Ti slipped by, and before I realized it, a month had passed.
I leaned back in my chair, letting out a small breath.
Seo quietly let go of my hand and settled into the seat beside , her presence calm as always.
Even though only a month had gone by, it felt like ages since I’d last sat in a classroom like this, surrounded by familiar faces.
There was sothing about the break, the scattered schedules, the new reforms—it all stretched ti in strange ways.
"Yo, bud. Long ti no see."
I turned at the familiar booming voice. Kagami had just arrived, flashing his usual easy grin as he strode over.
"Kagami. Good morning," I greeted back.
He pulled out the chair to my side and sat down with the weight of a boulder, but still sohow relaxed.
"Didn’t see you around much this past month," I said. "Did you also participate in the dungeon exams? Acting as a guardian for the juniors?"
He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. Babysitting five at once wasn’t exactly easy, but it turned out to be a good experience. And hey, they were pretty cute juniors, so it wasn’t all bad. The dungeon itself wasn’t that tough either—we just had to clear two B-rank dungeons before the evaluators called it enough."
"A B-rank, huh?" I tapped a finger on the desk, thinking it through. "Then you must’ve finished the whole hunt in, what, one to four days at most? Don’t tell you used the rest of the ti as a vacation."
Kagami’s grin widened. "Haha, is it that obvious? I an, co on, chances to get out of the academy are rare enough even during official breaks. I wasn’t about to waste it."
"I see..."
That explained a lot. No wonder I hadn’t seen him anywhere on campus these past couple of weeks.
Well, most students who finished their dungeon hunt early ended up using the extra free ti as a technical vacation.
Even I wasn’t an exception to that. A little break away from the constant grind didn’t hurt.
"Oh yeah, bud..." Kagami leaned closer with a grin that already spelled trouble. "I just learned a new technique from my father while I was back in my holand. Care to train with later?"
That caught off guard. Normally, I was the one dragging him out to train—or more accurately, to exercise, since Kagami had a bad habit of slacking when left alone.
For him to be the one asking this ti... yeah, he was definitely confident about sothing.
Still, that suited perfectly. I’d been aning to monitor his progress this past month anyway. This was as good a chance as any.
"Alright," I said.
His grin widened into sothing sharper. "Trust —even you’ll be surprised."
Confident words.
Too confident. Did he perhaps learn the upgraded version of his [S-Rank Skill: Cot’s Tail]?
If that were the case, then he was progressing far faster than I expected.
I leaned back, letting my gaze wander across the classroom.
Even without focusing too hard, I could sense it—the subtle growth in each of my classmates.
Their lingering essences felt sharper, denser. Everyone was naturally progressing, their power hardening like steel tempered over fire.
Seo, especially.
Her growth wasn’t sothing flashy.
She wasn’t the type to suddenly leap forward in strength like Kagami.
No—hers was quiet, refined.
Seo was already a sword genius, after all, physically gifted to the point of being called unnatural.
She had mastered the [Hidden Blade Technique] back when she was still a child.
For her, growth now wasn’t about pushing her limits, but about polishing them—refining what she already held to perfection.
I found myself smiling without realizing it. Proud.
Seo could be a little slow when it ca to other things—oblivious in ways that sotis made sigh—but that fact about her, this brilliance in the sword, would never change.
Since we had trained together from ti to ti over the past couple of weeks, I could tell Seo hadn’t been slacking around either. She wasn’t the type to coast on talent alone.
No, even if her progress seed slow compared to others, the way she refined herself was steady, deliberate.
With her kind of genius, sooner or later she’d reach a point where breakthroughs ca to her almost by accident.
A swing of her sword, a step too precise, and she’d end up slicing straight through space—or cutting down fate itself—without even realizing it.
That was the kind of terrifying potential Seo carried.
Ah... speaking of geniuses.
My other lovers: Snow and Rose.
Both of them were progressing faster than usual. Rose, in particular, was on the verge of sothing monuntal.
She stood just a step away from complete enlightennt in the Celestial Arts.
Once she broke through and unlocked her eighth mana circle, she’d officially step into the realm of Archmages.
When people eventually discovered that fact, her na would resound across the continent.
And combined with her mastery of celestial techniques, her ascension wasn’t just likely—it was inevitable.
Soon, she’d stand shoulder-to-shoulder with and Alice, at least in terms of raw quality.
Snow’s path was a little different.
Her combat ability hadn’t grown as dramatically—she had too many responsibilities pulling her attention in a hundred directions.
After all, as the student council president of this enormous academy, her hands were always full with technical work, logistics, and endless managent duties.
But even so, I never let her fall behind. From ti to ti, I made sure we explored a dungeon together, sharpening her magic little by little.
Her pace was slower, but steady.
And perhaps soon... I should guide her down the Frosted Path.
In just two more weeks, the Spirit of the Frost Monarch at the Northern Plateau would awaken from her long slumber.
She was searching for an heir—soone worthy to inherit her icy dominion, soone who could bear the weight of her crown and her power.
That "soone" was Snow.
I trusted her capabilities, I really did.
Snow was brilliant, disciplined, and sharper than most gave her credit for. But still... trials were trials for a reason.
They were never gentle, never fair.
They existed to break you, to grind you until only the worthy remained.
And because of that, I couldn’t shake the unease twisting in my chest.
Perhaps I should ask Lavine to shadow her in secret. Just in case sothing truly went wrong.
I doubted Snow would fail, but doubt itself was enough of a reason to prepare.
If she succeeded—no, when she succeeded—the Frost Monarch’s essence would beco hers.
Her path of ascension would finally be set in stone, cold an unshakable as the ice she would command.
My gaze then drifted, landing on Lucas for a mont.
He, too, was nearing the brink of ascension.
The last ti I’d seen him fight, he had already brushed against that threshold, even wielded ascended might for a fleeting instant.
Not through training alone, but through the blessing of the goddess herself—his fate marked by divinity, his very existence beloved by the world.
Now, all he needed was realization.
To recall that overwhelming strength he once tasted, to seize it consciously rather than accidentally. With the holy sword guiding him, Lucas’s growth was practically inevitable.
Every step he took would carry him closer to becoming sothing far beyond human.
I leaned back, a wry smile tugging at my lips.
Just thinking about it... between Snow, Rose, Seo, Lucas, and even myself, the academy would soon have six ascended students before we’d even walked across the graduation stage.
No wonder they were calling us the Golden Generation.
Our eyes t for the briefest mont. I turned away almost instantly, but not before catching the sight of his ridiculous expression—Lucas, waving at like so overexcited puppy, the kind whose ears you could practically see flopping in delight.
Seriously... why does he always act like a happy dog every ti he sees ?
I sighed, shaking my head. Well, it wasn’t like I could complain too much.
His progress was my progress, after all. The stronger he beca, the smoother everything else would flow.
Creaaak.
The door to the lecture hall swung open.
A hush fell across the classroom as Professor Alia stepped inside, her arms trembling slightly under the weight of several thick, rune-etched tos.
She carried them to the front desk and laid them down with careful precision, as though even a misstep might shatter sothing fragile.
Her eyes lifted—t mine—and imdiately darted away, her entire expression stiffening with unease.
...Right. I suppose she’s still traumatized from that day.
I couldn’t exactly bla her. The "other " had been... more than a little brutal with the professors during the incident. Harsh enough that even now, her body still rembered the fear.
So, Principal Leilah decided to shuffle the deck again, changing the curriculum standards.
Whether it was for our benefit, the academy’s pride, or simply to tighten control over students like us didn’t matter.
Progress was progress, though this wasn’t sothing that had ever existed in the ga’s original flow.
That classroom buzzed in confusion—everyone had been expecting Professor Yuki.
After a slightly shaky introduction, she steadied herself and began explaining.
Her words were calm, formal, but underneath it all I could hear the tension in her voice.
The details, however, were exactly what I anticipated.
A restructuring of classes.
A sharper training regin.
A system designed to push us past our current limits.
The course of the tiline may have bent, but in this case, fate itself seed determined to steer us back on track.
And then her tone shifted. She clasped her hands before her and spoke words that silenced every murmur in the room:
"This whole curriculum isn’t just about change or refinent. It’s preparation... Preparation for the upcoming Continental Grand Festival."
The air itself seed to tighten. Every student froze in their seats, eyes widening in shock.
The Continental Grand Festival... of course.
The very event that, in the ga, defined the gap between the chosen and the ordinary.
The arc where every main heroine, every rival, and even Lucas himself would step into the spotlight, their growth laid bare before the world.
A grand tournant unlike any other—drawing prodigies from every nation, every academy, every style of combat and magic imaginable.
The true asuring stick of our generation.
And with it, the trigger for the beginning of [Act 4 – Chapter 3: The One Beyond].
The classroom buzzed again, but this ti with a mixture of awe, dread, and anticipation.
I wonder if... that woman would get involved as per the original tiline?
....
Sitting atop the second-floor balcony seats of Panda Café, a young woman sat poised, her long hair tucked neatly behind her ear, a steaming cup of tea resting untouched at her side.
Across from her lounged a fine-looking gentleman dressed in eastern-style clothing—a flowing black kimono embroidered with streaks of violet lightning, like thunder frozen mid-dance.
From their vantage point, the bustling streets of the comrcial district stretched out below, filled with streams of students and rchants. To the young woman, it was a scene of life and order.
To the man across from her, it was a scene begging for comntary.
"Haah! Look at this, Bom!" the man exclaid suddenly, voice booming like a drum across the café. "All these youths, yet not one has truly brushed against the peak of their pri! At their age, they should already be shattering barriers, stepping beyond their so-called limits, gazing into the zones of their spirituality and aura!"
The heads of a few students below tilted upward in confusion at the thundering declaration.
Several custors in the café turned to look, startled.
The young woman—Bom—closed her eyes with a long, suffering sigh. She lifted her cup, took a quiet sip, and muttered without even glancing at him:
"Clan Head, could you please not shout? You’re embarrassing ."
"Huh?" Beon blinked at her, clueless, still half-smiling.
Before his voice could carry again, Bom’s presence seed to flicker and vanish entirely, like a candle fla snuffed out without warning.
To the world’s eyes, she no longer existed. She had erased her existence with such casual ease it was frightening.
All the curious stares that had been aid at their table now focused solely on Beon.
"Ugh..." Realizing too late, Beon coughed into his fist, straightening his posture.
Though he didn’t care much about how others viewed him, causing unnecessary inconvenience wasn’t sothing he could completely ignore.
Bom reappeared gracefully in her seat as though nothing had happened, setting her teacup back onto its saucer. She arched a brow at him.
"Care to mind your booming voice now?"
"Tch..." Beon clicked his tongue, visibly displeased, but gave a curt nod.
A mont of relative quiet passed between them before Bom spoke again, her tone more curious now than scolding.
"But anyway, Grandfather—I an, Clan Head. Are you sure it was alright for us to co here a whole month earlier than scheduled?"
Beon’s lips curled into a chuckle. He leaned back in his chair, eyes glinting with mischief and pride.
"Of course. It’s important. I want to see the progress of my student with my own eyes. And besides—" his grin widened as he leaned forward, lowering his voice ever so slightly, "—I wanted to spend so ti with my dear princess. Don’t you want to see your sister as well?"
Bom hesitated, gaze softening. "Well... I do want to see Seo. But there are protocols we’re supposed to follow. The principal of this academy won’t exactly be thrilled when she learns you were roaming around in secret."
"Haah! Leilah can huff and puff all she wants," Beon waved his hand dismissively, as though brushing away an insect. "I’ll do as I please."
Bom stared at him flatly, her expression the picture of exasperation.
To her, he was the very definition of a stubborn, thick-faced old man.
Beon narrowed his eyes, lips twitching. "You were thinking sothing rude about just now, weren’t you?"
Bom t his gaze, deadpan. "Nope. Not at all."
She took another sip of tea, hiding the sarcastic smile tugging at her lips.
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