My eyes widened. 'Archmage Aurelian Kynes.'
I knew that name. In the story I remembered, General Aurelian Kynes was the de facto leader of humanity. No one had any idea of how he looked. But his name was stamped in every lore book in the game. At one point, we joked that he was a myth, a plot device that the developers had inserted into the game that only served to pull strings from behind the scenes.
But of course. That assumption fell apart. In the mid-stages of the game, Aurelian Kynes died. Ultimately, his death was the real trigger for humanity splitting apart and the start of an all-out war.
'So why is he here?'
The space above the stage shifted, and a dark silhouette stepped through.
He wore a dark purple hooded robe, the heavy fabric draped down to hide most of his body. Over his face was an obsidian mask that covered the bottom half of his face, enough to show only his eyes.
The moment he appeared, I felt the mana condense, and a terrifying pressure gripped the surroundings.
Before I knew it, a monstrous weight slammed down on everyone at once.
'Ughk.' I clenched my teeth and felt my knees creak as my feet dug into the ground. The air had already turned thick. Even heaving a breath left my muscles strained, as if I was plunged into the depths of the ocean.
'I need to hold out,' I glanced around.
Everyone around me was no different. Some had already dropped to one knee, and the others had collapsed, palms scraping against stone as they struggled not to pass out.
'Just a bit longer'
My legs shook as I squeezed my fists to muster up whatever strength I had left. But it was futile. I watched helplessly as my own body betrayed me. My knees dropped to the ground, and I grunted, pushing against the floor with my hands instead.
"Just... a bit longer." I strained my neck and glanced up.
General Aurelian patiently stood at the centre of the stage, watching us fight against the weight.
A jolt of pain ran through me, the weight bent my spine in a cruel twist, and my head struck the floor. I felt my heart pound; it slammed against my ribs in protest. Blood rushed through my veins, and my eyes threatened to pop out.
'This pressure is too strong. I can't win.' An instinctual fear crept into my mind.
'Am I being crushed alive?'
My vision darkened, but just as my struggle consumed me. The General cleared his throat, and the pressure vanished.
The sudden absence of the pressure made my arms sway. I hastily gasped as my lungs dragged in air and my eyes turned to the stage in shock.
"Did you feel it?" Aurelian paused.
"Your helplessness as you struggled against me? Did you recognise your futility as you realised that you could not overpower me? Did you give up? Or were you defiant till the end?"
I panted and gritted my teeth. 'What the hell is he talking about?'
His voice echoed.
"The Demons oppress Humanity the same way," Aurelian continued. "No matter what we do as we fight this grand war, we are helpless. We face an enemy that can neither be overpowered nor outdone."
His gaze moved across us.
"This war has continued for generations," he said. "It has eaten cities, families, bloodlines. It has taken the old and the young, the strong and the weak, the cowardly and the brave. But it will not stop. Not until every life is lost and every soul plunged into despair. Not until hope itself is extinguished in the heart of man."
A deathly silence settled over the room.
"You who come after me. I will not whisper any grand illusions or aspirations. But there is a reality you must accept. If you are not the ones to bring change, if you are not the ones who can end it all." Aurelian's voice lowered, "Then, just like me, let these words echo to those who come after you."
He paused.
My fingers clenched inside my sleeves. I could feel my pulse in my wrists.
Aurelian's eyes softened.
"Till the day comes that they are needed no longer, and Humanity can stand proud."
Aurelian's head bowed ever so slightly. He didn't wait for a reaction and stepped back. Space began to fold behind him. But just as he turned, he murmured faintly.
"And I hope that this remains the last time these words are echoed."
He was gone.
The courtyard stayed silent. Every cadet present seemed to mull over his words in their own way. Soon, the noise began, whispers of grand ambitions and conquests. A gleam of resolution sparkled in their eyes.
I was no different.
'His words riled me up.' I exhaled. 'Aurelian Kynes. Was that who he really was? A passionate defender of humanity who came here to share a few words of wisdom? But then why would this be one of the few times he chose to do so?
'Why come himself?'
His actions did not match the image of the unknown mastermind that controlled Humanity and refused to reveal himself in the game. 'Or perhaps that was intentional?'
Roderic stepped forward again and slowly reined back the room.
"Attention. The Academy has officially begun," Roderic said. "First years," he continued, "you will be led to your dormitories. You will be issued bedding, schedules, and your initial curriculum."
Roderic's gaze hardened. "Your year will be divided into three batches," he added.
He turned his head a fraction, and three students stepped forward from the side with yellow edges on their uniforms.
"Each batch will be commanded by one second-year senior student," Roderic said. "You will follow them. You will be disciplined when you do not. Remember, you are not civilians here."
Around me, the line began to move as instructors and upper-year assistants stepped in, guiding blocks of students toward the side exits that led deeper into the Academy.
I fell into motion with them. As the courtyard began to empty, I glanced back once, and somewhere in the back of my mind, the name Aurelian Kynes kept echoing.
-
Space folded and released Aurelian Kynes into a private chamber in the Academy.
A silver-haired woman waited a few paces ahead, dressed in white. She bowed the moment he appeared.
"Commander," she said. "We are ready to move. Teleportation is prepared."
Behind her stood four guards in sealed dark uniforms and helmets equipped. They watched silently, waiting for Aurelian to issue a command.
Aurelian did not answer. He looked past the woman, through the walls and towards the east. His brows furrowed.
"Uriel," he said, "Any movement?"
"Yes," she replied, immediately. "As expected. The moment we teleported from the hideout, the Demonic Tiger Beast moved following your scent."
Aurelian clicked his tongue, "Wicked beast is as perceptive as ever. So, where is it now?"
Uriel's eyes unfocused for a heartbeat as she reached outward. The air around her stilled. Threads of distant information brushed across her senses as her eyes turned white.
"The Demonic Tiger Beast is rushing here, from the frontlines", she said. "It has already crossed two thousand kilometres in the twenty minutes we've spent outside."
Uriel continued, "If you linger any longer, it will find the Academy through your scent, and its location will be exposed." Her voice was calm, but her expression betrayed her tension.
Aurelian turned back to Uriel.
"We've drawn it out enough. Inform the Zero Guard," he said with some amusement. "Tell them to be ready. It is time we catch a big cat."
Uriel bowed again. "Yes, Commander."
A mark on her wrist flared faintly, and her band glowed. Uriel stepped in, closer, and the four guards mirrored her, forming a tight ring around Aurelian with practised precision.
She raised one hand.
A magic circle revealed itself beneath their feet, unfolding into existence with clean geometry. The marble under the circle shivered once, and Uriel's silver hair lifted slightly. Her robe snapped at the hem. The pressure in the chamber spiked.
The guards lowered their centres of gravity by a fraction, instinctively bracing against the disorientation that came with long-range displacement while Aurelian remained still at the circle's centre.
"Now," he said.
The circle flared.
Light swallowed their feet first, then their legs, then their torsos, climbing them like a rising tide. Then they were gone.
Six balls of light streaked across the sky, like comets that split the cloudy horizon. The landscape below them slowly blurred into snowfields, mountains, deserts and swamplands, but they kept moving.
And somewhere far, far ahead, a terrifying presence tore across the continent, guided by scent. A jolt ran through its senses, and the beast pivoted, following the new trail its prey had left behind.
-
[Noah Pov]
We were led inward through broad stone corridors that smelled faintly of old incense and polished wood. It had high ceilings and magical torch lights placed in every corridor. The place felt strange and alive.
A few older students walked beside us. All wearing the same uniform cut as ours, but with yellow edges.
As we reached the internal hall of the academy, the teachers were the first to move, sorting us into batches. Fifty here. Fifty there. Fifty more to the side.
When my group settled, an instructor stepped down the line and started handing out bands. These were heavier. Matte black and smooth as glass.
"Wear it below your old band," the instructor said. "Now."
I slid the new band onto my wrist and felt it lock with a soft click. The old one, the one that had come from Viktor, dimmed instantly. A second later, it vanished into the new band like it had been swallowed whole.
A thin line of light ran along the new band's surface, then steadied.
"Good. You can all stop staring at your wrists." One of the second year student's stepped forward.
He was tall in a lean way, with long black hair falling straight to his chest. His eyes were the same colour as wet stone. Not cold, not angry, just indifferent, like he was already tired of us.
"I am Ilgar Silex," he said. "Your batch lead."
Ilgar lifted his wrist slightly so we could see his band glow in response.
"I will keep it short. These bands have more functionality than civilian models," he said. "The Academy can contact you through them. Your instructors can pull your location. Your seniors can call you if necessary."
He rolled his eyes almost lazily, "Most of the useful functions are locked for you. You are first years, so you will have to earn them."
Ilgar turned without waiting for questions. "Follow."
We moved, splitting from the remaining two batches and walking deeper into the Academy. We passed training yards behind locked gates where I caught glimpses of students sparring with weapons that hummed with contained mana. We passed lecture halls where the doors were sealed with sigils that looked too complex to be decorative.
Eventually, we reached the dormitory section. Two buildings stood facing each other across a small courtyard, both three stories tall, both identical in their plain, military way. Fifteen doors per building. Thirty rooms total.
Ilgar stopped at the courtyard's centre and turned to face us.
"Two per room," he said. "Room assignments are fixed. Do not try to swap. You will be ignored at best and punished at worst."
"Your building and room number are displayed on your band," Igar continued. "Check it."
Ilgar swept his gaze over the batch again.
"The rest of the day is yours," he said. "If you are smart, you'll put some effort in and explore the campus to learn your routes. There are no guides here to teach you otherwise."
He started to turn away, then paused as if he'd remembered something.
"Your bands also have a way to contact me," he said, looking back over his shoulder. "Do not bother me for no reason. Solve your own problems." Then, almost casually, he added, "And whatever you do, understand this. There is an unwritten rule."
His eyes narrowed a fraction, finally showing something that resembled interest.
"First years are not allowed to use the sparring rooms on the main campus."
He left.
People scattered. Some rushed toward doors, ready to settle into their rooms. Others lingered, trying to find friends from the testing grounds. A few immediately drifted off toward the main campus, curiosity dragging them on.
My eyes flicked across the courtyard, and I caught him.
'Kai.'
He stood a few paces away, uniform sitting a little awkwardly on his lean frame. His gaze lifted and found mine. For a heartbeat, we just looked at each other with recognition. Kai broke the moment first. He turned and headed toward Building 2.
I watched him go, then looked back down at my band.
-Building 1. Room 3.-
The air was warmer inside the dorm building, and I could also hear protection wards embedded into the walls, humming softly. Everything here felt newer, as if they'd recently built these rooms.
As I reached the door, I realised it had no handle. Only a smooth panel and a small slot beside it.
I lifted my wrist and slid the band across the slot. A chime sounded, and it clicked as I pushed it open. The room was simple. Two beds on either side. Two desks. A narrow window facing the courtyard. A shared wardrobe built into the wall.
On the left bed, a duffel bag sat already unpacked halfway, clothes folded with careful precision.
I paused.
'Did someone beat me here?' That felt odd. I was quick, and most of the others had gone to the second floor.
Just then, the bathroom door opened, and a boy stepped out with a towel in hand, rubbing at his hair. He had extremely pale skin and sharp features with green eyes.
He stopped the moment he saw me. We stared at each other, and then he just gave a single slow nod with an introduction. "Nico Selwyn"
For a second, my mind went blank, "Noah Reed," I replied, returning the nod.
Nico's gaze lingered on me a second longer than normal, then flicked to my spear, then back to my eyes.
He turned back toward his bed and said absentmindedly, "It's cold outside."
"Sorry about that," I replied and shut the door behind me.
The chime sounded again, and the lock clicked into place.