Fateful encounter

"It's another beautiful day for hunting!"

"Do you think we'll be able to catch big game again like last time, dad?" I said.

"Last time we got a bit lucky, but there is always hoping to get lucky again."

Today me and my dad went out hunting again, like we usually do at this time of the year, while mom stays at home. It is my favorite thing to do, I learn many hunting and survival skills and I get to spend quality time with my dad, who was a former adventurer.

My dad and mom were both former adventurers, they met when they both took on the same job hunting a large beast named a Surandor. I've never seen one myself, but from the stories my mom has told me, it is a large bull-like beast, but it has scales like that of a dragon, giving it excellent defense against aggressors. Together with its speed, it is considered a dangerous beast, when hunting it. But the fact that my parents managed to take it down, makes them simply amazing.

We neared the entrance to the forest, it is the largest forest in this region, it spans many kilometers wide and it has a vast lake in the middle of it, where people also go fishing. We're not going fishing today, we're going to hunt.

After walking for what seemed like an eternity, we finally encountered our prey. My dad gave me the sign to stop and not to make any noises and scare our prey. Upon closer inspection, our prey is just an ordinary deer lying on the ground. I ready my bow and arrow to take the shot.

Aaaand… I missed. The deer noticed us and fled.

I was frowning upon my own failure, but my dad pat me on the back and said "don't worry, there is still plenty of other prey, next time you'll hit the shot."

"I know, but that was such a good opportunity, it was stationary."

"Not everyone gets it right the first time, hell even I needed a lot of practicing in my adventuring years. I bet with enough practice you'll get it down flawless."

So, with that we continue in our hunting session. We were near the large lake in the middle of the forest, and I said "Do you think this is a good moment to take a small break? We've walked a lot already without finding anything."

"Sure I don't see why we shouldn't".

When I sat down on a log, I noticed something in the distance. It was exactly what I was hoping for, our prey.

I notified my dad about it and we both nodded to each other. We went back into the forest and approached our prey, this time it was a slightly larger deer than the previous one.

This time I cannot miss it whatsoever. I again ready my bow and arrow, but this time my dad assists me, "Focus on your breathing and don't lose sight of your prey."

I put the arrow on the string. I draw the string of the bow back. I hold my breath. I focus on the target. And I released the string.

Bullseye, right in the head. "That ought to have killed it for sure." Reassures my dad.

We close in on the motionless deer and confirm the kill.

"Good job Naoki! I told you you'd be able to do it."

"Eheheh." I say while being flattered.

However, our celebration would soon be interrupted by a great danger.

"Grrrrrr…", we hear coming from the forest.

We both turn around and tense up. We see a large bull-like creature slowly approaching from the forest. It is a Surandor. Just like the one from mom's story.

"Naoki, slowly back away, don't make any sudden moves."

"Why is it here, is it after us?"

"No, it probably smelled the prey that we just killed. We must leave it behind unless you want to fight a Surandor head on."

I frown, disappointed that we must leave our prey behind, but my dad is right, it is too dangerous to fight a Surandor for us right now.

We both slowly walked backwards away from the Surandor and the deer, but I trip over a tree branch and fell over. The Surandor started to charge towards me. I closed my eyes thinking that was going to be it for me. But my dad quickly readied an arrow and shot it in its only weak spot, its eyes. He hit it near its eyes, it was almost a hit, but he still managed to flinch the Surandor and make it stop charging towards me.

"Naoki! Now's the time to run!"

We both started running away from the area as fast as we could.

We can hear the heavy steps of the Surandor slowly closing in behind us. We kept running, but we couldn't outrun it.

"There! There is a cave we can hide in! Quickly!", my dad pointed out.

We quickly ran into it and hid there. We heard the Surandor running past the cave, not knowing that we were in there.

After a while we stopped hearing anything. "I think we're safe for now."

It was already dark, so we couldn't go back and retrieve the deer. It would also be too dangerous since we don't know where the Surandor went.

After walking for a long time, we finally managed to get back home again, but we didn't bring anything back.

"Oh dear, you two look roughed up. What happened?" My mom asked us.

"We managed to bring down a deer, however we encountered a Surandor. It was about to attack Naoki, so I had to shoot it in order to save him. We managed to escape from it by hiding in a small cave. We sadly had to leave the deer behind as it would be too dangerous to retrieve it."

"But that was such a good shot by me, why did that damn Surandor have to appear?"

"Hmm, a Surandor, huh? That brings back memories."

"From our adventuring days, right? Yeah, I remember taking down the Surandor wasn't an easy task, even in our prime, we barely managed to down one."

"Anyways, while you two were out and about, I prepared dinner, so let's dig in!"

"Oh, I'm so hungry!", my dad said.

While my dad forgot about the whole situation from earlier during dinner, I on the other hand am still bummed out from having to leave everything behind.

After finishing dinner, I tell my parents "I'm going to bed earlier today, I need some rest."

"Alright good night, Naoki."

I went upstairs, changed my clothes and went to bed. I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling of my room. I couldn't sleep. I got up again and looked outside of my window, just staring into the distance. I see the forest, reminiscing of what happened today. I could have died there if it wasn't for my dad saving me.

I tried to think about other things, but I couldn't. So, I decided to just sneak out and take a stroll outside. I changed clothes and opened my window. I climbed out and jumped down onto the ground. Good thing that my room isn't so high up, so I can easily jump down without injuring myself.

I walk on the road, that leads towards the town and see that most houses are dark, so almost all people are sleeping, save for a few taverns. I walk down the main road towards the town square, which has a statue in the center. The statue is that of the hero Zahn Halvad. It depicts him standing triumphant with his magic staff. I don't know much about the history of our country Silgardia, but I do know some things about Zahn Halvad from the stories my mother told me.

One of them described how our country used to be one country with two neighboring ones, specifically Zolgardia and Mathardia. The country used to be called Saxonia, which is located next to the large lake of Lake Saxonia. The king had three children and after the king's death, they all vied for the throne, which ended up in a civil war, breaking the country into three. Zahn Halvad, a great archmage at the time, sided with the youngest of the three, Silgard von Saxon. This ensured the survival of their faction in the war. After the civil war, Zahn Halvad was hailed as a national hero in Silgardia, the newly formed country led by Silgard von Saxon.

He also ended up founding the Zahn Halvad magic academy. "Oh, how I wish I could get to study there one day. But I know that day may never come."

The reason is that they don't just let anybody in. In order to study there, you need to have an aptitude for magic. I, however, have next to none, so my chances of getting in are also nonexistent.

I walk away from the statue and continue down the road until I leave the town.

I continue walking for a bit until I'm at the forest entrance again.

I just stood there staring into the forest, thinking about today again, but I quickly shook my head and walked away. I was trying to forget about things, so I shouldn't stay here for long.

I walked left and went off the road. I continued until I heard a noise in the distance, that sounded like a scream. I went towards the direction I heard the scream from and when I got close, I realized what was happening.

A convoy of carriages was getting ambushed by what I assume were bandits. I quickly went into the forest to hide, so they wouldn't spot me. I'm lucky it's night time, so it's hard to be seen.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Damn, there is to many of them, I can't hold them off, we'll get overr- Argh!"

"Railan, no! You bastards!"

Where did all these bandits come from, I thought this area was supposed to be free of bandits. If we get back alive, I'll have a piece of mind with whoever gave me that false information.

I was defending the carriages with all my might, but even with my skills with a sword and my experience as a swordsman, I can't take on this many.

We at least have a mage supporting us with ice magic, but one singular mage won't make the difference. I look towards the other carriages, one of them has already been broken into. I see them looting what was inside it and killing the people that were inside of it.

These bandits are barbarians, they just loot and kill whatever they see.

"You shouldn't be focusing on the others!"

I barely managed to parry the sword swing of a bandit that just approached me, but he's right, I shouldn't be getting distracted, as that could cost me my life.

The bandit in front of me keeps swinging his sword, he clearly doesn't have any sword skills as evident from the way he attacks, he relies mostly on brute strength. His attacks are easily predictable, however it drains my stamina quickly, because of his strength. I can't keep this up, I have to counterattack.

So, I dodge his next attack which came from above, by stepping to the side and I stab him in his side. The bandit groans, before collapsing to the floor.

Two more bandits approached me, one with an axe, the other with a sword and shield. This might prove to be a difficult match-up. So, I pulled out my trump card. I pulled out a wand, which was covered by inscriptions, it also had a crystal on top of it.

I swung it towards the two bandits and the wand fired out a surge of lightning energy. It went towards the bandits, electrocuting them and killing them on the spot.

My wand, however, crumbled after using it.

"That was my only one, but I had to use it."

"Lance, how many more are there?" asked someone from the carriage behind me, that I was defending.

"There are still at least 30 of them, we've taken some casualties, so we're outmatched 3 to 1."

"I'm about to run out of mana!" the mage said. This has made our situation more desperate. We might not get out of here alive at this rate.

"Hehehe, just give up already! You're outnumbered, if you surrender now, we'll make your deaths painless." a bandit said.

"In your dreams" I responded.

I was ready to die right here and now. Never thought this would be how I die, by the hands of a bunch of bandits.

I pull out a necklace from my pockets, which had a picture of my wife on it, "Sorry, but I won't be coming home."

When I thought all hope was lost, I suddenly saw a bright light approach from the corner of my eyes. It was a huge sea of flames that engulfed the bandits, killing about half of them instantly.

I was stunned by what I saw. Did an archmage come and rescue us?

What I saw defied all of my expectations however, it wasn't an archmage, but… a young boy?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I was horrified by what I saw, bandits were killing the people guarding the carriages, looting the carriages and killing whoever was inside of it.

The worst part of it all is that I can only watch it, I don't have any way of attacking or even defending myself, as all the bandits are armed.

"I should get out of here before anybody sees me, and get some help."

Before I could get away, I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulders. I got scared and quickly turned around to see an unknown person standing behind me. He quickly grabs me by the neck and holds me into a strangle hold.

"Looks like we got a little too curious over here, huh?"

The bandit pulls out a knife and holds it against my neck.

"You know, I don't like killing children, but if I let you go, you'll get help, which wouldn't be in the best interest of us either. So, sorry pal, but I'm going to have to kill you."

I started panicking, trying to get away from here, but I couldn't. He's simply too strong for me to escape from his strangle hold. I can feel the knife slowly closing in and cutting into my neck.

No…

I'm not ready to die yet…

I'm sorry mom…

Dad…

…

…

…

What?

Am I already dead? What's happening?

I slowly open my eyes to see the bandit frozen in space, not moving, or reacting at all.

I try to move as well, but I can't.

I suddenly hear a loud whisper in my ears. It seemed to be just some unintelligible whispering by what seemed to be a mix of both a female and a male voice.

I think it's trying to commune with me.

But I can't understand what it's trying to say.

My vision suddenly starts to distort. I'm seeing all sorts of colors and hues all around. Am I seeing this right?

Before I could process what's going on, the whispering suddenly stops.

Then my mind starts to hurt like crazy, which made me close my eyes in pain. It lasted for a few seconds before it stopped. I then opened my eyes and still saw the colors and distortions. However, I can now kind of control the flow of the colors.

I don't know how I'm doing it and why it's happening.

The bandit suddenly started moving again.

So, I'm not dead yet. I still see the colors though and I can still control it. But it all doesn't matter anymore as the bandit is about to end my life. All I thought about was how I wished somebody would now come and rescue me. Maybe a hero, who would cast fire magic and set the bandit on fire.

The moment after that thought, the bandit spontaneously combusted and started running around, trying to stop the fire, which is currently engulfing him.

I was looking in awe, thinking maybe somebody actually came and rescued me. But I saw nobody else besides the two of us.

I thought to myself how I wished upon the bandit being on fire earlier while looking at the colors around me, when suddenly I created a fireball at the spot I was looking at.

I then thought about throwing it towards the bandit and so did the fireball fly towards him, killing him.

I then looked at myself, realizing what I'm now capable of.

I knew what I had to do next.

I ran towards the convoy that was being ambushed and instantly thought up the largest fireball I could think of, I then made it fly in the direction of the bandits, killing half of them instantly.

The people guarding the carriages all looked in awe at what I just did.

I continued throwing fireballs at the bandits. Eventually only a handful of them remained.

I was ready to finish them off as well, the remaining bandits were pleading for their life and for me to spare them, but before I could do anything, I suddenly collapsed. I felt like all life had been sucked out of me, so I just became limp and fell down, going unconscious.

Everything went dark.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Please! Don't kill us! Spare us!"

"Huh?"

The boy collapsed on the ground before us. Both us and the bandits were looking in confusion. Before the bandits even registered what happened there, we quickly took the opportunity to capture them.

Only 4 of them remained after the others had been brutally burned to a crisp by the boy.

"Of all things to have happened today, this has to be the craziest thing I've ever witnessed. I wonder if this boy is associated with the magic academy."

"No, that can't be, because he's wearing what clearly seems to be country clothes. Not something a student capable of such magic would wear." I said.

"Doesn't matter, he saved all of us, we should take him with us, we can't just leave him here alone and unconscious. He'll freeze to death."

"I think we should just leave him to the people of the town nearby. I assume he's from there."

"But, since he saved us, don't you think he deserves to be rewarded? Besides, if he isn't a student, perhaps the magic academy would be interested in taking him in as a student? What do you think Lance?"

"Hmmm, you're right and it's already very late, we wouldn't want to disturb the people of the town. Besides, we don't even know who his parents are, so we can't just go around knocking on every door." I said.

So, we decided to just take him with us to the Zahn Halvad academy, which is our destination.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I slowly open my eyes. I notice that I'm in a room that I'm totally unfamiliar with, the decoration is also very nice. This made me even more confused as to why whoever owns this place, would take me in, who is just a country bumpkin.

I turn my head around to the window next to me and look outside, this place doesn't look like my town either. It looks like I'm in a large castle of some sorts. I see towers, I see large walls, a few buildings.

I try to move my body and it seems I have regained the ability to get up again, but it's really hard since my entire body hurts.

Suddenly somebody opens the door, a maid came in to, I assume, to check whether I'm awake yet or not.

She seemed relieved that I am awake, "Oh you're finally awake, wait you shouldn't move too much, your body is in a bad state, so you should get enough rest."

"Where am I and what happened?"

"Oh that's a long story, but I think it would be better if he explains what happened."

After she said that, two people came into my room, one of them looked like an old man, well in his seventies or eighties, so very old. The second man I recognize, it was one of the guards defending the carriages… Oh I remember again what happened.

The old man asked me "How does your body feel right now?"

"Well, I can move my body now but it still hurts. So, not very good, no."

"That is because you currently suffer from what we call 'Magic Depletion Syndrome', after exhausting your mana reserves, you get exhausted to the point where you cannot move your body at all, you will also suffer from immense pain."

"Well, I can move my body again, it hurts like hell, but I wouldn't describe it as 'immense pain'."

"That is because we gave you a potion that reduces the pain you experience, in essence a painkiller. But do not worry, it will go over in a week or two."

"Ah well, thanks a lot, uhm…, sorry, but I don't know your name."

"Oh, yes of course, how rude of me. My name is Merain Halvad. I'm the headmaster of the Zahn Halvad magic academy."

I was shocked when I heard what he said.

"Wait, you mean you're Halvad, as in Zahn Halvad?"

"Yes, I'm the grandson of Zahn Halvad."

"And you're also the headmaster of the Zahn Halvad academy? Wait, does that mean I'm currently in…"

"Yes, you're at the magic academy right now. In one of the student dorms that is vacant at the moment to be precise." said the man I recognize from the ambushed convoy.

"My name is Lance by the way. I also need to thank you for rescuing us back there a few days ago. You really saved our hides out there. If it wasn't for you, we might not have gotten out of there alive. That was some impressive magic, how did you do that, you aren't a student here, so I assume you must have extraordinary aptitude for fire magic."

"Oh, uhm, well, here's the thing, I've never had any aptitude for magic at all my entire life. Neither of my parents had any real aptitude either. I just suddenly knew how to control it at that moment."

"Hmmmm… how peculiar." said Merain.

"Also did you say 'a few days ago'? How long have I been out cold?"

"It's almost noon right now, so I'd say four and a half days." said Lance.

"That long?!? Oh no, my parents must be very worried about my whereabouts right now."

"Do not worry, we've already notified them of your whereabouts beforehand." said Merain.

He continued, "We found their address in the town register, after which we sent a letter to them."

"Oh, thanks a lot."

"In fact, I think they may even be on their way here right about now."

"Wait what? How do you kno-"

"Naoki! There you are! Oh my dear, I was so worried about you when we didn't see you in your bedroom!" yelled my mom, running into the room.

Then my dad followed up, "We looked all over town, but we couldn't find you. We had almost lost all hope after two days, but then we received a letter from the academy. We were so relieved to hear you were unharmed."

"Well, I wouldn't say completely unharmed…"

"Why would you just sneak out of your room late at night? Do you know how dangerous it can be? You also could've been killed during that ambush!"

"Wait, did they also tell you about the ambush, dad?"

"Yes, they explained everything that happened to us in the letter."

"I don't know how you managed to be able to control magic all of a sudden, but that doesn't matter, what stands is that what you did was very reckless."

"I'm sorry mom." I said looking down onto my bed sheets.

"I'm still glad you're well and alive." my mom said while hugging me.

"Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but I have an important question to ask Naoki over here."

Everyone turns their head towards the headmaster. Curious as to what this question could be.

"Naoki. Would you like to join the magic academy as a student?"

Wait, did I hear that right?

The headmaster himself asks me to join the Zahn Halvad magic academy?!?

"Wait, why would you want me to join?"

"Well, as you probably know, we only take in students with a high aptitude for magic. Since teaching magic to students with little to no aptitude wouldn't yield any results, as has been the case in the past. Based on eyewitnesses, you've been able to control magic to a degree that we only see in prodigies. And with no prior training at that."

"But I don't know why I'm suddenly able to control it, perhaps it was just a fluke?"

"Well that's the second reason why I asked you to join. I and I'm sure other teachers would like to study what caused this phenomenon to happen. During my time as headmaster at the academy, I've never seen such a thing happen before anywhere and let me tell you, I've already lived a long life."

"Well, I can tell."

"Naoki. Don't say that." my mom remarked.

"It's alright, but whatever age you have in mind is probably wrong."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You'd probably think I'm in my seventies or eighties, but I'm actually hundred and twenty-eight."

"What?!?"

"Yes, so as I said, I've lived a long life and this phenomenon is a first for me. I think that should give you a good idea of the significance of your current situation. So let me ask you this question again. Would you like to join the magic academy as a student?"

"Well, I've always wanted to join the academy since my childhood, but if I join and allow you and your teachers to perform research on me, how much would that interfere with me being able to lead a normal life here?"

"That's an excellent question, I will personally assure you that we'll try to not have it interfere with your courses too much. The research in question will also not be anything invasive, so don't worry. It will most likely be limited to physical check-ups and analysis of your mana flow. If we need to perform anything invasive, we'll of course ask for your permission."

"Now I'm getting hesitant when you describe it as 'invasive'."

"Well, if you don't want to join, then that's up to you."

"Wait! I never said I was not going to join."

"So what's your answer then? Naoki."

After pondering for a bit, I answered "I'll join."

The headmaster smiles while saying, "Excellent."

"So, when will I begin?" I asked.

"Now."

"Now? As in today at this moment?"

"Yes, you are now a student of Zahn Halvad magic academy, at least in name, just not officially yet. I'll make sure it becomes official."

"Wait! We couldn't get to see our son for four and a half days and now we're not going to see him again for an even longer time?" my dad asked the headmaster, while approaching him.

"He will still get holidays, where he can leave the campus and visit you."

"Yeah, but can't he start at a later date?"

"Unfortunately, not. The year is just to about begin, so any time later would mean he misses classes, which would be detrimental to his grades. You as a father wouldn't want your son to fail now, would you?"

"Well… no… I wouldn't."

"Dad, it's going to be alright, as he said, I'll get holidays, so I can go visit you during those days."

"I'm still not so sure."

"Please dad, I really want to go to the academy. You know it has always been a dream of mine!"

"Alright! Alright! I give in."

The headmaster adds, "before you start attending here, you will of course need your personal belongings, so I'll let you go back home first to collect them. Once you return, we'll give you your uniform, a personal room and we'll give you a tour of the academy. Afterwards your academic career will start."

It sounded good to me, but one part doesn't make sense to me. "Sounds good, but there is one issue. We live a days' worth of travelling by carriage away from here. We won't be able to make it before the year starts."

But the headmaster seems to have already taken this into account.

"Don't worry, I'll provide transportation."

"Wait, what transportation are we talking about? I'm not aware of anything that allows us to travel to our home and back here in half a day."

"Yes, there actually is, Mr. Rhein. Teleportation."

"Teleportation? Such magic actually exists?"

"Yes, although I can't cast it more than twice every three days. So, I'm making a special exception for you folks."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Halvad." my mom says, lowering her head towards the headmaster.

"There is no need for that. Anyways, I want you three to stand close to me. Everybody else please move away."

Me, my mom and dad stand close to the headmaster in a small circle. Everybody else backs away. The headmaster then starts chanting a long spell, after a minute worth of chanting, a bright circle appears below our feet. Then suddenly, our eyes are blinded by light.

When we opened our eyes, we found ourselves back at the front door of our home. We were all stunned by the magic performance of the headmaster.

"Now go and get your belongings."

We hurry inside and get all the things I need to live in the academy. Once we got everything packed in a large briefcase, we stand close to the headmaster again, but before we go, he says, "Mr. and Mrs. Rhein, do know that I can cast this spell one more time, so if you choose to come with me, you will have to travel all the way back again by carriage."

"Oh you're right, well, Naoki, I guess this is where we say goodbye for a while again."

"Your dad and I will miss you. We'll be waiting for you to return."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely visit you again, when I get the chance to."

We hug for a bit, before letting go. My parents they back away from the headmaster.

"Alright, time to head back."

Once again I was blinded by light, after which I found myself back at the academy again, but this time at the entrance.

"Welcome to your new life at Zahn Halvad magic academy."