Prologue

The world was protected by four divine beasts. Humans called them the Four Guardians of the World.

An ancient historical record stated that, over 680 years ago, the world nearly came to an end. Disaster after disaster struck across the world, and no one could do anything about it. Well, who could do anything about natural disasters? The ground crumbled, mountains erupted, huge swirling winds roamed, and great waves swept the land, destroying anything in their path without mercy.

Calamity was devouring the world.

Amidst the chaos, a mysterious young man appeared, accompanied by four divine beasts as his faithful familiars. The man called himself Arthur. With the blessing of the Spirit King and the great power of his divine magic, he single-handedly saved the world from calamity.

And once more, peace returned to the world.

The King of Sheldiawald—the young man’s homeland—bestowed upon him the title of the Great Hero. At the King’s suggestion, the Great Hero Arthur then married the kingdom’s only princess at the time and soon ascended the throne. Under his rule as King, the Kingdom of Sheldiawald rapidly grew and expanded over the years, becoming the great nation that people know today.

The Kingdom of Sheldiawald was most famous for its expertise in magic and its world-renowned mage training academy, founded by Arthur, the Great Hero himself—Athenya Institute of Magic.

***

The golden leaves of autumn had begun to fall, colouring the ground in shades of yellow and brown. The chirping of birds could be heard from the beautiful gardens on Athenya’s grounds, along with the cheerful chatter of students in their third month of the academic term.

“Alright, everyone, go back to your seats.” As soon as a ginger-haired man with freckles on his face entered the classroom, all the students hurried to their seats.

“Let the class begin. Leonardo Alberta—” A male student then raised his hand in response. “—Okay, next is…” As the professor continued taking attendance, the students were still quietly chatting here and there.

There were roughly 30 students in each class, and all of them were mage apprentices. The institute provided intermediate and advanced courses, with students required to spend three years in each course before graduating. As the world’s best mage training academy, it had the best facilities and the most comprehensive materials for magical studies. As a result, Athenya had an impressive record of producing talented mage graduates, proving just how good its magical education was.

“—Okay, next... hmmm…” The professor was about to continue to the next name, but then he paused and lightly scratched his ginger hair.

“Annette Heinz…” he continued.

Silence filled the room as no one raised their hand in response. The students’ focus soon shifted to the empty chair at the back by the window.

Since the start of the new academic term, a student’s name had been called every morning in this class, yet no one had ever responded. The supposed student’s seat was the empty chair by the window. With most of the students now staring at the empty seat, murmurs began to spread.

“Ah… again.”

“It’s the Ghost of Athenya!”

“That student has never attended the class so far.”

“True! And what’s more, I heard that no one has ever seen her at all.”

“Does she even exist?”

“Remember? The student next door might also have been eaten by—”

Loud knocks on the table suddenly came from the front of the class, interrupting them. “Silence, please. Shall we continue? Next is…” The ginger-haired professor in his forties then took control of the class again and continued taking attendance.

An academy as prestigious as Athenya could only be attended by selected students who wanted to seriously study the art of magic. It was neither easy nor cheap to get into.

And yet, there was one student who had been absent for over two months.

For the proud mage apprentices of Athenya, such a thing was unbelievable unless there were some unexpected circumstances. However, seeing how the name had been called every day without the teachers showing much concern, it seemed that the student did indeed exist, despite no one having ever seen her.

On top of that, the new term had begun with the sudden disappearance of another student. The student who vanished without a trace was the daughter of a certain Viscount. It was quite an uproar when they heard that the teachers couldn’t find her and her family was in deep anguish. And that was how the young curious students started the rumour of the Ghost of Athenya.

“Alright, class. That’s it. We can now start the lesson. Open your books to page 52.”