at the bleeding man lying on the ground.
Petrick trembled. "W-Who are you…?" he asked in a shaking voice. "W-Why are you doing this to me…?"
The hooded man did not reply immediately.
He just looked at him silently for a few seconds.
Then he spoke in a calm, cold voice. "What have you done?" he paused for a few seconds and then continued. "You have done nothing wrong."
"Then why?.. Why are you trying to kill me?" Petrick asked with fear.
"Oh you poor soul~ I do not have any animosity with you. It is just that I wanted the body of any weak staff member from the Academy. And tonight I found you. You were just the unfortunate one. It could have been anyone, any colleague of yours, but sadly you were the only guy I found today." The man walked towards Petrick.
Tap
Tap
Tap
"Wait! Do not come any closer to me.." Petrick panicked. He dragged himself forward. The blood trail continued on the road.
His breathing turned faster. His heartbeat increased.
But the unknown man grabbed his head.
The palm covered his whole head and tightened around it.
"Arrrghh!" Petrick stopped crawling. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes as the grip tightened on his forehead.
"Alright… goodbye~"
"Arrrggghhhhhhhhhh!" The man screamed in pain. His hands and legs trembled violently.
His eyes were wide open in pain and horror. Slowly the light in his eyes faded.
He stopped screaming. His body stopped moving. Petrick was dead. Or was he?
The man loosened his grip from Petrick's forehead.
The body fell forward like some lifeless corpse.
The man crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well it is done."
Soon Petrick's body started to move. It slowly sat upright. The man took out a small crystal bottle, opened its lid, and threw the light green transparent liquid on the wounded part. The deep cut on Petrick's left leg started to heal.
After the healing was completed, Petrick's lifeless body stood up like a puppet.
Then it turned around and silently walked away from the unknown man without even glancing back.
The man watched his back with a smirk hidden beneath his hood.
"Now I just need to wait for a few days. Then I can start it..."
Soon the smirk vanished.
The man remained standing there for a while. Then suddenly he disappeared.
---
Back at the academy, inside the training facility.
Noah had been training for hours now. What he was trying to learn was quite interesting. He was enjoying it.
He was in the shooting area. His right hand was extended. In front of him was a spear made of ice, floating in midair.
"Nice… now let's try to control it…"
Noah had never tried to do this before, but after training for a few days, he noticed something more about his ability.
His Ice Creation ability not only allowed him to create things from ice, but also allowed him to manipulate the ice he created with his ability.
When he was fighting that bear monster and was on the verge of death, he had extended his hand and an ice shard appeared in front of his hand.
At that time, he did not think much about it. But now, when he thought about it deeply, he noticed something.
He could cast a spell named Ice Shard. But he clearly did not use that spell while fighting that monster. Because to cast spells, a magic circle was important. There was no magic circle when he used those ice shards at that time.
He had unknowingly formed those ice shards using his Ice Creation ability, and yet he shot them through the air toward the monster.
Which indicated that he could actually control and move whatever he made using Ice Creation.
Past Noah never bothered training. He never tried to discover more about his ability.
Currently, he was learning that same thing. And he was right.
After creating anything with his ability, he needed to use more mana on it and make it float. Then he could move it at his own will.
"But it takes a lot of mana… but well, it is bearable for a short time."
The ice spear in the air shot forward with intense speed, cutting through the air with a whistling sound.
Thud!
It hit the target perfectly.
The tip of his ice spear thrust perfectly into the middle of the shooting target.
"Ha… hah…" Noah breathed heavily. He was tired.
His extended hand fell down to his side. The ice spear soon cracked and shattered.
"Not bad…" Noah muttered with a small smile.
He was enjoying his time while training.
Not knowing what danger was approaching him and others.