Moments earlier.

  The teacher stepped inside the villa, drawn by the commotion echoing through the walls.

  ‘Who’s making such a racket in the middle of the academy?’ he wondered, striding toward the courtyard door.

  As he neared, a sudden rush of Mana stirred the air—becoming stronger by the second. His eyes widened, surprise flashing across his face.

  “Since when... have we had a student capable of gathering this much Mana?” he murmured, his voice laced with disbelief.

  Driven by instinct and growing unease, he pushed the door open without hesitation. But the sight that met him turned his confusion into fury.

  Anger surged, white-hot and immediate, flooding through him like a dam breaking. A bitter chuckle escaped his lips—quiet, almost to himself—as he whispered,

  “So this is where you’ve been hiding... for seven months?”

  His gaze locked onto Nova, whose twisted grin only stoked the fire further. The teacher's voice dropped, sharp and glacial.

  “You’re even having fun, aren’t you? You piece of shit.”

  Though the air was still, his long brown hair stirred as if disturbed by an unseen force.

  The teacher was Jack—Nova’s closest friend—who had only just returned from clearing a portal a few days prior.

  He flung open the door, eyes locked onto Nova with laser focus. The sight before him twisted something inside. His restraint snapped. With a deafening crack, the door shattered, sliced into countless fragments.

  “NOVA!” he roared, voice echoing like a thunderclap, stepping forward with lethal intent.

  In a blink, Jack vanished from the entrance and reappeared at Nova’s left side.

  Nova’s instincts screamed. Danger. Dodge. Move.

  But he couldn’t react fast enough—he couldn’t even register who it was.

  A fist came crashing down on him, faster than anything he had faced before. It landed on his face with brutal precision, fracturing bones and sending him hurtling backward, skidding across the courtyard for tens of meters before finally falling flat on the ground.

  Alaric, meanwhile, was about to land his sword strike. He hadn’t even realized the situation had changed, hadn’t fully processed the voice or the explosion of movement. His blade continued its deadly arc, too committed to stop—driven by all the strength and resolve he had mustered.

  Jack turned his head to the left, just in time to catch sight of a blazing sword arcing toward him.

  He snorted—unimpressed.

  In a blur of motion too fast for even Alaric to track, Jack retrieved a saber from his Inventory. With one hand, he raised it and effortlessly stopped the flaming blade mid-swing.

  The sudden impact reverberated through Alaric’s arms, numbing them instantly. His grip faltered. Staggering back, it took him a moment to register what had just happened. Pain surged through his body in heavy, rolling waves. He couldn’t help but lower his sword, gasping.

  Jack turned to face him. Seeing Alaric’s battered state, he said, “That’s what you get for recklessly burning through your Mana.”

  Who is this guy? He knows Boss?

  Alaric’s thoughts were sluggish, his vision swimming. He couldn’t make out Jack’s face—his eyes simply refused to focus after the strain. And that voice… he’d never heard it before.

  “You should rest before you cause any permanent damage,” Jack said coolly, already turning away. His attention had shifted—now fixed solely on Nova.

  Despite the sting in his pride, Alaric heard no hostility in the man’s tone. Reluctantly, he took the advice. While Jack stood unmoving, Alaric did what he could to aid his healing.

  He felt every inch of his body screaming at him to rest and heal.

  From the far end of the courtyard, the generals finally stirred—snapping out of their stunned silence as they finally made sense of what was happening.

  “Who’s that?” Hector asked, squinting toward the man standing across the courtyard. The figure had his back to them preventing them from seeing his face.

  Shira, having done her job, answered flatly, “That’s Jack.”

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  “You mean Jack—as in, the Boss’s friend?” Hector’s voice held disbelief. He struggled to reconcile the absolute strength they’d just witnessed with the various reports they had read about him.

  Shira gave a single nod, offering nothing more, and turned toward Alaric.

  The other generals exchanged glances, their silent communication all they needed. Without a word, they moved to follow her.

  Meanwhile, Jack walked toward Nova, who lay sprawled in the rubble, his eyes staring at the sky. His mind was a storm—fragments of what had just happened spun in circles, refusing to settle.

  The voice echoed again in his memory, clearer this time.

  ‘Was that… Jack?’ he thought, uncertain, almost dazed.

  The answer didn’t let itself wait for too long as footsteps—steady, deliberate, each one placed with surgical precision could be heard nearing him.

  Then a familiar face appeared above him, blocking out the sun from his vision. Nova blinked, disoriented. That expression… he’d only seen it twice before. And it never meant anything good.

  He parted his lips, voice dry and slow. “Jack?”

  He recognized the face—but the sheer force behind that punch… it didn’t fit.

  ‘Why would he punch me the moment he saw me?’ Nova’s thoughts churned. ‘And that strength… it was stronger than mine, not by little either.’

  The realization hit him like a second blow.

  ‘Does it mean… Jack is stronger than me now?’

  A small, almost amused smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

  Above him, Jack stood motionless, fists clenched at his sides. His gaze burned—sharp enough to pierce through Nova’s skull. It was taking everything in him not to strike again.

  Instead, his voice cut through the silence like ice.

  “You’ve got time to smile?”

  Nova’s regeneration had done its job well enough for him to speak, though his face still ached. He looked up, confusion and accusation mingling in his voice.

  “Why the hell did you punch me?”

  For a moment, Jack just stared. Then—he laughed. Loud and sharp, echoing across the courtyard. The sound snapped the attention of the six generals, who now stood in a loose semicircle around Alaric.

  Confused glances passed between them. They knew these two were best friend but this reunion wasn’t at all what they'd expected.

  One had been sent flying.

  The other looked ready to do it again.

  Exchanging uncertain looks, the generals silently debated whether to step in. But after a quick assessment—and noticing that Jack wasn’t aiming to kill—they gave up on that.

  Better to let the old friends settle it their own way.

  Back at the scene, Jack turned his head toward Nova, who was still lying flat on his back, eyes distant, expression blank.

  He narrowed his gaze. ‘Is he faking it? Does he really not know?’ His jaw tightened. ‘Even if he doesn’t… that happened because of him.’

  Taking a slow breath, Jack forced himself to stay composed.

  “Where have you been?” he asked, voice low but taut with restrained emotion.

  Nova arched an eyebrow at the sharp tone, clearly surprised by the interrogation. He replied with cool indifference,

  “Inside a Blue portal. I came out less than a few hours ago.”

  ‘Blue portal?’ Jack’s thoughts scrambled. ‘Did he get unlucky? No way… seven months inside a portal?’

  His eyes scanned Nova carefully, searching for any sign of a lie. ‘He doesn’t seem to be lying… but why would he?’

  Without responding, Jack shifted his attention to the seven figures behind him.

  “One of you—step forward.”

  The six generals, who had been watching silently, instantly turned toward Alaric, their injured leader. But seeing the strain still written all over his face, they hesitated—then exchanged glances among themselves.

  “I’ll go,” said Darius, stepping forward without waiting for the others to say anything. His voice was calm, but resolute.

  As he made his way toward Jack, Adira murmured beside him, her eyes flicking between Jack and Nova.

  “Will he be alright?”

  “Nothing should happen to him,” Hector said, though even he wasn’t sure he believed his own words.

  “He won’t die,” Nox added bluntly, his tone flat, as if that was enough reassurance.

  Jack's attention shifted to Darius, now standing a few feet away. He studied him silently, eyes narrowing. ‘So these are the people who were with Nova when he visited the mansion...’

  He pushed the thought aside.

  “What happened to Nova?” Jack asked, his voice even but firm.

  Darius hesitated. “Where do you want me to start?”

  “From the beginning,” Jack said without missing a beat. “From the moment you met him—up until now.”

  His expression remained unreadable, carved from stone.

  Taking a deep breath, Darius began to recount everything that had happened since he first met Nova. He started with their encounter in the eastern part of the city and moved on to the various missions he had been assigned with by Nova.

  He described the long periods of time of his boss disappearing inside the portals, which occurred several times before they finally arrived at the academy and revealed their objective there.

  Continuing he explained the confrontation they faced at the academy’s gates, their eventual entry, and how they attended classes. Finally, he noted how Nova had chosen to retreat to his villa right after his first class, making it clear he did not wish to be disturbed.

  Throughout the entire account, Jack remained silent, listening with unnerving stillness. Not a muscle moved on his face, but the tension in the air was palpable.

  “Before we knew it, our Boss disappeared,” Darius said, his expression tightening. “We had a few guesses about where he might’ve gone, so we had people taking turns standing guard outside—waiting to alert us the moment someone matching his face appeared. And today… it finally happened.”

  ‘Boss?’ thought Jack but didn’t interrupt.

  As he spoke, a flicker of disbelief crossed his face. Now that he was saying it all out loud, it felt surreal.

  They hadn’t known Nova for long. Not really. But somehow, none of them had ever questioned their loyalty. It was as if following him had been inevitable, written into them.

  The strangest part? They liked it. They liked the structure, the shared purpose. The way they improved together.

  Nova’s sudden disappearances—sometimes for weeks, now months—had never sparked resentment. Because every time he came back, he was stronger. And every time, he shared what he learned. His methods, his knowledge—everything. That alone had won them over completely.

  Jack retreated in his thoughts, slowly piecing together the picture. From the moment they had parted ways at the mansion until now, everything began to fall into place.

  ‘This idiot’s luck is absurd’, Jack thought. ‘Maybe I can convince Victor to spare him… but it won’t be easy.’

  His gaze dropped to Nova, who was still lying on the ground, staring back at him with clear eyes.

  Their eyes locked for several long seconds—words unspoken all passing silently between them—before Jack finally spoke.

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