A soft chime rang through the hall. The sound of silver tapping crystal.

  Conversations faltered. Laughter dimmed. All eyes turned toward the center of the grand hall of the mansion, where Duke Stark stood beneath the chandelier, tall and poised, holding his glass.

  “I would like to express my gratitude,” the duke began, his voice calm and clear, polished through decades of power. “To those who have come this evening to celebrate my son’s sixteenth year—thank you. Your presence honors our House.”

  He raised his glass slightly.

  “I hope you enjoy the evening.”

  Polite applause followed.

  Leo stepped beside him, bowing. He didn’t speak. He didn’t have to. He looked every bit the noble heir—composed, the weight of a dozen watching houses resting on his shoulders.

  Then the light shifted.

  No flicker. No flash. Just sudden, seamless darkness—except for the soft gleam of mana crystals repositioning themselves above the dancers now entering the floor.

  A new glow lit the room, casting golden hues across a dozen figures in fine garments. Music spilled into the silence—rhythmic, elegant, complex—and the dancers moved as one.

  Flawless.

  Every step was synchronized. Every spin timed with precision. This wasn’t just choreography—it was skill. Literal, magical. Most likely [Rhythmic Grace], Kana guessed. Skills that were related to dancing.

  The performance ended in a sweeping flourish.

  A beat of silence. Then applause thundered across the room.

  Even Kana clapped. Rin’s eyes sparkled with awe. Boris gave an impressed nod, even if he was more focused on sneaking another tart.

  Suri didn’t move.

  Her gaze was locked on the dancers—her eyes flicking, tracking, analyzing. Like she was seeing something deeper. A thread. A system. An idea.

  And when she blinked, her expression shifted slightly.

  She had understood something.

  After the performance, the evening dissolved into its natural flow.

  The adult nobles broke off into familiar circles—talking trade routes, tariffs, border skirmishes with the neighboring kingdoms. Kana and Rin drifted through the space like silent stars, occasionally bumping into academy acquaintances. Some offered hesitant greetings. Some offered judgment behind smiles.

  Boris and Suri held their ground by the banquet table, sampling food with the enthusiasm of travelers finding an oasis. Boris talked about muscle training with a confused noble from a merchant family; Suri smiled politely and nodded, though her mind was elsewhere.

  Leo, meanwhile, stood alone only for a moment before a group of noble girls descended. They laughed, whispered, angled for his attention. He smiled with all the charm of a drowning man—polite, composed, and very clearly trying to escape.

  …..

  The party had ended well before the academy's curfew, giving the quartet more than enough time to return on foot.

  The streets were quieter now. The kind of quiet that settles over the city like a gentle breath—lanterns flickering, cobblestones catching stray reflections from the moon, the laughter of distant carriages.

  Kana slipped off her high heels after just a few minutes of walking.

  “I’m not wearing these things another step,” she muttered, letting the shoes hang from her fingers as her bare feet touched the cool stone road. “They’re tools of torture.”

  Suri, on the other hand, walked with her chin up and heels clicking in rhythm, as if daring the stones to hurt her. Rin walked beside her, posture rigid, smiling at nothing in particular. It wasn’t about comfort—it was about the feeling. The kind of dress and shoes you only wore once, but remembered forever.

  Boris let out a heavy burp.

  Before anyone could comment, someone rustled out from a hedge just off the path.

  All four stopped.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Kana had already sensed him, her eyes flicking toward the motion before the others even turned. A hooded figure stepped out, cloak dark and face half-shadowed. The tension lasted half a heartbeat—until the voice broke the silence.

  “Sorry,” Leo said, pulling back his hood with an awkward grin. “I had to sneak away. Certain people... don’t take hints.”

  His outfit had changed. Gone was the formal garb from the party. He now wore simple clothes, likely hidden beneath the cloak all evening, just for this moment.

  Leo smiled. “I just wanted to say… Thank you for coming.”

  “We should be the ones thanking you,” Boris said, arms folded, posture relaxed. “We enjoyed the food—uh, I mean, the night.”

  The slip earned a round of laughter.

  But Leo’s grin faded quickly, replaced by a more serious tone.

  “About Valdis,” he said. “My father’s already talking with his parents. He’ll try to calm things down. But Valdis… he’s not the type to let something go. He’ll come for revenge eventually.”

  Kana nodded once.

  “You don’t need to worry,” Suri replied breezily, brushing imaginary dust from her shoulder. “We’ll be ahead of him.”

  Something in her tone carried a different weight. Not arrogance. Certainty.

  Kana shot her a sideways glance, already suspecting the truth. Suri had probably marked Valdis her skill the moment he drew mana. She always did that when things got risky.

  Boris and Kana both exhaled, swaying their heads in unison.

  “Poor guy,” Boris muttered. “He’s not going to get any privacy from now on.”

  “Nope,” Kana agreed, deadpan. “Not even in the bathroom.”

  They all chuckled again, though Rin and Leo forced a smile since they couldn’t get what they meant.

  ……….

  The academy grounds were quiet that morning, bathed in pale sunlight. Students trickled into their classes, but the trio had all the time to spare. Instead of heading in, they walked toward a shaded bench near the western garden path.

  The trees whispered in the breeze. Suri dropped onto the bench with a sigh, stretching her legs out like she owned the place.

  “We should try bribing the guards and raiding the dungeon first,” she said casually, like she was suggesting a detour to the bakery.

  Suri kept going. “That merchant stash? I’m concerned. One of the guys guarding is a member of the Adventurer’s Guild. He’s basically living there.”

  That earned silence. Boris and Kana frowned, pondering.

  Everyone knew what it meant to be part of the Adventurer’s Guild. Passing the assessment wasn’t like signing up for entering into the academy—it was a feat. One-third of applicants failed the exam that was being held every two years. Of course, there were exceptions—special or temporary licenses granted under unique circumstances. Toby, the exorcist, held one of those. It wasn’t the same as a true Guild license. The functions were limited, the benefits fewer, and only full licenses—granted at seventeen and above—carried official weight.

  They’d heard rumors—whispers in the academy ground—that currently, fewer than a dozen students in the entire Academy passed the Adventurer’s Guild assessment. Most of them were third or fourth years, and all of them were exceptional.

  “You’re sure?” Kana asked.

  “Yeah. I've been following him for the past few days with my skill. Got a glimpse of his badge.”

  “What’s his rank?” she pressed.

  “Copper,” Suri said. “High-tier Copper. But he got that rank seven years ago. Hasn’t taken another test since then. Probably stronger now.”

  Boris let out a slow whistle. “They must be paying him well. If he’s a member of adventurer’s guild. He probably has a combat specialization... maybe even detection.”

  Kana folded her arms. A high-tier Copper adventurer... camped inside the merchant front?

  Too much risk for a coin.

  Suri leaned forward, hands steepled. “That’s why I say dungeon first.”

  Kana didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes flicked up toward the tower peaks of the academy. Then she nodded. “We raid a dungeon first.”

  Boris gave a half-smile. “Now you’re talking.”

  Suri’s grin returned in full force. “I’ve got one in mind. South wall of the city. Not many people go near it—it’s tucked along a cliff path, too steep for most. We probably won’t need to bribe anyone if we time it right. And even if we do, outrunning them should be easy in that terrain.”

  It reminded them of home. Their village, one of the dungeons, old hills, the narrow ledges and ravines they used to race through. That steep terrain had once been a playground.

  “Suri,” Kana curious,“Last night—you used something new. It wasn’t [Illusion Call]. When Valdis attacked... You blocked his fire.”

  Suri didn’t answer right away.

  She exhaled slowly, as if disappointed in the world for not keeping up.

  “I feel bad for you two,” she said, shaking her head with mock sympathy. “To walk through life without using the mana around you freely—it’s like watching a fish walking on the land instead of swimming in the ocean.”

  Boris made a face. “Can we skip the pity and go straight to the explanation?”

  Suri smirked. “Fine. When Valdis threw that fireball, I didn’t use any skill. I simply... gathered more mana than he used. Shaped it like a barrier. Stronger, denser. ”

  She held up her hand, tracing a faint arc with her finger in the air.

  “If his flame was a thread,” she said, “then I dropped a curtain over it. Thicker. Heavier.”

  Suri tilted her head. “So, what happens when a mana-fueled attack hits a denser field of mana?”

  Her grin returned. “It breaks. It collapses under its own structure. Think of it like throwing boiling water into a freezing river.”

  Boris gave a low whistle. “What do you call that skill?”

  “It’s not,” Suri said. “It's simply a manipulation of mana.”

  They stood up as the bell echoed across the grounds—time for lunch.