Hours before reaching Moon City, Harvey broke the silence of the road with his usual harshness.
— "You know, Arin? You're weak."
He walked ahead of me, raising an eyebrow as if declaring a self-evident fact. "You lack the basics. You can't perform even the simplest movements, your magic is crude… Don't worry, I'll set up a training regimen once we arrive. You'll hate your life by then."
I didn't answer. He wasn't wrong.
The road gave us no time for further words. From between the trees, they appeared: bandits, faces filthy, eyes hungry.
One of them barked hoarsely: "Hand over everything and leave your lives!"
I glanced at Harvey — only to see a strange smile curve across his lips. Not half a second passed before the air trembled under their feet. Space folded like the turning of a page, and a chasm that hadn't existed a heartbeat ago opened wide — swallowing two of them whole. They vanished. Only one remained, bound and writhing helplessly.
I couldn't comprehend the sight. It was the first time I'd seen death this raw, without warning, without question.
Harvey approached with calm steps, then drew a small dagger and tossed it to me. I caught it without thought, my hand moving on instinct, my eyes fixed on him in shock.
— "Go on… kill him. Don't be afraid. He's bound. Think of it as your first practical lesson."
The ground vanished beneath me. Me… kill him?
Harvey's gaze was stern, but beneath it lingered a thin thread of disappointment — as if saying: perhaps you don't deserve to be my disciple.
I hesitated for moments, then moved. Gripping the blade by its handle, I approached with a trembling hand. The man cried out: "Please! I won't steal again, spare me!" His stammered pleas pierced my ears like needles. Then I slit his throat.
His body collapsed. Blood splattered my hands. The dagger slipped from my grip as I stood frozen, detached, watching myself from afar. My mind was an empty field.
Harvey shook his head wordlessly and walked away in silence, as if knowing the battle inside me was deeper than any advice could touch. He left me to drown in my thoughts.
---
An Inner Voice
I stared at my bloodstained hands in indescribable confusion. I had killed a man.
My mind became a battlefield. One part of me whispered: "He deserved it; he tried to rob and kill you. These are the laws of survival here." The other screamed: "No! He didn't deserve death. You had no right to take a life so easily."
At once I recognized the alien voice that wasn't wholly mine — Min-Su's. His thirty years of experience clashed with my twelve. His weight of reason distorted my own clarity. I no longer owned my choices alone.
Fifteen minutes later, my breath began to steady, but an emptiness gnawed inside me that nothing could erase.
I turned, ignoring the corpse behind me, and saw Harvey sitting casually, turning a square box in his hands.
I asked in a faint, pale voice: "What's that box?"
He smirked with mock pride: "My invention — Harvey's Spatial Messenger Box. You write with mana, and the message reaches whoever you want, even hundreds of kilometers away."
I muttered: "So… a phone, but only for mages."
— "Phone?" He tilted his head with amused sarcasm. "I like the name. From now on, it shall be called Harvey's Phone." He looked oddly proud of himself.
I didn't bother arguing over his toy. His next words weighed far heavier.
— "Your shock earlier proves why starting with a kill was necessary. You'll need more trials before your body adapts. If you can't kill an opponent without hesitation, all your skills are worthless."
Cold, blunt logic. I couldn't deny it, even as my insides still revolted.
I nodded silently. He smiled faintly and added: "Let's move on. Who knows… maybe we'll meet another bandit gang. If not… I'll teach you how to kill an animal first."
I shivered. The thought alone unsettled my stomach.
And yet, I followed him step by step, into a world turning itself into a merciless lesson in survival.