Kael stepped into the academy hospital.
His eyes scanned the rows of occupied beds until they landed on two familiar figures—Shirone and Stellan, lying side by side, their faces still pale from exhaustion.
Both of them were awake, though their bodies were heavily bandaged.
Shirone had a faint scowl, while Stellan looked slightly amused despite the pain.
Kael pulled up a chair beside them.
"So, you two really look like you had fun," he said dryly.
Stellan chuckled weakly. "Oh yeah, best experience of my life. Getting tossed around like a rag doll, Truly humbling."
Shirone sighed. "We were completely outclassed. If that guy hadn’t shown up… we’d be dead."
Kael leaned back, his arms crossed. "Guy?. what’s really happened."
The two recounted the entire event—the mind control, the battle, the woman turning into a demon, and how effortlessly the black-haired man had disposed of her.
Kael listened in silence, his expression unreadable.
Finally, he stood up. "Alright. Rest. You two look like you won’t be moving for a while."
Stellan smirked. "Oh? No sarcastic remark about how weak we are?"
Kael gave him a flat look. "What’s the point? You already know."
Shirone groaned. "That makes it worse."
Kael turned to leave, waving lazily. "I’ll check on you later."
As he walked down the quiet hallway, his mind drifted.
"So this was meant to be their fight. I just came in between for nothing... but at least I saved many lives."
"The event is over."
He sighed, pushing open the door to the outside.
The sunlight was warm, a reminder that life at the academy was still moving forward.
"For now… I can focus on myself."
With that thought, Kael headed toward his dorm.
.
The classroom was buzzing with quiet chatter as students settled into their seats.
Sunlight streamed through the tall windows.
Kael stepped inside just as Serena, their homeroom teacher, was finishing up attendance.
"Marcus."
"Here, ma’am."
"Oliver."
"Present."
Serena’s eyes flicked down the list. "Kael."
Silence.
Kael sighed and reluctantly raised his hand. "Here."
Serena’s gaze snapped toward him like a hawk locking onto prey.
She set the attendance sheet down on her desk, crossed her arms, and tapped her fingers impatiently against her sleeve.
"Well, well, well. Look who decided to grace us with his presence." Serena said.
Kael rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh… yeah."
Serena raised an eyebrow. "I assume you have a very good reason for skipping an entire week of my class?"
Kael considered his options.
"I was… sick."
Serena’s expression didn’t change. "Sick?"
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"Yeah. Fever."
"For a whole week?"
Kael nodded. "It was really bad."
Serena leaned forward on her desk, lacing her fingers together. "Funny. I saw you walking around the academy just fine."
Kael internally cursed his luck. "It came and went?"
Serena sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Kael. Just say you were slacking off at this point. At least that would be more believable."
A few chuckles rippled through the class.
Kael could hear Marcus snickering behind him.
Serena wasn’t finished.
"Since you missed an entire week of my lessons, let’s see if you at least read the material." She grabbed a book from her desk, flipping to a page.
"Alright, Kael. Explain the fundamental principle behind dual-elemental magic synchronization."
Kael blinked. "…The what?"
Serena’s lips twitched. "Synchronization. The process that allows a mage to efficiently cast two different elemental spells in quick succession without disrupting their mana flow."
Kael nodded slowly, as if the words made any sense to him. "Oh, that synchronization."
Serena gestured for him to answer.
Kael took a deep breath. "It’s when… uh… you take two elements and… mix them together?"
Serena didn’t react.
Encouraged by the lack of immediate correction, Kael continued. "So like, if you have fire and water, you just—" he made a vague swirling motion with his hands, "—combine them, and then… they work together?"
Dead silence.
Shirone covered his face with his hand. Marcus was openly grinning.
Ren sighed deeply, as if disappointed in humanity itself.
Serena stared at Kael for a long moment before finally speaking. "Kael."
"Yes?"
"That was the single worst explanation I have ever heard in my life."
The class erupted into laughter.
Kael sighed. "I was close, though, right?"
"No," Serena said flatly. "Not even a little."
Kael slumped in his seat. "Figures."
Serena shook her head. "Clearly, you’ve been too busy ’recovering’ to keep up with your studies. So, congratulations, Kael. You’ve just earned yourself remedial lessons after class."
Kael groaned, slamming his forehead onto his desk. "Great."
Serena smirked. "Anyone else want to try skipping my lessons and see what happens?"
The class immediately fell silent.
Kael sighed, accepting his fate as Marcus leaned over and patted his shoulder.
"Welcome back, hero."
Kael glared at him. "Shut up."
Serena clapped her hands. "Alright, enough of that. Open your books. Today, we’re moving on to advanced mana flow analysis."
Kael sighed again.
It was going to be a long day.
The last bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day.
Students immediately began packing up their things, chatting about plans for the evening or the upcoming midterms.
Kael, however, remained seated, staring blankly at his empty notebook.
Serena’s lecture had gone completely over his head.
Advanced mana flow analysis, elemental synchronization, theoretical applications of high-tier magic…
Kael groaned, rubbing his temples. He hadn’t written down a single thing.
Not that he was alone in this.
He turned to his left. "Shirone, did you take any notes?"
Shirone stretched his arms behind his head. "Notes? Yeah, right. I was too busy staying awake."
Kael frowned and turned to his right. "Ren?"
Ren sighed, flipping open his notebook.
The pages were mostly blank, except for a few scattered doodles of arrows and a rough sketch of a rabbit.
Kael slowly turned to Marcus.
Marcus closed his book before Kael could even see it. "Don’t even ask."
Kael sighed, slumping back into his seat. Great.
Four idiots, and not a single one of us actually paid attention.
Midterms were coming up, and he couldn’t afford to fail.
Not because he particularly cared about grades, but because failing meant more remedial lessons with Serena.
And Kael had a feeling she’d enjoy making his life miserable.
That left him with one last option.
Lumia.
Unlike them, she actually took classes seriously.
If anyone had notes, it would be her.
The problem? Lumia was in the other S-Class section.
Kael groaned again, standing up. "I’ll be back."
"Where are you going?" Ren asked.
"To get notes."
Shirone raised an eyebrow. "Who in the world would actually lend you notes?"
Kael didn’t answer. Instead, he walked out of the classroom, ignoring Marcus’s amused look.
.
The other S-Class section was located in a separate wing of the academy.
As Kael walked in, he could feel the eyes of the students lingering on him.
He scanned the room and spotted Lumia sitting near the window, quietly organizing her books.
She was still in her training attire, her sword resting against the side of her desk.
Kael took a deep breath and walked over. "Hey."
Lumia looked up. "Oh, Kael."
She seemed a little surprised to see him here.
Kael hesitated for a second before getting straight to the point. "Do you have notes for midterms?"
Lumia blinked. "You… want my notes?"
Kael sighed. "Look, I didn’t pay attention at all, and neither my friends and you are last option — If I don’t get something to study, Serena’s going to murder me."
Lumia pressed her lips together, clearly holding back a smile. "So you came to me."
"Yes."
Lumia thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I’ll lend them to you."
Kael let out a breath of relief. "Thanks. I owe you one."
Lumia handed him a neatly written notebook.
Her handwriting was elegant and precise, far better than Kael’s messy scrawls.
"Just don’t lose it," she warned.
Kael nodded. "I won’t."
As he turned to leave, he could hear whispers spreading among the students.
"So the rumors were true…"
"They’re definitely dating."
"Look at them—he came all the way here just to talk to her."
Kael clenched his jaw.
Lumia, on the other hand, turned red.
"I—I should go," she said quickly, gathering her things.
Kael sighed, shaking his head.
But at least he had the notes.
Now, all he had to do was actually study them.
…That was a problem for later.