Omniscient POV
After a while, Kursh had calmed down and started cleaning the place using brooms, dusters, and other tools through telekinesis, humming a romantic tune in a happy mood as she floated in the air.
She wasn't a living being. In truth, she was an extremely dangerous, high-ranked Undead Spirit—a Wraith.
Though her level wasn't high enough to place her in the most dangerous category, yet...
She was still considered a threat.
This was mostly because Hayato couldn't take her into dungeons to level up—partly because those dungeons were way out of his league since he was still stuck at level one, and partly because many dungeons had specific level restrictions.
Even so, Kursh was special. She was fully sentient and not mindlessly bloodthirsty like most other Wraiths.
Wraiths are born from people who died with strong regrets or intense feelings of unfulfillment—such as revenge or sorrow—unable to pass on to the afterlife, and thus become bound to the world.
As a result, they attack and destroy everything in sight, driven only by their lingering emotions. Normally, they are unable to pass on unless their lingering wishes are fulfilled.
They are highly resistant to normal attacks. Physical strikes can't hurt their incorporeal bodies, and even regular magic is ineffective against them, making them truly fearsome.
Normally, Hayato shouldn't even be able to form contracts with Spirits, since he couldn't use his own mana at all.
Familiar contracts require the contractor to channel their own mana to establish and maintain the bond.
But in Hayato's case, although he could store mana in his Mana Heart, he was completely unable to use it himself.
So, forming a contract with Kursh should've been impossible—if not for a rare artifact Hayato's father had acquired long ago, specifically so Hayato could at least have one familiar to protect himself.
His father, being the one who understood Hayato's condition best, had searched for years and spent an astronomical amount of money to find the artifact.
It was called Mana's Bane—a red pendant worn around Hayato's neck, from which Kursh had emerged.
The pendant used high-rank mana crystals as conductors to form a contract and even supplied mana to the familiar, refilling itself automatically.
However, it was only supposed to be capable of forming a contract with a low- to mid-rank familiar, not someone of Kursh's class, which was the highest rank.
But it had worked only because of Hayato's extraordinary affinity with Darkness, which was arguably higher than anyone else in the world.
That made a crucial difference, as Kursh herself was a Wraith—an Undead Spirit and a being deeply attuned to Darkness.
It also helped that Kursh had just been born when they met and was a rare, unique Wraith who was already fully sentient and willing to cooperate. That fateful meeting had taken place eight years ago.
With all those factors aligning, they were able to push Mana's Bane to its absolute limit and form the contract.
However, the pendant can only support a single familiar. If the contract is ever dissolved, the familiar dies as a result—making the bond permanent and irreversible.
Soon after, Kursh had cleaned the room spotless and even used Clean, an everyday magic spell used to magically cleanse objects.
The shelves were now filled with a huge number of books—only a portion of what was stored in Hayato's item box.
Hayato loved reading. He would go through at least seven to ten books a day, never rereading them, as his eidetic memory allowed him to retain anything after seeing it just once.
His reading speed was also extremely fast, thanks to both his memory and a lifetime of experience spent immersed in books.
The bedsheets, pillows, and other furnishings had also been replaced with the ones he usually used.
"Danna-sama, I'll whip up something delicious for you right away!" said Kursh cheerfully as she bolted out of the room, phasing straight through the wall in search of the kitchen.
It was already close to 3 in the afternoon, and Hayato hadn't eaten since getting off the magic train, so he was beginning to feel a bit hungry.
He'd been thinking of eating the food his mother had packed in his item box—the ring on his hand—but before he could even say anything, Kursh had already rushed off.
Kursh could normally see and hear everything outside while residing in her room inside the pendant, Mana's Bane, unless Hayato chose to restrict her from doing so.
So she should've known about the packed food. She might have even helped his mother make it.
But now that they were finally on the island, she seemed very excited—it was her first time here, after all.
Seeing how happy she was, Hayato didn't stop her. Besides, the food in the item box would remain perfectly preserved anyway.
Now that Kursh had left, Hayato headed out to find Sumiko baa-san to inform her about Kursh, so the others wouldn't panic or mistakenly attack her.
It didn't take long to locate her. He explained about Kursh and handed over the items from the room that he had replaced with his own personal belongings.
"I'll let everyone in the dorm know about her," said Sumiko, completely unfazed.
Most people would've been surprised to hear of a Wraith becoming a familiar, but she'd seen far stranger things in her long life.
Just as they were talking, a sudden scream rang out.
"Kyaa!"
It was Kursh's voice.
Hayato didn't waste a second. He bolted toward the direction it came from, with Sumiko moving just as swiftly. They reached the kitchen in moments.
What they saw was… bizarre, to say the least.
There stood a cheery, tall, handsome blond boy with green eyes—wearing only… an apron, with no other clothes—cooking what looked like Orzo Primavera Pasta.
Kursh hovered in a corner of the kitchen, several kitchen knives floating around her threateningly, her face twisted in disgust as she glared at the boy, who calmly studied her with a curious gaze.
The moment Hayato arrived, Kursh rushed to his side, pitifully yelling, "Danna-sama!"
"What happened?" Hayato asked, though the scene made it fairly easy to guess.
His gaze shifted incredulously to the blond boy, who raised both hands in the air—likely to show he meant no harm—wearing a calm expression and a faint smile.
"There's a pervert in this place!" Kursh yelled, giving the boy another disgusted look.
Meanwhile, Sumiko let out a tired sigh. "How many times does this make now?" she asked.
The boy just laughed awkwardly. "Ha ha ha…"
"Don't 'ha ha ha' me!" Sumiko snapped, hitting him on the head with a broom she'd somehow conjured out of nowhere.
"Haven't I told you to stop walking around naked in the dorm, Sakakihara?!"
Watching the chaos unfold, Hayato recalled the words of the two seniors he'd met at the entrance gate—how no one normal ever stayed in this dorm. Supposedly, it was meant for problem children.
It seemed Virion wasn't the only weirdo around.
Hayato could already foresee his bleak future—five whole years surrounded by lunatics.
"But you know, I feel freer this way, Sumiko-san. It's just so... liberating," said Sakakihara as he hugged himself gently, squirming in place.
The scene only intensified the looks of disgust on both Kursh's and Hayato's faces. Sakakihara, however, seemed completely unfazed.
"Just get dressed in something," sighed Sumiko.
"Hye~!" Sakakihara replied as his clothes magically changed in an instant, shifting into a loose T-shirt and shorts right in front of them.
"This guy here is your senior, a third-year in this school—Yukimura Sakakihara. Despite his questionable habits, he's a good kid," said Sumiko, looking at both Hayato and Kursh.
"Hi! You must be Hayato-kun! Nice to meetcha!" said Sakakihara cheerfully, acting like nothing awkward had just happened.
Hayato simply nodded and turned around, heading straight back to his room. He'd had enough of this nonsense for one day.
All he wanted now was to read a few books and forget everything. And if that pervert was still in the kitchen, he'd just eat the food his mother had packed for him.
"Sumiko-san, are they just shy or what?" Sakakihara asked as he watched Hayato and Kursh leave.
Sumiko didn't reply. She was already walking away, not wanting to stick around either, leaving Sakakihara alone in the kitchen to return to his cooking.
On their way back, Hayato and Kursh ran into Virion, who had just returned from outside, holding bags filled with food and drinks—probably from the cafeteria.
As soon as he saw Hayato, Virion waved enthusiastically. "O Wanderer–"
"Just call me Nakamura. If you call me anything else, I'm gonna smack your face in," Hayato said coldly, not in the mood for any of his antics.
Virion picked up on the tone and stopped immediately. "How about we have lunch together? I brought extra—"
"Later," Hayato replied without turning back, heading straight to his room.
"Oh…" muttered Virion, his shoulders slumping. Kursh followed silently behind Hayato, sparing a glance at Virion.
Oddly enough, no one in the dorm seemed overly surprised by Kursh's presence. Everyone so far had accepted her existence quite normally. And it only made Hayato more vigilant.
For the rest of the day, Hayato didn't leave his room. He spent his time with Kursh, finishing sixteen books that night.
And before long, the golden rays of the morning sun streamed through his window.
Today was the first day of the academy, and the Entrance Ceremony was scheduled for later.
After waking up, Hayato freshened up and headed to the large open field behind the dormitory to perform his daily morning exercises.
This field was a common area used by both male and female students of Arden Hall for training and other activities.
Since he couldn't level up or use mana, he had pushed his physical limits to the extreme since childhood.
His strength surpassed that of anyone else at level one, with a chiseled, eight-pack physique and a perfectly balanced build that could make anyone jealous.
Kursh hovered behind him, carrying towels and bottles of water in the air using telekinesis.
But Hayato hadn't expected his morning to start like this—again.
He felt the air crackle. Not far from where he stood, black lightning was raining down on someone.
There lay Sakakihara—wearing only his underwear—on the ground, getting zapped by bolts of dark lightning from the sky.
Standing a short distance away was a girl with a furious expression, rapier in hand, black lightning coursing along its blade.
Hayato glanced around and quickly pieced things together: a sun lounger, a portable sunshade, towels, lotions…
But what really caught him off guard was the reaction of his own body—his heart started beating unnaturally fast. And that wasn't normal for him. He wasn't the type to get flustered by a girl.
Which only made it more troubling.
Infomania:
1. Dragons possess the highest compatibility with magic among all known races. Being closest to the source of magic itself, they can command mana to its absolute limit, taking complete control over the mana in the air. As a result, they are nearly impervious to magic, with most beings unable to cast spells in their presence.
2. Mages of the Transcendent Class (SS~SSS) are known as Archmages, while only the strongest one among them—those who stand at the pinnacle of their era—is revered as Sages.
Trivia:
1. El Salvatore, the artificial island, was created approximately 700 years ago by the Sage Sylvania. Around 500 years ago, the renowned Sylvania Magic Academy was established on the island.
2. Mana's Bane is an artifact created over 400 years ago. Its creator remains a mystery to this day.
Keywords: Undead Spirit, Wraith, Mana's Bane, Mana Heart, Mana Crystals, Eidetic Memory, Danna-sama (master), Orzo Primavera Pasta, Arden Hall, Entrance Ceremony, Transcendent Class, Archmage, Sage, Yukimura Sakakihara.