A Series of Incidents (1)
Recently, Evan had been spending his days in a whirlwind of activity. Half of it was due to classes. With lectures in both the Magic Department and the Knight Department, he was clocking over five hours a day in classrooms on average. Some days, he'd start at 9 a.m. and not wrap up until 6 p.m.
Was that time a drag? Not at all. Even now, half a year after enrollment, every day at Tianis Academy still felt fresh and exciting. Sparring and competing with his peers under the Knight Department professors, delving into the wonders of magic in the unfamiliar terrain of the Magic Department—Evan savored every experience the academy threw at him.
So what about the other half? That was thanks to the string of bizarre incidents plaguing the academy.
"Lately, all these weird things keep happening."
"Tell me about it. The incidents are piling up way too fast."
"The professors say they're handling it, but there's no sign of it letting up. And now another problem on top of that..."
Veil nodded in agreement, while Evan shook his head with a wry smile.
There had been the mass hallucination outbreak in a General Department building, the maze that spontaneously formed in a dormitory trapping students inside, lost and disoriented. And now, students going missing. All of this had unfolded within the last three weeks.
Evan and Veil were investigating on their own. The missing student was one of their classmates.
"Pretty sure he vanished around here..."
The two arrived at the last place their missing classmate had been sighted. But no matter how they scanned the area, nothing stood out. It was just your standard slice of academy grounds.
Evan dropped to one knee right there. He pulled a doll from his uniform pocket—the one their missing classmate always carried around.
Evan drew up his mana. Using the doll as a medium, he cast a tracking spell fueled by his intent. As his senior had taught him, the closer the connection between the object and the target, the stronger the magic's effect.
Footprints began shimmering into existence on the ground. They appeared one by one, gradually leading off in a specific direction.
"Let's follow them."
They hurried before the traces could fade. After trekking for a while, Evan and Veil came to a dead end at a wall. The air hung heavy with an ominous chill—it was a blind alley that felt somehow foreboding. Even in the academy, not every path was open; spots like this existed, especially around the Craft Department, where the nature of the work bred such shadowy nooks.
"Hmm... it cuts off here."
The trail ended abruptly. The footprints vanished about two meters from the wall.
Evan glanced around and asked Veil, "Feel anything?"
"Hold on."
Veil slowly circulated his mana, expanding his senses. His family passed down techniques that included detection arts. Moments later, he picked up on something underground.
"There's a space beyond the wall."
"Not just part of the building?"
"No. Something... sinister is leaking through."
It was faint, but the malevolent energy seeped out bit by bit. A darkness Veil had sensed before. He recognized it instantly.
"Black magic."
No matter how well it was concealed, its essence couldn't be hidden. Veil immediately slashed the wall with his sword, revealing the space beyond.
Inside was a small, grotesque statue.
"That's the source of the black magic. But..."
"Nothing else here."
No continuing path, no hidden chamber. Just this cramped nook housing the black magic-infused statue.
"What now...?"
Evan pondered, leaving the statue untouched for the moment. Cloi could've offered a solid answer, but she wasn't around. Reporting to the professors like this felt empty—they'd brush it off without real info, and he hated letting it go that easily.
"In times like this..."
There was only one solution.
"Let's go to hyungnim!"
Seek out the all-knowing senior.
Evan's second semester as a first-year was when the real episodes kicked into gear. That's why he'd been rushing around lately, swept up in the story's momentum.
"Kyle, Tianis feels all chaotic these days. Haven't seen much of junior Evan either."
As Rana said, their run-ins with Evan had been fewer lately.
"It's been noisy all around. Evan's probably tied up with the incidents."
True to his protagonist role, Evan was tangled in every episode somehow, doing his part to resolve them in his own way.
"Should we help? He's our junior."
"No need to worry too much. I'm helping in my own way."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
I nodded affirmatively. Even if we weren't meeting often, he could always come to me for advice.
'And straight-up hand-holding isn't good for him.'
Evan was in the thick of his growth arc as the protagonist. Meddle too much, and the character falls apart. Help, yes—but know the limits.
Bzzz—
Then my communication artifact hummed. It was Senior Ruina Lindel calling.
"Senior's summoning me... Wanna come along?"
"Ruina-senior?"
"Yeah."
"I'm in!"
Rana shot her hand up enthusiastically. With our destination set, I stood to leave. She did the same. Just as we headed for Ruina Lindel's workshop—
"Hyungnim~!"
Evan came dashing from afar, calling out. He looked urgent. Of course, I knew why.
Evan skidded to a stop in front of us, Veil at his side. Quick greetings exchanged, and Evan cut straight to it.
"While searching for our missing friends with Veil, we found this. Any idea what it is?"
He pulled out the statue from his pocket. The moment it saw daylight, a thick stench of black magic wafted out.
"Ugh, the smell..."
Rana pinched her nose shut. I swiftly threw up a barrier around the statue and took it from him.
"You knew it was laced with black magic when you brought it, right?"
"Yeah. But we don't know its purpose, so I figured you'd know, hyungnim."
He'd have gone to Cloi normally, but must've judged me better for magic matters.
I examined the statue closely. The novel hadn't detailed its effects, so I needed to figure it out.
A moment later, I had the gist.
"You know this was made from a living human, right?"
It looked like a bizarre wooden carving at a glance, but inside? Perfectly human—skin, organs, soul, all packed in. That's why Rana recoiled.
"Uh... a living human?"
"How could anyone...?"
Shocked, they couldn't close their mouths. I continued.
"It's one human turned into a statue, infused with three black magic spells."
One to draw in a specific target. Two to teleport the gathered humans to a set location. Three to sacrifice the statue and the teleported victims.
"Kyle, this is bad, right?"
"Real bad. Disgustingly so. If we don't track it fast, things'll go south quick—who knows when or how it'll get used for more black magic."
From memory, about fifty more go missing, fodder for a demon summoning.
"Wait. Black magic stuff here means a black mage is hiding in Tianis..."
"That's the implication."
"We haven't blown it already? We were gonna get advice and report to the profs..."
"The string of incidents means they're about to act soon. Real soon—today at earliest, tomorrow or the day after at latest."
"No way..."
Evan looked dazed, probably gutted at the thought his split-second choice might doom a friend. I smacked him upside the head.
Smack!!
"Ow! That hurts!"
"Don't mope over what hasn't happened yet. And don't give up without trying. Plenty of ways to fix this."
"Huh? For real?"
"Yeah."
This episode's key was Ruina Lindel. With help from the alchemist senior, it'd resolve smoothly.
'Come to think of it, they haven't met yet. Time to fix that.'
Evan's actions revolved around me so much that he'd skipped meeting Ruina, who should've crossed paths earlier. An extra might slip by, but a mid-boss connection? Essential.
"Rana, before we see senior, contact the professors."
"Got it!"
Rana summoned a beast to relay the message to the Knight and Magic Department profs. Then we headed to senior's workshop.
In front of Ruina Lindel's workshop on the Craft Department grounds, I warned Evan—who'd never been here—and my brother ahead of time.
"First time seeing senior, so keep quiet and wait."
"Yeah, Ruina-senior's sensitive. Chatter too much, and she'll kick you out."
Rana backed me up. She'd been through it once and knew well.
"Got it."
"Understood."
With their agreement, I knocked.
"It's me."
"Come in."
Her voice was as flat and emotionless as ever. I opened the workshop door.
Senior sat in a chair, munching cake. She swallowed as I entered.
"You're late. I called earlier."
"Had company."
"Ruina-senior~ I'm here!"
Rana spotted her and lunged into a hug.
"Urk..."
Embarrassed or annoyed, senior scooted back chair and all. Her grumbly follow-up confirmed the latter.
"...Why'd you bring her."
"Business."
"I missed you, senior. Don't you miss me?"
"Get... off..."
She shoved with all her might, but the size difference made it futile.
"...Hate this kid."
She griped but stopped pushing. After a few rounds, she'd gotten used to it. Her gaze shifted to those behind me.
"Who're those two?"
"That's my brother, and this guy's a junior."
I introduced Evan and Veil. Senior stood, eyeing Veil first.
"Veil Arden."
"...You look alike. Except the eyes."
Ignoring the greeting, she gave her curt assessment, then turned to the next.
"Hi! Evan Felix here!"
"You..."
She paused mid-sentence, then rendered judgment.
"...Annoying."
Crackle—!
With that, she unleashed alchemy in a flash, binding Evan.
"Uh... Senior?"
I was genuinely baffled by her reaction.