Inside a large corridor with towering pillars, a man in a white suit was calmly walking toward a door.
The corridor was dark and had no windows—only torches to light the place.
That man was Louis. He now stood in front of a door, and just as he was about to knock, a voice was heard.
"Come in, Louis," said a monotonous voice.
Hearing that, Louis lowered his hand and stepped inside.
The room was large, filled with shelves packed with books and several peculiar paintings on the walls. In the center stood a grand desk with a man behind it—almost impossible to see clearly because the room itself was so dimly lit.
"I don't understand why you like the dark so much, boss," Louis said.
"You just don't understand how harmful light can be to the body. I still want to live for a long time, Louis," the man replied with a small laugh.
I don't think staying away from the sun will make you live longer. It might even do the opposite, Louis thought.
"But back to the main subject now," the man said, his expression turning serious.
Back? We didn't even start yet, Louis thought to himself.
"So, Louis, how are the preparations going in the Shadow Zone?" the man asked.
Louis straightened his posture, speaking more respectfully now.
"I've already managed to buy all the areas in the Shadow Zone where we detected a high concentration of mana gems. We'll begin mining soon."
"Excellent work, Louis," said the man, now fiddling with a nameplate that read William.
"Sir, I have a question."
William looked at Louis and nodded for him to continue.
"What exactly do you want mana gems for? They're only useful for mana users, and their market demand isn't that high."
"As you already know, mana gems can slightly strengthen a person's mana since they contain a small amount of pure mana inside," William explained.
"And the reason I want them… I'll tell you in the near future," he added.
Why does he have to make it such a mystery? Louis wondered.
"All right then, I'll be taking my leave now," Louis said.
"Before you go, answer me one question."
"Yes, sir, what is it?"
"How's your daughter, Louis? Is she feeling better?"
Louis, who had been calm moments ago, now had a small bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"She's doing much better thanks to you, sir," Louis replied, forcing a smile.
"I'm glad to hear that."
After saying his goodbyes, Louis stepped out of the room. Once outside, he leaned against the door and whispered,
"Ellen… your father will do anything for your sake."
Just as he was about to leave, he heard a voice calling out to him.
Recognizing the voice of someone he found irritating, he tried to ignore it and kept walking straight ahead. But suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, and he jumped backward.
Right where he'd been standing, three deep slash marks appeared on the floor.
"You're really troublesome. Don't do that here," Louis warned.
"I wouldn't have to if you didn't ignore me," said a man stepping out from behind a pillar.
"Luke."
Luke was a man who dressed in a strange way—he always wore only pants, no shirt, and went barefoot. But what stood out the most was his spiky red hair.
"What do you want, Luke?" Louis asked, clearly wanting to end the conversation quickly.
"Nothing much. I just wanted to know what you and William were talking about," Luke said, gesturing with his hand.
Luke… a troublesome and impulsive person. If he finds out what the boss is planning, he'll want to get involved and cause trouble, Louis thought.
"You shouldn't meddle in matters that don't concern you," Louis said.
Hearing that, a vein popped on Luke's forehead, and he was about to attack. He raised his hand, shaping it like a claw.
Sensing the threat, Louis released a dark aura of his own. But before things could escalate further, Louis spoke up.
"Let's stop here. This isn't the right place to fight."
Hearing that, Luke also held back.
Seeing Luke stop, Louis decided to leave.
Watching him go, Luke muttered under his breath, "You only act like that because you're the boss's favorite."
Then Luke turned around and walked away as well.
............................
Inside Mira's room, she was now sitting on the couch, sipping tea while flipping through several papers.
"Is this everything you found, Goliath?"
Mira asked Goliath, who was standing in front of her with his hands behind his back.
"Yes, this is all I could find, ma'am. I'm sorry," Goliath said in a discouraged tone.
"It's all right, Goliath. You may go," Mira replied.
Following her order, Goliath left the room, leaving Mira alone.
Sigh.
Mira sighed as she looked at the documents Goliath had brought her. At the top of the first page, it read: Demian — Personal Information.
"I still can't understand…" she murmured.
"Demian, a fifteen-year-old boy and resident of the Black Zone, lost his parents when he was six. He survived with his sister, Luna, who was only a little older than him, until she recently passed away. After that, he was brought here."
"There's nothing here indicating that he ever used magic before. Normally, magic users are able to use mana from the moment they're born."
"But it seems Demian never used mana until recently. Could it be that he only awakened now? If that's true, he might be the first human ever to do that."
"What makes him so special? This only makes me even more curious about him," Mira said to herself.
............................
After winning his first Kombat, Demian was now heading back to his room.
That fight was a good way to test using my mana… but I still don't really understand how to use magic properly. It doesn't feel like it's just about pushing mana out of the body.
I need to try a different method. But before that… Demian turned to his right.
"Who are you?" Demian asked.
From the moment he'd left the arena, he'd noticed someone following him. And as time passed, the person kept getting closer until they were right beside him, forcing Demian to speak up.
Standing there was a boy who looked to be about sixteen. He had blond hair and golden eyes. He wore a light yellow jacket over a striped shirt, loose gray pants, and was barefoot.
The boy kept staring at Demian, and if you looked closely, there was a faint sparkle in his eyes.
What does he want? Demian thought, taking a step back.
Noticing his uneasiness, the boy stepped back too. "S-s-sorry," he stammered.
"My name is Alan. Nice to meet you," he said, stretching out his hand toward Demian.
"Nice to meet you," Demian replied, shaking it.
"So, tell me—what's it like to use mana? You looked amazing out there in the arena! Do you do it consciously or unconsciously?" Alan asked, his eyes shining even brighter.
As he spoke, Alan kept moving closer, while Demian tried to step away.
"All right, I get it—calm down," Demian said, placing his hands on Alan's shoulders.
"Sorry. I just get excited whenever people talk about magic," Alan said, scratching his head with a shy smile.
"It's fine, I get it," Demian answered, remembering his sister for a moment.
"You said your name is Alan, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then let me introduce myself too. My name is Demian."
I still don't know much about this place, and this guy seems to know his way around. I guess it wouldn't hurt to make a friend. Demian thought.
While the two were talking, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall, coming toward them.
Suddenly, for some reason, Alan froze.
"Hey, are you okay?" Demian asked.
"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite toy," a voice said.
Demian turned toward the source of the voice. A tall man approached, and if Mira had been there, she would have recognized him immediately. It was Goliath.
Goliath walked up to them with a grin. "Alan, aren't you going to greet me?"
Alan trembled and immediately fell to his knees. "I'm sorry… my apologies, Lord Goliath."
Demian was confused. Just moments ago, Alan had been cheerful and lively, but now he looked terrified.
Stomp.
Goliath stepped on Alan's head and shoved it against the floor.
"That's right. Dogs should keep their heads down."
"Hey," a cold voice cut through the air.
Goliath turned toward the voice. "You're that mage Miss Mira asked to investigate."
A faint aura seeped from Demian's body. "Why are you stepping on him?" he asked in a calm but icy tone.
"What?" Goliath frowned.
"Are you deaf? I asked why you're stepping on him."
Growing irritated, Goliath replied, "Why shouldn't I? This useless brat's a mage too, but he can't even use mana. A complete failure."
"I just don't know how to use mana yet," Alan said softly.
"Who said you could speak?" Goliath pressed Alan's head harder against the floor, and a bit of blood splattered.
Why should I care? I just met this guy… but for some reason, this is pissing me off.
What Demian didn't realize was that this was the first time someone had tried to be his friend—so seeing Alan treated this way ignited something inside him.
"Move it."
"Huh?"
"Move your foot off him… if you don't want to lose it," Demian warned.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Goliath growled, pressing down even harder.
A vein popped on Demian's forehead. A second later, he punched Goliath, sending him flying through a wall.
"I warned you."
With Goliath down, Demian knelt beside Alan.
"Are you okay?"
"You actually sent him flying… That was amazing!" Alan said, quickly standing up.
"Your forehead's bleeding," Demian pointed out.
Alan touched his forehead, looked at the blood on his hand, and shrugged. "It's fine. I'm used to it."
Being used to something like this isn't good… Demian thought.
"Alan."
"Yeah?" Alan looked at him curiously.
Demian extended his hand. "Do you want to be my friend?"
............................
Just one wall away, Goliath lay on the ground.
"Don't think you'll get away with this… you bastards," he growled.