The rhyming tapping of the leather shoes on the ground was a constant sound as I moved my weight on my feet and felt the harsh, too solid greeny earth beneath.

A sudden bright light casted to my eyeballs that caused my vision to be pixelated for a meantime. As my vision gradually goes back, an eye-catching golden gate that is colossus in size was the culprit.

It belongs to an academy called the Golden Academy that I can view from the distance where I'm standing firmly. A sense of doubt is within me, as this is my first time at Golden Academy, a highly respected academy, an academy built for instructing mages how to wield their blessings to use them for righteousness and protection of others. Hundreds of thousands of people have dreamed of entering this academy, but only the rich can have the wealth to afford to enter this academy—nobles, aristocrats, and royalties. 

Yes, you named it. All of them are here. While I was just here because of a contract. I never dreamed of being here; I just wanted a normal life. A normal life... I don't belong here, but I don't have any choice. It's for my sister's sake and mine.

The wind whirled that caught my brown trench coat to sway, releasing a soaring icy wind that enveloped around my skin like a poison, bloody blade, feeling goosebumps, nearly blowing off my one and only old hat as I picked up my legs and began strolling, slowly approaching the golden gate with unease on my shoulder, quivering in anxiety. 

As I closed the gap to the gate, I paused, hearing a murmur from my left—a group of five women in a circle who seemed to be in their sophomore year, judging by the silver badge pin to their uniform on the right chest. Whispering as she pleases.

"Hey, don't go near him; he will slaughter you," said one of the women laughing, who was whispering to her friends.

I felt a pierce in my heart; my blood boiled after hearing those words. But it's never really been new to me, yet I feel this intense hatred of mine is immense to those murmurs of people whose mouths won't shut up completely. 

I dislike being accused of being a murderer. Those judgments of theirs—I hate those. 

I smirked as I heard the murmur of them, cracking my fingers with my thumb one at a time, clenching my fist rock solid. I furrowed my eyebrows and cast an intimidating gaze upon them that seemed to cut through the atmosphere.

The woman who was whispering was in utter fear; I could see and hear her inside, trembling. Fidgeting her fingers to her other fingers, her eyes looked down, not bearing the gaze I'd given. 

She immediately made a trembling gesture to her friends to leave here at a fast pace. They sprinted toward the golden gates, their screams piercing the air and drawing every gaze upon me. The crowd's stares burned with judgment, their whispers slithering through the silence, filling it with venom.

"Isn't he the one that killed his family?"

"I think he is."

I felt my loathing deepen—society, with its empty morals and hollow stares, always quick to condemn and slow to understand.

With each murmur and every accusing look, something inside me began to unravel, a simmering fury taking hold. I felt myself slipping, becoming a creature of raw instinct, ready to tear through this sea of faces like a beast prowling the forest, wild and unrestrained, with nothing but darkness fueling me forward.

"Keep calm," I whispered to myself, drawing in a slow, measured breath. In... out...   in...   out...   Each inhale filled my chest, steadying the frantic rhythm of my heart, while every exhale softened the tension coiled within me. I let out a quiet huff, forcing the restless energy to drain away, and straightened my posture, grounding myself in that moment of calm resolve.

A sudden, loud voice echoes, audible across the academy, informing the students to enter before the gate closes, "To all the students out there, please enter the gate immediately if not a certain punishment is given."

The students let out a deafening sound and hurriedly walked towards each other, stamping around each other, frightened as they heard the announcement with the use of voice magic.

The sudden announcement did not bother me an inch or two; heck, I care about the punishment whatsoever. I don't care what is going to happen; I'm only here because of a contract I agreed to, a contract that I can't refuse either. If only I didn't get this kind of blessing that day. Or should I call it a curse? A curse that is a threat to the human race by the government if left unattended. That's right. I am a threat to the human race. If only that didn't happen, if only...

As I was about to get lost in my thoughts, a soft voice struck a word, snapping me back into reality: "Hi! You're a freshman too? "

As I came back to myself, I saw a pink hair bun in front of me. I still needed to look down just so I could see completely who it was. At last I saw that it was a girl, a girl with a bronze badge on her uniform. I guess that she saw my badge also.

Before I signed the contract to go to this academy, I was forced to read a 456-page book about the rules here. And most of them are absurd. One of the rules is that you must not badmouth your seniors and make a bad eye on them. Which is… I broke earlier, hehe. 

You will know that they are your seniors by looking at their uniform because every student has a badge on their uniform signifying their year level.

"Yes, I am, Miss." I answered with a look of confusion on my face. Is she not afraid of me? Well, I'm guessing that the rumors spread already.

She made an over-the-ear smile, and out of nowhere she said, "Yes, I'm not."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised by what she had blurted, like she could read my mind. Did she really read my mind? Confused by what she said, I replied, "What??"

"You're right, I could read minds. It's my blessing. Also, I've been reading your mind since earlier, when the seniors were making fun of you," the girl chuckled.

"Can you keep it a secret for me? "

"Sure, after all, we both received a curse blessings. I'm Erina," she offered her hand to me gladly.

"Sure, I'm Noseii Higari," I said enthusiastically and declined her hand offer.