3 The Rumors

By rumors, Alika's friend could only have meant one thing. And those were the ones about "him". A student that hadn't heard the gossip was impossible to find. He was a monster who visited the place on the last day of each academic year. The man went by many names. Some called him a "demon", and others thought "dark magician" was more accurate.

To some degree, all the female students were afraid of this young man. And they were known as the young Alicole witches! The girls were frightened, even though they possessed strong magic abilities and efficient battle skills.

Alicole was the flourishing capital of Magisterium, a prosperous and enlightened country. Meeting a vampire, a werewolf, and other beings while walking through its streets wasn't something outright impossible. The city's people were quite diverse, and most were known to be tolerant. Many believed that even demons weren't all evil just because they were born with a pair of horns and a tail.

However, the legends and fairytales portrayed the demons as the essence of all evil, deception, and other negative traits. That couldn't have just come from nowhere. As for this monster, the one that was to come on that Day, the fear was quite understandable.

It all started three years ago, at the beginning of July. Only a day had passed since the graduation ceremony. A young, handsome stranger walked up to the academy's girls' dormitory. That, by itself, was nothing unusual. People often came to the academy in search of a dungeon partner.

According to widespread belief, the most successful groups to conquer dungeons were pairs of different genders. Of course, some said these tales were just rumors, unproven theories. On countless occasions, they were denied by the Magesterium officials. Still, many thought this statement to be true.

At first, nobody thought much of this insignificant incident. It seemed like nothing more than a man looking for someone to be his dungeon partner. So, yes, the visit itself was nothing unusual. The man involved was a whole other matter. The ones who saw him claimed he was impossible to forget.

He was a handsome young man, a sight for sore eyes, attractive to a fault as if he had just used a mind-control spell to charm all the girls in the vicinity. Like many others that day, he was looking for a partner. He needed someone to hunt for treasure with, a person to follow him to the so-called "dungeons". The term "dungeon" referred to a magical, closed environment. Inside, it had hostile monsters that needed to be killed for the adventurers to receive their amazing rewards.

The man had no problems finding a willing partner, considering the crazy number of graduates wanting to join such an adventurer in what they thought was a dream come true. Oh, Great Fiend, not only the graduates but almost any woman who saw him was eager to accept whatever he had to offer. Unfortunately, little did they know that this dream meant eternal slumber. In reality, it was more known as death.

Clearing a dungeon was no walk in the park. And that was common knowledge. Sadly, death was nothing unusual. The adventurers brave enough to challenge these magical creations were very well aware of the possibility of losing their lives. Even so, the rewards were considered to be worth it.

Was it the gold? Well, maybe it was. However, that was the most mundane thing one could find there. Was it the strength? The dungeons' artifacts could give one power that made an archmage's abilities seem worthless in comparison.

Maybe it was the power? If a person could organize and clear a dungeon with a large enough group, they would receive much influence. Sometimes it was so great that kings, by birthright, could only dream of it. That was how successful they would seem in the eyes of others! The Magesterium leaders (the true ones, and not the ones that were part of the council in name only) all once started out as dungeon adventurers.

Therefore, when one more academy graduate died in a dungeon, it came as nothing unusual. Yet, there was a minor detail that raised some eyebrows. Her only partner somehow survived. Now that was unusual. Dungeons rarely spared groups where at least one member had erred.

Still, there was more. Rumors had it that the reason for the poor woman's death was to rescue her partner, to save that good-looking young man she had fallen so deeply in love with. She was said to have used one of the most mighty spells. It was the one that required utter selflessness, genuine feelings, and the self-sacrifice of giving her life for the sake of another. Still, self-sacrifice wasn't something unheard of.

And yet there was more. An entire year later, the same young man appeared before the girls' dormitory. The story repeated itself, except that this time it took the dark mage a bit more time to find a suitable partner. The girls now knew of his first partner's fate and were more cautious.

About ten months had passed. And the news of the second woman's death reached the academy. That was when the genuine panic started. It was July the first again, one more year later. Almost half of the students had fled from the dormitory altogether. Some stayed because they were sure the guy wouldn't dare come again. Others believed they would be much better partners than their predecessors and could survive.

Sure enough, the "monster" came back again. For the third time, the "dark mage" found the victim. Eleven and a half months had passed. The woman stayed alive, making people think things would be different. Unfortunately, they were wrong. She met the same fate as the rest.

At that point, it was only natural for the students to feel terrified and run for their lives. Nobody wanted to die so young, but it was almost impossible to refuse the "monster's" proposal once the man came in person. His mere presence was enough to make the potential victims lose their minds.