One month ago—In an unknown castle
A wide table was set with seven chairs, each occupied by one of seven people.
The human race was represented by Emperor Alaric of the Moonstone Empire, Emperor Oberon of the Sunstone Empire, Emperor Lucien of the Skystone Empire, and Emperor Valen of the Heartstone Empire. Beside each Emperor stood a bodyguard, but not just any bodyguard—a Duke. Duke Silverlake stood with Emperor Alaric, Duke Huxley with Emperor Oberon, Duke Purceus with Emperor Lucien, and Duke Mavendra with Emperor Valen.
The Elven race was represented by King Elkarl and Queen Leina, flanked by two elderly Elven guards.
The Vampire race was represented by the Vampire Queen, Lilith, guarded by two vampires. (Honestly, I'm too lazy to name all their guards).
The first to speak was the Vampire Queen.
"It's hard to believe," Lilith said with an amused smile, "after centuries of war, we are now gathered at the same table for a discussion."
"Let's not waste time. I want to propose an alliance with all of you. The goal of this alliance is to wipe the Stellaris Empire off the map," said Emperor Lucien von Skystone.
"Why should we agree to this?" asked Emperor Valen von Heartstone.
"Don't play dumb, Valen. Arthur von Stellaris is a prodigy. He reached Tier 1 Mage [Transcendent] at the age of 19. It took us until we were 50 to reach that level. If we let him continue, Arthur von Stellaris might have the potential to reach Tier 0," answered Emperor Oberon von Sunstone.
"Although there's been no proof in 1000 years that Tier 0 exists, who's to say it doesn't?" added Emperor Alaric von Moonstone.
"Impossible," countered Emperor Valen. "The four of you, plus me, are also Transcendent, yet we haven't found a way to reach the next tier. In other words, we have already reached the peak."
"Don't be so small-minded, Valen. This world is full of surprises. We haven't even fully explored this world yet. There are still many mysteries out there," replied Emperor Alaric.
"We didn't come here to listen to this. Back to the topic," said the Elven King, Ethan.
"Allow me to explain," said Duke Silverlake with a serious gaze. Although no one answered, all the leaders nodded their heads, giving him permission.
"Arthur von Stellaris isn't the only problem. It's the forces behind him. He has the Duke of the North on his side, plus they have one man who is equivalent to a thousand soldiers: Kaizen Alexander, 'The Titan from the Star'," Duke Silverlake explained.
"Explain further," commanded Ethan.
"The power of a royal family member is more special than the majority. For example, the Stellaris family's affinity is for the stars, the Moonstone family's affinity is for the moon, the Sunstone family's affinity is for the sun. But not all of them match their names. The Skystone family's affinity isn't the sky, and the Heartstone family's affinity isn't the heart."
"I already knew that!"
"Yes, perhaps you know, but the readers don't yet."
"When will the attack take place?" asked Lilith.
"In one month. Prepare yourselves well," answered Emperor Lucien. "Unless you want this world to be ruled by the Stellaris Empire."
The Stellaris Empire was not always the strongest, but now, it was. And everyone sitting there could not accept that. They all realized that the Stellaris Empire was a bigger problem than their own internal issues.
Back to the present
Althair von Kaelvros's Point of View
I should probably introduce myself properly to you all. After all, you'll be reading my story for the next few chapters.
I am the only son of Aaron von Kaelvros, the Duke of the North. In other words, I am the young Duke of Kaelvros. My father's title should be Duke Kaelvros, but because our territory is in the north, where it is always winter, his nickname became the Duke of the North.
I am a 17-year-old Tier 4 [Adept] Mage with an affinity for wind, and I'm currently on vacation with my classmates. Not all of them, just a few. They're all from the same empire, though there is one from another empire.
Rio von Vandelur—a Baron's son. He was my first friend and is my best friend.
Alicia von Velzy, she was my first female friend.
Alex Addison, he's a friend I met at the academy. I met the others at parties.
And finally, a girl named Clara von Remelton. She's from the Moonstone Empire, a Marquis's daughter.
Even though we're different, we don't care about status. Our friendship is pure.
Right now, we're in the capital city of Stella. We've been here since this afternoon, and now it's night. We've spent the time watching shows, playing traditional games, and eating together. Currently, we're taking a break in the park, talking about our wishes.
"What are your wishes for this year?" Alicia asked.
"I want to clear a lot of dungeons, help the Empire, and be useful to others," Rio answered.
"From your first and second wishes, you want to raise your noble status, don't you? Do you want to make your father proud?" Alex asked.
"Yes, I want to elevate my family's standing. What about you, Alex?"
"I want to become a professor at the academy," Alex replied.
"Omg, Professor Alex, hahaha!"
"What can you be proud of except your muscular body? All brawn and no brains, HAHAHA," Clara insulted.
Our friendships involve a lot of insults, but we don't get angry or make a big deal about it, because we know this is just us expressing what we think. It's better to speak your mind than to keep it bottled up, right?
"WHAT! YOU SKINNY HUMAN, LOOK AT YOURSELF! YOU'RE AS THIN AS A TWIG! I'M AFRAID YOU'LL GET BLOWN AWAY BY THE WIND WHEN A STORM COMES."
"At least my brain works, sticks tongue out," Clara retorted.
My stomach hurt from listening to the two of them. We were supposed to be talking about our wishes, but look at them, now they're talking about something else entirely.
I just hope for a peaceful life. I'm not crazy about women or power. I just want to live happily with my own family and my friends.
Ah, I forgot. I also want my mentor to be happy. His name is Arthur von Stellaris. Yes, that's right. My mentor is the king of the place where I live. We're only two years apart, but he's already a respected Emperor. The reason I became his apprentice is because of the Ostrivien Academy's system. When you reach the 12th grade there, you are told to choose an underclassman to be your apprentice, and by chance, Arthur chose me. At that time, I was 14 and he was 16.
Three years ago - at the academy
Third Person Point of View
Althair was the most accomplished student in the 380th class of the academy. Not only was he talented, but he was also popular for his good looks. Neatly cut brown hair, gray irises that were a hallmark of the Kaelvros family, pink lips, and fair skin. (In this world, brown hair is the most common hair color, unlike in our original world where it's black.)
Many girls confessed their feelings to him, but all were rejected. Like a character in an anime, so cold, hahaha.
As Althair was walking down the hall, he saw a young man presenting a ring and a bouquet of flowers to a girl.
Senior Arthur again, huh? Isn't he tired? Althair monologued. Many women would throw themselves at a member of the royal family—especially since Senior Arthur was the crown prince, the future king—but why did he bother proposing to that crazy girl?
"Please accept me as your boyfriend," Arthur requested, kneeling on one knee.
"Thank you, I will accept it," replied Elena Rose with a sweet smile, but most students who saw it wouldn't be fooled; they knew it was a mischievous smile.
Arthur, hearing this, widened his smile, thinking he had been accepted by the girl of his dreams.
"Just the flowers, not the ring," Elena said.
Elena then left after taking the bouquet.
Althair, watching from a distance, could only look at his senior with pity. Why would a senior lower himself for a commoner girl like her? He could get a much classier girl than Senior Elena. What did Senior Arthur see that I couldn't? Humans are truly unique, Althair thought.
Althair started to walk away, as it was none of his business, but he stopped when a voice called out to him.
"Hey, Althair, wait for me," Arthur called.
Althair turned and looked at the 175 cm tall young man.
"What is it, senior? I didn't see anything, believe me."
"Your last sentence proves that you did see it."
"Hmm, you're right."
"What does the crown prince want with me?"
"Be my apprentice. I'm in the 12th grade now, and the graduation requirement is to become a mentor. My performance will be evaluated by the professors based on whether the student I mentor improves."
"From the bottom of my heart, I apologize. The academy assignments are already a lot, let alone with additional lessons from you."
"Trust me, I won't teach you anything weird. Please, help me."
"Alright."
Back to the present —Althair's POV
I am grateful to have been chosen; under his guidance, I learned a lot from him.
My attention was diverted when a mysterious man stepped into the center of the park. My friends and I were on the edge of the park at that moment; for your information, this park is vast.
My friends immediately sensed this with their instincts. I, who had been facing the man from the beginning, stood up and watched. My friends turned around and looked as well.
(Skipping the conversation that was already covered before)
When he cast that rune, I immediately cast a teleportation spell. Not just an ordinary teleportation; I had to extend its range to reach my friends who had already moved forward. This action made me dizzy for a moment.
"Where are we? Weren't we in the park just now?!" Rio asked.
"We're on the outskirts of the capital, 10 kilometers from the park," I explained.
"Althair, was that your spell?" Alicia asked.
"Yes."
BOOM!
It wasn't an explosion, but smoke appeared where we had been before.
"Hey, don't tell me..."
"That was a summoning rune."
"Who did that mysterious man summon?"
I answered, "I don't know, but what's certain is that the Empire where we were born is under attack right now."
To be continued....