The Faculty Lounge smelled faintly of incense and old leather, a mix of mage herbs and tradition Kai couldn't quite place. It wasn't the kind of place someone like him belonged. Not officially, anyway.
He stepped inside slowly, careful not to let his shoes scuff the polished blackwood floor. The ceiling arched like a cathedral, glass windows filtering soft golden light through spell-tinted panes. Books floated lazily between high shelves, flipping pages by themselves. Ornate scrolls hovered near the hearth, where a slow-burning blue flame curled in its enchanted basin.
And seated near the far end of the long chamber, nursing a ceramic mug in silence, was Instructor Liora.
She didn't look up right away. Her focus remained on the glowing projection in front of her — a paused video, grainy from magical static, showing a section of the trial maze. Kai knew that footage. He'd walked through it yesterday.
He swallowed and walked forward until he was exactly three steps from her desk.
Liora glanced up.
She was younger than most of the instructors he'd seen — early thirties maybe — but there was a sharpness in her gaze that made her seem older. Blonde hair tucked in a tight bun. Eyes the color of cut emeralds, too focused, too analytical. She was beautiful in a way that made people nervous to speak first.
"Sit."
Kai obeyed. The chair was too tall for comfort. Intentionally so.
"I reviewed the footage," she said without preamble. "Multiple times."
Of course she had.
He kept his face still, posture relaxed but not slouched. The perfect picture of someone who didn't care about impressing anyone. Just surviving.
She waved her hand, and the projection shifted — it showed a moment from the trial: a goblin lunging at empty air… then, in the next frame, collapsing with its head split open.
"Most of the footage is like this," she said. "You walk in. The goblin moves. And then it's dead."
Kai kept quiet.
Another wave, another scene. This time, five goblins converging from all sides.
"Here," she murmured. "This moment is the one that caught my attention."
She paused it.
"I was observing the trial through the general monitor feeds. At first, you blended in. You moved casually, ignored most combat, stuck to the edges. No confidence in your stance. No flash. You were barely even using your sword properly. Just enough."
She leaned forward, folding her hands.
"But this moment? Five goblins. No hesitation. No panic. And the next frame…" She snapped her fingers.
All five were on the ground. Blood pooling. Their heads in different directions. And Kai, already walking away.
"You know what this looks like, Mister Drenhaven?"
Kai met her eyes, voice calm. "A lucky moment?"
Her lips quirked, but not into a smile.
"A staged one."
Kai stayed quiet.
Liora studied him again. "Your results placed you in the lower middle ranks. Seventy-fourth, to be exact. Not failing, but just enough to pass."
He nodded. "I didn't want to get hurt. My swordsmanship isn't good."
"No," she agreed. "It's not. And yet somehow, you always dodged at exactly the right time. Never grazed. Never late. As if you knew where every threat would be."
He shrugged. "I memorized the trial layout."
She raised an eyebrow. "Did you?"
"I read the guidelines the academy provided. It had basic trap types listed. I just moved carefully."
"Mmh." She sat back, unsatisfied.
A moment of silence passed between them, thick and deliberate.
Kai didn't flinch. He'd rehearsed this kind of moment in his head a hundred times. People like Liora were dangerous, not because they were loud, but because they were quiet when they shouldn't be. She was calculating, not accusing. Not yet.
She flicked her fingers, dismissing the footage. "You'll remain in Dorm B. Class C. No promotion."
That much was expected.
"But I'll be monitoring you."
He blinked. That part wasn't.
"I'm allowed to audit any student from a different class if I suspect an anomaly. You'll attend my lectures once a week. No exceptions."
She stood. The meeting was over.
Kai stood too, gave a polite nod, and turned to leave. But just before the door closed behind him—
"Tell me something," she said without looking up. "What do you think about this academy?"
Kai paused. Then turned halfway, just enough for his voice to carry.
"I think most people come here to become something," he said. "I came here to stay forgotten."
He didn't wait for her reaction.
---
The halls outside were warmer, but the tension clung to his skin. Kai walked slowly, letting the sounds of other students pull him back into the rhythm of academy life. Laughter from the courtyard. Shoes scuffing against marble. Spell blasts echoing faintly from the dueling range.
Everything felt too normal.
Someone like Liora watching him meant things were going to get worse.
He'd made a mistake — probably during the five-goblin fight. He should've just avoided them like the rest. But at the time, he hadn't expected to be observed so precisely. The goblins were a threat. They'd surrounded him. Time had frozen, instincts kicked in, and he'd eliminated them.
It was too clean.
Too efficient.
His watch buzzed.
[New Schedule Updated — Class C Orientation: Combat Evaluation Begins Tomorrow at 9AM]
A second buzz followed.
[Note: Basic Equipment Room Unlocked — Choose Your Training Loadout Before Test]
Right. The next phase.
The orientation maze was just the start. Now came the true separation — training squads, class hierarchies, mentorship tracks. And while Kai had no intention of joining any elite groups, he had to keep up appearances.
He headed toward the equipment center.
The room was half-buried under the west wing of the campus. Students were already inside, some crowded around racks of swords, others testing magical gauntlets or inspecting potion belts.
A few glanced at Kai when he entered. None lingered. Just how he liked it.
He walked past the display cases until he found a simple steel longsword. No enchantments. No glow. Just durable, reliable metal.
It wasn't elegant, but it was something he could pretend to struggle with.
Next, he picked up a standard issue defense charm — a glass-like pendant meant to trigger a weak kinetic shield once per day. Just enough to avoid one deadly hit.
Lastly, a basic belt with three slots: one minor healing potion, one stamina draught, one empty.
Perfect. Average. Forgettable.
He registered the items at the counter and left without a word.
---
The next morning, the training grounds were packed.
Rows of Class C students stood in formation while instructors — some armored, others robed — walked the lines, jotting notes or issuing orders. The sky overhead shimmered with defensive spells, and a wide combat platform hovered slightly off the ground.
It was the first real combat evaluation.
Kai stood quietly near the back.
He recognized a few faces. Students who had killed more goblins in the maze. Those who looked confident, brimming with anticipation. Some whispered names already circulating among them — top performers, people aiming for promotion to Class B or A.
But Kai didn't care about them.
He watched the instructors more. Especially the ones from other classes.
Liora wasn't there. That was a relief.
The exam was simple: sparse combat duels. One-on-one. Points assigned based on technique, awareness, composure. Not victory.
Kai's name was called in the fourth round.
He stepped onto the platform.
His opponent was taller, broader — a confident young man with a heavy axe and layered armor that clanked with every step.
The instructor at the side raised a hand. "Begin!"
Kai took a step back immediately, sword held low.
The boy charged, axe swinging.
Kai's mind exploded with information. Trajectory, distance, timing. All of it screamed danger.
He stopped time.
The world turned still.
Leaves in the distance paused mid-rustle. Dust froze in the air. The instructor's voice hung like an echo from another life.
Kai sidestepped once, twice, then placed his sword at an awkward angle and unfroze time.
The axe crashed into metal and rebounded — but Kai was already rolling away. He tripped deliberately, scrambled to his feet like an amateur, and stumbled into another wide arc. The crowd laughed.
He grunted, parried weakly, and let his opponent knock him back across the platform.
The instructor raised a hand.
"Enough. Duel ends."
Kai breathed hard, wiping sweat from his brow.
He was awarded 2 points for awareness. 1 point for defense. 0 for offense.
Perfect.
---
Later that evening, as the sun dipped low behind the walls of the academy, Kai sat by the reflecting pool behind Dorm B. It was one of the few quiet places left. Most students preferred the cafeterias or gyms, but Kai liked the stillness of water.
He stared into the reflection of the moon and thought about the duel.
Not the fight itself, but the reactions. The way students had laughed. The instructor's look of dismissal. Even the guy with the axe had smirked and offered no handshake.
All of it worked in his favor.
But beneath it all, Kai felt the familiar tension rising. This world — this novel he'd once read — was starting to diverge from its original story.
He wasn't supposed to be here.
And the people who were supposed to be here… some of them were starting to notice him.
Some were watching.
Too closely.