# Chapter 3: The Grave of Geniuses
The housing assignment letter was heavy, sealed with the wax crest of the Academy. I didn't need to open it to know what it said.
In *Aethelgard Online*, the dormitory system was strictly meritocratic. S-Rank students got villas. A-Rank got luxury suites. The lower you went, the further you were pushed to the edge of the campus.
I was Valerius Thorne, a Duke's son. By blood, I should be in the Royal Wing.
But today, I was the "Void Anomaly" with a fractured E-Rank core. The Academy didn't know what to do with me, so they did what institutions always do with problems: they hid me.
I walked past the gleaming marble towers of the Alpha Dorms, dragging my heavy leather trunk behind me. My body was already screaming in protest; Valerius's muscles were atrophied, pathetic things.
"This is it?" I muttered, stopping in front of a dilapidated stone building at the edge of the Weeping Woods.
It looked more like a mausoleum than a dormitory. Vines strangled the masonry, and the windows were dark, staring out like hollow skull eyes. This was the Omega Dorm. The place where the Academy hid its embarrassments—scholarship students who lost their funding, fallen nobles, and the cursed.
I pushed the heavy oak door open. It groaned, a sound that echoed through the empty hallway. Dust motes danced in the sliver of sunlight I let in.
My room was 104. First floor. At least I didn't have to climb stairs.
I unlocked the door and stepped inside. The air was stale, smelling of old parchment and mildew. A single iron cot, a scratched desk, and a wardrobe that looked like it contained Narnia's reject pile.
"Perfect," I whispered, a genuine smile touching my lips for the first time.
Most people would be insulted. Valerius would have burned the building down in a tantrum. But me? I saw privacy.
The Omega Dorm was abandoned. No prefects. No patrols. No prying eyes to see me gasp for breath after walking a hundred meters.
I sat on the hard mattress, opening the System interface.
[Status]
Name: Valerius Thorne
Mana Core: E-Rank (Fractured - 88% Damage)
Current HP: 45/100
Fatigue: 82% (High)
"I'm a glass cannon without the cannon," I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Just glass."
I couldn't train. If I tried to run a lap or lift weights, this body would collapse. If I tried to channel mana, the fractured core would leak energy into my nerves, causing excruciating pain.
I needed a fix. Fast.
I closed my eyes, accessing my memory of the game map. Aethelgard Academy was massive, filled with hidden dungeons and secrets. Most were level-locked. But there was one secret—a developer easter egg—hidden in the First Year area.
It was an item meant for the Hero, Caelum. In the original story, Caelum would get lost tonight, stumble into the old greenhouse, and eat a glowing fruit out of hunger. That fruit would purify his mana channels.
"Sorry, Caelum," I said, standing up and grabbing my cloak. "You have S-Rank talent. You don't need handouts. I do."
***
Night fell quickly over the Academy. The three moons of Aethelgard—Crimson, Pale, and Void—hung low in the sky.
I slipped out of the window. The campus was quiet, save for the distant howl of a mana-beast in the school's menagerie.
I stuck to the shadows, moving through the Weeping Woods. My breathing was ragged. Every twig snap sounded like a gunshot.
[Passive Skill: The Masquerade is active.]
[Stealth checks applied against environment: Success.]
The skill kept my heart rate artificially steady, preventing panic. Without it, I would have turned back ten minutes ago.
I found it. The Old Greenhouse.
It was a skeleton of glass and iron, overtaken by nature. The glass panes were foggy with age. I found the side entrance—a rusted latch hidden under a thorny bush.
I slipped inside.
The air here was different. Thick. Sweet. It tasted like ozone and honey.
I navigated through the overgrown aisles of magical flora. Screaming Mandrakes (currently sleeping), Whispering Ferns, Ember-Lilies. I ignored them all.
I reached the center of the greenhouse.
There, in the middle of a dried-up fountain, grew a single, small tree. It was twisted and black, but hanging from its lowest branch was a single fruit. It looked like a pomegranate, but the skin was translucent, glowing with a faint, rhythmic blue light.
[Item Identified: The Star-Vein Fruit]
[Grade: Epic]
[Effect: Repairs damaged mana foundations. Cleanses impurities. Warning: Consumption causes extreme pain.]
"Jackpot," I whispered.
I reached out. My fingers brushed the cold skin of the fruit.
Snap.
The sound of a dry branch breaking behind me.
I froze.
I wasn't alone.
"I didn't think anyone else knew about this place."
The voice was lazy, amused, and distinctly male.
I turned slowly, my face settling into the 'Bored Aristocrat' mask.
Leaning against a pillar, tossing a dagger into the air and catching it, was a boy with unruly red hair and eyes like molten gold. He wore the uniform loosely, his tie undone.
I recognized him instantly.
Dante Vael. The Second Prince of the Fire Kingdom. The "Rogue" archetype. And the guy who usually ended up as the Hero's best friend.
"You're the Thorne boy," Dante said, tilting his head. "The one who broke the crystal today. What's a high-noble doing in a dirty greenhouse in the middle of the night?"
He looked at the fruit in my hand. Then he looked at me. His eyes narrowed.
"That looks valuable," he noted.
I had two choices.
1. Lie.
2. Threaten.
I chose option 3: Confuse.
I plucked the fruit calmly, ignoring the trembling of my hand.
"Value is subjective, Your Highness," I said, my voice smooth. "To a Prince, this is a snack. To a starving man, it is life. To me? It is simply... dessert."
Dante laughed. It was a sharp, barking sound. "You have guts, Thorne. Or you're stupid. Do you know who I am?"
"Dante Vael. Second in line to the Sun Throne. Preference for dual daggers. Dislikes formal etiquette. Allergic to shellfish."
Dante stopped tossing the dagger. The amusement vanished from his face, replaced by a sharp, lethal focus. "You know a lot about me. Stalker?"
"Observer," I corrected. I took a bite of the fruit.
It tasted like burning ice.
Pain exploded in my chest. It felt like someone had poured molten lead down my throat. My vision swam. The Masquerade System screamed a warning.
[Critical Warning: Biological Restructuring Initiated.]
[Pain Level: 9/10.]
[Maintain Persona? Y/N]
I gritted my teeth, forcing my body to remain upright. I swallowed the bite. I didn't scream. I didn't fall.
I looked Dante in the eye, even as my insides felt like they were liquefying.
"It's a little tart," I said casually, wiping a drop of glowing blue juice from my lip.
Dante stared at me. He could sense the mana fluctuation. He knew I should be on the floor screaming. But I was standing there, eating a magical volatile fruit like it was an apple.
"You're a freak, Thorne," Dante muttered, sheathing his dagger. But the hostility was gone, replaced by a grudging respect. "Keep the fruit. If you survive the night, maybe you won't be boring."
He turned and vanished into the shadows, his footsteps silent.
I waited five seconds.
Then I collapsed.
I hit the dirt floor, clutching my chest, gasping for air as blue veins bulged against my skin. The fruit fell from my hand.
[System Notification]
[Consumable Absorbed.]
[Repairing Mana Core... 10%... 20%...]
[Trait Acquired: Pain Resistance (Low)]
I curled into a ball on the floor of the greenhouse, letting the darkness take me. I had secured my future.
But tomorrow... tomorrow I would have to deal with a Prince who knew my secret.