"I'm coming, I'm coming." Zorien muttered, stamping his feet towards the door. Really, crazy knocks on the door? Who exactly? He slammed the door open and found himself staring at Akogia. "Ako? What are you doing here? ”

"I should ask you this question," she said. "Why are you still at home? The dance is—"

"Two hours to go," Zorian interrupted. "I can get to the ballroom in 10 minutes."

"Why do you always have to wait until the last minute? What a bad example? ”

"Time is precious," Zorian said.

"Miss Zileti asked me to find you," Akogia admitted.

Zorian blinked. Ilsa, as if she wanted to make sure he hadn't "forgotten". Ha. Although he thought of the idea, he knew it would never work out.

"She also said you can't find a date, so it's up to me tonight," Akoja continued in a softer tone, suddenly realizing that the door frame was interesting and worth checking.

Zorian frowned. How does "Declined to bring a date" become "Unable to find a date"? Ilsa, like his mother, seems to have a tendency to "translate" his words into something that best suits her purposes. Zorian suspects that the two of them will get along well.

"Anyway, get dressed and we're good to go," she said, suddenly regaining her confidence. "You might agree to cut things short, but I won't."

Zorian stared at her for a full second, trying to decide what to do. He really wanted to close the door in front of her and refuse to participate in the farce, but he didn't think it was her fault that she was involved in it. It is likely that she had more pleasant plans for the evening than to accompany a grumpy boy who hated the experience.

However, he marveled at Ilsa's manipulation - if he was the only one to do this, he would have come in casual clothes, stay for absolutely minimal time before leaving, and avoid the crowd like a plague the whole time.

At night. Right now? He didn't want to spoil the night in Akoja, which meant he had to make at least a symbolic effort. Yes, Ilsa and his mother will get along like two peas in a pod......

The way to the ballroom was quiet. Zorian refused to be accosted, and the silence was awkward. Silence suits him well, enjoy the calm.

It wasn't long, and the auditorium was about ten minutes away from his dormitory. As soon as they approached, they saw a crowd of people at the entrance, and the students were excited and had a lively discussion.

Zorian's face turned a little pale at the sight of the dense crowd - just looking at them gave him a headache.

In retaliation, when Akogia was brought indoors, Zorian "accidentally" got separated from them and lost in the crowd. He smiled to himself, wondering how long it would take her to find him again. If it was less than half an hour, he would have been shocked.

For a seemingly simple school prom, the whole event was surprisingly extravagant. The tables were filled with food, most of which was so exotic that Zorian was unrecognizable, that the hall was decorated with ornaments and animated carvings that moved in a pre-programmed way. Gosh, even the tablecloth was covered with intricate lace, and so soft, it must have been made of something extremely expensive.

Many of the students looked at their surroundings in amazement, and even Zorian, who had participated in such events many times, was a little shocked. Then he shrugged his shoulders and did his best to blend in with the crowd so that Akogia wouldn't find him.

He wandered around tables full of food, occasionally tasting something interesting when he saw it, observing other people, and he could understand why Ilsa was so determined to make everything run smoothly — and it wasn't just the students who were there, in addition to the huge cost of the event. There are also representatives from various guilds, associations, societies and organizations. Not only from the Alliance, but also from abroad, and even from other continents - he could at least see a man in a distinctive light blue military uniform, and a dark-skinned woman in a colorful color, suspecting that no one had noticed her yet. He casually wondered what kind of dance it was, because these people wouldn't come here for a simple school dance, these people lived in their own world, and the standards for 'important' were not the same as those of a mortal like him.

An hour later, the first dance was about to begin, and Zorian headed for Akogia. When he claims that he really got lost and didn't find her until now, she was angry and didn't seem to believe him, but she managed to restrain herself and didn't get angry at him. He takes her to the dance floor, and when she "accidentally" steps on his toe a few times, he doesn't fight back.

"People are looking for you." She finally said that for the time being she was tired of abusing her toes.

"Well, I'm nearby," Zorian said with a smile. "All they have to do is look for me."

"You have to go to them now, though," Akoja said.

"But Ako, we're dancing. I would never leave such a beautiful girl as you no matter what. I've left you unattended for too long. Zorian said, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. It's a skill. Ha

She glared at him, but she liked the compliment.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop her from then pulling him to meet groups of people. It's true. Zorian found himself memorizing various faces, names, and titles, though he didn't care too much. Now it's instinctive for him, and he'll do it even if he doesn't mean it – a legacy of his family's failed attempts to turn him into a party animal.

"Kazinski? Oh, did you happen to-"

"Damen and Tove Kaczynski, yes," Zorian said, trying not to let the irritation in his voice.

"Oh my gosh, that's lucky," she said. "I must say, your brother's violin is playing pretty well." She pointed to the stage, where the college music department was playing a slow, relatively quiet song. Tove is an orchestra member, but is clearly the most notable musician on stage. His appearance, as always, has attracted attention and comments.

"What instrument do you play?"

"Nope." Zorian's face was expressionless. His family had tried to teach him how to play an instrument, as it was fashionable to learn an instrument among the rich (and those who pretended to be rich), but he had no ability to play music due to Zorrian's complete pentatonic disability. To be honest, he wasn't particularly interested in it either, although he could certainly pretend to be interested out of politeness. One of the things his mother was most disappointed that he had no talent in this area, as both Dymen and Tove were relatively good at music – Dymen was good at playing the piano and Tove was good at playing the violin. They weren't child prodigies by any means, but their skills were good enough to impress those who attended the event. "Unlike my brothers, I wasn't very interested in music.

Sadly, phew – these people don't appreciate magic. Why did you come to the prom of the Academy of Magic again?

Thankfully, Akoja took pity on him and went to a nearby table for a bite to eat. Several other students in the class joined them and began a casual conversation.

They are all aimless gibberish, uninterested. Of course, he will still nod and chuckle at the appropriate moment, ignoring the occasional comment that he is "too quiet" and needs to be "lighter".

He was about to eat the cake in front of him when Ako touched him with his knee.

"The fork is wrong," she muttered.

Zorian looked down at the fork in his hand and realized that he should use the small fork that was designed for dessert. He shrugged his shoulders and poked the cake with the big fork in his hand.

"I know," he replied with a grunt.

"Zorrian," she shouted suddenly, her voice pleading. "Why are you so hard? It's just one night. I know I'm not the date you want......"

"It's not like that," Zorian interrupted. "Anyway, I'm not trying to date. I was going to come alone. ”

She looked at him in shock. Depressed, Zorian doesn't understand why.

"You—You'd rather go alone than go with me or me?" She asked.

Oh nonsense.

Before he could figure out what to say, she fled.

He cursed under his breath, burying his face in his hands. That's why he hates these kinds of incidents.

。。。。 Two.....

An hour later, Akoja was no longer in the ballroom, and she wasn't coming back. He really didn't want to chase her all over the street in the middle of the night, so he didn't follow her out. Besides, what should he say to her? He didn't even know where to start. He thought about going home himself, but in the end he just climbed onto the roof of the ballroom to observe the stars.

He silently named all the stars and constellations he could see. He knew a lot due to his interest in the topic as a child. After a full hour, he couldn't think of anything to name.

Monday is going to be embarrassing. Akogia is the darling of the teachers in most subjects, and the teachers will most likely decide to make him sad for the days to come!

Damn it.

The sound of fireworks pulled him back from his thoughts. In the middle of the night, the festival officially began. He relaxes a little when the various fireworks that bloom in the night sky, each exploding in its own unique way.

It's beautiful. Most of them dissolve into rapidly fading particles of light after their initial explosion, but some of them remain intact and always bright, more like flares than fireworks. They draw an arc in the sky and then fall to the ground like falling stars. He frowned. Spooky. Aren't they supposed to explode now?

The nearest flare to him hit a nearby college dormitory building and exploded. The explosion was so loud and so loud that Zorian was instantly blind and deaf, and the whole building shook beneath his feet, and he staggered backwards and fell to his knees.

A few flickering spots appeared in Zorian's vision, his ears still ringing, and he crawled up. He stared at the place where the residential buildings that had been damaged were located. Almost the entire building was razed to the ground, all flammable materials in the vicinity of the site of impact were burning, and strange flame shapes appeared in the center of the destruction.

Wait a minute...... That's his residential building!

He fell to his knees again. If he had chosen to stay in his room as originally planned, he would have been dead by now. Thought-provoking thoughts. But what the hell is going on here!? That's not fireworks, that's for sure! It looks and sounds more like a high-level artillery spell.

He noticed that the faint sound of celebration had stopped. Looking around the city, he found that what happened in residential buildings was not an isolated incident – no matter where a flare hit, it left a devastating trace. He only thought for a few seconds before noticing another flare in the distance and starting to rise into the sky. This particular barrage is not covered by fireworks, it is clear that they are cannonball spells. They are under attack.

When the flare begins to fall back on Earth, Zorian panics. What the hell is he going to do!? There was no point in running away, because he did not know what the flare was aimed at. If he runs blindly, he will most likely run straight into the area of effect. Wait, why does he have to do anything? There is a group of capable mages in the building, and he should inform them and let them deal with it. He stormed the ballroom.

As soon as he stepped up the stairs, he met Ilsa and Karen.

"Zorian! What are you doing here? Ilsa asked.

"Uh, I'm just going out and getting some fresh air." Zorian stammered. "But it doesn't matter now!"

"I agree," Karen said. "Boy, what kind of explosion is that? Is that what you do? ”

"No," Zorian said. "Some kind of flare fell on the whole city, destroying everything they hit. Looks like some kind of powerful artillery spell. ”

Ilsa and Karen glanced at each other, then turned to him.

"Go to the ballroom and join Akoja and the others," Ilsa said. "We'll see what's going on and teleport everyone to the shelter if necessary."

The two pushed him away and rushed onto the roof, leaving Zorian stumbling into the ballroom in a daze. What about her? Not in the ballroom. She's gone. Because of him. She was right there, maybe even dead......

He shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind. He took out his divination compass and quickly cast a divination spell to find her location. He's not sure if this works, as the spells he uses can only find people you're "familiar with".

He took a deep breath, his nerves tense. She will most likely be killed, but ...... Well, it's his fault. If Akogia dies because of him, he feels he can't stand it.

Like an invisible ghost, he shuttles between the restless students and foreign dignitaries, unhindered by anyone, until he approaches the exit. He slipped out of the building and ran wildly in the direction indicated by the hands of the divination compass.

。。。。 Four.....

Trolls are very nasty creatures. There are several subspecies, but they are all large, 3-meter-tall humanoids with tough leather-like skin and supernatural regenerative abilities that allow them to reattach their severed limbs by simply placing them on the matching stump for a few moments. The most numerous and well-known subspecies are forest trolls, who have bright green skin and roam the vast forests of the north.

When Zorian sees a group of trolls swaggering through the streets, smashing windows, howling inexplicably, luckily for a while, the spicy smoke wafting from nearby burning buildings muffles his scent. His textbooks say that forest trolls have a terrible sense of smell.

So many forest trolls gathered in the center of the human city, what they were doing, but the blades and maces in their hands told him everything he needed to know. These weapons were too advanced to be made by the trolls themselves, as the trolls were very primitive and lacked such superb metalworking skills. They are war trolls. Someone armed the creatures and put them in the city.

After they left, Zorian relaxed a little, what to do? He's such an idiot. Why, oh, why did he run away without first getting help from his teacher? Then again, he believes that the flare is the only danger, and in this case, reaching Akoja will not be a problem, assuming that the stray flare does not hit him. Instead, he finds the city full of monsters. This is not a terrorist attack as he imagined, but a full-scale invasion! The way back to the ballroom was closed - a large number of invading forces were converging on the Academy, cutting off his retreat. With this in mind, Zorian set off for Akogia. He hid himself in the shadows, knowing that the intruder would soon notice anyone in the open air, such as the boy standing ...... Over there...... Over there......

Is that Zach?

"This way!" Zach shouted, waving his hand in the air. "Here I am, you stupid animals! Come pick me up! ”

Reckless stupid, what the hell is that idiot doing!? No matter how talented a student Zach is, he can't resist the hordes of monsters that are wreaking havoc in the city at the moment.

But it was too late - attracted by Zack's shouts, the trolls ran back, collectively let out a cry of battle, and rushed at the boy who was stupid enough to get their attention.

Zach was going to fight the trolls, and it was crazy - what could he do in the face of such a creature that could regenerate almost any wound? Only fire and acid can inflict permanent damage, and they don't-

Zach held the staff firmly in his hand, and his other hand reached out in the direction of the troll's charge - a roaring fireball erupted from his hand and exploded in the very center of the troll's formation. When the flames were gone, only charred corpses remained.

Zorian was shocked. Fireballs like this are the third magic circle and require a lot of mana consumption, much more than any academy student. Even Daemon couldn't cast the spell at Zack's age. However, not only did Zach succeed in doing this, but he didn't even look exhausted!

But when a group of iron beaks attacked, and deadly feathers rained down on the boy, Zach simply erected a shelter – a terrible shelter! - Around him, scatter tiny fireballs at the birds that will aim at their targets, like magic missiles made from fire. Zorian was stunned by the sight of his classmates effortlessly single-handedly repelling hordes of monsters. So much so that he barely noticed that a winter wolf was quietly approaching him.

Zorian cursed himself as he looked at the Winter Wolf, ready for another lunge. He should have expected himself to be targeted. He should use Zach's fight to distract himself and take advantage of the opportunity to escape. It was too late by now - Zorian knew he wasn't fast enough to overtake the Winter Wolf, and he didn't have the battle spells to defend himself. Or rather, there are no spell sticks or anything like that. If he can survive tonight, he'll definitely learn some fighting spells!

A shining force struck the Winter Wolf's head, causing it to explode into a cloud of blood and bone shards. Bloody chaos, disgust! I'm glad I could have lived a little longer. He also pointed out that the effect of lightning is a bit stronger for ordinary magic missiles. It seems that Zach is quite proficient in combat magic.

"Zorian? What the hell are you doing here? ”

Zorian looked at Zach thoughtfully. Noticing the traces of the other boy's body, Zorian looked at the staff in his right hand and the belt filled with the spell stick. As reckless as Zach may seem, he did come prepared.

After all, Zach did save his life. He decided to be honest - maybe another boy would be willing to help him get to Akoja, considering his amazing fighting skills.

"Look for Akoja. She left the prom shortly before the attack, which was kind of my fault. ”

Zach shouted. "Man, I don't get tired of telling you to go to the prom too. Like you want to be killed or something! ”

"You?" Zorian asked incredulously. "You're the one who told Ilsa I wasn't going to go? I've been blaming Beni all the time! How do you know about this?

"You're always in your room, and if I don't do something to stop it, you'll be killed in the initial attack. You can really be a stubborn jerk if you want to," Zach said with a sigh.

Zorian stared at him in confusion.

"But that's enough," Zach said happily. "Let's go find Akota before she gets eaten by something. Do you know the road? ”

And they did. They walked through the burning streets of the city, leaving behind the bodies of the intruders. Zach didn't even avoid the monsters, just burst through them like an angry god for revenge. At one point they were even attacked by a group of skeletons and an enemy mage, but Zach only allowed the ground beneath their feet to crack and engulf them. Zorian dutifully shut up, never questioning Zack's seemingly inexhaustible mana reserves or his knowledge of advanced magic, which he would never have made this without Zach's help, and he sincerely thanked the boy for his help. Zach can keep his secrets, no matter what it is.

They eventually found Akoja trapped upstairs in a house. Apparently, she was chased there by a pack of winter wolves and then trapped for fear that the creatures were waiting for her to come out. Clever, really. Definitely smarter than Zorian did. Luckily, there was no sign of the Winter Wolf around the house at this time - apparently, her experience with the Winter Wolf had shaken her greatly.

When Akoja finally opened the door, he immediately grabbed him, hugged him, leaned on his shoulder and sobbed, he was very surprised.

"I thought I was going to die!" She wailed. "These huge birds litter around with iron feathers, and winter wolves ......"

Zorian's mouth opened in confusion, not knowing how to deal with such an emotional outburst. He threw a pleading look at Zach, but the boy just smiled cheekily at him, apparently amused by his reaction.

"Ah, young love," Zach nodded knowingly. "But I'm afraid you'll have to go back to the shelter and continue your heartfelt reunion."

"Yes!" Akota immediately shouted, lifting her face from Zorian's shoulder. She completely ignores Zack's criticism of their love for each other, and she still clutches his body tightly, afraid that he will disappear as soon as she lets go. Although it was a little painful, he was happy. “

Refuge! We will be safe there! ”

Zach stepped back for a moment before he came to his senses. It was too fast for Akogia to seem to notice, but Zorian did. So aren't shelters safe either? But apparently safer than it is now, as Zach seems determined to get it all done.

"Great!" Zach said happily clapping his hands. He took a magic wand from his waist and handed it to Arko. "You hold on, Zorrian."

"What's that?" Zorian asked, confused. There are no markings on this stick.

"It's a transfer stick," Zach said. "It's programmed to transport the person holding it to the shelter. I've set it to a 30 second delay, so hold on so you don't get left behind. ”

"But what about you?" Akoja asked. "You'll have to hold on until you activate it!"

"Ah, no," Zach said, waving her away. "I still have unfinished business."

"Unfinished business!?" Akoja protested. "Zach, this isn't a game! These things will kill you! ”

"I'm totally capable—"

Zorian had a vague sense of fear, knowing that he had to react immediately, as had happened earlier when the Winter Wolf tried to pounce on him. With a sudden jerk, he broke free from Akoja's grasp and pushed Zach away from the impending spell. An angry red light surged through the air in front of them, passing right where Zack's head had just been, and crashing into the wall behind them. The jagged red light pierced deep into the wall, carving a deep furrow in the wall and blasting up a fine layer of dust around it.

"Oops," Zach said. "He found me. Quick, hold the rod first-"

When the scepter teleported her to safety, Arkoja vanished in the blink of an eye.

"—it activated," Zach said in a painful tone. "Damn it, Zorian, why don't you hold on?!"

"Then you're dead!" Zorian protested.

If he could control it, he wouldn't let the hero die from the Lost spell. Besides, whoever casts it will definitely succumb to Zack's magical powers, just how experienced is this enemy spellcaster?

Suddenly, the wind blew away the dust, and a thin humanoid figure appeared in view. When Zorian saw the thing in front of him, he was taken aback. It was a skeleton shrouded in a sickly green light. Its bones are black with a strange metallic sheen, as if they weren't bones at all, but rather a replica of a skeleton made of some kind of black metal. Dressed in golden armor, a skeletal scepter in its hands, and a crown studded with purple gemstones, the creature looked like a long-dead king had risen from the dead.

It was a lich. That's a goddamn lich! Oh, they're dying......

The lich's hollow eye sockets swept over them. When Zorian's eyes met the black pit in the lich's eye, an uncomfortable feeling swept over him, as if the lich was peeking into his soul. Less than a second later, the lich lazily turned his attention to Zach, apparently dismissive of Zorrian.

"So...... "the lich's voice was full of power, "it was you who killed my minions." ”

"Zorian, run away, I'll deal with this guy." Zach said, clutching his staff in his hand.

Without waiting for a response, Zach fired a barrage of magic missiles at the Lich, which retaliated with three purple beams and erected a shield around him with a wave of his bony hand. Two of them were aimed at Zack, but unfortunately, the Lich deemed it appropriate to target one at Zorian's retreating figure. Although it failed to hit Zorian directly, the impact of the beam on the nearby ground produced a considerable explosion that hit him with a fragment of a stone projectile in the leg. The pain was so intense that Zorian instantly fell to the ground, unable to take another step.

For the next five minutes, Zorian painfully dragged himself behind a nearby trolley, hoping it would protect him from at least the destructive forces. Zach kept the lich so busy that it didn't send any more spells to Zorian, which was fortunate because Zorian was no longer in any state where he could hide from them. He watched with increasing unease as Zach and the Lich shot at each other, all sorts of destructive spells, and became more and more terrified to realize that his predictions of their terrible deaths were well-founded - no matter how good Zach was, he wasn't even in the same league as the Lich. That thing was playing with another boy and was destined to get tired of the game soon, otherwise-

He frowned when a spear-like red lightning bolt pierced Zack's shelter and pierced the boy's flank. He suspected that the attack had hit a non-vital part, simply because the lich wanted to be complacent, and when the creature didn't kill Zach with anything destructive, instead choosing to throw Zach into the air, it only took a casual gesture. Zach crashed into the wall near Zorian's hiding place, screaming in pain.

The lich was clearly not in a hurry and slowly approached. Zach staggered to his feet, clutching a spell stick tightly in his left hand, and he didn't seem to care. Zorian could see his right hand pressed tightly against the bleeding wound in his flank.

"You hit hard, kid," said the lich. "For someone who is a college student, that's impressive."

"Not enough...... Impressive. Zach gasped, his hands covering the wound on his flank, and the spell stick fell from his hand, obviously in pain. I think...... Next time I have to ...... Work harder. ”

The lich chuckled. It was a strange sound, out of place with the creature. "Next time? Silly boy, there won't be a next time. There's no way I'm going to keep you alive, you know? ”

"Phew," Zach spouted, grimacing, and straightened up. "Without further ado, let's end it quickly."

"Considering you're dying, you look surprisingly indifferent," the lich chitsiped.

"Ah, whatever," Zach said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not going to die forever."

Zorian looked at Zach in disbelief, not quite understanding what Zach meant. The lich seems to get it, though.

"Ahh "If you're invulnerable, then you must be new to soul magic. I can trap your soul in a soul jar, but I have a better idea. ”

The lich casually gestured to Zorian, and suddenly he felt his entire body freeze, as if enveloped in some alien power. Another wave tossed Zorian at a breakneck speed towards the stunned Zach, who crashed into another boy in agony. They all eventually fell to the ground on all fours, and Zorian breathed a sigh of relief, at least the unknown force that had paralyzed him was gone.

"If your soul is destroyed beyond recognition before you get there, it doesn't matter if your soul can be reincarnated somewhere else." The lich said. "After all, the soul may be immortal, but no one says it can't be changed or added."

Vaguely, Zorian could hear the lich chanting in some strange language, which was definitely not a traditional invocation,

A sudden burst of pain. He opened his mouth to scream, but then his world suddenly burst into bright light, and then suddenly fell into pitch black.