Many people live their lives thinking that they can achieve something great if they just try hard enough. The sad truth, though, is that most people will never reach greatness.
Everyone has dreams and goals, but many lack the necessary qualities. There are only a chosen few. What makes them different, though? Is it destiny? Fate? Do they just have something about them that makes them better?
Yes. They do.
They're the main characters of their own little story. Stories always exist, and they take so many different shapes and forms, but not everyone gets to be a main character. Not everyone gets to be important or special. Some people will fail, and they won't have the strength to get back up. Some people are just destined to be side characters in stories that others tell.
Does that mean those side characters aren't important?
No.
A story is only as good as its cast of characters. Not just the main characters for whom the plot bends, but the side cast who bring life and emotion to something that was lacking. And maybe, just maybe, if a side character does enough, if they gain the attention of an author, they can take over and become the main character of someone else's story.
Or maybe not.
"How's everything been treating you?" Farmer Jermy asked as he quietly flicked his wand out and used a water-based spell to lift a large square of hay up and move it into the barn.
"You ask that every time I come here," Heyhe grunted and used a spell of his own. "Row Sound Wave." From the tip of his wand, an aura of sound skipped out, dancing through the air. It went past the sheep and made them let out loud grunts and run into the barn. "I'm not as frail as you might think."
"I never said you were frail." Jermy snorted. He cracked his neck, feeling a pop, and he walked over to his brother, who rested lazily on the fence. They were in Fri village, near his little barn, where he kept all the livestock. With his brother's help, the two of them were rapidly getting all the animals to fall in line and go into the barn, where it would be closed up for winter, and various runes would be used to keep the animals safe. "You're my little brother. It's my job to worry about you." Jermy stated, and he lightly smacked Heyhe on the shoulder.
Heyhe stayed silent and stared out at the grassy field. The wooden fence creaked a bit under his weight as he leaned further on it, but it held firm. By now, all the animals were rounded up, leaving the field empty. Behind him was Fri itself, the village bustling with its people.
"I never like coming back here," Heyhe said, and he reached up to rub his crooked nose. It ached and throbbed, and he could recall dozens of strikes he received to the face over the year. "So many parents, always bitter at the fact that their children have no talent. It isn't my fault; they're useless."
It always happened.
Kids always had big dreams—desires to be an Arcane Knight, a world-famous doctor, or something else just as grand. When those kids grew up, they would become adults who failed. They would then have children of their own and fill their heads with thoughts of grandeur and other worthless ideals. The cycle would repeat, again and again and again. It was part of his job to make sure the cycle wasn't broken.
He had been one of those idiotic kids. Growing up, he wanted to be an Arcane Knight, and naturally, he failed. He failed so severely that he completely gave up and instead moved into the field of teaching, hoping to inspire the next generation of kids to do better.
It took less than a year for his nose to become totally crooked and deformed. Parents always seemed to get enraged at him when he wasn't able to make their kids the perfect mages that would ace the Knight exams.
A new cycle started for him after that. Again and again and again, he would be beaten by those who failed just as he failed. That was why he gave up completely. There was no reason to teach anymore. He simply showed up for the paycheck and kept his part of the tower in Lotus clean, putting kids through the exact simulation over and over again, through the endless cycle, knowing that none of them would ever truly become Arcane Knights. Even if he did his best and taught them everything he knew, they'd still fail, and so there was no point in trying.
Right?
Farmer Jermy shook his head and used another water-based spell to clean his hands. "Come on, that's just you wanting to be spiteful and full of self-hate. You went into the damn field; do it with pride."
A rare smile crossed onto Heyhe's face, but it quickly faded. His eyes were somber. "Most of the students I get are from Lotus. There are many who give it their all, but I can tell that none of them will pass. We're all born as commoners. The towers we use aren't meant to produce Arcane Knights. They're made to make good little workers for other fields. Fields that the nobles and the king can exploit and use. What enrages me above all else, though, is seeing the people from this place." Heyhe practically spat, and a glare formed on. "The idiots of Lotus stand no chance at becoming Knights, even if I taught them for a million years, so why in Haru's name would anyone from Fri think they're even worthy to try?"
Farmer Jermy turned around and leaned on the fence with his back. He stared back at Fri village and frowned. "Let me guess. Rosco's brats and that Ash kid?"
"Yep." Heyhe nodded. "And Haru, do they fight constantly?" He shook his head. "It's ridiculous. Ash's little friends are in the class too."
"Nev and Trent?"
"Yeah. Them. They at least know they can't become Knights, though. They're just there to goof off. That Olivia girl, though." Heyhe grabbed the side of his head and winced. "I get a headache every time I see her. Constantly trying, again and again, putting herself in a cycle of failure. I just want to grab her and shake her and scream at her until she sees how utterly stupid she is for trying. Blood magic is useless. The only mages who are able to get it to work are the filthy mutants or the ones who make deals with demons. Everything a Knight shouldn't be. Doesn't she see she is wasting her life?"
"That Olivia is a special kind of stupid." Farmer Jermy let out a loud laugh. "Honestly, it makes me wonder what drives her. I've never seen anything like it before."
"Whatever it is, she should just stop. She stands no chance of passing."
"I agree." Jermy nodded. "She should just give up—"
"Never!" Jermy and Heyhe both froze when they heard the familiar voice. Jermy turned around just in time to see something standing in the center of his barn. One of his horses had gotten loose, and on its back was the last person he wanted to see. Olivia had a large grin on her face, and her arms were wrapped tightly around the horse's neck. "I'm gonna go on an adventure!" She declared.
"Stop!" Jermy cried out to the seventeen-year-old, but she didn't listen.
"See you later, suckers!" Olivia jammed both her legs into the horse's side, causing it to let out a loud cry, and then it took off sprinting at full speed. Farmer Jermy and Heyhe both looked panicked, and the two men barely jumped out of the way as her horse leapt over the fence and bounded through the field, getting away. She heard them yelling and screaming at her, but she was already far enough away that their voices were impossible to make out. "Freedom!"
Farmer Jermy wasn't the most famous person, but he held a bit of popularity due to his dedication to breeding animals. Specifically, racehorses. The horse she had stolen was one such beast.
Far faster than normal horses, the steed she was on had been bred and raised for moving at insane speeds, with water infused with mana being fed to it. Horses like these were often used by Arcane Knights as well, as they could use a bit of magic in order to boost their speed significantly. Of course, this one wasn't on the same level as an Arcane Knight's warhorse, but it was similar, being made for racetracks and enhanced.
It was actually moving so fast that she had to keep her arms wrapped tightly around it and her legs pressed into its side so it wouldn't accidentally send her flying off. She had never ridden a horse before, and this one had no saddle, so she kept bouncing up and down as its body sped up and got faster.
Eventually, Fri Village was left behind, and the horse made its way through the woods. Olivia winced and gasped, and branches sliced into her. The horse didn't stop and kept going, and she hugged it tighter, wincing.
She had a plan, though it wasn't really a good one in all honesty. She was tired of Lotus having a terrible school, so she decided to just go to a different tower. Near Lotus was Violet Village, and past that village lay Lillian City, which had its own tower.
If she made it to Lillian, she could try it out and see how much better it was. Hopefully, she'd be able to take some other tests or learn more about mana and its use. She had tried looking up a lot of videos on different subjects, but she worked better when she had an actual teacher who could help guide her, so the videos only served to give her a slight idea of what she was missing since her teacher was a lazy ass.
"Okay, Dash," Olivia said, already naming her new horse. "When we get to Lillian, I'll find a place to park you, visit the tower, and then we'll head back to Fri before the sun lowers! This is a foolproof plan!"
It wasn't a foolproof plan…
The woods cleared, and the horse stepped out. It finally began to slow down, which allowed Olivia to push herself up a bit. There were no more branches, so she wasn't in any danger of losing an eye.
Dash, the third ruler of the eight realms (she gave the horse a longer name), trotted down the path. It was a simple one forged of dirt. To the north was Lotus, but to the south was Violet, which was reasonably close. So close, in fact, she could already see it. Thick black smoke began to lift up into the air.
"What the hell?"
Violet Village was on fire!
Flames clung to the sides of the buildings, growing taller and thicker as they consumed the wood. Olivia felt a pit of fear open up in her gut, and her body shook. Dash stopped walking toward the flames, and the horse looked like it was ready to turn around and bolt again.
A dungeon or something must have opened up near the village, and monsters spilled out. Monsters that were currently attacking the village. She didn't even need to pull her phone out to know it was a useless brick. The dungeon was open, and that meant nothing tech-based would work.
She needed to get out of here and run. She could get help or something.
Yet, she didn't.
Because this was her chance, wasn't it? A village before her was under attack, and this was the moment she could actually do something. If she ran now, she'd just be a side character in someone else's novel, but if she stayed and fought, she'd be able to do something, no matter how small it was. But what could she do? She'd die, right? She wasn't strong. Her magic type sucked, and she knew nothing.
She still wanted to do something, though. Especially as she heard the screams that were coming from up ahead, she needed to do something. Anything. And so, like the hero of the novels she read, Olivia pressed her legs tightly into the horse's side, causing Dash to forgo his instincts and charge into the danger. Even with an untrained rider, the horse was programmed to listen.
It charged forward, and in no time at all, she reached the town's walls. Violet might have once been a noble-looking place, with many stone buildings scattered about and a town square with a church right outside, dedicated to the Almighty and Haru. Everything was burnt now, with blistering stone and an ashy ground. Thankfully, she didn't see any corpses, but what she did spot was almost just as bad.
They stood before the mighty church, which was on fire and slowly burning away. Their bodies were the color of ash, and orange cracks ran along their flesh. They looked like twisted wolves, and jagged bones jutted out of their flesh. Fire was dripping down their maw, and the air around them crackled and heated up.
Olivia felt her body shake, and this time she wasn't able to control Dash. One of the creatures took a step forward, and Dash let out a loud cry and recoiled back. Her grip broke, and she was flung off his back. She hit the wall of a building headfirst, and it was enough impact to make her see stars.
Dash was gone, leaving her behind, and as the world faded in and out, and she lay there in a pile of soot, she looked up just in time to see one of the monsters jumping towards her. Its mouth was wide open, and it glared at her in hatred, fire erupting from its body.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as it came at her, and Olivia knew it was over. She wasn't the hero. She wasn't the main character. She wasn't even an important side character. She was a nobody. Her fate was to be dog food.
However, the cycle had to continue.
There was a wave of silver, and a beam rammed into the top of the monster's head, blowing it to bits. Chunks flew everywhere, and Olivia's eyes went wide. Someone had saved her.
Someone who now stood in front of her.
"Sorry, but I won't allow any of you to hurt this girl." It was a woman. One with long silver hair and eyes that were like a pair of moons. She was dressed in a short white gown, with various black ribbons tied around her body, and she had a large, folded hat upon her head. In her hand, she clutched a staff, one made from what looked like glass. "The story needs to go on after all." And with a giggle, the woman pointed her weapon forward, unleashing several more waves of mana that tore through the many monsters.
That was the day Olivia Lot met Evelyn Lunar. The day she was sure, she met the main character of an adventure novel.