Kai woke with a start, his breath heavy and his heart pounding. The remnants of a nightmare clung to him like a shadow—voices echoing in his mind:

  He sat up, his eyes darting around the room. The warm bedsheet, the soft bed, and the clean walls were a stark contrast to the cheap hotels and filthy streets where he’d spent the last few months, always on the run.

  Kai rubbed his face, trying to shake off the lingering unease. He opened the window, letting the cool morning breeze wash over him. The dark blue sky was slowly giving way to the first light of dawn, and the chirping of birds filled the air. A few early risers were already moving about the academy grounds, their silhouettes barely visible in the dim light.

  “I better get ready,” Kai muttered, recalling the letter’s warning:

  ***

  The evaluation hall was massive, its high ceiling adorned with intricate patterns that seemed to shift and change when viewed from different angles. Tall windows allowed the morning sunlight to spill across the polished stone floor, illuminating the nervous faces of hundreds of first-year students.

  Kai positioned himself near the back, keeping his expression carefully neutral despite the anxiety churning in his stomach. Three years of hiding, of sleeping with one eye open, had taught him the value of blending in. Today would be the first real test of his deception.

  A hush fell over the room as Headmaster Alden Thorne strode onto the raised platform at the front. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and silver-streaked hair, his piercing blue eyes scanning the crowd with calculated precision.

  “Welcome to Hunter Academy,” his voice boomed across the hall without the aid of magic. “Today, you will undergo the affinity test—a ritual that will reveal your magical nature and determine your path forward.”

  For a moment, he looked at the gathered students in admiration. He was looking at the future generation hunters.

  The student's seemed eager to listen.

  The headmaster gestured to a massive crystal positioned at the center of the platform. “That. . .”

  All the students’ gaze shifted onto it

  It pulsed with a soft, otherworldly light, runes etched into its surface glowing with power.

  “It's called The Affinity Crystal. It is made of rare crystals found in high mana concentration areas.”

  “The one you saw at the entrance exam, was not enough to do your true assessment. It detected only your Primary Affinity. The one that is predominant in you and the one that decides most of your spells.”

  “This Affinity Crystal will reveal two crucial aspects of your magical identity,” Thorne continued. “First, your primary affinity—the core of your magical ability. Second, if you possess one, your secondary affinity—a complementary power that can enhance or diversify your magic.”

  Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Kai noticed the tension in some faces, the excitement in others. Having a secondary affinity was a mark of potential, of power beyond the ordinary.

  “Remember,” Thorne’s voice grew more solemn, “in the world of magic, uniqueness is both a gift and a challenge. Each mage develops

  “And. . . The ones who possess more affinities are not necessarily the strongest. So don't worry if you only possess one. Maybe it will show you the strongest spells in the field you've ever seen…”

  At the front of the room, Kai spotted a group of students standing slightly apart from the rest. Their uniforms were identical to everyone else’s, but they carried themselves with an unmistakable confidence. Class A—the elites.

  A young woman with copper hair stood at their center, her posture perfect and her expression serene. Even from a distance, Kai could sense the power radiating from her. That had to be Erynn, the top student whose reputation had preceded her.

  Ever since the entrance ceremony, some students had started talking about students with good abilities. She was one of them.

  “We will begin with Class A,” Headmaster Thorne announced, confirming Kai’s suspicion. “Erynn Blackwood, step forward.”

  Erynn approached the crystal with graceful confidence. She looked like someone who knew her abilities without confirming with tests and trials.

  When she placed her hand upon its surface, the reaction was immediate and spectacular. The crystal flared with brilliant orange-red light, while secondary currents of silvery-white swirled within its depths.

  Runes around the crystal’s base illuminated in sequence, forming complex patterns that Kai couldn’t decipher from his position.

  “Primary affinity: Fire,” Professor Elara Voss called out, a tall woman with sharp features who stood beside the headmaster. “Secondary affinity: Air. Exceptional compatibility and resonance.”

  Erynn stepped back, a small smile playing at her lips as the other Class A students nodded in approval.

  “Now, demonstrate your magic,” Headmaster Thorne commanded.

  Without hesitation, Erynn unsheathed a slender sword from her hip. As she raised it, flames erupted along the blade, dancing and swirling with unnatural control. With a single fluid motion, she swung the sword in an arc—and a

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  The fire tornado engulfed three dummies before dissipating, leaving behind nothing but smoldering ash.

  “Fire Tornado and Inferno Blade,” Professor Voss noted, making a mark in her ledger. “Perfect form, excellent control.”

  The demonstration continued with the remaining Class A students. Each displayed impressive affinities and personalized spells:

  Alexei, a tall boy with skin like ice, created

  Then came a dark-haired boy with intense eyes that seemed to calculate everything around him.

  “Liam Nightshade,” the headmaster called.

  When Liam touched the crystal, it pulsed with silver light that bent and warped around his hand. Threads of deep purple intertwined with the silver, creating a hypnotic display.

  “Primary affinity: Spatial,” Professor Voss announced, her eyebrows rising slightly. “Secondary affinity: Psychic.”

  Whispers swept through the hall. The combination was rare and formidable.

  For his demonstration, Liam simply closed his eyes. For a moment, nothing happened—then he vanished, only to reappear instantly behind one of the training dummies. With a flick of his wrist and an intense gaze, the dummy collapsed in on itself as if crushed by an invisible force.

  “Dimensional Step and Gravity Crush,” Professor Voss noted, clearly impressed. “Mental casting without verbal or physical components. Remarkable.”

  Class B and C students followed, each displaying solid if less spectacular affinities. Then came Class D.

  “Kai Renfield,” Professor Voss called.

  Kai approached the crystal, keeping his breathing even and his mind focused. When he placed his hand on the smooth surface, he channeled his Primal Flux into the patterns he had memorized—the soothing, restorative flow of

  The crystal responded with a gentle green glow, shot through with currents of blue. Kai felt a moment of triumph—until he noticed a brief flicker in the crystal’s heart, a momentary rainbow shimmer that didn’t belong to either affinity.

  Professor Voss narrowed her eyes but said nothing about the anomaly.

  “Primary affinity: Vital. Secondary affinity: Water.”

  The whispers began immediately:

  “A healer? In Class D?”

  “I thought healers were supposed to be in Class B at least.”

  “Maybe he’s not that strong.”

  “Or maybe he's just dumb and fumbled in written tests.”

  Kai already knew that healing was rare and most of the time the academy wouldn't even take healers in if their power wasn't effective enough.

  But combining it with water meant he couldn heal from long-distance. Which was sure to attract attention enough to get him selected without having shown good combat or some kind of mastery in other affinities.

  This attention was worth it. Had he chosen a fighting ability, he might have slipped somewhere and besides the tournaments attracted more attention to offensive and defensive magic.

  For his demonstration, Kai formed a small sphere of water between his palms. Infusing it with Vital energy, he caused the sphere to glow with soft green light. When he released it toward a damaged training dummy, the water wrapped around tears in the fabric, the Vital energy knitting the material back together.

  “Water Mending,” Professor Voss noted, studying Kai with renewed interest. “A practical application of dual affinities. Uncommon to see such control in a new student.”

  As Kai stepped back, he became aware of several eyes on him:

  Erynn watched him with a curious frown, as if sensing something unusual about his magic.

  Liam’s thoughtful expression suggested he was analyzing what he’d just witnessed, trying to piece together a puzzle.

  Darius wore a knowing smirk, as if he saw straight through Kai’s carefully constructed facade.

  Regardless of the class, all these students knew how valuable a long distance healer was. Kai couldn't have avoided it as the academy only took people with unique promising abilities.

  After Kai, many other students were tested. Some had good abilities which they couldn't control and some had control but didn't have the luck to be born with necessary mana reserves or with right affinity.

  As the students filed out of the evaluation hall, a commotion broke out near the entrance. A tall student with spiky blond hair was arguing loudly with a shorter, stockier boy.

  “You think you belong here?” the blond sneered, tiny arcs of electricity crackling between his fingers. “Class D is a joke. You’re just here to fill the numbers.”

  “That’s Marcus,” a nearby student whispered to Kai. “Lightning and Psychic affinities. He’s ruthless.”

  The shorter boy—Jake, according to the whispers—clenched his fists, his face red with anger. “Say that again, and I’ll show you why I’m here.”

  Small flames licked across Jake’s knuckles, his single Fire affinity responding to his emotions.

  Kai analyzed both boys with curiosity.

  Before the situation could escalate, Professor Voss stepped between them, her voice sharp and commanding.

  “Enough! This is not the behavior we expect from Hunter Academy students. Both of you, report to my office immediately.”

  The two students glared at each other but complied, their animosity palpable.

  As Kai navigated around the confrontation, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted a figure at the end of the hallway, partially concealed in shadow. Even in the dim light, Kai could see their eyes—glowing with an unnatural intensity, fixed directly on him.

  The figure disappeared before Kai could react, but the message was clear: even here, within these walls, he wasn’t truly safe.

  ***

  Back in his dormitory room, Kai sat on his narrow bed, staring at his hands. The soft green glow of Vital Magic faded as he released the energy, revealing the faint blue shimmer of his

  He flexed his fingers, watching the blue light ripple and shift, responding to his emotions, his thoughts, his very essence. This was his true power—.

  And it was the very thing that would get him killed if discovered. The government might let him go but the big private organizations and the hunters who seek for rare powers would dissect him alive if they caught him. It was the thing his father feared the most. Which is why he kept him hidden from the world–at least for a while–

  "Three years," he muttered under his breath, his resolve hardening as he closed his fist, extinguishing the blue light. "Better make them count. Not only I ought to hide I ought to master this power"

  Outside his window, the sun had fully set, casting Hunter Academy in twilight shadows. In those shadows, somewhere, the watcher waited. And Kai couldn’t shake the feeling that they knew exactly what he was hiding.

  Just as he was about to lie down, a faint knock echoed at his door. Kai froze, his hand instinctively forming a blue dagger of pure energy.

  "Who is it?" he called, his voice steady but his heart racing.

  No answer.

  Kai stood, his senses on high alert. He crept to the door and opened it slowly, the dagger concealed behind his back.

  The hallway was empty.

  But on the floor, just outside his door, lay a small, folded piece of parchment. Kai picked it up, his eyes darting up and down the corridor to ensure no one was watching.

  Unfolding the note, he read the words scrawled in jagged, hurried handwriting:

  

  Kai’s blood ran cold. He crumpled the note in his fist, his mind racing. Who had left this? How did they know? And who were

  As he stepped back into his room and locked the door, a faint sound reached his ears—a soft, almost imperceptible chuckle from somewhere in the shadows.

  Kai’s grip tightened on the dagger. It grew more defined and sharper.

  "Three years," he whispered again, his voice barely audible. "If I survive that long."