Wahyu never believed humanity would one day be able to reach another planet.
Kepler-442b had been his favorite subject since his first semester. The planet was incredibly far away, around 1,100–1,200 light-years from Earth, or roughly 10.6 quadrillion kilometers.
Kepler-442b orbited a K-type orange dwarf, which was smaller—around 40 percent smaller than the Sun—and dimmer than our own Sun.
Since childhood, Wahyu had loved everything related to the solar system. He used to daydream about what it would be like to become the first person to live on Mars, or the first person to set foot on the planet Jupiter, famous for its extremely harsh conditions. But as he grew older, Wahyu learned about more planets, including one more similar to Earth and slightly larger than it: Kepler-442b.
Wahyu strode quickly while carrying a lunar research folder he had just picked up from the faculty office. Data about gravity, orbits, and the possibility of colonization still spun through his mind. Every so often, he lowered his head to check his already-crumpled notes. And that was where his mistake began. His foot landed awkwardly, brushing the edge of a slippery step, and his body suddenly reeled.
"A-aaa!!"
His scream had not even finished when the folder flew from his hand, sending the lunar research papers scattering through the air.
Thud!
Wahyu's body slammed against several steps before finally coming to a stop on the ground floor.
Wahyu groaned softly, feeling pain in his head, shoulder, and elbow. His vision blurred slightly, and his consciousness slowly began to fade—then, bam!
Wahyu's eyes, which had been closed, suddenly flew wide open. He lay on his back, staring at the sky, while a crowd of human-faced creatures with incredibly strange forms gathered around him, watching with bewildered expressions.
"Yosan…"
"He's awake…"
"Yosan, are you all right?"
"It looks like Solei pushed his magic blast too far…"
Wahyu tried to move, but his body felt heavy. As far as he remembered, he had fallen down a staircase, so why didn't his head hurt? Instead, his body felt weak, as though he had lost all his stamina.
Wahyu's eyes darted around uneasily. Why was the sky here reddish orange, and why did the people here look so different?
Their faces resembled humans, but not completely. Some had small horns, some had small fangs, and some even had glowing skin.
Several people exchanged glances. One of them then knelt beside him.
"He must still be disoriented. Take him to the academy infirmary."
Two people immediately approached and carefully lifted Wahyu's body.
"Easy, Yosan. You're safe now."
Wahyu was carried to the healing room. Throughout the journey, he remained silent, confused about what had happened to him. Was he in heaven? But this place didn't seem much like heaven. Was he dreaming?
Wahyu gave his arm a small pinch. "Ow, that hurts…" he murmured, rubbing the spot.
If this wasn't a dream, had he entered a novel, like the transmigration stories he often read?
At that moment, someone's voice shattered his thoughts.
"Yosan, how many times do I have to tell you not to push yourself so hard?"
The woman's gaze was sharp, but not angry. It was more like the look of an exhausted older sister dealing with her younger sibling's mischief.
Wahyu became even more confused. The name Yosan had been mentioned again, as if it was truly meant for him.
Before Wahyu could answer, the woman waved her hand.
"Take him inside and lay him down."
The two people immediately carried him into the infirmary.
Wahyu was laid down on a stone bed covered with soft, brightly colored fabric.
"Don't worry. You're only exhausted from the mana surge," one of the guards said.
Mana?
Wahyu stared at them in confusion.
The woman in the purple robe approached and looked him over from head to toe.
"No serious injuries," she said quietly. "But your energy flow is chaotic."
She let out a small sigh.
"Yosan… you really pushed yourself too far this time."
Unable to hold back any longer, Wahyu finally spoke.
"Sorry, but I'm not Yosan…"
Several people around them exchanged glances. The woman in the purple robe stopped moving, narrowed her eyes, and asked in a curt tone,
"Then who are you, if you're not Yosan?"
Wahyu hesitated slightly before answering.
"M-my name is Wahyu."
The woman closed her eyes for a moment, as if considering something extremely complicated. Then she opened them again and gave a small chuckle.
"In that case, Solei's magic blast must have been dangerous enough to make you forget even your own name."
Then her eyes sharpened, as if growing annoyed. "Don't joke with me, Yosan. Get some rest now."
The woman left Yosan behind, now lying there and staring thoughtfully at the ceiling with his mind in disarray.
He was in an alien world beneath an orange sky, surrounded by strange people who kept calling him Yosan.
Wahyu slowly raised his own hand.
It was slightly different. Only slightly.
His skin was paler now, and his fingers were longer than they had been before. Even the hair hanging before his eyes was bluish black instead of the deep black he was used to.
Wahyu pushed himself halfway upright, but the weakness in his body made his head spin.
Why is this happening…? he wondered.
Blue crystal lights floated and shimmered softly in the corner of the room.
Wahyu lowered his head and held it in his hands.
Am I dead?
If I'm dead, then who is Yosan?
And why did I end up in his body?
The more he thought about it, the less sense anything made. The thing that frightened Wahyu most was the possibility that he might never be able to return.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
The sound of knocking made Wahyu flinch slightly.
The door to the room slowly opened.
A white-haired boy entered carrying a small tray with a bowl of hot soup. He looked around the same age as Wahyu. His golden eyes had narrow, reptile-like pupils. How strange, Wahyu thought.
"You're awake, huh?" he said casually.
Wahyu only stared at him in silence.
The boy placed the bowl on the table beside the bed.
"Sorry, Solei made that senior angry again," he continued, sitting in the chair beside the bed.
"Solei almost got punished because of that magic blast earlier."
Wahyu frowned.
"Solei?" he muttered to himself.
Ah… so this is the person they were talking about on the field earlier, he continued inwardly.
"Huh?" The boy looked confused.
Wahyu hesitated for a moment before deciding to ask.
"What is this place?"
The white-haired boy stared at him for several seconds, then gave a small laugh.
"Are you serious?"
Wahyu nodded slowly.
The boy finally leaned back in his chair, trying to read Yosan's thoughts.
Maybe Yosan is messing with him. That was what crossed Solei's mind, so he decided to play along with the joke.
"This is Lyra Academy… the largest magic academy in the southern region of Kepler."
Wahyu's body instantly froze.
"Kepler?"
Solei nodded casually, unaware of Wahyu's shock.
"Yeah. The planet Kepler-442b. Why?"
Wahyu stared blankly ahead.
Kepler-442b.
The planet he had only ever seen through astronomy journals, computer simulations, and digital images created by Earth's scientists. The planet he had admired for so long—and now Wahyu was on it.
So life on Kepler-442b really existed?
It wasn't merely an empty alien planet without inhabitants, nor a barren expanse of rock orbiting a dim star. It was a living world beneath a reddish-orange sky, populated by people who seemed to have stepped out of a fairy tale.
Wahyu remembered the faces of the people who had surrounded him earlier.
Some had small horns. Some had fangs among their teeth, while others had glowing eyes.
Even their auras felt different from those of ordinary humans.
As if they weren't modern humans like those on Earth, but an ancient race that had walked out of a fantasy story.
And magic… did they really use magic? Not sleight of hand like the tricks he had often seen performed by people on Earth, but actual power?
Wahyu swallowed slowly.
On Earth, humanity had spent hundreds of years developing technology just to reach the nearest planets. Yet here, people lived alongside something that surpassed the logic of science.
Then another thought surfaced in his mind.
If this really is Kepler-442b, how did I get here?
This morning, Wahyu's body felt much lighter than before. The weakness that had filled him yesterday had almost completely disappeared.
Yesterday, after talking with Solei, Wahyu had decided to study a little from a book about the basics of life on Kepler-442b.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
The door opened, and Solei entered carrying several folded sets of clothes.
His white hair looked slightly messier today. His golden eyes, with their reptilian pupils, regarded Wahyu as casually as ever.
"Yosan. You're awake? Rummiya told me to take you to the dormitory."
"The dormitory?" Wahyu repeated softly.
Solei nodded.
"Do you want to keep staying in the healing room?"
He tossed the clothes onto the bed.
"That's your academy uniform."
Wahyu stared at the black outfit and bluish-white robe, which had silver chains attached in several places. A small blue emblem shaped like a ring of stars was embroidered on the shoulder.
"Wait outside for a moment," Wahyu said softly.
Solei shrugged and left the room.
Wahyu stared at the clothes in his hands for a long time before finally standing in front of the mirror.
Beautiful bluish-black hair, pale skin, and faint crystal lines near his neck.
Even now, he still found it difficult to believe. But this time, Wahyu wasn't as panicked as he had been yesterday. Whether he liked it or not, he had to start accepting reality.
The corridors of Lyra Academy were far larger than Wahyu had imagined. The ceilings were high, with blue crystals floating like magical orbs.
The white stone walls were covered in faint, glowing carvings of strange symbols. Many students hurried back and forth through the corridors. Some had small horns. Some had long ears. Some had skin that reflected a soft light.
Wahyu repeatedly looked around in amazement.
So this is what real life on Kepler is like… Wahyu thought.
"Hey… stop spacing out," Solei said, walking casually ahead of him.
"Hm…"
Solei glanced at him.
"Now that I think about it, you're a little different today."
Wahyu's heart beat a little faster. Had his identity already been suspected?
"Different?" Wahyu asked, pretending to be surprised.
"Hmm… You're usually scarier. Where'd that intimidating aura of yours go?"
"Huh?"
Solei chuckled.
"Sometimes you sit there silently, staring at people like you want to kill them."
Wahyu fell silent, awkward.
Thankfully, the owner of this body really was fairly quiet, so it wasn't too difficult for Wahyu to pretend to be him.
They turned into a longer, quieter corridor.
At the end stood a row of stone doors marked with glowing symbols. Solei stopped in front of one of them.
"This is your room."
The door slowly opened.
Wahyu entered, slowly taking in the room. It wasn't very large, but it was neat enough.
There was a small bed near the window, a tall bookshelf, and a wooden desk covered in scattered papers. Several small blue crystals had been neatly arranged in one corner.
Wahyu approached the desk.
There were notes scattered everywhere.
Some contained strange symbols.
There were also drawings that looked like magic-circle patterns. Wahyu's brow furrowed slightly as he examined Yosan's rather messy handwriting.
Solei leaned against the door.
"The professors often say you're a genius…"
Wahyu turned and listened closely.
"But your mana is too chaotic. That's why so many people are afraid of you."
Wahyu looked back at the notes on the desk. His eyes landed on one open page. It read:
Synchronization failed again.
The mana keeps colliding.
Why can't this core stabilize?
Wahyu remained silent for quite some time.
Astral Core unstable?
Wahyu remembered what Solei had said earlier.
So Yosan really has been trying to control his power for a long time.
Tap…
Tap…
Tap…
Another set of footsteps sounded outside, and Solei suddenly clicked his tongue softly.
"Ugh… what a pain."
Three students walked past Wahyu's room. One of them stopped directly in front of the door.
A dark-brown-haired boy with small horns turned toward Yosan.
His eyes were bright orange, like burning embers, and his gaze was so sharp that the atmosphere in the corridor immediately became uncomfortable.
"I thought a monster like you wasn't allowed out yet."
Wahyu frowned slightly.
Solei clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Yuchee, don't start trouble again!"
The young man named Yuchee gave a small laugh.
"Trouble?"
He looked at Wahyu again.
"I'm just surprised the academy still keeps a failed student like him around."
The mana in the air suddenly felt a little hotter. Wahyu could sense a strange aura emanating from Yuchee's body.
His emotions truly affected the energy around him.
The Velkryn race.
Wahyu slowly recalled the explanation from the book he had read in the infirmary the night before.
The Velkryn race.
Fire that lives within the blood.
Velkryn were humanoids known for the small horns on their heads and the natural heat that constantly surrounded their bodies. They were believed to be descended from ancient creatures that had once lived in the volcanic regions of Kepler-442b. Their bodies were warmer than those of other races, and even their skin felt like warm embers to the touch.
The most distinctive traits of Velkryn were:
Small horns colored black, dark red, or volcanic ash gray.
Glowing red, orange, or golden eyes. Their hair was predominantly black, dark brown, deep red, or fire-silver.
Their mana veins sometimes emitted a red glow when their emotions intensified.
Velkryn possessed highly aggressive and destructive mana. They were experts in high-level fire magic, strengthening their bodies with heated mana, and close-quarters combat using powerful mana blasts.
Unlike other races, Velkryn didn't merely control fire. They seemed to become part of the fire itself. The stronger their emotions, the more powerful the magic they released.
However, that power came with great risks. A Velkryn's emotions greatly affected the stability of their mana. When angry, afraid, or out of control, their mana core could run wild, causing uncontrollable fire blasts, self-immolation, and temporary mana madness.
That was why many magic academies considered Velkryn dangerous, but also exceptionally talented.
Solei took two steps toward Yuchee, breaking the tension.
"Get lost before Rummiya gets here."
Yuchee clicked his tongue in annoyance before finally leaving with the other two students. But before he went, he still spared Wahyu a sidelong glance and said sarcastically,
"Try not to blow up the building again, monster."
Wahyu let out a small sigh.
"I guess I'm pretty famous…"
"Unfortunately, not for anything good," Solei replied casually.
Wahyu clicked his tongue, slightly offended by Solei's words.
Not long afterward, another young man entered the corridor carrying several crystal books.
He had silver hair, and thin, glowing crystal lines ran along his neck and hands.
He stopped when he saw Yosan.
His blue eyes widened slightly.
"Your mana feels different…"
Wahyu's body tensed again.
The young man continued staring at him as if trying to sense something.
Solei casually raised a hand.
"Kemmy, don't start…"
Kemmy did not answer.
His gaze remained fixed on Wahyu.
"Strange… Your mana flow is calmer than usual," he murmured.
Wahyu's heart began pounding again, twice as fast this time. Had this creature named Kemmy realized that he wasn't Yosan? But a few seconds later, Kemmy merely shook his head.
"Maybe it's just my imagination…"
Then he walked away.
Wahyu could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Solei, seeing Yosan's anxious expression, only chuckled.
"The Sylenth are sensitive to mana."
That afternoon, after a busy day, Wahyu sat alone in Yosan's dorm room. A pile of Yosan's notes still lay scattered across the desk before him.
At first, Wahyu had only intended to look for simple information so his disguise wouldn't be exposed. But the longer he read each page, the more curious he became.
"This is incredible. It's exactly like a fantasy world…" he murmured.
His hand picked up a sheet of paper covered in strange circular symbols.
At the top, it read: Basic Structure of a Level-One Fire Chant. Beneath it was a circular pattern resembling a mathematical sequence. There were symbols, mana lines, and arrows indicating the direction of energy flow.
Wahyu's eyes slowly widened.
The more he studied the pattern, the more extraordinary it seemed.
The symbols and shapes looked remarkably similar to physics diagrams and energy pathways.
His academic instincts from Earth began to kick in.
"If the energy flow is rotated from this central point… then reinforced along the outside…"
Wahyu picked up a small crystal pen from the desk and began redrawing the patterns. He tried to understand the function of each symbol. Wahyu didn't fully understand it, but he was capable enough to grasp the basic concept.
"When you think about it, mana is like energy," he murmured.
"And a chant… might be some kind of pattern for shaping it."
The more he studied, the more enthusiastic Wahyu became. On Earth, magic had been nothing but fantasy and imagination. But here, he was actually holding magic theory in his own hands.
Wahyu quickly opened another set of notes.
This time, the contents were much messier.
Several pages were filled with abstract scribbles.
Resonance failed again.
The mana pathways collided again.
Why can't Sylenth and Lunaris mana synchronize?
Wahyu's brow furrowed slightly.
"Sylenth and Lunaris? Could Yosan be a mixed-race…?" Wahyu murmured, growing even more interested in the facts surrounding Yosan's body.
If that's true, then Yosan really is studying his own body.
The next page contained a drawing of a human body with mana pathways branching in two directions. One was bright blue, while the other was silvery. The two collided directly in the chest.
Wahyu immediately remembered the two streams of light he had seen in his own body earlier. So that was the mixed mana of two races.
He opened another page more quickly.
The further he read, the harder the notes became to understand. They were far too complicated for an ordinary student. There were calculations of energy flow, resonance comparisons, and mana synchronization experiments.
Some of the terms even resembled those in a scientific research journal.
"Hah…"
Wahyu gave a disbelieving laugh.
Is Yosan really a rare mixed-race with truly extraordinary power? Unfortunately, it was obvious that all his experiments and research had always ended in failure.
Many pages were covered in frustrated scribbles. Some were torn in places, while others bore large words: Mana unstable again.
Wahyu slowly leaned back in his chair. He couldn't imagine how frustrated Yosan must have been, working so hard to control his mana and magic only to fail again and again.
Wahyu's curiosity began to overpower his confusion. Magic, mana, alien races, energy—all of it felt like an incredibly fascinating new challenge.
Back on Earth, Wahyu had merely been an ordinary student who read astronomy journals and conducted research from behind a computer. But now? Now he was on an alien planet that astronauts could never possibly visit directly, a planet filled with magical power beyond the reach of human logic. And part of him felt incredibly excited.
His hand slowly reached for another book in the corner of the desk, a much thicker one. Its cover bore the emblem of a ring of stars.
BASICS OF MANA CIRCULATION
Wahyu opened the first page.
His eyes were immediately filled with more strange symbols, but this time he didn't feel dizzy. Instead, Wahyu felt even more challenged, as if his brain were being forced to solve a new puzzle.
"If I can understand the mana patterns, maybe I can use magic too."
The words he spoke made Wahyu's heart beat faster.
"Magic… Yeah, I should be able to use magic too." Something impossible on Earth, but not in this world.
Wahyu slowly raised his hand, trying to recall the sensation of the mana flow he had seen earlier.
Faint, silvery-blue light began to appear at his fingertips. Wahyu's eyes immediately widened.
"Whoa…"
The light lasted only a moment before scattering again.
But that was enough to leave Wahyu breathing hard with excitement. He had really just used magic.
Then the sound of knocking interrupted his study session.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
"Yosan… come out," Solei called, raising his voice from behind Yosan's door.
"Huh?"
Wahyu sighed softly and walked over to open the door.
Creak.
The door opened.
"You've been in your room the whole time. Come on, let's leave the dormitory. You're going back to class tomorrow, too."
Wahyu hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. The two of them walked through the dormitory corridor.
There were no electric lights on Kepler like there were on Earth. Instead, they used magic to create soft bluish light that constantly shimmered and illuminated every corner.
The air on Kepler-442b also felt colder than Earth's.
When Wahyu reached the dormitory's main entrance, he stopped walking.
His eyes slowly widened.
The sight before him was so breathtaking that he was left speechless.
The sky of Kepler-442b stretched endlessly overhead. It was a dim orange, streaked with pale gold and a faint touch of purple in the distance.
The orange dwarf that served as this world's sun hung low in the sky, bathing the entire academy grounds in what looked like the light of an eternal sunset.
Wahyu even forgot how to breathe.
"This…"
Solei glanced at him, narrowing his eyes.
"What? You look like you've never seen the sky before."
Wahyu quickly cleared his throat and composed his expression.
"No… The sky looks pretty different today."
Solei shrugged indifferently and grumbled to himself.
"Looks the same to me…"
The dormitory grounds were much livelier than Wahyu had imagined.
Strange creatures roamed freely. A wolf-sized animal lay near the stone steps. Its body was covered in bluish-white fur, with faint glowing patterns running along its back. Its ears were long, and its eyes shone like crystal ice.
Not far away, several small foxlike creatures with three tails bounced through the grass, chasing a small ruby-colored ball of light.
In the air above, birds with transparent wings flew about. Their wingbeats left behind thin trails of light like stardust.
There was even a large deer-like creature with crystal antlers sleeping beneath a tree.
Wahyu stood transfixed, his mouth slightly open, when a small creature suddenly leaped near his feet.
"Huh…"
Wahyu instinctively stepped back.
The creature looked like a cross between a weasel and a tiny dragon. Its body was covered in light-gray fur, its pupils were narrow like a reptile's, and its tail split into two. The little creature sniffed Wahyu's foot, stared at him for several seconds, and then—plop!—sat comfortably on top of his shoe.
"…" Wahyu.
"…" Solei.
They exchanged glances for several seconds before chuckling.
"Wow… Interesting…"
"What?" Wahyu asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
Solei pointed at the small creature.
"That's a wild beast from the forest around the academy. They usually avoid other creatures."
Instead, the little animal pressed itself even more firmly against Wahyu's foot and made a tiny sound.
"Rrrr."
Wahyu blinked in confusion.
"Why is it acting like this?" Wahyu asked curiously.
Solei narrowed his eyes.
His expression slowly became strange.
"Wait a second…"
He moved a little closer.
"You're not releasing any mana?"
Wahyu's body immediately went rigid.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
In his panic, Wahyu wondered whether the mana in his body wasn't flowing. Didn't mana flow naturally through Kepler's creatures like blood? Then why was Solei saying he wasn't releasing any mana? Could his soul have affected Yosan's mana?
Solei observed the faint, almost invisible silvery-blue light around Wahyu's body. His expression changed.
"Strange…"
"S-strange how?" Wahyu asked nervously.
Solei stared at him even longer.
"How are you hiding your mana?"
Yosan: "…"
Solei: "…"
Hi, this is my first work here. Please support me if you enjoy my story.