Ray kept blabbering, spiralling deeper into despair with each passing minute. Typical pessimistic behaviour. Fastest worrier in the west.
“I said I’m sorry, okay?” I sighed, trying to convince him. “My tongue slipped. It happens.”
But no response and hence, no recovery.
He looked like a man walking towards his own execution.
“Hmmm… hey, boss.”
“Yeah?” I glanced sideways at Shin.
“…Miss Erika’s hair.” He tilted his head, resting it lazily on his hands as he walked. “Why does it look so familiar?”
Erika’s hair surfaced in my mind instantly.
Long golden hair, braided neatly and bound with a red ribbon.
Familiar. Yeah—too familiar.
I felt a dull pressure forming between my brows and a sudden tightness in my throat, subtle but obvious.
Sadness.
An image flashed through my mind—someone I didn’t want to see right now. Someone I couldn’t afford to think about today. I shut my eyes hard, forcing the memory down before it could take root.
“For god’s sake…”
A light pat landed on my head, and when I opened my eyes, Ray was standing close, giving me a crooked, awkward smile—the kind he wore when he didn’t know what to say but wanted to try anyway.
“Don’t mind that knucklehead,” he muttered, shooting Shin a glare before sighing.
“We’re already in trouble, and now this idiot’s bringing up sensitive stuff…”
His lips tightened.
“Haha… It’s fine.” I scratched the back of my head, shrugging. “It’s in the past.”
“Huh?” Shin blinked.
“Did I do something wrong?”
…Of course.
I let out a quiet sigh. Typical Shin.
“My mother,” I said softly, folding my arms.
“Her hair’s the same as Erika's.”
Not the personality, though.
“…Oh.”
Finally—it clicked.
“Sorry, boss…” Shin lowered his gaze, shoulders slumping.
“Forget it,” I replied. “It’s not a big deal.”
…Or at least, it shouldn’t have been.
Sniff.
“Huh?”
“H-hey, Shin—”
“Sniff… how could I forget Auntie…” His voice cracked.
“How could I—sniff—”
This idiot—
BAM!
His fist slammed against the wall.
“How could I forget her?!”
“Shin?!” Ray yelped, nearly jumping out of his skin.
“Are you trying to get us expelled for real?!”
I could only manage a tired smile.
But then—my gaze drifted ahead.
Toward the headmaster’s office.
The door stood there quietly, yet it felt heavier than the rest of the hallway combined. Whatever awaited us inside… it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
I looked back at the two of them and exhaled.
“Anyway,” I said, straightening slightly.
“It’s my fault we’re here. So let me deal with it.”
“But how?” Ray asked immediately, worried about bleeding into every syllable.
Shin didn’t lift his head.
Maybe he felt bad.
Maybe he realised he’d crossed a line.
Or maybe he was just being Shin.
Either way—It wasn’t his fault he was a knucklehead.
Knock! Knock!
The sound echoed heavily than I expected.
The moment we reached the headmaster’s cabin, I knocked on the door while Ray and Shin hovered behind me.
I did say I’d handle things—but that didn’t mean they had to lurk like kids waiting to be scolded.
Honestly… embarrassing.
“Come in.” A rather husky voice echoed from the inside, I assumed it would be the headmaster’s, so I pushed the wood-plated iron door. It creaked softly, the sound stretching just enough to make my spine itch.
“Excuse us, sir—?!”
My voice snapped halfway through.
A torrent of mystic energy erupted from the cabin without warning.
“Ah—?!”
Ray staggered, barely keeping his footing as the pressure slammed into him.
To my left, a sharp crack split the air.
I caught it instantly—Shin’s hand had already locked around his thunder gauntlet, electricity snarling across its surface. His posture dropped, shoulders coiled, eyes sharp.
“An enemy…” he muttered, teeth clenched like a mystic beast sensing a predator.
…Damn it.
I couldn’t answer them.
My focus was pinned—nailed—to the man seated deep within the velvet chair.
I raised my left arm without looking back and Shin froze mid-breath after understanding my signal.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The pressure pressed harder, heavier—yet perfectly controlled.
“Headmaster,” I said, my voice steady despite the weight crushing down on my senses.
For the first time—the presence receded.
“Oh, the troublemakers. Come in, come in.”
Contrary to the lethal pressure we’d felt moments ago, the headmaster’s voice was…surprisingly jovial. At least, it sounded that way to me.
We gazed at each other and then went inside. The room was dim—sunlight filtered through tall windows, dust floating lazily in the air. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with ancient-looking books, artifacts, and things I definitely wasn’t qualified to identify. The scent of old paper and something metallic lingered.
“Eden Crestfall, I assume?”
The headmaster adjusted his glasses, sharp violet eyes locking onto mine.
Mystic force.
I felt it instantly—a dense pressure settling around us, deliberate and controlled.
How… bemusing.
“Yes, I'm Eden Crestfall,” I replied.
A crooked grin tugged at my lips as my own mystic energy surged outward, answering his with equal weight.
“?!” His eyes twitched. Just a little.
My mystic force wasn’t as dense as his—but there was no chance I’d let him press me down.
“Rebellious, aren’t you?” he said, a slow smirk forming as he flicked his long silver ponytail aside.
“I like that.”
“We don’t usually have students who mock their mentor on the very first day,” he remarked, leaning back in his chair as the pressure finally eased.
His playful eyes drifted over the three of us.
“Unlike you three, of course.”
“We’re sorry!”
“…Huh?”
Huh?
Just as baffled as the headmaster looked at the sudden apology, I realized—far too late—that Ray had somehow forced both Shin and me into a bow.
Both of his hands were pressed down on our backs.
When the hell did he even do that?
“Now, now, little glasses. No need to worry so much.”
The headmaster’s gaze flicked toward Ray. “Ray Night, was it?”
“Y-yessir!”
Ray snapped straight like a soldier answering his commander.
Meanwhile, Shin and I were still stuck processing a far more important mystery—
How this guy had managed to force both of us into a bow without either of us noticing.
And little glasses?
What was that supposed to mean?
Did the headmaster just adopt Ray on the spot or something?
“Well… normally, this kind of misconduct would earn you kids a week of detention.”
He chuckled, casually pointing his right index finger at us.
“D-detention…”
Ray’s soul visibly exited his body.
“Oi. Snap outta it.”
Thankfully, a sharp slap from Shin managed to summon it back.
“But,” the headmaster continued lightly, “there’s no need to worry.”
He rested his chin between his palms, eyes glinting with something unreadable.
“Because I have a better task for you, kiddos.”
“…A task?”
My eyebrow twitched upward before I could stop it.
A task directly from the headmaster on our very first day?
Yeah, that didn’t sound like mercy. It sounded suspicious as hell.
“Yes. A task.”
The headmaster’s smile widened just a fraction.
“R-r-red Star?!”
Ray practically short-circuited. “R-Really?! As in that Red Star?!”
Shin tilted his head, genuinely pondering.
“…Red Star. Wait—what was that for again?”
…Yep. Completely clueless, as I thought.
Ray spun toward him, horrified.
“You idiot! It’s the highest provisional merit granted to first-years! Priority access to restricted facilities, early-class promotions, special instructors—!”
“Ohhh.” Shin nodded slowly. “Sounds neat.”
I didn’t react.
Not because it wasn’t impressive.
Not because I didn’t understand what a Red Star meant.
But because the offer felt too clean.
“…Why us?”
The words left my mouth before I’d fully decided to say them.
The room fell quiet. Ray froze mid-rant.
And the headmaster studied me over his clasped hands, purple eyes sharp, measuring. The playful air around him didn’t vanish—but something heavier slipped in beneath it.
“Hmm.”
A low hum escaped him.
“Straight to the point,” he said, slightly amused.
“No excitement…No gratitude…Just suspicion, huh? Nothing less from you, I guess.”
He leaned back in his chair.
“I like that.”
His gaze flicked briefly to Shin.
Then to Ray.
And finally—settled back on me.
“Let’s think of it as an alternative to detention,” the headmaster said, smiling a little too gently.
“Yes, sir!” Ray snapped instantly. “Whatever the task may be, we’re honoured to assist!”
…He didn’t even look at us.
“It’s simple,” the headmaster continued, as if Ray’s enthusiasm had already sealed our fate.
“Your task is to subjugate a corrupted mystic user residing in Historia’s Wild Mansion.”
The room went dead silent.
Our breaths hitched—not dramatically, not all at once—but in that quiet, unmistakable way people react when they understand something is very wrong.
A corrupted mystic user wasn’t just another criminal.
They were monsters wearing human skin.
Ordinary students struggled against a single corrupted mystic beast. Even trained hunters rarely fought one alone.
After all, corrupted mystic beasts are usually hundreds of times stronger than an ordinary mystic beast. But a corrupted mystic user—one who had lost their reason entirely—was a different category of threat altogether.
They carried the accumulated strength of hundreds of corrupted mystic beasts.
Power without restraint.
Instinct without mercy.
In other words—death, if you misstepped even once.
Ray’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.
Shin’s fingers flexed instinctively, lightning crackling faintly along his gauntlet before he forced it down.
I didn’t move.
“…That’s not a task,” I said quietly.
“That’s more of an execution request.”
The headmaster chuckled.
“Oh, come now,” he waved it off lightly. “I wouldn’t send the first-years to die that casually.”
Then his eyes sharpened—just a little.
“But yes,” he continued, leaning forward, elbows resting on the desk,
“This mission may open the path for all three of you to earn a Red Star.”
There it was again.
That bait.
The kind you only notice once the hook’s already in your mouth.
“And if we refuse?” I asked.
His smile didn’t fade, however, his eyes sharpened.
“Would you prefer another punishment instead, dear Eden?” His voice went rather soft yet menacingly devilish.
Sigh…
A deep sigh escaped my lips as I realized this wasn’t just a dangerous task—it was a test. We were disposable probes, sent to measure whether Historia’s Wild Mansion was worth saving at all. If we survived, the place had value. If we didn’t…Well, that answered the question too.
And yet—the Red Star.
That offer wouldn’t come easily again. Who knew how many missions it would normally take? Three? Five? More? Opportunities like this didn’t repeat themselves.
Tempting for sure but the risk was high as hell…or maybe not.
Something stirred at the back of my mind—memories I didn’t want to face right now. Flickers of a boy with no future. A boy who had nearly died more times than he could count.
But compared to those days?
This was nothing.
“Alright,” I said.
“We’ll do it.”
My gaze shifted to Ray and Shin.
Shin looked… fine. If anything, he seemed mildly interested, like this was just another troublesome spar waiting to happen.
Ray, on the other hand, looked like he was on the verge of passing out.
For god’s sake—did he really need to look like he was taking his final breath?
“Atta boy.”
The headmaster nearly clapped, clearly pleased. Then he continued casually, as if he hadn’t just handed us a death sentence.
“As for the corrupted mystic user,” he went on, “let’s call it a Redfall. That’s the term we usually use.”
Redfall.
The word settled unpleasantly in my chest.
“We might’ve ignored this particular Redfall until now,” he said lightly, “but if it continues roaming freely within Historia’s Wild Mansion, there’s a strong chance it’ll begin corrupting the surrounding area.”
He leaned back, fingers interlaced.
“Eventually, that corruption could seep into the city itself. The mystic energy network is… fragile, after all.”
So that was containment before it spread.
“So,” he finished, smiling as if the answer were obvious,
“It needs to be taken care of. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course.”
I waved his explanation aside. “So are the three of us really doing this? If I'm not mistaken, tasks like this require at least four members, don’t they?”
“Good catch.”
The headmaster flashed a thumbs-up, entirely too cheerful for the topic.
“As for the fourth member—you’ll meet them at the mansion. I’ve already sent one ahead.”
…Send them straight to the gallows, more like.
I swallowed the thought before it could reach my tongue.
Calling him a psycho-murderer to his face probably wouldn’t improve our survival odds.
“And yes,” the headmaster added lightly, “you’re free to take any weapons you wish. Though I doubt you’ll need them.”
He grinned. Of course, he knew.
He’d already done his homework. He knew we summoned our own weapons.
“Thanks for the offer,” I replied, nodding once. “But as you said—we won’t need them.”
I turned to leave, then paused.
“But I do need one thing clarified,” I added, glancing back at him.
“Our survival. If something goes wrong—”
“Oh, silly boy.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “Didn’t I tell you already? None of you will die, no matter how dangerous the Redfall becomes.”
His tone was almost comforting.
“If the mission detects fatal danger or irreparable injury, you’ll be forcibly teleported back to the academy hall. So fret not.”
“That’s… a relief,” Ray exhaled, shoulders sagging as the tension finally drained from him.
Shin gave him a reassuring pat on the back. And for the first time since this madness started, I felt a trace of relief too—for Ray, at least.
As for me…I wasn’t afraid of death. At least, I didn’t think I was.
I gave the headmaster a short bow—measured and respectful. This time, he’d earned it.
Then, without another word, Shin, Ray, and I turned and made our way out.
*******
“They’re gone. You can come out now.”
The headmaster spoke as though the room had never been empty to begin with.
Purple smoke bloomed across the cabin, curling lazily through the air. From within it emerged a woman draped in barely-there red, hovering above him as if gravity had simply lost interest.
“Oh my, my,” she giggled softly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Her curly purple hair spilled forward as she rested her chin against him. “Do you think they can do it, Vieh?”
“I believe so,” The headmaster–Vieh replied, his tone cold and measured.
“How sweet of you~.” Her iridescent eyes shifted toward the door they had exited through. “I’m curious to see what they’ll do. After all—”
A coquettish grin curved her lips.
“There’s nothing an anomaly can’t do, right?”
Vieh remained silent.
Only one thought lingered in his mind:
‘Eden Crestfall… do you really have that bloodline running deep in you?’
[Location: ACADEMY OF MYSTIC WALKERS]
[Subject ID: ???]
[Anomaly Detected: ZER?-ECHO]
[Secondary Interaction: REGISTERED]
→ Eden Crestfall
[Timeline Sync: PROCESSING]
[Threat Level: UN??WN]