The morning sun bled through the arched gss panels of Vanguard Academy, painting the training grounds in golden firelight. Css Z stood awkwardly at the far edge—forgotten, ignored, a blemish in the academy's otherwise pristine reputation.

  Kai leaned beneath the shade of an ancient manaflower tree, casually flipping his dragon-etched pocket knife between gloved fingers. He wasn’t watching the duel rings. He was watching his cssmates.

  Grenn Bohr: broad-shouldered, impatient, sparks of earth mana twitching at his fingertips like angry wasps.

  Tessai Vorn: bookish, twitchy, eyes flicking constantly as he muttered formus under his breath.

  The Virel twins—silent and eerie, always moving in mirrored synchronicity like ghost reflections.

  And Lira Valtain: composed, calcuting, arms folded, silver hair flicking in the breeze. The only one in Css Z who felt like a genuine warrior.

  Tension hung in the air like a taut wire.

  > “Alright, you useless pile of mana scrap. Line up,” came a voice like a bde on stone.

  Rhovana Vane, their mentor, approached from the far gate.

  The retired Reaper was a woman carved from hard battles—tall, weathered, her crimson coat stitched with scars and sigils. Her left arm was a full prosthetic of obsidian steel, humming softly with necrotic runes. The moment she entered the field, even the ambient mana seemed to tighten around her presence.

  > “Today we’re doing what the Council calls Evaluation Protocols. Transtion: they want you to fail in public. Again.”

  > “We’ll try not to disappoint,” Tessai muttered dryly.

  > “You always disappoint,” Rhovana replied. “Try not to bore me.”

  A group of instructors gathered at the edge of the arena, accompanied by a tall, thin man wearing ste-gray robes stitched with a spiraling symbol none of them recognized. His aura felt like a quiet storm.

  Kai frowned. “Who’s that?”

  > “Someone important,” Lira murmured, stepping beside him.

  The man raised a hand.

  > “I am Elric Maerlin,” he said, voice mild but sharp. “Independent evaluator from the Prime Circle. I sponsor students who show… unusual promise. Css Z is under special review.”

  Rhovana’s eye twitched.

  > “Don’t touch my students.”

  > “I have no intention of touching them,” Elric said. “Only watching.”

  He turned toward the group. “Begin with a simple duel. One of you against a Css B volunteer.”

  A tall student stepped from the crowd—a third-year with sun-burnished armor and a fme-wreathed greatsword strapped to his back. He looked down at Css Z like they were insects on the sole of his boot.

  > “I’m Ryn Dare. I’ll go easy.”

  > “Kai Evernight,” Kai said, stepping forward. “I won’t.”

  Rhovana’s red eye glinted with interest. “Finally. Try not to suck.”

  ---

  Duel Ring – Sector Six

  Ryn unsheathed his greatsword, mana igniting along the edge like molten metal. He raised it high.

  > “Fme Art: Bzing Crescent!”

  The sword carved a fiery arc through the air, a crescent bde of compressed heat tearing toward Kai.

  Kai didn’t move—until the st second.

  > “Shadow Step: Phantom Veil.”

  A ripple of shadow bloomed beneath his feet. Kai vanished, reappearing behind Ryn mid-swing, footsteps silent as a sigh.

  > “Speed-type blink,” Ryn muttered, wheeling around.

  > “Not blink,” Kai whispered. “Shadow-mapped trajectory.”

  Ryn raised his sword.

  > “Fme Art: Eruption Guard!”

  A wave of heat exploded outward like a fiery dome. But Kai was already moving.

  > “Shadow Thread: Inkbind.”

  Dozens of thin, bck tendrils surged from the cracks in the earth, tching onto Ryn’s limbs and halting his swing mid-strike.

  Kai followed up with a spell of his own—one he had created just five seconds earlier.

  > “Custom Spell: Pulse Fang.”

  A shockwave of bck-blue mana burst from Kai’s palm, condensed and sharp, like a bde forged from pressure and speed. It smmed into Ryn’s gut, sending him flying across the arena.

  The third-year skidded to a stop, groaning.

  > “What… the hell was that?”

  Kai walked toward him calmly.

  > “Mana frequency inversion. Learned it from watching your fme core vibrate. I inverted the resonance to cause internal mana backsh.”

  > “You copied… my fme rhythm?!”

  > “No,” Kai said. “I copied the principle. Then I evolved it.”

  The arena fell silent.

  Even Elric’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

  > “Winner: Kai Evernight,” he announced. “Next.”

  ---

  Rhovana leaned against the stone wall, arms crossed.

  > “Kid’s adapting faster than I thought,” she said quietly.

  Lira stood nearby, watching Kai return with calm steps. Her violet eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

  > “He doesn’t just react. He studies during battle.”

  > “He doesn’t learn magic,” Rhovana replied. “He steals it.”

  ---

  That Night – Css Z Dormitory

  Tessai was furiously scribbling diagrams of Kai’s fight.

  > “He used three composite affinities—dark, force, and sensory disruption. That’s not normal mana mimicry. That’s instinctive yering.”

  Grenn blinked. “He punched that guy with magic. It was cool. Say that.”

  The twins had vanished—likely watching Kai from the ceiling.

  Lira lingered outside his room. “That spell,” she said, “was yered with force and disruption elements. That’s not beginner work.”

  Kai leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.

  > “It’s still illegal for a Rank 0 to cast tier-2 spells,” he said, smirking. “Good thing no one looks at us too hard.”

  Lira’s eyes fell to the worn RANK 0 patch on his jacket.

  > “Why do you still wear it?” she asked.

  Kai gnced at it, fingers brushing the edge.

  > “Because it reminds them what not to fear,” he said softly. “And me… what to hide.”

  ---