Three years have passed….
Now, 17-year-old Damian was standing in his backyard, where he spent most of his time. Snow fell softly from the overcast sky, covering the ground and plants in a thin layer of white.
Damian swung his sword through the air in quick, controlled movements, creating thin ice trails that followed his slashes. Each step was light, yet powerful. Across the field, Gairos Burakku, his notoriously strict personal trainer, stood casually, leaning his wooden staff on his shoulder.
CLANG!
Damian's horizontal strike was blocked with one hand by Gairos without much effort.
Gairos stared at him blankly. "'Snow Fang Spiral Slash'? Seriously? You made that up on the spot, huh?"
Damian blinked rapidly. "No… it was 30% planned, 70% feeling."
"Good, but don't make that up during the exam at the academy," Gairos replied with a sigh.
Hearing the word 'academy', Damian stopped in his tracks. "Academy?" he repeated, confused.
Without another word, Gairos threw a scroll of paper at him. Damian caught it quickly, opened it, and read its contents.
In a matter of seconds, his eyes widened. "Entrance Exam… Zephyrus Academy?!"
Gairos nodded slowly. "An official invitation. Your father is in charge of it."
Damian held his breath, his mind immediately filled with tension. "It's… the best school in the world," he muttered.
"That's right," Gairos replied. "Every year, only a hundred people are accepted. But the number of applicants can reach thousands."
Damian could hardly believe what he had just heard.
"Thousands of people…?!"
"Yes," Gairos said, patting his shoulder hard. "And you have to fight to be one of them. So, get ready."
The next day, Damian sat alone on the edge of a partially frozen lake. A cold wind blew softly, making the water ripple and breaking the reflection of his face. He stared at his own reflection, trying to find reassurance amidst the doubts that were starting to grow inside him.
"Can I really compete there?" he whispered softly, almost inaudibly.
In the silence, five vague images appeared in his mind.
He didn't know who they were, he didn't remember their names, and even their faces were blurry.
But something in his heart told him that they were his friends, that the bond between them hadn't completely disappeared. Maybe by now, they had grown stronger, much stronger than he had. And Damian knew that, sooner or later, their paths would cross again.
One Week later, Damian arrived at the Zephyrus Kingdom.
The kingdom was a far cry from Frostvale.
Its buildings towered, its streets were filled with people of all races and professions, and the sound of crowds filled the air. In the center of the city stood a majestic structure: Zephyrus Academy. The building was classical in style, built of solid stone with tall towers and long corridors, giving the impression of grandeur, oldness, and full of history.
That night, Damian stayed at a small inn located not far from the academy. From his window, he could see the academy glowing softly under the moonlight, as if inviting him to start a new journey. "So... this is the place," Damian muttered, his eyes not leaving Zephyrus Academy. He clenched his fists, determined to face all the challenges that awaited him.
The day of the exam finally arrived.
Hundreds of participants gathered in the Zephyrus Academy square, as the entrance exam was held in turns for a hundred people every day. Among them were nobles, warriors, wizards, and ordinary children, all with high hopes in their eyes. The atmosphere of the square was filled with the sound of footsteps, low whispers, and a sense of tension that was hard to ignore.
Damian stood among them, feeling nervous, but still trying to stay calm.
The exam was divided into three stages.
The first stage was the Written Test, with topics of basic magic, world history, military strategy, and geography. Damian sat down in his chair, received the exam paper, and began to read the questions in front of him. One of the questions made him frown. He had never heard the name of the person mentioned in the question.
He remembered Master Gai's advice: "If you don't know the answer, just write it down with confidence."
Damian picked up a pen and began to write.
Even though he wasn't sure if the answer was correct, he still wrote as if he knew.
This strategy might not be good. But at least, he looked confident.
The second stage was the Mana Strength Test.
All participants were asked to step forward to the center of the arena one by one to show how well they could control their mana. Some participants managed to create small fireballs in their palms. Some created whirlwinds that surrounded their bodies. Some even used water magic to create circles of water around them, and ground magic to create walls.
Damian stood in the line of participants, waiting for his turn quietly.
When his name was called, he stepped forward to the center of the arena with steady steps. He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then raised one hand. Ice pellets began to appear around him, spinning slowly in the air.
In a matter of seconds, the ice pellets merged together, forming an ice dragon.
As the ice dragon slowly formed in the air, the atmosphere immediately changed.
Some people fell silent. Others stared with wide eyes.
"What is that... Affinity?!" whispered one participant among the crowd.
"Impossible... ordinary magic can't create such a big effect," another muttered.
The instructors who were supervising watched Damian with serious expressions. Some of the committee members even wrote something down quickly on their small boards.
Among the hundreds of participants watching, some began to mutter softly.
"That kid... is no ordinary magic user."
"He has an Affinity... and it's an Ice Affinity."
"How rare is that...?"
Small cheers began to sound from the corners of the arena.
Not because they knew Damian, but because they realized they had just witnessed something extremely rare.
Meanwhile, Damian just stood there, not yet fully aware that what he had just done had made the entire arena pay attention to him.
The dragon floated slowly above Damian, moving in a circular pattern with smooth movements. The temperature of the air around it dropped several degrees, but not enough to freeze the arena.
The audience watching all screamed in awe.
"WAAAAH!!"
Damian watched the dragon float steadily.
In his heart, he still felt anxious.
"Please don't explode..." he thought quickly.
A few seconds later, the ice dragon slowly melted, turning back into small ice pellets, and fell quietly to the ground.
There was no chaos. No explosion.
Damian breathed a sigh of relief. At least, so far, everything is going smoothly.
The third stage was the Combat Test.
The participants would fight one-on-one in the arena. But surprisingly, it wasn't just against the instructors. Some participants also had to fight against each other.
"Those with high mana scores will fight strong participants too," one of the instructors said. "To show who is truly superior."
Damian stood in the line of participants, feeling a little anxious.
While waiting for his turn, he saw a fight that caught his attention.
A participant as tall as him with dark purple hair stood in the middle of the arena.
There were black shadows like smoke moving around him.
"Name?" asked the examiner.
"Nero Valtzreid," the participant replied.
Damian gulped.
"I can't feel his mana, is he that much stronger than me…?"
The fight began. In a matter of seconds, the examiner had fallen to the ground. Nero remained standing without moving much.
The audience fell silent.
Damian felt panicked. "Who is he..?! Shadow affinity?!"
His breath began to shorten. His hands trembled slightly.
Not long after, his name was called. "Damian Kade. Your turn."
Damian stepped forward with an uneasy feeling. In his heart, he only hoped, "Please... don't fight another monster..."
Unfortunately, Damian's opponent was already standing in the middle of the arena.
His body was straight, wearing light armor, with a large shield firmly in front of him. His face was calm and serious, as if ready to face any attack from anyone. In one hand, he held a large shield that had not even cracked a bit when blocking the magic attacks of other participants.
Damian stared at him sharply. He did not recognize the face, but there was a strange feeling in his heart. His instincts told him this opponent was no ordinary person.
The examiner announced his opponent's name,
"Lucien Ironhart"
The fight began.
Damian formed an ice sword and immediately moved quickly, attacking from the left side. However, his attack was immediately reflected by his opponent's shield. He tried an attack from above, but was again easily blocked. Even when trying to attack from behind, Damian found no opening.
"This is... the strongest shield I've ever seen," Damian thought.
"The shield feels like it's coated with mana. Could it be..."
He knew, if this continued, he would not win. There was no other choice, he had to focus. Quickly, Damian reached for the scabbard at his waist. Setsu'ryū. He had never used that sword before. But this time, he knew he had to use it.
With a single draw, Damian drew his sword. The air around him instantly felt silent and heavy. He coated his sword with mana, making it stronger as well.
Without hesitation, he threw himself forward and slashed straight at his opponent's shield.
CLANGG!!
A loud metallic sound was heard, and the shield was sent flying away. Damian didn't stop. With all the strength he had, he pushed forward. In one swift movement, the tip of his sword stopped right in front of his opponent's neck.
Lucien stared at Damian for a moment, then raised his hands.
He surrendered.
The fight was over.
A few seconds passed before a roar began to be heard from the stands. Soft whispers turned into cheers.
"He won...!"
"Those were... the two strongest people I've ever seen?"
"Seriously...? Their swords and shields are that strong?!"
Many participants looked at Damian with shocked expressions. Some of the organizers also seemed to be discussing quickly while writing something down on their papers.
"Not everyone understood what had just happened. They had just held a mana contest, and one thing was clear — Damian Kade and Lucien Ironhart were no ordinary participants."
Damian sat on the floor of the arena, trying to catch his breath. His body felt tired, and his legs were barely strong enough to support his weight. He stared ahead, still a little confused by what had just happened.
"...I won?" he whispered softly, as if he couldn't quite believe it.
Not long after, an instructor came over. "Good. Please proceed to the recovery area," he said briefly.
Damian slowly got up.
He glanced briefly at his opponent, who was still standing still on the side of the arena. Then Lucien looked at Damian, and in their minds they both thought the same thing, that they hadn't used all their strength. They knew that they had both been competing with each other in terms of mana, and it turned out that Damian had the stronger mana.
They didn't have time to exchange names, didn't have time to say anything. But in his heart, Damian knew this wasn't their last meeting. Sooner or later, they would meet again.
A few months later, the exam results were announced.
Out of thousands of participants, only a hundred people were accepted into Zephyrus Academy. Among those names, the top three immediately caught everyone's attention.
Rank 1: Nero Valtzreid
Rank 2: Kyle Ardent
Rank 3: Damian Kade
Damian sat on the balcony of the inn, holding the exam results list with trembling hands.
He read his name over and over again, as if he couldn't believe it.
"...Number three? Me?? Are you serious?!" he said softly, his eyes still wide.
Not long after, Liam came in with a cup of milk tea. Then he pushed it towards Damian.
"Congratulations, Master Damian," Liam said with a small smile.
Damian was still stunned.
"How could I be that close to that Velgrin?! And who's number two?!" he exclaimed, still in disbelief.
Liam just smiled patiently.
"Maybe... because you're great," he replied.
Damian was silent for a few seconds.
"...I...?" he muttered.
Liam nodded. "Master Damian is the best," he said seriously.
He then sat down beside Damian, staring straight ahead, and said in a determined voice,
"I got 31st place. That's not enough to be Master Damian's personal assistant. But I will keep fighting... until I deserve to be by Master Damian's side."
Damian covered his face with both hands, feeling overwhelmed by everything that had happened. "...I need a vacation," he complained softly.
That night, as Damian fell asleep, a familiar voice sounded in his dreams again. "Your meeting... is near. A great destiny awaits all of you."
Damian slowly opened his eyes. From his bed, he stared at the night sky visible through the window. He smiled slightly, as if welcoming whatever was to come.
"Bring it on," he whispered.