The next day arrived, and the academy halls grew louder with the chaos of recruitment. Students from every class were stationed outside classrooms, trying to fill their team rosters for the new subject.

  Kana, Suri, and Boris had all but given up on finding a support-class member. Kana quietly decided to assign Suri as both scout and support, though she wasn’t sure if the academy would approve the overlap. What would happen if they couldn’t complete the list by the deadline? Would the academy assign someone? Or disqualify their group?

  Kana didn’t like relying on guesses.

  “Someone was watching me yesterday,” Kana said quietly, her voice more certain than curious.

  Suri paused mid-step, a flicker of thought crossing her eyes. “I didn’t see anything strange..”

  She glanced toward the far window, as if the memory lingered there,” Like I was being measured.”

  Suri folded her arms, frowning now. “Could it be Wor-en?”

  Kana hesitated.

  “Maybe,” she said at last. “He can hide his presence. Perfectly. But why would he bother watching me like that?”

  A silence stretched between them, a sudden thought gave them a goosebump. The shadow man in the middle of the day?

  Just then, Leo peeked into the classroom. “Kana!”

  The copper class barely reacted—by now, they were used to occasional visitors looking for the trio.

  Leo jogged over, a wide grin on his face. “Todd got the papers approved! He managed to secure the rights as an institution. Should we move forward?”

  Kana blinked. That was fast. She’d expected it to take at least a week.

  “Really?” she said, surprised. “Go ahead. I’ll stop by and handle the payment once Todd’s available.”

  “For that,” Leo said, “My father can arrange it. You can send the payment through him—it’s a large sum, and easier that way.”

  Before she could respond, Leo added, “Oh—and one more thing. My father told me to group with you for this The North subject.”

  Kana hesitated.

  That wasn’t part of the deal. Her smile didn’t falter, but her thoughts were already racing. Was this a favor he owed now? Or another test?

  Still, they needed one more member.

  “We’ve got two slots left,” she said calmly. “You can take one of them.”

  ….

  A few days passed slowly. Though the academy buzzed with talk of the North expedition, the trio never forgot the lingering threat of the shadow man.

  It was the fourth day of the week when Kana noticed a familiar face peeking through the classroom door.

  “She’s here again,” Kana said, a little surprised.

  “I thought we already clarified everything,” Suri added, frowning slightly.

  The girl hesitated at the threshold before finally stepping inside. She approached Kana directly.

  “My mother told me to join your group,” she said quietly, “after receiving the letter from the academy about the new subject... the North.”

  Before Kana could respond, Suri suddenly sprang up. “That’s right! She’s a support!”

  With a grin, Suri wrapped an arm around the girl’s shoulder. “You still don’t have a group, right? What’s your name?”

  “I’m Yuri,” she said softly. “A [Witch]. I don’t have a group yet.”

  Kana understood. Asha and Opel—Yuri’s parents—must have known how dangerous this northern expedition would be. And in the end, they entrusted their daughter to Kana’s group. Whether that should be taken as a compliment or a burden, she wasn’t sure.

  Still, they needed support. And now they had one. She could not help but force a smile. Ironically, they got what they needed when they were doing nothing.

  Kana quickly pulled the rolled parchment from her desk and wrote Yuri’s name in the last empty spot. “With you on our team,” she said, “We’re complete.”

  Boris stood up and pumped a fist into the air. “We’re complete, boys!”

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  The boys in their class immediately scrambled out of the room, cheering. Andel was forced to go with them. He had no choice as Adam was pulling him hard.

  She heard about their efforts. They tried to recruit support from Gold and Silver Class from the past few days.. though most of them were girls and they failed miserably.

  Will they be alright? He’s still a noble. Kana thought as she watched Andel was being pulled.

  Kana blinked, watching them go. She had no idea what kind of celebration they were planning… but she was sure it would be something ridiculous.

  ……

  Suri had successfully gathered enough information and sketched out a rough map of the dungeon location in the west. It lay outside the kingdom’s border—unclaimed and overlooked. Likely because it was a low-level dungeon, the kind often dismissed as a waste of resources. But Kana had brought up something troubling: soldiers from various kingdoms had clashed near that region in the past. That could explain the absence of stationed troops… or the unsettling possibility that someone was hiding nearby.

  To be safe, Suri dispatched her illusions to scout the surrounding area.

  That night, the two of them sat in silence under dim candlelight. Suri was hunched over her desk, quill in hand, writing out the letter by candle glow while Kana stood behind her, arms crossed, overseeing the message. It was brief—just enough to confirm the weekend raid. A half-day’s journey location: West.

  Kana gave a small nod. “That’s enough.”

  Outside the window, a black illusionary bird waited on the railing, its feathers shimmering with mana patterns. With a soft whistle from Suri, it took the letter in its beak and soared into the night sky with the Duke as its destination.

  Kana swayed her head, Suri probably didn’t need to whistle.

  …

  It had been the most potent poison yet. Enough to kill a man under a minute. And still, she survived.

  That fact alone disturbed him.

  Maybe she is the destined one, he whispered. But Von didn’t believe in fate. He believed in only himself.

  His right shoulder had long since healed. Skin mended. Bone whole. But pain had memory. And his body—flawless as it was—remembered the strike. He hadn’t been bested physically. Not really.

  But something had broken. Something deeper. Mentally.

  The temple’s head had known it too. They hadn’t sent another assassin. There was no one better. No replacement. If Von couldn’t finish the job, then no one could.

  And numbers? The others might swarm, but they would only slow him down. Or worse—interfere. He worked alone because that's how perfection was crafted. One blade. One strike.

  They trusted him.

  Because in the end, Von always triumphed.

  And now... he was ready. Almost.

  Before him stood Kana. Not the real one, of course—just a projection, a construct from his memory. An image designed to replicate her movements, her rhythm, her unpredictability. And still, it made him sweat.

  His breath was steady, controlled. His clothes damp with exertion. The image collapsed in silence, her illusion shattered by his blade.

  Ten wins out of ten.

  But each one took nearly half an hour.

  Unacceptable.

  Three minutes. That was the goal. Nothing more. Every second shaved meant one less chance of being seen. One less variable. One more step toward perfection.

  Because next time... it wouldn’t be a training imaginary illusion.

  And next time, there could be witnesses and some variables that could help her.

  Von stared at the small, glowing blade in his palm.

  It pulsed with soft orange light—gentle, almost timid. And yet, it felt alive. Not in the way living things breathed and moved, but in that eerie, ancient way that certain item drop carried maybe more. As if it watched. As if it remembered.

  He could feel it now. The shift.

  The blade had chosen someone. The next wielder.

  Von’s jaw tightened.

  Again, it sought to guide fate. Again, it reached beyond steel and blood, whispering of destiny and purpose.

  He closed his fingers slowly around the light.

  “No,” he murmured.

  Not this time. Not ever.

  He had defied its will once before. And he would do so again.

  Let it scream in silence. Let it call out to its new bearer. He would carve his own path, as he always had—blade or no blade, fate or no fate.

  The light in his palm dimmed, as if recoiling.

  Von smiled.

  Good.

  I like her too but you will be disappointed.

  A knock from the stone door interrupted his thoughts.

  “Master Von, the letter has arrived.”

  Finally.

  Because It didn’t make sense.

  She was young—far too young to be matching him, blow for blow. And a woman, no less. Not that he underestimated women. But in his world, strength was earned through blood, years, and survival. Not something that bloomed overnight.

  Unless she was hiding something.

  A spy from another kingdom, perhaps. A royal child raised in the shadows. A vessel for some ancient power. Or maybe something stranger. Something not human. Something like the Ageless.

  Von didn’t believe in coincidences. Not anymore.

  No one like her should exist—not without explanation.

  And if he was going to finish what he started, if he was going to prepare properly, he needed answers.

  The girl’s identity wasn’t just a curiosity.

  It was part of the mission now.

  Because whoever—or whatever—she was, she’d already made one thing painfully clear:

  She was a threat.

  And Von never left threats unexplained.