The rhythmic ticking of a mana clock echoed faintly through Instructor Marlen Dros' office. Normally, that sound anchored him — precise and steady, like the heartbeat of order itself. But today, it only amplified the tension crawling beneath his skin.
Papers lay scattered across his desk — dungeon logs, mana fluctuation charts, hastily scribbled analyses. He'd been awake since dawn, piecing together fragments from the night's readings. And now, as the first rays of morning light spilled through his window, the puzzle had formed an unmistakable picture.
His eyes locked on the final page.
Dungeon Access Log — 7th Division, Floor 4
Lilith Veyra (Year 502, third day of the fifth month, 1:17 pm)
Asher Ernstein(Year 502, third day of the fifth month, 1:17 pm)
Marlen's brow furrowed.
"Hmmm..?".
He knew that the first name was a noble and the second was not. A thought came to his mind.
"Why would a noble and a commoner walk into a dungeon at the same time?"
he asked himself. "Hold on...." he looked again. ".....this was a Saturday! How did they get into the dungeon on a Saturday?" he asked himself, puzzled.
He ran a finger along the page. "Unless..... one of them had a Hi'orei token."
The thought resounded in his mind. He turned toward the communication orb embedded in the wall, its runes glowing faintly blue. One simple command would summon both students for interrogation. He could have them here within the hour.
He reached for it—
"CLACK..!!"
His hand froze as the door opened.
"Sir Marlen."
The voice that spoke was calm, firm, and unmistakably self-assured.
Lauren Hi'orei, Student Union President, stood framed by the morning light. She wore the normal navy and silver uniform that the other Hi'orei wore(This was unlike the normal student attire which was just navy blue), the insignia of her clan gleaming faintly at her collar — a stylized "H" encircled by radiant sigils. The epaulettes on her shoulders carried two silver swords with a star under it. This was the insignia of an S-rank hunter.
"President Hi'orei?" Marlen straightened. "What brings you here this early?"
Lauren stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "I come on behalf of a.....… higher authority."
Something in her tone made Marlen tense. "What kind of authority?"
Without another word, she reached into her jacket and withdrew a small, black envelope — its surface waxed and sealed with a gleaming silver emblem.
An "H", engraved within a circle of luminous runes.
Marlen's breath caught. "That's—"
"Yes." Lauren's voice was quiet, but the weight of that single word silenced him. "The Hi'orei seal."
He blinked, disbelief breaking through his exhaustion. "Impossible. The clan head hasn't sent correspondence to the Academy in over a decade."
"This one," Lauren said, placing the envelope on his desk, "arrived through direct transmission. I verified its authenticity myself."
He stared at the seal, his mind racing. The Hi'orei clan was more than noble — they were above nobility. The king himself required a formal writ to question them. Their patriarch's decisions were final law in the kingdom of Valirin.
Marlen's voice came out tight. "What does the message say?"
Lauren met his gaze. "All inquiries into the fourth-floor disturbance are to cease immediately. The Academy is to take no action concerning the anomaly. Surveillance is to continue quietly, but no students or instructors are to interfere."
Marlen felt the blood drain from his face. "Does the clan head realize what he's asking? There were abyssal traces detected in that reading!"
Lauren's eyes flickered, just briefly, with unease. "I don't know the reasoning behind it. But the message was sealed with the personal sigil of the clan head. You know what that means."
He did.
It meant there was no higher power left to appeal to.
Marlen slumped back into his chair. "By the gods…" His tone turned bitter. "We're playing with forces even the Council used to fear, and he wants us to look away?"
Lauren's voice softened. "The message also said: 'What sleeps must not be stirred again.'"
Silence pressed down between them.
Marlen stared at the seal one more time. The faint silver lines almost seemed to shift — not just engraved, but alive, reacting faintly to his mana. The sight sent a chill crawling up his spine.
"I understand," he said at last. "The investigation will be terminated."
Lauren nodded once, relief and unease mingling in her expression. "Thank you. That will be all."
She turned to leave then suddenly paused at the door. "Sir Marlen, between us—do you believe the Hi'orei Patriarch truly sent this himself?"
Marlen didn't answer immediately. His eyes flicked to the seal again, the faint hum of mana echoing within the wax. He couldn't explain why, but something about it felt wrong.
"…Yes," he said finally, his voice flat. "It has to be."
When the door closed, he sat motionless for a long time, the envelope untouched before him. The shadows in the corners of his office seemed to stir — and for an instant, the seal's reflection on the polished desk winked with a flicker of purple light.
The training fields shimmered beneath the late morning sun, filled with the low thrum of mana barriers and the soft clang of sparring weapons.
Asher stood in the center of one ring, his jacket undone at the collar, his hair slightly tousled from the warm wind. Across from him, Kael lunged forward with twin daggers, his movements fast and calculated.
"Too predictable," Asher murmured.
He sidestepped, flicked his wrist, and Kael's blades were knocked aside before the boy even realized what happened.
"Ugh—how do you always do that?" Kael groaned, landing flat on his back.
From the shade nearby, Selene chuckled quietly, flipping through her notebook. "Because you keep swinging before you think. Asher reads your mana before you even move."
Kael sat up, rubbing his head. "That's cheating."
"It's awareness," Asher corrected, resting his practice blade on his shoulder. "If you think mana is only for spellcasting, you'll never win a real fight."
Ronan, leaning against a nearby pillar, smirked. "And this from the guy who doesn't even use his full power."
"Maybe that's what makes it worse," Iris added, twirling her staff idly. "He's humiliating us politely."
Asher didn't bother to look at her, his expression as plain as ever as he answered. "You make it sound like I enjoy it."
"Don't you?" she teased.
His eyes flicked to her briefly — without the faintest touch of emotion — then away again.
A soft hum of energy drew his attention. At the far end of the field, Lilith sat cross-legged beneath a lone tree, her staff planted in the ground beside her. Golden mana flowed gently around her body, rippling like quiet flame.
She was cultivating again — eyes closed, breathing even, her mana pulse synchronized perfectly with her core. She'd clearly been practicing what Asher taught her.
Iris followed his gaze and smirked. "You've been watching her a lot lately."
Asher didn't respond. His gaze lingered for a moment longer before he turned back to his group. "Break's over. Ronan, your turn."
*****
At about a week ago, Asher revealed his true power to the group(Although not his full power). Of course, they were amazed but they also chewed him out a little for hiding it. In the end, they did agree to keep his secret...
"I'll make you strong."
Those were the words he left them with that night. Ever since then they had all been listening keenly to his teaching. This was why Selene, the hot-headed tomboy was reading a book instead of thinking of ways to hurt Ronan.
He formally introduced Lilith to the gang and explained why she as a noble was with them.
"I mean..... as long as she's okay with it." was what they said.
*****
That afternoon, deep within the marble halls of the instructor's wing, the atmosphere was anything but calm.
Every instructor of the academy had been summoned to the upper conference chamber. The long, obsidian table reflected the uneasy faces of those seated around it.
At its head stood Headmaster Eiren Valen, his silver hair tied back, his robes lined with faint runic threads that shimmered like veins of light. This was the man that carried the academy on his back, shouldering the burden of keeping account of the academy's every move.
Before each instructor lay a single black envelope — the same type Lauren had carried earlier.
His sharp gaze sweeping at everyone present in the room.
"You've all received the same directive," Eiren began, his tone grave. His sharp gaze sweeping at everyone present in the room. "By order of the Hi'orei Clan Head, all investigations regarding the fourth-floor anomaly are to cease. Effective immediately."
The room erupted with whispers.
"This can't be real—"
"The clan head himself intervened?"
"What reason would he have to stop an investigation in our jurisdiction?"
Marlen was silent at first, his hands clenched before him. Finally, he spoke. "Headmaster, I verified the seal myself. It's genuine. But… something about it felt different. Almost like it carried a foreign resonance."
Eiren's gaze flicked toward him. "Different how?"
"The mana imprint," Marlen said quietly. "It wasn't purely Hi'orei. There was something else layered beneath — faint, but ancient."
That silenced the room.
After a long pause, one instructor asked cautiously, "Do we know if the clan head is currently in the capital? Or… is he here?"
No one answered. Even Eiren's expression tightened.
"We cannot assume his presence," the headmaster said finally. "But we can obey his word. For now, the dungeon will be placed under complete lockdown. No student or instructor enters until further notice. Access will require the Hi'orei seal."
"And if the source of the fluctuation returns?" Marlen asked.
Eiren looked toward the great window overlooking the academy grounds, where sunlight broke through clouds in thin, uneven beams. "Then the one who issued that command will deal with it."
His words carried an unease no one dared voice.
Far below, in the quiet of the outer training fields, Asher stood alone now. His friends had gone to lunch; Lilith had remained in meditation.
The wind brushed against his face, carrying faint echoes from the dungeon beneath the earth — a heartbeat buried under stone.
He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small golden token an "H" symbol etched into it with sigils surrounding it.
The same type of emblem that silenced the academy.
He turned it over in his palm, and for a brief moment, faint purple light pulsed beneath the seal — like something alive.
"That should keep them away for a while," the whisper in his head murmured at last.
Asher's mouth moved slightly. "Good."
He whispered something to the token, like he was talking with somebody. After that, he closed his hand, and the token vanished into black mist.
Across the courtyard, Lilith's eyes fluttered open. She felt it again — that faint chill in the air, like the world itself had just bowed to something unseen.
She looked toward Asher stood.
He was already gone.