The Athena district of the Greek Village was nothing like the roaring flames of Ares or the thunderous statues of Zeus. Everything here was calm… too calm. Marble towers rose like pale giants touching the sky, libraries layered like labyrinths, and scholars in flowing teal robes walked with books levitating beside them.
Knowledge was strength here. Logic was law. Aether didn't roar — it whispered.
Kaito and Ayo walked side by side through the pristine courtyard, carrying small satchels and wearing civilian cloaks. The illusion spell Selene taught them flickered faintly — subtle, but enough to blur their origins. Aura closed tight. Power suppressed. They moved like ghosts among scholars.
Ayo whistled low.
"So this place is basically school on steroids?"
Kaito didn't look at him. His voice was level, serious, too calm for someone their age.
"Less noise. Observe carefully. Information saves lives."
Ayo smirked. "You sound like Sensei."
Kaito's eyebrow twitched — the closest thing he had to laughing.
The Hall of Logic Trials
The pair approached a large archway etched with complex runes. Students gathered around a floating stone tablet where equations shifted like living ink.
A robed girl stepped forward — glasses, calm eyes, Aether swirling like silver dust around her fingertips. A prodigy.
"I've never seen you two," she said, studying them with the caution of a hawk. "State your affiliation."
Kaito bowed slightly. "Traveling scholars from the Eastern Isles. Seeking knowledge exchange."
His tone was polished — polite, steady, the perfect lie.
The girl wasn't convinced instantly. Athena Clan valued logic over trust.
She snapped her fingers. The runes behind her glowed.
"A puzzle trial. Solve it, you enter. Fail, you leave."
Ayo leaned toward Kaito. "Can we not fight our way in instead?"
Kaito didn't answer — he was already analyzing.
The floating puzzle rearranged itself into a shimmering riddle:
"A flame that freezes, a wind that burns.
What element lives between night and dawn?"
Students whispered. Some frowned. No one had answered yet.
Ayo scratched his head. "Bro… what kind of nonsense question is that?"
Kaito stepped forward, aura still sealed.
"Aether," he answered calmly.
"The boundary of all energy — neither night nor dawn, flame nor wind, yet it shapes both."
Silence.
Then the tablet flashed gold.
The girl's eyes widened with a mix of shock and respect.
"…Correct. Few first-years answer that."
Ayo grinned. "We're not first-years."
She blinked. "Name?"
"Kaito."
"And Ayo," he added dramatically, throwing a peace sign.
The girl let them pass, though her gaze lingered on Kaito — curious, calculating.
Another mind recorded them.
Perfect for infiltration.
Inside Athena's Academy
Rows of training circles filled the courtyard. Here, battles were not brute strength — they were mental chess.
Students cast spells quietly, without shouting techniques. Aether here moved like geometry — angles, runic patterns, precise calculations. Even sound felt soft.
A teacher waved a staff, summoning projection screens of historical wars.
"Remember — power without strategy is wasted. Power without discipline is suicide."
Ayo leaned close to whisper,
"If Reina was here, she would've burned someone by now."
Kaito just nodded once, watching every movement, memorizing formation styles, spell circles, defense patterns. He wasn't here for admiration. He was here to steal knowledge.
Aura farming quietly.
He noticed a training beast behind the academy — feathered panther, shimmering like moonlit ink. Fast. Silent. Its presence radiated controlled Aether.
Ayo noticed it too.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yes."
Aura Hunt
Night fell. Lamps glowed blue. Students slept or buried themselves in books.
Kaito and Ayo slipped through shadows, Aether muted to a whisper. They approached the feathered panther. It watched them with luminous eyes — curious, ancient.
Kaito drew near slowly, hands open.
Ayo circled right, silent steps like a thief on cloud-steps.
The panther pounced — elegant, deadly.
Kaito didn't flinch. He sidestepped effortlessly. In fights, his personality changed — no jokes, no hesitation. Cold.
Ayo grinned, loving every second.
The beast slashed, feathers sharp as blades. Kaito flicked two fingers — Aether thread. Invisible. Gentle. It brushed the beast's aura core, disrupting rhythm just enough for Ayo to strike.
Wind exploded from his palm — not too bright, not suspicious. Just enough for farming.
The panther staggered.
Kaito's eyes gleamed.
"Switch."
Ayo laughed. "My favorite part."
He slid beneath the beast, palm glowing faint silver. Instead of killing, he drained residual aura like siphoning steam. The beast weakened — but not harmed. Sustainable farming.
Efficiency.
They finished with a synchronized tap on its core, returning balance. The creature blinked twice and disappeared back into the spirit grove, unharmed.
Ayo stretched. "Bro. That's like 40 points to our reserves."
Kaito rolled his shoulders. "45."
Ayo snorted. "My calculator."
Meeting the Prodigy — Lysia of the Mind
On their way back, someone blocked the path.
The girl from earlier — except different. Aura blazing faint silver, eyes sharp enough to cut steel. A prodigy in full stance.
"You harvested aura in the restricted grove," she said.
No accusation. Just fact.
Ayo raised his hands. "Uhh… we were sightseeing?"
Kaito stepped forward, cold and composed.
"If we intended harm, you would have noticed earlier."
Her lips curved. The first small smile they'd seen here.
"So you can fight."
A spark of challenge flickered.
She extended a hand, not for friendship — for a duel.
"Spell duel. No lethal attacks. Winner gains five academy privileges."
Ayo's eyes shone. Privileges = access = information.
Kaito accepted.
Duel of Thought
The arena lit in silver. Runes floated. The duel began with silence — not flashy explosions like Ares. A battle of minds.
Lysia conjured barriers like mirrored prisms, bending light and confusing perception.
Kaito didn't counter instantly. He analyzed — patterns, movement, Aether density. He stepped through illusions like he'd walked the path before.
Ayo whispered at the edge,
"He's in fight mode."
Kaito's aura shifted gently — first flame, then shadow, hidden and controlled. Dual nature never revealed fully. He shaped Aether like a blade of thought, cutting through illusions without theatrical motion.
Lysia's eyes widened.
"This— you're no traveler."
Kaito's voice went low, chilling.
"You asked for a duel."
He flicked his wrist. Wind and flame merged subtly — a technique impossible for pure-bloods. But he masked it as pressure manipulation, not dual wielding.
Lysia stumbled back, breath sharp. Kaito didn't strike her — he stopped one inch before contact. Enough to prove dominance. Not enough to expose secrets.
Victory.
Ayo pumped a fist. "Let's goooo!"
Students whispered in awe. Rumors began.
Two unknowns. Too skilled. Too calm. Too dangerous.
Perfect infiltration.
Lysia bowed, respectful now.
"You're interesting. I want to see how far you go, Kaito."
Kaito nodded once. "We'll meet again."
And they walked away, vanishing into the academy's shadowed halls like phantoms.