It was a cold winter night, and snowflakes continued to fall from the sky, covering the ground with a thick layer of white.
It was a color so pale it seemed to erase all other colors, pure and flawless yet strangely evoking a sense of hopelessness, as if no matter how hard one struggled, escape was impossible.
The biting cold wind blew relentlessly, stinging the face like sharp needles.
Despite the harsh weather, a small figure could still be seen trudging forward.
The boy moved slowly through the wind, his strength already exhausted.
His steps were mechanical, repeating over and over, perhaps nothing more than an instinctive motion, no longer guided by his will.
His clothes were thin, and the exposed skin was so cold it had turned a bluish-purple from the freezing temperatures.
His body trembled slightly, resembling a candle flickering with its last bit of light.
The boy began to wonder why he found himself in such a dire situation.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall.
The memories seemed to have been swallowed up by something, and all he knew was that by the time he realized what was happening, he was already in this state.
(Die?)
The word appeared in his mind without warning.
But... he didn't want to. He didn't want to die.
Was this meaningless death really his final destination?
"Roar."
The sudden roar snapped the boy out of his dazed state.
He forced himself to focus, his eyes widening.
What met his gaze was a snow-white wall.
A wall? How could there be such a thing in this place?
The boy quickly dismissed the absurd thought, lifting his head, only to see clearly what was before him... It was a massive white bear.
Its brown eyes were filled with emotionless rage, and indiscriminate destruction was its nature.
The boy's body trembled in fear, the fear of facing something he couldn't fight back against.
He could feel clearly that the giant beast in front of him could tear his body in half without any effort in just a second.
His legs wouldn't move, as if they were weighed down with lead.
All the boy could do was watch helplessly as the enormous bear paw swung toward him.
Blood splattered.
All the boy could see was red, but it wasn't his blood.
The giant bear let out a tragic roar, and its entire body turned to blackened charcoal, no doubt lifeless.
"Just as expected from the captain, to defeat a monster almost at B-rank level so easily."
The human voices reached the boy's ears, and time, which had seemed to come to a standstill, began to flow once again.
The boy stared blankly at the group in front of him, a group of fully armed soldiers, each exuding an aura of seasoned warriors.
Leading them was a young man with a well-defined appearance.
"Hey, captain, look, there's a kid."
"No way, here of all places?"
The young man at the front looked at the boy, took a few steps forward, then crouched down.
His gaze softened as he looked at the boy. "Kid, how did you end up here?"
"Mm... I don't know," the boy shook his head.
The young man furrowed his brows in confusion. "Then, where are your parents?"
"I don't know."
"How old are you?"
"I don't know," the boy's voice gradually lowered.
The young man scratched his black hair in frustration, then turned to exchange a few words with the others.
Afterward, he looked back at the boy.
"Hey, kid, since you don't have anywhere else to go, would you be willing to come with us to the city?"
"Mm, okay," the boy nodded somewhat blankly.
"Great, it's decided then." The young man stood up and extended his hand to the boy.
"By the way, what's your name? You haven't forgotten that, have you?"
"Ed... Ed Landris."
................
"Mm..." Slowly opening his tired eyes, Ed stared blankly at the scene before him.
A bright, full moon floated serenely in the deep sky, quietly radiating its light.
The scene held an indescribable beauty.
Ed was momentarily dazed before he realized he was lying on his back on the ground.
He tried to move his limbs but felt a wave of soreness throughout his body.
(That's right, after watching Epna and the foreign mage battle, I went to the woods to train by myself, and then... I must've exhausted myself and collapsed.)
The soreness in his limbs made Ed give up on the idea of getting up for the time being.
He lay back with his hands behind his head, quietly lost in thought.
"Are you awake?"
A soft, slightly hoarse voice reached Ed's ears.
He froze for a moment, then turned his head toward the source of the voice.
Sitting on the trunk of a nearby tree was a golden-haired boy, casually leaning against the tree, propping his chin up with one hand, and watching Ed with a playful look in his eyes.
"You are...?" Ed suddenly sat up, but the swift movement caused a sharp pain to shoot through his nervous system.
Immediately struck by the pain, Ed let out a cry of agony. "It hurts! It hurts!!"
"Pfft, hehe, you're really interesting." Seeing this, the golden-haired boy chuckled softly.
Without any visible movement, the next moment, the golden boy appeared beside Ed.
A hand glowing with white light was placed on Ed's body.
In an instant, Ed felt the pain in his body gradually dissipate, replaced by an incredibly warm sensation.
"What is this?" Ed blinked his eyes.
"This is my magic, holy light magic," Noel replied.
"Eh? There's such a magic? I thought all magic was like Epna's, the kind that shoots lightning," Ed said, surprised.
"That's a misunderstanding." Noel shook his head and patiently explained, "It seems like almost everyone in Anpefel City uses lightning-based magic, so you probably got that impression. But magic in this world comes in many forms. Just elemental magic alone includes not only lightning, but also fire, water, ice, and various other types of magic."
"Really?! This is the first time I've heard of such a thing." Ed muttered to himself, but then his expression quickly darkened as if he had remembered something.
"Well, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just a magic failure who studied for half a year and can't even make a tiny spark of electricity."
"No." Noel said seriously, "You are a genius, a true magical genius."
"What nonsense are you talking about again? I know my own abilities very well," Ed shook his head.
Noel smiled meaningfully, "Because... you've been learning the wrong kind of magic."
"Eh? What do you mean??"
Noel didn't answer directly.
Instead, he suddenly grabbed Ed's arm.
"What are you suddenly doing?" Ed said in surprise.
The arm Noel had grabbed turned into particles of golden light, slipping free from Noel's grasp, then returned to its original form.
Ed rubbed his arm and shot Noel an annoyed glare.
"As I thought," Noel murmured softly, staring at Ed without blinking.
"You are a Light Elemental body."
"Light Elemental body? What's that?"
"Well, to explain in detail, it's a bit complicated, but to put it simply, a Light Elemental body is a constitution blessed by the light attribute element. People with this constitution are natural talents for light magic. The speed at which they learn light magic is almost ten times that of an ordinary light mage. However, there's always a trade-off. Your talent for learning other types of magic is almost zero."
"So... that's why..."
Noel nodded, "The reason you can't learn lightning magic is exactly because of this. On the flip side, would you like to follow me and learn light magic, Ed?"
"I..." Ed's gaze gradually became determined.
"Yes, I'm willing. Please, teach me."
TL Note : This is the last chapter from the extra story, there are no more update from the author. Lastly, thank you all for your support and companionship!