“Liam!” Yoo Jin yelled as his eyes sprang open and his body propelled off soft, satin sheets. He jerked forward and heaved between labored breaths. His vision was still blurry as he dragged himself forward, inevitably missing his purchase and falling flat onto the ground below him.
“Liam!” he yelled again, his vision slowly returning as he continued to crawl, his legs still tangled up in the soft sheets as loose pillows scattered beside him.
He heard the sounds of a door open somewhere in front of him and he strained his eyes to see. “Liam?” he called out.
“Mr. Tae?” came a voice from above him and he felt a hand was placed on his shoulder. “Mr. Tae?” the man said again. It was a voice he did not recognize. “Hold on a moment, I see your glasses.”
A second later, they were placed on his face and he looked at the man before him, a stranger in a white lab coat. He looked around expecting to see a hospital room but instead saw that he was in a small dormitory room of some sort.
“Are you alright?” the man asked. He was now crouched beside him, his face level with his.
“Where is Liam?” Yoo Jin gasped at the stranger.
The doctor assessed his face for a moment. “There was another man that was admitted with you - tall, long, silver hair – is that who you are referring to?”
Yoo Jin suddenly grabbed at him. “Is he alright?”
Unfazed, the doctor merely helped him up. “He is fine, merely sleeping as of now.” And despite Yoo Jin’s protest, he helped him back into the bed. “I advise you not to move so much just yet,” he continued. “You may see your friend in a few days’ time. He will need a bit more time than you to recover but from my assessment, no major injuries were made internally to his body.” He paused then and Yoo Jin’s stomach suddenly felt like lead. “However… his face….” The doctor sighed. “There are a significant number of scars and burn marks upon his body and face. The skin will heal in time but I’m afraid they will never go back to the way they used to be.”
Yoo Jin made a sudden move to stand once more but the doctor merely pushed him back down and in his weakened state, he had no choice but to oblige. “I need to see him,” he hissed.
But the doctor merely shook his head. “As I have mentioned, he needs rest. He is in the infirmary, in one of our most secluded rooms. Once he is awake and is willing to take guests, I will call for you but for now, you must trust me.”
“I don’t even know who you are.”
The doctor let out a small smile. “Well that is true so then why don’t you ask me some questions? Aren’t you at least a bit curious as to where this is?”
Yoo Jin paused, looking once more about him. The room was larger than his studio apartment but sparse in furniture, consisting of only the basics: a desk, a chair, and a bed. All three were made up of a noticeably well made material, however, they were humble in appearance, empty of all forms of decor. “Where am I?”
The doctor took that moment to push him back down as he gathered the pillows from the floor and placed it back behind his head. “You’re in a dormitory room in a place called ‘The Academy’ and” he peered at him closely, “it’s in Swallow Mountain.”
Yoo Jin blinked. “Swallow Mountain… but that’s –”
“Impossible, yes. The mist that surrounds it makes it incredibly dangerous but the mist is artificial as we planted it.”
Yoo Jin gazed at the doctor in confusion. “What?”
“Your arms,” the doctor said suddenly and Yoo Jin looked down at them, nearly every inch of skin besides his fingers were wrapped up in gauze.
“The scarring should disappear soon,” he continued. “Your wounds were not as deep as your… friend’s and you heal much faster due to the mana that is stored in your body.” He paused and peered at him more closely. “Proof that you are a Saerim or more commonly,” he said upon looking at the confused expression on Yoo Jin’s face, “known as ‘wizard’. But the most interesting part is that my analysis tells me that you are also an omega.”
Yoo Jin tensed up. He had heard this before from that alpha, there had been surprise in his voice when he too had found that he was an omega. He paused and briefly wondered where exactly that alpha was now. “Why?” he asked the doctor, hoping that he would be more forthcoming with his information. “Why is it interesting?”
The doctor was silent for a moment and Yoo Jin wondered irritatingly if this was just an alpha trait. “You see,” he began slowly, “the nickname for this place is ‘Alpha Academy’, named thus because only alphas are trained here. The reason for that was because it was strongly believed– no, unquestionably known that only alphas were able to wield mana. There has never been an omega wizard before. You, your very person, contradicts that claim.”
Yoo Jin shook his head. He still didn’t quite understand. The alpha hadn’t explained anything and the doctor was using terms he assumed Yoo Jin would already be familiar with. “What exactly does that mean? ‘Wield mana’?”
The doctor nodded. “Of course, my apologies, I should explain first.” He pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat down, adjusting his coat as he did so. “Mana is an elemental force of nature that is present in all living beings. For most people, it simply flows through as one breathes, exercises, sleeps, etc. It is that extra spark that sometimes results in unusual circumstances, say something as simple as winning a game of dice ten times in a row, something that is nearly statistically improbable or even something that is considered a miracle by the Church like in the event of surviving a sickness with little to no chance of success. It simply ‘is’ and most are unable to control it to do their bidding. But certain individuals, though the understanding behind it is still shrouded in mystery, are able to harness their mana and use it in various ways. These people, we call ‘wizards’.”
Yoo Jin gave him a look. It all sounded so… impossible. He scratched his head. “The alpha pun– uh Moon Tae Hyun, mentioned something about dungeons and that thing–creature that attacked me was from a dungeon.”
The doctor nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, the ‘ghost’, the scientific name being ‘Apix Exspiravit’ is a dungeon monster, it is fairly common but little is known of it yet. We only just managed to capture one a few months ago, accidentally. In fact, Tae Hyun was part of that group but our team has yet to understand much of it.”
“So then you don’t know what it is and why it wanted me?”
“As to ‘what it is’, I’m afraid not but as to why it wanted you likely had to do with your ‘little’ burst of mana earlier that day. Tae Hyun informed us that not only did you punch a hole in a foot of concrete but according to our sources, the skies changed as well.” He paused and met his eyes. “It’s very odd, usually mana manifestations are volatile but not to that extent, often it is simply an object being moved from one end of the room to the other or, if they are particularly powerful and can harness a lot of mana, a burst that might shake a house. But, never in the years I’ve been here or of anything I studied did something like what you did ever occur.”
He peered at him more closely. “You’re not a normal omega.”
“Regardless,” he continued, “to answer your question. Dungeon monsters are drawn to mana and on occasion would leave dungeons if they feel a strong enough presence. I am assuming this is what happened in your case though the fact that a ‘Apix Exspiravit’ made a crack in a dungeon wall is concerning, they are one of the lesser monsters, you see, meaning they are not all that strong. Your and Tae Hyun’s wounds are what we normally expect from them but…” A strange look passed the doctor’s face for a brief moment but then disappeared, “your friend’s wounds are quite a bit more drastic.”
Yoo Jin sat up swiftly. “You said he was fine.”
The doctor laid a hand atop his chest to halt him. “Yes, yes, my apologies, there is no real harm done to him. It is simply as I mentioned that he won’t look the same when you see him again. Can you… tell me his name?”
Yoo Jin looked at the doctor in confusion. “Chae Liam – why?”
“Ahh, Liam, I see,” and then in a small voice as though muttering to himself, “so then it’s not him.”
Yoo Jin looked at him quizzically. “Who?”
The doctor looked up and that strange expression, which had appeared again, disappeared once more. “As I was saying, your mana burst likely caused the ‘ghost’ to break a dungeon wall or… perhaps…” he paused as though an epiphany just struck him, “your burst did.” He looked at him again with that questioning gaze. “And if that is true then, you truly are a special one.”
Yoo Jin felt a sudden apprehension grow inside of him. “What exactly are these dungeons?”
“We don’t really know. Some speculate portals to another universe or perhaps another galaxy. From little that we have come to comprehend, however, is that the monsters in these dungeons have been spotted throughout history and have become part of humanity’s lore - tikbalangs, mermaids, chimeras, kappas, etc. all monsters from dungeons we have noted. Dungeons are simply where these monsters exist and dungeon entrances are portals into their world. Most of these entrances are dormant at any point in time but they do open and that is what wizards are trained to do – control them and put a latching spell on the gates to prevent leaks into our world.”
Yoo Jin looked at the doctor, baffled. It all sounded crazier and crazier. “And this academy is where the wizards train to do that?”
He nodded. “Yes, and to control the mana. Otherwise, it’ll continue to manifest in arbitrary manners that will simply endanger themselves and others. Every alpha is monitored for mana bursts and when one is identified s/he is brought here to be trained.”
“Then what about me? Will I be required to train here too?”
The doctor shook his head. “I’m not entirely certain. As I said, you are an unprecedented case but I imagine that they will want to.”
“The alpha jer– no, Tae Hyun asked me to become his omega. Something to stabilize his pheromones. What’s that about?”
“Ah,” said the doctor, leaning back slightly in his chair and it was then that Yoo Jin took the time to finally look at him. He was clearly a high level alpha, he could be nothing else - not because he was a doctor, plenty of betas became doctors but mostly because of the way he held himself though with a much more innate, muted arrogance than Moon Tae Hyun did. He was also irrefutably handsome with sharp eyes, strong jaw, extremely black hair, was tall, broad, and dominant.
“Like you, Tae Hyun is an unusual case himself. Beyond the fact that all wizards were alphas there was also one other factor that tied them together and that is that their first manifestation occurred after their first sexual encounter with an omega.
“In other words,” he said, seeing the look of confusion on Yoo Jin’s face, “no wizard is a virgin. All the wizards here have at least one paired omega as their physical relationships with their omegas is how the mana within them are stabilized. This led us to speculate that pheromones must play some sort of role in mana control since no betas have manifested as Saerims. Tae Hyun is a special case for he was born with a mutation that makes him more tolerant of pheromones, meaning that if an omega spills their pheromones he, unlike other alphas, will not react. And thus, for this reason, he is the only one who has never had a pair but recently, he has shown signs of mana destabilization. This means simply that he can’t always control it the way that he used to. That is probably why he came to you with that proposal.
“As a friend, I know that he cares little for pairs and relationships, which is why he still has not paired despite his state. But the fact that you manifested as an omega wizard is something even he couldn’t overlook. He’s quite accomplished, you see and he always seeks to improve his mana control. If he must pair, I imagine that pairing with an omega wizard is the most attractive prospect.”
Yoo Jin let out a small laugh. Now it made sense why that alpha had proposed that plan. He needed Yoo Jin– no, the wizard omega Yoo Jin– to stabilize his pheromones so that he could be stronger and maintain these dungeons. He looked up suddenly, an idea sparking in his head. “Can you make money doing these dungeons?”
The doctor blinked in surprise, not having expected that turn of thought. “Well – yes, I believe so. Quite a bit of money depending on the dungeon.”
Yoo Jin nodded, feeling a bit better despite the improbability of the situation that was suddenly thrust upon him. “Good. Now, doctor, please I’d like you to keep an eye out on my friend,” he said as he removed the blankets and slowly got out of bed.
The doctor looked at him suspiciously but, this time, did not try to stop him. “What are you planning to do, Mr. Tae?”
Yoo Jin steadily made his way toward the front door. “I plan to find Moon Tae Hyun, of course,” he said as his hand grabbed onto the doorknob before him. He turned back for a second to look at the alpha doctor, who still remained seated, watching him curiously, “for I have a proposal of my own that I’d like to lay upon that ‘special’ alpha of yours.”
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