"Get on your knees and kiss my shoes, you bastard!" A sharp crack sliced through the air as the iron-tipped toe of a leather boot slammed brutally into Leon's chest. His body skidded across the wet ground, crashing into a stack of wooden crates that shattered into splinters. A searing heat flared wild in his lungs. "Brother Leon!" shrieked an eight-year-old girl standing trembling at the corner of the alley. Mia tried to rush forward, but one of Valen’s guards roughly grabbed her scrawny shoulder, pinning her back. "Stay put, orphanage brat," the guard sneered, chuckling under his breath. Leon crawled along the muddy ground, forcing himself up as he wiped away the fresh blood pouring from his lips. His gaze locked onto Valen von Crest with razor sharpness. The young noble stood tall in his gold-trimmed white uniform, the signature attire of the Holy Magic Academy. Two gemstone rings glinted on his fingers, emanating the warm yet oppressive aura of basic fire magic. "Just becau

"Douse it with oil now! Don't leave a single drop!" Valen barked from the corner of the deserted alley. Valen leaned against the stone wall, impatiently twisting the gemstone ring on his finger. His two personal guards and three muscular mercenaries were sloshing foul-smelling magic fuel onto the wooden walls of the orphanage. "Young Master, once this catches fire, the entire orphanage will burn to the ground in ten seconds," the head guard whispered with a cruel smirk. "Good," Valen replied curtly, a cold chuckle rasping in his throat. "Let that trash Leon wake up tomorrow morning to see his filthy home turned to ash." Valen pulled out a polished fire-starter engraved with his family crest. He struck it, sparking a brilliant red flame. But before the spark could hit the ground, pitch darkness suddenly swept through the entire alley. In an instant, the flame in Valen's hand snuffed out completely. It didn't just flicker out—it was swallowed whole by something horrifyingly dense.

That morning, the main marble stage had been fitted with two black stone pillars etched with ancient runes. Atop each pillar sat a massive Mana Evaluation Crystal radiating a clear blue glow—a magic-absorbing artifact that would force whoever tested it to drain their entire mana capacity down to the last drop. Before Leon could even step onto the stage, a tall, broad-shouldered youth clad in a silver-trimmed red cloak arrogantly barged through the ranks of students. Gavin—a 3rd-Circle fire element mage and the new right-hand man to the elite nobles—smirked villainously as he glared at Leon with utter disdain. "Professor, grant me permission to take the exam side-by-side with this deadweight," Gavin interrupted, intentionally raising his annoying voice for all to hear. "These evaluation stones have a dual-resonance feature, right? Let's see how fast his trashy glow gets snuffed out when paired next to my 3rd-Circle magic!" Boisterous laughter roared from the ranks of noble studen

"Who sent you?" Leon asked, taking a step back until his heel bumped against the dead-end stone wall. The youth's face paled, displaying the textbook terror of a cornered scholarship student in a dark alley. Grim let out a raspy chuckle, his deep voice echoing against the damp stone walls. "You don't need to know who ordered your head, kid!" Grim snapped, waving his serrated cutlass. "All that matters is that one hundred gold coins is way too easy for the head of a useless 1st-Circle mage!" The two warriors beside Grim snickered in satisfaction, flexing their fingers clad in thick leather gloves. Meanwhile, the built man to Grim's left—a battle mage named Kaelen—stepped forward with a firm stride. Kaelen possessed eyes far sharper than those of ordinary mercenaries. A burn scar stretched across his neck, marking him as a frontline veteran who had discarded his honor for gold. "Cut the chatter, Grim," Kaelen interrupted, his voice cold and emotionless. "Finish it quickly before th

"Sink into my shadow, Kaelen," Leon whispered in a quiet tone. The black-armored shadow soldier bowed his head deeply. Kaelen's body softened into a plume of purplish mist, sinking completely beneath Leon's boots. Leon stared down at the four mercenary corpses lying stiff on the wet stone. He flicked his left hand into the air. Void Absorption. Black mist slithered out from the corners of the walls, wrapping around the corpses, the pools of blood, and the shattered iron weapons. Within five seconds, every trace of the battle in the dead-end alley vanished without a trace. The stone floor returned to a clean, dry state, as though no bloodshed had ever occurred. Leon approached the stone pillar in the corner of the alley. He retrieved the wooden box of food supplies, which remained safely sheltered without a single splash of blood. Leon lifted the box and casually strolled out of the dark alleyway. Ten minutes later, Leon knocked softly on the back door of the old orphanage. Moth