In the ancient ruins, Kyle lay on the ground, his previously battered body now completely healed.
His eyes twitched slightly as he slowly opened them, clutching his head. His gaze fell on the empty health potion in his hand.
"When did I drink this?" he muttered, clearly confused.
He sat up and looked around, his eyes landing on the lifeless body of the black, stony monster. His jian was still embedded in its skull, a grim reminder of the battle he had just fought.
Kyle's mind raced as he recalled the final moments of the fight.
"How did I even pull off that upside-down move?" he wondered aloud, scratching his head. It had been a desperate move, one he wasn't even sure he could execute. Yet, somehow, he had done it.
He decided to check his progress. "Status," he said, and a translucent blue screen appeared in front of him.
****
[MASTERIES]
Swordsmanship: Apprentice - 81% → 83%
Lightning Magic: Adept - 43% → 46%
Wind Magic: Adept - 31% → 53%
Ice Magic: Apprentice - 59% → 90%
Water Magic: Apprentice - 18%
****
Kyle's eyes widened as he stared at the numbers in disbelief.
"Wind Magic increased by 22%!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with shock.
"Ice Magic jumped by 31% too!" he added, his surprise growing even more.
The sudden leap in numbers was unexpected.
But what stunned him the most was the increase in Wind Magic.
After reaching Adept mastery, improving it would be incredibly difficult.
Yet, here it was, shooting up significantly. Kyle couldn't help but feel a mix of pride and awe at the progress he had made.
His swordsmanship and lightning magic had also improved, though not as dramatically.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. "My swordsmanship is still stuck at Apprentice level," he muttered with a sigh.
He glanced at the time on his phone and realized he had been unconscious for nearly five hours.
His clothes were torn and covered in dirt and blood, so he used his water magic to clean himself up. He pulled out a fresh set of clothes from his storage ring, discarding the old ones.
After wandering through the ruins for a while, Kyle finally found what he was looking for—a shimmering blue portal.
"This must be the exit," he said, relief washing over him.
He had explored every corner of the ruins and found no other way out. With little hesitation, he stepped through the portal.
****
Back in the ruins, the air was heavy with silence, broken only by the faint clinking of chains.
A woman of ethereal beauty sat bound, her long, flowing blue hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall.
Her piercing blue eyes, though tired, still held a glimmer of something otherworldly—a spark of power that even the chains couldn't suppress.
Her presence was both captivating and unnerving, as if the very air around her hummed with energy.
She shifted slightly, the chains rattling as she moved. Her lips curved into a faint, almost wistful smile as she whispered a name into the stillness.
"Ethan…"
Her voice was soft, barely audible, but it carried a weight that seemed to echo through the ruins.
There was a longing in her tone, a mix of affection and something darker—something obsessive.
Her eyes glazed over as if she were lost in a memory, her expression shifting between tenderness and madness.
"You always did have a way of making things… interesting," she murmured, her voice tinged with amusement.
"Even now, you're out there, causing chaos, aren't you? I can feel it. The storm… it stirs because of you."
She tilted her head, her smile widening, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"You don't even remember me, do you? Not yet. But you will. Oh, you will..."
She trailed off, her gaze distant, as if she were envisioning something far beyond the confines of the ruins.
The chains around her wrists glowed faintly, the runes etched into them pulsing with a dull light.
She glanced down at them, her expression darkening for a moment.
"These petty bindings… they think they can hold me? Me?" She let out a low, almost musical laugh.
"How amusing. They don't understand. No one does. Not even you, Ethan. Not yet."
She leaned back against the cold stone wall, her chains clinking softly.
Her eyes closed, and for a moment, she looked almost peaceful. But then her lips moved again, her voice a whisper that seemed to carry through the ruins like a breeze.
"You'll come back to me. You always do. Even if you don't know it yet, even if you've forgotten… you're mine. The storm binds us. It always has."
Her smile returned, but this time it was sharper, more dangerous.
The ruins fell silent again.
Her eyes remained closed, but her smile lingered, a haunting reminder of the power she held, even in chains.
The storm outside the ruins seemed to respond to her presence, the wind howling louder, the thunder rumbling in the distance.
Somewhere, far away, Kyle—or Ethan, as she called him—felt a strange shiver run down his spine, as if the storm itself were calling to him.
But for now, the woman in the ruins waited, her patience as endless as the storm she commanded.
And when the time came, she would be ready.
****
The moment Kyle emerged on the other side, he found himself in the middle of a dense forest. Almost immediately, a wave of nausea hit him. His stomach churned, and he doubled over.
"Blurgh!" he vomited, clutching his stomach. The portal behind him flickered and disappeared, leaving him alone in the forest.
"So it's true… you do feel nauseous after using a p-" before he could finish his sentence, another wave of nausea hit him.
"Blurgh!"
After a few minutes, Kyle managed to calm himself. He drank some water from his storage ring and checked his phone.
To his relief, he had a signal. He opened the maps app to figure out his location.
Suddenly Kyle felt a strange shiver run down his spine. He looked around but found nothing.
"What was that?" he muttered.
Shaking his head, he looked back at his phone.
"Eryndale Forest… in the human domain," he read aloud.
"Solvayne Magic Academy is in Valtheras City. I'll need to take a mana train to get there."
Kyle took a deep breath and activated his lightning affinity. Blue electricity crackled around his body as he sprinted toward Eryndale City.
Along the way, he made a mental note to only reveal his lightning affinity for now. It was better to keep his other abilities hidden.
When he reached the city gates, a bulky guard with short black hair stopped him.
"Hold it right there!" the guard barked.
"Why are you coming from the forest, kid? Don't you know it's filled with monsters?"
Kyle hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I-I was training there… for the entrance exam of Solvayne Magic Academy," he said, a little nervous.
The guard raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "You've been training in the forest? For how long?"
Kyle scratched the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed. "About a month," he admitted.
The guard's eyes widened.
"A month? In that forest? Are you crazy?" he exclaimed. "You're lucky to be alive!"
Kyle shrugged, unsure of what to say.
He was just as confused as the guard. He hadn't encountered a single monster on his way to the city.
Little did he know, someone had been silently clearing the path for him, eliminating any threats before they could reach him.
The guard sighed and pulled out a tablet.
"Name?" he asked.
"Kyle Valemont," Kyle replied.
"And when did you enter the forest?" the guard asked, scrolling through the records.
"Uh… March 2nd" Kyle said, recalling the date from his phone.
He found Kyle's entry in the system.
"You really were in there for a month," he muttered, shaking his head. "What were you doing? Training some kind of secret magic?"
Kyle stayed silent, his face turning red with embarrassment. The guard sighed and waved him through. "You're clear. Go on in."
As Kyle walked past, he overheard the guard muttering under his breath, "Kids these days have no sense of danger."
Kyle sighed and entered the city, his mind already racing with thoughts of what lay ahead.
The entrance exam was just days away, and he needed to prepare. But for now, he was just glad to be out of the forest—and alive.