“Since when did you know you were a witch?” Ethan asked as he walked hand in hand with Chloe inside the dungeon.
“Since I was twelve,” Chloe replied. “Do you remember that kidnapping incident a few years ago?”
“The one when you and a few of your friends were kidnapped when you were on a field trip?”
“Yes. That one.”
Chloe stopped walking, which made Ethan look at her with concern.
“I don’t know if I was lucky or unlucky to be involved in that incident,” Chloe stated as she recalled what happened in the past. “One moment we were laughing together, the next we were knocked unconscious by a spell. When we regained our consciousness, we were all tied up in a warehouse with dozens of other children, who were around the same age as me.
“We tried to scream, and call for help, but for some reason, no sounds came out of our lips. All of us had been silenced, and the only thing we could do was cry.”
Chloe paused as she looked down on the ground under her feet, as if making sure that her hands and feet were no longer bound by ropes. A minute later, she continued her tale.
“While everyone, including me, were crying our hearts out, we heard loud explosions outside the warehouse. It was very chaotic back then. There was shouting, there was cursing, and there were explosions. Perhaps, due to how intense the battle was, a stray spell hit the warehouse, creating a spark that ignited a blaze.
“Since we were tied up, there was no place we could go. Back then, I felt so sad that I would not be able to see my parents again… I was sad because I would not be able to see you again.”
Chloe looked at Ethan who was still holding her hand and smiled faintly.
“It’s strange. Even though I should have been worrying about myself, the only thing that was on my mind was seeing my family’s and your sad faces. Perhaps, I was more afraid of that than dying.”
Chloe then sighed as she looked down on the ground. “When the fire was about to engulf us all, I felt something stir inside me.”
The young lady then raised her wand and twirled it in front of her, creating a ball of flame, which almost made Ethan jump back in shock.
The fireball then opened up like a flower in full bloom, and from inside it emerged a little golden fox that was only half-a-foot-tall.
“That is when I met Kon,” Chloe smiled as she lightly patted the golden fox, which seemed to enjoy being petted by her Master. “She saved us from the flames, and gave the Wizards and Witches enough time to save us all. That was how I discovered I was a witch.”
The young lady then held Ethan’s gaze as she asked him the question that was on her mind.
“How about you? Since when did you know you were a Wizard?” Chloe asked. “You’re even chosen as one of the Pillars. Did someone vouch for you?”
The handsome teenager couldn’t help but scratch his head as he looked at his cousin, who was more like a childhood friend to him.
“It’s complicated,” Ethan replied. “I mean. Do I even count as a Wizard? I’m one of those Duds, right?”
“Yes, you are a Dud, but that’s fine.” Chloe smiled. ‘If you weren’t a Dud then we wouldn’t be here together right now, so I guess it’s a good thing.’
Ethan didn’t know what Chloe was thinking because he was busy trying to make an excuse for how he ended up in Brynhildr Academy. For some reason, something was preventing him from telling the truth, which made him frustrated.
While he was busy thinking of what to say next, something moved at the corner of Chloe’s vision, which made the latter become pale.
“Watch out!” Chloe shouted as she pushed Ethan towards the wall of the dungeon.
Before the Ethan could even process what just happened, a human-like creature with rotting flesh, went past him.
“I-Ignis Fulmine!” Chloe stuttered as she hastily pointed her wand at the zombie, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere to attack them.
A Fire Bolt that was as big as a tennis ball erupted from the tip of the wand and hit the ground a meter away from the zombie.
Chloe’s hand was shaking, so she wasn’t able to aim properly. Clearly, she wasn’t proficient in casting spells in order to protect herself. The Monster, who didn't care whether she was good or aiming or not, lunged at them with its mouth opened wide.
Fortunately, the little golden fox, Kon, was there. Chloe’s Guardian immediately spat a small Fire Bolt at the zombie, hitting its chest, making it take a step back.
The smell of burnt flesh permeated in the surroundings. However, the zombie seemed oblivious to the damage it received. Instead of writing in pain, it lunged at Chloe, making the latter scream.
At that moment, a pitchfork smashed against the side of the zombie’s face, severing its head completely from its body.
Ethan didn’t pause, and followed up with another strike. This time he aimed for the zombie’s chest, which sent it flying.
“I-Is it dead?” Chloe asked as she grabbed onto Ethan’s robe, while looking at the unmoving body on the ground.
Instead of answering her, Ethan stabbed the zombie’s head on the ground beside his feet with his pitchfork, making it turn into particles of green light.
The body of the zombie also disappeared, which made Chloe sigh in relief.
“There are a lot of things we need to talk about, but let’s find the exit first,” Ethan said as he gazed at the dimly lit path in front of them. “Stay close to me. I’ll protect you.”
“Okay,” Chloe said as she removed her hands from Ethan’s robe.
Her heart was beating wildly inside her chest, and she didn’t know if this was due to the zombie attack, or because of how cool Ethan looked right now.
‘No, it is I who should be protecting Ethan, not the other way around,’ Chloe thought as she lightly patted her chest in order to regain her composure. ‘Between the two of us, he is the one who doesn’t have any magic. It should be me protecting him, and not the other way around.’
She then gripped her wand tightly as if it was a sword, ready to strike anything that blocked their path.
Perhaps, sensing that she had already recovered her calm, Ethan gave Chloe a look of assurance and told her about a strategy that they could use as they looked for the exit.
“The name of this Golden Fox of yours is Kon, right?” Ethan asked. “Can you ask her if she can sense the presence of nearby monsters?”
“No need to ask her,” Chloe replied. “I know she can.”
Ethan nodded in understanding. “Then in that case, tell her to inform us if there are any monsters nearby as we look for the exit. If we see a monster, we will try to avoid fighting it. If we can’t avoid fighting it, you will use your Fire Bolt to attack it from a distance. Once it gets near us, I will intercept it. Make sure not to cast any spells when it is close or you might accidentally hit me, okay?”
“Understood,” Chloe gave Ethan a brief nod in order to inform him that she understood the strategy very well.
“Good, let’s go,” Ethan said as he walked in front of Chloe holding the pitchfork firmly in his hand.
He had often dealt with wild animals like coyotes and foxes, who tried to infiltrate their farm to kill their chicken, and sheep, so he was used to fighting with a pitchfork.
Also, his grandmother had taught him a form of martial arts that could be used when holding pitchforks, staff, and spears.
The young man couldn’t count the number of times when he was beaten black and blue by his grandma, while being taught how to defend himself against wild animals that attacked their farm.
‘I guess all that training paid off in the end,’ Ethan mused as he acted as Chloe’s guard while looking for the exit of the dungeon. ‘I just hope we find that exit soon. This place is giving me the creeps.’
Unknown to him, dozens of eyes were watching his every move. All of them wanted to know what the only Dud to have joined this year, was capable of doing.
Among them, Professor Rinehart was the one who was paying close attention to him, and he couldn't help but smile as he watched Ethan's performance.
After the First Years entered the Initiation Ceremony for the new students of Brynhildr Academy, the Headmaster dismissed the students, so that they could go to their respective Manors.
The Second Years, Third Years, and Fourth Years had all undergone the test in the past. However, the setting of each test changed each year.
Last year, the Professors of Eques Manor prepared the welcoming event for the First Years.
This year, the Professors of Schwartz Manor, who specialized in Dark Magic, were responsible for testing the First Years, and they created a very nasty surprise for the newcomers to their Academy.
“Headmaster, are you sure this is fine?” Professor Ophelia looked at the projection where her niece could be seen. “If this goes on, no one will be able to clear this year’s Initiation Ceremony. Maybe we should step in?”
Professor Rinehart only smiled after hearing Ophelia’s proposal.
“The Professors of the Dark Arts are the ones responsible for this year’s ceremony,” Professor Rinehart replied. “Whether the First Years clear the test, or not, is fine as well. I’m sure that they will learn a lot from this experience, although Magic can do many things… it is not omnipotent.”
The Headmaster of the Academy gave Ophelia’s niece, Alice, a side-long glance, and smirked.
The silver-haired lady had turned the zombies around her into crystal statues. However, she was panting so hard, and her face was very pale.
Although she was a powerful witch, and should have been one of the rightful Pillars of the First Years, she had almost depleted the mana in her body as she fought against the zombies blocking her way.
“This is ridiculous,” Ophelia said as she looked at the dozens of zombies that were slowly, but surely, walking towards her Niece’s location. “A test like this is unfair.”
“Exactly,” Professor Rinehart said as he sipped his cup of coffee. “Life isn’t always fair.”
—------------
Inside the Dungeon…
“Ignis Fulmine!” Chloe shouted as she pointed her wand at the approaching zombie.
It took her three attempts before the monster turned into particles of light, and disappeared from their sights.
“Hah… Ha… Ha…” Chloe panted for breath as she leaned on the wall of the dungeon. “Just… how… many… must I… kill before… this test… ends.”
Ethan looked at her with pity and used his handkerchief to wipe the sweat on her face.
“Don’t use magic anymore,” Ethan said. “I’ll handle the rest.”
Kon was also worried because her Master’s face was quite pale due to exhaustion. Because of this, she rubbed herself on Chloe’s leg, as if telling her that everything was going to be fine.
The handsome young man allowed Chloe to rest for five minutes before they continued to look for the exit of the Dungeon.
Along the way, they heard shouts, screams, as well as curses, but Ethan and Chloe didn’t move towards these locations. Instead, they avoided them like a plague and would always choose a different path to travel.
It was not because they didn’t want to help people.
It was because they only had enough strength to protect themselves, and didn’t have any leeway to help others. Especially now that Chloe’s mana was almost depleted.
As they continued to traverse the dungeon, they came upon a junction where there were three paths to choose from.
“Kon, it’s your time to shine,” Ethan looked at the little Golden Fox who nodded its head in understanding.
Kon looked at the right path and allowed its senses to check if there was danger ahead. She did the same for the left, and middle path as well before returning to report to her Master.
“Kon said that the left, and right paths are filled with monsters,” Chloe stated. “The middle one also has monsters, but their numbers are fewer. She also said that she could hear the sound of something breaking in the middle path, but she is unsure of what caused it.”
Ethan frowned after hearing the Golden Fox’s report. However, it was very obvious where Chloe and him should go, so he decided to take a chance and go to the middle path.
“Remember, don’t use any more spells,” Ethan reminded his cousin. “I can take down a zombie or two without any problems.”
Chloe nodded and walked a few steps away from Ethan, who had taken a fighting stance as he walked forward.
After facing off against several zombies, he had generally understood their attack patterns, and was able to take the initiative to eliminate them before they could hurt him or Chloe.
This made Chloe breathe a little easier because using magic repeatedly was exhausting.
After walking for a few minutes, they stumbled upon several zombies who had turned into crystal statues.
In the middle of this frozen zone, they saw a person lying on the ground and seemed to be unconscious.
‘It’s her,’ Ethan thought as he walked towards the unconscious silver-haired beauty, whose face was now as white as snow. ‘I think her name is Alice?’
The young man was about to shake the silver-haired beauty in order to wake her up, but Chloe intervened.
“I’ll do it,” Chloe stated. “You watch the surroundings and make sure we don’t get attacked while I try to wake her up.”
“Okay,” Ethan thought that Chloe’s words were on point because right now, he was the only one between the two of them who could fight.
He wasn’t aware that the real reason why Chloe volunteered to wake up Alice was because she didn’t want Ethan to touch another girl, especially someone that was more beautiful than her.
A few minutes later, a groan escaped the silver-haired beauty’s lips before her eyes opened.
“Are you alright?” Chloe asked as she looked at the pale-faced beauty. “Can you stand?”
“Who are you?” Alice asked as she looked at the unfamiliar girl in front of her.
Although her face was pale as well, Chloe still managed to give Alice a smile of assurance in order to calm her down.
“My name is Chloe,” Chloe replied. “And this boy here is my cousin, Ethan.”
Alice’s gaze landed on the teenage boy, who was standing a few meters away from them while keeping watch on their surroundings.
“It’s you!” Alice said as she tried to prop herself up, but was unable to do so because she was feeling very weak.
“Don’t force yourself,” Chloe stated as she supported Alice’s body. “You are suffering from Mana Deficiency, you need some time to rest.”
After realizing her current condition, Alice closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down.
A minute later, she opened her eyes once more and looked at her surroundings. The zombies that she had frozen were still there, and this gave her a sense of security.
“This Dungeon is filled with zombies,” Alice explained. “The more zombies you kill using magic, the more they will swarm at you. It is negligible at first, but those with strong magic powers will find themselves fighting against multiple zombies at once.
“This is why I froze them instead of killing them. When you guys encounter zombies, it is best to run away or simply avoid them.”
Chloe shuddered after hearing the silver-haired beauty’s explanation. Fortunately, she had only killed a few zombies, and the rest were handled by Ethan. They had also noticed that the number of zombies that attacked them seemed to increase each time Chloe killed them.
However, when Ethan took over, the numbers of the zombies attacking them decreased drastically.
“May I know your name?” Chloe asked the silver-haired beauty. “My name is Chloe. Chloe Gremory. You can call me Chloe.”
“Alice,” Alice replied. “Just call me Alice.”
Chloe nodded. “Can you stand up? I don’t think that it is safe to stay in this place.”
Alice didn’t say anything. Instead, she tried to stand up on her own, but seeing that she was unable to do it alone, Chloe offered a hand, which Alice didn’t reject.
“Lean on me,” Chloe said. “Don’t worry, my cousin is strong. He can take us to the exit on his own.”
Alice gave Chloe a faint smile. “Thank you”
“You can thank us after we find the exit,” Chloe replied before shifting her gaze to the her cousin who stood a few meters away from them “Ethan, the rest is up to you.”
“I’ll do my best, Ma’am.” Ethan gave Chloe a playful salute, which made the latter smile helplessly.
A few minutes later, the three teenagers began to look for the exit, while most of the First Years were being eliminated by the zombies whose numbers had increased exponentially.
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