Chapter 30: Scott
Raven nodded eagerly and dashed off to his bedroom, the new clothes clutched tightly in his arms. The door swung shut behind him with a thud of excitement. In his absence, Athena turned to Shirley, her eyes glistening with gratitude.
"Thank you for everything, Aunt Shirley," she said softly. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
Shirley smiled, warm and steady, and placed a reassuring hand on Athena's shoulder.
"You don't have to thank me, dear. We're family. And family always looks after each other."
Together, they finished preparing dinner as the aroma of herbs and warm broth filled the cozy kitchen. When Raven reappeared—dressed in a neatly fitted tunic and breeches, his eyes shining with pride—they all gathered around the table, the day's weariness fading into laughter and warmth.
Later, they dimmed the lights and cut the cake. Raven's eyes sparkled in the candlelight as he made his wish and blew out the flames, the smoke curling into the ceiling like a whispered promise. That night ended with shared slices of cake, the sweetness lingering on their tongues and in their hearts.
Raven turned eleven.
Days folded into weeks, and the weeks into seasons.
Each morning, Raven rose with the sun, dressed in the academy's uniform, and trudged off to Knight Training School. He practiced diligently: the Wintermoon Spear Dance Technique, physical exercises, and classes on theory and etiquette. The early lessons focused on the basics—grip strength and spear handling—for nearly a month. Later came more complex drills: stances, thrusts, side sweeps, defensive parries, footwork, and circular slashes.
He wasn't alone. Around him, hundreds of students honed their skills in Spearmanship, Swordsmanship, Archery, Dagger Arts, and more. The academy brimmed with potential—each student guided by a unique path and specialized instructors. At the end of every month, sparring matches were held to determine rankings.
In the beginning, Raven held his own, surviving matches through sheer effort. But as the months passed, his ranking slipped. From promising to average. From average to disappointing.
And two years passed in the blink of an eye.
Despite his determination, Raven saw no significant improvement in his strength or skill. His practical scores plummeted. Once among the top ten, he had fallen to 90th place. If not for his excellent written exam grades, he might've ended up at the very bottom.
The teachers' glances turned colder. Students whispered when he passed. Some didn't bother to hide their disdain.
Worse, mana circles began appearing in the hearts of his peers—marks of talent and magical growth. But Raven remained the only one without even a single circle.
Even the Headmaster, Agatha, summoned Athena to suggest that Raven consider dropping out.
And then came the bullying.
His peers—those who once chatted and trained beside him—now avoided him or turned cruel. Among them was Scott, a boy from a powerful family, who led a group of tormentors. Raven had clashes with them often, and the most painful part wasn't the bullying—it was the silence from others.
Even Mary, once his friend, had grown distant. She ignored him in class and treated him like a stranger.
Only Chris still talked to him—an old friend from Class 4, who occasionally came by just to check on him.
Raven learned a painful truth through these moments: hardship revealed people's true faces. By the end of his second year, only three people remained by his side.
The first was Dante—a short, black-haired boy with no family background to speak of. Raven had once used the monocle artifact to glimpse his potential and found surprising results: High-Rank Wind Affinity and High-Rank Sword Affinity. Dante wasn't top ten material, but he consistently held a spot between 20th and 30th—until things began to unravel.
At the end of the second year, Dante became Scott's new target.
The bullying was relentless. They humiliated him, extorted money, dragged him outside the Academy for mysterious tasks. His grades suffered. Raven tried to intervene, but he, too, felt powerless. What angered him most was the complicity of some teachers, who began using Dante like a servant, piling tasks on him with no reward.
Raven clenched his fists often.
'Even the teachers… are involved in this?'
Then there was Chris, ever supportive, always kind.
And finally, Daisy—a pale, soft-spoken girl from the Spade family. She had High-Rank Water Affinity and rarely spoke, yet she never left Raven's side in class. She'd help him with tests, sit beside him during lessons, and offer quiet solidarity when he needed it most.
Among the few constants in Raven's life was Elizabeth, his etiquette teacher. Despite the Academy's shifting attitudes, she never gave up on him. She even had a public argument with Professor Reid once for treating Raven unfairly.
Raven often found himself wondering about her motivations.
"Haa... I'm not sure what she's thinking." He sighed, standing by the second-floor window, his gaze drifting across the courtyard below.
Now in his third year, his classroom had moved to the third floor. From up here, he could watch the training grounds, the pathways, even the distant city walls beyond the Academy's iron gate.
"Athena said she won't be picking me up today... I guess I have to walk."
He looked at the wall clock: 6:30 P.M.
The school was eerily quiet. His classmates had long gone. Slinging his bag over one shoulder, he locked the classroom door behind him and descended the stairway. The hallways echoed with his footsteps as he moved through the grand foyer. The Academy, now nearly deserted, held a stillness that made his skin prickle.
Just as he was about to leave through the main entrance, a familiar voice called out.
"Raven? You haven't left yet?"
He turned. A boy with a lean frame, short stature, and square face stood holding a heavy stack of books. Dante.
"What are you doing here?" Raven asked, surprised.
"Professor Reid asked me to move some books from his office to the fourth-floor library," Dante muttered. "I've been hauling them for an hour, and I've barely moved twenty percent."
Raven frowned. "Why even bother with that man? You know he won't give you a single mark for doing chores."
A bitter smile twisted Dante's lips. "You wouldn't understand. Anyway… good luck with your studies."
He turned and continued climbing.
Raven stared at his back, heart heavy. After a pause, he called out,
"Wait. I'll help."
He ran after him and took half the books from Dante's hands.
"You don't have to—"
"I want to," Raven interrupted. "Maybe I can't change the past, but I can at least stop watching in silence."
Dante didn't reply, but his steps grew steadier. Together, they carried the heavy volumes up the winding staircases to the library. When the final book was shelved, the sun had dipped beneath the horizon.
The Academy was deserted. Only two gatekeepers stood by the compound gate, talking to a group of unfamiliar men.
As they approached the exit, Dante suddenly froze.
His hands trembled.
"No... what is he doing here? A test? At this hour?"
Raven followed his gaze and saw Scott among the group—smirking, surrounded by four grown men. The gatekeepers made no move to interfere.
"Scott?" Raven narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, 'test'?"
Dante stepped back, pale-faced.
"We're outside the Academy now. If he tries anything, I'll report this. My sister—" Raven's voice was cold, angry.
But before he could take another step, Dante grabbed his arm.
"Don't... Don't do anything reckless. He's not someone we can afford to offend. I made a deal with him. It's nothing serious."
His voice was firm, but his body shook with barely concealed fear.
Raven looked at him—truly looked.
The trembling hands. The hunched posture. The haunted eyes.
Something was very wrong.
And Raven's gut told him this night wasn't going to end quietly.