The first day at Ossuarium Academy was finally over.
Shura wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to Adrian.
"So… where are you going now?"
Adrian stretched lazily. "Hmm… library, I guess."
Shura's eyes widened. "The library? Is it… open all the time?"
Adrian tilted his head. "Yeah. Only the relics section is closed sometimes."
"Why?"
Adrian smirked, a little mischievously. "You can only access it when the instructor is around. But… you know, I've borrowed a few books before."
He gave Shura a suspicious grin.
Shura's eyes sparkled. "I want to read too! Can you… show me?"
Adrian hesitated, thinking to himself: Wait… why does he even care? Fine, maybe… we call him a friend. I only have one friend. Everyone else is mean.
"Later," Adrian said, standing up. "I need to go now."
Shura nodded slowly. "Alright… I want to talk to Master Juro first."
He looked at Yura. "Let's go?"
Yura followed him calmly. "Shura… why are you always so curious? Always asking questions?"
Shura scratched the back of his head. "I still have thousands of questions… but now I'm trying to control them."
He paused. "By the way… what is 'Runies Exploration'?"
Yura laughed softly, shaking her head. "You can't even control your curiosity for one minute."
Shura smirked sheepishly. "I'll try."
"Okay, fine. I'm going now. You can follow if you want."
Scene Shift — Shura's Inn
Shura reached his inn, only to find Zenkyou standing outside, arms crossed.
"New quest?" Shura asked, trying to mask his exhaustion with enthusiasm.
Zenkyou raised an eyebrow. "Why would I take you?"
Shura's shoulders sank. Depressed again…
Zenkyou continued before he could protest. "No need to live in the inn anymore."
Shura blinked, confused. "You… you're kicking an innocent kid out of the kingdom? I haven't even asked questions yet!"
Zenkyou ignored him. "From now on, you're living at my place."
Shura's mouth opened and closed, utterly speechless.
World Economy Reference — Thoughts While Moving
As they walked toward Zenkyou's residence, Shura's mind wandered into numbers:
• Currency Types:
• Copp = daily coin
• Tin = medium-value
• Quen = rare relic currency
• Costs:
• Inn night: 5–15 Copp / 50–100 Tin
• Bread: 1 Copp
• Standard meal: 3–5 Copp
• Basic weapon: 20–50 Tin
• Rare relic: 500–2000 Quen
• Conversion:
• 1 Tin = 10 Copp
• 1 Quen = 20 Tin = 200 Copp
If Master Juro hadn't given me 5 Quen… I would have starved… Shura thought, shaking his head. I'm glad he did, but why? Why do they help me so much? Do I even need to question that now?
Zenkyou noticed his faraway stare. "Again… lost in thought. Let's go. Where's your room?"
Shura blinked. "Uh… right."
Shura's Room
When Zenkyou opened the door, Shura froze.
Wow… clean.
"I thought you never cleaned your room," Zenkyou said, raising an eyebrow.
Shura shrugged. "Cleaning is priority number one."
Zenkyou picked up a book lying on the bed. She flipped through the pages.
Shura peeked.
Thousands of questions were scribbled in careful, messy handwriting:
• What is Viora?
• What is Rose hiding?
• Why is Zenkyou helping me?
• Why am I here?
• What are Runies?
• What is the Outer Radius?
• What is a monster?
• Why do monsters exist?
…and the questions went on infinitely.
Shura sighed. And I want to answer them all.
Shura followed Zenkyou along the winding paths of Ossuarium, curiosity bubbling in his chest.
"Hey… Zenkyou," he said after a pause, "what are the Ruins in the northwest?"
Zenkyou glanced at him, expression calm. "You mean the Xyrrhal Ruins."
Shura tilted his head. "So… that's their name. What's there?"
Zenkyou's lips twitched slightly. "A castle. Thousands of unique weapons."
Shura blinked. "…That's it?"
"No," Zenkyou replied. "There are invincible entities. They don't attack unless you pick up—or interfere with—a weapon."
Shura's brow furrowed. "What… entities? And… the big question—where did the runes even come from?"
Zenkyou shrugged. "Hmm. I don't know. Try asking Master Juro next time."
Shura nodded. "Yes, I will."
Zenkyou glanced at him. "All your questions settled… for now. Let's go."
"Right," Shura said, adjusting his bag and glancing around.
Walking and Wondering
As they walked, Shura's eyes roamed over the architecture, his mind buzzing.
"Who made all this?" he asked. "How was it… built so perfectly? I've only seen this level of architecture once before—at the World Tree. That was long ago. And even then… I only went once in my life. We live at the edge of the continent. How can this even exist?"
Zenkyou arched an eyebrow. "Explain your place. What do you mean?"
Shura inhaled, trying to put it into words.
"In my world… there's the sun, the moon, weather, oceans… a giant World Tree. Continents are surrounded by a round-shaped void. People believe there's nothing beyond it. That's not even half of it. There are other continents, but we aren't allowed to go there. We aren't allowed to question much either."
Zenkyou's gaze remained steady, listening quietly.
Arriving at Zenkyou's Home
Finally, they reached her home. It was perched at the far end of the kingdom, on a high plateau from which most of the city could be seen. The mansion was vast, gothic, and severe—but elegant.
Shura stepped out onto the balcony. His eyes went wide. The kingdom stretched below him in perfect symmetry. Even with everything he'd seen, nothing had prepared him for this view.
"…So… you live here alone?" he asked, voice quiet.
Zenkyou simply nodded.
Shura stepped inside, and from the kitchen came a faint hum.
"Who's there?" he asked.
Zenkyou's lips twitched. "Those brats. I told them not to cook here."
He followed the sound and found Ren and Orin mid-chaos.
Orin stirred a pot aggressively. "Let's finish cooking before Zenkyou arrives. Then we just eat everything ourselves."
Ren shook his head, holding a plate. "Make something better next time. You always cook well, but… don't try again."
Orin snapped. "What did you just say?"
Before Shura could react, Orin tossed the plate at Ren—but Ren dodged effortlessly.
Zenkyou suddenly appeared at the kitchen doorway. She collided with the flying plate, sending it clattering across the floor.
Ren and Orin froze, then sank into their chairs silently. They muttered in unison, side-eyes on Shura: "We're just friends. No violence."
Zenkyou glared at them. "Death by starvation isn't optional."
Both boys shrank back slightly, whispering urgently.
"Save us… we don't want to die…"
"Wait… Shura?"
Shura blinked, overwhelmed.
So this is my life now? Living with them?
Zenkyou's sharp voice cut through the air.
"He'll live here. From now on."
The words settled heavily.
Shura's shoulders sank.
Somewhere deep down, he understood—
This would be another kind of training.
And it might test him more than the Academy ever could.
Inside Zenkyou's Residence
Shura stood in the main hallway.
Tall ceilings stretched upward into shadow. Dark wooden beams crossed above. The corridors were quiet in a way that felt deliberate.
It wasn't just large.
It was controlled.
He walked further in.
The place could house ten people comfortably.
Yet it felt… restrained.
When he peeked into the sleeping quarters—
He paused.
"…There are only two beds."
He turned slowly toward Orin.
"So… you all live alone? Where's your family?"
Orin leaned casually against the wall.
"Zenkyou and Ren don't have family."
He shrugged.
"I do. They live far away. I'm from Zenithellion."
Shura's eyes widened slightly.
"The last kingdom? The farthest one?"
"Yep."
Shura tilted his head.
"Then why leave?"
For a brief second, Orin's teasing expression softened.
"Emma," he said simply.
Then the smile returned, lighter this time.
Shura didn't press further.
His gaze drifted back to the room.
"…Then why only two beds?"
Orin chuckled.
"That's easy."
He lowered his voice slightly.
"Zenkyou doesn't sleep."
Shura froze.
"…What?"
"I've never questioned it," Orin added. "Didn't feel necessary."
Shura looked down the quiet hallway again.
Doesn't sleep?
His mind immediately began racing.
Viora imbalance? Continuous resonance monitoring? A side effect of something older?
"In search of one answer…" he muttered quietly, "…I keep getting thousands more."
He exhaled.
"But I'm still learning."
Orin studied him for a moment.
Then gently placed a hand on his head.
"That's the spirit."
Shura blinked.
"…Why does everyone treat me like I'm younger than I am?"
"Because you look confused most of the time."
"I do not."
"You do."
Before Shura could argue further—
Footsteps echoed from the entrance.
Yura Arrives
Yura stepped inside, closing the door softly behind her.
Orin straightened dramatically.
"Oh? You forgot about us once you found someone your own age?"
Yura gave him a flat look.
"I'm always with you. Relax."
She stepped further inside.
But her expression shifted.
"For the past few cycles… the monster count near the outer walls has decreased."
The mood changed instantly.
Shura straightened.
"Decreased? That's good, isn't it?"
Yura didn't answer immediately.
Her gaze moved toward the distant view of the kingdom through the tall window.
"That's the question."
Orin folded his arms.
"How were they bypassing the walls before?"
Shura frowned, thinking.
"The walls are reinforced with Beacon channels and patrol resonance systems, right?"
Yura nodded.
"So how were they crossing?"
Silence settled between them.
Orin exhaled lightly.
"Who knows," he said with forced casualness. "Those creatures never follow logic."
But none of them truly believed that.
Monsters did not decrease without reason.
Shura stepped closer to the window.
Beyond the Safe Radius—
The darkness waited.
A new home.
Strange companions.
Endless questions.
And something shifting beyond the walls.
He didn't know which would reach him first.