Retired S-rank father becomes a teacher

The magic classification index. The MCI for short, was the international ranking system for magic types. Thousands of magic existed and they were catalogued based on their strength, weakness and overall usefulness. Researchers and hunters worked around the clock to update and maintain the MCI. Contrary to popular belief, healing magic was not ranked first. Not even second. It was ranked a solid third even though many people considered it the best magic to have in a fight.

The first belonged to space magic, his magic. The Vane family was the sole family to possess this rare type. Yet when Silas, stepped back from his position as an S-rank, the world did not collapse again. Even when thousands of dungeons and tens of S-ranked dungeons were unconquered, Earth prospered. It was thanks to the man named Berlin, the founder of the Hunter Association and the sole wielder of the second ranked magic.

Sealing magic.

Silas was in the Andes mountain range, at the summit of a mountain whose name he did not know. The snow crunched under his feet and the wind bit at his exposed skin. Alan stood next to him, wrapped in a thick coat, goggles on and shivering.

It was midnight.

Yet the moonlight was strong, it illuminated the bones of dragons and mana beasts that laid scattered around the summit. At the peak was a gate, that birthed these monsters: a dungeon entrance.

The black gate pulsed. An ominous glow emanated from its frame and it had not a doorknob or lock. It was the door to hell itself. There was no guard because no one could enter thanks to Berlin. Silas felt the old man’s mana, the air was thick with it.

“Berlin really doesn’t miss a detail huh?” Alan said as he examined the gate, his hands were trembling but he did not shy away.

Silas nodded. That old man was the only one who could guarantee a coin toss fight between them. On the other hand Eve could threaten him but that was more of a dog biting him. Sure it stung but he could easily put the beast down. Berlin was the real deal.

“Are you sure you want to go in there?” Silas asked Alan for the hundredth time.

Alan turned to him, his eyes gleaming through his goggles.

“Positive. I’ve prepared years for this. I’m not going to back out now just because of a little cold and some bones.”

Taking a deep breath Silas focused on the gate. The mana surrounding it tried to push him away. This wasn’t like going to pluto and back, that was easy because of zero mana resistance. Here, mana was so dense it could crush normal humans.

“Alright then.”

He formed a thin needle of space mana between his fingers and flicked his wrist to sent it at the gate. An explosion of light erupted, illuminating the entire mountain. Silas gritted his teeth and kept pushing his mana against the dungeon and the seal. The old man knew how to make a damn good barrier. Silas was about to add more power when suddenly the gate cracked and opened, allowing entry. The seal did not break but a hole let them through.

“Ha! That was easier than I thought,” Alan said, wiping his nose with his sleeve.

“You did all the work huh?” Silas chuckled.

They stepped into the dungeon, and the world changed. The snowy mountain was gone, replaced by a vast desert landscape. The ground was made of black sand, the sky an unnatural shade of green, and there was a sulfuric smell in the air like rotten eggs. Mana beasts roamed in the distance, their roars echoing through the desolate plains.

“Shit...Sulena is just how I remember it.” Silas murmured under his breath, scanning the area for any immediate threats.

Sulena was classified as the most dangerous dungeon in the world, and for a good reason. The mana here was corrupted and poisoned the mind of any who stayed too long. Even an S-ranker. Which was why it was sealed off after Bea fell.

Alan took out glass vials from his coat and began collecting the black sand from the ground.

“What are you looking for here?” Silas asked as he masked their sound.

The scientist smiled, his eyes focused on the vials, “New forms of mana essence. This place has been isolated for 20 years, so the evolution might be accelerated and maybe we could come up with a cure for mana corrosion.”

Silas didn’t think there was a cure but he didn’t have the heart to say that. Having to kill Bea was hard enough on the both of them and the last thing he wanted was to reopen old wounds.

They continued on, avoiding the bigger mana beasts and collecting samples. Alan’s lab coat flapped in the wind as he got excited over every new discovery.

A dragon-like beast roared in the sky, its wings wide enough to block the green sun. It dove towards them, jaws open. Without hesitation Silas manipulated the space around him to crush the beast before it could reach them. Its body flattened, blood spraying everywhere before vanishing.

Alan flinched.

“You haven’t gotten weaker at all have you?” he commented, wiping some blood off his cheek.

Removing the sea of blood around them he said, “Just rusty.” It felt good to go back to his roots, the killing of beasts.

Their path led them to a dead tree with twisted roots, where Silas knew the corpse of his friend still laid. He stopped when the tree was in sight. No leaves were left on it; it was dead.

“Her body is gone,” Alan said, walking up to the roots.

He bent down to check. Then his hand trembled and he pulled it back as if he got burned.

“Probably a beast ate her,” Silas said, coming up behind Alan.

The two stood there for a moment. Silas thought about telling Alan about Beatrice’s last words but he bit it back. Alan would never forgive him if he did.

A vine slithered along the ground. A small flower with black petals grew from it. It was a rare one, but here in this corrupted land it was the most common plant.

Alan bent down and picked it up.

“I hope you find happiness wherever you are, Bea,” he said, putting the flower in his coat pocket.

Silas patted his friend on the back.

“Let’s go. I don’t like being here any longer than needed.” His mana was feeling the pull of madness.

As they were turning back, something moved in the horizon. A black figure, human in shape emerged. It walked on two legs, dragging a broken sword with it.

Its face was covered in a mask that resembled a skull and its body was covered in black cloth that fluttered even when there was no wind. Silas felt it before he saw it.

A Fallen. A hunter corrupted by Sulena but Bea was the last Fallen, no one else entered this dungeon.

He pushed Alan behind him and flared his mana, his aura expanding around them in a protective dome.

The Fallen stopped moving when it noticed the presence of humans.

Then it spoke. A cold, distorted voice that sent chills down Silas’s spine.

“Space. Enchantment. It remembers.” The voice was genderless, as if many voices were speaking at once.

Silas clenched his fists.

“Alan, do you still remember how to fight?” He asked.

His friend didn’t reply but the sound of a gun being cocked answered him. Alan was never a frontline fighter but he did know his way around enchanted weapons.

The Fallen raised its sword, pointing at them. The ground cracked, split into two as it charged forward with a speed that surpassed sound.

Silas warped space, appearing behind the monster. A blade of his own formed in his hand, forged from pure spatial mana. He swung at its neck, but it ducked and elbowed him in the gut, sending him flying backward.

“What?” Alan fired his gun, and a giant blast of magic erupted from it.

But the Fallen seemed to flicker and the blast missed. It appeared beside Alan, sword raised.

Fuck. He switched position with Alan. Now in front of the monster he grabbed its sword with his bare hand. His space magic wrapped around it, trying to bend it and break it.

The Fallen’s eye sockets flared with a sinister green light. Vines burst from its eye socket, whipping Silas and wrapping around his limbs.

He was going to get this thing off him when Alan fired again. The bullets nullified magic on contact, shattering the vines. Freed, Silas punched the Fallen in the face, making it stagger.

Its mask cracked, revealing nothing but darkness inside. But a cold laugh came from it.

“Enchanter, it hates you too... you annoyed it.” The voice said.

Alan paled. His eyes darted around the area.

“Bea? Is that you?” he asked.

Silas froze. Bea? No she was dead. It couldn’t be.

The Fallen tilted its head and pointed the broken blade at him. Vines shot out again, her magic. The same green ones Bea used. This was her.

“Bea...I’m so sorry.” Alan whispered as tears rolled down his cheeks. He didn’t even try to dodge.

Switching places with Alan, Silas cut the vines in half and teleported his friend away. Then he warped in front of the Fallen.

“Shut up, you fucking monster. You’re not her.”

Its face twisted into a grim smile. It raised its hand, and a sword made of vines materialized with a small red flower at the hilt.

That flower. No.

“Perish. Space.” The Fallen whispered, rushing at Silas.

His body tensed. He let go of conserving mana, converserving the spying on Liz and Kat and unleashed his full S-rank power, a black hole appearing in his hand and shooting out. A massive beam of compressed space, tore the earth and everything in its path. It hit the Fallen directly.

The creature’s body contorted as it disintegrated into nothing but dust. Only a red petal floated in the air. Silas caught it between his fingers and looked at it for a long moment before crushing it.

Good bye, he thought. Then he went to Alan who was on his knees, crying.

“Let’s go. We’re leaving.” Silas said as he grabbed his shoulder and teleported them out of the dungeon.

They were back on top of the mountain and the gate had closed behind them, sealing Sulena once again. Alan didn’t stop crying.

Silas sat down beside him. He put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. They sat there in silence until Alan composed himself.

He wiped his eyes. “Thank you... I’ll go examine the samples I got now,” he stood up and looked at Silas. “Can you drop me off at the lab?”

Nodding, Silas created a portal to Alan’s lab and helped his friend get up.

Alan took a step forward and stopped. He turned his head and said, “Do you think that was her Silas?”

Silas clenched his fists.

“Resurrection magic doesn’t exist. It was the dungeon using her memories against us.”

Without waiting for a reply, Alan went through the portal and it closed behind him.