The air emanating from the rift was dense and cold. It smelled of death. And this was only a gray rift, the least dangerous of all.
"I suppose you won't even be able to be a Sentinel after all. It's frustrating... I can't believe my son is so useless. But it was to be expected. You haven't even been able to connect with your ring, and at this point, you never will."
"I'm sorry, Father. I really gave it my all, I swear."
"Please, spare me the theatrics. Now I have to decide what to do with you. I can't allow the world to know that my eldest son is the family's biggest disappointment."
"What...? What do you mean?"
"I'll send you to the Nemura archipelago. You will work at a fishing terminal."
"No! Why?!"
"Are you really asking why? Please, Blake... were you expecting to stay with us considering the embarrassment you are? You don't use magic, you won't be a Sentinel. What do you think people will say? It would destroy our family's prestige."
"But I'm your son!"
"And precisely because of that, this is for the best. Nemura is disconnected. No one will know you're there. As for Eldralid... I'll invent some lie."
"I don't want to go. I don't want to work at a fishing terminal... I don't want to."
"Oh, you don't want to? Why? Did you get used to the spoiled rich kid luxuries? You won't have them. I won't support a useless parasite in this house."
"Father, please... don't kick me out. Give me one more chance. Just one."
"No, Blake."
"Please, Father, I beg you, seriously... Just one."
That conversation with my father echoed in every moment. Three days had passed since that ultimatum.
No magic. No skills. No options. If I failed today, I would be finished.
"Nervous?"
Darius appeared beside me, adjusting his dagger. I saw the genuine worry in his eyes.
"Not at all," I lied, the truth was that "nervous" was an understatement—I was terrified.
Professor Edward cleared his throat, capturing the attention of Group 7. "The rules are simple. Eliminate monsters, accumulate fifty points on your evaluation watches to pass, or demonstrate a sufficient emission of magical energy."
I looked at the device on my wrist.
❖Total: 0 points
I had to do everything possible to reach those 50 points.
"Blake Thornveil will be in charge of carrying the group's supplies."
Edward's statement fell like a sentence. The eldest son of the Thornveils, reduced to merely carrying the burdens—what would my father think?
"Sure," Leander's voice broke the silence. "It seems the great Thornveil's expected promise finally has one useful purpose: carrying backpacks."
Eryndor let out a burst of laughter. "At least he's here. The last name opens doors, doesn't it? Even for those who can't open any themselves."
"Do you think the Black Sheep at least knows how to use a potion? You know, just in case," Leander continued, raising his voice just enough for everyone to hear.
"I doubt he knows how to use anything," Eryndor replied. "He probably doesn't even know how to hold that dagger without cutting himself."
"Black Sheep." That was the nickname I had earned.
"At least his younger sister, Roxanne, did inherit the true Thornveil talent," Aurora commented casually.
"She's fourteen, right?" Ludwig added. "Two years younger than the minimum requirement and they still accepted her. Now that's a prodigy."
I hated being compared to her. She was my father's favorite tool to humiliate me.
"Enough," Darius said firmly. "We're in the same group. Let's focus on the exam."
"The same group?" Leander crossed his arms. "We're going to fight. He's going to... well, exist in the back. It's not exactly the same."
"That's enough, it's not worth talking about this now," Beth intervened, although her tone wasn't exactly kind.
If they knew what I did to be here, the mockery would be worse. I had stolen twenty thousand dollars from my family to bribe Professor Edward—otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to be here.
"I've got your back," Darius whispered as we walked towards the entrance. "Act confident inside the rift."
I nodded, feeling the guilt in my throat. Then, we entered.
~ ~ ~
The stone corridor opened into a massive cavern. And I saw them. Skeletons. Dozens.
"Let the fun begin!" Leander shouted, attacking without hesitation.
"You said it!" Eryndor followed suit.
Chaos erupted. Their elemental fire and wind spells pulverized waves of the undead. It was a one-sided massacre.
I could only watch, envying the magic that I should also possess. Aurora, Ludwig, Beth, and Sarah demonstrated that arcane magic was not inferior.
And then there were Darius and I.
Darius fought with difficulty. His arcane magic only allowed him one spell: Arcane Pulse, an enhancer for his dagger. He had to get close, dodge, block, and wait for the moment. Each skeleton took him almost a minute.
And I... I was paralyzed by the wall, trembling.
A skeleton separated from the group, advancing directly towards me.
Panic overwhelmed me.
'No. I can't do this.'
The skeleton raised its machete. I imagined the serrated metal slicing through my flesh.
'MOVE! YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! YOU CAN'T STAND STILL!'
The machete descended. It was too late.
"BLAKE!"
Darius appeared like a flash of lightning, interposing himself. He blocked the blow and counterattacked with Arcane Pulse. But it didn't hit the core.
The skeleton delivered a brutal blow in return. Darius recoiled, losing his balance.
"Blake, you have an opening! Attack!" he yelled.
I didn't move. I couldn't. I was frozen, watching as my friend fought alone.
Beth appeared and pierced the monster's core. "I warned you it was dangerous! You wouldn't listen!" She shouted at me before returning to the battle.
Darius was breathing heavily. Then he looked at me. "I thought you had gotten over this. That you were no longer afraid to face monsters."
"I... I thought so..." My voice broke.
"It doesn't matter." He shook his head. "Just stay back. You'll be safe. I've got you covered."
He ran back, leaving me alone with my shame.
Since the first encounters, every time I saw a single monster, no matter which one, I reacted the same way. Combined with my inability to use magic and my physical weakness, that had made me quit training.
~ ~ ~
The combat continued. Skeletons fell, but Darius was suffering. Every monster was a battle. He blocked desperately. He dodged by centimeters. Small cuts accumulated on his arms and legs. He was getting exhausted.
All to protect someone who couldn't even move.
"Hey, Black Sheep!" Leander's voice boomed. "At least try to look useful! You're making the Thornveil name look even worse!"
Another skeleton approached me. It had a spear. More reach.
I tried to lift my dagger. Force my legs. Do something.
I saw the spear. I saw how it would penetrate my stomach. My insides spilling out. The pain.
The dagger fell from my hands with a clatter.
"BLAKE!"
Darius appeared again, exhausted, sweating, and bleeding. He blocked the spear, but he didn't have time to use his Arcane Pulse.
The impact was brutal. The blow made him lose his balance.
Another skeleton—one with a sword—saw the opening.
It lunged.
And it pierced deep into Darius's side.
CRUNCH.
"AGHHHHHHHH!"
Darius's scream tore through the air. Pure agony. Blood instantly gushed out, soaking his clothes. He fell to his knees, pressing the wound with both hands.
"He needs a potion! NOW!" Beth screamed at me, running to decapitate the monsters.
Everyone looked at me. I was the potion carrier.
I looked at the scene. So much blood. Darius's face contorted. His scream still echoing.
If I had fought... that would have happened to me.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" Beth shrieked, her voice broken. "GIVE HIM THE DAMN POTION!"
I didn't move. I was in shock.
Darius coughed. Blood spat from his mouth.
"B-Blake..." he whispered. "It's fine... it was just a little scratch."
I knew it was a mortal wound. But I couldn't move.
"DAMN IT!" Aurora ran toward me with fury in her eyes. She violently opened the backpack and extracted a potion.
"USELESS! YOU ARE A FUCKING WASTE OF SPACE!"
She ran back and poured it onto the wound. The healing magic began its slow work.
Darius sobbed, his body trembling.
Leander approached, looking at the scene with disgust. "Unbelievable. Your friend bleeds out, screams in pain, and you... you just stand there like a useless statue."
Eryndor appeared beside him. "You know the worst part, Black Sheep? Darius did everything to protect you, and you can't even do something as simple as giving him a potion... What a friend."
"Literally the only thing you had to do. Your only responsibility. And you failed."
"Stop it now," Darius murmured. The potion finally closed the wound. "Leave him... alone..."
Leander leaned towards me. "Leave him alone? Are you really going to defend him, after he almost got you killed?"
"He's... my friend..."
"Your 'friend'," Eryndor made air quotes with his fingers, "is just a burden you can no longer bear."
"The Thornveil name used to mean something," Leander challenged me. "Strength. Honor. Excellence. And then you arrived. The Black Sheep. The stain. How does it feel to be the biggest disappointment of Eldralid's most prestigious family?"
I didn't answer. There was no point.
"Shut up now," Darius said. He forced himself to walk, limping, barely steady. Then he looked at me. "Let's go... You still need those fifty points."
I watched him walk away. He was limping with great difficulty. Despite the mortal wound, he was still thinking about me passing.
"He has completely lost his mind," Leander muttered. "I can't believe he still cares about the Black Sheep."
"If he wants to die, that's his problem," Eryndor replied.
Aurora stopped in front of me. Her green eyes drilled me with contempt.
"I don't know how you dare call yourself his friend."
She turned and followed the group. Everyone advanced behind Darius, leaving me alone in the dark corridor.
Then I felt it.
A presence. Something was watching me. I could feel a gaze fixed on the back of my neck.
I spun around abruptly.
There was no one.
Just stone. Darkness. Silence.