Life is hard...

There exist different kinds of powers in this world, some known by mankind and some unknown. Their origin and existence were one of the biggest questions of humanity as long as history remembers. Those known powers were categorized into separate groups: time, space, law, nature, and spirit.

Among humans, there were some who could use these powers that were embedded in their souls, some were born with it while some got the power throughout their lives.

Each power had different effects and different ways to use. Depending on the wielder's ability and will, they could use the power in various ways.

People who could use these powers, also called unique skills, weren't that many. Among these people, those with the power of spirit were the most common ones. This power was divided into two groups, mana, and aura.

Mana and aura both had the same origin, but depending on the way that the user wanted, they could wield it in either form of mana or aura. Aura was fusing the power of spirit with one's body and weapon while Mana used the same power of spirit by bringing it out of their soul, using spells as a connector.

Spells were a complicated combination of calculations, symbols, and rules that had the role of linking mana and soul. Since a long time ago, magic researchers and scientists had worked hard to invent and combine different kinds of spells that would help humanity.

And today, Kairen was shedding tears of grief, trying to understand what the f*CK this damn book of spells was about. He had never struggled this hard with studying in his 23 years of life.

It had been 2 days since he was forced to study this weird stuff. He would wake up, eat his meals at the cafeteria with Reyan, and study in his room. He had decided to think about returning home after these exams, he was forced to decide actually by a variable named Reyan. It's not like he could do anything by himself if he decided otherwise anyway.

He had gained a lot of information about this world by studying, but still, studying was suffering!

'My butt will turn to a cube if I continue to sit on a chair for this long!'

It was already dinner time. Kairen closed his book and stood up while massaging his butt. Even if he nagged a lot, it was interesting for him to read about this new information. That was one of the reasons he stopped trying to run away and decided to stay here for a while. To think that there was a place like this, won't it make most of the people excited?

He went down to the cafeteria. There was only one cafeteria used by both boys and girls so it was placed in a separate building between two dormitories, not too far away from the main buildings. Telling the truth, the food served here was really delicious, Incomparable to the trash he used to eat at home. His cooking skills were awful, and so were his brother's. in terms of food, this place was heaven!

He could see Reyan sitting at a table in one corner of the cafeteria. Kairen moved towards him as if it was natural to eat with each other. It has only been few days since he had met Reyan, but he was feeling so comfortable around him as if they were friends for so many years.

Kairen wasn't the type to get close to people easily. His social abilities were as awful as his cooking, making him envy those sociable people with so many friends. He wasn't a total loner as there were people who somehow ended up getting close to him, but still, he was never able to feel relaxed around someone who he had met for just a few days. Kairen didn't know the reason, was it because this dude was really close to Kairen 1? Anyway, it wasn't something unpleasant so why bother his already tired brain cells thinking about it?

"Hey!"

"Hi!"

Kairen sat down on a chair and placed the food he got on the table. He could see Reyan's sword, placed on an empty chair beside him. he was most probably training his sword art or whatever they call it.

'Seriously, I can't get used to this sight.'

Seeing swords here and there really wasn't something a man living in the 21st century could be used to.

'Why use swords anyway?'

He read about it in a book that normal guns have less raw power compared to people with unique skills so they weren't that useful. There were special guns made to be used by these people but it was hard and time-consuming to wrap aura around a tiny bullet. These guns could only be used by professional guys and were really expensive. So they trained these guys by the sword, cheap and easy.

"Were there any improvements? Can you sense your mana now?"

"No…"

Even though he had been trying so hard, Kairen still couldn't sense this mana they talked about. How was he supposed to do it anyway? Reyan didn't help him at all. It was like being told to solve a mathematical problem without being given the formula needed.

"The next exams are written exams as the magic unit's practical exam has ended. So you still have time."

"They have ended? Then what about my exam then?"

"Our exam was postponed to another day since you messed it up!"

But the voice that answered him wasn't that of Reyan's. Kairen could see a girl standing beside him, putting her hand on Kairen's shoulder and holding a tray of food in her other hand.

"Can I sit here?"

'Huh? Who?'

"What do you want here, Serria?"

Reyan glared at her with an angry face as he spoke with a somewhat annoyed voice. Kairen was surprised by his behavior.

'Serria… that feels familiar…'

"Come on, why are you mad at me so much. It's not like I hit your friend on purpose!"

'Ah.'

He could now remember. She was apparently the one who was taking the exam by Kairen1. The "opponent" that had hit him!

"And I have to take the exam again because of this dude as well! Kairen didn't even apologize to me for ruining my exam!"

"…."

"…."

Serria sat on the only empty chair of the table as she said that. Kairen looked at her. She had short black hair and black eyes, wearing comfortable clothes and shoes. You could tell that she was quite beautiful.

Kairen didn't know what to say as he didn't know her and Reyan was still glaring at her furiously.

"Why are you looking at me like that, your friend is here, safe and sound!"

"I asked why are you here."

"What is wrong? Can't I eat food with my friends?"

"...."

"...."

"Ha! These guys! I came to tell this punk about our exam's date, ok?"

The date was actually something Kairen was wondering about so he asked the girl.

"When is it?"

"It will be held on the same day of the knights' unit's practical exam. Two weeks from now."

Serria said that in a relaxed manner as she filled her spoon with food, finally ignoring Reyan's glares.

"Oh."

Now Kairen had two weeks to learn those stupid spells, perfect right?

'Two weeks my ass! I can't Learn them even in two years.'

Nagging in his mind, Kairen looked at his food with a gloomy face.