Seven years had passed since the legendary formation of "The Phantom's Secret Base – Keep Out (Unless You're Cool)." In that time, Ash Autumn had grown taller, wiser, and at least 7% more dramatic. But now, on the morning of his fourteenth birthday, destiny came knocking… in the form of a very official letter.
The Autumn household was abuzz.
"The Royal Academy letter is here!" shouted the butler, dramatically waving a parchment sealed with the royal crest.
Lady Autumn dabbed her eyes. "My little boy... off to the Academy!"
Ash stared at the letter, pretending to be shocked even though he'd marked the calendar six months ago.
Ariana, now twelve and more suspicious than ever, crossed her arms. "You're going to cause trouble, aren't you?"
Ash patted her head gently. "Me? Never. I'm just a humble background character now."
In the grand Kingdom of Eldora stood the prestigious Royal Academy—an enormous institution of education, magic, swordsmanship, and the fine art of looking important while doing absolutely nothing. Every noble child, upon reaching the age of 14, was required to attend. It was supposed to be the place where the kingdom's finest minds and strongest bodies gathered to shape the future.
Ash Autumn, a baron's son from the humble House Autumn, had precisely zero plans of shaping anything.
"Alright, alright... be average, stay invisible, don't get noticed," Ash whispered to himself as he stepped through the academy's majestic front gates. His uniform was neat but plain, his hair unstyled, and he made sure to keep his expression in the neutral zone—somewhere between confused and half-asleep.
The academy courtyard was bustling with students from all over the kingdom, each trying to look cooler or more impressive than the next. One kid literally had glittering shoulder pads. Another had a hawk perched on his arm.
Ash sneezed. The hawk flinched.
He quickly made his way to his assigned classroom and took a seat near the back—not all the way back, because that screamed 'edgy loner protagonist,' but just enough to be... adequately forgettable. He sat down, sighed, and stared blankly at the wooden desk in front of him.
And that's when his "destiny" walked in.
First came Marlon.
A tall, lanky kid with a tragic case of "I-read-one-book-on-politics-and-now-I-think-I'm-a-genius." He had sharp eyebrows, a dramatic scarf that he didn't take off even indoors, and a way of walking like he was on trial.
He plopped into the seat next to Ash with all the elegance of a falling wardrobe.
"So... you're Ash, right?"
Ash glanced sideways. "Yeah?"
Marlon leaned in, whispering like they were about to plot a coup. "I know your type. You're a noble, but like, the forgotten kind. Me too. House Barkley. We were once dukes, you know. Then my great-great-grandfather accidentally declared war on a chicken farm."
Ash blinked. "That... sounds unfortunate."
"It was strategic incompetence," Marlon said proudly. "So what do you say? We stick together. Support each other. I have connections. My cousin once shook hands with a count."
Ash nodded slowly. "Sure, why not."
And thus, friend number one appeared.
---
Then came Tessa.
Short, hyper, and wielding energy like a gremlin on sugar, Tessa was the kind of person who didn't walk—she launched herself into conversations.
"Hi! You must be Ash! I'm Tessa! Do you like frogs? I don't, but I once had a dream where I was a frog, so I think it means something."
Ash opened his mouth. Then closed it. Then opened it again. "...Hi?"
She slammed her books on the desk next to his and grinned. "I picked this seat because you look very unimportant. No offense! That's a good thing. I like being around people who don't accidentally explode buildings."
"I try not to," Ash said politely.
"Perfect! We're gonna be such good friends. Hey, wanna help me with a spell later? I keep turning my practice targets into spaghetti. Not sure if it's a bug or a feature."
Ash blinked again. "Uh..."
"Great! That means yes!"
Friend number two: acquired.
---
Last but not least came Victor.
Victor was... complicated. He dressed like a poet, talked like a philosopher, and smelled faintly of herbs and regret. He sat down with a long sigh, the kind that people do when they want you to ask what's wrong.
Ash didn't ask.
Victor leaned over anyway. "You ever feel like the world isn't real? Like maybe we're just characters in a story someone is writing?"
Ash stared. "...No?"
Victor nodded sagely. "Good. That means you're awake. I knew it the moment I saw you. You look like the kind of guy who's seen things."
"I saw a hawk earlier," Ash said.
"Exactly," Victor whispered.
Friend number three, somehow: acquired.
---
Together, they were the perfectly forgettable misfit crew. None of them stood out. They were background noise in a sea of try-hards. Ash was proud.
Well, almost proud. Because no matter how hard he tried to act average, things kept... going weird.
Like the time Marlon tried to impress a noble girl by dramatically throwing his scarf, only for it to hit the professor in the face.
Or when Tessa tried to demonstrate a sleep spell and ended up knocking out half the class—including herself.
Or when Victor declared a hunger strike to protest the cafeteria food, only to break it an hour later because they were serving apple pie.
But worst of all?
They all thought Ash was just like them.
"We're the invisible ones," Marlon said during lunch one day, his tray full of carrots he didn't want but claimed were good for the soul. "The overlooked. The average. The future of mediocrity."
"Cheers to that!" Tessa said, spilling juice on her shirt.
Victor nodded with deep seriousness. "Let them chase glory. We will chase... serenity."
Ash smiled awkwardly, sipping his water. "Yep. Just a regular guy. That's me."
No one noticed that his aura control was flawless. Or that he could memorize entire textbooks in minutes. Or that his mana signature was so balanced, even the magical detection crystals in the hallways thought he didn't exist.
Perfect.
Until one day, during physical combat training, their instructor barked out, "Form pairs! Random!"
Ash got paired with a tall, muscular student named Bron.
Bron laughed. "Oh, I got the quiet one. This should be easy."
Ash sighed. "I'll go easy."
Bron charged.
Ash stepped aside.
Bron tripped on air and faceplanted into the dirt.
"...Did you see that? He didn't even touch him!" someone yelled.
Ash scratched his head. "Lucky, I guess."
Victor nodded from the sidelines. "Truly, the art of evasion. I must study his methods."
Marlon clapped. "A man of mystery!"
Tessa was drawing frogs in the dirt. "He's the Chosen One of Frogs, I'm telling you."
Ash groaned.
---
By the end of the first week, Ash had done everything he could to remain a nobody.
And somehow, everyone in his friend group now believed he was a nobody with potential. Which was worse.
"Let's start a club," Marlon suggested. "The Society of Remarkably Unremarkable Students."
"We can meet in the library and nap," Tessa added.
Victor nodded gravely. "And ponder our insignificance."
Ash raised his hand. "Can I just... skip the meetings?"
"You're our vice-president," Marlon said.
"I didn't agree to that."
"Too late! It's in the bylaws."
Ash sighed again. Maybe, just maybe, being average... was the hardest role of all.
As the moonlight trickled through the window of the dormitory, Ash lay on his bed, arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling.
So this is the Royal Academy, huh… he thought, unimpressed. Average classmates, average food, average lectures… This really might be the most boring place in existence.
Just as he was about to drift into sleep, a faint tap came from the window.
He sat up, blinking. "Huh?"
Another tap. This time louder. He walked over, opened the window—and nearly fell backward as a small shadow darted inside and landed gracefully on his desk.
"Fay!?" Ash whisper-yelled.
The elf girl looked around the room cautiously, then placed a sealed letter on the desk.
"I intercepted this. It's from the Demon Cult," she whispered. "One of the instructors here... is connected to them."
Ash's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "It's encoded, but I recognized their symbol. Something's happening inside this academy."
Ash stared at the letter for a long moment.
Then he smiled—a rare, dangerous smile.
And here I thought this place would be boring...
He stood up slowly, cracking his neck as the moonlight glinted in his eyes.
Time for the Phantom to wake up.
---