For a second, Nox considered pretending he hadn't heard the principal at all. But the man's calm, expectant stare made running away feel childish.
The anxious boy followed the principal to his office.
He caught glimpses of other students whispering but couldn't tell if they were impressed or suspicious. That uncertainty irritated him more than he expected.
Their gazes clung to his back like invisible needles, making each step feel heavier than the last.
Inside the office, countless symbols and magic formulas adorned the walls. A fresh scent emanated from a nearby candle.
"Don't be nervous. Take a seat."
"The reason I called you here is because of your stigma. Your blue magic was able to bypass the barrier and destroy the target."
The principal mustered him with a scrutinizing gaze
"It destroyed the target?" Nox wondered, his eyes widening in surprise.
"For the assessment, we need the name of your stigma," principal Albrecht replied.
"I might get in trouble if I tell him that I have the Stigma of Combination, especially when I don't even know to what extent it works," Nox thought.
"Y- Yes, of course. My stigma is called the Stigma of Ice," he said with a nervous smirk.
As soon as the lie left his mouth, he felt a familiar coldness in his chest—not from ice magic, but from guilt.
His fingers curled into a fist beneath the desk. He avoided the principal's eyes; afraid they might see straight through him.
"Alright. It's always a pleasure to have new, special students at Yom academy."
As Nox left the office, a loud sigh escaped him.
For the first time, he wondered whether entering an academy filled with the most promising mages had been the smartest idea.
"I should go to my room now. Please don't give me the bully leader as a roommate," he thought, looking out of a grand window. A massive garden stretched out beneath him with multiple training arenas distributed everywhere.
The academy grounds stretched far into the distance—training arenas, greenhouses, even floating platforms. It all felt too big for someone still lying about his own powers.
The corridors were long and filled with a gentle, friendly light.
By the time he reached the dorm, he had cursed his low stamina stat at least ten times.
With anticipation, he opened the door to his room and saw two beds beneath large windows. In the corner stood a bathroom and a wardrobe.
In the center of the apartment stood a tall boy staring around like a little child. He had black hair and an unnaturally muscular build.
"Oh, h-hello. I'm Regea Nere. I-I'm not from a noble family, so please don't bully me," he murmured with a shy expression.
Nox stood there, staring at him with surprise.
"He looks completely different from how he acts. That's why you should never judge a book by its cover," Nox thought.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Nox van Strier. I think I saw you on the board. You were in fifth place, right?"
"Oh, y-yes. I was quite lucky when I received my stigma from the Goddess of Creation. But I'm still weak compared to you…"
"Not really. I was just able to bypass the barrier with my magic. I'm not extremely powerful—it was probably coincidence."
Even though Nox answered modestly, his heart warmed from the unfamiliar recognition.
[ADDED] He wasn't used to being admired by anyone.
"I couldn't sleep enough in that carriage, so I'm going to bed early. Good night."
"Are you sure you don't want to eat dinner first?" Regea asked carefully.
However, Nox had already closed his eyes and slept like a stone.
Regea went downstairs and entered the cafeteria. He ordered a portion of rice and counted his remaining silver coins.
The restaurant was loud and warm, the kind of place where it was easy to feel invisible.
"I don't have much money, but rice will suffice," he thought.
"I'm glad my roommate is such a nice guy. I've heard many bad rumours about this place…"
While eating, two girls suddenly approached Regea.
"Hey, you're the roommate of that Nox guy, right?" one asked.
She had shiny red hair and a warm, open aura.
"Where is he? I heard from Lina that he shattered the dummy with his magic!"
Regea froze with a mouth full of rice, unsure how to respond. No one had ever spoken to him so confidently before.
"Beatrice, calm down. Can't you see you're overwhelming him?" Lina scolded gently.
"I'm sorry for her behaviour. I'm Lina van Arkheim, and this is Beatrice Ollheimer."
"W-What? The princess? U-Uhm, I'm sorry if I did s-something wrong," Regea stuttered, lowering his head.
"Don't worry, don't worry. We just came to ask you about Nox," Beatrice said, stealing a glimpse of his muscles and then looking back at his overly nervous face.
"About Nox?"
"Yes. Did he tell you anything about his strength or stigma?"
"N-Not really. He just said he bypassed the protection barrier by coincidence," he replied.
"Didn't seem like a coincidence to me," Lina said. "How about we form a group tomorrow?"
"A group?"
"Yes. From tomorrow onward, we'll have to form groups for missions."
"A-Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, sleep well," Beatrice replied.
Regea quickly stormed away, his face was a mixture of relief and embarrassment.
"The academy isn't so bad after all."
As the first rays of sunlight lit up the room, Nox let out a loud yawn.
"It's so nice to sleep without having weird dreams."
His hair stuck out in every direction, betraying how deeply he had slept.
"You're awake. Let's go eat breakfast together," Regea said, already standing by the door with his training gear packed.
"Why don't you put your things into a dimension bag?" Nox asked, waiting to hear some special reason.
"W-Well, I don't have the money to buy one," Regea answered, embarrassed.
"U- Uhm, alright… you can put your things into mine if you want."
"Oh, really? Thank you so much!"
As the two entered the huge cafeteria, hundreds of students were already eating breakfast.
"The seniors seem to be here as well," Nox thought, adding more food to his plate. Meat helped him think or at least kept his stomach from complaining.
More people poured in until the cafeteria was filled to the brim.
The fourth-year students didn't look a lot younger than some of the teachers. A lot seemed already in their twenties.
"Oh yeah, yesterday two girls asked to form a group with us. I think their names were Lina and Beatrice," Regea said.
"The princess? Why would she want to team up with me?" Nox wondered as the principal walked through the door.
"Hello, new and old students of Yom Academy. It's time I introduce myself properly. I am Albrecht van Winkelhouse, one of the Six Lions."
"In this academy, everyone is treated as equals. Bullying will not be tolerated."
His voice grew fierce, and a powerful aura pressed down on the students. Several weaker people flinched under the pressure.
"But enough of that. Today, you will be forming groups of four to six people. You will then participate in tournaments or missions and earn points."
"After two months, these points will determine your ranking. The group with the highest points in each class will rank up, and the group with the lowest will rank down."
Albrecht van Winkelhouse took a deep breath, waiting for everyone to take up the information.
"There is also an overall ranking that includes all teams in the academy, even the older students."
"The better you rank, the more Yom Coins you will receive. With these, you can buy powerful items."
"Alright, enough talking. Form your groups and go to the sparring grounds in fifteen minutes."
When the principal left, the students immediately began searching for strong teammates.
Nox looked around and saw Lina walking toward him. Beside her was the red-haired girl.
"She must be Beatrice—the flame girl from yesterday."
"Hello. Let's introduce ourselves first."
"I'm Lina van Arkheim. I have the Stigma of Light, and my specialties are healing and buffs."
"I'm Beatrice Ollheimer. I have the Stigma of Flames. My specialty is wide-range attacks."
"I-I'm Regea Nere. I have the Stigma of Creation. My specialties are plant defence and attack through golems."
"Wow, everyone has a main stigma," Nox realized.
"I'm Nox van Strier. I have the Stigma of Ice. I'm good at slowing opponents, and I'm fairly skilled with the sword."
When he mentioned his sword skills, Regea nodded proudly, as if that skill somehow belonged to him too.
"You really have an unknown stigma. That's so cool. You must show us your powers later," Beatrice said excitedly.
"Yeah, but don't expect too much from me."
Despite his words, a quiet determination stirred in his chest.
They left the castle and strived through the massive garden. Determination stirred in Nox' chest, as his very first lesson drew nearer.