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A line of shimmering golden words emerged in the skies and lingered for a few minutes before fading. However, the tension it brought was undeniable.
A few kids who looked to be around the age of five glanced at the sky with wide-eyed amazement, and one of them couldn't help but shout toward the instructor not too far away.
"Instructor, the number increased again!" It was a feminine voice, soft yet brimming with curiosity.
Slightly ahead stood a middle-aged man with neatly combed green hair streaked with lighter shades. He glanced up at the sky and smiled faintly.
"Indeed. Ninety-three years ago, mana descended onto the world, and along with it came the mutation of everything in this world. The trees, plants, animals, and humans changed drastically. Along with the descent of mana came the floating line of words in the skies. For every increase in the percentage, the saturation of mana in the surrounding air increases once more."
The instructor calmly explained. Some of the children's cute faces held a look of understanding, but others were visibly confused, not quite grasping what he was rambling about.
Among those whose eyes were filled with seriousness was a young boy who looked to be around five. He had flowing silvery-blue hair that shimmered faintly under the soft light seeping through the classroom window.
His eyes—still childish, slightly cute, and playful even—held a faint hint of maturity and vague understanding. His name was… Modret.
Modret glanced at the fading golden numbers and frowned slightly. Just as the instructor had said, over the five years he had been in this world, he'd come to learn about the descent.
It was said that on that day, mana came to Earth and changed everything drastically. Every animal had undergone evolution, and the trees had mutated—the poisonous ones becoming more potent, enough to instantly kill a grown man, and the medicinal ones becoming even more miraculous. It was even said that there were herbs capable of regenerating a lost limb.
Aside from that, humans had evolved too, becoming something called "awakened." A select few gained supernatural abilities that changed the world entirely.
The friendly neighborhood grandma who'd long harbored thoughts of smacking her disrespectful neighbor awakened supernatural strength and finally had the chance to take her revenge.
But alongside these surface-level miracles came disastrous consequences brought by the descent of mana.
The lunatics who had been imprisoned and even those on death row were now given the chance to fight back.
The battle that followed was extremely bloody, and it was said that those in power were almost overthrown. Fortunately, they held on long enough—using their greater resources to grow stronger quickly and overcome the crisis.
There were countless more tales Modret had heard over the years, but he couldn't recall them all now. Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Modret frowned slightly.
'That glowing number that appears every year can't possibly be a good thing, right?' Knowing this was an abyssal sage-level difficulty, Modret understood he couldn't expect things to be this easy.
Even though there had been no news of assassinations over the past years, he couldn't bury the sense of unease lodged deep in his mind.
"Class dismissed!" The instructor's deep voice resonated throughout the classroom, snapping Modret back to reality. He glanced at the man's departing back.
Leon. He'd been their instructor for over a year now, teaching them everything they needed to know about the awakened world. Modret slowly stood, pocketed his hands, and calmly walked out of the class.
The other children stared at him with hesitant expressions. Modret was the only noble in the class, while the others were low-class students or servants. Because of this, they didn't dare approach him for fear of incurring his wrath—or worse, that of the royal family.
'How lonely.' Modret exhaled softly, his back looking slightly desolate as he walked. He couldn't care less, though. Mentally, he wasn't their age mate in the least.
Just as Modret was lost in thought, stepping away from the classroom grounds, the skies darkened.
'A storm?' he thought with a frown, glancing upward—and then froze. His expression turned pale, as if he'd seen a ghost.
The faces of the other children emerging from the classroom also paled as a wave of disorienting pressure descended on them. Their faces twisted in fear.
'A… a dragon?' Modret managed to whisper, his trembling frame betraying him.
Above them, a gigantic creature loomed. Its gaze felt as though it could bore into their souls. The creature looked just like the western dragons Modret had read about before.
Its four legs were covered in dark blue scales, as was most of its body. Its fiery green eyes, narrow like slits, stared at the children like a predator eyeing prey. It seemed as though a single glance could devour them whole.
Modret had never felt so paralyzed by fear. He couldn't even move his limbs to escape.
Then a trembling figure stepped in front of him, blocking the dragon's view. His eyes were filled with fear—but deeper still was an unshakable resolve that couldn't be hidden.
"Young mas… master, plea… please stay behind me. I will protect you!!" His voice was firm as he tightened his grip, his gaze locked fiercely onto the dragon.
Modret's eyes widened slightly. Such will truly amazed him. Even as a thirty-something-year-old man, he couldn't muster the courage to fight the creature before him, yet this little boy, who knew nothing of the world, harbored such thoughts.
It was unbelievable. Modret shifted his gaze toward the young boy who had stood to protect him.
Just then, a cold female voice cut through the air.
"Beast, you dare to infiltrate the Axarel household? Are you tired of living?"
As the voice faded, a figure clad in flowing blue robes shot through the skies like a blur.
Reaching the dragon instantly, she waved her slender hand. White flames bloomed from her palm and slapped against the dragon, releasing a burst of heat.
Sensing the strange, searing energy radiating from the flames, even the dragon's eyes flickered with fear as it quickly retreated, casting the household one last glance before flapping its monstrous wings and soaring away.
Watching the beast's figure vanish into the distance, the woman shrugged and descended lightly, landing in front of Modret. A faint smile tugged at her lips as she looked at him.
"Son, how were classes today?" she whispered, her voice warm and tender—love that had only deepened over the years.
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To Be Continued...
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