("...This dream again.")

In the middle of a grassy plain, there stood a lone boy. In front of him was a sea of grass as far as the eye could see. In this unknown place, he felt strangely at peace; Like everything was right with the world.

"Oh? You're here.”

While he admired the relaxing scenery before him, he felt a touch on his shoulder. The boy smiled as he turned to the human-like figure behind him.

The figure shone brightly, but for some reason, it wasn’t blinding nor painful to look at. Behind, he saw many more resembling it standing quite a ways from them. The figure wordlessly accompanied him, simply gazing towards the horizon. Despite his attempts to speak with the figure, it remained silent like always.

Still, the boy didn't mind. Having someone else in the dream didn't really diminish the experience. Though he did wonder why they kept appearing in his dream, hence his attempts to communicate with it.

Soon, the sun began to set and the figure started walking towards the group behind them.

“Hey, wait!” 

He tried to chase after it. 

(“Kuh!”)

However, an invisible force prevented him from doing so. All he could do was watch as the figure steadily shrunk in the distance.

(“So it’s like this again, huh..?”) The boy reluctantly put his hand down. He had encountered this same vivid dream since he was old enough to remember his name.

But the ending was always the same.

The boy willed his body to fall down on the grassy plains. Despite the impact, he didn’t feel much pain.

(“Time to wake up.”)

**

“Mmh...”

Jenyx stretched his arms upwards and yawned. Somehow, he had a feeling that he had forgotten something important. 

“Hey, what are you doing here? Don’t you know we have class?" As he got up, he noticed four boys of his age approaching him. Amongst the four, one stood out with his pristine, blonde, slicked-back hair.

“Good afternoon to you too, Brad.”  Jenyx patted his backside, dusting off the grass that clung to him during his nap.

Suddenly, Brad swung his fist and connected with Jenyx’s face with a Bam! Due to the force, Jenyx fell back down on the ground.

“Call me Sir Brad, commoner!” Brad’s smile twisted further as he laughed. The others followed suit and started kicking the defenseless Jenyx on the ground.

Jenyx curled up in order to defend against the kicks and blows coming from above.

“I told you over and over to address me properly, but you really don't learn huh!?" Brad joined in and started kicking him around as well. 

"This is why you commoners are so--"

“Get away from him!” A girl's voice came from behind. Brad's face was greeted with a flying kick as he turned around.

“Ugh!!” Brad rolled on the ground, clutching his face as he looked up towards the unknown assailant. “Y-you!! How dare you hit a noble’s face! I am the son of the Powerful Count Baruth! Do you know what’s going to happen to you!?” Brad yelled as he stood up.

“Like I care! Get out of here unless you wanna get hit again!” the girl angrily yelled back at Brad. The girl hurriedly went towards Jenyx who was still lying on the ground.

“Are you okay?” the girl stretched her hands towards Jenyx who took it. “I'm fine. Thanks, Rose.” The girl named Rose smiled as she helped him up. Brad and his cohorts took a step back as Rose turned towards them.

“You lot… if you keep doing this, I’ll burn you all to cinders! Consider this your final warning... let’s go, Nyx!” Rose began walking back with Jenyx closely behind her.

"Those damn commoners!"

Brad balled his hands into a fist, seething with rage as he watched Rose and Jenyx walk away.

**

“Are you sure you’re not hurt, Nyx?” Rose worriedly looked all over Jenyx’s body. His uniform was riddled with dirt and grass.

“I really am. I'm sorry for worrying you.”

 Jenyx replied quickly with a smile.

“You’re not lying, are you?”

“I’m not. My body’s tough, you know?”

He wasn't lying. Jenyx felt no lingering pain in his body. In fact, their hits felt ticklish to him rather than painful. It was more akin to a massage rather than a beatdown, which is why he let them attack him.

However, he did protect his face. Not because he was afraid he would get hurt, but because he didn’t want to risk getting their shoes in his mouth.

“Fine, if you say so.” Rose reluctantly stopped asking. Jenyx felt bad for worrying her. But, no matter what he says, it would only seem as if he was just putting up a front.

In the first place, he had absolutely no idea how or why his body became the way it is. Brad and his gang had been harassing him since late last year. At first, all they did were hurl insults or small objects such as paper at him. But overtime, this harassment became more and more frequent, until eventually it escalated to the point where they were beating him up whenever they felt like it. 

At first, they did it out of view, sneakily punching or kicking him when nobody was looking. But because of his status as a noble, Brad got bold enough to hit him whenever or wherever they were, unafraid of the consequences. Still, it was of small concern to Jenyx since he found the pain to be rather tolerable, probably because they weren't very strong to begin with. He didn't know exactly when it started, but as time passed, their attempts to hurt him grew weaker and weaker, till he couldn't feel them anymore. Still, he had to humor them and act the part of being bullied, so they would leave him alone sooner.

Jenyx sighed in dismay. Even if he tried to tell Rose that Brad or any of his lackeys couldn't do anything to hurt him, she definitely wouldn't believe him. He doesn't even know what's happening to his own body, so how was he supposed convince her?

"Hey, Nyx! Did you hear me!?"

Rose suddenly grabbed his shoulder, prompting the absent-minded Jenyx to stop.

"W-what is it?"

“I said are you sure you want to attend magic class today?”

“I do. What’s wrong?” Jenyx had a puzzled look on his face as he replied. 

“You don’t remember? Today is the beginning of the Magic ability test event.” 

!!

(“Damn! How did I forget that!?”) Jenyx cursed himself for not remembering sooner. Today was the starting day for the test which serves to evaluate each and every student’s proficiency with magic. 

It is an annual seven-day long event that gauges every students’ knowledge and mastery of magic. The tests are always supervised by at least one or two proctors who exist to record the students' results. However, the true purpose of the event was to find diamonds in the rough.

 If a student displayed an outstanding performance, or in some way, managed to impress their proctors, they are given recommendations to move to the higher sections of their years. Those in the highest sections have the privilege of being taught by famous mages and are given special privileges such as; free food from the cafeteria, unrestricted access to the library, and most importantly, the chance to join the Grand Magic Battle Festival as one of the institution’s five representatives.

Jenyx’s childhood friend, Rose, was one of the top students in their year and was admitted to the highest section just after finishing her entrance exams. Meanwhile, Jenyx was placed in a lower section.

But the truth is, he shouldn't have been allowed to enter the institution at all.

Jenyx possessed an incredibly rare condition known as "Manaless", wherein there is a clear absence of mana, the source of magic, in his body. The condition was thought to have become nonexistent a few hundred years ago.

Jenyx was the latest, and only case in the modern world.

Because of this, he had to constantly endure unwanted pity, scorn, and mockery, among other things, from the people he met, up until the present.

Due to his condition, he should have been, by all rights, deemed unqualified. But somehow, he managed to get admitted by virtue of his high test scores.

In the beginning, he was optimistic and believed that if he studied hard enough, he'd find a way to cure his condition. But no matter how many books he read, or how many professors he consulted, none of them could provide him with an answer. Only Rose and his deep love for magic were the only reasons why he hasn't left the institution yet.

“Yeah… I don’t think I’m going to attend.” 

“Where will you be going then?” 

“I don’t know for now. Maybe I’ll just hang by somew-” 

“And just where will you be going, Mr. Troan?” As they turned to look where the voice originated from, a woman clad in a mage’s robes appeared before them. She had dark auburn hair and her eyes had a dangerous glint to them. Upon noticing her, the two bowed.

“Good afternoon, Professor Sillia.” The two greeted the mysterious woman. The woman named Sillia urged them to rise.

“You will not be going anywhere, Mr. Troan. It has been decided that I will be in charge of your class for today. Please head to E field immediately.”

“B-but, Instructor! Surely, you know of Ny- Jenyx’s condition right? I don’t believe it would be right to make him take it!” Rose voiced her thoughts clearly and stood in front of Jenyx.

“I am sorry, Ms. Grayle. However, we instructors are not the ones who decide these matters. If you have a complaint, please direct them to the headmaster. Although, by the time you’re able to present your case, I am sure that the test would’ve already ended.” Sillia slightly bowed and replied to Rose.

“S-still…” Rose refused to change her stance. She knew the mistreatment and humiliation Jenyx suffered whenever he went through with the test. However, she had no other ways in mind to help him. Seeing her, Sillia sighed and spoke once again:

“In the first place, why are you in this institution anyway, Mr. Troan? You possess not even the slightest inkling of mana. While I do recognize your profound knowledge on magic and magi-tech, I believe this institution would do more harm than good to your well-being.”

She was right. There were other institutions in their kingdom which were better suited to someone without any talent in magic like Jenyx. No, to say untalented would be an understatement, seeing as he had no mana whatsoever. Jenyx could do nothing but look away from the hard-hearted gaze of the professor.

“Let us be on our way. The time to commence the exam is approaching.” Sillia walked in front of the two after finishing their conversation.

“I’ll see you later then, Rose.” Jenyx waved his hand at her as he followed Sillia.

“Yeah… I’ll come to you as quickly as I can!” Rose shouted as she watched Jenyx leave.

Rose clutched her book tightly as she turned around to head to their assigned field as well.

(“I have to finish the test as soon as I can!”)