The Aegis Arcane and Technical Academy (AATA) was less a school and more a vertical city carved from white marble and shimmering with contained energy. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of ozone and expensive cologne.
Heuk-jae and Eun-ji stood in the Grand Atrium, the noise of hundreds of privileged students echoing around them. Eun-ji felt acutely visible in her plain tunic, but Heuk-jae was already performing.
He had adopted the persona of "Lord Jae-eun," the third son of a respectable but politically insignificant Northern Baron. The "Facial" was working perfectly: his eyes held a glazed, polite boredom, his posture was slightly slouched, and he moved with the lackadaisical confidence of someone who had never had to worry about anything. He was unremarkable, and that was his strength.
The Art of the Middle
Their first mandatory assembly was a ranking ceremony. The Academy was competitive, and the top 10% (the top 500 students) were announced immediately, gaining special access to exclusive libraries and advanced workshops.
Heuk-jae's strategy was precise: stay just above the failure line, but miles below the threshold of notice.
"Look at the robes," Heuk-jae murmured to Eun-ji as a trio of students in expensive, gold-threaded cloaks swept past them. "Those are the Top 500. They gain access, but they also gain scrutiny. They are tested constantly, their achievements are watched, and their movements are tracked. We don't want the eyes of the Proctors on us.
Eun-ji nodded, still adjusting to the sheer scale of the place. "So, how do we choose our rank?"
"We don't choose a rank, we choose an effort level," Heuk-jae corrected, a flash of the true strategist showing through the boredom mask. "Our required grade is a C-average. A 'C' is the result of acceptable effort, but not natural genius. It's the grade of a student who enjoys drinking and parties more than homework."
The First Test: Aetheric Theory
Their first official class was Introduction to Advanced Aetheric Theory, taught by a desiccated scholar named Professor Melas. Melas spent the first hour testing the class's baseline knowledge.
He flashed a complex problem on a projection stone—a geometric formula for calculating the decay rate of a Level 4 Aetheric Barrier.
It was a standard, high-level theoretical problem designed to identify prodigies.
Heuk-jae, possessing Magic Mastery, understood the physical nature of the calculation instantly. He could have solved it in ten seconds and impressed the entire hall. Instead, he waited.
He waited for three top-ranked students to raise their hands and provide slightly different, elaborate answers. He waited for Professor Melas to critique their methodology. He waited until the answer was essentially established by the room's collective effort.
Then, five seconds before the class moved on, Heuk-jae slowly raised his hand, yawned slightly into his sleeve, and offered a simplified, slightly flawed numerical approximation that was technically correct but lacked the academic rigor of a top student.
"Sir, the decay rate is roughly 7.1×10^{-4} units per cycle," he drawled, feigning indifference. "The exponent term is practically negligible at standard ambient pressure."
Professor Melas frowned, noting the correct number but the lazy delivery. "Accurate, Lord Jae-eun, but hardly insightful. Try to show your work next time."
[Result: Pass. Effort Level: C-Grade Compliant.]
Heuk-jae smiled internally. He had proven he understood the concept without demonstrating a threatening level of genius. He was officially a competent slacker.
Eun-ji's Struggle
Eun-ji, meanwhile, was fighting a different battle. She wanted to excel, but her fear of exposure was paralyzing. Her mind, honed by logic puzzles and survival, kept trying to race to the correct answer.
In the first Elemental Theory class, the professor asked a simple, foundational question about the basic Hydric Aether incantation. Eun-ji knew the answer, but the moment she opened her mouth, she remembered the Geomantic Regulator hidden in her room—the cheat device that made her a fraud. She froze, unable to speak the noble language of spells.
A handsome noble girl beside her, Lady Sorina, giggled patronizingly. "Can't remember the primary phase, commoner?"
The term hit Eun-ji hard. She snapped back, finding the Facial persona needed to use the regulator.
"I find the current curriculum needlessly verbose," Eun-ji stated coldly, adopting the haughty tone of her simulated noble. "The elemental channeling requires far too many unnecessary syllables for the desired output."
The professor, intrigued by the unexpected arrogance, allowed her to sit down without penalty. Heuk-jae, watching from across the room, gave her an almost imperceptible nod. She had saved herself by leaning into the performance, even if it cost her a low grade.
The Enrollment List
That evening, the first official Academy rankings were posted.
Heuk-jae and Eun-ji hurried to the large, inscribed tablet that shimmered with the names of the students.
They scanned the top half:
Rank 1: Lady Lyra (Prodigy)
...
Rank 498: Lord Kaelan
Rank 499: Miss Torvin
Rank 500: Lord Jace
Heuk-jae's finger ran lower, a slow, meticulous count:
Rank 511: Lord Jae-eun
Rank 512: Eun-ji (due to her excellent performance on the entrance exam but her deliberate initial slacking in class).
"Perfect," Heuk-jae breathed, a genuine spark of triumph in his eyes. "We're safe. We're well clear of the scrutiny, but close enough to the middle to avoid academic watch lists."
He turned to Eun-ji. "Now the real work begins. We have established our identities. Next, we find the path to the Restricted Arcane Archives."