The next morning, sunlight slowly filled the room as Ren opened his eyes.
For a moment, he stayed still… then turned his head slightly.
Beside him, Elyra Noctis was already awake.
"…Good morning," she said softly.
Ren blinked, then smiled lightly.
"Good morning."
Both of them got up and prepared for the day before heading downstairs for breakfast.
🍽️ A Busy Morning
As they sat down to eat, Ren spoke with a serious tone.
"Today is an important day for us."
Elyra looked at him.
"…Important?"
Ren nodded.
"Today is the last day to submit academy fees."
"And…" he paused slightly,
"I also need to meet someone from the Merchant Guild."
Elyra tilted her head.
"Why?"
Ren replied,
"I want to show them the healing potions I made."
"And see how much they're willing to pay."
Elyra's eyes showed a hint of surprise.
"…You're planning ahead."
Ren smiled faintly.
"We don't have the luxury to be careless."
They quickly finished their breakfast.
"Let's go," Ren said.
🚶♂️ Meeting on the Way
On their way to the academy, they suddenly heard familiar voices.
"Good morning!"
Ren turned and saw the twin sisters—
Mira Lunelle and Lyra Lunelle.
"Good morning," Ren replied.
"You two are going to the academy as well?" he asked.
Mira smiled.
"Of course."
Before Ren could say anything, Elyra stepped forward.
"Then let's go together."
The twins nodded happily.
🏫 Arrival at the Academy
Soon, all four of them reached the academy gates.
The place was filled with students and noise.
Near the entrance, they saw their teacher—
Professor Kael Draven.
"Good morning, sir," Ren and the others said together.
Kael smiled slightly.
"Good morning."
Then he looked at them briefly.
"Alright, I'm getting late for class."
"I'll see you all in your first session."
With that, he walked away.
📋 Admission Office Chaos
Ren and the others headed toward the admission office.
As soon as they reached, they saw a huge crowd.
"…That's a lot of people," Lyra said.
Ren sighed.
"We'll have to wait."
They stood in line quietly.
⚠️ Mockery Begins
Suddenly—
A group of three boys approached.
They were the same village kids:
Daiki Hoshino (Wind Magic)
Ryuji Kurogane (Fire Magic)
Sora Mizuno (Water Magic)
Daiki smirked.
"Look who's here…"
Ryuji laughed.
"That useless guy actually came for admission?"
Sora added mockingly,
"Seems like our luck is about to get ruined."
"What if his bad luck spreads in the academy?"
Hearing this—
Elyra's expression turned cold.
She stepped forward, ready to attack—
But Ren quickly held her wrist.
"Leave it."
Elyra looked at him angrily.
"We're inside the academy," Ren said calmly.
"If anything happens here, everything we've worked for will be ruined."
Elyra stayed silent for a moment.
"…You're right."
But then she added softly,
"They still need to be taught a lesson someday."
👩🏫 A Teacher Interferes
Just then—
A female teacher arrived.
"What's going on here?" she asked sternly.
Everyone fell silent.
Mira stepped forward.
"Ma'am, they were insulting Ren…"
The teacher turned toward the three boys.
"Is that true?"
They lowered their heads slightly.
"…Sorry, ma'am," Daiki said.
"But we only spoke the truth."
"A magicless boy being in this academy will only bring shame."
The atmosphere became tense.
The teacher spoke coldly—
"You're not wrong."
Everyone froze.
"A magicless boy shouldn't be here."
"It is indeed shameful…"
"But this was the Headmaster's decision."
"Otherwise, someone like him wouldn't even be allowed near this academy."
Ren stayed silent.
Elyra clenched her fists.
⚡ A Powerful Entrance
Suddenly—
Another voice echoed from behind.
"And who gave you the right to say all that?"
Everyone turned.
Another female teacher had arrived.
Her presence alone changed the atmosphere.
The first teacher immediately stiffened.
"Ma'am… you're here…"
She replied calmly,
"Yes. And if I hadn't heard this myself…"
"I would never have known what's happening here."
The first teacher quickly bowed.
"I'm sorry, ma'am… I made a mistake."
"Meet me in the office," she said coldly.
Then she turned and walked away.
The first teacher followed her, clearly nervous.
❓ A New Identity
Ren looked confused.
"…Who was that?"
A boy standing nearby spoke.
"That's Seraphina Draven."
"The Headmaster's daughter."
"She handles the academy's discipline and student safety."
Ren nodded slowly.
"…I see."
Then he introduced himself.
"I'm Ren."
The boy smiled.
"I'm Arin Veylor."
Ren introduced everyone else as well.
📝 Admission Complete
Soon, their turn came.
One by one, they entered the office.
After some time, all of them came back outside.
📊 Class Discussion
Lyra asked excitedly,
"So? Which class did you get?"
Ren replied,
"They didn't tell me yet."
Then he asked,
"What about you?"
Mira and Lyra said together,
"We got All Elements Class."
Elyra raised her eyebrow.
"That's rare."
Mira nodded.
"But they also said we won't be taught every element."
Lyra added,
"We'll only learn the basics of magic."
"And later we'll be assigned based on our actual element."
Elyra said,
"They told me something similar…"
"But since I can use all elements, I need to learn control based on levels."
Ren frowned slightly.
"…They didn't tell me anything like that."
For a moment, everyone went silent.
🚶♂️ Parting Ways
After finishing everything, they walked outside.
"Well," Mira said,
"We'll meet again next week."
Ren nodded.
"Yeah."
Elyra gave a small smile.
Everyone said goodbye—
And slowly went their separate ways.
After leaving the academy, Ren and Elyra Noctis headed toward the Merchant Guild.
The streets of Aetherion were busy as always, but something unusual soon caught their attention.
Up ahead—
A group of rough-looking men had surrounded three travelers.
"Give us everything you've got!" one of them shouted.
One of the victims was already badly injured, barely able to stand, while his two companions tried desperately to protect him.
Ren's expression immediately changed.
"…Let's go," he said.
Without wasting a second, he rushed forward, drawing his sword and placing himself between the attackers and the victims.
"If you value your lives," Ren said coldly,
"leave them and walk away."
The men burst into laughter.
"Look at this kid," one of them sneered.
"He thinks he can threaten us."
"We're five," another added.
"And you're alone."
Before Ren could respond—
Elyra stepped beside him.
"Who said he's alone?" she said calmly.
The men looked at her—and their expressions turned vile.
"Oh… now this is interesting," one of them grinned.
"First we'll make the boy our slave…"
"And then this girl—"
"We'll have some fun before handing her over to the boss."
Hearing this—
The injured man shouted weakly,
"Kids, run! These people are dangerous!"
"They work under a powerful boss—no one can stand against him!"
"Save yourselves!"
But Ren didn't move.
"Don't worry," he said calmly.
"They can't do anything to us."
Then he looked at Elyra.
"Let's teach them a lesson."
Elyra nodded slightly.
⚔️ Fight Begins
The leader of the group, Garron Vex, stepped forward.
"So you want to die first, huh?"
Ren didn't reply.
He moved.
In a flash—
"Sword Skill: Flash Slash!"
His blade cut across Garron's arm before the man could react.
"ARGH!!"
At the same time—
Elyra raised her hand.
"Wind Magic: Gale Lift!"
A powerful gust of wind lifted two of the attackers into the air and slammed them down hard.
The remaining men panicked.
"What the hell—?!"
Ren didn't stop.
With swift movements, he struck them one by one, knocking them unconscious.
Within moments—
All five men were down.
🔗 Aftermath
Ren tied them up quickly using ropes from his item box.
Elyra dusted her hands lightly.
"…That was easy."
The three travelers stood frozen in shock.
"A-Amazing…" one of them muttered.
But suddenly—
The injured man's condition worsened.
He collapsed to his knees, struggling to breathe.
Ren immediately reacted.
"Give him a healing potion!"
One of the companions shook his head.
"We already used everything we had… it's not working…"
Ren frowned.
"…Then use this one."
He took out a potion and handed it over.
"This won't help…" the man said hesitantly.
"Just use it," Ren insisted.
They had no choice.
They carefully helped the injured man drink it.
And then—
Something unbelievable happened.
The wounds started closing instantly.
The bleeding stopped.
Even his weak breathing stabilized.
Within moments—
He stood up completely healed.
"…What…?" one of them whispered.
"His injuries… they're gone…"
"And… even his old illness…" another said in shock.
The man himself looked at his hands in disbelief.
"…I feel… completely fine…"
All three of them turned toward Ren.
"What kind of potion was that?" they asked.
Ren smiled slightly.
"That's… a secret."
🤝 A New Connection
The three men quickly bowed their heads.
"Thank you for saving us."
"My name is Darius Holt," the healed man said.
"These are my companions—Lena Virel and Kain Drest."
Ren nodded.
"I'm Ren."
"And this is Elyra."
Darius continued,
"We were heading to the Merchant Guild to sell some rare items…"
"But this group found out and tried to rob us."
"We risked our lives to collect those materials…"
"So… thank you again."
Ren shook his head.
"It's nothing."
Then he added,
"Actually, we were also heading to the Merchant Guild."
"But we don't know where to go exactly."
Darius smiled.
"I know someone there."
"A trustworthy merchant."
"He buys rare items at a fair price."
"We always sell to him."
Ren's eyes showed interest.
"…Really?"
Darius nodded.
"Yes."
Then he asked curiously,
"What are you planning to sell?"
Ren looked at the potion in his hand.
"The same potion I gave you."
For a moment—
Silence.
Then all three of them looked at him in shock.
"…That potion?" Lena whispered.
Darius stared at Ren seriously.
"If that's true…"
"You have something far more valuable than you realize."
🕶️ A Hidden Threat
Meanwhile—
From a distant rooftop…
A familiar figure watched everything.
The same cloaked person from the previous night.
Hidden beneath a black cloak—
Their eyes glowed faintly.
"…So it's him…"
They whispered softly.
Then, just like before—
They vanished into the shadows.