Yuta left the classroom with a steady stride, heading toward his apartment to change into his training gear; the next session was dedicated to magic—a practical lesson.
The professor in charge of their magic instruction was named Catherine, a Ninth-Circle mage.
Magic proficiency is measured in "circles"; as a mage's understanding of magic and incantations grows, their power increases exponentially.
As Yuta walked through the corridors of the Verselkin Academy campus, his phone chimed.
*Ding... ding... ding...*
Yuta pulled out his phone to check the incoming message.
⟨[Auntie Kyunai 🏹]⟩
[How are you, dear Yuto? Haven't you missed your auntie?]
Yuta stared at the message for a few seconds before replying.
⟨[Yuto]⟩
[I'm doing well, Auntie.]
[A little bit.]
Somewhere far beyond the fantasy realm—billions of light-years away—sat an alluring woman with a striking figure, long sky-blue hair, and light-blue eyes.
She wore a white robe that covered her entire body, yet it failed to conceal her curvaceous form.
A black bow, accented with touches of red, rested on her back. She gazed at her phone with a faint look of annoyance.
⟨[My Spoiled Nephew ❤️❤️]⟩
[I'm doing well, Auntie.]
[A little bit.]
⟨[Mistress of the Bow]⟩
[Is this how you treat your auntie?] "How rude of you!"
"When are you coming to visit me? You've been away for far too long."
A faint smile appeared on Kyonai's face as she gazed at her phone.
"Who are you talking to, Kyonai?"
Kyonai turned her gaze toward another woman—one who shared her hair and eye color, yet was dressed in a charcoal-black robe—as she approached.
A mischievous smile spread across Kyonai's face as she looked at the woman.
"You've just received a message saying that your dear son, Yuto, has..."
Before Kyonai could finish her sentence, the beautiful woman's expression shifted entirely. Her lovely smile vanished, replaced by a gaze as cold as frost. A dark, ominous aura began to emanate from her—reeking of death—as if death itself were pouring from her body in the form of a charcoal-black, ethereal mist.
Before she could even act, reality itself began to shatter, collapsing into a void. Moments later, the void shattered as well, leaving behind absolute nothingness—a state devoid of all laws and concepts.
"Who? And how? No—it doesn't matter! They shall all die! Anyone who dares to lay a hand on my innocent child, Yuto, will die!"
Doralia's voice was saturated with an overwhelming intent to kill.
Kyonai looked slightly bewildered, taken aback by how quickly the situation had escalated.
"Yuto, could you come over? Your mother, Doralia, has completely lost control."
Yuto stared at the message Kyonai had sent him, a look of annoyance crossing his face. [I'm coming.]
Yuta tore existence in two and stepped through the rift, finding himself in a void—a space so empty it defied even the definition of a void.
"Kyonai, have you stopped with your heavy-handed jokes? They aren't funny to anyone—especially not in front of *them*. You know what I'm talking about."
Yuta turned his gaze toward Duralia, who stood beside him, his expression etched with concern.
Duralia embraced him, resting her chin atop his head.
"You're alright, aren't you?"
Her tone was heavy with sorrow and anxiety, yet Yuta's cold, stoic expression remained entirely unchanged.
"I know you didn't actually believe Kyonai's words; you only pretended to so that I would come here. Still, didn't you go a bit too far by erasing everything?"
A flicker of confusion crossed Duralia's face, but she held onto him, a faint smile gracing her lips, before abruptly shifting the subject.
"How are things going inside the Academy?"
As she spoke, Duralia gently stroked Yuta's black hair, which had grown long enough to reach his shoulders.
"Everything is going perfectly. Three years left until I leave that world—well, only three months, really. It's not that long."
Yuta's voice remained as calm as ever as he looked at Duralia.
With a gesture, Yuta restored everything to the state it had been in before Duralia had erased existence.
He rose from the ground as Duralia released him; her expression held a trace of sadness, mingled with a sense of contentment. "Well then, take good care of yourself."
Doralia's emotions were mixed as she watched Yuta depart from the world they had been in.
Once Yuta had left, Doralia's expression shifted to one of anger as she fixed her gaze on Kyonai, who was just exiting the archery training room.
In a split second, Doralia was right beside her.
Terror washed over Kyonai's face as she looked at Doralia, who had gripped her shoulder and offered a faint, subtle smile. At the same time, Doralia's dragon-like eyes underwent a transformation: her pupils turned a deep crimson, and the surrounding sclera—normally white—shifted to a stark, pitch black.
"Little sister Kyonai, it seems you haven't learned your lesson yet. How about I teach you all over again? It will be a lesson you'll never forget—for the rest of your life... which, of course, will never end."
Thirty minutes later, in the magic training arena, Yuta, Beatrice, Gray, Ryoichi, Tom, and Lucy—along with several students from the other three elite classes—had gathered.
Catherine stood tall and composed, observing the students she had been instructing for the past few months. In her hand, she held a roster of their names and the lesson plan for the day.
"Today's lesson will focus on 'Legendary-grade' spells—the tier that surpasses even ninth-circle magic."
"Can anyone tell me about a Legendary-grade spell?"
Catherine's tone remained calm as she watched the students, who were now racking their brains to recall the names of such spells.
One student, from the second elite class, raised his hand. "The Incantation of Eternal Purity, used by Saint Isabella of the Church of the Sun, located in the Empire's capital."
No sooner had he finished speaking than another student, not far away, chimed in:
"Professor, there are also the Great Buddhist Chants, used by the monks of the Heaven and Earth Sect."
Another young man added:
"The Divine Sealing Spell, belonging to the Master of Magic, and the Flame of the End, wielded by the Magic Emperor, Aster Guilford."
A faint smile appeared on Catherine's face as she listened to the students' responses.
"Yes, your answers are entirely correct. These are some of the most powerful incantations currently in existence."
"However, even more powerful spells have been discovered within the magic tomes of the Versalkin Academy—once they were deciphered."
"But they have yet to be revealed."
The students' expressions shifted to frustration upon hearing Catherine's words.
For Yuta, Beatrice, Gray, Ryoichi, Tom, and Lucy, however, this came as no surprise; they knew full well that Emperor John Hars Johnlvin would never disclose such things so readily—he would surely keep them for himself.
Such behavior was typical of the Central Continent Empire, which sought to maintain its influence—all the more so given that the Versalkin Academy lay within its own territory.
The Empire controlled approximately 87% of all scientific knowledge and 65% of the world's talent.
As for the tropical Eastern Continent, it was teeming with dungeons filled with treasures and resources, including a vast array of rare, high-rank 'Gu' flora.
With constant, heavy rainfall, the continent boasted 80% of the vegetation found across all five continents and accounted for 65% of the world's oxygen production.
Much like the Amazon rainforest, it ranked as the third most dangerous of the seven continents—surpassed only by the frozen Northern and Southern continents.
It also held 55% of the world's 'Gu' and 78% of its rare medicinal herbs.
Furthermore, it produced 88% of the world's fruit and timber, as well as 43% of its gold. It contained more than fifty-five species of rare creatures.
However, thanks to dungeons and portals, the Central Continent became the most powerful of the five continents; for the laws protecting rare creatures did not apply within these dungeons.
Furthermore, the rewards found in dungeons—such as various types of weapons and potions—surpassed those crafted by humans. Additionally, resources extracted from high-rank dungeons were of superior quality and far rarer than anything found outside them.
For this reason, the Central Continent was considered the strongest in terms of raw power, as its fighters relied heavily on individual combat—unlike the other continents, where group combat was the norm.
Moreover, while dungeons offered opportunities for advancement, this was exclusive to users of Ki, Mana, or Konwa. Users of "Chi"—also known as the "Primordial Sea" or the "Dantian Roots"—would suffer from poisoning within their energy vessels, as Chi was entirely absent inside the dungeons.
"Well, legendary-grade spells are categorized into several types, namely:"
"Elemental, Conceptual, Sacred, Chaotic, Seals, and Curses."
"First, legendary-grade elemental spells."
"These spells elevate an element to its absolute peak. For instance, while fire in ordinary spells might appear red or blue..."
"...legendary-grade elemental spells are so potent that they can incinerate entire universes—or even ordinary worlds—provided the mage has attained a sufficiently high level of understanding." Many of the students' expressions shifted to dread upon hearing about the sheer power of those magical incantations.
Tom and Yuta, however, remained largely indifferent—unlike Beatrice, Lucy, Gray, and Ryoichi, whose faces betrayed clear signs of astonishment.
Alessandra—who exists as part of Yuta's own being—was the very person who authored every single book on magic and mana science found within the academy.
Yuta was familiar with every word written across those two million-plus volumes, which covered the entire spectrum of mana, magic, and magical craftsmanship; consequently, he found little of interest in what he was hearing.
As for Yuta himself, he had no need to learn these things—he had long since surpassed them. He kept them around merely for his own amusement.
Several hours later, in one of the districts of the city of Kesmburg, Yuta, Leon, Inuyasha, Nicholas, Christian, Kazuhiro, and Gowther were wandering through the city.
"Tomorrow, you will join Verselkin Academy—even though you know your role in the events to come will be negligible."
Yuta's tone was calm, his expression impassive as he looked toward them.
"We've come only to rest and grow stronger. Don't go getting involved in the events ahead."
Leon's voice dripped with sarcasm before he turned his gaze toward a nearby shop.
"Tomorrow is going to be a dull affair. Why don't we have a little fun instead?"
Yuta, Gowther, Leon, Inuyasha, Nicholas, Christian, and Kazuhiro stepped into a restaurant.
Meanwhile, on the Eastern Continent, inside the Sky-Wing Palace, two figures were engaged in a game of chess. Ye Mao Tang, the master of the Sky-Wing Palace, was drenched in sweat as he gazed at the corpses of his subordinates and loved ones—bodies that bore no visible signs of injury whatsoever.
Their deaths appeared entirely natural—a stark contrast to the profuse sweat pouring from Ye Mao Tang's own body as he stared at the person sitting across from him, who was calmly placing a chess piece onto the board with a faint smile.
Terror washed over Ye Mao Tang, his face darkening completely. Only one piece remained on his side: the King—a piece that, in this moment, represented nothing less than his own life, which he was desperately trying to protect.
"Master Ye Mao Tang, do you wish to surrender, or will you continue the game? But before that—do you happen to know someone named Yuta Casiral?"
The man's tone remained calm as he looked at the sweating Ye Mao Tang, who could not conceal the look of astonishment that crossed his features.
"Yuta Casiral... Yuta Casiral... Yuta Casiral..."
Ye Mao Tang repeated the name, each utterance separated by a pause of one to three breaths—a hesitation born of deep anxiety and the looming fear of death.
After a few moments, his expression shifted to one of mild shock.
"Yes... yes... yes, I know Yuta Casiral! He is the one they call the 'Cold Celestial Star'—hailing from the Central Continent, he is one of the greatest rising talents and among the most formidable students at Versalkin Academy. He is also the one who has formed a pact with the Deity of Space!"
"He has raided several high-rank dungeons over the past few months—I've even heard he defeated three gods all by himself! He also single-handedly took down the heir to the MacTire family—the 'Assassin Prince' Gothar MacTire—as well as the heir to the Mount Hua Sect, Hua Jianyi! He even killed an entity from another world after it abducted both him and Lucy Kethali, the contractor of the Goddess of Time!"
"And despite all this, he hasn't even shown his true power yet! That Yuta is a monster of the highest caliber!"
"I've told you everything I know about him. Please, spare my life!"
Ye Mao Tang's tone was filled with desperate pleading and submission; he would have kissed the other man's feet, had the latter not pulled them away.
"The match is over, Master Ye Mao Tang. I'm afraid you've lost."
"Since the game has concluded, allow me to introduce myself. I am the last Venerable Board Master, Ping Tao Xin. Thank you for such an enjoyable match."
Ping Tao Xin's tone was full of respect as he gazed down at Ye Mao Tang's corpse. He then picked up his chess piece—engraved with an image of Ye Mao Tang, with his name inscribed on the back.
A lethal aura emanated from the piece, yet Ping Tao Xin's expression remained entirely unchanged; he stayed perfectly calm, as if this were a routine occurrence. Then, he muttered in a cold voice, laced with a strange, ecstatic thrill:
"Yuto, I yearn to make your soul one of my prized possessions! Hahahaha! That will be a truly magnificent day."
Bing Tao Xin's expression shifted ever so slightly as he gazed toward the Northern Continent.
On the Northern Continent—specifically within the Yun Gai Mountains, inside a clan dwelling atop Mount Hua Yu—there lived a sixteen-year-old youth with long, black hair and deep, dark eyes.
He stared out the window at the moon with a vacant, hollow gaze, one that seemed far too mature for his years.
"Yong Yuan, of the Hua Yu clan, sixteen years of age. There is something peculiar about him... Ah, I see. Very well—we shall wait until the time is ripe to pluck you."
Bing Tao Xin's tone remained calm as he departed the Sky Pavilion Palace.
"Well, no matter. There are plenty of appetizers to be found in this world."
"And yet... why not become a 'Scorpion'?"
A faint smile played on Bing Tao Xin's lips as he looked at a document—an invitation to join the Scorpion organization.
"There's no harm in giving it a try."
The following day, in the elite classroom, Headmaster Soliver and Professor Kyotowa observed the students with composed expressions.
"Five new students will be joining you today. Though they arrive late, we have verified that they possess talents not to be underestimated."
"Come in, then—Leon, Inuyasha, Nicholas, Christian, and Kazuhiro." After the principal finished speaking, the five individuals entered the classroom; their expressions and bearing exuded both strength and charisma.
"These are the students with whom you will complete the academic year."
Soliver's tone remained calm as he surveyed the students—paying particular attention to the newcomers. Yet, despite his outward composure, some students sensed his underlying irritation; he had been asleep when they entered, and they had failed to show him the proper respect.
"I neglected to mention something: the teaching staff will change next year—with the exception of Yoshika Kiyotwa Kaito Ishikawa. All other instructors will be new, and you shall meet them soon enough."
The students looked on in surprise at the prospect of such a change, though they soon brushed it aside. Since the same instructors would remain with them until graduation—moving up alongside the students into more advanced classes—the news was of little consequence.
A quarter of an hour later, Leon, Inuyasha, Nicholas, Christian, and Kazuhiro sat at their desks, listening as Yoshika Kiyotwa delivered the lesson.
"It seems Ping Tao Shin has begun gathering his belongings, and he has already met with Pyong Yuan. This is quite intriguing."
"Yuta, I'd like to ask you for something."
Yuta turned his gaze toward Beatrice, who was watching him with one eye.
"What is it? Do you need something?"
Beatrice's expression shifted slightly as she looked at Yuta, who returned her steady gaze.
"Yuta, it appears your hair has begun to turn white. Several strands have already lost their color." Beatrice pointed her index finger at Yuta's hair, where strands of white had begun to appear, then changed the subject.
Yet, his appearance seemed even more attractive than before.
"It's nothing of any real importance. No need to worry—it's perfectly natural."
Yuta's tone remained calm as he looked at Beatrice, whose expression shifted into a faint, sorrowful look. She said nothing, however, and simply covered her face.