1 TEN YEARS OF PREPARATION

Samwise's most awaited day finally came.

The sealed envelope in his trembling hands contained the judgment for his future. It had a wax stamp on it—a gray square with an "X" symbol in the middle.

He bit his thumb and inched around his dimly lit room. Stained papers with scribbles, graphs, charts, and numbers were all around him. They covered his four walls, ceiling, and floor.

"Sam? Is anything wrong?" said a voice outside his room.

The boy jerked. It was Senia, his mother.

He quickly hid the envelope behind him just in time when the door swung open.

"All is well here!" Sam said, smiling.

Senia shook her head at the situation of her son's room. "Are you studying without light again? Turn on your lamp but come out first, I've prepared some warm soup for dinner."

"I will! I'll just finish cleaning the room."

She cast him a concerned look before closing the door.

Sam let out a sigh of relief. He carefully placed the envelope on top of his decrepit wooden table where stacks of worn-out books crowded like leaning towers. Then, out of habit, flicked the lamp's switch, but no light came out. Still, he hoped for a miracle.

He started studying when he was eight, and the lamp lost its power when he was thirteen. Now he had finally reached the legal age—eighteen.

Ten long years of secret preparation for an examination that his mother knew nothing about. He had endured half of it without sufficient light because the budget was tight. But somehow, the moon's mercy on Scrapes City and the flickering streetlights outside his window made it bearable. For no amount of darkness could snuff out his dream.

"Sam, you've been waiting for this. Now man up and open it!" he said to himself. With a deep breath, he finally found the courage to open the envelope. The seal looked too good to be broken, so he carefully made an opening on the side instead. It was scentless and smooth.

He pried it open with his fingers, but there was no letter inside. It contained nothing. His heart skipped a beat.

Sam ran to the window. It was a good thing that the full moon was there. He carefully shook the envelope and zoomed through the opening, but it was the same result. His heart sank.

"The mailman must have missed it! Or they must have got it wrong. This envelope does not even have my name!" He bit his lip. "Or I must have dropped its content on the floor!"

Sam traced his steps back. His room's size was twice and a half of his arm span. After another twenty minutes, he was pretty sure there was nothing in there. He pursed his lips and finally opened the door.

Smoke billowed from a bowl; the scent of candles mixed with the broth's aroma.

"Mom? You found nothing on the floor today, right?" Sam asked. There were only two rooms inside their shabby bungalow—one for the kitchen and one for his bed.

"Why?" Senia said, still waiting for him to sit and eat with her. "We'll find it tomorrow when the sun is up. Now eat up and go to sleep."

Sam nodded. He then filled his stomach.

But his heart was empty when he slept. No, he could not sleep at all.

Sam waited for the sun to come up. He wanted to continue searching, but he did not want to disturb his mother, who slept on their kitchen floor. For years, he kept on bugging his mom to take his room, but she won't budge.

The morning came, and after a round of rechecking his room and the envelope, Sam came out with hunched shoulders. Breakfast was already prepared—two boiled eggs and a pinch of salt. He wondered if his mother ever slept since they lost the pillar of their home ten years ago.

"I've found nothing unusual," Senia said. "What is it you're exactly looking for?"

"A letter or any piece of paper?" Sam once again hoped for a miracle.

"Nope. I've checked the garbage outside. No paper." Senia smiled. "Haven't you hoarded enough inside your room?"

Sam grinned, but his heart ached. Those smiles rarely came. He cracked the egg and was just about to let the matter go when someone knocked on their door.

"You're expecting any guest?" Senia asked.

"Nope..." Sam replied. He was about to stand up when his mother gestured for him to continue eating. "Please, some good news." He crossed his fingers.

Senia did not open the door immediately. She craned her neck by the kitchen's window to check who the visitor was. Then her face soured. "Sam, get inside your room. Lock it along with your window. Now!"

His mother's tone surprised him. "Why?"

Senia replied with a glare.

Sam placed the egg on the plate and stood up. Instead of returning to his room, he dashed to the door and opened it.

Senia's shout was too late.

Outside Sam's house, two figures stood. Their white coats and the truck behind them bore the same symbol as the envelope's seal.

Sam's heart raced. He heard every beat. "Ar-are you from the Isekai Institute?"

The man in black shades nodded. "Samwise Stein?"

"Yes! That's me!" Sam said in a perky voice that the man's companion—a female—smiled.

"Samwise! Get away from them!" Senia said. In her hand was a knife.

"Mom! No!" Sam ran out of the door and stood guard before the two representatives.

"Senia Stein, it's been a long time," the female representative said with a nod. She carried a briefcase with her.

"Samwise…" The veins on Senia's forehead bulged, and the hand holding the knife trembled. "I said, get away from them!"

"Mom, no. I'm sorry, but I took the Institute's entrance exam!" Sam looked straight into her brown eyes. "Mom, please let me find dad!"

Horror filled Senia's face. She fell on her knees. "No..."

"Sir, please tell me." Sam turned around to the representatives. "Did I pass? The envelope I received was empty!"

"Kid, the envelope was the answer," the male representative said. He adjusted the bridge of his spectacles. "Out of the ten thousand examinees, only a hundred passed—a measly one percent of the total. And the lowest passing rate in the Institute's history! Senia, your son is gifted. He's just like his father, and we've come to take him."

"No! You will not touch my son!" Senia was like a feral beast. She leapt out of the door with her knife raised high.

Sam's eyes widened. The man behind him pushed him to the side and caught Senia's hand midair.

"Senia, stop this. Look at you! You were once so beautiful..." the male representative said.

Senia bared her teeth. She tried pushing the knife, but the viselike grip prevented her. Frustrated, she shot him thick spittle. "Imogen, you beast! Don't touch my son!"

Imogen smiled and wiped the saliva away from his nose. "We came here to hear out your son's answer. Not your petty opinions." He faced Sam. "Child, what's your decision? Will you proceed to the second phase of the examination knowing that there's a high chance of death?"

Sam glanced between his mom and Imogen. His chest heaved.

Tears streaked down Senia's face. "You don't have to do this! Please! Haven't you learned anything from your father?"

Sam clenched his fists. "I will continue with the second phase. Please, let my mother go. She's just worried... and afraid."

"You heard your child's answer. Please, get a hold of yourself and stop preventing him from a better future." Imogen took the knife away and handed it to his female companion.

Senia rushed to her son and bawled. "Please. Don't do this. You're teasing death to claim you! Have you lost your mind?"

"Mom, I'd rather be dead than live a miserable life and sleep each night knowing that dad is out there. Please, let me go. I promise to return with him." Sam hugged her tightly and cried with her.

"Kid, time is running out. We have no time for drama," the female said. She placed the briefcase in the doorway. "Senia, here's your share of money in case your son won't make it back... alive."

Senia's lips quivered, and her face was beyond despair. No amount of money could buy her son's life.

"I'll be back. I promise." Sam kissed her forehead.

Sam never got the chance to pack anything. His shabby house for the past ten years became a distant view in the rear-view mirror.

"Kid, we need you to wear this," the female representative said. In her slender hand was an eye cover.

Sam took it.

No one really knew where Isekai Institute was except for its sworn members or better known as the Sojourners—men sent in other dimensions to complete missions. But Sam knew a lot about them because his parents were pioneers of the Institute. However, when his father went missing, things took a downward turn for his family.

Sam set it upon himself to find him and save his mother from despair's clutch, but first, he must survive the perilous examinations that awaited him.