The Codex did not immediately respond.
My thoughts sharpened.
Hookhorn Thyrak.
'A B-rank Aethren, huh.'
It seems like it loved forestry territories, and it often disappeared at night.
'It wasn't true invisibility, I think. He mentioned "visual disappearance". A dense forest, some shadows. Maybe its horns aren't decorative. Who knows what the pale markings are for, let alone its Aether pathways and tactical adaptation.
I replayed the projection in my mind.
'The markings across the body couldn't have been random.'
They were positioned along its limbs, spine, and around the horns.
'A predator that disappeared in forests at night.'
Not ordinary camouflage, because he would not ask an expert-level question if the answer was "black fur in darkness."
It wasn't ordinary camouflage, because there was no chance that the petty Professor would ask an expert-level question where the answer is "black fur in darkness equals disappears."
Then I heard it.
It wasn't a sound in the room.
An internal chime.
[DING]
'Ding?'
[QUERY FOUND]
My vision sharpened.
'Hold on now. Come on, Codex, show me something.'
[HOOKHORN THYRAK]
[AETHERIC TRAIT: UMBRAL TRANSLOCATION]
[COMMON TERM: SHADOW HOP]
[MECHANISM: SHORT-RANGE MOVEMENT BETWEEN CONNECTED LOW-LIGHT REGIONS]
[REQUIRES SHADOW CONTINUITY OR PARTIAL OVERLAP]
[FOREST TERRAIN ADVANTAGE: MULTIPLE TREE-CAST SHADOWS CREATE LINKED TRANSLOCATION PATHWAYS]
[TACTICAL WARNING: VISUAL DISAPPEARANCE DOES NOT INDICATE ABSENCE]
I almost laughed.
It was hard not to, but I refrained from doing so.
However, the smile that touched my face was impossible to stop. It wasn't polite, and it certainly wasn't respectful. It was, admittedly, a little devilish.
A bit too Taron-like.
Professor Anlor noticed.
His eyes narrowed.
Taron's hand lowered from his face.
"Kael? You ok?" he whispered.
I turned to him, with my devilish smile. "Better than ok."
For the first time during this petty quiz, I met the gaze of Professor Anlor.
"The Hookhorn Thyrak isn't becoming invisible," I said. "It's moving."
The room stilled.
Professor Anlor's expression froze.
"It uses an innate trait; it's often described as shadow hopping. Its Aether pathways allow short-range movement between connected regions of minimal light, provided the shadows overlap enough. That is why it favours thick forests at night. The trees' cover creates broken but continuous shadows across uneven terrain, giving it multiple points to vanish and reappear from. The horns and body markings probably help to stabilise the transition by anchoring its Aether during the jump."
I paused, hoping for Professor Anlor to conclude the farce.
But then added, because I couldn't help myself, "So if someone thinks it disappeared, they're probably already looking in the wrong direction or severely ill-informed."
There was silence.
It was absolute.
Professor Anlor simply stared at me, with one of his eyes twitching.
It was small.
Tiny.
But oh so beautiful.
Taron saw it too, and his smile returned at an alarming speed.
"So, Professor," he said, his voice bright and innocent enough to be seriously suspicious, "was that the correct answer you were looking for?"
Professor Anlor didn't give his answer immediately.
The entire class held its breath in anticipation.
His mouth opened slightly.
Then it closed.
Then he looked away from Taron and back to me.
"Yes," he said.
The word sounded painful... to him.
"It was the correct answer I was looking for."
For a split second, no one moved.
Then the room exploded.
Cheers erupted from the commoner side first; they were loud and unrestrained. A few nobles joined soon after, then more, until the entire hall had turned from an educational lesson into an unexpected celebration. Someone slapped the desk in front of them. Another student laughed in disbelief. The commoner two rows below me, who had earlier looked ready to blame me for his future misery, turned around and shouted, "I knew you had it in you!"
He absolutely did not.
But I respected the revision of history.
Taron leaned back in his seat, laughing openly now.
"Ha! I've got to say, Kael, that was incredible."
I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding.
The pressure in my shoulders finally started to ease.
Not completely, but enough.
This was a new experience for me, one I hadn't experienced until I attended Aetherion Academy. I felt something in the atmosphere shift as the way the room looked at me changed.
I knew not everyone liked me. That would have been an unreasonable expectation.
Some nobles still watched with narrowed eyes. Some commoners looked more shocked than supportive. But there was no dismissing it now, no easy way to reduce me to accident, anomaly, or commoner luck.
But. I stood in front of a Professor's trap and answered in defiance.
Five times.
Unsurprisingly, Professor Anlor didn't seem keen to allow the celebration for more than, perhaps, ten seconds.
His voice nailed the room with Aether.
"ENOUGH."
The word rolled through the hall like a command given by an authority itself.
Every cheer had died.
Professor Anlor stood at the centre of the floor, his expression now composed again, though the edges of that composure looked slightly strained.
"Well done, Kael," he said.
The use of my name felt deliberate.
"You have given everyone a mini-holiday."
A few students grinned despite knowing the potential repercussions.
"But don't relax too much," he continued. "You will all have a field activity soon. More information will be provided at the appropriate time, but I suggest you begin thinking carefully about who you intend to pair with."
That caught my attention.
'Pair with?'
Taron looked at me.
I looked at him.
Professor Anlor continued before anyone could ask questions.
"For now, however, you may enjoy the next couple of weeks with minimal written preparation. Class dismissed."
The class eagerly started to rise.
Professor Anlor lifted one finger.
"Ah, but classes will still resume as normal. I expect to see all of you here tomorrow." His smile returned, mild but threatening. "Or else."
No one questioned what "or else" meant.
Professor Anlor gathered the projection crystal from the teaching desk, turned, and left the room without another word.
The moment the door closed, the hall erupted again.
Not as loudly as before, but with looser excitement. Students gathered their things while talking rapidly. Some looked at me. Some looked away when I noticed. A few commoners nodded as they passed, awkward but genuine.
One noble boy stared at me as if I had become a problem he would need to solve later.
'Well, I guess that's progress at least. Before, they wouldn't even look at me.'
Taron stood beside me, still smiling.
"That, my friend," he said, "was awesome."
I gathered my notes slowly.
"All I did was answer five questions. I got lucky."
"It was five questions from hell— from a professor who was very clearly trying to make you look like an idiot in front of the entire class."
"Well. When you say it like that, then yes, I guess it was awesome."
"Hell yeah, dude, not many students can say that they got challenged by a professor and won," Taron emphasised. "You should hold your head high with dignity."
"I try to."
Taron laughed, then shook his head.
"I knew you were smart, Kael. I did. But that?" He gestured vaguely at the room, the projection wall, the place where Professor Anlor had stood. "That was something different."
"I got lucky."
"You say that, but you answered a question about a B-rank Aethren trait that most people in here had never even heard of."
"Very lucky."
Taron narrowed his eyes.
"Are you always this allergic to taking credit?"
"Yes."
"At least you admit it."
I slid my notebook under one arm.
"Besides, I am not sure being noticed is such a good thing."
Taron's smile softened.
"Hm. Probably not."
For a moment, we both looked toward the door Professor Anlor had used.
The professor was gone, but the pressure he left behind had not entirely faded.
"He is definitely targeting you," Taron said quietly.
"I noticed."
"You think it's because of Darius?"
"Most likely"
"Or do you think it's because of Professor Orin?"
"That's also a possibility."
"Or it's both."
"Probably, unfortunately."
Taron exhaled. "This whole thing is getting annoying."
"Very."
Then he looked back at me, and the brightness returned to his face.
"Still, I reckon you might be smarter than Elya."
I paused.
"Please don't say that; I feel like that's the sort of thing that gets people cursed."
"Meh. Probably."
"Please do not say that near her."
"I can't make any promises."
"Taron."
"Fine. Maybe a slight promise."
I sighed.
But this time, it was not entirely from exhaustion.
"Thanks," I said.
He blinked.
"For what?"
"For stepping in earlier."
His grin became less theatrical.
"Haha, of course."
The simplicity of the answer made it hard to respond, so I did what I usually did when emotions approached without warning.
I changed the subject.
"What are your plans now?"
Taron tilted his head.
"Why?"
"If you are not busy, I was going to get lunch. You can join me."
For once, Taron didn't give a swift answer.
His eyes widened slightly, not in shock exactly, but in what looked like pleasant surprise, as if he had expected to be the one making invitations for the foreseeable future, not receiving them.
Then his smile returned.
Warmer this time.
"Yeah," he said. "I'll catch up with you in the cafeteria."
I looked at him.
"But?"
"But," he said, glancing toward the door, "there's something I've gotta take care of first."
His tone was light.
Too light.
I followed his gaze.
Professor Anlor's exit still seemed to linger in the room like a shadow with excellent disposition.
I understood.
Or thought I did.
"Try your best not to start a political accident, ok."
Taron placed a hand dramatically over his chest.
"Kael, I am wounded you would think so little of me."
"I think exactly enough of you."
He grinned.
"Haha. Fair."
Then he turned and started toward the door, auburn hair catching the light as he moved.
I watched him go for a moment, then looked back at the room.
Students were still leaving in clusters, whispering about the events that had happened, the questions, Professor Anlor, and me.
I had won.
That should have felt simple, but it did not because Professor Anlor had not looked like a man defeated. He had looked like a man adjusting his approach.
And somewhere ahead of us, a field activity was coming.
Pairs were needed, Aethren would be faced, and an Island exam drawing closer by the day.
I glanced once at the empty doorway.
Then I turned toward the cafeteria.
"Lunch first. Problems later."