B-7: The First Crack in the Original Story
The entrance to Mana Zone B-7 lay deep within the eastern forest of the academy. At the end of a forest path lined with towering trees stood a single black stone gate, silent and unadorned. Only the characters etched into its center glowed with a faint blue light. B-7.
The moment I saw that short marking, I swallowed a curse. Of all places...
In the original story, B-7 was where Edan Gray and Rhea Silverrian first became deeply entangled. During practical training, an anomaly occurred in the mana zone, isolating Rhea. Edan risked everything to save her, and through that ordeal, Rhea came to see him not merely as a commoner special admission student, but as someone who could stand beside her on the same battlefield. It was a pivotal event in the original plot.
But now the official partners were not Edan and Rhea. They were Edan and me. Rhea had entered as part of the support surveillance team, along with Siella and Aria. Noel had tagged along under the absurd pretext of being a special supervisor. There was no way the original story could proceed normally.
“Your complexion doesn’t look good,” Edan Gray said beside me.
I turned to look at him. He wore the standard training combat uniform, a sealed practice sword hanging at his waist. Though safety magic was in place to prevent fatal injuries, after everything that had happened these past few days, I wasn’t sure how reliable those measures really were.
“My complexion is never particularly good to begin with.”
“Is it because of the aftereffects of your injuries?”
“That, and other things.”
“There’s another reason, then.”
Edan spoke calmly. This was exactly why dealing with him was exhausting. He never asked rudely, yet he always struck right at the heart of the matter.
I looked at the stone gate. “This zone is dangerous.”
“Because of the hidden seal gate you mentioned yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Under normal circumstances it shouldn’t open, but this time the chances are high.”
“That’s correct.”
Edan fell silent for a moment. Then he looked at me and said, “Lord Kyle.”
“Yes.”
“Once training begins, tell me everything before I even ask.”
“What do you mean?”
“Every danger you know of.”
I met his gaze. His eyes were serious, tinged with suspicion, but not hostility. He didn’t see me as an enemy. He simply wanted to determine whether I was dangerous. That made things far more complicated.
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
Edan didn’t hesitate. “Not yet.”
Honest, at least.
“But I want to find out if I can. That’s why I asked to be your partner.”
“And if you decide you can’t trust me?”
“I’ll stop you.”
His words were quiet, yet heavy. I let out a short laugh. “Very well. I’ll do the same.”
“To me?”
“Yes. I’ll confirm whether you’re truly the person I think you are.”
Edan’s eyes shifted slightly. He still didn’t understand what I meant by “the person I think you are,” but he seemed to sense that my words carried weight.
He extended his hand. “For today, I look forward to working with you.”
I stared at his hand for a moment. The hand of the original protagonist. The hand that should have saved Aria, won Rhea’s trust, and crossed blades with Siella. Now it was reaching out to me.
I took it. “Likewise.”
At that moment, a cold voice came from behind us. “Have you finished shaking hands?”
It was Rhea. She stood behind us in a blue cloak. Her silver hair gleamed coolly even in the morning light, and her blue eyes were sharper than usual. Her gaze flicked briefly to our joined hands—so briefly that the air seemed to chill in its wake.
“It was a standard greeting between partners,” Edan said politely.
Rhea looked at him. “If that greeting is over, let’s review the training rules.”
Aria approached my side. “Lord Kyle, how is your condition?”
“I’m fine.”
“If you’re lying, I’ll stop everything immediately.”
“I feel like I’ve heard that threat for the fourth time already.”
“It means I find you thoroughly unreliable.”
Aria smiled as she spoke, but her eyes were serious.
Siella stood staring at the stone gate, her scabbard resting against her shoulder. “The mana flow around the entrance is abnormal.”
Noel nodded. “Agreed. In a normal training zone the flow should be steady, but here it’s constantly pulling from inside. Almost like it’s inviting us in.”
“Is it a trace of the Black Moon?” I asked.
Noel shrugged. “Not certain. But there’s residual influence from the Central Sealed Area incident. The ley lines are still unstable.”
Rhea issued a curt command. “Confirm formation.”
Siella spoke up. “I’ll take the vanguard. Kyle and Edan in the center. Aria provides rear support. Your Highness handles wide-area control. Senior Noel analyzes.”
“You’re deciding the formation in my place?” Rhea asked coldly.
Siella remained unfazed. “It’s the most efficient arrangement for combat.”
Rhea studied Siella for a moment, then nodded. “You’re not wrong.”
These two clashed constantly, yet when it came to battle judgment they reached agreement with uncanny speed.
Aria traced a small divine arts sigil on the inside of my wrist. A warm light seeped beneath my skin.
“With this sigil, I can check your condition at any time.”
“Thank you.”
“And if your mana fluctuates beyond a certain threshold, I’ll pull you out immediately.”
“That’s a bit—”
“You promised, didn’t you?”
I couldn’t argue.
The instructors in front of the gate raised their hands. “Mana Zone B-7 practical training begins. Official partners: Kyle Diaren, Edan Gray. Support surveillance team: Rhea Silverrian, Siella Bayern, Aria Elowen. Special supervisor: Noel Ignis. All personnel, enter.”
The stone gate opened. Blue mist billowed out from within. We stepped forward together.
Mana Zone B-7 took the form of a forest, though it was no ordinary forest. The sky was a hazy gray, and the trees floated as though their roots never touched the ground. The floor was covered in blue moss, with thread-thin mana lines flowing between them. The air was heavy and damp. The moment we entered, outside sounds nearly vanished. Even the sound of the gate closing seemed distant.
“The space has folded,” Noel remarked. “The interior is larger than a standard training zone.”
Rhea raised her staff. “Secure visibility.”
With a flick of her fingers, blue frost particles spread through the air. The mist thinned, revealing the path ahead.
Siella moved first. “No anomalies in the front. But there’s no sound.”
She was right. In a real forest there should have been wind, insects, rustling leaves. Yet nothing could be heard. Only my own footsteps echoed unnaturally loud.
“This place gives me a bad feeling,” Edan muttered beside me.
“I agree.”
“Was it like this in the flow you know of?”
“Similar, but not to this extent.”
“In other words, it’s gotten worse.”
“It always does.”
We advanced slowly. The first creatures to appear were mana beasts—three blue wolves. Standard training specimens. Normally placed to evaluate students’ response capabilities. But now their eyes were stained black.
“They’re corrupted,” Siella said, drawing her sword.
Edan raised his blade at the same time. The two moved without a word. Siella charged straight in while Edan circled to cut off the wolves’ retreat. Their coordination was surprisingly smooth for a first attempt. When Siella pressed the first wolf, Edan interrupted the second’s charge.
I read the mana flow from behind. “The wolf on the right is feinting. The real attack is coming from the left!”
Edan reacted instantly, lowering his sword to strike the left wolf’s jaw upward. At the same moment, Siella’s blade cleaved through the blue wolf’s body. The mana beast dissolved into black smoke.
Siella glanced at me. “Your directions are solid.”
Edan nodded as well. “Your reactions are quick.”
“My body isn’t,” I replied.
Aria immediately cut in. “Which is why you shouldn’t come forward.”
“Understood.”
This time I answered obediently.
Rhea gazed into the mist. “Something’s wrong.”
“What is it?”
“The mana beasts are too weak. It doesn’t feel like they’re trying to stop us. More like they’re guiding us deeper in.”
Noel placed her hand on the ground and let out a low chuckle. “You’re right. The path is moving.”
“The path?” I asked.
She pointed at the moss-covered floor. The blue mana lines were slowly shifting direction, as if guiding us toward a specific location.
At that moment, a bell rang from deep within the forest. A soft, delicate chime.
Yet the instant I heard it, my heart sank. It was the sound that preceded the opening of the seal gate in the original story.
“Stop,” I said.
Everyone halted.
Siella asked, “Why?”
“It’s about to open.”
“What is?”
Before I could answer, the mist parted. An ancient door appeared before us—neither wood nor metal, but some strange material. Faded characters were carved across its surface, and at the center was an emblem resembling a face with closed eyes.
Noel’s expression hardened. “The hidden seal gate.”
Rhea raised her staff. “Can we force it closed?”
“Too late,” Noel said. “It’s already recognized us.”
The face emblem at the center of the door slowly opened its eyes. Its pupils were black. It looked at each of us in turn—Rhea, Siella, Aria, Edan, Noel—and finally me.
The door whispered.
— Behold what you desire most.
The air twisted. Aria grabbed my sleeve. “Lord Kyle!”
I tried to take her hand, but my fingertips never reached her. Space split apart. A sinking sensation washed over me. My vision inverted, the ground vanished beneath my feet. Rhea’s frost, Siella’s sword light, Aria’s divine arts, Edan’s shout, and Noel’s curse all faded at once.
And then I was alone.
When I opened my eyes, I stood in the Rose Garden. It was daytime. Red roses bloomed beautifully, and the angel statue at the center looked anything but ominous. In front of me stood several people—Rhea, Siella, and Aria. Yet none of them were looking at me. Their gazes were fixed on a single figure: a brown-haired young man. Edan Gray, the protagonist of the original story.
Rhea was reaching out to him. Siella pointed her sword at him even as she smiled. Aria stood quietly beside him, smiling. They all looked as though they belonged exactly where they were.
And I stood outside that scene. No one saw me.
Then a familiar voice spoke from behind.
— This is the place you stole.
I turned slowly. Another version of myself stood there—the original Kyle Diaren, wearing a mocking smile.
— Now give it back.