Liam stepped out of the changing room, letting the door swing shut behind him with a soft click.
The hallway was quiet now, the echoes of whatever chaos had been going on downstairs finally fading.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and started walking toward the stairs that led up to the academy roof.
His legs still felt a little shaky from the drills, but he kept going. Up there, at least, he could catch a break.
No crowds, no forced team stuff, just him and so fresh air.
Finally, so ti alone. He needed it more than he wanted to admit, everything in this place felt like it was pressing in on him.
Testing how long he could keep pretending he belonged.
He pushed open the roof door and stepped out.
The breeze hit him right away, cool and steady, and he let out a long sigh.
His shoulders dropping for the first ti in hours. Peace. At last.
"That was my line," a female voice called from a little way off, light and dry.
Liam turned his head fast. There she was, Beatrix, leaning against the low wall near the edge of the roof.
His stomach did a weird flip. Why the hell was she here?! Last ti he checked, she was just the shop owner back ho.
Selling potions and giving him side-eye every ti he walked in.
What was she doing wandering around the academy in one of those tight fight-sport uniforms?
Beatrix stood up straight, tugging at the hem of her skirt with an annoyed grunt.
"I don’t know, okay?" she said, voice sharp but tired.
"I too hate wearing this fight sport clothes and walking around.
Geez, I can’t take two steps without it hiking up!"
Liam’s eyes flicked down to her thigh for half a second, the skirt really was riding up every ti she moved.
Before he caught himself and shook his head hard, forcing his gaze back to her face.
"Why didn’t you play with the girls downstairs?" he asked.
Beatrix shook her head, arms crossed. "I wouldn’t follow those zombie-like porn fools around to play so volleyball."
He looked at her for a long mont. The way she said it, all blunt and fed-up, made her sound like a normal person.
Not like the rest of this place, where everyone acted like they were in so scripted show.
It threw him off, but in a good way. For the first ti since he got here, soone felt real.
Liam rubbed the back of his neck, thinking fast. "Do you want a way so we could run from this place?"
She tilted her head, eyes narrowing like she wasn’t sure she heard him right. "Do you have a way?!"
He nodded. "Yeah. Look, I’ve been thinking, this whole academy feels off, like it’s not even real.
I think it’s so kind of illusion or test they set up. The way to run is simple: we stop playing along completely.
No classes, no volleyball, no schedules. We just walk straight out the main gate like none of it matters to us.
The illusion only holds if you buy into being a student here. If we reject it and head out, it should break and let us go."
Beatrix stared at him, then gave a small nod. They started walking together toward the stairs, side by side.
Liam felt a little spark of hope, he wasn’t sure where it ca from.
But having soone else in on the plan made the whole crazy idea feel less impossible.
As they got closer to the main gate, though, he noticed her steps slowing.
When they reached the edge of the academy grounds, Beatrix tried to step past the invisible line where the path t the outside world.
Her foot stopped short, like it hit a wall no one could see.
She pushed again, frowning harder, but nothing happened. She couldn’t leave. She couldn’t follow him outside.
Liam’s chest tightened. He stopped and turned to her. "You really can’t..."
She looked at him, sothing vulnerable flickering across her face for the first ti. "Guess not," she muttered.
They stood there a mont, the gate just a few feet away for him but impossible for her.
Liam felt a pull he hadn’t expected. She wasn’t just so shop owner anymore.
She was stuck here too, hating the uniform, hating the fake vibe, talking like a real person who was just as done with everything as he was.
Without thinking, he reached out and took her hand. "Hey," he said quietly,
"I didn’t think I’d et anyone who felt this normal in a place like this.
If you’re trapped... I’m not just gonna walk out and leave you behind."
Beatrix looked down at their hands, then back up at him. Her voice softened. "You’re serious?"
"Yeah," he said. "I an it."
The air between them felt heavier, warr.
She squeezed his hand back, and for a second neither of them moved.
It wasn’t so big dramatic thing, just two people who’d both ended up in the wrong place at the wrong ti.
Finding a little bit of real in each other. Liam’s heart beat louder than he wanted it to. He didn’t pull away.
Then he made his choice. He stepped back from the gate, still holding her hand.
And said it out loud so the whole illusion could hear if it was listening.
"If she can’t leave, then I’m not going either.
I’ll stay right here with her until we figure out another way. I’m not walking out alone."
Right then, Elena appeared a few steps away, tears building in her eyes.
She looked genuinely moved, like she’d been watching the whole thing.
"I... I was moved by your gesture," she said, voice a little thick.
Liam blinked at her. "Did I pass?"
Elena nodded, wiping at her eyes. "With wonderful marks. Max points possible.
Heck, for making watch such a drama movie, I’m ready to give you 10 AP."
Liam smiled wryly. "Why did Director Elena sound like a middle-aged woman who liked to see drama?"
Elena clapped her hands once, sharp and bright.
In an instant, the roof and the gate vanished.
They stood back in the original academy building, the familiar halls around them again.
Director Elena’s eyes widened, like she’d just rembered sothing important.
She looked straight at Liam. "I have good news!"
Liam waited.
"The national level hunter Simon just agreed to teach in Ark Academy," she said, "and he would be responsible for your class!"
Liam’s heart hamred hard in his chest. Is it because I killed his friend Zalor?
The thought hit him fast and cold, but he kept his face steady.
He shook his head a little to clear it, then waved goodbye at Director Elena. "I’ll co tomorrow when the week begins," he told her.
Elena waved back with a smile. "Don’t waste this 10 Academy points in one place."
Liam frowned. "Waste what?" He turned his head to ask her properly, but she was already flying away, gone in a blur.
He pulled out his phone and checked his profile on the academy site.
Sure enough, there were extra 10 points added to his account. It was very noticeable.
His total balance since he started Ark Academy had been less than 3 points, and each point was very valuable.
Liam shook his head and started walking back toward Olivia’s house.
I need a way to fight Simon and not get killed by him, he thought.
Then he rembered, his best bet to know Simon’s weak points was Beatrix.
He kept repeating it to himself as he walked the rest of the way to Olivia’s house.
Once he reached it, he opened the door. The girls, Pyra, Olivia, and Beatrix, were all sitting together drinking tea.
Chatting energetically about so ani they had watched. Liam’s eyes widened at how much synergy they showed.
Even Pyra, who always seed so isolated, was talking and laughing with real energy.
He spotted Beatrix and walked straight over, pulling her gently with him toward Olivia’s bedroom.
He realized the Beatrix version from the academy wasn’t that different from the real one.
His body shook a little as he understood just how real the illusions Elena could make, and as expected from an archmage.
Liam shook his head and forced himself to focus on the present.
He looked at her and said, "I got so bad news. Your father Simon would start working in Ark Academy."
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