A bright, blue screen suddenly flashed into Roran Ashborne's eyes. It was like a computer screen floating in the air, only he was the only one who could see it.
What is this?
He blinked, but the blue screen stayed. It was showing words in a clean, neat font:
STATUS WINDOW
NAME: Roran Ashborne (Lee Jun-Seo)
TITLE: None
LEVEL: 1 (Lowest Student Rank)
MAGICAL POWER: brave heart
CORE STATS:
| STAT | VALUE | | :--- | :---: |
| Strength (STR) | 12 |
| Agility (AGI) | 8 |
| Defense (DEF) | 7 |
MAGIC STATUS:
AREA
RANK
Mana Circle
1
Affinity
Earth (Low Grade)
Roran felt a cold chill. Strength 12. Agility 8. In his old world, he was E-Rank. Here, he was Rank 1, which looked even worse. He saw the Mana Circle 1 and had no idea what it meant, but he knew low numbers were bad.
"Roran! Where are you going?"
A new voice pulled him back to the real world. A tall boy with friendly, brown hair ran up to him. This was Liam, Roran Ashborne's childhood friend. Liam was worried.
"You look like you saw a ghost," Liam said, checking Roran's face. "The school doctor told you to rest, not go swinging that old training sword."
"I'm fine, Liam. Just... feeling strange," Roran said, trying out his new voice. It felt strange to speak the new language. "Tell me something. What is a Mana Circle?"
Liam looked confused, but he always talked too much, so he started explaining right away. "A Mana Circle is how we measure power! Level 1 is where everyone starts. To be a Knight or a Mage, you must reach Level 4."
Liam suddenly looked very serious, pulling Roran to a quiet spot by a tall hedge.
"Roran, listen to me. This is important. You have four months."
"Four months for what?"
"To reach Mana Circle 2!" Liam whispered, looking around nervously. "The Academy has a rule for the nobles. If a student is still Mana Circle 1 after the first semester, they are kicked out. You know your family is counting on you, but you've been stuck at Level 1 forever. Everyone says your body is too weak. You must get stronger in the next four months!"
Roran felt the pressure. Four months. That was nothing. But he was no longer the coward Jun-Seo. He was Roran Ashborne, and he had a brave heart. He had the blue screen system, too.
"I understand," Roran said simply. He grabbed Liam's arm. "I need to learn. Where can I find out how this world works? Magic, knights, the rules, everything. Where is the best place to find books?"
Liam's eyes went wide. "You want to study? You? The one who always slept in class? Wow, Roran! You must be really worried! The best place is the Grand Academy Library. It's huge. We can go after classes."
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted. A stream of students began running past them, pushing each other.
"Get out of the way!" "She's here! Move, you idiots!"
Liam grabbed Roran's sleeve, pulling him with the flow. "What's going on?" Roran asked.
"It must be her," Liam gasped, excitement flashing in his eyes. "The Crown Princess Seraphina Aurum! She usually only comes out to train at this time!"
They pushed through the crowd until they reached the edge of the large training field. Roran looked up.
Standing in the center of the field, surrounded by a small group of high-ranking knights, was a girl. She was dressed in shining white and gold practice armor. She had long, silver hair that looked like moonlight, and her face was so beautiful it took Roran's breath away. She looked pure, strong, and untouchable, like a perfect painting.
She truly looked like an angel sent from the heavens.
As Roran stared, taking in the full power and beauty of the Princess, the blue screen suddenly flashed again, right over her head. This time, the words were sharp and bright, showing something terrible.
WARNING: DATA CORRUPTION
NAME: Seraphina Aurum TITLE: The Holy Sun RANK: [ERROR: DATA CLASSIFIED] DANGER LEVEL: FATAL. Avoid confrontation.