"Did you check the progress, Ecy?" the tall man asked. Blue eyes glimmered behind his black mask.
"Yes. The Gaia barrier is breaching faster than we expected," one of the twelve hooded humans replied. It was a female voice.
"How fast?"
"If we collect more monster serum, we might be able to summon a level one demon in…"
The man stopped mid-sentence, calculating different exponents within seconds.
"…the end of October. So, in less than two months."
Everyone froze, excited smirks creeping onto a few faces.
"Where should we hunt for sacrifices?" the leader asked.
"Going after great mages might break our cover. How about Yom Academy? There are at least five potential subjects. Probably more," a familiar woman suggested.
"Good idea, Evetka. We will look into it later. Especially because of the principal…" His words halted, as if he had remembered something.
"He's fairly dangerous."
Some nodded in agreement, knowing all too well the power of one of the Six Lions.
"Well, Yom Academy isn't the only place that has a Lion in its ranks…" the masked man said, glancing at two hooded figures in the corner. A woman and a man smiled back, their prominent jawlines cutting through the dim light of the room.
"We should still be careful. These students can be a nuisance," Evetka muttered beneath her hood.
"You speak as if you've encountered one of them."
"W- Well…" She turned away in shame. "There were six of them…"
The room went silent for a split second.
Then loud laughter suddenly broke out.
Everyone looked at her with a mixture of mockery and disappointment.
"What happened to them?" the leader asked.
"T- They ran away. But almost all of them had a main stigma!"
His blue eyes turned ice cold as he stared at her.
A shiver ran down the spines of the cloaked figures. Even their shadows seemed to recoil.
"You had multiple people with a main stigma right in front of you… and you let them escape?"
"Y- Yes, but only because something strange happened," Evetka said.
"What happened then?"
"While fleeing, one of them cast a spell on me I've never seen before. Molten stone walls trapped me."
Several figures muttered under their breath. None had seen magic like that before.
"So… magma. Who was it?" Suspicion laced the masked man's tongue.
"I didn't see clearly. It was Princess Lina van Arkheim, two from her group, two other strong students, and that Nox guy."
"Nox van Strier… Awoeka?"
"That probably wasn't him, I've tested him before. But he's the strongest among the first years… without a main stigma."
"It doesn't have to be him. We will find out in two months anyway," the masked man said.
A low murmur spread through the crowd.
"Why did you attack them? I told you not to act unless necessary."
"They discovered our cult and the monster absorber," Evetka replied.
"That alone isn't a reason to kill them. Especially when you didn't plan to use them as sacrifices," the leader said, his voice growing dangerous.
"I did. And… t- they found my personal farming dungeon."
"If you behave like this, no wonder we face more obstacles than expected." Though furious, the leader's eyes remained calculating and calm.
"Punishment is the tool of a fool. Still, you will fall back to the twelfth rank."
"Y- Yes, of course." Evetka breathed out in relief, lowering her head with a grateful grin.
"It doesn't matter if they only know that much. Awoeka, keep an eye on their group," the leader ordered. His black, purple doted mask gleamed in the dim light, reflecting rows of vials filled with red fluids.
***
One week passed, and the group gradually grew closer to the elves.
Thanks to the forest's pure mana, their training rapidly increased their stats.
When Nox woke up in Lina's arms, the fatigue from endless sword swings and magic practice had already faded.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Lina asked, her eyes still closed.
"Yeah. How about you?" Nox replied, yawning deeply.
"Me too… thanks to your body," she whispered seriously.
"W- What?" Nox jolted upright, his face burning red.
"I said thanks to your buddy," she added, pointing at the white blanket.
His palms tingled with sudden awareness. Heat rushed to his face as he bolted out of bed.
"O-Oh…" Nox rushed into the bathroom in embarrassment. He thought about how strange this would look to an outsider. They always slept together, yet he didn't know how he felt about her.
"That elf's trick actually worked!" Lina thought.
She smirked, yet a strange warmth stirred in her chest at how flustered he was, an emotion she didn't quite understand.
After breakfast, the group prepared to leave.
"Thanks to Lina and the forest's mana, I'm way stronger now," Nox murmured.
Stigma: Stigma of Combination
Strength: 30,2 (+5)
Stamina: 22,7
Agility: 26,5
Mana: 40,2 / 40,2 (+8), +5,4 per hour
Equipped items: Red Stone Sword (+5 strength), Mana Ring (+8 mana), Twin Ring of Healing Meditation, Special Elemental Necklace (-20% mana usage for special elements)
Skills: Ice Crystal Launch (0,32), Freezing Wind (1,6), Spider Shot (2), Ice Crystal Growth (2,4), Snowball (3,2), Ice Shuriken (4), Magnetic Field (5,6), Ice Wave (6,4), Icy Field (8), Magma Chamber (16)
"And? Did our rough training work?" Lina asked, stepping closer as if she could see his stat window.
"I made as much progress as in two months. So, yeah…"
"That's decent. But where's Beatrice?" Lina asked, turning to Regea.
"She should come soon."
"Did you sleep in the same bed?" she whispered.
"U- Uhm… maybe."
"Shit. If this continues, they'll become a couple before Nox and me," Lina thought, clenching her teeth in jealousy.
"I- It's not like I want to become a couple, of course," she muttered, stealing a dreamy glance at Nox.
The group waited in front of the wooden door for several minutes, Alma impatiently tapping the handle.
"I'm so sorry. The bandage wouldn't come off," Beatrice shouted, pulling up her oversized sweater as proof.
"You're healed? That's great!" Regea replied. His eyes followed her every movement, a faint tightening in his chest reminding him he couldn't look away.
Nox watched him with a smirk and whispered in his ear.
"You can't make it that obvious. If you want to stare, start from the floor and move up like you're trying to make eye contact. On the way up, you ca- ouch!"
"I can't believe what I'm hearing right now!" Lina whispered, tugging his ear with a playful smirk.
"Don't act like you don't do that too," Nox replied.
"But your sweater… it looks exactly like mine," Regea realized.
"O- Oh. What a strange coincidence."
Beatrice rushed outside toward the palace as if her life-threatening wound had never existed.
When the six students arrived at the palace, the old elven king was already waiting.
"You're leaving, right?"
"Yes. We are deeply indebted to you Elvenar. Thank you very much," Lina said.
"It would be wonderful if you visit us again in the future."
"It would be our pleasure," the group replied, turning to leave.
"Wait. Before you go, take this," the king said, handing Lina a small piece of paper.
When she unfolded it, a hologram appeared - a live map of the forest with every detail displayed in real time.
Nox, however, focused on something else; a butler holding a stack of blank papers.
"What are those?"
"Empty maps. We scan an area and it appears as a hologram."
"May I have one?"
The king studied him closely, as if searching for his true intention.
"I understand. Of course."
"We should depart now."
"Yes. I must discuss something with Con- Nox," Elvenar said.
"Alright," Lina muttered, glancing back at him with worry.
He nodded at her in encouragement, a nervous smile playing on his lips.
The king checked that no one was listening.
"Take this."
He grabbed the small branch and bent it over his knee.
"Wait, what are y-"
Crack-
The Trees of life's branch snapped in half, green mana dripping down and pulsing softly, ancient and patient, as if the forest itself were bleeding.
"No! Why?" Nox gasped.
"It'll grow back in about… one hundred years. It's important that you take this."
"For what? I'm not an elf."
"No, you certainly aren't. But it is still important for your…"
Nox's heartbeat quickened. The weight of centuries pressed down on him.
The king glanced at the sky, as if afraid another mana surge might strike.
"…for your combination."
Nox's eyes widened.
Leaves rustled, as though something ancient were listening.
"Is it because of the Gaia eyes?" he thought.
"It is not. But we should be direct," the king said. "I don't know the future, and I cannot tell you the past. In the end, I won't be able to help you like-"
"I cannot tell you what you must use it for, but if you do… you will either fall into despair and your fear becomes a constant reminder of your foolishness…"
"…or your greed will eat away at your humanity until you become no different from those you once hated," the elven king said.
The words twisted in Nox's mind, heavy with regret.
They stood in silence as cold wind swept through his silver hair.
"I don't understand what you mean. But there is one thing I know."
He turned around, his grey eyes scanning over the giant trees.
"There are never only two options."
A steady fire burned in his eyes as he clenched his teeth.
Wind whipped past his face, carrying the scent of the city and the faint trace of forest mana. His pulse matched the rhythm of his thoughts.
Uncertainty shimmered in his pupils as he ran back through the city, his friends waving at him with bright smiles.