At first, I managed to fly under the radar—copying the movements of other students and making sure there was always someone in front of me to hide behind. A solid strategy, really.
But that completely fell apart the moment Professor Mirelle called for sparring partners.
I got paired with a C-rank student. A guy so full of himself you’d think he was the prince’s long-lost brother.
Fighting him was less a test of swordsmanship and more a test of self-control.
He beat me three times in about a minute. That was the whole best-of-five. My contribution to the match was mostly falling artistically.
Professor Mirelle actually tried to help. She adjusted my posture, showed me how to properly defend myself, even demonstrated a basic parry three times.
In the end, that only ended up with me adding several new bruises to my rapidly growing collection.
Eventually, even she gave up and relocated me to the corner to practice with a training dummy while everyone else continued their sparring matches.
It’s better this way. I tried to reassure myself, stabbing halfheartedly at the wooden target.
It wasn't entirely false. Being seen as a D-rank too embarrassed to show was still safer than being suspected of having a hidden power. But it stung anyway.
Thankfully, the class was mercifully short. After a few minutes of fierce combat against an inanimate opponent, I was making my way toward the main dining hall.
Not that I actually knew where it was, but my theory that most students would head there after morning classes proved correct. I just followed the crowd.
The main dining hall was immense.
Long banquet tables occupied the outer edges of the room, loaded with a solid variety of food and drinks. Nothing spectacular—simple dishes, basic beverages—but better than I'd imagined for what was technically the "commoner section."
It was everything past those outer tables where things got interesting.
The further you moved toward the center, the smaller and more exclusive the tables became. These middle tables seated maybe six to eight people each, and every single person sitting there wore gold or platinum uniforms.
Their plates held different cuts of meat, glistening desserts, and they could apparently even order special requests from a discreet menu.
At the dead center of the room stood a circular staircase that spiraled up to a glass-domed private section. I knew exactly who ate up there before I even looked.
Sitting alone at the top, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the entire hall, I could see the silvery-white hair and pristine white uniform.
Aurora.
I wasn't the only one looking. Nearly half the students kept stealing glances upward, whispering behind their hands.
It must be lonely at the top, I thought, tearing my eyes away to scan the room for Lina.
I found her at one of the outer tables, and she'd saved me a seat.
"Hey," I said, dropping into the chair beside her.
"Hi!" She turned to me with a friendly smile. "Good to see you survived."
"Just barely. That training dummy almost had me a few times."
She laughed softly. "I'm sure he regrets ever facing you."
I stared at the spread of food, genuinely unsure what I was allowed to take. "So, uh... how does this work? Do I just grab whatever, or is there some gold-uniform-only chicken I should avoid?"
"You can take anything," she said, already filling her plate. "There are no restrictions."
"Do you usually sit at those middle tables?" I asked, following her lead and grabbing what looked like roasted meat.
"No, those are mostly for established groups. I tend to eat alone."
"The food does look way better there, though." I grinned.
"You could go sit there if you wanted," she said casually. "There's technically nothing stopping you."
I blinked. "What do you mean? There's not a single silver uniform over there, much less bronze."
"Most people want to avoid trouble." She shrugged. "I don't really understand the whole hierarchy thing myself. I'd rather just stay out of it."
"And that dome up there?"
"You could go there too, technically." She glanced up at Aurora. "Though that's riskier. On my first day, some D-rank was convinced to go up there as a prank. He ended up face-to-face with Aurora."
"Did he survive?"
"Physically? Yes. Emotionally?" She giggled. "I don't think his heart was ever the same."
I leaned back, processing this. "So you're telling me there's literally nothing stopping me from being the most out-of-place student ever and sitting with the S-ranks?"
"S-rank, singular," she corrected. "The prince eats down here. Usually at that table." She pointed to an empty table at the center of the middle section.
"Ah. That's why it's empty."
"No one wants to risk having the Prince tell them to leave."
She continued, "But to answer your question—yeah, you probably could walk up there and join Aurora. Or pull up a chair next to those A-ranks. Technically."
"Sounds tempting."
"Don't!" Her expression shifted to genuine alarm. "They would eat you alive."
"I'm not that tasty."
"That's not—" She paused, completely baffled. "Look, the academy has this whole ecosystem around who gets to do what. If you disrupt it, you'll paint a massive target on your back."
"What, are they going to stuff me in a locker?"
"Things are much more serious here." Her voice dropped. "People get assassinated. Families get exiled. You have to remember—these aren't just students."
A chill ran through me, but I kept my tone light. "So... are you also 'not just a student'? Should I be worried about making you mad?"
“What? No!” She waved her hands rapidly. "My family creates magical constructs. The worst we could do is enchant your chair to always be uncomfortable."
"That sounds terrifying, actually."
"Then don't mess with me." She gave a fake evil smile, but it faded quickly. "Seriously though, be careful. The S-rank students are literally above the law, and the A-ranks aren't far behind."
I took a moment to process that, focusing on my food. The casual way she'd said it made it somehow worse.
"Above the law, huh..."
"You... sound like you didn't know?" She studied my face, puzzled.
"Let's just say I'm not from around here."
"Well, if you didn't know—there are only about ten S-ranks currently registered in the entire world. Two of them teach here—Professor Emberheart and Greystar—two study here, plus there's the director. That's five S-ranks at this academy alone."
"Yeah, I heard about that."
"That leaves only five S-ranks divided throughout the rest of the world." She leaned forward. "Now imagine if Aurora decided to eliminate a D-rank student who pissed her off. Who do you think would dare challenge her?"
"One of the other S-ranks?"
"Sure, they could try. But the other four would see it as an opportunity. Offer her a royal pardon, a position, maybe an alliance—and suddenly one faction has gained an S-rank while another lost one. The power shift would be enormous."
"So they really are above the law."
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"Unless they do something so horrific that all the S-ranks unite against them... yeah." She nodded grimly. "Pretty much untouchable."
"What about the A-ranks?"
"Those are the commanders, the spymasters, the royal advisors. Most important positions in every kingdom are filled by A-ranks." She paused. "And most of them come from already-powerful families."
"So if I sit at the wrong table, I might piss off the future military commander of an entire kingdom."
"Exactly. Or someone who'll remember the slight when they eventually become important."
"Sounds dangerous," I said, keeping my voice deliberately casual.
"Please be careful." The worry in her expression was genuine.
We fell into silence. I finished my food while she picked at hers, clearly able to read on my face that I wasn't nearly as concerned as I should be about offending the wrong people.
In fact, part of me was tempted to test those boundaries.
My eyes drifted around the room, taking in everything she'd explained. The invisible barriers. The unspoken rules. The careful distance everyone maintained.
So S-ranks are above the law…
I'd known they were powerful, but not powerful enough to shift international politics with a single action. The implications were staggering.
For a moment, my mind wandered, imagining what it would feel like to have that kind of power. To be untouchable.
I crushed that thought immediately. Way too risky to even dream about.
My gaze drifted upward to the glass dome. Aurora sat with perfect posture, not sparing a single glance at the floors below. She could have sat anywhere. With anyone. But she'd chosen to dine alone in her crystal tower.
A single question formed in my mind, one I couldn't quite shake:
Then why are you alone?
Once Lina finished eating, we left the dining hall together, moving through the academy's winding corridors toward our next classes.
"Enchantment and Runecraft Principles will be easier," she said, her tone deliberately optimistic. Clearly an attempt to cheer me up after my spectacular failure at swordsmanship. "It's just the introduction to advanced enchanting, ancient runes and magical construction. Way less stabbing involved."
The smile on her face made it obvious she genuinely loved this stuff.
"Are you taking all three branches?" I asked, impressed. Most students specialized in one path, maybe two if they were ambitious.
"Yes! I want to become a great enchanter, so I'm keeping all my options open." She gestured enthusiastically as she spoke. "Enchantment, runecraft, and magical construction—they all feed into each other once you get deep enough."
"Sounds difficult. Why enchanting specifically though?"
Her eyes lit up. "It's fascinating. The way magic can improve people's lives, the way you can design constructs that seem impossible and then actually make them work." She paused, then added with a grin, "Plus, swords can't do paperwork, but an enchanted quill can."
I laughed. "Fair point."
"So after you graduate, you'll take over your family's shop?" I asked, remembering what she'd mentioned earlier.
"Well..." She hesitated, her enthusiasm dimming slightly. "I came here wanting to do a bit more than that, actually."
“What do you mean?”
"I mean... I guess I dreamed of being something more, you know? A great enchanter who has her name in textbooks. Maybe solve one of the big mysteries, like the Lost Runes." She looked almost embarrassed admitting it. "Not just 'Lina, who runs a decent enchanting shop in the capital.'"
I nodded slowly, an idea forming. "Speaking of big mysteries... are you volunteering for that expedition? The one Director Aldric mentioned this morning?"
She blinked, clearly caught off guard. "What? The corruption investigation?"
"Yeah. You want your name in books, right? Real field research into an expanding magical phenomenon—that seems like exactly the kind of thing that gets you recognized."
"I... I could volunteer, but..." She bit her lip. "I'm only B-rank. I doubt they'd even consider me. They'll probably want A-ranks minimum."
"You won't know unless you try." I kept my tone casual, but pressed forward. "I mean, wouldn't studying corruption up close be valuable? For your research?"
She slowed her pace, eyes distant as she considered it. "I suppose... if corruption affects enchantments, understanding how could be groundbreaking. No one's really studied it in the field before." Her expression shifted from doubtful to thoughtful. "Professor Theron did mention they were looking for enchanters..."
"Worst case, they say no and you're back where you started," I pointed out. "Best case, you get firsthand research data that no one else has."
"When you put it that way..." A small, determined smile crossed her face. "Okay. Yeah. I'll talk to Professor Theron after class."
"Good." I grinned. "Now, what exactly are these Lost Runes you mentioned? I've heard the name thrown around, but..."
"The ones supposedly hidden at the academy?" She perked up immediately, excited to explain. "Oh right, you wouldn't know the full story. Okay, they were supposedly created by one of the three founders who built this academy."
I nodded, letting her continue.
"Legend says he discovered a method to create permanent runes—enchantments that don't degrade or need magical maintenance. They'd just... work forever." She made a gesture like she was still amazed by the concept. "Which is supposedly impossible, by the way. Runes always decay over time, even the best ones. It's a fundamental limitation of runecraft."
"But he claimed he solved it?"
"Exactly. And according to his journals—the fragments that survived, anyway—he hid examples of his work somewhere at the academy. Said that only a true student of the craft would be able to find them." She sighed. "The problem is, no one ever has. Some people think he was just delusional or lying. That he never actually created permanent runes."
"But you think they're real?"
"I want them to be real," she admitted. "And I have a theory about where they might be hidden."
"Oh?"
Her voice dropped conspiratorially, even though the corridor was mostly empty. "I think they're incorporated into the academy structure itself. Not hidden in some dusty vault—literally part of the buildings. The spire especially. If you could get high enough, see the entire academy layout from above, you might be able to identify patterns in the architecture that reveal the runes."
I considered that. It was clever. "Wouldn't the S-ranks have noticed them though? —they got a pretty good view."
"Not if they don't know what to look for," Lina countered.
By now we'd reached the main courtyard where our paths diverged. The central fountain burbled peacefully, and students streamed past us toward their respective classes. We both slowed, neither quite ready to end the conversation.
"What about you, though?" Lina asked, turning to face me fully. "Why did you come here?"
I felt my carefully constructed facade wobble slightly. "I wanted to learn about magic and... decide exactly what to do with my life."
"Learn about magic?" She studied my face with that puzzled expression I was becoming familiar with. My cluelessness about basic concepts had definitely not escaped her notice.
"Kai." Her tone shifted, frustration creeping in. "You got accepted to Celestia Academy. Do you have any idea how impossible that is? And yet you act like you've never studied magic a day in your life." She crossed her arms. "So either you're playing dumb for some reason, or..."
"I meant like, more advanced magical theory," I tried, dodging her gaze. "The kind of stuff you can't learn from books."
"Uh-huh." She crossed her arms, not buying it for a second. "You know what? I'm not going to push. But you're a terrible liar, Kai. Just so you know."
"Noted."
"Whatever you're hiding, just... try not to get yourself killed, okay?" Her expression softened with genuine concern. "The academy's dangerous enough without adding mysterious secrets into the mix."
"I'll do my best."
"Hmph." She seemed to decide not to press further—for now. "Well then, I'll see you around. And thanks. For the encouragement about the expedition. I think I really will volunteer."
"Good luck," I said, meaning it. "Let me know how it goes."
"Will do!" She waved and headed off toward the eastern wing where the enchanting workshops were located.
Lina hadn't lied when she said this class would be easier.
Enchantment and Runecraft Principles was filled mostly with D and C-rank students, and Professor Crowley had a gift for making complex concepts actually understandable.
By the end of the two-hour session, I'd gone from completely clueless to having a basic grasp of runic theory.
Nothing I could actually use yet, but at least I understood the concepts now.
When class ended, I remembered my schedule. The rest of the day was mine—free time until dinner, then the evening was open.
So what now?
I could explore the academy, find the library, maybe try to learn more about this world's magic system. Or I could hole up in my room and review everything I'd learned today.
Opting to go to my room, I began making my way there.
The academy corridors were less crowded now, with most students either in late afternoon classes or scattered across the various training grounds and facilities. I walked slowly, paying attention to everything around me.
I could still hear whispers about my uniform. A few curious glances, some barely concealed sneers from higher-ranked students. But compared to this morning, I'd definitely stopped being interesting.
Instead, everyone was talking about Aurora.
"—heard she actually spoke to someone in Advanced Combat Theory—"
"—completely ignored Prince Aurelius when he tried to talk to her—"
"—got summoned to Director Aldric's office right after lunch—"
"—think she's in trouble?"
"—doubt it. She's Aurora. What could they even do to her?"
It was fascinating, in a disturbing way. Every single action she took was documented, analyzed, and turned into gossip by dozens of students who'd probably never exchanged a word with her.
I finally reached my room, closing the door behind me with a soft click. The silence was immediately noticeable after the constant buzz of the academy.
I dropped my bag on the desk and pulled out my schedule for tomorrow, scanning the list of classes.
My eyes stopped on the first entry.
- Advanced Magical Combat - Professor Emberheart - 8:00 AM
Shit
The thought came immediately, sharp and unwelcome.
Professor Emberheart. The name Lina had mentioned earlier—one of the two S-rank instructors at Celestia Academy. I didn't know anything else about him, but I didn't need to. Being an S-rank was enough.
And I was supposed to attend his Advanced Magical Combat class.
I sat down heavily on my bed, schedule still in hand, staring at that first line like it might change if I looked long enough.
It didn't.
This is going to be a disaster.
My carefully constructed cover of uncoordinated mediocrity would be under a microscope that could see through the tiniest shift in mana.
I forced myself to stop spiraling. Panicking wouldn't help. I needed to think this through logically.
My notes from Professor Crowley's class were still in my bag. I should probably review them, maybe prepare something for tomorrow's disaster. At least try to look like I was taking this seriously.
Instead, I just lay there, running through scenarios in my head.
None of them ended well.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to convince myself it would be fine.
It wouldn't be fine.
Little did I know, it would be far worse than I could have possibly expected.
Hope you enjoy it!
This chapter took a bit longer than i'd like to admit, i wanted to make the advanced swordsmanship class more in depth, but it really didn't feel right.