The taste of the salty, stale bread was an unwelcome counterpoint to the rush of adrenaline coursing through Eun-ji's veins. It was the taste of their new reality—hard, simple, and utterly dependent on Heuk-jae's plan. She stared past the elaborate, intimidating seal on the Aegis Arcane and Technical Academy (AATA) enrollment document, a piece of parchment that felt heavier than the chains they'd worn just days ago.
"The answer key," Eun-ji finally said, her voice dry. "That's why we're here. You came for the key, not the Academy."
Heuk-jae didn't deny it. He walked to the single window of their cramped, rented room in the shadowed commoner district of Aegis City. The Viper Dust, a potent narcotic used by the aristocracy for both pleasure and pain control, was a telltale sign of his dark past and dangerous connections.
"The Academy is a gate," he said, watching the rain slick the cobblestones. "And every gate has a lock. The man who holds the lock on the AATA is Master Zai—the chief proctor and the one who writes the exam every year."
The Devil's Logic
Heuk-jae pulled a worn leather-bound book from his pack. It was a dense, almost impenetrable treatise on Advanced Arcane Logic and Geometronics.
"Master Zai doesn't just write a test; he writes a puzzle designed to prove that commoners are inherently less capable," Heuk-jae explained, pointing to a cryptic geometric diagram in the book. "He believes logic is a birthright, not a learned skill. But his flaw is this: his tests are cyclical. He recycles themes, biases, and logic traps. The 'answer key' isn't a cheat sheet; it's his mind."
Eun-ji's eyes were wide. "You want me to learn how he thinks?"
"No," Heuk-jae corrected, a chilling calm in his voice. "I want you to learn how he fails.
The nobility trains for two things: flash and endurance. The commoner's only advantage is efficiency. If you can solve a problem in one step, while the noble takes twenty, you win."
He then laid out their timeline on a rough wooden table.
Day 1-4: Logic and Geometry. Heuk-jae planned to drill Eun-ji exclusively on Master Zai's favorite logic puzzles and arcane geometric proofs. He had a brutal, tailored curriculum extracted from years of underground information brokering.
Day 5-7: Endurance and Focus. This was the tricky part. The 48-hour test was a trial of stamina. They had to simulate the environment—no sleep, minimal water, and relentless pressure.
Day 8-10: Technical Application (The Practical Stage). The second stage of the exam was a series of hands-on technical challenges. Heuk-jae knew it would involve elemental control and basic engineering. "The nobles have elemental tutors," he said. "You have your wits."
Day 11-14: Review and Contingency.
The First Lesson
The first four days were a blur of grueling mental effort. Eun-ji, whose intelligence had only been sharpened by the necessity of survival, proved to be a frighteningly fast learner.
Heuk-jae, however, was merciless.
"Problem 12," he snapped, pushing the worn book towards her. "The Gilded Cage Paradox. You have 3 minutes."
The problem detailed an overly complex system of arcane levers, elemental conduits, and a non-euclidean geometry sequence that seemed to defy common sense. Eun-ji's hand shook as she took the cheap charcoal stick.
"I... I can't trace the power flow," she stammered. "It doubles back on itself."
"It's a trap!" Heuk-jae roared, slapping the table. "Stop trying to find the power flow.
Find the flaw. Zai is a sadist; he doesn't build a beautiful circuit, he builds a beautiful bomb. Where is the structural weakness that brings the entire system down? Focus, Eun-ji. You're not a noble trying to win; you're a commoner trying to survive."
Eun-ji closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and remembered the cold, precise look in Heuk-jae's eyes. She let go of the Academy's lofty language and saw the diagram for what it was—a complex machine designed to fail.
She opened her eyes and pointed a finger. "The primary conduit's material coefficient is mismatched with the adjacent stabilizing crystal. If the load exceeds 4.8 units of Aetheric Force, the entire circuit melts down. The answer isn't to solve the paradox; it's to avoid loading the system in the first place."
A slow, predatory grin spread across Heuk-jae's face. "Precisely," he murmured. "Don't play his game. Change the rules."
The Practical Exam
As they moved into the technical phase, Heuk-jae revealed the true difficulty of their situation.
"The practical exam requires the manipulation of the primary elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air," Heuk-jae explained. "The nobles have been taught the basic Incantations since childhood. We don't have time for that."
He pulled out a small, metallic sphere etched with delicate runic symbols.
"This is a Geomantic Regulator," he said. "It allows a non-arcane user to manipulate elemental energy by acting as an external focus, effectively bypassing the need for a complex spell matrix. It's highly illegal."
He paused, tossing the device in the air. "I stole three of them. I'll take one. You'll take two. One for the practical exam, and one... for the future."
Eun-ji looked at the spheres, then at Heuk-jae. The weight of the device in her hand felt like a second, heavier lock. They weren't just studying to pass; they were preparing to cheat their way into a new life, armed with black market technology and a knowledge of the proctor's flaws.
The stakes were clear: pass and become an insider, or fail and be permanently exiled.
In 14 days, two former slaves would either walk through the gate and seize their status, or disappear forever under the city's cobblestones.
[New Inventory Item Acquired: Geomantic Regulator (x2)]
[Hidden Goal Revealed: Secure Master Zai's Arcane Treatise]
What aspect of their training should Chapter 8 focus on next: The 48-hour Endurance Simulation or the Illegal Geomantic Regulator Practice?