Deep within the forest, a group of three trudged along a narrow dirt path, dry leaves crunching underfoot. The adrenaline from their earlier clash had worn off, replaced by a mix of frustration and disbelief.
Varek Drenor swung one arm lazily as he walked, the cracked gauntlet on his hand proof of how rough things had gone.
"I still can’t believe we lost," he muttered.
Nora, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed, scoffed. "They just got lucky. That’s all. We underestimated them."
Trailing just behind, Tirien Vale pushed up his glasses and exhaled.
"Or maybe their team synergy and ability distribution were simply superior. The way that Cordelia used elental layering in combination with spatial positioning was actually kind of genius. If this were a strategy sim, they’d be running a triple-core front comp with adaptive scaling..."
Both Nora and Varek turned to stare at him.
"What?" Tirien blinked."I’m just saying, it’s basically optimal."
Varek groaned. "Bro, this is real life. Not one of your gas."
Just as Nora opened her mouth to say sothing else—
"You’re not wrong though," a calm voice said casually, as if part of the group all along.
The three froze mid-step.
They turned.
Noah was there.
Just standing among them, hands in his pockets, looking relaxed. As if he’d always been walking with them.
"Hi," he said, tilting his head with a small grin. "How’s it going?"
The mont the shock wore off, Varek lunged.
Too slow.
Tirien reached for a his golem.
Too late.
Nora vanished into shadows—
—but Noah had already predicted it.
In the span of a few seconds, the three were disard, disoriented, and firmly planted on the ground. Nora sat with her arms pinned behind her by a tendril of shadow Noah had redirected. Varek slumped with both gauntlets tossed aside, and Tirien’s glasses were askew as he blinked rapidly in confusion.
"W-What the hell just happened...?" Varek muttered.
"We lost," Tirien offered helpfully, blinking.
Noah exhaled through his nose, unbothered, and crouched near them like they were classmates having a casual picnic.
"That was refreshing."
He leaned his katana against his shoulder and sat down on a nearby rock, waiting.
A few minutes later, Alie and Cordelia erged through the trees, weapons still ready—only to stop cold at the sight before them.
Three opponents neutralized. Noah, calmly sitting in the middle.
"What happened here?" Cordelia asked.
Noah shrugged. "Nothing. We were just having a chat."
He stood up, walked over, and without any resistance, removed ten bracelets from each of the three seated students.
As he turned away, Nora looked up, scowling."Why didn’t you take all of them?""With what I’ve got left, I can still place in the top three."
Noah blinked. "Oh wow, lucky you."He reached back into his pocket, casually tossed her one more bracelet."Here, just in case soone tries to steal your spot."
Nora was speechless.
Cordelia raised an eyebrow. Alie looked half amused, half confused.
"You didn’t have to do that," Alie said.
Noah just smiled.
"Sure I did."
With the bracelets now in hand, Noah walked over to the two girls, hands full like a vendor at a market.
He extended ten toward Cordelia, who took them without hesitation, still eyeing him with that unreadable expression.
Then he turned to Alie, offering her twenty.
She blinked. "Wait, what? Twenty? Why are you giving this many?"
Noah grinned and held up a hand, cutting off her protest."Let’s just say I think you’ll put them to better use."
"That doesn’t make sense," Alie said. "You’re the one who did everything. Shouldn’t you keep them? You could probably end up first."
"I’m not aiming that high," he replied, sliding the remaining bracelets into her hands.
Alie frowned slightly, confused."Still... it feels like I’m stealing credit."
Noah tilted his head."Think of it as an investnt."
Cordelia, silent until now, finally spoke.
"Investnt?" she asked.
"Sure," Noah said, hands in his pockets again. "I an, we’re all classmates, right? Gotta help each other climb."
’Except I’m not planning to stay at the top,’ he added silently.
Cordelia narrowed her eyes slightly, analyzing him again.She didn’t respond, but her gaze lingered longer than before.
Just as the dust settled and the three of them began walking back through the clearing, a magical voice echoed from above—calm, authoritative, and unmistakable.
"The trial is now over. Please report to the teleportation point for results."
The entire forest shimred faintly as runic patterns activated beneath everyone’s feet. A flash of blue light enveloped them—and in the blink of an eye, the battleground vanished.
They reappeared back at the entrance plaza, where Professor Trinity and Professor Darius awaited beside a large floating screen.
One by one, nas and scores began appearing on the translucent display:
Alie Valenhart – 22 bracelets
Cordelia Ross – 18 bracelets
Nora Varn – 13 bracelets
Noah – 12 bracelets
Varek Drenor – 10 bracelets
Tirien Vale – 10 bracelets7–10. (Other nas from Classes 1–3 followed with single-digit totals.)
So students stared in disbelief. Others simply hung their heads.
Roughly six people had monopolized most of the bracelets, leaving the rest of the 120 participants with scraps. Whispers filled the air. A few students from lower classes glared at the top scorers with a mix of envy and resentnt.
Noah stood with his arms crossed, eyes flicking across the results.Alie was quiet, visibly stunned by her own placent.Cordelia said nothing, her gaze scanning the board, then flicking briefly toward Noah.
Then ca Trinity’s voice again—this ti in person.
"Top ten students, please follow to the administrative tower. Your rewards await."
The top ten students followed Professor Trinity through the arched corridors of the academy’s main building. The stone walls, though elegant, were unadorned by magic—clean and efficient, with only the golden crest of the academy lining the occasional banner.
They reached a tall, circular door marked with a single rune: "rit."
Trinity opened it with a wave of her hand, and the group stepped into a high-ceilinged room lined with glass display cases. Inside rested weapons, scrolls, crystals, and other strange objects—all glimring with muted power.
Waiting at the center of the room was the academy’s headmaster.
Adler Vos Vogelsong.
Smiling as always.
"Welco, welco!" he said, voice warm and theatrical. "Ah, the champions of today’s little skirmish. You’ve all earned your keep—and a token of it."
He motioned to six pedestals, each with a velvet cushion and an item resting on top.
One by one, the students were called up.
Alie received a mana-conductive ring that amplified fire spells by 15%.
Cordelia was handed a mana stabilizer, allowing better multi-elent control.
Nora took a wind-slicing dagger, prized for its precision and agility.
Varek received enchanted gauntlets that absorbed impact force.
Tirien was given a crystal seed, usable to evolve his golem permanently.
Finally, it was Noah’s turn.
Adler stepped forward, holding a curious object: a small, tallic compass with a dark blue gemstone in its center. The needle inside spun slowly.
"This," Adler said with an approving nod, "is called Veilpiercer. It doesn’t point north. It points toward what your heart desires most—item, person, place... whatever it is, this compass will know."
Noah raised an eyebrow as he took it.
"What if what I desire changes?"
Adler chuckled. "Then the compass will change with you."
’I already knew, just need to keep appereances.’
The rewards had been distributed. The students were dismissed.
Noah tucked the Veilpiercer into his coat pocket, its quiet pull already intriguing him. He had just stepped out of the administrative tower when a voice called out behind him.
"Noah."
He turned.
Cordelia Ross stood a few steps away, her eyes locked onto his with rare intensity.
Before he could speak, she closed the distance between them, reached out—and grabbed his hand.
Her grip was firm. Unshaking.
"We need to talk."
Noah tilted his head, bemused."About what?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper, her eyes narrowing.
"Who are you?"
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