Prologue Story

The morning assembly brought all the students to the auditorium.  

Usually, even for assemblies, the announcements were broadcasted through the classroom screens.  

However, this time, all second graders were moved to the auditorium.  

Not just the students but all teachers in charge of the second grade were present.  

Even the teachers responsible for level-specific classes had gathered.  

I widened my eyes as I looked at Teacher Joon-hwi and Teacher Min standing on the stage.  

“What’s going on?”  

“What’s happening now?”  

Listening to the murmurs of the confused children, I narrowed my eyes.  

It seemed our school considered this a significant matter.  

Well, up until now, the Confidentiality Policy had been strictly followed.  

Inside the school, I couldn’t be sure, but outside, the magic constraints enforced secrecy thoroughly.  

At least, that’s what I had heard.  

But just yesterday, the unspoken rule of the Confidentiality Policy, which had been maintained so far, was broken by a single girl.  

Because she was a child, the policy that had been naively upheld by innocence was also naively exposed in a big way.  

Of course, there might have been instances where someone whispered carelessly and was punished.  

I’d heard of such cases a few times.  

But an incident of this scale was the first since I enrolled.  

“Everyone, quiet! The chairman will explain the situation now, so please remain silent!”  

Naturally, it wasn’t easy to control close to a hundred children.  

Even after the teacher spoke, the students kept chattering noisily.  

However, as soon as the chairman appeared, the voices gradually quieted down.  

He had that kind of charisma.  

He was one of the 200 or so S-rank magicians worldwide—a being at the level of a transcendent.  

He brought the microphone to his mouth.  

“I assume your homeroom teachers have informed you of the detailed circumstances, so I will keep this brief. I hope this will serve as a warning so that this doesn’t happen again. Yesterday, second-grader Son Min-ju violated the most critical rule in front of many people.”  

As expected.  

I looked up at the chairman with a peculiar expression.  

Why do they insist on this Confidentiality Policy so much?  

Even knowing it could complicate matters, do they really need to go this far?  

Just as I was thinking that, his next words startled me.  

“It is written on your student ID what kind of punishment is imposed for violating this rule. Son Min-ju has broken the rule a total of 15 times, including this incident. While her actions didn’t cause major uproars before, and leniency was shown due to her being in the lower grades, now that the situation has escalated, we have decided to expel her.”  

The children began murmuring again.  

Expulsion? Seriously?  

Are they really going to expel her?  

It didn’t seem like what she did was that serious…  

Even if the rule was clearly stated, and even if warnings had been given, the reality of it left the children bewildered and raising their voices.  

I was no different.  

There aren’t many schools that actually enforce expulsion, even if the rule exists.  

But…  

“I don’t think this punishment is excessive. She was warned multiple times beforehand… And while I don’t know how the rumors spread, due to Son Min-ju discussing certain students outside, three students, including Ha Jin-seong, almost got kidnapped yesterday.”  

What…?  

I quickly raised my head.  

The chairman’s cold, golden eyes shone like frost in my view.  

My blood ran cold from my fingertips.  

Something unseen crept up from beneath my feet.  

It was a sensation I hadn’t felt before—yes, a feeling of *reality*.  

“Those three students, including Ha Jin-seong, were all close to Son Min-ju. Perhaps because they were close, they revealed their abilities to her. But it’s unacceptable to talk about such things outside. Incidents like this happen frequently. That’s why we have this rule.”  

The commotion had occurred just yesterday.  

I worried but didn’t think it was anything to pay much attention to.  

I had only thought about what kind of personality that girl had.  

Was she the type who wouldn’t care much if her abilities were exposed?  

I figured everything would settle down and be fine.  

But a chill crept down my back.  

I shivered, feeling uneasy, my hands trembling slightly.  

“Thankfully, the three students used the Help System immediately, allowing the association to protect them. However, just before the abduction, they were drugged and left unconscious. They are currently hospitalized.”  

“……”  

“Therefore, we have decided to expel Son Min-ju.”  

Silence filled the auditorium.  

Drugs… Drugs, they said…?  

It was the kind of thing you’d only hear about in novels or comics.  

To me, it had been nothing more than a distant story.  

I bit my trembling lips.  

“Up until now, you may not have fully understood the importance of the Confidentiality Policy. Even if you understood it, perhaps you never felt a sense of urgency. However, keeping students’ abilities a secret is the school’s best choice to protect young and talented individuals. To shield you from the ‘talent hunger’ of various organizations.”  

And then, what came to mind was the story Auntie Suna once shared about her past, as told by my mom.  

“Currently, this world consists of dozens of magical organizations, each forming their own factions. The only condition that determines the power of these organizations is the individual abilities of the magicians within them. These organizations are desperate to find talented individuals.”  

My expression hardened gradually.  

In other words…  

I couldn’t clearly recall the exact words my mom used or how she phrased it, but I vividly remembered the content and her atmosphere when she spoke.  

Her warmth as she held me tightly while telling the story also lingered clearly in my memory.  

“You may already know. Though you haven’t experienced it directly, you’re likely aware of how many wars take place across this world. How many magicians are injured or killed. Sometimes, battles don’t just happen in combat zones; they occur in residential areas, leaving deep scars on people’s hearts. Though there are laws and regulations that prevent these occurrences from being frequent… this world is far from being a peaceful one.”  

Her trembling voice, repeating that it was a concern, echoed in my mind.  

I lowered my gaze and clenched my fists tightly.  

That’s right.  

When I was younger, I experienced fear over this once.  

Although they didn’t come specifically for my talent, I got caught up in a terrorist attack when I was little.  

That’s why I ended up connected to this school.  

But I had started forgetting those events entirely, brushing them off as something that happened in the past.  

Yet it could happen again, at any time, if my talent were exposed.  

I bit my lip.  

The prevalence of such incidents and accidents in this world, the prioritization of magicians’ abilities, was all due to these “organizations” and “factions” that dominated this world.  

While they operated under nations, they often crossed borders, building their own rules and powers, and fought.  

Even without looking far, both Min-hee and Auntie Suna were victims.  

The two were victims of different forms of sacrifice, though.  

Min-hee’s parents were gone.  

Both of them lost their lives in battle when Min-hee was still young.  

I heard that Senior Ji-hyun was a middle school student when it happened.  

Fortunately, their inheritance was substantial, so it wasn’t too hard for them to live together for a while.  

In other words, Min-hee had been raised by Senior Ji-hyun for several years now.  

It was said that the parents next door, Shia’s parents, had greatly helped Ji-hyun while he was raising Min-hee.  

At that time, reaching out to distant relatives for help was difficult.  

But the bigger issue is that such tragedies aren’t rare in this world.  

If anything, they’re common.  

In our grade alone, including Min-hee, there were five students whose parents had died in battle.  

Out of a hundred students, five.  

How could that be considered a small number?  

Including relatives or acquaintances, the number would be even higher.  

Auntie Suna’s case was different.  

Though she was also a victim of the system, she didn’t lose someone; she sacrificed her own body.  

I occasionally hear about her story, either from her or through my mom.  

When she was an elementary school student, she had already been sent to magical battles, enduring countless hardships. 

And the kidnapping incident that was said to have happened just yesterday.

I felt my eyes growing red.

This is no distant story.

It’s a story that could happen to me at any moment.

I listened to the story with my lips firmly sealed.

“The most important information in the world right now is about magicians.

And it is about your talents as young children.

Those who manifest their talents from a young age will be dragged endlessly into combat zones unless they hide their powers or have someone to protect them.

In severe cases, they are kidnapped by dark organizations and raised through torture and training from a young age.

… I, too, was one of those victims.”

Ah, I felt like the air was knocked out of me.

There are many magicians who contribute to society in their own ways without joining organizations.

There are numerous laws and regulations regarding recruiting magicians into organizations.

However, this world has too many things that cannot be stopped by laws alone.

This world is, after all, a place where everything is ultimately subdued by power.

Moreover, dark organizations do not care about laws or ethics.

Thus, children who are ignorant and weak are simply abducted and exploited.

“At a young age, I experienced having my limbs cut off or my eyes gouged out.

I went through such horrific pain multiple times.

I received training that was akin to torture.”

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly.

If the students’ abilities leaked to the outside, the first to be kidnapped and dragged into war would be us.

Me, In-ha, Han-soo, Min-hee, and Hyun-ho.

Although I had not experienced such horrifying situations, I knew well enough how terrifying they were.

“Later… the reason I founded an organization and established this school was to protect children who might suffer like I did.

The Confidentiality Policy exists to fulfill that purpose.”

Hearing his voice, I felt a sudden surge of emotion and looked up at him.

“Even if you break the rule or your information leaks outside, your fellow students at this school will protect you.

But those who target you will stop at nothing.

Threats, torture, murder, drugs—they will do anything.

To ensure you are protected from such people, it is crucial that your information does not leak outside.

That is why magical restrictions were placed on you, as you are too young to fully understand this.

Within the school, such restrictions were deemed unnecessary, but still…”

Now that I looked at him, he truly was a striking figure.

It wasn’t just his looks but the beauty of his hair and eye color.

Platinum-colored, as if it held its own light, it was stunning.

However, his expression was chillingly cold.

“… But remember, there are friends who have heard about these situations directly from their parents and are genuinely afraid.

No matter what happens, please make sure to uphold the Confidentiality Policy.

Breaking it will also lead to severe punishment.

This is necessary to ensure you have a safe school life.

I urge you to comply.”

He swept his cold gaze across us.

With such cold eyes, he spoke such kind words.

I clenched my fists tightly.

While the children glanced around with anxious expressions and whispered among themselves, the chairman’s speech came to an end.

When we returned to the classroom, our homeroom teacher relayed the chairman’s solemn warning.

“As the chairman said, although you are all still young, I believe you are already aware that battles occur in various parts of the world.

Thanks to the rules set by magicians, battles rarely happen in non-combat zones, but sometimes, they spill into cities, causing people to lose their lives.

Such is the extent of magical battles.”

We listened earnestly, knowing there was now a prospective expulsion among us.

When was the last time I felt this deeply about the dangers of this world?

Ah, yes, probably not since I was five years old when I got caught up in a terrorist attack.

I clenched my fists tightly.

“Official organizations may not go as far as to commit such atrocities, but there are underground organizations that cannot be judged by the law.

These people commit acts of terror and kidnap children who show potential talent.

Even the police organizations do similar things.

Claiming a lack of talent as an excuse, they take young magicians for cooperation and force them into fights at an early age.

That is how many organizations are starving for talent.”

This world is such a world.

Even in the previous world I lived in, which seemed peaceful, South and North Korea engaged in a battle of nerves, wars broke out in distant countries, and people starved to death.

Similarly, this world might be materially and financially abundant, but it always has danger lurking within.

Seventy percent of the world’s population are magicians.

Among those magicians, about fifty percent belong to organizations like the police, while others take up freelance or various professions, such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, craftsmen, and mechanical designers and developers.

The fact that over seventy percent of the world’s population are magicians means there are many who hold power.

Naturally, most figures in the underworld are also magicians, and their desire for strong power is immense as they disregard any means.

Likewise, the proportion of criminals who are magicians is overwhelmingly high.

With this reality, every place cannot help but seek individuals with strong abilities.

“As you all know, every student at our school has proven talents.

While information about the students is tightly controlled, there is still danger.

Those people have already memorized what our school uniforms look like.

In fact, the teleportation badges and student IDs you were given have tracking and defensive magic embedded in them, considering the possibility that you might be kidnapped.

Usually, young children like you are less likely to have developed your talents, so you are not their primary targets, but still…”

I listened to the story with uneasy eyes.

Just the fact that I attend this school puts me at risk of kidnapping?

Meticulous protection and the wolves that prey upon it—it’s truly a contradiction.

Is this why elementary school students aren’t required to wear uniforms?

To avoid being identified as students of this school?

“Still, incidents like yesterday’s occur once every two years on average.

Every five to six years, a student is actually kidnapped.

When such dangers arise, the signal will activate through the student ID or teleportation badge.

Then a guard will immediately teleport to that location, but… there are certain limitations.

It’s conditional, so it can’t be guaranteed.

That’s why, if you’re in real danger, you must use the Help System on your student ID.

Shout for help at your student ID.

Do you understand?”

I nodded while sinking into a melancholy mood.

Unintentionally, I thought of In-ha’s face.

I was worried about In-ha.

In-ha had said she wanted to wear the uniform like me starting from third grade, and she had such a noticeable appearance.

What if something went wrong…

“That’s why middle school students are required to live in dormitories except in exceptional cases.

It’s partly because of class schedules…

The same applies to elementary school students who do not have guardians.”

The teacher sighed deeply, filled with anguish as they continued speaking.

“You are already in a position where you can easily get caught up in danger.

And if someone’s careless words lead to information about your abilities leaking outside…”

The teacher bit their lip with a troubled expression.

“Maybe we should have explained this in more detail earlier.

However, aside from the kidnapping incident, these kinds of scoldings happen about once a year, and they’re almost a rite of passage for younger grades that haven’t been here long…”

The children murmured among themselves.

The teacher steadied their composure and banged on the podium to gather everyone’s attention.

“Quiet!

And don’t say anything to Ha Jin-seong, whose abilities were revealed.

Do the same for the friends who were hospitalized after missing school today.

Just pretend you don’t know and keep your mouths shut—that’s the best way to support them.

You understand the seriousness of what they went through, don’t you?”

“Yes!”

It was doubtful whether the children fully understood these words.

The dangers that might someday come, the dangers that our friends had just faced—perhaps these were things too complex to comprehend at this age.

But I hoped they would at least take to heart the seriousness of the situation and remember to “never speak about it.”