The Rankings

That night the nightmares happen again. It begins as it usually does, with me fighting the Majin in some deserted place. But unlike what had really happened, there is no one to help me here. No Luoi, no Drew, and no Hugo. It's just the Majin and me. It doesn't take long before it cuts off my arms, and then it lands the killing blow.

My eyes snap open in the dark as I quickly move to feel my neck. After a few seconds, I relax. Even though some part of me knows it is only a nightmare, my brain usually refuses to let me relax until I confirm I am okay. I pick up my phone and turn it on, staring at the time. It's 5.00 am Saturday morning.

Knowing that I won't be getting any more sleep, I open YouTube and begin watching videos. The nightmares had started the day of my fight with the Majin, when my brain finally came to terms with the fact that I had almost died multiple times during that fight. The first few nights were the worst, with me waking up multiple times convinced that I was about to die. I almost pissed myself once too. However, as the days passed they became less frequent but were still bad when they happened.

At sunrise, I begin to do my chores. It takes me less than four minutes to complete everything. Ever since Hugo taught me the trick to automatic chores, I made sure to apply it to everything I had to do in the house. Of course, I had to be careful that my mom and Emily didn't catch me using magic, but it was worth it. The feeling of watching my chores complete themselves after the snap of a finger is quite satisfying.

Once I am done I head back to my room and check my wardrobe, making sure that I have clothes to wear today. Today is a special day for me, and all other Apprentices out there. Today is the day of the Pre-protector exams. If everything goes well, by the end of today, I will officially become a Pre-protector.

I can't help but feel a bit nervous whenever I think of the upcoming exams. Despite the fact that I know how exactly how the exams will be done - almost exactly the same as the exam I had as a Student - some part of me just keep imagining various scenarios where I fail miserably and have to spend another year as an Apprentice. Despite my fears, however, I make no effort to do any last-minute revisions. Drew, and Luoi, had both advised me to refrain from that on the day of the exams and instead just relax. After all, a few hours of revision is not going to make any large difference in the end.

The sun fully rises and the rest of my family wakes up. After all the chores are completed, my mom prepares breakfast and we all eat together. As we eat, I notice that Emily is basically scarfing down her food, finishing it in record time before hurrying back up to her room. She seems really excited about something. Things had been like this with her ever since my fight with the Majin. For the umpteenth time I consider asking her what has been making her so excited all these days, but in the end, I decided against it. When she is ready to talk she will.

After breakfast, I return to my room to while away time. Like my Apprentice exams, the Pre-protector exams will start in the afternoon. However, I can't stop my eyes from drifting to my phone as I constantly check the time.

Around twelve the doorbell rings. I ignore it the first few times, thinking that Emily will answer whoever is at the door, but in the end, I am forced to answer it when it persists.

"Hey," Drew says the moment I open the door, looking cheerful.

"Drew? Come in. Where have you been? I didn't see you in school the past two days."

Drew walks into my house, still all smiles. "That's because I was finishing up my Wranth tasks. I'm done now."

"So you're a Wranth now?" I ask and he nods. I can't help but feel happy and a bit awed. So Drew is a Wranth now. Someone to be taken seriously in the magical world. "What about the rest?" I ask.

"They also passed. They're waiting for you actually, in the bookshop."

"Give me a second." I rush back to my room and change into the clothes I had set aside. After a quick look around the room to make sure I didn't leave behind anything important, I leave.

"Let's go," I say to Drew when I get to the sitting room, and together we both leave the house.

It doesn't take long for us to get to the bookshop. I greet Hugo, who is writing something in a book. He nods at me, not looking up from what he is doing. Then I turn to greet the rest.

The twins nod in response to my greeting, Emma - who still looks pale - greets me back, and Lathia smiles widely as she moves toward me. Instantly, I am on guard, wondering what it is she wants to do. She comes to a stop in front of me, her eyes focused somewhere on my chin. Before I could ask what exactly she wanted to do, she raises her hand, grabbing something just below my chin and giving it a small tug. I feel a pinch and move my head back.

"Ouch," I exclaim.

She raises a hand to her eyes, wiping away an imaginary tear. "They grow up so fast. Our little Ian has finally gotten a strand of hair as a beard, becoming a man in the process."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. So that's what this is all about. Me finally beginning to get a beard. Suddenly she frowns. "Ian, how much time have you been spending in the Lands?"

"A couple of hours every day."

"A couple of hours? Earth time or Lands time?"

"Earth."

She gives me an incredulous look. "That means you've spent months in there. Why? You do realize that your body ages according to whichever place you spend time in right? That means right now you're months older than you should be."

The reason I spent so much time there is simple. I have been training with Luoi. After my near-disastrous fight with the Majin, I had come to a realization. I am weak. So weak that even with a Fasuru like Luoi helping I had almost lost my life. And that realization, boosted in no small part by the nightmares I had been having stoked a desire in me, a desire to be weak no more. But, I don't feel comfortable telling that to Lathia, or any of them for that matter.

"What does it matter? Luoi said that the average lifespan of a Laen is around two hundred years. I could spend a hundred years there and still live a full life here."

Lathia looks like she wants to continue arguing, but Drew interrupts. "Look Lathia, it doesn't matter. What matters, is that he's about to become a Pre-protector, and there are the Rankings, so let's get going."