Ashen woke up and found himself back in his room. He blinked a few times, confused.
"A dream…?" he murmured. Then, shaking his head, he corrected himself. "No, not exactly. It's more like… a dream but in the reality sense of it."
That seemed to make more sense.
He stood up and walked to his window. The sunlight was already bright and sharp. Morning.
"Crap! I'm going to be late for school!"
Even if he had been called to another world as some kind of chosen hero, reality here didn't stop. He still had school, assignments, and a father waiting in the living room.
Ashen rushed to the bathroom. It didn't take him long to wash up, his hair still damp when he came out, skin fresh and clean.
He opened his wardrobe, pulled out whatever clothes matched, and dressed quickly. Moments later, he was already walking toward the living room, bag slung over his shoulder and ready to leave.
The speed at which a man can get ready when he's in a rush, truly, it's something to behold.
"Ready for school?"
His father's deep voice came from the couch. He sat in his usual spot, legs crossed, newspaper open in hand, like he did every morning before heading off to work.
"Yes, Dad. Unless this is how people dress for fun now," Ashen replied, half-joking.
His father glanced up briefly, smirked, then said, "Good. Stay safe out there, okay?"
"Sure, Dad. I will."
It was the same short exchange they had every single morning. Same words. Same tone.
Ever since Ashen's mother had left them years ago, things hadn't been the same. She had disappeared without warning, and no one knew where she went.
His father had changed after that,quieter, colder, and always distant. A man of few words and a life that revolved around routine.
Ashen didn't want to dwell on it. He just waved, left home, and caught the next bus to school.
When he arrived, the campus was already buzzing with students. Groups of friends were chatting away, laughing, or talking about last night's games, shows, and plans.
Ashen, as usual, sat alone in a corner of the classroom. He wasn't the talkative type. The "quiet loner" label fit him perfectly.
"Holy crap, is this guy serious?!" someone shouted from the front of the class.
Ashen lifted his head.
A small group of students were huddled together, their eyes glued to a phone screen.
"No way. I bet you he's faking it," another student said.
"I get what you're saying, but look at that! No way this is special effects," the third one argued.
Their voices grew louder and louder until the entire class started noticing them.
Another student walked up to their group. "What are you all yelling about?" he asked, curious.
"It's this guy on Metube," the first boy said, eyes still on the screen. "He's using magic."
"Magic? What the hell are you talking about?" the newcomer scoffed, leaning closer to look.
Ashen's interest sparked immediately. Magic?
He pulled out his phone and opened Metube, searching for whatever video they were watching. At first, nothing stood out. Just random clickbait thumbnails and edited videos pretending to show spells or supernatural tricks.
He kept scrolling until one thumbnail caught his eye, a young guy, probably around his age, with the title:
REAL MAGIC – NOT SPECIAL EFFECTS!! Watch Till the End!
The video was barely an hour old, but it already had over a hundred thousand views and thousands of comments flooding in.
Ashen tapped on it.
On screen, the young man smiled confidently into the camera.
What I'm about to show you will blow your mind. Yeah, I know you'll probably think it's all special effects, but trust me… it's not.
Ashen skipped ahead a bit. The guy continued:
Guys, I'm about to start now. Watch me closely.
He stretched out his hand, showing his palm clearly to the camera.
Come, fire!
Instantly, flames appeared above his palm, real fire, alive and dancing. The light from it reflected on his face, yet his hand was untouched, unharmed.
You need to understand, he continued, I don't have to say 'fire' to make this happen. It's just to help you understand what I'm doing.
Ashen frowned. "Hmm…"
He wasn't sure whether to believe it or not. It looked real, but deepfakes and visual effects were everywhere these days.
Still, curiosity pushed him to scroll down. There was another video, also posted by the same guy, just a few minutes later.
The second video started with the same young man standing outside, this time in an open field with no one around. A wooden pole stood far away, serving as a target.
I figured showing flames in my hand wasn't enough proof.
The guy said to the camera.
So here I am outside, ready to convince you all once and for all.
He extended his arm forward, aiming at the pole
Here goes nothing.
He closed his eyes and focused. A faint shimmer appeared around his hand, then, suddenly, a fireball shot out from his palm. It soared through the air and smashed straight into the target pole, burning it completely to ashes.
See that, guys? Magic.
The entire class went silent for a moment before everyone started talking at once.
Ashen, on the other hand, jumped up from his seat. "What the heck is this idiot doing?!" he whispered, gripping his phone.
This wasn't special effects. It couldn't be.
He scrolled down to see the description. There was a message written by the uploader himself:
This isn't magic in the fantasy sense. What I used is something called a Skill, specifically, from my Skill Slot. The skill is called Fire Element.
Ashen froze. His eyes widened.
'Skill Slot? No way… this guy's one of us.'
He remembered it clearly, during the divine summoning, The God had explained everything. Each chosen one had been granted four Skill Slots. They could learn or create their own skills through these slots.
And this guy was openly talking about it.
The video continued:
During the summoning by that God-like being, each of us was given four Skill Slots. We were also allowed to awaken our own innate skill, depending on what potential we had.
Ashen groaned and dragged a hand over his face.
'No, no, no… he's saying way too much!'
The fool was basically exposing divine secrets to the entire internet.
Unfortunately,
The man continued,
I wasn't one of the lucky ones who awakened an innate skill. But in return, I got four open Skill Slots. I filled one with the knowledge of fire and now…
He raised his hand again, and fire appeared above it, glowing bright and hot.
Fire Element — a skill that lets me control anything related to fire.
Ashen shut off the video and sighed deeply.
"This idiot just told the whole world about the summoning."
He leaned back in his chair, unsure if he should be impressed, worried, or frustrated.