For a single, suspended heartbeat, the world of Oksidium stood still.
Draykon's mace remained buried halfway into the fractured basalt floor, a jagged tombstone for his own arrogance. Dust hung in the air like a gray shroud. Students across the courtyard stared with open disbelief, their minds struggling to bridge the gap between what they knew and what they had just seen.
The son of a Baron. Level twelve. A trained juggernaut.
And yet, Vaelor Morgat stood beside him, untouched, his two fingers resting lightly beneath Draykon's jaw. The contact looked almost intimate—until the skill completed.
[ DING ] SKILL EFFECT: ETHEREAL PARALYSIS [RANK I]
Target: Draykon von Helt
Method: Nervous system interference via etheric conduction
Duration: 120 seconds
Secondary Effect: Pain Amplification [+200%]
Mana Remaining: 61%
A pulse of cold, invisible force surged from Vaelor's fingertips, flooding the nerve lattice beneath Draykon's skull. The reaction was visceral. Draykon's body didn't just slow—it locked. His muscles turned to rigid cord, his grip on the mace tightened involuntarily until his knuckles turned white, and his chest hitched, trapped in a shallow, ragged struggle for air.
Vaelor leaned in closer, his voice a ghost's whisper against the boy's ear. "Killing you here," he said quietly, "would be inconvenient."
Draykon's pupils shrank to needle-points.
"But humiliation," Vaelor continued, "is educational."
He withdrew his fingers. To the onlookers, it appeared as if the Baron's son had simply transformed into a statue mid-strike. Then, the pain arrived. Draykon's eyes bulged as sensation flooded back through nerves that refused to obey. Every muscle screamed; every joint felt as though hot needles were being driven into the marrow.
Only a strangled, pathetic gasp escaped his throat.
Vaelor bent slightly and pried the mace from the boy's locked grip. The weapon was heavy—easily twenty kilograms of enchanted iron—but Vaelor hoisted it with a casual, terrifying ease.
[ DING ] HIDDEN STRENGTH PARAMETER: [ACTIVE]
He tested the balance once, his eyes drifting toward the cracked fountain across the courtyard. Without warning, he hurled it. The mace spun end-over-end, a blur of bronze and iron, before smashing into the marble basin.
CRASH.
Stone shattered. Water erupted into the air, raining down on the front-row spectators who scrambled back with startled cries. Only then did Vaelor step away. Draykon remained upright for three more seconds—a monument to failed pride—before his knees buckled. His armored body collapsed against the stone with a heavy, hollow metallic crash.
"Did he just—" "That was one move!" "Impossible... Draykon is level twelve!"
The screech of a chair against stone cut through the chatter. Master Zenon stood, his earlier contempt replaced by a sharp, analytical hunger. He walked down the registration steps, crouching beside Draykon's rigid form. He pressed two fingers to the boy's neck, exhaling slowly.
"Alive," Zenon grunted. He turned his gaze to Vaelor. "You paralyzed him."
"Yes."
"No spell signature," Zenon noted, his eyes narrowing.
"No."
"No verbal trigger. Minimal mana surge."
"Yes."
A long, heavy silence stretched between them. Finally, Zenon gave a thin, dangerous smile. "Interesting. If any of you believe this violates academy regulations," he addressed the stunned crowd, "you are welcome to file a complaint."
Silence was his only answer.
"Carry him to the infirmary," Zenon barked at two assistants. As the boy was lifted onto a levitation stretcher, his eyes remained wide, fixed in a stare of pure, unadulterated humiliation.
[ DING ] COMBAT ENCOUNTER COMPLETED
Opponent Level: 12
Victory Bonus Applied
EXP Gained: 1200
A golden line seared across Vaelor's vision.
[ LEVEL UP ] Current Level: 6 Stat Increases: Strength +5 | Agility +8 | Intelligence +3 | Perception +4
[ NEW SKILL UNLOCKED ] DOMINION OF DREAD (PASSIVE) Effect: Enemies with hostile intent experience reduced confidence and delayed reaction speed within 5 meters.
Vaelor closed the interface. The crowd no longer looked at him with resentment; they looked at him with caution. Power had reshaped their perception faster than any argument ever could.
He turned toward the dormitory wing.
"Vaelor Morgat," Zenon called out. Vaelor stopped. "You hid your true capability during registration. Why?"
Vaelor didn't turn around. "Because attention is inefficient."
Zenon's thin smile widened. "That answer is the first intelligent thing I have heard in this courtyard today. Block Four is that direction."
The corridor to Block Four was a graveyard of ambition.
The decorative lamps were broken, the stone walls scarred by old training accidents, and the air smelled of damp stone and stale alchemy. This was where Oksidium put its "inconvenient" students.
As Vaelor descended the stairwell, a sharp explosion rocked the hallway. Glass shattered, and a thick cloud of pungent green smoke billowed from a nearby room.
Vaelor stopped. Through the haze came the sound of violent coughing and an irritated female voice. "...that was the correct ratio... dammit."
Vaelor stepped toward the half-open door. The room was a disaster zone—shelves overflowing with unstable reagents and broken vials. At the center stood a girl with silver hair tied loosely, soot staining her sleeves and a cracked vial of leaking purple liquid in her hand.
She froze when she saw him. Her violet eyes widened. "You're the one who paralyzed Draykon."
Vaelor remained silent. She stared for a heartbeat, then pointed the leaking vial at him. "Do you know why this keeps exploding?"
[ DING ] ALCHEMY ANALYSIS RUNNING...
Formula Reconstruction: [SUCCESS]
Conclusion: Reaction requires Abyss-type energy. Standard mana is a mismatch.
"You are using the wrong catalyst," Vaelor said calmly.
The girl blinked. "...What?"
"You are forcing a mana reaction. That formula requires darkness energy."
"Impossible," she snapped, though her eyes betrayed a sudden, frantic curiosity. "Dark energy would destabilize the structure."
Vaelor stepped closer. Without a word, he reached out, his fingers brushing the vial. A thin, hair-like thread of black energy flowed from his palm. Instantly, the bubbling purple liquid shifted to a serene, glowing emerald. The instability vanished.
The girl's jaw dropped. "That... worked." She looked at him again, not with fear, but with fascination. "Who are you?"
"Vaelor."
She hesitated. "Lyuna."
[ DING ] SUBJECT IDENTIFIED: LYUNA
Field: Experimental Alchemy
Potential Rating: SSS-Class [HIDDEN]
Alliance Potential: 92%
Vaelor looked at the ruined lab, then back at the stabilized vial. "You are wasting your talent in this room."
Lyuna tilted her head, a smirk playing on her soot-stained lips. "And where exactly should I use it?"
"Working for me."
Lyuna laughed—a short, sharp sound. "You've been here five minutes and you already want an alchemist?"
"Yes."
She studied him, the emerald glow of the vial reflecting in her violet eyes. Slowly, the smirk turned into a genuine smile. "Well. That's the most interesting offer I've heard all week."
[ DING ]
NEW QUEST GENERATED:
ESTABLISH FIRST STRATEGIC ALLY
Reward: Hidden Faction Development [UNLOCKED]
Vaelor watched her. The plan was no longer just a blueprint. It was accelerating.