In a world where all kinds of humans and beastkin exist, I exist too: a mage ranked 24th in the world.
"Wow, it's so beautiful here in the forest," I say to myself.
I walk through a dense forest, and the sun shines onto my red hair, making it glow like fire. The wind rustles the leaves, birds are chirping, and I can hear the footsteps of the monsters that live here. In front of me rises a giant mountain. I jump upward, climbing it piece by piece. When I finally reach the top, I can already see the capital and the forest stretching out before me. It's so vast it's almost unbelievable. The forest spans about 100 km², and I only have 10 km left to go. I take a deep breath of the fresh mountain air, then slowly head down. A monster walks past me, and I pause for a moment before continuing down the mountain.
"What was that?" I say, then keep walking.
I reach the foot of the mountain and continue along the forest path. The rustling of the leaves grows louder, almost as if the wind is trying to warn me of something, but I ignore it and keep going. The air is warm and pleasant. After a few minutes, I reach a hill and walk up. At the top, I can see the capital Lagoon. I walk forward until I stand at the edge of the hill. I pause for a moment, then slide down the hill. At the bottom, I approach the gate, where people are being checked and required to show identification.
"The good thing is, no one knows my power," I think as I join the line.
"Papers, please," says the guard to the person in front of me, holding out his hand.
The man hands over the documents required. I look into my bag and realize I don't even have papers—I'll need to get some first. I'm up next and slowly step forward.
"Papers, please," the guard says to me.
"Uh… I need some. I grew up in a small village," I say, shrugging.
The guard thinks for a moment, then points left at a small house, probably no bigger than a single room. I nod to him and walk toward it. In a side alley, I see a man harassing a beastkin girl. I clench my fist. I need to get the papers first, I think, and enter the small house where a young woman sits at a table.
"Hello, I need those papers," I tell her.
"Okay, please sit here," she says and taps something on the writing stone in front of her.
She asks me for personal details, and I answer everything.
"Alright, just your age left," she says.
"I'm 12," I say, smiling slightly now that we're done with all the boring stuff.
She continues writing on the stone, then places a card on the table. I grab it immediately and rush outside to confront the guy harassing the beastkin girl. I step outside and see he's still touching her. I move in a blur and appear behind the harasser, observing the scene closely. The man pulls his hand away from the girl's chest.
"Oh, did I interrupt you?" I say angrily. My mana surrounds me like a thin layer of armor.
The man recoils in fear and looks at me, then back at the girl, who gazes at me sadly, her clothes slightly undone. My expression is filled with murderous intent—so strong it can be felt even at the gate. The guards freeze in fear as that killing intent washes over them. The man trembles and collapses to the ground.
"Why are you harassing this girl?" I ask, furious.
I grab my dagger and hold it to the man's throat as he shakes, unable to utter a word. I slit his throat, and the guards rush into the alley. The girl screams in terror, and my eyes look empty. The body collapses to the ground, and I turn to the guards, who have their weapons pointed at me. My mana and killing intent fade away.
"What happened here?" a guard asks fearfully.
"The beastkin girl was being harassed," I tell them.
I walk past them, staring at the ground as the crowd gathers at the alley entrance to watch. I slip through and disappear from sight. The girl, relieved, thinks, This boy is incredible. I want to see him again, watching me until I vanish behind a house. The guards rush to the corpse.
"I killed someone again," I think and sit on a bench, breathing deeply in and out. I lean back and look at the sky.
"I killed a human," I whisper.
After a few seconds, I stand up again and hastily look around to make sure no one is following me. "But in this city, there are only slaves," I think, clenching my fists and forcing myself to stay calm.
"I hate this slavery system. Do we humans think we're better than them?" I mutter angrily.
I relax again and turn around, spotting a building where houses are being sold. I walk over and take a look. There are eight listings, each describing a different house. My eyes go straight to a beautiful two-story house. I take the paper and bring it to the reception desk, where a young woman stamps it.
"Alright, that'll be 20 gold coins," she says.
I take exactly 20 gold coins from my bag and hand them over. Then I leave the building, heading back outside where the streets are crowded. I jump onto a roof and search for the house. After a while, I find it and jump from roof to roof because the streets of Lagoon are too packed. The sun is beginning to set, casting a warm glow over the capital. I arrive at the house, open the door, and reveal a beautifully furnished interior. I take off my shoes and enter the main room, where a staircase leads up, a blue-painted wall stands out, and a black carpet covers the floor. I remove my black cloak and place it—and my daggers—on a chair. I look around, find the bathroom, and take a shower.
After 12 minutes, I finish, put on fresh clothes, and explore the rest of the house until I find the bedroom. It's getting late, so I open the window, pull the curtain aside, lie down, stare at the ceiling, and close my eyes. I fall asleep, and time passes.
Morning sunlight shines through the window and onto my face. I wake up and look at the opposite wall.
"Right, I still need something to eat," I say and jump out of bed.
I leave the bedroom, grab my cloak and dagger, and head out. The streets are full once again, so I jump onto the roof and look for a market stall selling bread and food. I spot the market area and jump down. My landing startles the nearby people. I approach a food stall.
"Hello, I'd like 3 apples," I say.
The seller nods, quickly packs 3 apples into a bag, and places it on the table.
"That'll be 3 silver coins," he says, holding out his hand.
I give him the coins and take the apples. Then I jump back onto a roof, startling people again with the height of my jump. I take an apple out of the bag, sit on the roof, and watch the horizon as the sun rises higher. After eating the apple, I start jumping from roof to roof again, hands in my pockets. I stop when I see five men on the street stealing something.
"Should I wait for the guards?" I wonder, hesitating as I think it over. I inhale sharply, then jump down just as they begin threatening people. I land between them, my mana flaring up again as a thin armor, and my killing intent fills the area once more.
"Hey, you five, wanna play a bit?" I say with a furious yet delighted expression.
The men turn around, while the surrounding people watch in shock.
"Hehe," one of them says nervously.
People whisper, "Isn't that the guy from yesterday?" and "Isn't that the murderer?" I raise my dagger and hold it to one man's throat. I can't kill anyone else, I think, lowering the dagger again and extinguishing my mana and killing intent. I tie up the five men, jump back onto the roof, and leave. I hear the guards arriving:
"What the hell is happening here?!"
I run off and stop on top of a school roof.
"Oh, a school. Maybe I can enroll here," I whisper.
Then I hear a scream from outside the city. I hesitate—because I can't help everyone—but my strength won't let me ignore it.
"Ah, screw it. Let's go," I say firmly and look in the direction of the scream.