"Forgive me," the man said calmly, his voice steady yet heavy with presence. "I was too forward. I didn't even introduce myself."
'He wants to introduce himself now after he did all that better late than never I guess?'
He stood with his arms crossed, posture relaxed, but something about him made the air feel… thicker. As if the world itself had adjusted to accommodate his existence.
"My name is Edward Godfrey."
The moment the name left his lips, Ragnar felt it.
A pressure slammed into his senses like a wave crashing against his chest. His breath caught. His vision blurred for just a fraction of a second, but it was enough to send a chill crawling down his spine.
Mana.
No this wasn't just mana. This was overwhelming. Endless. Vast.
Ragnar's eyes widened as instinct screamed at him to back away. It felt like staring directly at a storm that could swallow entire cities without effort. Not hostile. Not aggressive.
Just… absolute.
'How can someone be this strong? And Edward Godfrey I've heard of this name before but I don't know where.'
"I—" Ragnar swallowed, forcing his legs not to tremble. "My name is Ragnar Wryd. It's… nice to meet you."
Edward's eyes narrowed slightly, not with suspicion, but with something far more unsettling.
Curiosity.
Like a child finding an interesting toy.
"Tell me something first," Edward said. "What drives you, child?"
'What drives what kind of question is that? Well I guess I just wanna learn about magic'
The question hit harder than Ragnar expected.
He hesitated.
Then, slowly, words began to spill out.
He told him everything.
About how he could feel mana coursing through his body like a raging river, yet no matter how hard he tried, it refused to take shape. How every spell he attempted collapsed before it could even form. How instructors looked at him with disappointment or worse, pity.
"I train harder than anyone," Ragnar said, fists clenched. "I study. I meditate. I do everything they tell me to. But no matter what I do… strength never comes."
His voice cracked.
"I have mana. I can feel it. So why… why am I useless?"
'I can barely use any spell let alone mold my own mana and I don't know why I've tried everything.'
Edward listened quietly, his expression unreadable. When Ragnar finally fell silent, breathing heavy, the man hummed thoughtfully.
"I see," Edward said at last, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "So that's your problem.:
Ragnar stiffened. "Problem…?"
"But don't lose hope just yet, kid," Edward continued casually. "I can teach you how to use magic properly."
Ragnar's head snapped up. "You—what?"
Before he could react, Edward reached out and grabbed Ragnar's hand.
The world shattered.
One moment Ragnar stood beneath the open sky—
The next, the ground lurched violently beneath his feet.
"W—!"
He stumbled forward, barely catching himself before falling flat on his face. The air felt different here. Thicker. Sharper. The sky above wasn't blue, but a swirling gradient of muted colors that shifted slowly, like a living canvas.
'How many places can this mana create, better yet what kinda magic is this?'
"Where… are we?" Ragnar asked, heart racing.
Edward released his hand and smiled.
"Don't worry about it"" he said. "All you need to know is that your training has begun."
'I'm pretty sure this counts as kidnapping.'
"Training—?!" Ragnar spun around. "You can't just kidnap people!"
"For the next week," Edward continued, ignoring him, "you'll be training with me."
He pulled a book from seemingly nowhere, sat down on a nearby stone, and opened it with a relaxed sigh.
Ragnar stared.
"…You're joking."
Edward glanced up. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
"But I still need to apply to the school I'm supposed to attend! Ragnar protested. "How am I supposed to do that if I'm stuck here with you?!"
'I just hope I can get back home in time I've already spent way to much time with this dude... but first that books looks Hella interesting.'
Frustrated, Ragnar stormed over and snatched the book from Edward's hands... and in that moment Ragnar felt instant regret. The book grew heavier.
And heavier.
His arm trembled as the weight multiplied, pressing down with merciless force. His knees buckled.
'The hells wrong with this book?!?'
"G—gah!"
Ragnar collapsed to the ground, the book crushing his hand into the stone beneath him. Pain screamed through his nerves as he cried out.
Edward stood, effortlessly plucking the book from Ragnar's grip.
"The weight of this book," Edward said calmly, "increases based on how much mana the holder has."
Ragnar gasped, clutching his hand.
"For most people," Edward continued, "the maximum is around twenty kilograms."
'That didn't feel like twenty kilograms.'
He looked down at Ragnar, eyes glinting with intrigue.
"But for you… it just kept getting heavier. Almost infinitely heavier."
Ragnar froze.
"…What?"
Edward's smile faded, replaced by something sharper.
"As if," he said slowly, "you have infinite mana."
'Infinite... mana. Has this old man gone SENILE! But I can't tell him that to his face.'
"Infinite mana?" Ragnar repeated weakly. "That's impossible."
Edward shot him a look. "Don't play dumb, kid. You're a bottomless pit."
'If that's true I should be a spell casting genius.'
"But… isn't having more mana a good thing?" Ragnar asked.
"Normally," Edward replied. "Yes."
He crouched down, meeting Ragnar's gaze.
"But too much mana is just as bad as having none."
Ragnar's brow furrowed.
"Your body doesn't ration power," Edward explained. "It floods your spells with everything you have. No control. No restraint."
Images flashed through Ragnar's mind spells collapsing, mana surging out of him like a burst dam.
"That's why they fail," Edward said. "You drown them."
Ragnar leaned back, stunned.
'Is the answer really that simple but why can't most people sense that I have mana? But putting that aside according to the old man my talent is vast.'
"So… it's not that I lack talent," he whispered. "It's that I have too much?"
"You think that highly of yourself? But yeah that's the problem."
'But I guess I never thought about it like that most people just learn spells and cast them without putting much thought into it so I thought I can do the same.'
Ragnar laughed softly, disbelief lacing the sound. "I always thought magic was something people were just born knowing how to use."
Edward smirked. "No one's born knowing anything. Don't worry. I'll teach you."
He stood, his tone shifting.
"But first, you need to understand mana itself and how it works."
Edward began to lecture, his voice calm yet commanding.
"Mana is a limitless energy all creatures are born with. Magic is divided into grades. The weakest is 10th-grade magic."
Ragnar listened intently.
"Only five percent of humanity ever surpasses 5th-grade magic," Edward continued. "Those who do reach the higher realms—King-grade, Ancient-grade, Divine-grade… and finally—Null-grade."
Edward chuckled.
"And right now, Ragnar… you can't even control 10th-grade magic."
"Hey!" Ragnar snapped. "Don't laugh at me, old man!"
"And what grade are you old man! Null?"
The old man laughed as hard as he can leaving Ragnar confused as to what's so funny to him.
"Heavens no I'm not Null grade. Divine and Null grade are practically myths no one has ever gotten to that level of strength"
'Is avoiding my question why doesn't he want to tell me his magic grade?'
"Then that means your not as powerful as you seem old man."
Edward waved him off. "Stop sulking. We're identifying your magic affinity."
He grabbed Ragnar's head.
'My head hurts, what is he doing to m"
"H—HEY! Let go!" Ragnar yelled.
Edward ignored him, eyes glowing faintly.
Destruction…
And affinity for all types of magic…
Edward's expression shifted, but he said nothing.
'I think it's best if I don't tell him this for his own safety so I'll just say he has fire and... portal... but can he use it?'
Ragnar yanked free. "Are you done?! I thought you were trying to kill me!"
Edward laughed. "Relax. Fire magic. And teleportation."
"Teleportation?!" Ragnar exclaimed. "That's rare!"
Edward nodded. "Very."
Ragnar clenched his fists. "Then I'll change. I swear it."
Edward smiled. "I know you will."
---
A week passed like a blink.
When Ragnar returned home, something was different.
His posture was straighter. His eyes sharper.
"Ragnar… are you sure about this?" a worried voice asked.
"Yes," Ragnar replied calmly. "I'm just applying to a small school."
'I'm just going to go their ace the exams wait a year and I'll hopefully transfer to a nicer school, simple.'
Her eyes widened. "Small…?"
Ragnar checked the time amd saw he eas running a bit late so he had to go.
'I'm already running late how?'
Ragnar grinned. "Love you. Bye!"
'Saint high... small? Is Ragnar okay?' Merlin thought to herself
"Love you too and Goodluck." Merlin yelled back at Ragnar
When he arrived, his breath caught... Saint High.
"…This can't be right."
'What I'm I doing here did the old man direct me to the wrong place? This is bad I need to get there on time.'
"Kid!"
Edward appeared beside him.
"You gave me the wrong address!"
"No," Edward said. "I gave you the right one."
'Does he want me to attend Saint High... well that's a nice joke old man.'
"Saint high is meant for kids with overwhelming talent not guys like me... So please don't get my hopes up."
"Ragnar you were going to waste your talents on some backwater school and I couldn't allow that."
"But—"
"There's no buts you are going in that school and make your presence known young man!"
Edward slapped him.
"Believe in yourself."
'Was the slap really necessary old man?'
Ragnar turned toward the gates. No more excuses.
I lot of kids were staring at the two of them for their rather unusual conversation.
A man dressed in a white Robe, wearing a clear white mask, his skin as pale as bones was watching from a far he was looking for something... someone.
"Ragnar Wryd… this test will be interesting."