Damn it. Damn it. I did nothing wrong! Nothing! So why was I bounded to this magic prison?
I was Karl Autumn, a mere student in Blazewing Academy of Magic in the Aurum Imperium. One day, without warning, I was banished to this prison. Then, like a bright light, Headmaster Karpov visited me. He phased through the magical barrier.
"Headmaster!" I rose from my cold, hard bed. "What have I done?"
The bald, elderly headmaster sighed. "I'm really sorry, boy," he said. "But it seems that you have been framed for the murder of a fellow student, John Vandamme."
"But-but Headmaster! I didn't-"
"I know, boy, I know. The murderer is Princess Anne herself," he said. "She burned him in anger after a petty dispute."
"Wait, so-so I'm free right?"
"Boy... do you really think they'll send the princess to prison? No, boy, you have been sacrificed to protect her," he said. "You're a poor orphan. No one would question your 'trial' deeply."
My knees felt weak. I collapsed to the floor. "So I'll spend my life here? For nothing?" I half-screamed.
"No," he said. "As long as I'm here." He turned around, dispelling the barrier. He turned once more and faced me. He then threw me a bag.
"Go, boy. Run as far as you can, away from the Kingdom of Acacia. I've put the guards to sleep and you will find enough supplies for a few days in that bag," he said. "Good luck, boy. And I'm sorry this is all I can do."
"Thank you, Headmaster," I said with a shaken voice.
"Now hurry."
I ran away from the prison cell. To my surprise, outside of the prison was a thick jungle. Without thinking, I charged through, carrying the bag made of animal skin with me.
And I ran. I kept on running until my legs gave up. "Well, well, well. I haven't had a visitor in years."
An elven witch with a hat approached me. She was rather young with wild, red hair. She had a staff of rubies with her. "Oh goodness," she said. "What happened to you?"
Instinctively, I cast a protective barrier spell. Witches in jungles were bad news; so they said in the academy. "B-back off!" I said with a trembling voice.
"Calm down," she said. With a flick of her hand, strange black flames consumed and destroyed my barrier. "So much hate. So much anger. Hmm... follow me. I'll help you."
She turned her back and walked into the forest. Reluctantly, I followed her; she didn't seem like she'd kill me. After some walking, we reached her house. It looked rather cozy with white painting, contrasting against the tall trees behind.
"I'll burn incense for my patron god first," she said. She burned some incense in front of an altar. I recognised the idol.
"Val, the Goddess of Justice?"
"That's one side of her," the witch said. "Some like me know her as the Goddess of Retribution."
We went inside the house. "Make some tea," the witch ordered to a maid. The maid immediately went to the kitchen.
"Your servant?"
"Slave."
"You're a slaver?"
"No. I bought them from Acacia," she said. All civilized nations used slavery as a form of punishment against criminals, as well as bandits and pirates.
She coughed. "Alright. We haven't exchanged names yet," she said. "I am Magna. If you want to know more about me, just ask."
"Oh, I'm Karl," I said. "So, um, are you some sort of a dark witch?"
Magna laughed out loud. "Depends on what you define as dark magic," she said. "But, yes, I do use some... unconventional magic, so to say."
I nodded faintly. "Why did you help me?"
"I sensed something within you," she said with a grin. "I felt strong anger and desire in you. Well, that and nobody seems to travel to these forests anymore. Now it's time for me to ask."
She looked at me in the eye. "What happened to you?"
"I was framed for murder," I said. "It was to protect a princess who was the true murderer. My headmaster helped me escape prison."
"So sad," Magna said. "So unjust."
"Yeah." The maid returned with tea. We sipped hot tea from the porcelain cups.
"Are you angry about that?"
"Of course I am!" I snapped, banging the table. "How could this be fair? I'm innocent! And-and just because she is a princess!" I lost my words.
"How about you become my student?" Magna flicked her hands and the torches that illuminated her house emitted black fire. "I'll teach you about combat magic."
"I-I don't have any money."
"I'll teach you for free," she said.
I broke down crying. "Thank you-thank you very much...."
"You're welcome," she said. "I'll bring you to the training room now." Magna flicked her fingers again, and a few floor tiles opened, revealing a secret entrance. I wiped off my tears and we walked down the stone stairs, going left and then going right.
"Wow, this place's pretty complicated," I said, noting the structure of the dungeon.
"Yeah, careful with your turns," Magna said. "I'll have to give you a map later."
We reached a massive chamber at last. "This is our training chamber," she said. The room was relatively empty, safe a gigantic bookshelf. Magna took one of the tomes.
"The black flames I showed you now is called the Flames of Decay," she said. "Now, can you perform a standard fire spell?" I nodded.
"Yeah, fire's my specialty," I said.
"Nice. That means I can give you this," she said while handing me a scroll.
Magic spells didn't appear out of nowhere. Only extremely skilled mages could create a new spell. The mage then imprinted it on a scroll. Other mages could then absorb the magic inside of the tome, which would allow them to have a rudimentary control over the spell. The mage would then have to train their skill in using that spell for maximum capability.
"Did you invent this spell yourself?" I asked.
"No, my teacher invented it," she said. "Now hurry up and use the scroll."
"O-okay." On the scroll are two very complex magical circles. Such circles were the method by which magical spells were imprinted. The more complex and numerous the circles were, the more difficult it was to master.
I placed my hands on the circle. A few seconds later, I could feel the knowledge pouring into me. "Okay, so now you should be able the first spell concerning the Flames of Decay: a simple burst of fire from your mouth. Now try to do it at that puppet."
A training dummy emerged from nowhere. It visibly had a barrier. I extended my hand, creating a steady burst of black fire. The fire sort of chewed the barrier, and after ten seconds, it broke. "Wow!" I gasped. Fire magic was notoriously weak against mana barriers.
"That's pretty good," Magna said. "Alright, that's it for now. My slaves will show you your room."
"Wow, I-I don't know how to repay you," I said. "We've just met and you've done so much for me."
Magna laughed. "I asked that to my teacher, too," she said. "And she told me when I asked her how I would repay her, 'go teach others like I'm teaching you', so here I am."
I was directed to my bedroom, also in the underground dungeon. It was not very luxurious, but it had an indoor bathroom and a comfortable bed. I slept well that night. I had always lived on the orphanage or the school domitory; it felt nice to have my own room.
For a full month Magna taught me how to use my newfound magic in the training chamber.
"Alright, Karl," Magna said, pointing at the training dummy. "Show me what you've got!"
I extended my hand, producing a large burst of black fire, instantly melting the barrier and the dummy. Magna clapped. "Good," she said. "I think you're ready for your first task. Come, follow me."
"First task?" I wondered as we walked through the stairs and turns of the dungeon.
"Yeah," she said. "A proper mage should have battle experience. Well, that and I need to refill some potion-making ingredients in my storage."
"Oh, you're an alchemist?"
"How else do you think I can afford a dungeon this large and complex?" she asked. "Well, some of it was built by my teacher, but I refurbished the hell out of it."
We ascended back to the house. She gave me a short list of ingredients. "Blue mollen flowers and wings of batwolves."
"Batwolves? There are batwolves in this area?"
"That, and so much more," Magna replied. "Take this talisman. If anything happens, it will warn me and guide me to your location. Careful out there."
"Okay, thanks." I wore a simple tunic cloak and carried a bronze staff with a pointy end given by Magna, as well as a sack. I kept the talisman inside of my pocket.
It was not difficult to harvest the blue mollen flowers, which were scattered across the forest. They shone rather brightly even during day. The more complicated part was the batwolves' wings, as they only lived, according to Magna, in caves, and there was one cave nearby that Magna usually harvested the wings from.
I lit a torch and entered the cave. Just a few metres in, I had encountered a batwolf. Batwolves had bodies that looked like bipedal wolves, with wide wings and glowing red eyes. I extended my palm, unleashing a small barrage of fire.
Two more arrived, dashing at me with their claws. I conjured a barrier to deflect them. "Heah!" I screamed, stabbing one with my staff and burning the other with black fire.
"Alright, that should be enough," I murmured. Suddenly, I noticed another pair of red eyes in the distance. The red colour was rather different; whereas the previous batwolves' eyes were light red, this one had dark red eyes.
It retreated while I gathered the wings of the fallen creatures. With all the alchemy ingredients collected, I went home. "Here it is," I said, handing over the sack.
"Thanks," Magna said. "So, how was it?"
"It wasn't too difficult," I said. "Oh, but I did see a batwolf with dark red eyes. Kinda weird, I think."
Magna halted and looked at me in the eye. "Are you sure it's a batwolf?"
"Uh, no, I didn't see the body."
"Be careful, Karl," Magna instructed me. "It may or may not be a batwolf."
"What? What do you mean?"
"It could simply be a mutated batwolf. Or could be something else. Just remember that many things in the forest could kill you. Anyway, you can rest now. I need to go."
"Where to?" I asked, disrobing my cloak.
A burly man with short, black hair entered the house. He bowed slightly. "My aide, Talleyrand," Magna said, introducing the man. "Some villagers nearby reported some strange sightings and murders."
