Chapter 01
A Name Too Heavy
Chatters choked the air in the schoolyard. Hundreds of powerful students with diverse abilities were scattered across the grounds, all buzzing about the new Quest—the search for the Elevation Ring.
It was said that whoever found it would level up by 300+. Enough to elevate anyone straight into Classic or even Upper Classic rank.
Everyone wanted it.
But there could only be one winner.
The Quest was open to all students from Rank B and above. Yet only B, Upper B, and C rankers filled the yard. The higher ranks, as usual, stayed away—too proud to scramble in crowded quests.
...
From the second-floor balcony overlooking the yard stood the elites—high-ranking students and masters observing the chaos below.
Among them was Clover.
She was the perfect image of royal wizard blood. Tall, poised, radiant. Her glowing red hair framed her porcelain skin, her green eyes sharp with quiet superiority. Her academic excellence alone set her apart, and within the prestigious VonEmerald House, she shone brightest.
Even here, among greatness—she stood out.
Perched comfortably around her neck was Noir, purring lazily as he spoke in his usual slow, teasing tone.
"Won't it be amusing to watch all these little bunnies fail, my lady Clover? Look at them—scrambling for a shot of power they won't even be able to maintain. So desperate to sit with the cool kids… hmm?"
Though Noir often irritated her, Clover smiled faintly.
He wasn't wrong.
Most of them would fail.
Shamefully. Desperately.
Her expression sharpened.
"Where is my little brother?" she asked, scanning the yard. "He should be here… watching. He might learn a thing or two from their failures."
Noir stretched.
"Oh… now that you mention it," he said casually, "turns out I won't be watching."
Clover blinked.
"I'll be participating."
He winked—then vanished.
In a blink, Noir reappeared below—perched on El's shoulder.
Clover's eyes widened in shock.
Her reckless little brother… was participating?
...
Down in the yard, El moved toward the registration line.
Heads turned.
Some in awe. Some in jealousy. Some in confusion.
He wore his usual gear—an all-black outfit traced with glowing blue neon lines. A large hoodie hung over him, modern yet haunting. His dark helmet and goggles masked his face, tinting his natural bright green eyes into a cold neon blue.
The only proper gene he had inherited.
With minimal words, he secured a late entry pass.
Murmurs spread.
Many believed he wouldn't make it past the second quarter.
Some were curious to watch him try.
Others were simply waiting to see him fail.
...
The easy pass threw his confidence over the ether. Eli walked pass students ranging from level 300 to 500 with exaggerated confidence—his stride bold, almost arrogant.
It didn't match his reality.
Level 42. Ordinary rank.
Cheap tricks.
A powerful last name.
Just a fancy packaging for cheap sweets.
...
Then—
He tripped.
Hard.
His helmet tumbled off as he fell over what felt like a log.
He looked up.
Admonity stood there, her tail lazily blocking his path.
"Oops," she said flatly. "Didn't see you. You're so tiny."
She was barely four inches shorter than him.
El almost laughed.
"How exactly do you plan on winning this?" he shot back. "This isn't a children's game. Maybe head back to the playpen."
Admonity smirked.
"And this isn't cosplay. You might win best dressed, but you're not winning this quest."
They went back and forth—sharp, practiced, familiar. Drawing attention from everyone around them.
Until—
Heavy footsteps.
Both paused.
Admonity stiffened. Father?
El narrowed his eyes. XeroOne?
But neither was right.
---
A towering suit of ancient armor loomed over them—massive, imposing, radiating power.
The registration lady went pale.
Without a word, she handed it a pass.
It's arm came strong, terrifyingly ancient and coated in magic so thick anyone would think contact would bite of their arm.
The armored figure accepted it gently.
"…Thank you."
Then—bowed.
A soft, delicate princess bow.
Completely mismatched.
... ...
Admonity facepalmed and walked away muttering something about how all the weird things in the world happens only at MOA.
But El didn't move.
Through his goggles—he saw it.
Inside the armor… a small, delicate core.
The rest was filled with a strange purple magic—thick, unnatural.
"Congratulations, El." Noir said, his usual slow tone cutting throughout the now crisp atmosphere, as he slowly turned away from Admonity's direction, "For the first time in 16 years you finally won an argument against the unfazed Admonity... El?"
Noir leaned in. His gaze aligning with El's. His tail now wagging like he found a good catch.
"Clogging spell." Noir pointed, "Not just the 'hide my identity' type. The 'contain me and fake my power cuz I'm desperate to win this match' type." Noir's mouth was a katana blade of words.
El stayed silent.
Watching.
...
Trumpets blared.
Lizu, the school jester and announcer, appeared in dramatic fashion.
She grinned widely.
"Welcome, students, to the Elevation Quest!"
Four quarters. One final point. The Elevation Ring awaited.
First—
Trials!
Elemental trials. Earth! Fire! Air! Water!!
And then—
She paused.
More trials!
Complex! Advanced!
Smiled wider.
"But!"
A collective groan rippled through the crowd. Lizu's 'But' was always an EXTRA HARD LEVEL call.
... ...
"Five extras are hidden across the field! Find one, and you'll level up instantly—and maybe reach the Elevation Ring first!"
...
Admonity stepped beside El.
"I heard there's a mystery star among them," she whispered. "Might help you look more original than your cheap tricks."
El didn't respond.
His eyes stayed on Lizu.
"I'll find that ring," he said quietly. "And prove I'm a true VonEmerald."
Admonity paused.
Then said nothing.
She understood.
This was no longer a joke for him. He was a laughing stock in his family. He wanted that Ring to prove he's one of them. Admonity sighed. A rare moment of her empathy dripping ever slowly from her ice aged heart. She knew where he was coming from, she also had a family name to protect.
El's eyes darted to the armoured figure standing a few clicks away. He hoped that magician won't get in his way.
...
"Alright, Chumgums!!" Lizu shouted with misplaced joy,
"Positions!"
Students spread out across the field.
Hundreds of them against one Elevation Ring. Everyone's starting point had head starts that would help kick start their journey.
"Ready…?!"
Silence.
"GO for it!!"
...
On the go sign, El ran forward with a bright adventure smile on his face.
Then.
Boom.
Chaos.
Before El could take three steps—
Fights broke out instantly on both sides.
Blasts. Screams. Collisions.
El froze.
Then understood.
"…Of course," he mattered thoughtfully "If you want to get over there, you need to destroy your opponents right here..."
"Hmm, that makes sense."
...
Before El could count his fingers, he was dragged into one of those big fights. He got several punches, slaps, kicks and worse, a dirty toe in his mouth.
Immidiatly, Noir reacted and they folded. Vanishing completely and reappearing outside the fight, miles away leaving the battlefield behind.
They turned back.
Laughing.
"Just as we planned?!" Noir grinned.
"Just as we planned," El replied.
"Ready, maboi?!"
"Always."
...
El rolled up his sleeves.
High-tech gloves activated—crystals humming with energy, mimicking magic flawlessly.
He launched glowing circles across the field.
Traps.
Controlled chaos.
...
From afar, the armored figure watched—shielding its eyes from the sun. No one ever mentioned pets were allowed.
A distant cry drew near and the armoured figure turned.
Someone charged towards the armoured figure, ready to pick a fight, he let out a blast of magic that only bounced off the armour, completely harmless. The armoured figure looked at him, a little confused with if that was an attack or just teasing. Seeing the armour was several feet tall, he ran off.
The armoured figure saw the advantage and started to run ahead, strongly, with power. Heading towards El with determination.
But of course. The armour is heavy so it was slow. Very slow and tiring.
...
Admonity strung out of the fight and tore ahead, her falcon feathered hair dancing in the wind. Several other students broke out of the fight, aiming their novablasts at her, beams of magic like shooting stars but with bullet power. Admonity dudged, running ahead. Everyone sprung forth, leaving the armoured being behing. It groaned. No one can win at this pace.
"Oh oh. We're losing ground!" Noir warned.
El turned, all the huge scary ones were defeated. Only the small agile ones were moving on now.
"Hah! Clever", El thought,
El glanced ahead.
Then smiled.
"Wait for it."
...
Admonity was far behind but close enough to hear. He followed El class by class, sat next to him for years, fought with him and against him several times. She knew his pattern too well.
"Bang, bang!!"
Immidiatly Admonity heard that from Noir, her eyes widened. She sprinted.
Lifting herself off the ground in just the right direction.
And then!
BANG!! BANG!! BANG BANG!!
Explosions rippled across the field.
Students flew in different directions.
GAME OVER rings locked around them.
Even the elders at the school drew closer to see. Clover bewildered. In her eyes were the reflection of explosions!
...
El and Noir laughed—high-fiving mid-run.
BANG!! One blast hit the armoured figure, it's body dismembered. In a second it reassembled with light, now glowing green, fitting better and feeling lighter!
"Yeah haa!!" A soft voice inside cried of joy. An upgrade!
It tore pass the many struggling to get up and those with GAME OVER and headed pass Admonity. Admonity was shocked.
It surged forward.
Faster now.
Passing Admonity with wind.
"Wh.. Who is that??" Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Doesn't matter... I can't... I can't let them beat El! She thought, pacing up, this time, her velvety lepidopteran wings tore open and picked up her pace airborne.
...
El and Noir laughed, and behold, out of nowhere, a flash of purple light flashed in front of El, Noir was fast, he folded just in time for El to take the hit alone. On his face.
Impact!
!!!
He hit the ground hard.
A punch that powerful could only belong to one person. Her purple silk hair dancing in the wind, her violet eyes glistening in glory, her purple freckles against her pink-peach skin telling a lived story of were untamed magic meets regal glory through trial and fire.
Violet Murasaki.
Level 542. Classic Rank.
Floating.
Effortless.
Dangerous.
...
Blood at the corner of his mouth.
He looked up.
Great. He thought. How could I have underestimated this one. He wiped blood from the side of his mouth.
Violet pointed her staff at him.
"No we're in the rules does it say pets allowed. Not to even mention familiars."
Students rushed past them.
She didn't care.
...
"Are you done talking," El muttered, "or do you have somewhere else to be?"
She giggled.
"Aw it's ok," she said, "I'm a promising C Ranker. I'm not desperate for some cheap power."
Her eyes darkened knowingly at El.
"Unlike some reach fake wizards with failure occupying the place of their last name."
El charged.
Furious.
"How dare you speak of the VonEmerald House like that!"
He charged but Violet was swift,
She dodged easily.
Laughed.
Dodging his every weak attempt to hit her. She couldn't help laughing,
"My goodness, Elvardur Failure. How on earth did you come this far with such cheap moves?" Violet jested,
His predictable weak attempts started to irritate her,
"How on earth is a joke like you even born to such a prestigious family!!?"
Her rage slipped in as she attacked El, striking him several times with her purple wave until he fell to the ground, cuts on his body.
She slowly set her feet on the ground, breathing deeply, eyes piercing at El.
"Elvardur. You are not a real VonEmerald."
"And you will never be one."
She vanished and her words echoed in Elvardur ears. Admonity stopped, she watched close by.
Violet was now gone.
...
Silence.
"She's right.
I'm not a VonEmerald.
...
I'm a lier."
... ...
Then—
A surge of blue magic swept the field.
Dozens eliminated instantly.
Red lights.
"GAME OVER"
"What?!"
"Not fair!"
...
Lizu watched from above, in her hotair balloon, stunned.
This quest was… different.
...
"El! Get up!"
A hand reached down.
XeroOne.
Noir reappeared.
"Never heed to that witch! Don't let her get into your head, Elvardur!"
"You're a great wizard."
"You are a VonEmerald." Xero said firmly. "Prove it."
...
El stood.
Breathing hard.
"The ring is mine."
"The ring is mine!!" El said, running ahead.
"Yes!!" Noir cried in joy, seeing just a few people up ahead, it was only the end of the second quarter of the quest. No time for extras, no time for whose a threat. Now was time to make that name.
VonEmerald. The greatest Noble wizards in the past 600 years.
Elvardur.
Elvardur VonEmerald!
It finally sounded real!
VonEmerald.
A name that mattered.
A name he would reclaim.
"The ring is mine! The ring is mine!! The ring is..."
ENTHOMB!!!
And Elvardur was completely buried by a large earthened rock. Seven times his size.
🪶...