A boat sailed by around noon. It was quite small, and it came up directly on the shore, allowing for a door to open on the side as two figures stepped out.

"John Quarta. Prota Char. You two did well," Leora said as she approached. "I thank you for dealing with the threat in the way you have."

John normally would've let this one go. After all, it was simply part of the [Plot]. If the teachers got involved too early, there would be no problem to solve, and consequently, no progression or growth.

However, this incident had been a little too close for John to let go. No [Resets], no second chances, no master plan to effortlessly escape the situation with time to spare, just a down-to-the-wire battle with a very real risk of dying and ending it all here.

"We did well?" he snapped, stepping forward. "Yeah, no shit, we did well. Where the fuck were the so-called gods while some demon cultists rocked our shit? So much for that! Some teachers snuck into your school and fucked us up while you sat on your asses and watched!"

"John-" Prota tried, but he ignored her.

"Not only that, it took a dragon to come save our asses! Aren't you two supposed to be arguing all the time or something? Seems like we know who the superior race is, huh?"

Despite all his aggression and rudeness, neither professor responded. They simply waited for him to tire himself out, and tire himself out he did, panting as he recovered his breath.

"Is that all?"

"Is that-" John flinched, realizing he had nothing left to say.

Well, what else was there? What was done was done. There would be no changing it. With no force to push back, he was forced to calm down. His face flushed with embarrassment, he sat down.

"...yeah. I guess I'm done."

"I'm sorry, boy," Leora said. "We did not anticipate for the demon cult to rise so early."

"You- hold on, you were anticipating this?" John frowned.

"To some degree, yes."

"How did you- what?"

"That is not something I can reveal to you. Just know that we did our best to come to your aid. The island is surrounded by a barrier that is meant to keep all but those we allow out. The teachers were aware of this and reversed the magic to keep us out."

"But- you're supposed to be this master of magic! You're saying these cultists are stronger than you?"

"Stronger? No. More clever? Perhaps. The magic that binds that barrier is sustained by a series of magic circles, and unless I were to unleash my full force, it shall remain untouched."

John grimaced. Was that true? It didn't make sense. Still, he didn't know enough about magic to tell if she was telling the truth or not.

"Additionally, we hadn't realized your safety device would not work. We have not had a manaless student before," Lupin grumbled.

Despite his grouchy appearance, his eyes conveyed true worry. John felt a little more appeased.

"Your sister is quite brave," Leora nodded, "to have jumped to your rescue. I presume she disposed of her own safety device?"

Prota nodded. She still felt a little nervous in front of these Mystics. The stories of one's childhood were hard to ignore. Still, she felt proud of herself. For once, she truly felt like she'd protected John, even if she didn't know what she'd done to do so. In a situation where their lives were truly at stake, she'd given everything to keep him alive, and in the end, they were both still here, weren't they?

"So, what now? Do we pass, or what?"

"Everyone did within our expectations," Lupin nodded. "Your friend, Destiny Windwalker, did exceptionally well. Your team as well, although you seemed to have taken a route we did not expect."

John pressed his lips together as he remembered how hard he'd tried to optimize this exam. Well, all's well that ends well, right?

"Regardless, all of those who participated in the subjugation of the cultists have received flying grades. You will all be receiving bonus tokens, as well as access to the school's treasury."

"The school's treasury?"

"We have many artifacts," Lupin nodded. "Did you think we wouldn't have means of providing our best students with the tools fitting of their skill? This is something you were meant to learn in the second year, but seeing as you've already done something incredible… well, we'll let you in for a little bit."

John nodded, but he was a little uncomfortable about the whole thing.

"Do artifacts, you know… need mana to use?"

Lupin let out a little chuckle. "Yes. You know what that means."

John sighed.

"Be glad we still permit you to stay," he said, shaking his head. "Your reward should be more than adequate."

"Which is?"

"First, we won't punish you for your little outbreak. Second, regardless of who finds out that you are manaless, we will not expel you unless circumstances truly call for it."

John nodded, but instead of being thankful, he was simply more on edge than ever. They wanted him close. Why? Sure, this was a good reward, but if they really wanted to reward him, they'd give him something else. For them to say that he could stay as a reward meant that they would continue to observe him, right?

"Come, you must be tired of this island. Your fellow students have been enjoying their time at a resort. Normally, you'd be brought back to the school, but seeing as how the exam didn't go as planned… feel free to stay there as long as you like," Leora smiled, extending a hand, inviting them to board the boat.

It was a quiet ride back. Prota stayed on the deck, watching as they sailed through the waters, the wind and sea spray blowing through her hair as the ocean sparkled, no land in sight.

"Pretty," she muttered, not that anybody could hear it.

The wind was far too loud for that.

Soon, they were coming back to a far more populated island, where three students were eagerly awaiting them.

~~~

"Seriously, you have no idea how nervous we were when you didn't come back! What happened?"

Prota was busy being practically assaulted by a worried Lilith, who'd been unable to sleep after realizing her friend had never shown up, even after they'd left.

"Don't do that again, ok? Even if you don't think we can help, we can help!"

"I hate to say it, but Lilith's right," Ryan sighed. "Maybe they were beyond us. But you can trust us a little more than that."

They were wrong. Prota didn't hesitate to think such a thing. A fight like this was far beyond them, and their staying wouldn't have made a single difference. Still, it warmed her to see that they cared for her so much. She didn't even flinch as Lilith inched closer and closer, although she did look incredibly uncomfortable.

"Lilith," Ryan finally said, and she gasped, backing off.

"Oh, I'm- sorry about that!" she said. "Still, I'm glad you're ok."

"Yeah, she was really worried," Ryan snickered. "Staying up all night, crying, asking me to ask the teachers if they knew anything-"

"As if! You were on the verge of demanding that we be let back onto the island! Don't pretend you're innocent, either!"

She watched as the two bickered. Yeah, this was what school should be like. That whole incident with the cultists was something unique and rare, she reminded herself. Still, now that it was all over, she almost missed it. She'd been bored and annoyed with school, dealing with Draco and lacking the classes to learn the magic she'd been sorely missing. She needed more spells like Frozen Bullet, magic to pierce through even the strongest defence.

Meanwhile, Destiny and John had moved to a much quieter corner.

"Was this the surprise?" the hero said quietly.

"Yeah."

"Seems like it was even beyond your expectations," Destiny scoffed. "You had a hard time, didn't you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"My prediction was right, wasn't it?" he sighed. He planted his sword on the ground and leaned on it. "You weren't able to teleport back."

"...no."

"And you almost died, didn't you?"

"I thought I was supposed to be the one with the whole predicting gimmick, not you."

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"John, it's obvious what happened. You didn't return. Neither did Prota, although I'm guessing that it's because she stayed to protect you."

"Ok. So what?"

"These were dangerous opponents we didn't have to fight. We have teachers, we have escapes, but somehow, you managed to put yourself in danger anyway."

"You took one down," John pointed out. "When you could've escaped."

"That's-"

"I get it. You wanted to get stronger. And you probably got stronger."

"But you can't get stronger!" Destiny protested. "John, you don't have mana, and no matter how mysterious and skilled you are, there's a line between human and superhuman. You can't cross that line, no matter what you do."

"But-"

"No. Not this time. If the headmaster hadn't arrived on time, you would've both been done for. John, even I barely managed to kill one. I'd gotten the jump on him, and he severely underestimated me, and seeing the thing you guys fought, I'm surprised you two are even alive."

"Destiny," John sighed, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'll be fine."

"No, you won't. That's my point. You used to joke about being moral support, and I always went against it, but… maybe think about it now?"

That was a heavy blow for John to take. Was he really meant to sit on the sidelines? Play the [Reader], play the role of the watcher, even though his abilities to tell what was going on were slowly fading away?

"I can't," John said, shaking his head.

He was letting himself get distracted. In the midst of all the chaos, he had to remember his main goal, the reason he was doing any of this in the first place. His memories. He needed to get them back, and anybody holding onto them was somebody Destiny couldn't defeat. He knew that now.

In the end, it was up to him. And that meant that he had to stay in the game no matter how dangerous it got. Training Prota, preparing Destiny, finding comrades, it was all for the end goal of defeating Diaboli, and that was a fight he needed to fight.

"Haah… well, if you're gonna be stubborn about it, I guess there's nothing I can do. Just stay safe, alright? Life isn't something we get second chances at."

The two stared at each other before bursting into laughter.

"Yeah, the guy who got reincarnated is telling me we don't get second chances," John said, trying to hold it in. "One of the only guys to ever get a second chance is saying that."

"Ok, but, to be fair, you don't," Destiny said as he calmed down. "And I don't think I do, either. So let's do our best to stay alive, got it?"

John looked at his friend's extended hand. Yeah, keeping himself alive would be a pretty good idea. Sure, he technically didn't need anybody. Yes, everyone he was working with was simply a way to make his life easier.

But right now, in his circumstances, he did need companions. Friends. He did need Destiny, the [Protagonist], to carry him through. And for the time being, maybe that wasn't so bad.

"Yeah," John nodded, fitting his hand in Destiny's. "Neither of us is gonna die before our time, right?"

"Yeah. That's how it should be."

~~~

The time spent in the resort was fun, but it was nothing of note. Prota found out that she didn't know how to swim, but, being stubborn, ended up silently using water magic to help her float and propel herself. Since it wasn't like anyone was trying to judge her form, nobody noticed save for John, who found it strange that she was going so fast despite flailing about like a wounded fish.

He, for the most part, could be found relaxing on a beach chair under an umbrella, sipping on any of the drinks provided by the chefs. There were a ton of fruits he had yet to try, and some of them were pretty good.

Normally, he would've been happy to go out and have fun, but he felt a little out of place. Yes, his body had adapted to the average age of this school, but he had and always would consider himself to be around the age of a young adult. Hanging around children would never sit well with him.

At least Destiny seemed to be adapting well. Despite having more friends, though, he had to go back. Celestia was waiting for him, and his duties as a bodyguard required attention.

"I'll see you in the fall, then," John nodded, shaking Destiny's hand.

The hero headed off, likely to reunite with Danjo and Briar before returning home to the kingdom of Elves. Briar might even be going with him to learn from that old fart that'd made Destiny's blade.

Eventually, the students were all shipped back to the island Scholaris was built upon so they could all go home. Prota said her goodbyes to the Rose twins, who would be returning to their family for the summer.

She and John would stay at school until the next year rolled around. Destiny had invited them to once again stay at his home, but ultimately, that just didn't sit well with them. While Prota liked the Windwalker family, she felt uncomfortable being in such a fancy place. John similarly didn't enjoy living in such a formal environment, but that wasn't enough to stop him from going.

No, what'd stopped him was the fact that another [Event] would likely transpire over the summer break. Destiny likely had some things that needed to be wrapped up. Probably something about familiar hierarchy, as well as the beef he had with that other group… what were they called? Ah, it probably didn't matter.

For once, John was glad to be rid of such things.

Besides, the place wasn't such a bad place to live. The rooms were quite cozy, and the chefs continued to cook year-round. Before all that, though, Prota still had one thing left to do.

"This is the treasury," Leora announced as she guided Prota through several locked vault doors. John was there, too, chewing on a piece of gum. "Countless priceless artifacts are held within here. You may take your time, but you may only take out one. Should you try to sneak another out, alarms will sound, and we will have to take everything back and expel you, so please, do not be foolish."

As Prota's guardian, John was granted a special exception and allowed in. He could take something if he wanted, since he, too, had played a role in the subjugation of the cultists, but he wouldn't be taking one.

Well, unless there was something interesting. He doubted such a thing existed, though.

The final vault doors slowly swung open to reveal a golden room filled with dozens of items in glass cases. They stepped in, and the doors swung shut behind them. Prota walked around, eyes sparkling with wonder as she stared at all these fascinating artifacts. Suits of armour with colours she'd never seen before, flaming swords, spears sparkling with electricity, shields of ice with frost gently floating down… she wondered how much all of this cost.

Still, none of the weapons were suitable for her. She turned her attention to the items in the cases, which were far better for casters. A ring of invisibility that lasted as long as the user had mana, a necklace that allowed the user to change their voice, a mask that let one change their appearance… while they were interesting, she wasn't sure if she could use any of them.

"That invisibility ring could be useful," John said slowly, looking at the descriptions of each artifact. "You could use Soul Steal without anybody knowing it's you casting it, and that would keep the invisibility up, too."

Prota nodded. His logic made sense.

"A cloak of protection… I don't think you wanna change, though, right?"

Prota nodded again. No matter how good the effects, she wouldn't trade this cloak for anything.

"A staff of magic amplification… ooh, that might be useful," John said, but then saw her expression. She wouldn't be giving the staff away, either. "Never mind."

They kept going through the room, slowly checking each and every item out. So far, everything seemed incredibly useful or powerful, but John had yet to say anything was really "amazing." Everything so far was merely "interesting" or "potentially useful."

"What's this? Charm of healing?"

It was a bracelet of sorts adorned with four sapphires. Each sapphire was apparently imbued with runes of healing that could completely restore someone to full health, regardless of the damage or fatigue inflicted. They required minimal amounts of mana to use, but after using one, it would take a full day to recharge.

"A healing artifact… nah, we don't need that," John shrugged, carrying on.

Prota, though, continued to stare at the item. How many times had she wished that she could heal John? Yes, she could use her ice to make casts of sorts, but that was a temporary fix, not restorative properties. Every time they got into a fight, Destiny always had to give John a potion, and if he wasn't there, then what?

"Prota? What're you looking at?" John called out, turning around to see her still staring at the charm of healing. "Hey, that's not that good. We should try to find something else. Healing items are never meta."

In his mind, the ring of invisibility was probably the best option. For a fighter such as Prota, invisibility had to be a strong ability, right? Combined with her rapid footwork and nimble fighting style, invisibility would be an incredible boon.

"John," she called out. "I want this one."

"What? But why? You want to learn healing? You can just take some of Celestia's magic or something, I don't know."

It was true. She could do that. But Soul Steal still gave her pretty primitive magic, and from what she'd seen of the princess's healing, it wasn't very fast and took a relatively long amount of time to use. This, on the other hand, was a godsend. The low amount of mana it used meant that she could help John even on the verge of exhaustion.

Come to think of it, she could use it on herself, too. It was a little sad that she'd considered that only after thinking of her brother, but then again, that was simply how her brain worked.

The image of John pinned to the tree, bleeding out, flashed in her mind. If she'd had this item, they could've put up a far better fight. There would have been far less risk, far less stress, and they wouldn't have had to rely on a third party coming in to save them.

"This one," she said stubbornly.

"Haah… well, it's up to you, I guess," John shrugged.

He didn't really feel like arguing over an item he doubted would be all that vital to their goal. Ultimately, if they needed to rely on an item to ensure victory, he had better things in his pocket dimension. Of course, the [Author] wouldn't always let him use them, but he wasn't thinking about that at the moment.

"Sure. Go for it."

Prota nodded, pleased as she removed the case and took the bracelet for herself. It slid onto her arm easily, tightening immediately to ensure that it wouldn't fall off. She carefully tried to take it off, but as she did so, it automatically loosened so that it could simply slip off.

What a useful artifact.

John, meanwhile, was looking for something. It wasn't for himself. No, he didn't particularly care about having a powerful item. There were tools in his pocket dimension that would blow half of the Mystics at this school away, but those were banned. He'd tried to take them out upon arriving in this world, only to find that he literally couldn't.

No, he was just trying to see if Destiny had skipped over something he shouldn't have.

"John?" Prota called out, watching him do a second sweep of the items in the room.

She saw all the fancy, flashy items. Was he maybe interested in one of them?

"I'm looking for something boring," John replied, looking around. "Like an egg, maybe? A piece of paper? A rusty sword? Do you see anything like that?"

Prota was confused. Why did he want something like that?

"Never mind," John said, shaking his head. "I don't see anything."

She wanted to ask him about it, but he didn't seem all that disappointed, so it probably wasn't anything important.

"Welcome back," Leora smiled as they left. "I see you've chosen the charm of healing. A powerful item indeed. Use it well."

~~~

The summer went by without a single notable event. John and Prota watched this year's entrance exams, but they weren't anything interesting; it was just students competing against various teachers to test their aptitude.

Draco had gone home, so he wasn't around to bother anybody. There was nothing to study. Nothing to practice. No more cultists came to attack the school, no beasts to ransack the buildings, and so they simply practiced and relaxed. Destiny came to visit them a couple of times, bringing news of Danjo and Briar, but he seemed stressed. John didn't ask about it, but he was more than satisfied to know that he'd dodged a bullet. He felt a little guilty that he wasn't there to help, but he was also lazy enough that he didn't do anything about it. Well, he would've asked for help if he needed it.

With that, September rolled around, and their second year at Scholaris began. The day before the welcoming speech, though, they received a knock at their door.

"Yeah, who- what the fuck?!" John exclaimed as he looked down to see the headmaster. "I- uh. Sorry about that."

"Hello. I hope I am not intruding upon anything."

"I- uh- no, nothing here," John said, backing up. "Um. What brings you here?"

"It is your sister I am interested in," Sofya said with a small smile. She seemed to enjoy his reaction.

Prota was stunned. The headmaster was here for her? Had she done anything? No, if anything, John was the troublemaker, right?

"Miss Char. You are entering your second year, correct? I have looked through your files. You are quite an excellent student, and yet you have had no private tutoring."

Private tutoring? Like the kind Lilith and Ryan were getting?

"Miss Dawn gave me quite an adequate reason as to why you are not the one who has been chosen for such a thing, and I understand completely. Given your… unique talents, it makes sense that your mastery of magic is quite profound."

The dragon smiled, extending her hand. Prota sat on her bed, frozen in fear.

"But as someone who is quite familiar with your abilities… perhaps it should be upon me to tutor you. The power of the dragons is yours to nurture. I am simply offering to bring it to its full potential."

First, she'd been trained by a Mystic. Now… a dragon.

How could she say no?

"So. What do you say?"

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