When I opened my eyes, the first thing I felt was softness.
A warm bed. A gentle pillow. A comfort so deep that, for the first time in… I don't even know how long… my body felt light. Relaxed. Safe.
I didn't want to wake up.
I wanted to sink back into that warmth forever.
So I closed my eyes again.
"Wake up."
A soft voice pulled me back.
I blinked—and found Shiori leaning over me.
I wasn't lying on the bed anymore.
I was lying on her lap.
My heart nearly stopped.
Shiori… had been holding me?
The moment I realized, I scrambled away and almost fell off.
"I—I am so sorry for my behavior!" I bowed quickly. "I shouldn't have disobeyed orders. I didn't mean to."
Shiori shook her head. "It's okay. You tried to help. Let's go home."
None of them, neither Kiyomi nor Riomi, nor Aoimi, scolded him for entering the dungeon. Not one glare. Not one complaint. Their injuries had already been healed by Kiyomi's magic.
They simply turned and walked back toward the house.
Reaching home, Karl didn't rest but went straight into the kitchen.
"What would you all like to eat?" he asked.
"Just make something good," Shiori replied.
The other sisters, as usual, said nothing. Only Shiori talked much. For Karl, their being quiet wasn't strange; he had already learned that the Mikata sisters seldom said anything unless it was necessary.
He smiled slightly and began to cook.
This… this felt peaceful.
Perhaps for the very first time, he felt like he belonged somewhere.
After a few hours, when everyone got freshened up, dinner was served by Karl himself. The aroma filled the hall, and sisters gathered around the table.
Karl quietly reached for his own plate and began walking toward his room.
"Where are you going?" Shiori's voice stopped him.
He turned around. "To my room. I'll eat there."
Shiori frowned softly. "You can eat with us here, you know."
Her tone wasn't strict-just gentle. She was kind like that.
But Karl shook his head with a small respectful bow.
"No… I can't disturb you all. You're my seniors. I shouldn't sit with you at the same table."
Shiori opened her mouth to speak, but he had already turned away.
He walked down the quiet hallway to his room, closing the door behind him.
Inside, the lantern flickered dimly, casting a warm yet lonely glow. Karl sat on the edge of his bed and ate in silence.
"I was saved by Miss Shiori… I should stay in my place," he whispered to himself. "My day will come. My good days will come."
He believed it. Someday, he would be a Magi too. Someday, his life would change.
For now, he accepted the small world in which he existed.
Later that night, after he finished eating, Karl fell asleep immediately. His blanket slipped down, leaving one leg hanging out carelessly.
A faint creak echoed.
The door opened wide enough to allow a figure to peek inside. A shadow stood silently, watching Karl sleep in the dim light of the lantern.
The figure did not enter.
Didn't say a word.
They quietly closed the door after a few seconds. and vanished into the hallway.
The next morning, Karl woke up before the sun touched the windows.
He quietly cleaned the entire house, sweeping and dusting and arranging everything so it was perfect, before anyone else woke up. Then he went to the kitchen to cook breakfast.
By the time the fragrance spread through the corridors, the sisters started to wake up one after another.
It was Shiori who entered the dining room first; her silky purple hair, still damp from her bath, shimmered in the light like strands of amethyst.
"You woke up early today," her voice was calm, as always.
Karl bowed slightly. "I made a healthy, light breakfast for all of you. Please come and eat."
The sisters sat down at the table.
Kiyomi took the first bite. Her eyes widened slightly, not dramatic, but to show her surprise.
"It's good," she finally said to him for the first time. "You're a good cook."
Karl almost dropped the plate he was holding.
Kiyomi talked to him.
Riomi and Aoimi also added their soft compliments, and for the first time since he joined, Karl felt… accepted. Genuinely accepted.
Shiori finished her meal and then turned to him.
"This is for you." She handed him a small envelope-like card.
Karl blinked. "What is this?"
"Open it."
He slowly opened the card—
And froze.
His breath caught.
His hands shook.
It was a Magi joining form.
An actual, legitimate document.
Shiori had invited him into Guild C.
"Th–This… is this real?" Karl's voice shook.
"Yes," Shiori smiled. "Welcome to the guild, Karl."
It all hit him at once.
It wasn't a prank.
It wasn't a dream.
This was real. His dream—his impossible dream—had finally taken its first step.
Karl cried, then laughed while he cried.
He was really, truly happy.
His life as a Magi… had finally begun.
When I joined Guild C, my role was simple:
Supporter.
Not a fighter.
Not a frontliner.
Just a person who helps from the back.
But even that weakness didn't last long.
So now it was the eldest sister, Miss Aoimi, the "Mind of Guild C," who took personal responsibility for me. Every morning she trained me, correcting my posture and stance, teaching me the best way to breathe, think, and survive.
My first battle was against a tiny slime.
…Yes, a slime.
It wasn't dramatic and I certainly wasn't heroic.
But I fought.
And I won.
We all cheered when the slime burst like I had defeated a dragon.
Because for me… it felt like I did.
Even in real dungeon raids, I had hardly fought. I was too weak to stand beside them. So I stayed far back, watching them work together—Shiori's graceful spells, Kiyomi's deadly swordsmanship, Riomi's glowing healing magic, Aoimi's perfect coordination.
Back in my room every night, I would lie down and imagine fighting monsters.
I know it sounds childish.
But imagining those battles… helped me win real ones.
They believed in me, especially Miss Shiori.
She gave me a path, a purpose, and a new life.
Now, it was my turn to walk that path myself.
To chase the dream I held since childhood…
To be the greatest Magi of all time.
We raided C-Level Dungeons for a month straight, and I learned more than I ever had in my whole life.
And then, today…
We received a B-Level Dungeon assignment.
My heart pounded. My palms sweated.
It was my first raid at B-level.
But then when I looked around and saw even my seniors a bit tense, I realized—
I wasn't alone.
Shiori raised her staff. "Ready?"
We all breathed in deeply.
"Yes!"
Our voices were as one.
Together, we stepped into the B-Level Dungeon.
As soon as we reached the entrance of the dungeon, I realized instantly-
This wasn't anything like a C-Level dungeon.
The air felt heavier.
The darkness... It was thick.
Even our torch crystal struggled to cut through it.
But we were prepared.
Aoimi took the lead, and Mashle lit the way as we stepped into the gloom together.
"DOWN!"
Shiori's voice boomed out, like thunder.
A blade swooshed down from above, slicing the air where Karl's head was mere seconds before, as he ducked just in time.
He looked up, shaken. "So this is a B-Level dungeon…
"It should have traps on each step. Watch out," Aoimi warned, eyes scanning every corner.
We walked till a huge stone door towered before us—
Carved across its surface was a dragon, its eyes glowing faintly.
"This must be the boss's lair," Karl whispered, almost instinctively.
Kiyomi reached to open it, but Aoimi caught her wrist.
"What if it's a trap?"
"Well, we won't know unless we go inside," Kiyomi shot back.
That was the problem-
Step in and risk death…
Or turn back and gain nothing.
Karl stepped forward before any one could argue.
"Wait—don't!" Shiori shouted.
"It's okay," said Karl calmly. "I can find the door.
A soft purple aura flowed from his palm into the stone…
And it was with a deep rumble that the door unlocked and swung open on its own.
"It's safe," he said.
"But there was a trap," Aoimi muttered.
Karl nodded. "I defused it."
"You… can do that?"
"Yes."
"How?"
He hesitated.
"I… don't know."
Nobody knew what that meant, so we moved on.
Inside, a long red carpet stretched ahead.
Coffins lined up on either side, like silent guardians of some forgotten rite.
And at the end of the hall stood a towering statue of Devi Agni, the goddess of fire, cradling a golden bowl with its bright flame burning inside.
A flame that wasn't supposed to exist in a sealed dungeon.
"Someone was performing a ritual here," Aoimi whispered, running her fingers over dust-encrusted coffins. "But it's old. Decades. maybe centuries."
Behind us, Kiyomi stood guard, blade ready.
But Shiori wasn't looking at the coffins.
She kept her eyes, fixed on the statue of Devi Agni, glowing faintly from the fire bowl.
Karl threw back his head.
Symbols were carved across the ceiling-twisted, unfamiliar, and impossible to read.
Except—
"Genocide." Shiori whispered.
We froze.
Her voice cracked.
Tears rolled down her face.
"There was… a genocide here."
"That means… it was real," Aoimi said, her voice barely audible. "The stories… actually happened."
Shiori stepped forward. She drew her sword-not in anger, but in sorrow-and struck the wall beside her. The stone shattered, revealing a hidden chamber behind it.
Inside hung a dry, crumbling skeleton…
Suspended by ropes.
A man who had taken his own life.
Kiyomi gasped.
Aoimi covered her mouth.
Riomi stepped back in horror.
"That's him," Shiori said softly. "The one who committed the genocide."
History said that the mastermind died under mysterious circumstances.
No body was ever recovered.
No one knew his final moments.
But here he was.
He had killed himself.
"All for power." Aoimi whispered.
Shiori nodded, eyes hollow.
"To gain immense strength, he targeted a special community. A race blessed with power." The io Race. "They were already suffering. Already hunted. So when he approached them—pretending to protect them—they believed him." Shiori's voice shook.
"They followed him and Hid under his command." "And then he betrayed them." "He killed every last one," Shiori said. "Men, women, children. All of them."
On that day, the io Race vanished. Erased from the world. Forgotten by history. And some even believed… they deserved to disappear.
Shiori was narrating the story like she had known it forever… But why? Why now? Why here? Karl didn't understand. "Shiori…?" Karl whispered.
Her shoulders shook. Her voice was low… empty… and disappointed. "Karl," she said, without facing him. "At first… I thought the story I knew all my life didn't matter. I thought it was just a myth. A rumor. Something people exaggerated." then She wiped her tears, but more kept on falling. "I wanted to believe it never happened." Karl kept quiet. He didn't know what to say. Aoimi stepped closer, concerned. "Shiori?" Shiori finally turned— Her eyes had turned red, full of horror and betrayal. "It's true…" she whispered. "How sad… but it's true." "Karl stepped back. "Shiori."
"You knew," she said. "You knew all of this. Every detail I just said… you already knew it." Aoimi clutched Shiori tightly and hugged her closely, comforting her. But Shiori didn't stop. She broke down completely. "AAARRRRGHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Her scream was like a tearing wound, echoing in the dungeon..
Then she pointed at Karl— Her hands shaking, her whole body trembling in pain and rage. "YOU KNEW IT!!!" "IT'S YOU!!!" Karl's eyes were low. Shiori's voice cracked as she yelled— "THAT GENOCIDER…" "THE MONSTER WHO KILLED THE IO RACE…" "…IS YOUR FATHER!!!"
To be able to look outside from the bed…
I must have been saved.
But then—
Was the dream I saw… real?
If it was dream,
then why am I lying in a hospital?
Karl slowly moved his finger.
It felt heavy—as if it belonged to someone else.
Warmth pulsed through his arm.
A glowing bottle hung beside him, pouring life into his veins like a magical IV drip.
Healer magic…
he was badly injured.
He blinked, trying to adjust.
The room was empty and quiet.
Then—
Tap.
A small bird landed on the window frame, staring at him with unblinking eyes.
And suddenly—
FLASH.
A violent memory slammed into him.
His heart froze.
His breath stopped.
He remembered.
He remembered everything.
The dungeon.
The scream.
Shiori's words.
The rising hostility.
Their blades.
And the cold pain.
Karl's eyes widened.
"…It was real."
His voice trembled.
"It was real all along."
He swallowed.
And then the truth hit him like a storm.
Guild C…
The people he cooked for…
The people he trained with…
The people he trusted…
"They killed me."
Karl whispered it again, as if saying it would make it less impossible.
"They… actually killed me."