A young boy slumped over his arms on his desk, eyes half-closed, black hair falling across them. At the front of the room stood an elderly man, his face lined with deep wrinkles and his short gray hair almost gone, save for a bald spot where the ceiling light shone directly down.

  The old man pointed a crooked finger at the slouched boy, drawing the attention of the other students, who all followed the gesture.

  "Stop sleeping in class, Kang Muhan! You're here to learn, not to nap!" the man shouted across the room.

  Kang raised a lazy thumbs-up without lifting his head, one eye barely open to glance at the old geezer, as he often called him.

  “Young man, you should listen! This is important for the upcoming test!” the teacher continued, launching into yet another one of his lectures.

  Kang groaned and mumbled indifferently, “Yes, Mr. Teacher.”

  A vein visibly popped on the old man's forehead, but instead of continuing to argue with the unmotivated student, he sighed and returned to the lesson.

  “Who can tell me the affinities I asked you to memorize last time?”

  An energetic girl in the front row, with long red hair and glasses, practically bounced in her seat, waving her hand eagerly.

  “Me! Me! I know it!”

  The old man, clearly trying to calm his rising blood pressure, took a deep breath. His reddened face slowly returned to its usual pale tone.

  “Yes, Yeonwha, could you enlighten the class?”

  Beaming, the girl wasted no time.

  “Yes, sir! You said the affinities were Darkness, Light, Water, Earth, Fire, Wind, Death, Divinity, and Spirit!”

  A wide smile crossed the old man's face as he nodded proudly.

  “Correct! Some of you could learn a thing or two from her,” he said, casting a glance toward Kang, who remained slouched over his desk ignorant to the lesson.

  Many in the class were annoyed by Yeonwha’s overachieving attitude, but she ignored the looks, still bouncing in her seat, eager for the lesson to continue.

  Kang especially found her annoying, her fast responses meant the geezer had more time to lecture, which meant more work. He gave her a sharp look with his only open eye.

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  Yeonwha wasn’t fond of Kang either. He reminded her of her alcoholic father, lazy and apathetic. Since childhood, she'd grown to strongly dislike people who wasted their potential.

  “At least I’m working on my future, unlike a certain someone,” she thought to herself, not even sparing him a glance.

  “I’m too tired to care, old man, can’t you tell?” Kang thought, noticing the teacher’s sharp stare. He remembered how he’d stayed up all night playing video games. No regrets, he’d finally reached the final boss area!

  “We’ll go into more detail about each affinity now, so pay attention. Also, don’t forget, the test is next Thursday, so make sure to study!”

  “Study? Why bother? I’m getting straight B’s without trying anyway,” Kang mumbled to himself, making sure no one could hear.

  “Now, copy this from the board while I explain what each affinity does. Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind are the basic magic attributes. They can enhance the body, but they’re mostly used for powerful ranged attacks. Darkness is mostly used for debuffs but has strong synergy potential, similar to Light, which primarily buffs the user. Divinity and Death are cult-type spells, mainly large-scale AoE magic used for mass destruction. Spirit is used for summoning, and in extreme cases, even necromancy.”

  Kang tried to follow along, but the teacher’s words floated past him like background noise.

  “When will this old geezer finally shut up? I just want to go home” Kang groaned inwardly. He shifted to get more comfortable, preparing to doze off again, but then the teacher finally said what he’d been waiting for:

  “That’s it for today, class dismissed!”

  Kang lit up immediately, a wide grin spreading across his face. He shot up from his desk, grabbed his stuff, and shoved it into his backpack.

  “Finally, this hellish day is over,” he muttered, slinging the bag over his shoulder and sprinting out of the classroom. As he dashed down the hallway, his classmates gave him weird or disapproving looks, but he brushed them off without a care.

  When he reached the exit, he exhaled deeply. “Ahh, fresh air,” he said, stretching as a gentle breeze rustled his short, spiky hair.

  “I wonder what Mom cooked today.”

  He walked home slowly, enjoying the scent of spring in the air. Behind him, the dull gray school building faded into the background.

  “I wonder if I can beat the game today… I’ve been stuck on it for over a month,” he muttered, spotting his house, a simple, medium-sized apartment. It wasn’t luxurious, but it wasn’t shabby either. It was just right, and he liked it that way.

  “I’m home!” he called out as he entered.

  No response.

  “Leftovers? She must be on another business trip… again,” he sighed. His suspicions were confirmed when he noticed a note pinned to the fridge. He grabbed it and read:

  ---

  *I’m on a business trip again. I know it’s been nearly the whole month, but please don’t be upset.

  Food is in the fridge, and I left money on the counter.

  Please take care of your sister.

  Truly sorry.

  With love,

  Mom.*

  ---

  Kang sighed and placed the note back on the fridge. “Can’t do anything about it anyway.”

  He ate in silence, washed the dishes, then retreated to his bedroom and booted up his PC.

  “Yes, finally,” he muttered, grabbing the mouse and placing his fingers on the keyboard.

  Hours passed as he became fully immersed. The final boss door was just ahead. He hadn’t even noticed the unnatural strong storm raging outside, thick with magical energy that shouldn't have been there.

  “Yes! Just the final boss left. That went way faster than I thought!”

  He leaned back to catch his breath, preparing for one last push.

  But the moment he opened the final boss door, a blinding light flashed through his entire room.

  “What the fuck kind of jumpscare was that?!” he shouted, shielding his eyes.