Every step I took, the sound of the floorboards creaking slightly echoed through the library.
As I searched for a specific section, a man emerged from the shadows of a tall bookshelf.
He wore elegant robes and a pair of reading glasses that gave him a cultured and reassuring appearance.
He had a gentle smile that seemed to warm the icy air of the room.
"Welcome to the Academy Library, young student." He said with a soft and melodious voice.
"I am the manager of this sector."
"My name is Silas."
"I noticed you are moving with a precise purpose among these books."
"Can I help you find something specific?" His tone was accommodating.
He introduced himself with impeccable courtesy, giving me a slight bow.
I looked at him for a moment, noticing how much his figure radiated kindness and availability.
"I'm looking for some books on magic and magical runes for beginners." I replied, maintaining a neutral tone.
"Certainly, follow me." Silas said with a fluid wave of his hand, leading the way through the shelves.
Shortly after, I sat at one of the large tables made of precious wood with the volumes in front of me.
From a distance, I saw Silas stop to talk to another student who had just entered.
He helped them with the same patience and the same warm smile he had reserved for me.
"It is truly disgusting to see how such a creature can pretend to be so kind and human... I wonder how much blood this demon has on his hands." I thought, feeling a deep contempt as I opened the first book.
Silas was nothing more than a demon.
He had been sent by the world of demons to eliminate all the talented students residing in the Academy.
He had lived there for more than two years without taking any action against the students, but just as the protagonists and their future companions entered the Academy, Silas began his plan.
Initially, he would approach the protagonists and then stab them in the back.
This arc in the novel was very important.
Why?
Because Amis's stepsister would be killed in this very arc by Silas.
After this event, Amis shuts himself away for a long time with the guilt of not being able to save his family; only a few weeks later, thanks to his friends, does he manage to improve.
But the wound never completely disappears from Amis's heart.
In fact, this is the very moment when the protagonist, once considered omnipotent, begins to understand that his strength is not enough.
But now that I was here, the future would change.
I closed the last volume on runes with a sense of heaviness in my eyes.
The hours had passed in the absolute silence of the library, interrupted only by the rustling of pages.
Silas was still busy recommending texts to a group of freshmen, showing himself as the perfect mentor.
I looked away, feeling a pang of annoyance in my stomach.
I left the lecture tower as the sky above the Academy began to turn a deep purple.
Despite the mental fatigue, my body felt the need to move.
I headed toward the private training room located in the basement of the west pavilion.
Entering the room, I was greeted by the scent of metal and the residual magical energy that saturated the air.
Unlike two days ago, the first-year training rooms were starting to fill with students.
The sounds of weights hitting the floor and the smell of sweat were everywhere.
I headed into a private room reserved for personal training in magic and combat techniques.
The walls were reinforced with high-level containment spells designed to withstand the most violent impacts.
I positioned myself in the center of the platform, feeling the cold of the floor through the soles of my boots.
"I must improve further." I thought as I activated my internal mana circuit.
"Silas is only the first of the shadows that will try to destroy this place."
I knew that my current strength would not be enough to stop a high-ranking demon if he decided to get serious.
Knowledge of the future was my greatest weapon, but my body had to be able to execute every command to perfection.
At this moment, I was still weak.
I began with a series of fluid movements, striking the air with millimetric precision.
Every punch and every sprint was guided by the awareness that a single mistake would mean someone's death.
"I won't let it happen." I thought with determination.
"I will change this narrative arc at any cost."
Sweat began to soak my forehead as the intensity of the training increased drastically.
I left the training room almost at midnight, feeling my muscles burn from the effort.
The corridors of the Academy were deserted and shrouded in the reassuring silence of the night.
The magic lights on the walls glowed a soft blue, guiding my steps toward the north wing.
I took my smartphone and wrote a quick message on the group created with Levi and Iris.
[Rain: I will return to the villa this weekend. I hope everything is going well.]
I knew that with the gold coins and supplies left behind, they could live peacefully for a few months.
But the sense of responsibility never left me.
I arrived at my lodging without meeting anyone and allowed myself a quick shower before collapsing into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, I got up as the first rays of sun cut through the darkness of my room.
The day's lessons followed in a fog of theoretical concepts.
As soon as the last hour ended, I felt the need to return to the solemn silence of the tower library.
As I walked among the imposing shelves, I looked for a quiet corner to continue my studies on runes.
It was then that I saw her.
She was sitting near a monumental stained-glass window.
Her long blonde hair seemed made of gold threads and reflected the afternoon sunlight with an almost blinding brilliance.
When she slightly lifted her face, I could see her mint-green eyes, clear and vibrant like gems just extracted from the earth.
Her skin had the supernatural glow of white jade and appeared free of even the smallest imperfection.
She wore the school uniform with an innate elegance that did justice to her graceful figure, which not even the fabric could hide.
Next to her was Silas.
The library manager was talking to her with his usual caring smile and the calm gestures of a reliable mentor.
It looked like a scene out of a book, but I could see the reality hiding under that performance.
The lamb was listening to the wolf's advice without suspecting that those same gentle manners would soon lead to her end.
I knew she was one of the few people capable of warming Amis's heart and that her death would be the breaking point of the original protagonist.
I looked at her for several seconds while Silas handed her an old volume with impeccable courtesy.
I showed no reaction, and my face remained a mask of absolute indifference.
I felt no anger or urgency to intervene because I knew that acting now would be tactical suicide.
"Keep smiling, Silas." I thought as I turned my back on the scene to disappear among the corridors of paper and ink.
The following days passed quickly between consistent study and repetitive training.
Tuesday and Wednesday passed between boring history lessons and night hours spent pushing my body beyond every physical limit.
On Thursday, tiredness began to set in, but the determination to change the future acted as an untiring engine.
Every night before sleeping, I stared at the smartphone screen, reading Iris's short messages informing me of the tranquility in the villa.
Finally, the light of Friday evening began to fall on the towers of the Exas Academy.
As I closed my bag with my few personal belongings, I felt a strange excitement growing in my chest.
I was ready to leave that place of intrigue and secrets to return to the ivy sanctuary I had built for them.
I exited the main gates of the Academy, feeling a strong sense of relief.
The air of the institution had become heavily saturated with toxic competition and the hypocritical gaze of people like Silas.
Every hour spent within those walls was a test of mental endurance that drained me more than any physical training.
I called a taxi with a quick gesture and headed toward the commercial district of Artoria.
The city was in full swing, with magic signs starting to glow in the twilight and the crowd filling the sidewalks.
I entered a high-tech shop and immediately aimed for the latest generation laptop department.
I chose a high-performance model with an integrated mana processor capable of handling complex encryptions without slowing down.
While the clerk prepared the box, my eyes fell on a display of toys and plush decor in a nearby shop.
I thought of Miri and how her twelve years had been crushed by the terror of the auction and imprisonment.
I bought a large, soft teddy bear for Miri, hoping it would help her sleep better.
As the taxi drove away from the dazzling lights of the center to enter the wooded paths toward the villa, I felt the tension leave my shoulders.
At the Academy, I was Rain Glaciel, the outcast or the suspicious prodigy who had to watch his back from demons and traders.
I am constantly under scrutiny, forced to calculate every word and every movement.
The stress of that mask was a subtle poison that made me irritable and gloomy.
But as the ivy of the villa appeared among the trees, that poison seemed to evaporate in the fresh forest air.
The taxi stopped in front of the wrought iron gate, and I got out, breathing deeply the scent of pine and wet earth.
There were no armed guards or fake smiles waiting for me here.
There was only the protective silence of the stone walls I had chosen personally.
As I walked up the driveway, the main door swung open with a sharp thud.
I saw Miri's small figure running toward me with a vitality that warmed my heart instantly.
"Rain, you're back!!" She shouted, throwing herself at me with a big hug.
I felt Iris and Levi appear on the threshold with expressions of pure relief painted on their faces.
In that moment, I realized how deep the contrast between the two worlds was.
The Academy was a golden prison made of ambition and imminent death.
This villa was the only place where I could finally stop being a character in a novel and start being simply myself.
I put the gifts on the ground and returned Miri's hug, feeling for the first time in a week that I could finally lower my guard.