Author Note: You can go straight to chapter 1 if you want to skip this helper chapter, you will still understand later.
Part 1: The World Order
The Venotetra Empire
Founded upon the ruins of the Archaic War, the Venotetra Empire is an absolute monarchy that places the highest value on an individual's talent and contribution to the state. The empire is led by Emperor Ren Venotetra, whose lineage is said to descend from the Great Hero who unified the continent. Fundamentally, Venotetran society is rigidly structured around bestowed "Roles" and a hierarchy of nobility. The empire's stability hinges on the balance of power between the high noble families (Dukes), the mid-tier nobility (Counts, Marquises, Barons), and the imperial military and magical forces.
Noble Hierarchy:
Emperor: The absolute ruler.
Duke: The highest rank beneath the Emperor, ruling over vast territories and often possessing bloodlines with exceptional magical or physical talents. The Vallen and Hevora families are examples.
Count: Mid-level nobles who govern smaller cities or regions, often acting as loyal vassals to the Dukes or the Emperor. The Efasa and Hanuel families fall into this category.
Others (Marquis, Baron, Viscount): Wielding smaller domains and power, forming the backbone of the aristocracy.
Commoner: The majority of the population, their status determined by their skills. A commoner with extraordinary talent, like Headmaster Nerro of the Academy, can achieve a highly respected position.
Magic and Role System
The core of Venotetra's power lies in its magic system, which draws from an ambient energy called Aether. One's ability to sense and manipulate Aether determines their magical potential. This system is officially categorized into the Four Pillars of Power:
Mage: Individuals who directly manipulate Aether to create magical phenomena. They use wands, staves, or magic circles as a focus. A Mage's power is measured by their mana capacity (Mp) and the complexity of the spells they can weave.
Fighter: Warriors who channel Aether into their bodies to supernaturally enhance their physical strength, speed, and endurance. Sword users like Verina belong to this category, often combining physical reinforcement with elemental magic.
Archer: Ranged specialists who infuse Aether into their projectiles. Their arrows can carry elemental effects, explosions, or magic-piercing properties. Zaken is a talented example of this class.
Support: A vital role focusing on healing magic, enhancements (buffs), debilitations (debuffs), and protective magic. They are the backbone of any party in combat.
Education System
The Empire separates education based on its purpose:
Academies: Institutions dedicated to training the Four Pillars of Power. The Avero Magic Academy is the most prestigious in the empire, where the finest young talents from across the land gather to hone their combat and magical skills.
Institutions: Centers of learning for non-combat disciplines such as chemistry, history, strategy, economics, and the arts. Though less glamorous, graduates of Institutions hold crucial roles in running the empire's bureaucracy and technological advancement.
Part 2: Character Dossiers
Arian Von Vallen / Kayze
Public Identity: Arian Von Vallen
Affiliation: Vallen Ducal Family, First-Year Student at Avero Magic Academy.
Appearance: Golden-blond hair, sky-blue eyes. A tall build, yet often slouches slightly to appear unimpressive. Always wears his academy uniform in a slightly disheveled manner.
Psychological Profile (Persona): Arian is a mask created to escape the pressure of the 'Vallen' name. The Vallen family is known for producing geniuses in various fields, creating suffocating expectations. Arian deliberately acts clumsy, lazy, and utterly untalented in practical magic. His grades are always on the verge of passing. Behind his awkward smile lies a sharp, analytical mind that constantly assesses his surroundings. The comedy in his life arises from his over-the-top efforts to appear incompetent, which often ironically helps him.
Abilities (Apparent): Officially, his abilities are considered "below average." He frequently fails at casting the most basic spells, causing small, harmless explosions or incorrect effects.
Secret Identity: Kayze
Affiliation: Founder and Leader of the KeyFreedom Organization.
Appearance: Jet-black hair, sharp black eyes. Always wears a visor mask that covers the upper half of his face, leaving only a faint smile or a firm lip line visible. A custom-tailored black coat, neatly and elegantly cut, conceals his true build but exudes an aura of authority.
Psychological Profile (True Self): Kayze is the manifestation of Arian's true potential and his desire for freedom—freedom from expectations, from destiny, and from a rigid system. He is cold, calculating, and ruthlessly efficient. However, beneath that surface lies a desire to protect those oppressed by the same system he despises. He is not evil, but pragmatic to the point of cruelty.
Abilities (Actual): His core power is an exceptionally rare conceptual ability, which could be called Eidetic Mimicry EIDETIC MIMICRY
Perfect Imitation: He can perfectly mimic anything he observes in detail, from fighting styles and handwriting to complex magical patterns.
Conceptual Theft: A more advanced form of his power. By meeting certain conditions (physical contact, defeating a target, deep analysis), he can permanently "steal" or copy a portion of an opponent's talent or magical power. This is his greatest secret.
Verina Von Hevora
Affiliation: Hevora Ducal Family, First-Year Student at Avero Academy, Member of KeyFreedom.
Appearance: Long, perfectly straight, dark purple hair; sharp amethyst eyes. Her face is beautiful but expressionless, making her seem cold and unapproachable. She has a tall, always-erect posture that radiates a noble's grace.
Psychological Profile: Verina is a true genius, but she sees the emptiness in pursuing power for the sake of status. She is the first to notice Arian's "mask," not due to any mistake by Arian, but because her sharp intuition senses the dissonance between his soul and his actions. She joins KeyFreedom not out of blind loyalty, but because her vision aligns with Kayze's: to create a world where a person's worth is not determined by their family name. At the academy, her indifferent attitude towards Arian is a perfect act, a game they both secretly enjoy.
Abilities: A lightning-sword user. Her purple-hued lightning magic is a signature of the Hevora family. She combines high-precision swordsmanship with destructive lightning magic, making her the most dominant fighter of her generation.
Zaken De Efasa
Affiliation: Efasa County Family, First-Year Student at Avero Academy.
Appearance: Bright, slightly messy orange hair; vibrant orange eyes filled with spirit. His smile is wide and sincere.
Psychological Profile: Zaken is the embodiment of the ideal knight: honest, friendly, and fiercely loyal. He befriends Arian because he doesn't care about the Vallen family's reputation and sees Arian as an individual who, though odd, is genuine. He is Arian's true best friend at the academy, serving as his moral and social anchor. His curiosity about why Arian is so "untalented" is more amused than suspicious. The greatest potential conflict lies in how he would react if the truth about Arian and Kayze were revealed.
Abilities: A hybrid Archer and Mage. He is exceptionally talented in archery, capable of firing three magical arrows at once with perfect accuracy. He can also use mid-tier fire magic.
Reyna Ven Venotetra
Affiliation: Venotetra Imperial Family, First-Year Student at Avero Academy.
Appearance: Long, wavy black hair; gentle purple eyes that are often downcast. She is of standard height, tending to be petite compared to her peers.
Psychological Profile: Growing up in the shadow of her mighty father, Reyna is plagued by social anxiety and a sense of inadequacy. Her timid nature is a defense mechanism. She is drawn to Arian because he is the only high-ranking noble who doesn't approach her with political motives or try to impress her. Arian's "incompetence" makes her feel comfortable and equal. Their interactions are often awkward yet sincere, serving as a source of light comedy.
Abilities: A wand user with immense potential in water and light elemental magic, though her potential is hampered by her lack of self-confidence.
Ceron De Hanuel
Affiliation: Hanuel County Family, First-Year Student at Avero Academy.
Appearance: Dull green hair, tired-looking orange eyes. He has a short build and his shoulders are often slumped.
Psychological Profile: Ceron is the representation of "average" in a society obsessed with the "extraordinary." He isn't bad, but he doesn't stand out either. This makes him feel invisible and lonely. When Arian (as part of his act) helps him in a trivial incident that meant nothing to others, it's the first time someone "important" has paid him any attention. Ceron's loyalty to Arian becomes absolute. He is Arian's eyes and ears among the common students.
Abilities: Basic-tier earth elemental magic. Possesses no prominent special talents.
Nerro
Affiliation: Headmaster of Avero Magic Academy.
Appearance: Bright green hair tied in a ponytail, brilliant green eyes full of life. His age is difficult to guess; he could be 25 or 40. His clothing is practical yet stylish.
Psychological Profile: Nerro is an anomaly—a commoner who rose to become a Name 3 Mage and lead the most elite academy in the empire. He is cheerful, extroverted, and extremely observant. He treats all students equally but takes a special interest in Arian. He doesn't believe a Vallen could be genuinely incompetent; to him, it's a fascinating puzzle. He often "tests" Arian indirectly in amusing ways, wanting to see a crack in his facade. He is a potential mentor as well as an unpredictable threat.
Abilities: As a Name 3 Mage, his magical expertise is at a national level. He is a master of multiple elements and spatial magic.
Part 3: Additional Characters
Lianne val Kyros
Affiliation: Kyros Marquis Family. First-Year Student at Avero Academy.
Appearance: A silver bob cut, ice-blue eyes. Always wears her uniform perfectly and carries an air of arrogance.
Profile: A rival to Verina and a bully to Arian. The Kyros family is a political rival of the Hevora family, and Lianne is obsessed with surpassing Verina. She looks down on Arian as a disgrace to the nobility and often tries to publicly humiliate him. Her attempts often backfire in comical ways due to Arian's "dumb luck," which frustrates her even more. She is a very powerful ice magic user.
Professor Kaelen
Affiliation: Professor of Magic Theory at Avero Academy.
Appearance: An old man with thin white hair, reading glasses on the tip of his nose, and a back stooped from too much reading.
Profile: A lifelong academic who has taught three generations of the Vallen family. He views magic as an exact science. Arian's incredibly low performance data contradicts all historical and statistical precedents. He is deeply suspicious and dedicates his spare time to observing Arian, noting every "anomaly" and "coincidence" surrounding him. He is an intellectual threat who could uncover Arian's secret through logic and deduction, not power.
Elara
Affiliation: Informant in the Capital's Lower District, a Contact for KeyFreedom.
Appearance: Short, messy brown hair; sharp, ever-watchful eyes. Wears practical leather clothing.
Profile: A magic-less commoner who survives on her wits and her network. She is Kayze's primary contact for underworld information, political rumors, and black-market goods. She is cynical, pragmatic, and fiercely loyal to money, but she holds a grudging respect for Kayze's efficiency and vision. She provides a brutal, real-world perspective that contrasts with the glamorous life of the academy.
Part 4: Key Locations
Avero Magic Academy
Located on a floating island tethered to the mainland by a magical rainbow bridge, Avero is a marvel of magical architecture. Its campus is vast, with towering ivory spires, gardens filled with magical flora, and training arenas that can simulate various environments. Every main building is infused with concentrated Aether, enhancing the students' ability to learn magic. However, beneath its beauty, the academy is a fierce social battlefield where reputation and talent determine everything.
KeyFreedom Organization
An underground organization whose existence is known only to a select few. Its primary goal is to dismantle the rigid social system of the Venotetra Empire, which judges individuals based on their bloodline rather than their true worth. They work from the shadows, using information as their main weapon and targeted interventions to change society from within. Their symbol, a key merged with wings, is never displayed publicly. Their operations are highly secretive, and its members, even at the highest levels, often do not know each other's real identities beyond their codenames.
Author: You can go straight to chapter 1 if you want to skip this helper chapter, you will still understand later.