Chapter 1

  On the continent of Eldoria, in the Kingdom of Aradia, within the weakest magical academy, in the director's office — on the director's desk lay the body of a young man, apparently 23 years old, with black hair, a medium appearance, and a frail build.

  Suddenly, he opened his eyes sharply and rose from the table. Clear confusion was evident in his black eyes. He sat and looked around for some time before saying:

  "What the hell, where am I? I was just writing code for a game. What happened?"

  Sitting in the chair, he looked around. An amazing scene appeared before him, reminiscent of something medieval. The room was medium-sized.

  The chair on which he sat stood before something resembling a conference table. However, it was made of solid oak, with curved legs, and on it lay a stack of parchment and a pen for writing.

  The walls were decorated with magnificent fabric curtains in deep colors, adding sophistication to the interior. Tall shelves lined the perimeter of the room, containing ancient scrolls, books, and some strange objects.

  Looking back behind him was a small fireplace, emanating warmth and light.

  The soft light of the crystal chandeliers created a peaceful atmosphere.

  "What is this place... hmm..."

  As he uttered his thoughts aloud, a severe headache struck him. Right after that, he inexplicably received a multitude of images — the memories of a man named Arlin Shiningblade.

  Arlin had grown up in the shadow of his father, the director of a magical academy. Despite his modest magical abilities and ordinary appearance, he had always felt the burden of his father's expectations. His father, who always spoke of his son as having undeniable potential, sought to empower him and boost his self-confidence.

  However, his father's death was a turning point in Arlin's life. He became responsible for the academy, which needed renewal and an uplift. He was not ready for the role of director, but circumstances forced him to accept the challenge.

  His long-held dream was to make the academy one of the most powerful and influential in the world of Eldoria — to meet his father's expectations. Regardless of his uncertainty, he strived to make it a place where every student, regardless of ability, could realize their potential. He dreamed of a world where magic served unity rather than division, as his father had taught him.

  And now it seemed he had died due to an accident involving a malfunctioning spell.

  "Damn..."

  Grabbing his head, the new Arlin could not help but curse. His head ached so badly he could barely keep his consciousness in place.

  Fortunately, after some time the pain began to subside. Breathing heavily and steadying himself with his hands on the desk, he stared in shock at his surroundings. It turned out he had fallen into another world and taken over the body of an academy director.

  "I just wanted to fix that stubborn bug in the game — even after trying for three days in a row I couldn't... then I fell asleep... and now I'm in a world of magic.... Wait... magic!..."

  With a tremor in his voice and barely contained excitement, he raised his hand and began to mumble something under his breath.

  It was a strange language — if you could even call it a language — which he seemed to have mastered through the memories now in his head.

  When he began uttering these strange words, something in the air started to manifest and gradually concentrate in his hand. This sight made him widen his eyes, as the memories and what was happening before him clearly matched.

  However, this mysterious energy suddenly exploded with a bang and dispersed, leaving Arlin in shock.

  "What the... why didn't it work... let's try again..." Saying so, he began reading the strange words again, but once more it did not work.

  "Phew..."

  Looking at the scattered particles of energy, Arlin finally began to accept the new reality.

  "So it means I have traveled to another world. Moreover, a world with magic, knights, and different races."

  "And now I have become a director...?"

  "But what to do next... judging by the memories, the previous owner of this body could freely use magic, and now I can't... wait..."

  He lowered his head onto the table, trying to sort out his chaotic thoughts. Then a sudden idea came to him.

  He abruptly raised his head and carefully said:

  "Status?"

  His voice carried notes of disbelief, which was confirmed by the complete lack of any effect.

  "Ha... it can't be that a game system has actually arrived..."

  When he disappointingly and almost subconsciously decided to say the word, suddenly — upon pronouncing "system" — a panel appeared before his eyes.

  On the panel there was a silhouette of a human on one side, and on the other side something resembling a crystal.

  "...Er... what is this? An interface?"

  Carefully observing the window, Arlin focused his gaze on the crystal drawing.

  "This looks very similar to the magic crystals from the memories... does a crystal need to be inserted to do something?"

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  Thinking for a few moments, he glanced at his hand. On his finger was an unusual ring. According to the memories, this ring had been given to Arlin by his father — a magical artifact capable of storing a small space inside, where items could be kept.

  He concentrated and repeated the actions from memory. He felt a strange sensation of flow within his body — this was mana, which could be used to cast magic. Under his control, the mana slowly began to flow to his hand and pour into the ring. Immediately he felt a connection form between himself and the ring. When he focused his mind inward, a picture appeared.

  It was the interior of the ring's space, where lay several magic crystals, a couple of books, and basic necessities such as a weak potion and some food.

  He wasn't interested in anything else besides the crystals at the moment, so he focused his intention on one and raised his hand. The next second, a crystal appeared in his hand out of thin air.

  After examining it for a few seconds, he extended the crystal toward the panel window in front of him. Suddenly the crystal vanished — and the next second he saw the number 1 appear next to the crystal drawing.

  The same thing happened on the other side near the silhouette on the left, where the number 1 also appeared.

  Thinking for a moment, he reached out and tapped the silhouette. Another window appeared with a slider, but there was only the number 1 available, so he simply pressed the Create button below.

  When he pressed it, a shadow appeared to his left and began to take human form.

  It was humanoid, yet it had no facial features — except for two faintly glowing white eyes. The rest was completely black, like a shadow given shape.

  With this development, Arlin fell into brief shock. Apart from the appearance of this shadow, he could clearly sense a connection to it. It was as if this shadow was part of his own body — he could feel it distinctly.

  "What the hell..."

  Catching his breath, he calmed himself slightly, then stood up and approached the shadow. Reaching out, he cautiously touched it, feeling solid resistance beneath his fingers. However, in addition to this, he could also feel as though he were touching himself.

  "What is this... is this me?"

  Arlin studied it for a moment before asking uncertainly:

  "Are you alive...?"

  "No..."

  Although he had formed the question himself, it was still strange when the shadow actually answered.

  "Then how are you speaking?"

  "I am your shadow, Master."

  The shadow slowly knelt and bowed its head.

  "A shadow, you say?"

  "Yes, Master. I am your shadow, and I am a part of you."

  The shadow did not raise its head but continued to answer Arlin's questions.

  "..."

  Several thoughts spun through Arlin's mind, and he began to vaguely understand what this shadow was. He thought inwardly, and mentally directed the shadow to raise its hand — which confirmed his guess. The shadow did exactly that, maintaining its posture with one hand raised.

  Sitting back in the chair, he began a series of various tests.

  Some time later, he had gradually figured out the nature of this shadow and its properties.

  "So, this is my shadow — in other words, my clone."

  He sat at the table and carefully reviewed the notes he had written during the experiments.

  "First — I can control it and also inhabit it. Second — it feels no pain, which was proven experimentally. Third — it can become intangible for a period of time, which I learned by asking directly.

  From our conversation, it appears it can think independently and hold a dialogue. I also noticed it shares my preferences. Does that mean it carries my personality and worldview?

  Fourth — I can share memories with it, as well as remove them. And most importantly: I can absorb knowledge from it. There are likely other aspects I still need to investigate.

  In essence, they are my clones."

  Looking at the clone once more, he summoned the panel window again. He retrieved another crystal from the ring and offered it to the window.

  Using all 6 remaining crystals, he looked at the clone indicator — he could now create 6 more, which he did.

  Six more clones appeared around him in exactly the same manner as the first. The sensation was identical — he could feel all of them clearly, as extensions of himself. They were indistinguishable from one another.

  "So, let's think about what to do next." Arlin had already taken into account that the clones could think independently — it was as if, instead of one mind, he now had seven.

  Seeing that they had not yet spoken, he continued:

  "Well, it seems you have my memories and think as I do. So — we are now in another world."

  "Yes, Master. And you are interested in magic."

  "Not only magic, but the world outside as well."

  "There is also the question of how we came to be here."

  The clones spoke one after another, each continuing seamlessly where the previous one finished, without interrupting each other.

  They were voicing Arlin's own thoughts — he was indeed preoccupied with these very questions.

  "Master, it seems our priority should be the magic stones," said the first clone. Arlin understood immediately and nodded.

  "Yes — according to the interface, the more crystals I have, the more clones I can create."

  "Additionally, further experiments are needed." He swept his gaze across the shelves full of books.

  "So let's begin. All of you — start reading every book here. I need the history of this world first, followed by anything valuable: magic, combat, knowledge of all kinds."

  As soon as he finished speaking, the shadows moved swiftly, pulling books from the shelves. Meanwhile, Arlin began organizing the inherited memories to better understand his current position in this world.

  "Ha... from an ordinary, struggling game developer to the director of a magical academy. Absurd, without question."

  As he reviewed the information in his mind, he gradually began to understand the world around him. What made it easier was that the knowledge flowing in from the reading clones did not overwhelm or confuse him — it arrived clearly and settled naturally.

  He also noticed with some surprise that his memory was now far stronger than it had ever been before.

  And so he had become the director of a weak magical academy — weak precisely because neither the previous director nor his father had possessed powerful magical ability.

  In the world of Eldoria there are many powerful beings and different races. One of them is humanity, and the Kingdom of Aradia belongs to the human race. It is quite large, spanning many territories.

  The magical academy Arlin now directed was called Etherium — which was also the name of the third-largest city in the kingdom, near which the academy was located.

  The reason for the academy's weakness was straightforward: unlike other institutions, it lacked a distinguished past or a strong legacy. The powerful academies had long since secured their positions, built over centuries of accumulated prestige.

  Compared to them, Etherium Academy had been founded relatively recently. Factors such as limited wealth, scarce magical knowledge, a shortage of crystals, and a lack of qualified teachers all contributed to its weakness.

  This low prestige attracted fewer students, and fewer students meant even less prestige — a closed and difficult cycle.

  As for the father and son who had run it — they were mages of the third or fourth rank at best, constrained not only by the academy's limitations but by their own modest talent. They might have fared better with proper schooling elsewhere, but circumstances had kept them here.

  "Should I continue as director... or simply leave and go my own way?"

  He exhaled slowly and watched the clones moving efficiently through the shelves, knowledge steadily accumulating in his mind.

  "For now, nothing threatens me — based on the memories, the previous owner's death was a genuine accident, not a conspiracy. So there is no immediate danger.

  There is also sufficient knowledge here to work with. This world is dangerous, but intelligence is the primary advantage for a mage — unlike warriors or knights, who rely on physical strength, mages are limited and elevated by their minds above all else.

  Compared to the previous owner's rate of progress, I clearly have the advantage."

  His gaze returned to the clones.

  "And this... I like this. If I make this place my base and work quietly with the clones at my side, who would ever suspect the director of Etherium Academy of anything? As for finding a way home... honestly, it seems far more interesting here. I want to understand the depths of magic."

  He leaned back in his chair and watched the clones, feeling the knowledge continue to flow.

  Black eyes, holding an inexplicable light, hidden beneath black hair.