The Headmaster's tower was otherworldly. It rose into the sky, piercing the clouds like a divine needle.
The sun cast its golden rays across the obsidian black stone as it set. The twin moons rose on the opposite end—one full and glowing faint blue, the other red and shaped like a crescent.
Jin walked through the front doors, two heavy darkwood gates looming like silent guards.
On the inside, it was pristine and clean. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling like crystal suns. Torches lit the halls. A student approached and gestured politely for Jin to follow.
They proceeded along a narrow corridor until they eventually reached a spiral staircase.
"Follow these stairs till you reach the very top. Do not stray from this path. Do not open doors, even when someone asks to be freed. Do not listen to the whispers."
Jin took mental notes and proceeded upward. He reached the second floor and heard maddening whispers. It took everything just to keep his sanity.
By floor five, it became two times worse, and he constantly heard knocks coming from doors lining the corridors as he ascended past that.
Eventually, he reached the top. He felt... strange. Exhausted. As if a part of his spirit had been drained by the voices.
But he entered the office at the end of the corridor—the Headmaster's office.
Upon entry, he noticed a strange detail. One energy, but emanating from two separate beings. Oppressive and overwhelming.
A girl sat on a chair, legs kicking in the air. Her golden hair caught the light from the setting sun. Her lemon-yellow eyes scanned Jin with amused curiosity. She sat on a man's lap—a man who looked every bit like a hardened military general. His beard was shaved short, his slicked-back hair a stern shade of grey. He wore a serious expression.
Jin bowed, not out of respect—but out of acknowledgment.
"Little Drayce~" the girl said, voice cheery. "My, how you've grown."
"Indeed," the man added, more stoic.
"We've heard about your achievements... 525 students in one week," the girl whistled. "Quite the feat."
Jin stood, expressionless.
"So why did you call for me?"
"Straight to the point, I see..." The old man grinned, eyeing Jin carefully.
He flicked his hand, and from one of the shelves, a chest drifted across the air. Crafted of dark wood and sealed with an obsidian lock, it settled softly on the table that separated them from Jin.
"The reason we called you," the man said, infusing Essence into the lock, "is to reward you."
The chest clicked open, revealing two precious artifacts.
Jin's throat tightened.
A Skill Slot Key and a Skill Book.
Both were priceless. Rare. Fabled.
"Since you've achieved great merits and set a few new records," the old man said, "we thought it best to reward you."
"Thanks for the offer," Jin replied. "But no."
"...No?" the girl repeated, genuinely surprised. "Most people would kill for these."
"I'm not most people," Jin said. His eyes were unnervingly focused.
The man laughed, a hearty sound. "You really do take after him... though I'm sure you wouldn't remember."
Who was him?
"But please," the girl said, smiling now, "take it. There are no strings attached."
Jin studied the artifacts again. Skill slots were soul-bound. Most people had three from birth. Anomalies had four. Mutants had five. Anything more than that, and you were no longer classified as human.
So to be given something like this didn't feel right.
"The Skill Book's concept," the girl continued, "is called Night of the Goblin."
"Night of the Goblin?"
"It's a skill we found near Titanfall. The inscription said it was tied to a special goblin. And those who inherit this skill must fulfill one condition."
"And that would be?"
"They must be short."
"...Weird condition."
"And oddly specific," the man chuckled.
"In return," the girl continued, "it grants eternal youth, a passive speed boost... and another feature we couldn't quite decipher."
"Isn't this skill useless then?"
"You'll see soon."
And then with a smile, they dismissed him.
As Jin turned and exited, their eyes followed his retreating figure.
"I can't believe he actually made it up here..." the girl murmured.
"In a sense," the man said, "he's the same as his old man."
"It's good to see little Drayce has grown up. Still a cute little kid though."
"Hmm... We've done our part. Let's just hope he can handle what's coming next year."
---
Jin walked back toward his dorm.
The return journey was slightly more bearable. The whispers still haunted the stairs, but he was mentally prepared now.
He locked his dorm room behind him.
His wooden stick rested against the desk. The diary lay closed beside it. Through the window, a gentle breeze tugged at the trees. Students returned to their dorms. Night lamps glowed softly in the courtyards.
The twin moons now hung high in the sky.
He sat down, placing the Skill Slot Key and Skill Book before him.
That energy from the Headmaster and the girl...
He had felt something similar before. Oppressive. Unfathomable.
Only True Dragons or Sub-Dragons could exude such an aura.
To think such beings lived within the academy...
"The world truly is an insane place..." He chuckled.
He took the Skill Slot Key and channeled Essence into it. It shimmered pale blue and dissolved, entering his chest. A sudden shift in his soul. An empty space opened. Waiting to be filled.
He picked up the Skill Book and read its concept.
It dissolved as well, entering his mind.
Learning through a Skill Book was certainly faster than developing one yourself. But back then, Jin had developed an entire original skillset. It had become natural for him. This? This felt foreign.
He pushed the thought away.
Time to test it.
He activated the skill.
"Night of the Goblin."
Something shifted. Perspective. Mentality. His thoughts sharpened. His mind cleared. Hesitation vanished.
He closed his eyes. And drifted into his mental world.
In his subconscious, a faceless figure formed—dark and ageless. They stood in the void.
A beat passed.
Then they moved.
The shadow attacked fast and merciless.
But Jin matched it. Every movement fluid. Essence distribution subtle and precise. Strength enhanced to a shocking degree.
This wasn't just an augmentation type skill. This was a whole damn Mystic type skill.
His body moved before his mind.
Still, eventually, the mind caught up.
They traded blows.
The shadow aimed for his torso. Jin responded instinctively—throwing his arm into the path to block it and counter. But before he could finish the strike—
Agony.
A sharp pain bloomed in his skull.
He gasped and tore himself out of the mental world.
Sweat poured down his face.
That wasn't normal.
The skill changed his mentality. If he hadn't pulled out, he would've sacrificed his arm without thinking.
He flexed his fingers.
Pale blue-grey. Calloused.
No longer his caramel brown.
He stumbled to the mirror.
What looked back shocked even him.
Obsidian black eyes. Crimson pupils. Pale skin. Shimmering white hair. Elongated ears. Lean frame. Strange markings across his body. And a horn protruding from his forehead. It curled upward. Darkening at the tip.
"...So that's why it was called Night of the Goblin."
He quickly deactivated it, by stopping his Essence circulation. His body returned to normal.
---
Later, he went for a jog to shake off the aftereffects.
But he couldn't shake one thought.
Jane.
Even if she met the Jin of this timeline, he hoped… maybe, just maybe… that Jin would treat her seriously.
But immediately he pushed the thought from his mind. It was not his business anymore.
---
After an hour, as he jogged past the training fields, a familiar presence joined him.
It was Jin—from this timeline.
Shorter hair. Straighter posture. Less pride. Less fire.
He didn't carry arrogance the way Jin once had.
He just looked tired.
The boy matched his pace.
"Hey," he said after a moment. "You've been in the merit rankings for a while now."
Jin stayed silent.
The boy continued. "So like... How do you do it? I've watched your battles and you haven't used a single skill."
Jin (Rael) kept quiet.
"How can you fight like that... y'know fight even when the odds are against you, and that without skills? I tried but I just can't."
Jin glanced at him.
He didn't respond immediately.
Then, after a while, he said—
"Some things are worth fighting for. Most aren't. Know the difference... and you'll survive."
Cryptic. Detached.
But it was the only advice he could give.
He didn't want to get involved.
He didn't need to. Jin was—to put it simply—a genius. He would figure it out.
Jin from this timeline nodded quietly, eyes filled with thought.
Then they parted ways.
---
Unseen, from a distance, Jane watched.
Ever since she had seen him crying in his sleep, something about him gnawed at her.
When she returned from the forest a while ago, her friends had bombarded her with gossip.
"Did you hear about the Battle Saint?"
"He beat over 500 students with a stick!"
"They say he looks like he's twelve! And that he's actually really cute~!"
"Apparently his eyes are like crystal. And he's cold and distant."
That made her pause.
Crystal eyes. Distant…
It sounded like the boy from the tree.
Rael Drayce. The Rael Drayce who was picked on at the start of the semester?
And when she saw him outside after curfew, she followed him. Silently. Out of curiosity. Maybe more.
Something about him pulled at her.
And the more she watched, the more she wondered:
Who are you really?