ch 2: A World Without Color

"Imperium," the Imperial Capital, was a jewel glistening under the sun.

Its streets were paved with white marble, polished so smooth they reflected the faces of passersby. Its buildings soared, hugging the clouds with gilded domes. There was no trace of poverty, filth, or smoke.

It was perfect to the point of nausea.

Elias sat in the modest carriage he had rented from the city outskirts, watching the streets from behind the curtain.

In his eyes, these buildings were nothing but fuel that hadn't burned yet.

The voice in his mind whispered, savoring the sheer scale of the city:

[What a massive inventory... Souls, gold, mana... This city is the richest "Market" I have seen in centuries.]

Elias ignored it and stepped out at the outer plaza of the Imperial Academy.

The scene at the main gate was silently chaotic. Hundreds of students had gathered there. The crowd was naturally divided:

On the right, luxurious carriages bearing noble crests deposited young men and women wearing clothes worth more than a house.

On the left, talented "Commoner" students stood nervously in their simple clothes, clutching worn-out bags.

Theoretically, the Academy’s motto inscribed in gold above the gate read: "Talent is the Crown, and Power is Justice."

Elias slipped into the crowd, wearing simple black clothes that made him indistinguishable from any other commoner student, observing silently.

"Get out of my way, you filthy peasant."

An arrogant voice pierced the noise of the crowd.

Near the front of the long registration line, a young man with fiery red hair, wearing a jacket embroidered with a "Dragon coiled around a sword" crest, shoved a skinny commoner student.

Elias recognized the crest immediately. The Duchy of Ignis. The Empire’s Flame Lords.

The commoner wasn’t blocking the way; he was simply waiting for his turn. But the young noble, Cedric von Ignis, was not accustomed to the concept of waiting behind someone inferior.

"But... the rules say one line..." the commoner stammered.

"Rules are made for humans, not insects," Cedric sneered. A suffocating heat began to radiate from his body. The air around him rippled, and nearby students felt a sudden dryness in their throats. "Do you want me to melt those rules onto your face?"

Students backed away in fear. The guards didn’t intervene. No one did.

Elias watched the scene coldly. He was assessing Cedric.

Thermal Control: Good. Arrogance: Excellent. Potential Weakness: Short fuse.

Just as Cedric raised a hand sparking with embers, the temperature suddenly plummeted.

It wasn't a natural cold, but a heavy chill that turned breath into visible steam.

Everyone froze. The crowd parted silently, like the sea splitting open.

A girl in pristine white clothes walked through the opened path. Her long silver hair cascaded like a waterfall of moonlight, and her blue eyes were as clear as a frozen lake.

The Imperial Princess, Celine.

She didn’t look at the terrified commoner on the ground. She didn’t care about the injustice.

Her cold eyes stopped only on Cedric.

She spoke in a calm voice, yet it carried an authority that froze Cedric in place:

"Cedric. Your voice annoys me."

The flames vanished from Cedric’s hand instantly. He bowed deeply, his face—dripping with arrogance just moments ago—now pale and tense.

"Your Highness! I didn't mean to... just a bug was blocking the way and..."

"It doesn't matter," she interrupted with boredom, as if scolding a noisy dog rather than a human. "Cause chaos somewhere out of my sight. The weather is hot enough without your petty displays."

She passed through the gate without looking back at anyone, her Royal Guards trailing behind her.

Once she disappeared, Cedric straightened his posture. He cast one last look of contempt at the commoner, then gave him a "light" kick to shove him aside, continuing his walk past the line as if nothing had happened.

Elias recorded the most important note in his mind: The strong here do not protect the weak. The strong here protect only their "peace."

An hour later, inside the Grand Examination Hall.

The hall was a massive rotunda, centered by a platform holding a Mana Crystal.

The test was simple: Touch the crystal. The brighter the glow and the more distinct the color, the greater the talent.

Red: Fire.

Blue: Water.

Green: Wind.

Gold: Light.

Students went one by one. Cedric made the crystal explode with a massive crimson light that earned enthusiastic applause from the examiners. Princess Celine made it glow with an icy blue that coated the hall in frost.

Then, it was Elias’s turn.

"Number 404, Elias Reinhardt."

Elias walked toward the platform. Faint whispers circulated among the noble students upon hearing his surname. "Reinhardt? Isn't that the Count who adopted an unknown brat?"

Elias stood before the crystal.

He knew the truth no one else did: He possessed not a single speck of mana. His body was a "Void" because his power was not of this world. If he touched the crystal now, it would remain dull, and he would be expelled.

He slipped his hand into his pocket, gripping a small, high-purity blue gem (a concentrated mana stone) he had taken from the Count’s inventory before leaving.

[Do you wish to conduct a transaction?] the voice whispered in his head, sensing the predicament.

Elias thought quickly: I need to convert this stone's energy into an aura that surrounds me and tricks the crystal. I want a dazzling result, but ambiguous.

[The Price? The stone's energy alone is insufficient to craft a convincing "Living Aura." I require something from your senses to merge with the illusion.]

Elias looked at the transparent crystal.

Take my ability to see colors. For one hour.

[Deal Accepted. The world will become dreary, my partner... Enjoy the gray.]

The moment Elias placed his hand on the crystal, colors suddenly vanished from his vision.

The golden hall, the students' colorful clothes, Cedric’s red hair, the silver Princess... everything turned into varying shades of black, white, and gray. Like watching a faded old film.

In return, the crystal reacted.

It didn't glow red or blue.

It absorbed the stone's energy, mixed with Elias's "Void," and released a column of Gray Light.

It wasn't bright, but dense—like heavy smoke trapped inside glass. The crystal trembled as if it were choking.

"What is this?" mumbled one of the examiners, an old mage, stepping closer to the platform. "The color... Gray? There is no Gray element!"

"Look at the indicator!" another examiner shouted. "The mana quantity... it far exceeds the average. The density is massive!"

Elias slowly withdrew his hand. The gray light faded, but the shock remained on the faces of those present.

In his colorless world, Elias saw the old examiner nervously writing something in his log.

"Elias Reinhardt," the examiner called out, confusion evident in his voice. "Pass. Classification: Undefined Type (High Mana Level). Proceed to the side hall."

Elias turned to leave the platform.

He felt gazes piercing his back. A burning glare from Cedric, who didn't like an "unknown" stealing the spotlight, and a cold, scrutinizing look from Princess Celine, who watched him in dead silence.

Elias walked toward the side hall, his world still a depressing gray.

Internally, he smiled a cynical smile.

Colors don't matter, he thought. After all, ash is all that will remain of you all.

Elias entered the side hall, which resembled a vast indoor training arena, its walls reinforced with shock-absorption spells.

To his eyes, the world was still a silent black-and-white movie. He saw Cedric sitting in the corner, his hair (which he knew was red) now looking like dark charcoal, while Princess Celine sat on a separate velvet chair, looking like a cold marble statue.

The wait didn't last long.

The side doors burst open, and a tall woman entered. She wore a tight military uniform and sharp-framed glasses. Her footsteps echoed with a terrifying rhythm, like a hammer striking the ground.

She stood in the center of the hall, sweeping the students with a sharp gaze that killed whispers in their throats.

"I am Professor Valeria, in charge of Practical Combat Training," she said in a booming voice that brooked no argument. "We have seen your magical talents, and the numbers were pretty... but numbers don't kill monsters."

She snapped her fingers, and a complex magic circle appeared behind her, rotating slowly.

"The next test is the 'Illusion Simulation.' We will transport all your consciousnesses into a special illusionary dimension."

She began to walk slowly among the students, looking them in the face with a challenge.

"The rules are simple: Kill to advance. You will face ten levels of monsters. Whenever you kill a monster, it will vanish, and its corpse will appear to make way for the next one, which will be stronger and fiercer."

Valeria paused and smiled, revealing white fangs (in Elias's gray vision).

"Level One is just a lowly Goblin... As for Level Ten, it is a Chaos Bear. Your grade depends on the level you reach and the speed with which you end the fight."

Gasps of horror rose from some of the commoner students. A Chaos Bear was a catastrophic beast requiring a full squad of knights to defeat. How could a single student face it?

Elias didn't care. He looked at the professor coldly. Ten targets. Ten corpses.

"Get ready!" Valeria shouted.

The magic circle behind her glowed with a blinding light (appearing to Elias as an explosion of reflective white).

"Let the slaughter begin!"

Elias felt the floor vanish beneath his feet.

The hall disappeared, the students disappeared, and the noise of the world disappeared. There was a sensation of freefall, then a sudden stop.

Elias opened his eyes.

He was no longer in the hall. He stood in an infinite white space, a vast void with no ceiling or walls.

A few steps away, a small creature materialized. Long ears, wrinkled skin, holding a rusty dagger.

The Goblin (Level 1).

Elias looked at the ugly creature in this white, colorless world.

The monster snarled, ready to attack.