"A long time ago, humanity divided into many nations. They often fight each other because of greed and lust for power. Someday, a great war broke out between the nations that bought humanity to the Brink of destruction."
"Fortunately, the war ended before the world took unrecoverable damage. When everyone think there will only be peace for sometimes, something teribble that will change the world forever happen."
"Cracks begin to form in the fabric of reality and from within monsters flood the world. This event called the Overflow. To battle this disaster, humanity unite."
"At first humanity manage to push the wave of monsters away using their weapons, but when more powerful monsters begin to emerge from within the cracks, their weapons begin to leaves no effect to them."
"When all hope seems lost, a miracle happen. One single man appeared, a man that learned how to use the new energy that came along with the cracks. "
"This energy called mana and using it, he perform a miracle called magic. He is the first mage of humanity. "
"He begin to teach other to use magic. With this new found power, humanity manage to push back the wave of monsters once again and the world is saved."
******
"And with that a new era begin, an era called the Era of Magic. The end."
As I finished the sentence, I slowly closed the storybook. It was an interesting tale, though I wasn't sure how much truth it actually held.
"I think that's enough story for today, my little angel. Now go to sleep, tomorrow is your big day."
I gently brushed my daughter's blonde hair as she lay beside me. Watching her sleepy eyes, I rose from the bed and tucked her small body under the blanket.
Before leaving, I placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Papa, do you think one day I could be like the hero in that story?"
Her question made me pause mid-step and turn to face her. It tangled my thoughts.
As a civil servant working closely with heroes, I knew all too well the risks that came with such a title.
"Of course you can, my little angel. When you grow up, I'm sure you'll become an incredible hero—one who will be there to help Papa and Mama whenever we're in trouble."
At my words, a smile spread across her face. Moments later, she shut her eyes and drifted straight to sleep.
I had always been amazed at how quickly she could fall asleep since she was a child. Perhaps she inherited that talent from her mother—because I, myself, had always struggled with it.
With that idle thought, I closed her bedroom door and stepped into the living room. Settling onto the sofa, my mind wandered back to the mountain of unfinished work.
With the recent surge of gate incidents, my tasks kept piling up without ever being resolved. Knowing the deadline was tomorrow, I could already imagine my superior scolding me mercilessly.
As I brooded, the sound of a door opening pulled me back. My wife had just emerged from her workspace.
Her slightly disheveled hair and tired expression made it clear—the heroes must have been giving her unreasonable demands again.
"Why do you look so worn out, dear? Did those heroes come up with strange requests again?"
With a weary sigh, she sat beside me and leaned her head against my shoulder.
"Haah… Why do they always make my job so difficult? Do they really know nothing about fabrics? Judging from their requests, I doubt they do. But at the very least, they should have some common sense, shouldn't they? Asking for costumes that are both flexible and bulletproof, while expecting them to be cheap—what do they think, that such material just falls from the sky?"
Hearing her complaint, I gently stroked the hair resting on my shoulder.
"Well, you know how fierce the competition is among heroes these days. To gain fame, they need to complete difficult missions. And to succeed in those missions, they need reliable gear. Meanwhile, many of the new heroes haven't earned a penny yet, so naturally they want to cut costs wherever they can," I explained, trying to soothe her frustration.
"I understand, Raph. But they need to realize that designers like me can't make the impossible happen. If only they would listen to my explanations, things wouldn't be this exhausting," she said, finally calming herself.
Then she looked up at me with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, Raph, for all my complaints. I know your work hasn't been easy either. With all the gate incidents lately, your field division must be swamped."
I smiled at her apology. "It's alright, Dasha. Remember, we promised to support each other. Whatever your worries, I'm always ready to listen—and to help however I can."
Her eyes softened, touched by my words. Looking at her, I was reminded once again of how lucky I was to have such a caring and beautiful wife. We continued talking about work and other random things.
Time slipped by, and before we knew it, half an hour had passed. Glancing at the clock and seeing it was nearly midnight, I knew I had to excuse myself and return to my duties.
"Dasha, I'm sorry, but it's almost midnight. I still have a lot of work to finish, so I'll have to get back to it."
"Go ahead, Raph. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for taking up your time. I'll head to bed now."
"Alright, I'll join you once I'm done," I said as we both rose from the sofa. We parted ways, and I returned to my unfinished work.
'Looks like another late night… huuh.'