2 Error In The System

"Kuro, this is the third time this week you've been late for dinner. One more time and you won't be allowed to to play with your friends."

"Sorry, Mother. . ."

His father also looked at him angrily when he apologized to his mother for his mistake, as always.

"Kuro, you must know one thing: Only those who show respect to others will get that respect back. So if you always come back on time then your mother doesn't have to worry about you anymore and maybe you can play with your friends longer. "

His father was like a leading figure for him. His mother was at home all day while his father was in the forest chopping wood that was later traded in the city. So they earned just enough to feed themselves. From time to time his father brought him a toy, which he was very happy about. He immediately showed this to his friends Lavis and Sera, whom he had known since he was 3 years old. The three were inseparable and caused a lot of nonsense and ruckus in the whole village. Several times they had to apologize to the village administrator. The years passed and the three friends all grew up to be young adults. Lavis became a tall muscular young man while Sera developed into a beauty with blond hair. More and more often other boys started to flirt with her but Lavis scared them away with his tall and muscular stature. Kuro enjoyed all this as a spectator. The young man with pitch-black hair and black eyes always started to laugh when this show was on. Even though there was no real leader, Kuro was the one who planned most of their activities.

From pranks in the village to various self-made games, he had the most diverse ideas. One day after their 17th birthday, an envoy of the king came and took the three of them to determine their magic power. The whole village came out of their houses and wished them good luck. The reputation of the village would also improve if even one of the three could take a high position in the kingdom. The test took place in a large hall full of other young men and women who were shown their magic potential. For this purpose a drop of blood was put on a big glass ball, the stronger a colour shines the more power the magic had. Before it was their turn, there were 5 people whose magic created a bright color. They were immediately given a cloak showing the royal rank. After a few hours it was finally the turn of Kuro, Lavis and Sera. The blood of the young lady made the ball glow in a deep ocean blue. It was water magic of the highest order, her eyes began to shine and a huge smile spread across her face. Next it was Lavis' turn, whose blood produced a bright red. It was a rare type of fire magic that had not been seen for almost 200 years. He too was given a cloak and welcomed by the others. Kuro looked around and when he saw both sides he became very nervous. On the one hand, there were proud faces among those who were led to the upper order, and on the other hand, sad and annoyed faces among those whose magic was only enough for simple professions or soldiers. It occurred to him that his mother used to be a healer with her water magic, but with time this power faded and now she lives in the village.

His father had received a weak wind magic, which only made him a simple worker and merchant. But his parents were not sad or ashamed of their magic, they made the best of it and lived together in the village for 20 years. However, Kuro was not able to think like that, especially since his friends had hit the jackpot and were almost considered nobility. Nervously he walked towards the sphere and cut his finger with the dagger. When the blood dripped on the bullet he closed his eyes, he was afraid of the result. Would he, like his parents, pursue a simple profession or protect the kingdom as the highest rank together with his friends. After a few seconds he opened his eyes again and couldn't believe them. His heart stopped beating and he lost his breath for a moment. The sphere remained colorless, the blood, which was normally sucked in, ran down the glass at the sides. Everyone in the hall was amazed and confused at the same time. Even the king's archmages had no answer to what had just happened. There has never been a person who could not use magic. They expelled him from the room and had him put in chains. His friends tried to intervene but were immediately withdrawn by the other magicians.

A riot would only cause more problems. Kuro was taken to the dungeon where he spent 3 days chained to the wall. He was given food but nobody wanted to have anything to do with him. But the advisor of the king and leading elite magician Zarius let him out of prison on the condition that he was allowed to examine him. Zarius tried everything, he took his blood, mixed it with different potions and made Kuro drink some mixtures as well. Normal people are protected to a certain degree by their magic. No matter how strong or potent the magic was, potions and alchemical mixtures that caused damage to or in the body were immediately neutralized and thus made harmless. But Kuro suffered all this pain and could do nothing about it. For 3 days he suffered from blindness until his body neutralized the poison. For Zarius he was a mystery and therefore the perfect test object. More and more often he tested different kinds of magic on him and observed the result. Kuro hadn't heard from the outside world for almost 3 months, he spent the whole day in the alchemy chamber of Zarius. All over his body he had various burns or bleedings caused by fire and wind magic. One day Zarius came to him again and took off his chains.

"I have news for you: After consultation with the magician circle and the king you are free to leave this room. If you do this, your situation will be made known to the kingdom, so listen carefully now."

From the outside Zarius looked like a powerful magician, but actually he had a big heart. It hurt him too to try these painful methods on Kuro, but it was the king's order that kept him from releasing Kuro. But he didn't make a happy face when he brought this news to Kuro today.

"At first they had considered executing you, as your situation was almost seen as a curse. That's why I asked the king to leave you to me. I hope you can forgive me for all these experiments. But now take my advice: When you walk out that door you will be presented to the whole people including your family and friends as a cripple. You know yourself what that will be bad. I will try to find a solution, but until then, please stay here. The experiments are now over, I will get healing potions for you as soon as possible."

Kuro began to understand Zarius' personality during the 3 months. He knew that Zarius was not an evil man but had good intentions with him. Even though he missed his family and friends, he accepted the offer and continued to spend his time locked up. The next day Zarius began to heal his wounds and the two of them began to become real friends. Zarius told about the history of the kingdom and beyond. Before the war 500 years ago, there was another race that dominated the world. Their magic was shrouded in shadows and black blood, soon they were called demons. They kept the balance between humans, half-humans and monsters, they did not care how cruel any means were. It was their kind of order that they considered right and necessary. But one day they suddenly disappeared, nobody knows why until this day. Shortly afterwards, the humans began to introduce their system by force and the first war broke out. Kuro listened attentively but understood only half. He had never had anything to do with war himself. His parents also avoided this topic and simply told him to ignore it.

The stories soon became Kuro's favourite part of the day and so he always wanted to know more. But after a week their time together was over. Zarius entered the room with two other magicians and led him out of the palace without words.

Outside Kuro suddenly felt great joy when he saw his friends running towards him. They had not seen each other for almost half a year. After hugging and greeting each other Kuro caught the eye of other people. He remembered Zarius' words that he was considered a curse. But his friends were not interested in this at all.

"Dont mind them Kuro, just ignore their looks. "

"At least we're here now."

Sera and Lavis were very happy to see their best friend again, but the looks soon became too much for Kuro. He soon realized that his friends would also become unpopular if they spent too much time with him. So he tried to find another subject:

"Hey, what about my parents, can I see them too?"

The looks of both of them went down and became more serious.

"Kuro, I think you should stay away from your parents and the village for now. It's better this way for you."

When Kuro heard this he became angry and left his friends for the village. They just stood there and looked sadly after him.

-"I haven't seen her for six months. What happened during that time?"-; he thought to himself as he set off. Arriving at the village, he was met by many angry glances that signalled him to get out of here. But he didn't care about them even if they were people he had known since childhood.

-"As long as I can see my parents, everything will be fine."-

On the road he saw his father, who had just returned from the forest. When he called him he did not get an answer, his father did not even pay attention to him when he passed him. Confused and panicked, he decided to go into the village and look for his mother. He saw his mother fetching fresh water from the well. When their eyes met, his mother immediately averted her eyes. Confused, Kuro approached her.

"Mother, I'm home. I missed you."

His mother didn't even look him in the eye but just answered him quietly.

"I don't know who you are, but my son is dead, so you'd better leave or the whole village will come and drive you out."

Kuro remained rigid as he had to hear this. His heart stopped beating a few times and he became sad. Again he remembered Zarius'; words: "Believe me it's better to stay here, you don't want to see how people treat you."

But he never thought that his own mother would deny him. After a few seconds he turned his gaze to the ground and turned his back on his mother. She looked after him as he left the village. Silently she stood there as tears ran down her cheeks.

Shocked, he went back to question Zarius. The elite troop of magicians was just on its way to the training ground and in the middle of it all were his two friends. Both looked at him pitifully but he was too shocked to return their gaze. He was stopped outside the palace gate when the guards tried to drive him out. But Zarius hurried out of the palace and protected him from the attacks. Then he led him to the edge of the city to a small hut.

"I know how you must be feeling right now, and that you have many questions. But this will be our last meeting for the time being, the king is already beginning to distrust me, I don't want to risk my position. I know you well enough to know that you understand that. I also know that you can't go anywhere anymore, so I'll give you this hut that once belonged to my parents. It's pretty small and run down but it's the best I can do. I hope you'll be okay and we can talk again soon.

Without giving an answer Kuro sat down on one of the chairs of the small wooden table and began to sink into his thoughts.

-"What just happened? Only half a year ago everything was fine and now I have lost everything, what have I done to deserve this? Why do I have to be a mistake that doesn't fit anywhere? Does my life still have any meaning?. . . maybe I'm better off dead. . ."-