He tapped the screen repeatedly, desperately trying to contact the academy or emergency services. However, the device continued to display the same message.
No Network.
Even the emergency signal device attached to his belt had stopped working.
"T-This is impossible... Signal jammers?" he whispered fearfully.
The man was Petrick, an ordinary staff member at Novaris Academy.
He had black hair, now messy and covered in dust, and green eyes filled with terror.
He continued running deeper into the alley, limping slightly because of his injuries.
"I just need to reach the main road..." he muttered between ragged breaths. "If I can reach the main road, I'll be safe..."
But at that exact moment, something suddenly cut through the air.
A sharp sound pierced the silence.
Slash!
Before he could even react, something sliced through his left leg.
For a split second, he couldn't comprehend what had happened. Then he noticed the deep gash running across his leg.
Blood gushed from the wound like a fountain.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!"
He immediately collapsed to the ground, screaming in unbearable pain. His body rolled across the filthy alley floor as he desperately clutched his thigh, trying to stop the bleeding.
But it was useless. Blood continued pouring through the gaps between his fingers.
"M-My leg!! My leg!! Aaaahhh!!"
His agonized screams echoed through the empty alley, but there was no one to hear him.
No one to help him.
Desperate to escape, he began crawling forward, dragging his injured body across the ground with his hands. A long trail of blood was left behind him.
"H-Help... Somebody help me... Please..." he pleaded, his voice trembling and growing weaker with every word.
Then he heard footsteps behind him.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
They were slow, calm, and completely unhurried.
Petrick's entire body froze.
Whoever was approaching, they were walking leisurely, as though they had all the time in the world.
Fear filled his eyes as he slowly turned his head.
From the darkness at the end of the alley, a figure emerged.
A man wearing a dark hooded cloak approached him at a leisurely pace. His face was concealed beneath the hood, leaving only his chin visible. His hands remained hidden inside his cloak, and his footsteps were steady and composed.
The hooded man eventually stopped a few steps away from Petrick and looked down at the bleeding man lying on the ground.
Petrick trembled uncontrollably.
"W-Who are you...?" he asked in a shaky voice. "W-Why are you doing this to me...?"
The hooded man didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he silently observed Petrick for several seconds.
Then, in a calm and cold voice, he asked, "What have you done?"
He paused briefly before continuing. "You have done nothing wrong."
"Then why...? Why are you trying to kill me?" Petrick asked, his voice trembling with fear.
"Oh, you poor soul~"
The man's tone carried a hint of amusement.
"I have no personal grudge against you. It's just that I needed the body of a weak academy staff member, and tonight, I happened to find you."
He began walking toward Petrick.
"You're simply the unfortunate one. It could have been anyone, any one of your colleagues. But, sadly, you were the only person I came across tonight."
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
"W-Wait! Don't come any closer!" Petrick cried in panic.
He desperately dragged himself forward, leaving another trail of blood across the dirty ground.
His breathing grew faster, and his heart pounded wildly against his chest.
But before he could get any farther, the unknown man reached him and grabbed his head.
His palm completely covered Petrick's head, and his fingers tightened around it.
"Arrrghh!"
Petrick stopped crawling.
Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes as the man's grip tightened around his head.
"Alright... Goodbye~"
"Arrrggghhhhhhhhhh!"
Petrick screamed in agony as his entire body began trembling violently. His hands and legs convulsed uncontrollably.
His eyes remained wide open, reflecting nothing but pain and horror.
Slowly, the light in his eyes began to fade.
His screams gradually died away. His body stopped moving. Petrick was dead.
The hooded man slowly loosened his grip and released Petrick's head.
The body slumped forward, collapsing like a lifeless corpse.
The man crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, it's done."
Soon, however, Petrick's body began to move.
Slowly, it straightened and sat upright.
The hooded man took out a small crystal bottle, removed its lid, and poured the transparent, light-green liquid over Petrick's injured leg.
The deep gash gradually began to heal.
Within moments, the wound had completely disappeared.
Once the healing process was complete, Petrick's lifeless body rose to its feet.
He stood there like a puppet whose strings were being controlled by an invisible puppeteer.
Then, without uttering a single word or even glancing back at the hooded man, he turned around and silently walked away.
The hooded man watched him leave, a smirk hidden beneath his hood.
"Now, all I have to do is wait a few days. Then I can begin..."
His smirk soon faded.
The man remained standing in the alley for a while longer.
Then, without warning, he suddenly disappeared.
---
Back at the Academy — Training Facility
Noah had been training for hours.
He was currently experimenting with something quite interesting, and he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Standing in the shooting area, he extended his right hand.
In front of him floated a spear made entirely of ice.
"Nice... Now, let's try controlling it..."
Noah had never attempted anything like this before. However, after training for several days, he had begun to discover another aspect of his ability.
His Ice Creation ability didn't merely allow him to create objects out of ice.
It also allowed him to manipulate the ice he created.
He first began considering this possibility when he was fighting that bear monster and had been on the verge of death.
Back then, he had extended his hand, and an ice shard had appeared in front of it.
At the time, he hadn't thought much about what had happened.
But now, after carefully examining the incident, he had realized something important.
He could cast a spell called Ice Shard. However, he clearly hadn't used that spell when fighting the monster.
After all, casting a spell required a magic circle.
Yet, no magic circle had appeared when he had created those ice shards during the battle.
Instead, he had unknowingly formed them using his Ice Creation ability and then launched them through the air toward the monster.
That meant he could create ice and manipulate it without relying on conventional spells.
In other words, he could control and move anything he created using Ice Creation.
Unfortunately, the previous Noah had never bothered training seriously. He had never taken the time to explore the true potential of his ability or discover what else it could do.
But the current Noah was different.
He was determined to understand his abilities and make the most of them.
And his theory had turned out to be correct.
After creating an object with his ability, he needed to expend additional mana to make it float. Once he had done that, he could control its movements at will.
"Although it consumes quite a lot of mana... Well, it's manageable for a short period."
Noah focused his attention on the ice spear floating in front of him.
Then, with a thought, he sent it flying forward.
The spear shot through the air at incredible speed, producing a sharp whistling sound as it rushed toward its target.
Thud!
It struck the target perfectly.
The tip of the ice spear embedded itself precisely in the center of the shooting target.
"Ha... Hah..."
Noah breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling as fatigue caught up with him.
His extended arm slowly dropped to his side.
A moment later, cracks spread across the ice spear before it shattered into countless fragments.
"Not bad..." Noah muttered with a small smile.
He was thoroughly enjoying his training.
Unaware of the danger that was slowly approaching him and everyone around him.