For the silver-Rank fire elemental mage known as Darius Voss, tonight was supposed to be a simple mission.
He had hunted criminals for over a decade-monsters in human skin, rogues who believed they could outrun the law and the mage association.
This time, his target was a murderer with a codename 'The Butcher'.
As for what his rank was, he wasn't sure . But he shouldn't be above the silver rank.
He had spent months tracking this fellow. And finally-finally-his trail had led him right here, into this small, dusty district on the outskirts of the city.
But then, the trail suddenly vanished. As if alerted by something or someone.
Darius cursed under his breath, raking a hand through his hair. "Damn it", I lost him again.
The association won't be happy. He had convinced them to deploy him for this mission, because he actually believed he would be successful this time. This fellow had eluded him for years now. It was his greatest disappointment.
This time again, he experienced yet another failure.
He turned to enter the valley, where his magical residue was still faint and he froze...
A small figure lay on the ground, half covered in blood.
A boy.
Blood everywhere.
So much that it soaked that cracked pavement beneath him.
He quickly ran through the boy's body. "Strange", he muttered.
He was soaked in blood but no signs of injuries anywhere on his body. Then how did he die?
The whole situation reeked of mystery and Darius was a man that never liked mysteries.
Did the butcher do it?
It had to be him, but how-
Before he could finish, he suddenly felt a weak , flickering pulse.
The boy was still alive.
Darius's eye widened in shock. "Impossible"
With the amount of blood he saw on the ground, such a thing was unbelievable. He had already checked for traces of mana, so he was sure that kid wasn't a mage.
With a frustrated sigh-one part worry, two parts exhaustion-he lifted the boy carefully onto his shoulder and strode out of the valley.
"This is the least I can do", he murmured.
He took him to the nearest health facility, and slammed a pouch of credits on the counter. Enough to pay for his fees twice over and left before anyone asked questions.
What else was he supposed to do?
"Better start preparing for tomorrow", he said as he stepped outside. "I'm supposed to conduct that..... ridiculous test for those kids tomorrow.
What was the name of that school again? His lips twitched. Obviously he forgot.
He had to do it. It was the only condition for him to accept this mission, even though it ended in a failure. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he made his way back to his hotel room.
Still, that boy's situation..... It nagged at him.
The whole thing was just weird.
Xavier slipped quietly into the school grounds, heart still pounding faintly from his rush across the city.
He expected to be late as he walked into the crowded arena. His classmates as usual paid no heed to his presence.
To them, he was practically invisible.
They spoke amongst themselves, forming little groups and cliques, buzzing about what good things the future had in store for them.
He walked past them silently and took his usual place-one of the quiet corners in the bleachers. The ceremony no longer held any interest to him-he had already awakened. In a way no human ever should.
He was already an iron rank mage-water as his first element. He was not afraid of being detected as he was not using mana. So no one could sense the energy waves in his body, it was even better this way. He needed to hide, at least until he got stronger.
Humans were very dangerous, even worse were the foreign races surrounding them.
He had already died once.
He wasn't eager to experience that again.
He had to keep his head low, until everything settled.
Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed when the room abruptly changed. The door creaked open and a tall man entered.
Slim, fair skinned and eyes sharp like molten embers.
The man walked with the confidence of someone used to danger, every step radiated with quiet authority.
Students fell silent ,heck even the teachers straightened.
Xavier suddenly had a dangerous thought. "Let me try something..."
He hadn't gotten a chance to test out some of his skills before. With everything that had been going on, there had been no opportunity.
He suddenly whispered quietly.
"BULLSEYE... ACTIVATE"
Processing mana signature.
Decrypting hidden status.
Xavier quickly held his breath.
A voice suddenly echoed in his head like a digital whisper. Sharp, cold, mechanical.
TARGET IDENTIFIED
NAME: DARIUS VOSS.
AGE: 25
RANK: SILVER
ELEMENTAL AFFINITY:FIRE [HIGH PURITY]
OCCUPATION: A MAGE ASSOCIATION FIELD OFFICER.
THREAT LEVEL: HIGH
WARNING : THIS INDIVIDUAL COULD KILL YOU INSTANTLY.