The next morning, the academy hallways buzzed like a hive. Everywhere Indra and Naaji walked, students whispered.
"Did you see her tear through that fight?"
"She's terrifying—beautiful, but terrifying."
"And Indra… he could've won. Why'd he stop?"
Naaji walked with her chin held a little higher than usual, lips twitching with the faintest smile. For once, the eyes of others didn't sting her—they admired her power, recognized her strength. That was enough to make her chest swell with a quiet pride.
Indra, by contrast, looked utterly unbothered. He let the chatter wash over him, hands stuffed in his pockets, his expression unreadable. To him, their opinions were no more significant than the sound of birds outside the window.
As the two entered the classroom, Mira Solen brushed past Indra by accident. Their shoulders grazed lightly.
"Ah—sorry," she murmured automatically.
But then her eyes widened. Her face drained of color. She froze for a heartbeat before spinning on her heel and running from the room without explanation.
Indra's eyes narrowed. Interesting.
He leaned back in his seat, staring at the door she had vanished through. Mira Solen. The girl who can read the threads of fate through contact. In every other life, she could never read mine—the time wheel erased everything, keeping me outside destiny's grasp. But this time… He tapped a finger against his knee, lips curling in the faintest smirk. This time she saw something. The wheel is gone, my fate is fixed. Which means Mira has become a variable. A dangerous one. One I'll have to control… or eliminate.
His thoughts were interrupted by the soft, slithery voice of Tessa Klyne. She stood before him, hands folded neatly, her brown eyes sparkling with practiced charm.
"That fight yesterday," she said smoothly, "you should've won. Anyone with sense could see it. You held back, didn't you?"
Indra tilted his head, giving her a half-smile. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't."
Tessa leaned closer, her tone dropping just enough to sound intimate. "You're strong. Stronger than most of them. You deserve more than to be overlooked."
Indra's grin didn't falter, but inside his thoughts cut sharper. Ah, so that's her game. Flattery, weaving threads of influence, trying to wrap me around her finger. She thinks I'll fall for it. Good. He chuckled softly, playing along. "I'll keep that in mind, Tessa. You're sharper than you look."
Satisfied, she withdrew with a graceful smile and returned to her seat. Indra's eyes lingered on her briefly, cold amusement dancing in them. Useful. Very useful.
The classroom door creaked open as Professor Aoi entered, his sharp presence silencing the room instantly. He set a heavy tome onto the podium, his silver hair catching the light.
"Settle down," he ordered. "Today's lesson matters, because next week, you'll be putting your lives on the line."
A murmur rippled through the class.
"We'll be conducting a mock dungeon expedition," Aoi continued. "It's of the threatening rank. Pay attention, or you won't just embarrass yourselves—you'll bleed."
His words landed like steel. Even the loudest students fell quiet.
Aoi opened the tome with a soft thud. "First I'll explain the ranks of monsters in case anyone forgot. There are six tiers. Hostile, Threatening, Dangerous, Disaster, Calamity, World Ending. Each one a leap beyond the last."
He wrote them on the board in crisp strokes.
"Hostile—your goblins, your slimes. Weak in body, dangerous in numbers. Threatening—ogres, orcs, beasts that can crush a man's skull with ease. Dangerous—djinn, hydras, beings that toy with magic as easily as you breathe. Disaster—phoenixes, titans, living catastrophes. Calamity—Demon Kings, rulers of destruction. And World Ending…" His gaze swept the class, eyes hard. "Those are things you pray you never meet. Gods. Devils. Entities you cannot defeat. There is recording of only 1 world ending entity and he is dead, so that shouldn't be of much worry."
He shut the book. The sound echoed through the room.
"The dungeon you'll face will be Threatening rank. Survive, and you'll learn. Fail…" He let the silence finish the sentence.
He then held up the thick tome, passing stacks of copies to the front row. "This book contains every recorded monster race. You will study it. By the end of the month, there will be a test. No excuses."
Groans whispered through the room, but no one dared voice them aloud.
Aoi smirked faintly. "Good. I like obedient students. Consider today's lecture over. You have the rest of the day free—train, study, talk, fight, fall in love, I don't care. But build bonds. If you don't trust each other by the dungeon raid, you'll die in it."
With that, he dismissed them, striding out as smoothly as he'd entered.
The students exhaled all at once, the weight of his words still heavy on their shoulders.
Indra leaned back in his seat, fingers steepled, his sharp blue eyes flicking between Naaji's small grin, Selene's detached indifference, and the door.
And so it began, groups and cliques were quickly formed within the academy and especially the class.
—————
In the academy's vast library, three students huddled around the heavy tome of monsters.
Mira Solen, still pale after her earlier encounter with Indra, flipped nervously through the pages while Sylvie Lorne and Kira Ferrel discussed tactics.
"Orcs are weak to piercing weapons," Sylvie said matter-of-factly, brushing a strand of white hair from her face.
"No, no, no," Kira snapped, pushing up her glasses. "It's not about weapons. It's about formation. You put a shield wall in front, then flank them—"
"You'd already be dead by then," Mira murmured quietly.
The other two looked at her, surprised. She usually kept to herself. Mira traced a finger over a sketch of an orc.
"They don't think. They just charge. A well-timed trap would take out half before the battle even starts."
Silence, then Sylvie grinned. "See? Mira gets it."
Mira flushed, hiding behind her book. I shouldn't get involved. But… maybe it's not so bad to speak up sometimes.
—————
The bustling streets of the Fasl capital glittered with lanterns and merchant stalls. Aki tugged Selene through the crowd, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Come on! You've got to try this—spiced honey bread. It's amazing!" Aki said, buying two pieces from a smiling vendor. She handed one to Selene, who stared at it suspiciously.
"It's sticky," Selene muttered.
Aki laughed. "That's the point." She took a huge bite, honey dripping down her chin.
Selene hesitated, then took a delicate nibble.
Her eyes widened.
"…It's sweet."
"See?" Aki beamed.
For the first time since entering the mortal realm, Selene allowed herself a small smile.
The warmth of the crowd, the scent of roasted meat, the glow of torches—it was all foreign, but with Aki pulling her along, it didn't feel unbearable.
—————
In a quieter courtyard, Luce Seinaru, the 2nd prince of Fasl, sparred with Kaelen Veyr, the disciplined stealth user. Their blades clashed, sparks flying.
"You've gotten sloppy, Luce," Kaelen said, twisting his blade free.
Luce grinned, sweat dripping from his golden hair. "Or maybe you've just gotten better."
They paused, catching their breath. Kaelen lowered his weapon slightly.
"…You're hiding something, Luce. Why's a prince playing student here?"
Luce's smirk didn't falter. "Maybe I'm bored. Or maybe I'm looking for something worth fighting for."
Kaelen frowned but didn't press further.
Up above, Indra, having wandered across the duel on his way back from the market, watched briefly before leaving. So it is the same. Mr. Prince is still greedy as ever.
—————
That evening, a group of students crowded into a tavern near the academy gates.
Laughter and music filled the air as mugs clinked together.
Tessa Klyne sat gracefully at the center, her honeyed words keeping everyone leaning in closer. She spoke of strategies, of what they'd do in the dungeon, subtly shaping the flow of conversation in her favor.
At the far end of the table, Naaji and Darius were in the middle of an eating contest, slamming down plates of roasted boar while the others roared with laughter.
Selene sat with Aki, watching silently, until Aki nudged her. "See? They're not all bad. Sometimes, it's just… fun."
Selene looked at her, then at the rowdy group, her gaze softening just slightly.
"…Maybe."