Chapter 4

Sirone heard a massive sound. Perhaps it wasn’t even a sound, but he couldn’t think of a better way to describe it. It was as if everything, everywhere was communicating with him, and when all the sounds merged into one, it was no longer just a sound.

I wasn’t myself at that moment. I was the world itself. Recalling the boundless enormity, one truth struck his mind. I am infinite.

Suddenly, he began to cry. Sirone shed tears from an overwhelming wave of emotions, shut his eyes tightly then quickly lunged forward. He couldn’t bear it without running. Even though he was back in his physical body, his mind still held onto that moment. I am free. He couldn’t tell how much time had passed. When he opened his eyes, he couldn’t see anything, but he could feel a dull impact on his face.

“Oof!” Having tripped and fallen, he looked around and saw the dirty scenery of the alley. How did I end up here? The emotion was so overwhelming that he couldn’t even remember what had happened a moment ago, but now he faced reality.

“What the hell? How annoying.”

A group of thugs was now eyeing him like they were predators who had found their prey. The man whom Sirone had bumped into grabbed him by the collar.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you out of your mind?”

“Sorry, I—”

“You’re not getting away just by apologizing. Be honest. Were you sent by the Wolf Gang? You were trying to get me just now, right?”

“No! No, I wasn’t!”

They could tell by looking into Sirone’s eyes that he was just a small boy who wouldn’t dare touch another person. All that was left was to steal from him, but judging by his appearance, it didn’t seem like he had much money. Still, his looks were close enough to an aristocrat’s that he could be sold for a decent sum in the market. He’s clearly an untouchable. There won’t be a need for repercussions. Just then, a voice echoed from outside the alley.

“What are you guys up to? Doing something fun?”

The men immediately turned around.

“Lady Amy!”

Sirone also looked at the person named Amy as if he had encountered a savior. She’s so young. With bangs tinged red and covering one eye, she was a girl of his age.

“What brings you here?” one of the men asked with an awkward laugh. “Bored again?”

He spoke casually to her, but the man approaching the young lady humbly clasped his two hands. Anyone who knew her would expect nothing less. Amy Karmis was the youngest daughter of House Karmis—a first-class bloodline of nobility that held a rank just below that of the royal family in the kingdom’s hierarchy. It was unheard of for a girl from such a noble house to associate with common thugs, but for a teenage girl bored with her sheltered life, it was a momentary escape.

“This boy here tried to kill me, so I was just trying to teach him a lesson.”

“N-no! I only bumped into him by accident.”

“Lies! Do you expect us to believe that?”

As one of the men raised his foot to strike, Sirone flinched and cowered.

“You’ll need to pay for your actions, kid! Where’s your mother? Your mom, who gave birth to a good-for-nothing like you, isn’t coming to fetch you. Bring her here!”

Sirone was taken aback. He wondered how they could insult someone’s parents as complete strangers

“Look at how this brat is glaring at me now. Did I make you upset?”

Reading the anger in the boy’s eyes, the thugs all rushed forward, stomping all over him. Up until then, he hadn’t known why they had refrained from harming his face.

Amy spoke up. “Enough. You’ll hurt him.” The men immediately stepped back, and she leaped down from a wooden crate and approached Sirone. “Are you all right?”

“I-I didn’t do anything.”

“Who said you did? I’m just asking if you’re okay.”

“I don’t know... if I am okay.”

Amy closely examined his face. Don’t make a face like you’ve lost everything in the world over something like this. I have a much harder life than you. To others, a privileged girl from House Karmis might seem like she had it all. Why is it that you all get sympathy and consideration when I’m the one putting in so much more effort?

Fooling around with thugs in the crime-ridden alley was also an act of rebellion against that sentiment. Even if it was a naive thought, once nobility was involved, the story changed.

Amy turned her head. “What are we going to do now? Isn’t there anything more fun to do?”

Sirone, who thought she would send him home, was taken aback. On the other hand, the thugs who knew Amy’s nasty temper replied nonchalantly.

“We were thinking of robbing him and selling him off as a prostitute.”

Amy chuckled. Of course, she had no intention of joining in on the activities of the thugs in the alley. After tormenting him a bit and having some fun, she planned to send him home.

“Hmm,” she pondered.

As Amy scrutinized Sirone’s appearance, a mischievous idea came to her.

“If he’s going to be a prostitute, he shouldn’t have any flaws, right? How about we strip him to check?”

Lately, she had become somewhat curious about the opposite sex, and if he was a commoner, there was no need to worry about any repercussions. Besides... He’s quite handsome. His looks were certainly above average.

“Give it a try. Who knows? If you listen to us, we might send you home.”

Sirone’s mind went blank. He couldn’t believe this was real, and the people in front of him looked like demons.

“How can you do this? You are all evil.”

“You didn’t know? That’s just how the world works. In the end, you’re just another weakling who’ll end up being a victim, right? People only think of themselves,” the leader of the thugs sneered.

He could tell that blaming the world made her feel like an adult like she had become wiser than others. You’re wrong, young lady. You’ll never know what true wickedness is, what real suffering feels like. You’ll never know. Life is much longer than you think.

“Hey! The lady told you to strip! Want another beating?”

Sirone didn’t respond. As he stopped reacting from some point on, Amy began to feel slightly uneasy. Maybe he has gone insane.

But he hadn’t gone insane. Instead, he was more focused on the changes happening in his brain than ever before. As his mind, tense from experiencing violence for the first time became exceptionally sensitive, he entered the Spirit Zone. What’s this...? The second time he experienced it, it was clearly different from the first, flooding his mind with realistic information. He could hear the thugs blinking their eyes.

With the boundaries between himself and the outside world weakened, Sirone instinctively let his consciousness flow along a familiar path. The destination of his consciousness was the memory of Alpheas casting magic at the magic school.

Ah... His insight began to gather surface-level information, including Alpheas’ emotions, senses, thoughts, actions, attitude, posture, and so on—it was as if he was imprinting them onto a canvas. These pieces of information combined into infinite patterns and eventually sent essential information up into his consciousness.

“You brat! Hurry up and take your pants off! The lady wants to see!”

As the thug grabbed him by the collar and shook him, Sirone almost bounced back from the Spirit Zone. The Spirit Zone, requiring high levels of concentration, was vulnerable to external shocks. Hanging by a thread, the level of peril was akin to someone shaking the rope while he was still on it.

When the look in the boy’s eyes changed, Amy shouted, “Wait! Just wait!”

However, it was already too late, and his willpower had drastically distorted the natural order of the environment. A powerful gust of wind surged, booming through the alley and causing every object in it to levitate. Wooden crates, stones, and even Amy and the thugs were tossed into the air.

“Aaaah! Save me!”

The screams snapped Sirone back to reality. He saw the desolate alley before him, and then everything began to plummet. Every single object fell to the ground, their thuds bouncing off the walls of the alley. The heavy, bone-chilling sounds reverberated through the ground. Familiarity often leads to oversight, but gravity was a much stronger force than one might have thought. The limbs of the thugs, who had fallen trying to save themselves, were relentlessly snapped off.

“Argh! M-my arm... My leg...” Legs were grotesquely twisted, and the bones of forearms protruded through the skin.

Sirone was stunned. He hadn’t expected such a disastrous outcome from a momentary surge of emotion. On the other hand, the only one who landed unscathed was Amy. Nobles honed their bodies from a young age, and for a first-class noble like her, it was beyond impressive. After gracefully landing while clutching her fluttering skirt, she looked at the stunned boy with surprise.

“Who... who are you?” The scene he had created a moment ago clearly demonstrated why mages were considered beings of terror. Even Amy, who boasted extraordinary agility, couldn’t resist the sudden surge of power. “Answer me! Where did you learn magic? How can an untouchable like you—”

Her voice suddenly halted. Security forces were on their way, alerted by the screams echoing from the alley. Knowing that her family wouldn’t stay quiet if her true identity were revealed, Amy cursed under her breath.

“Damn it!” With a swift motion, she leaped onto the building, traversing the walls in a zigzag pattern.

Sirone, who was staring blankly at the extraordinary feat that surpassed human limits, quickly snapped back to reality. This is bad. If the security forces arrived, they would undoubtedly question him about the entire incident. Dad... What he had come to realize in the city was that the world was too harsh for the weak. No one will listen to me. He turned his body. Without a second thought, he sprinted toward the one person he could trust—his father.

***

House Karmis was a powerful family in the kingdom, a first-class noble household. While their roots didn’t stem from the capital, the talents fostered by the family were spread throughout the entirety of the Kingdom of Tormia. Currently, the only ones remaining at the main residence were the retired head of the family, Shacola, and Amy.

“I’m back,” Amy called out.

“Where have you been? I was told you didn’t attend your classes again.”

Despite being well over fifty, Shacola appeared youthful, with not a single white hair to be found. He had a tall stature and a refined face, and behind his glasses, one could sense his pride in being considered the best in the kingdom.

“I’ve learned everything there is to learn. It’s just not interesting.”

“So, you went to play with the thugs? No matter how talented you are, if you keep fooling around, your talents will be overshadowed. Even a gemstone needs to be polished from a rough stone. If you let your guard down, one day, you’ll be caught off guard.”

“Ugh! Stop nagging.”

Shacola chuckled. He understood that her rebellious spirit was strong and could sympathize with the grievances she had against her family. After all, the grass is always greener on the other side. The reason he didn’t correct her was that, unlike her other siblings, she had inherited his talent directly. When you realize what you have, the imbalances tend to correct themselves. That was the destiny of a prodigy.

Amy abruptly stopped. Thanks to her father’s nagging, memories of the unpleasant incident from earlier in the day resurfaced. Who on earth was that kid? She had trained relentlessly, not wanting to be known solely as someone born into a prestigious family. He looked about my age. How could someone who hadn’t even received a proper education, let alone combat training, have acquired magic? Was it a stroke of luck? Or an awakening? No matter how she thought about it, those were the only possibilities that came to mind.

“If you let your guard down, one day, you’ll be caught off guard.”

Amy bit her lip. I will never be defeated. She received a solid blow from the representative figure of the very class she had despised.

“Dad.”

It was surprising that she was the one to speak first, so Shacola showed genuine interest and set down his newspaper before asking, “What’s the matter?”

“It’s not that I particularly want to do it, but there’s something I’m interested in.”

“Oh?”

Shacola’s eyes lit up with interest. From an early age, she excelled in whatever she was taught, so no matter what she chose to do, she was expected to excel.

“Tell me. Your dad is here to give you full support.”

“No, it’s not that I want to do it. It’s just a genuine interest.”

“In that case, I’ll support that interest of yours.”

Amy felt bittersweet. Yeah, I know. She knew that there was hardly anything in the world that could challenge the power and wealth of a first-class noble. Asking her parents for a favor was no difficult task either. All I can do is accept it.

Only after being humiliated by a commoner did she realize how foolish it was to ignore the influence of House Karmis. I’m going to become the best.

With her decision made, Amy spoke up. “Magic.”

“Hmm? What did you say?”

“If you know anyone at the School of Magic, could you introduce me to them?”