Chapter Text
He was born with the ability to conjure and manipulate chains. His magic wasn’t that spectacular but he was glad to be even born with one, especially considering how often it is for low-level mages to have a son or a daughter that doesn’t possess anything at all.
In his book, he was one of the lucky ones. His magic gave him the privilege to be envied by the normal people but it wasn’t strong enough for him to be used as a tool by those who were greedy. He got to live his life normally, or as normal as it can be when you’re hiding your true identity from the capital ever since you were young.
In this life, he was Kim Renjun, not Hwang Injun.
Hwang Injun was an only child who’d gone missing after the incident that caused the death of both of his parents when he was seven. But Kim Renjun is just a common mage with common powers, who’s going to be a common student at Neo, the Academy of Magic.
It wasn’t really his choice to be a student at Neo. But every mage, who’s been recorded alive and part of the community, was required to attend the academy when they reach the age of eighteen. It was written in their law, meaning that if he decided to just ditch it all, he’s gonna be considered as a rebel and would probably be hunted down by the capital or be exiled for the rest of his life.
They were given till the age of twenty to enroll but this practice was only commonly done by the family of high-level mages. The thing is Neo wasn’t just an academy, it’s also a training ground for the future pillars of the society. In context, students who graduate within the top ten were treated as Gods. Well, considering the level of influence that Neo has on the capital (which has the control over everything), graduating within the top ten of the academy basically became an instant ticket to power, influence, and success to those who are part of it.
That’s why prominent families would wait for their child to turn twenty so they could train them to their maximum potential hoping that their child would place somewhere in the ten. In Renjun’s case however, he waited till the last year to enroll because he was scared. Scared that if he ever became a student at Neo, his true identity would be revealed to the public and would later on ruin his life.
But now, he only has one mission. Be as invincible as he can be.
***
Packing his stuff wasn’t that difficult, considering how he only got a few within his possession. He worked as a hunter for the butcher within the outskirts of town. The pay wasn’t good but it was enough for him to live life on his own. It also served as his training ground for his magic which he knew would tremendously help his stay at Neo.
The thing is he couldn’t be bad, as being at the bottom is almost as the same as being at the top. As far as he knows, ranking is what matters the most at Neo and every year the rankings would be released for the public, and his goal to blend in within the hundreds of students is only possible if he can rank somewhere in the middle.
‘Don’t perform so poorly but don’t let people notice you’ was the words he told himself as he closed the door at the confined space he calls home.
As he stepped out of the building, he saw the bus that would take him to Neo as it stuck out like a sore thumb within the rundown buildings that surrounded it. It was obnoxiously green, a perfect contrast within the gray hue of its surrounding.
As he steps closer, he notices the amount of people crowding the bus and some peeking through the comforts of their house, curious as to why a bus from Neo was suddenly parked outside.
His whole neighborhood didn’t know that he had magic, as telling them would only cause unnecessary conflict in his life. His neighborhood wasn’t the safest, in fact it was deemed as one of the most dangerous places within their kingdom, but he lived long enough on it that he knows what to do to avoid the dangers it possesses.
It also helped that the people knew he hunted, meaning that if he ever got in trouble, his perpetrator knew they wouldn’t leave unharmed, and being within the poorer part of the kingdom, their health became their top priority in survival because as simple as an infection or a fever could cost the lives of many due to the lack of medical attention they have within their community.
When he finally gets near the bus, he sees a man standing within its door. He was wearing a uniform almost the same as they sent him last week, but it was the badges that were different, it was engraved with a number ‘2’ instead of the letter ‘N’.
Seeing the man standing so proudly despite being surrounded by the people that the capital considered as ‘thugs and thieves' intimidated Renjun. The man knew he was untouchable in the sea of common people and he probably knew that he could kill everyone within the sway of his hands.
Renjun just knows that the man was powerful.
“Kim Renjun.” The man said as soon as he saw him.
This momentarily stopped Renjun in his tracks, surprised that the man knew it was him. It wasn’t even a question, it was a statement. Meaning that despite not saying anything and not wearing the academy’s uniform, the man is sure that it was him.
As soon as he said that, all of the attention of the people that were watching turned into him. He expected this, that’s why as soon as he got the letter from Neo, he told his landlord and the butcher that he works for that he was leaving and would probably never come back. He ignored the sudden murmurs as he walked closer to the man.
“You’re not wearing the academy’s uniform.” The man said, looking at his worn down clothes up and down. “It didn’t fit me.” Renjun replied, as he walked past him and immediately got inside the bus, wanting to be as far away as possible from the people outside.
If the man was shocked by what he just did, he didn’t show it but just soon followed Renjun who’s already seated inside the bus.
It didn’t take a while for the bus engine to start, as they started their journey to Neo.
***
He later found out that the man’s name was Doyoung.
It was through a conversation that Renjun initiated, asking if there are other uniforms within the bus that he could wear so that he wouldn’t arrive at the academy with his own clothes.
“There’s none as the uniforms that were sent were especially made to cater the wearers magic.” Renjun realized that his voice was even more intimidating on a confined space of the bus. He ignored the chills that were running down his spine and stood up.
“Can I atleast use the bathroom? Mr?” He sighed, leaving him no choice but to wear the uniform that was sent to him.
“Doyoung. And yes you can use the bathroom.” Doyoung said, without even sparing him a glance as he continued to look outside.
He saw Doyoung telling the driver to turn right which Renjun ignored as he made his way into the bathroom.
As soon as he closes the door of the bathroom that they have at the bus, he pulls out the uniform that consists of black slacks, black polo, and black coat. The only thing that stood out is the green pin that is located on his left chest that looks like the symbol of the academy with the letter “N” on top of it.
The first time he wore the uniform, he was shocked at how well it fitted him. It was tailored to fit the skinny frame of his body but the fabric was so weirdly stretchable that it didn't constrict any of his movement. They gave him a total of seven sets of it, which probably meant that he would be wearing this same exact outfit every day of the week.
‘Magic is so weird.’ He uttered in his head as he stepped out the bathroom decked out in black.
But when he stepped outside the bathroom, the first thing he noticed was the slowing down of the bus which eventually came to a full stop in the middle of nowhere.
This didn’t feel right, especially as he notices Doyoung taking a deep breath before stepping outside the bus.
His eyes followed Doyoung as he felt several other presence surrounding them.
“Please stay inside the bus.” He heard the driver say to him as he pressed the button that closes the door of the bus.
“15 minutes Mr. Kim” The bus driver shouted before the door officially closed.
He saw Doyoung muttering something at the top of his breath. But despite being surrounded by several armed people, he looked as if he was pissed at the minor inconvenience rather than being scared.
It took a few seconds before he felt an immense pressure as he saw Doyoung raising his right hand near his mouth, with his middle and pointing finger crossed.
At that moment, seeing Doyoung’s magic, Renjun realized who he truly was.
He was Kim Doyoung, the only son of the Kim family.
The same Kim Doyoung who has the magic to create a blue cube dimension within a specific area where he could do everything he wanted.
And Renjun realized that the immense pressure he felt earlier, means that he was now inside the dimension Doyoung created.
As he looked outside, all Renjun could see were flashes of blue and the grunts and screams of people.
It took at least a minute or two before the fighting stopped, and another minute before Doyoung finally stepped inside the bus unharmed and without even a bead of sweat.
And at that moment, Renjun knew he was fucked.
***
“I thought the uniform didn’t fit you.” Doyoung said as soon as he saw him.
“It didn’t.” Renjun said despite it being the perfect fit. He just wanted a size bigger than what he was wearing because he believed that his thin frame would only guarantee an impression from people that he was weak.
If there’s one thing that he hated all throughout his life, it was being looked down upon because of his size. It never really bothered him at first but the people who do the same job as him are triple his size, and hiring a young man, not taller than five foot seven, was such a shot in the dark that he had plenty of troubles finding people who would hire him.
But despite his lack of strength, he made it up for his ability to think and act fast. If there’s one thing good about his build is that it gave him the ability to dance with the wind. And it’s something that he’s very proud of.
As if nothing happened, the bus resumed its journey to Neo, leaving the several bodies that were scattered on the ground.
His eyes follow the bodies which Doyoung noticed. “Oh, don’t worry they’re not dead, just unconscious and someone will come and arrest them in a moment.” Doyoung sounded a little less intimidating than the moment they met. In fact, he even sounded somehow sympathetic which was a total contrast from what Renjun just witnessed a few minutes ago.
It was all so bizarre. He hasn’t even arrived at Neo yet but his life almost ended there and then. He didn’t know what to do, shaken as he tried to process what could’ve happened to him if Doyoung wasn’t there to protect him. If situations like this have already happened to him on his way to the academy, his chances of being unseen throughout his stay at Neo has never been lower.
He turned into Doyoung to finally address the happenings earlier, to hopefully get an answer that would somehow ease the anxiety he’s feeling.
“Can you explain to me what just happened?” Renjun said as he hid his shaking hands behind him.
“Oh that? It’s nothing out of the ordinary. They were just trying to hijack Neo buses to kidnap young mages so they could exploit them as much as they could.” Doyoung said casually as if what happened didn’t almost cost Renjun his life.
“There’s already been several cases of that kind of incident in the past few years, but that usually happens to the children of really powerful families, which was weird considering you know.” Doyoung continued as he scanned his eyes throughout Renjun.
This made Renjun roll his eyes. He knew what he meant and he knew that Doyoung was only speaking the truth. But it doesn’t mean that being looked down upon felt great, especially with how little dignity and pride he had left.
“I bet that happened to you too.” Renjun argued, pissed at the tone Doyoung used against him.
He knew better than to argue against someone as powerful and influential as Doyoung. But his temper was one of the few things he had less control over. It was one of his weaknesses, that’s why Renjun knew to avoid confrontation as much as possible.
“So you know who I am?” Luckily, Doyoung didn’t take offense in his words but was rather amused at his sudden loss of composure. Renjun didn’t answer as he felt the irritation blooming again within him.
“Maybe they’re trying to capture you?” Renjun said, trying to ease the topic out of him.
“That is not possible.” Doyoung answered surely and Renjun understood what he meant.
Doyoung was one of the strongest mages currently living, and maybe the strongest in his generation, that’s why sending only a bunch of bandits to capture him was next to impossible.
That means there’s something more to it.
“Mr. Doyoung.” Renjun said after a few minutes of silence. “Hmm?” Doyoung said, shocked at the sudden formalities within their conversation.
“Is it possible to keep this incident a secret?” Renjun asked as quietly as possible.
If incidents like this only happened to those who possess great magic, it would certainly cause an uproar within the public once they found out it happened to a common mage.
“It has already been reported.” Doyoung said, without even looking at him.
And at that moment, Renjun’s first instinct was to get out of the bus and run despite knowing it would be impossible against the person sitting in front of him.
“Please?” Renjun tried one last time, his voice already laced with defeat.
He heard Doyoung sighed before hearing him say.
“I’ll try my best.”
***
The academy was bigger than he ever imagined. He saw images of it before that was plastered in their local newspaper but it didn’t capture how massive it truly is.
The whole academy was a castle, with high walls surrounding the whole building that shields and hides the students from the curious eyes outside.
But the room that was given to him was just a tad bigger than his last place.
“The academy assesses the students prior to their enrollment to predetermine their ranking. Your assessed rank was within the lower bracket thus why you were assigned to this room.” is what Doyoung said when he asked about the room he was in.
This made Renjun roll his eyes for the nth time.
He knew how important the rankings are within the academy but he didn’t think that it would directly affect the living conditions of its students.
“You think that’s fair?” He asked Doyoung, annoyed at how discriminatory the whole system is.
“It’s not but the academy has been like that since the beginning. Also, the magic fest for freshmen usually happens a month after the classes have started and it’ll help to get your rank reevaluated so right now, things are just temporary.” Doyoung paused before continuing.
“Unless the academy is right about your rank.”
He was at least thankful that the room comes with its own bathroom, and he ever really needed to go out to eat his meal as all students within the mid to lower bracket can only obtain food through their dining hall.
Those who are within the upper bracket were usually served personally at their room or provided with stocks of food if they decided to cook their food themselves.
It was all unfair, but his living conditions have never been better.
***
Tonight marks the first dinner of the academy for the new semester. If he heard it correctly from the conversations outside his door, this dinner serves as an unofficial initiation for freshmen to welcome and be considered as a Neo.
He didn’t know what it's for but he was sure that it would be something important, and missing it would ruin his plan of blending within the crowd as much as possible.
So now, he was getting ready to go outside, wearing the best clothes he could find, before stepping out of his room and following the crowd of people.
He heard commotions outside. Some students are probably making their way over to the food hall. He sighed after he realized that once he stepped outside of his room, his life would never be the same.
So he took one last look at the mirror, checking if he looked presentable and to say goodbye to the soon old Renjun that would only ever exist within his memories, and finally, he made his way out towards the hall, surrounded by the people he never met.