"Oh how time flies…." A voice echoed throughout a dark empty space. "That time in the park?"
"It was a year ago." The voice said, "...And everything has gone smooth ever since."
"But," The voice vibrates across the empty room "it seems a bit too smooth…"
John's eyes open, "That world, again…" He muttered, "Whenever I go to sleep, I always end up in a void where only my thoughts can be heard."
John stretches, then walks to the bathroom. "But my thoughts…" John mumbled, "Normally, they are things that I wouldn't say."
"Because they could be words that I don't want other people to know," John said to himself, stepping into the shower. "Or words that could cause my downfall."
"But I shouldn't worry about that," John's words lingered in the air, as he stepped out of the shower. "After all, that's quite unlikely."
"I won't be discovered, right?" John looked towards the mirror, gazing at his own reflection. "...Right?"
"Ah…" John sighed, wiping himself with his towel. "I got lost in my thoughts again." John said to himself, "I shouldn't worry about that though."
"What I should be worried about is school." John said, as he put on black slacks, a white T-shirt as his undershirt, and a white polo with the school's crest etched onto it. "I got a quiz today, and I haven't studied."
"I think I'll be fine though, I'll study when I'm at school." John said, walking out of the bathroom, heading towards the table in the living room. "After all, home is not a place to study."
John eats his breakfast, while his sister walks out of her room, her hair entangled with each other and messed up and her eyes with dark bags under them. "Huh?" John remarked. "Did sis pull an all-nighter?"
"Well, I guess she's got a quiz today too." John pondered, as his sister sat on a chair at the dining table "She's been focused on her grades ever since I've discovered my potential for magic."
The two sit in front of each other, both having their uniforms on, focusing on eating the food their mother had prepared for them. Lianne takes a glimpse of John, "Oh how he's changed in the span of 1 year."
"I've been working hard on my academics recently…" Lianne ponders, "So he wouldn't end up like him." She takes hee eyes off John, as she takes bites off her food.
"I've seen the truth," Lianne mumbled to herself, "I've seen countless innocent lives that had randomly disappeared." She takes one last scoop with her spoon and eats all of the food on her plate. "It seems like my father was one of those people."
"And here I am, focusing on my grades," Lianne thought, getting up from the chair. "Because I firmly believe that education can expose the truth."
"I'll be going early," Lianne said, waving to John and his mother, her face devoid of expression. "See you guys later."
"Bye, sis." John said, waving back to his sister's figure which was already facing away from him, "Take care, honey" His mother said with a slight smile.
After John finished his breakfast, he walked towards the school with his mom, however, while walking, he noticed two men in an alleyway, their outfits are a black hat, sunglasses and a black trenchcoat.
A puddle from the alleyway gets stepped on, as the men in the black trench coats walk towards another part of the city. One of them speaks into their collar. "Agent 9 here, we found the same mana signature as the one from a year ago."
From the receiving end, there came a response. "Good, now investigate where it came from and find the person. I want genuine results, so if you dare mess up this task, get ready to lose your head."
"Noted, sir." The enigmatic man said, putting on his shades, traversing up towards the top of the building, where he sees the academy.
The mysterious person took his index and middle finger and put it on his forehead, as a blue mist turned into a thin wave that spread across the institute.
John sits on a chair near the window inside his classroom, his teacher discussing, while he studies the material that will show up on the quiz. His seatmate, a girl with dazzling white hair, her eyes being a cold, light blue, and skin that's white as snow, gazes towards his focused state.
"Hey, aren't you gonna listen?" The girl said, her tone sharp. "Hey…"
The girl nudges John by poking him on the arm, yet her efforts were useless. John remained engrossed in his studies, not minding the distractions around him.
"Hey, if you're not gonna listen, don't blame me for getting called on." The girl said, shifting her eyes towards the teacher, yet she took small peeks at John.
"John, tell me, what is the powerhouse of a cell?" The teacher asked, pointing towards John.
His female seatmate starts to chuckle slightly, "I know he's not gonna answer this." She said under her breath, forming a small, cheeky grin on her face.
He stands up, finally taking his eyes off of the book and clears his throat. "As far as I can remember…" John mumbled, "I heard it while you were discussing earlier, but I didn't pay attention."
"Is it the mitochondria?" John replied, his figure starting to shake, yet he tries his best to remain composed. "Are you sure?" The teacher asked, with a hint of provocation hidden in his tone.
"Yeah, I'm sure." John said, his voice unwavering, looking towards the teacher's surprised eyes.
"T-That's correct." The teacher replied, his eyes widening. "You may take your seat."
"W-What?" His seatmate whispered under her breath, her eyes widening in bewilderment. "How could he even answer that when even I didn't realize the teacher discussed it."
"This is madness." The girl mumbled, as she set her gaze once again towards the teacher, listening intently.
John sat down, getting ready to study again, however, as he flipped his book to the next page, he recieved a tap on his shoulder. "Hey."
"Hey, can you hear me?" His seatmate said. "Yeah, I can." John replied, looking towards the right, noticing the girl sitting besides him. "What's your name?" She said, her eyes sharp, her tone uninviting.
John starts to sweat bullets, as he looks at the girl's unhappy gaze. "I-I'm John. John Ravencroft." John said, a hint of unease reeked on his voice.
"John Ravencroft…" The girl said, "I see."
"My name is Vivianne. Vivianne Fraust." The girl said, extending her hand, as her expression softened. John shook her hand in return, smiling. "Glad to meet you, Vivianne." John said, his warm expression unsettling her slightly.
A few hours pass, with John taking the quiz and submitting his paper first. "Huh?" John muttered, "It was that easy…"
Vivianne looked towards John's seat, "Done already?" She mumbled, "I need to do better, and I need to score the highest."
"My parents won't allow me to fall short in my studies." The girl continued her inner monologue, speeding through the questions as fast as she could. "I need to beat this guy and everyone in the room."
"It's for my parents and for my family." Vivianne said under her breath, reaching the last question. "Despite getting the short end of the stick, we, the Fraust family, have our influence stretched from Germany to the United States."
"Okay, this shouldn't be that hard to solve." Vivianne said, finishing the quiz and handing it to the teacher.
About 30 minutes passed, as the results were announced, "Oh?" The teacher said, adjusting her glasses. "It seems that someone got a perfect score despite this hard quiz."
"Everyone, congratulate Mr. Ravencroft for achieving a perfect score." The teacher said, as the class erupted in amazement.
"Teacher, are there any other people who got a perfect score?" A student raised his hand, asking.
"Well, we got someone close, that being Ms. Fraust. Everyone, give her a round of applause, as she made 1 mistake." The teacher said.
The class gave the two many praise and their applause, however, Vivianne seemed to be dejected. "I…"
"I lost…" She said under her breath, her hands hiding her face, as she looked towards her desk. "H-how…"
"And he barely even studied." Vivianne mumbled, her eyes watering, "What will my parents say?"
"Hey…"John said, looking towards the sulking girl. "Are you okay, Vivianne?"
"Huh?" She whispered to herself, as she looked to her side, noticing John's concerned eyes. "Ah…"
"I'm alright." Vivianne said, a cold, unwelcoming tone lingering in the air.
"A-are you sure?" John stammered, "You don't look good."
"Ah, don't bother, it doesn't have anything to do with you." Vivianne responded, "Though I appreciate that you're trying to console me."
"...Ah" John exhaled, "Are you sure you're fine?" John said, "It's hard to deal with your problems if you have nobody to share it with."
"...Well" Vivianne said, "Maybe another time." She started to pack up her books, leaving the classroom. "I…" Vivianne whispered into her lonely air, "I've been dealing with the pressure by myself."
"My family is actually well-known for their powerful ice mages," Vivianne said to herself, walking away from the classroom door. "In fact, I can also use magic similar to that of my relatives."
"Though, the branch family here is not well known," Vivianne muttered, walking down the stairs of the campus, "That's why I've been trying to study hard," Her voice echoed through her mind, "To get recognized by the main families."
"And as my parent's only offspring," Vivianne's voice heard inside her head, approaching the school gates. "I'm the one who will bring glory to the branch I'm in." With dignity, Vivianne walked home, getting past the school gates. She enters her house, with nobody to welcome her.
"I guess I'll study for today." Vivianne sighed, "Though I wonder…"
"How did that boy outscore me..?" She drops her bag in her room and quickly takes out all her books to study.
"I studied the quiz material overnight, while he did it in the middle of class." Vivianne thought, "Could it be that he studied the night before?"
"Yeah, that's probably the answer, but judging by his behavior earlier, why would he need to study for something he already did." Vivianne mumbled in her mind, grabbing a book and reading the material that will be discussed tomorrow.
"No matter what, I need to become better than him." She sighed, closing her eyes, then taking a deep breath. "I…"
"I need to become the top to get my family recognized." Vivianne said, her eyes open with determination.
Deep in the facilities of the Magic Association, a room where nothing can be heard from outside is used by 5 people, some faces not recognized because of the shade that covers their faces with their hats.
"We've found our target, however, much observation is needed." One of the people in that room said, their identity concealed by the lighting.
"Is it the person who snuck in the lab?" Another person asked, their face revealing itself to be Earl Powell, without his shades, revealing his cold, desolate red eyes.
"Affirmative." The enigmatic person replied.
"How certain are you that they have the same mana signature?" Another person in the room asked, their identity being Charles Radtime, whose arms were placed on the desk, hands near his chin, his eyes serious, the opposite of what he shows outside of interviews.
"We've only found a small confirmation by the magic investigatory department, which is why further investigations regarding the person are required." The shady person replied, crossing his arms.
"So, how long will it be before you truly confirm it?" Another person in the room asked, the light dawning on their face, revealing it to be Presine Aucorium.
"Unfortunately, due to some unforeseen circumstances, we will experience some delay in matching the mana records," The mysterious person said, "However, we are expected to complete the investigation in 2 years."
"2 years?" Presine scoffs, raising an eyebrow, "Isn't that too much time?"
"Ma'am, it's difficult to find the exact mana signature that is requested of us because of such little evidence." The mysterious person replied, "However, we will run a background check on the possible suspects starting from today, as we weren't given access to that information and it is only now that we have their basic details."
"Alright." Presine said, "I understand, but be sure to have it done by 2 years, or else, you already know the consequences."
The powerful mages show their strength by making the air thicker, however, it does not bother the mysterious person. "Understood." The shady man said, their posture unchanged.