Time slipped away unnoticed as the three of them searched through the Headmaster's sprawling archive.
Lanterns hummed faintly with arcane light, casting shifting shadows across shelves of leather-bound tomes.
Adam finished first.
He stood tall, clutching a thick book wrapped in emerald fabric.
"I've made my choice," he announced. "Thank you, Headmaster."
Zephyr inclined his head.
"An interesting selection… bold."
Adam nodded once, then exited without another word.
Silence settled.
Max drifted along the shelves, hands trailing along dusty spines, eyes scanning unfamiliar symbols and ancient text. Finally one book drew him in.
A gray tome with sapphire lettering.
Becoming One With the World.
An Introduction to Spirit Magic and Beyond
The moment he touched it, his bracelet glowed bright and pulsing.
25 points.
Enough to learn not one spell but potentially many.
Max felt excitement rise like a spark inside him.
Until someone ripped the book from his hands.
Victoria.
Her fingers dug into his collar as she shoved him against the wall, emerald eyes sharp and cold.
"You don't deserve this," she hissed. "You stumbled your way in here. Don't pretend otherwise."
She lifted the book not as a prize, but as a declaration.
"Stay out of my way or I'll make sure you regret breathing the same air as me."
Then she walked out head high, victory claimed without battle.
Max stared after her jaw clenched, breath controlled.
He turned to Zephyr.
The Headmaster didn't blink.
"This academy reflects reality," he said simply. "Power dictates consequence. Strength physical or mental is your shield. As long as a student does not kill without a formal duel, we do not intervene."
His expression sharpened, a faint warning in his eyes.
"Learn quickly, Max."
Max swallowed bitterness and returned to the shelves. Not searching, not browsing hunting.
Something else called to him. A dusty book small, plain, bound in a muted bronze cover. No title. No symbols. Ordinary… yet humming with quiet potential.
He lifted it.
"Is this even magic?" he asked.
Zephyr's reaction was immediate eyes widening, posture straightening.
For the first time, true interest flashed across the Headmaster's expression.
"Not many notice that book," he murmured. "Fewer choose it. It is magic powerful, subtle, easily underestimated. It chooses its wielder."
He paused.
"If you take it… understand this your path will not be simple."
Max met his gaze and nodded.
"I'll take it."
Zephyr smiled not warmly, but approvingly.
"Then go. The door will guide you to your homeroom."
A soft violet glow spread across the office door. Max stepped through.
He walked into a room shaped like a half-moon theater.
Every seat was filled.
Every gaze aimed directly at him.
Pressure crawled up Max's spine as he scanned the faces some curious, some hostile, some unreadable. He took a seat at the only empty desk front row.
He felt a stare burning holes into the back of his skull.
He turned.
Victoria sat three rows up, legs crossed, book in hand. She fanned herself lazily with it smirking.
Mocking.
Before Max could react
ZAP.
Electricity tore through the room like lightning in a cage.
His muscles locked. His jaw clenched. Bodies around him convulsed as the shock coursed through every student.
Gasps, groans, teeth grinding all drowned beneath the crackle of raw power.
Then silence.
A woman stood at the front young, sharp-featured, violet hair pulled into a high ponytail. Lightning danced across her fingertips.
Her smile was cruelly amused.
"Good," she said, voice bright with a dangerous edge. "Now I have your attention."
She placed a hand on her hip, eyes scanning the room like prey selection.
"My name is Professor Amy Spark. You may address me as Professor Spark or Lady Spark. Anything else will result in… correction."
Her gaze paused on Max first.
Then on Victoria.
A spark flashed between her fingers.
"This classroom is not a playground. Tempers, egos, rivalries, handle them carefully, or I will handle them for you."
A few students swallowed loudly.
Professor Spark's smile widened not kind, but delighted.
"Perfect. Now that we understand each other…"
She clapped her hands, discharging a faint shockwave through the floor.
"Homeroom begins."