''Wait here, Kael! We'll come back quickly''
A female voice sounded, his surroundings completely blurred by smoke and fire
He can still remember the smell of blood and burning flesh from that day.
He tried to stop the blurry shadow of his parents in panic.
'No, don't go, don't go, mom, dad!, stop! Comeback ''
Kael bolted upright in his narrow bed, a scream tearing from his throat.
His chest heaved as he fought for air, his breath coming in ragged, heavy gasps against the lingering chill of the nightmare.
His shoulders rise and fall violently with each deep breath.
''Not that nightmare again ''
Rubbing his aching forehead, Kael let out a deep sigh.
'It's been 6 years, I have to get hold of myself'
Kael got up from bed and got ready to head out for today.
Checking his SpiritLink device for today's academy entrance exam update.
''Today is the final deadline, I can no longer hesitate.''
His palm grips SpiritLink's crystal slab tightly – which shows the latest news from the kingdom today.
He had been preparing just for today's academy entrance exam.
Looking outside the cracked window, the sky is just brightening up.
It's dawn.
He lives in a one-room unit in the Lowreach District( slums), City of Aurelion, Continent of Solmara (Central Continent)
A small table leaning against the walls, The walls were bare stone, cold even in summer. Rain leaked in during storms. In winter, the air felt like glass.
One floating old mana-lamp buzzed above the table.
After wearing his clothes, Kael take out his parents' last belongings.
His father's sword wrapped in a cloth – that he kept beneath the bed, and his mother's old healer badge from inside a drawer – chipped but polished every week.
''Father mother, I will be leaving home from today. "
After holding it tightly in his hands, he uncovered the sword wrapped in rough linen and sheathed it in a leather belt, which held a worn sword sheath on his left side.
His fingers lingered on his mother's badge before slipping it into his pocket.
Taking one last look around the room - where he has lived for the past 6 years since the age of 10 - Kael left his one-room unit in a stacked slum-block called Spirefall Row.
———
The city of Aurelion never truly slept.
Mana-conduits ran above the slum like glowing veins, carrying light to the upper city.
What reached the streets below was weak and tired—flickering blue lamps that buzzed when the rain hit them.
Trains thundered overhead on elevated rails.
As the dawn brightened the city, airships glided through the sky, their lights flickering like wandering stars.
Kael walked beneath them with his hands in his pockets and his head down.
The hood of his cheap, dark-grey cloak shadowed his platinum hair and silver eyes.
The cloak's hem was frayed, brushing against his calves with every step.
His cloak was cheap—dark grey, frayed at the hem.
Under it, he wore a patched brown tunic and worn black trousers.
A leather belt held a sword sheathed at his left side.
His boots were old, scuffed, secondhand, and a size too big.
People rushed past him amidst the city's frantic pace, none of them looking at Kael twice.
After entering the middle district ( wealthy resident area ) he began to pay attention to his surroundings. When he found the massive SpiritLink panel hosted on the wall of a magic-tech shop.
Kael stopped in the corner of the street as the muddy ground of the slums turned into streets layered with rocks.
A SpiritLink panel flickered on the wall of a closed shop ahead.
AURELION ROYAL COMBAT ACADEMY
ENTRANCE TRIALS — TODAY
ALL RACES — ALL BACKGROUNDS
Academy
A place where talents from all over the kingdom and even the world gather.
A place where his parents had once walked through wearing official crests and clean uniforms.
They had gone on a mission to rescue the citizens during the dungeon break but they never came back out.
Kael stared at the SpiritLink panel.
Reaching inside his pocket, Kael held his father's cracked crystal pendant in his hand.
The crystal pendant was cold and a little heavy against his palm yet its coldness didn't reach Kael's heart.
His heart felt no anger or grief, There was no fire in his heart.
Just the same hollow pressure in his chest, like an empty room that never filled
Closing his eyes, Kael can still remember that day.
The entire city was involaped in an atmosphere of panic and terror, people were led to shelters by adventurers as the sound of the loud alarm went off.
''All students in C rank and adventurers above D rank gather in front of the Ranked B dungeon, I repeat—''
The voice of the caption of the royal guard came from the speakers adjusted to the mana-lamp post in the streets.
''Wait here, Kael! We'll come back quickly''
His mother's hand gripped his shoulder tightly, her hands glowing faintly as she bestow defence buff on him.
She smiled gently as she tried to hide her fear. His father was standing at a distance with his adventurer team and looking at him with a gentle yet steady gaze
"Wait here, Kael. And if something happens to us, go to guild headquarters!, Take care!"
That was the last time he heard from them.
It's been 6 years since then, at that time he was only 10 years old.
He had waited. And waited. But, they never came back.
Time passed quickly after that.
Days blurred into months.
Months into years.
After losing his parents' protection, Kael has to enter society in age of 10.
Fortunately, his father's guild was kind enough to give him a small place to stay in the slums until he turned 16.
The age of 16 is the minimum standard for admission to Aurelion Royal Combat Academy or ARCA in short.
Kael worked small jobs when he could.
Carrying crates. Fixing broken mana-lamps. Running errands for people who didn't remember his name.
He felt incredibly lonely.
During his free time, he practices what his father taught him when he was a child - how to hold a sword, how to fight monsters, how to proceed in a dungeon filled with monsters and how to survive in this world.
He slept in a one-room unit in Spirefall Row in the slums given to him by his parents' guild.
He didn't dream much.
When he did dream, he always woke up with a nightmare.
Taking out his father's personal palm-sized crystal slab– SpiritLink, from his pocket, he opened the notice sent by the academy administration
ENTRANCE TRIALS — FINAL CALL
Kael exhaled deeply.
'If I kept living like this… nothing would change.'
He would keep drifting from one job to another. Detach from the world and keep existing without any meaning or being there.
His fingers tightened around the crystal slab.
His parents had gone forever, he had to move forward.
Kael started walking toward the upper district ( noble resident area ) where the academy plaza is located.
———
Kael stopped in front of the stairs leading to Academy Plaza and gazed at Academy up ahead.
The Aurelion Royal Combat Academy stood above everything else.
White stone towers. Gold rune-circles carved into the gates. Banners of the Three Continents snapped in the wind.
Students gathered in front of the stairs leading to the academy gates
—humans, elves, beastfolk, dwarves, dragonkin. And Half-Bloods.
There were all kinds of races gathered from all three continents of ELYNDOR.
Some wore an academy uniform with noble crests.
Some carried magic-tech weapons.
Some dress in the humble clothing of a commoner.
They gather together in a group consisting of their social circle, laughing and sharing gossip, and showing off their fancy equipment.
Kael walked past them paying them any attention.
As he climbed the stairs, a few eyes flicked toward his cloak.
Then looked away in disgust.
"What is a slum trash doing here?" a noble lady wearing a clean uniform muttered.
"Hey. You lost, slum-rat?"
A noble boy standing beside her jokingly asked.
But Kael didn't answer them and continued to climb up the stairs.
Another noble boy who was loudly praising the noble lady's looks just before, snorted while looking at Kael.
"Look at that cloak. I think he's here to beg?"
His fist hardened, and the corner of his eyes twitched. Taking a deep breath he calmed his heart.
'It's better to ignore them, I am only here to study and nothing more. After I leave the academy, we will be people of a different world'
He climbed the wide steps alone..
He hesitated and stopped in front of the gates of the academy
The gates loomed over him.
'If I step inside these gates, not only will I be given the way to become powerful, but I also have to bear the responsibility that comes with it. Nothing comes free in this world!. Is this worth it? Throwing away the life my parents saved? '
He thought of his parents' backs as they walked away.
His fists hardened as he gathered his resolve.
"I don't want to disappear like this, even if I die in the future, that would be better than living in this world meaninglessly''
He said quietly.
Taking a deep breath to gather his resolve,
Kael stepped inside the gates.