Lucas followed the cloaked examiner through the slums' narrow alleyways, each step echoing louder than the last. The air around the man felt different—sharper, colder, heavier. Even the slum thugs hiding in corners avoided his path.
Every instinct in Lucas screamed:
This man is strong.
Stronger than anyone Lucas has met so far.
Possibly even B-rank or higher.
A dangerous person.
The kind Lucas wasn't ready to deal with yet.
The man's boots crunched lightly on gravel as they reached a relatively open space behind the outer district wall—an abandoned courtyard with broken pillars and moss-covered ground. The location was so isolated that nobody else would dare come here willingly.
Lucas stopped.
The man stopped too, turning slightly.
"We talk here."
Lucas swallowed. "Why here?"
The man's voice was smooth but carried steel beneath it.
"Because this place is quiet. No ears. No eyes."
Lucas almost laughed.
Great.
Perfect place to kill someone if needed.
But he kept his expression calm.
He needed information.
He needed to understand the Academy's intentions before acting.
The examiner finally lowered his hood.
He wasn't an old man—maybe in his late twenties.
Sharp jawline.
Short silver hair.
Cold blue eyes that seemed to pierce through Lucas with unnerving precision.
The gaze of someone used to commanding others.
Lucas inhaled slowly.
"Who are you?"
The man tapped the badge pinned to his cloak.
"Aegis Norwood. Apprentice examiner of Arcane Academy. Subdivision: External Assessment Division."
Lucas's heart pounded.
He DID belong to the Academy.
Then it wasn't a trap.
…Or was that even worse?
Aegis scanned Lucas from head to toe.
"You seem weaker than I expected."
Lucas tensed.
"And yet…" Aegis narrowed his eyes, "…your eyes tell a different story."
Lucas stiffened involuntarily.
Aegis stepped closer.
"You ran from the ruin faster than your rank should allow. You have basic mana awakening. Your perception is sharper than a typical slum orphan. That alone warrants suspicion."
Lucas felt himself trapped between honesty and survival.
Aegis wasn't releasing killing intent.
But his aura felt like it could crush Lucas with a gesture.
"Tell me," Aegis continued, "why did a G– rank slum orphan awaken mana in a ruin that should have been empty? Why did we sense faint residual mana around your location last night?"
Lucas hesitated.
He couldn't reveal anything about:
His reincarnation
His multi-element awakening
His Talent Source
The Starlight emblem in the ruin
He forced his breathing to steady.
"…I got lucky."
Aegis smirked.
"Luck?" His eyes narrowed. "Or something else?"
Lucas remained silent.
Aegis circled him slowly—like a predator evaluating prey.
Then—
He spoke a single sentence that made Lucas's blood run cold.
"Your mana signature… it isn't normal. It feels old."
Lucas's eyes widened.
Old?
What did that mean?
Aegis stepped closer.
"Most G– ranks have mana that feels fragile, unstable… childlike. But yours—"
He frowned.
"Yours feels… refined. Like tempered silver. Like it has existed longer than you have."
Lucas swallowed hard.
He sensed it—
Aegis wasn't guessing.
He knew something was off.
Lucas forced calm into his voice.
"…I don't understand what you mean."
Aegis raised an eyebrow.
"You don't understand?"
"Or you refuse to?"
Lucas didn't blink.
Aegis stared deeper, his eyes narrowing like razors.
"Tell me. Who taught you how to manipulate mana?"
"N-No one," Lucas said truthfully. "I just… felt it."
Aegis scoffed. "Ridiculous. Mana sensing requires training. Even nobles struggle at your stage."
He raised a hand.
"Activate your mana. Show me."
Lucas froze.
If he activated mana now…
Aegis might feel more than just mana.
He might sense:
Lucas's dual-element awakening
The Talent Source's internal strengthening
The strange, ancient resonance tied to his bloodline
Lucas clenched his jaw.
"I can't show it."
Aegis frowned deeply.
"Can't or won't?"
Lucas stayed silent.
Aegis's eyes hardened.
"Fine. I'll see for myself."
He reached out with his right hand—
Mana concentrated at his fingertips—
A thin, glowing thread of blue light shot toward Lucas's chest.
Lucas's instincts screamed.
The thread wasn't an attack—
It was a mana probe.
A technique used to analyze a person's mana core directly.
Lucas took two steps back.
Aegis's eyes narrowed.
"Why are you avoiding it?"
Lucas forced his voice calm.
"I don't want anyone touching my mana core."
Aegis laughed once, coldly.
"You think you have a choice?"
Lucas's throat tightened.
This wasn't going well.
Aegis stepped forward again.
"Calm down. I will not harm you. I simply need to verify your elemental compatibility."
Lucas's fingers twitched.
This was dangerous.
Too dangerous.
His mind raced.
If Aegis probed his core, he would immediately discover:
Lucas had more than two elements
Some elements were extremely rare
His mana was NOT ordinary
His bloodline was sealed but ancient
It would change everything—
It would put Lucas under surveillance—
It might attract the wrong factions—
It might expose him to people connected to demon cults—
It could ruin his entire plan of rising secretly for five months.
Lucas couldn't let this man touch his core.
Not now.
But he also couldn't attack.
Not at this level.
Not against someone far stronger.
His mind spun.
And then—
A quiet footstep echoed behind them.
Aegis instantly turned, hand lifted, mana hardened.
Lucas's heart stopped.
Someone else was here.
Someone who had managed to approach silently.
Aegis hissed, "Who—?!"
A slender figure in a hooded cloak stepped into view.
Her voice was soft, calm, and carried an unshakable authority.
"That's enough, Aegis."
Lucas's heart froze.
He recognized the voice.
Even through the hood.
Even though they hadn't met officially.
Elara Valenford.
Duchess daughter.
Future Student Council President.
The Frost Lily.
Aegis's posture stiffened immediately.
"Lady Elara…!"
She lowered her hood.
Her silvery-blue hair shimmered slightly.
Her ice-blue eyes landed on Lucas first—
Soft, curious… and undeniably intelligent.
Then she looked at Aegis.
"You're probing a minor's mana core without permission?"
Aegis bowed his head slightly.
"I… sensed irregular mana activity and—"
Elara's tone turned colder.
"So you thought intimidating him was the solution?"
Lucas blinked.
Elara… was defending him.
Aegis opened his mouth, then shut it.
Elara stepped forward, standing between them.
Her presence was calm, but her aura…
It was like winter had stepped into the slums.
"You overstepped, Aegis. He is an unregistered candidate. You are not authorized to conduct a core probe without senior approval."
Aegis grimaced.
"But—his mana—"
Elara cut him off.
"His mana is none of your concern."
Her voice was calm but absolute.
Aegis clenched his fists, but he bowed.
"…I understand."
Elara nodded slightly.
"Good."
She turned toward Lucas.
Her eyes softened a fraction.
"Are you harmed?"
Lucas swallowed.
"…No. Thank you."
She studied him for a moment.
Lucas felt a strange chill—as if she was analyzing him quietly—but without invading his core.
Finally, she spoke.
"You. Come see me after your training sessions someday. I'm… curious about your progress."
Lucas blinked.
Aegis nearly choked.
"Lady Elara—! You cannot just—"
Elara raised a hand.
"And you may leave now, Aegis."
Aegis lowered his gaze, frustration sweeping over his expression.
"…As you command."
He turned and left.
Elara watched him disappear, then looked back at Lucas.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she said something that made Lucas's heart stop.
"You're not normal, Lucas Starlight."
Lucas stiffened.
Elara tilted her head slightly.
"But that's fine."
She stepped closer, her eyes locking onto his.
"Because I don't believe in coincidences."
Lucas felt a chill run down his spine.
Her next words were quiet—barely above a whisper.
"And people like you… tend to change the world."
Then she turned.
"Train well. I'll be watching."
And she walked away, leaving Lucas standing frozen in the silent courtyard.
Lucas exhaled shakily.
He hadn't expected a confrontation with the Academy this early.
He hadn't expected a noble girl to suddenly intervene.
He hadn't expected to be noticed.
Not yet.
But then—
The system chimed.
[Hidden Event Triggered]
A Noble's Gaze
Effect: Unknown
Affection Path: Elara Valenford +2 (Curiosity)
Suspicion Level: 0 → 1
Lucas's jaw tightened.
Suspicion level.
That meant:
Elara knew something was different about him.
Aegis suspected him.
Someone had already been watching.
Lucas clenched his fists.
He needed to grow faster.
Stronger.
Smarter.
Five months.
Five months to reach a power that wouldn't crumble in front of nobles and examiners.
Five months to stay hidden—
Or the world of Eldorin would swallow him whole.
Lucas took a deep breath.
"…Then I start today."
He walked away from the courtyard, heart pounding with fear and determination.
The path forward had become more dangerous.
But also more promising.
Because now—
People were noticing him.
And not all of them were enemies.