Chapter 1: The Winters

It was a regular and quite unremarkable evening for Mr. and Mrs. Winter, Aldrich Winter was a tall man with Jet-black hair which seemed to have a tinge of white in them, a characteristic trait of the Winters whereas Selene Winter was a beautiful lady with dirty blonde hair along with a pair of ocean green eyes which complimented her charm. They were sitting by the fireplace and enjoying each other company, unfortunately, the comfortable silence was broken by an eerie yet high-pitched noise.

"It seems the time has come." Aldrich said while sipping on his tea.

"I still think it's too soon for him." Selene said while looking at the horizon through the window

"He has been thoroughly prepared, we have done everything we could, the rest is up to him."

"Don't you feel the tiniest bit of regret? He has been going through things no boy of his age should go through"

"Do you think I don't feel bad making my child going through all these? But even if I feel bad for him I can't do anything. I am bound by my duty. Though it is clear to me that I have failed as a father."

"I wonder how pathetic we would be deemed by him in the future when he has achieved his destiny. No matter whatever the reason may have been, even if it was for his good we should have never done this to him."

"He won't and you know that as well, that boy has been aware of his surroundings from a young age and he knows quite clearly that we have a lot of expectations of him. That fact pains me even more because I know that he realizes the responsibilities he carries."

"He realizes the fact that he has a lot of expectation to live up to and that will influence him to reach his destiny. That's his strength don't mistake it for his weakness. Even if we are loathed by him in the future I don't regret the decisions I made and I won't change them even if I was given the opportunity to." An old man said as he walked into the room accompanied by an old lady. The old man had a muscular physique with grey hair along with a pair of jet-black eyes, he also had a large scar on his chest which was visible through his haori.

"The fact that we have wronged him won't change no matter how we try to convince ourselves, we have wronged him and that's that. I just hope that he won't hold a grudge against us. Anyway, it seems that the invitation has arrived." The old lady said as she sat down on the couch. Even though she was old she still had an air of authority in her voice, exactly how a queen should be and even time and age couldn't hide her beauty which was still eminent.

These two, Arthur Veso Winter and Elise Ners Winter were the previous Lord and Lady of the great and noble house of Winter and the parents of Aldrich Winter.

"You are correct mother, the letter has arrived." Said Aldrich as a letter magically materialized on his hand.

"Are the preparations complete Seven?" Arthur said, funnily enough, there was nobody except the 4 individuals in the room currently.

Suddenly a figure appeared next to Arthur, he was wearing a mask seemingly made up of silver with the number 7 carved on it.

"Everything has been prepared, milord. Young Masters fake ID has been created and has been authorized by the school. The ones related to this operation have been silenced and have been employed under House Winter so there is absolutely no chance of the intel being leaked. Young Master's supplies have also been prepared and his transportation has also been prepared." Seven said as he poured some tea in his master's teacup.

"Excellent. What about the never gear I ordered for him?"

"It will be delivered to one of our companies in the non-magical realm shortly and will be sent here the moment they receive it."

"Marvelous, you may leave now."

"Yes, milord." Seven said as he disappeared from his place.

"What's this Nerve gear you were talking about father?" Selene asked Arthur genuinely curious about this thing called 'Nerve Gear' as she didn't normally involve herself in the matters of the non-magical realm.

"Ah, you probably don't know about it but a Nerve Gear is a piece of equipment needed to play the most popular VRMMORPG game in the world, Magic Academia Online. It's the first of its kind and makes the player experience a different reality. It has been marketing quite aggressively and it has also partnered with one of our companies in the non-magical realm. That's how I came to know about it. I thought this would be a good chance for Noah to socialize with other people inside the game and maybe he could help me increase my influence in the Non-Magical realm too." Arthur said as he looked over at Selene who was listening to him eagerly.

"Why don't you just say the truth that you just want him to enjoy the game and if possible make some friends while he is at it." Elise said while calmly sipping on her teacup though it made Arthur drop his teacup and stain his haori.

"You are starting to become quite clumsy aren't you?" Elise said as she magically materialized a wand from somewhere and muttered something which made the stain disappear from the haori.

'Is mother bullying father?'

'Is mother bullying father?'

'Is she bullying me? I don't remember doing something which might have made her mad today though?'

This was what they all thought but nobody was brave enough to say it aloud. They all knew who was the matriarch of the Winters.

"*Cough* Anyway, I'll have the Nerve Gear be delivered to him as soon as it arrives. I think the game is being officially released tonight. Let him play the game tonight while sleeping, it won't hinder his body and its functions in any way and his sleep won't be disrupted. The game servers are online-only during the night from what I know." Said Arthur in an attempt to change the topic.

"Hmm, it's online-only during the night? Is it an attempt to make the game fairer for every player and so that even a normal person can play it without it affecting their everyday lif-"

"FATHER/HONEY, ARE YOU REALLY SUGGESTING THAT WE ALLOW NOAH TO PLAY GAMES DURING BED-TIME !?" Selene and Elise said at the same time nearly jumping at Arthur who was scared for his life at that time.

"Eh !? Of course not! I mean yes, but it's absolutely safe! It's been proven that the nerve gear won't harm the body at all and the prototype has also been tested in one of the testing facilities we own in the non-magical realm! I can vouch for it!" Arthur said and at this point, he was already kneeling in front of the two ladies who were both exerting a presence befitting the Lady Of House Winter!

"Is that so, I'll allow him to be awake tonight but we are going to conduct some tests the first thing tomorrow and if he is tired or mentally exhausted even a bit then you won't be getting any food for a month." Elise said to which Selens nodded.

"Of course!"

"..." Did I just get ignored? Aldrich thought while looking over the horizon and sobbing uncontrollably in his mind.

"Alright then, what is Noah doing now anyway? He should be free at this time if I am correct?" Selene said as a figure appeared beside her. It was apparent from her figure that it was a woman. She was wearing a tuxedo and her face was covered by a mask that had the number 9 engraved upon it.

"Young Master is currently in the library milady." Nine said as she stood by her mistress's side.

"Library? Isn't he visiting the library a bit too often nowadays? What's he reading about?" Selene asked genuinely curious as Noah didn't talk about his lectures and training often.

"He is researching books regarding human anatomy, myology and neuroscience milady."

"Eh? Why?"

"He says that it would be easier to apprehend or paralyze an enemy without too much bloodshed if he knew everything about the human anatomy."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"The Nerve Gear has arrived milord." Seven said as he appeared beside Arthur not realizing that he had just saved the day.

"Ah! Is that so? Have someone take the Nerve Gear to Noah. It's getting late anyway." Saying which Arthur started discussing some things with Seven regarding one of his companies in the non-magical realm.

"It's time for dinner I guess, let's go." Elise said as she walked towards the door.

"I'll come with you mother," Selense said as she followed her.

"...I was ignored again." Aldrich whispered to himself as he got up from the couch and started walking towards the library.