A week had passed since the attack.
Classes had resumed, though nothing felt the same.
Guards were posted at every building entrance now, checking identification even for students who'd been there for months.
The courtyards had new patrol routes cutting through them at regular intervals. Barriers shimmered faintly over the training grounds, and the main gates stayed sealed except for official business.
The academy had turned into something halfway between a school and a fortress.
Though Alaric didn't particularly care about the increased security. What annoyed him was that his system was still offline.
A week of silence. No status window, no shop access, no quest notifications.
Just... nothing.
He'd tested everything he could think of, leaving the academy grounds, meditation that supposedly helped with essence connections, even trying to manually trigger the interface through sheer willpower.
But nothing worked.
