The air felt heavier this morning.
It wasn't the weather, or the sky hanging gray above the horizon—it was instinct. That gut-level tension only someone like him could recognize. The kind that whispered, "Something's coming."
I exhaled softly, tightening my grip on the training sword in my hand. I stood alone on the academy's lower field, where the early morning frost still clung to the grass.
I swung.
[Slash] – Mastery: 6.8
[Sharpness] – Mastery: 0.7
Another swing. Again, and again. Each strike left a faint shimmer in the air—barely noticeable, but there.
Clang.
Sparks flew as I purposely struck against a sharper weapon embedded in a stone fixture: a discarded sword from an old academy monument. With each clash, my arms numbed, but I didn't stop.
Clang.
[Sharpness] – Mastery: 0.8
I pulled back, breathing slow.
"Even if it's just a fraction… every piece of power counts."
I stared at the blade's edge, noticing the faint aura beginning to wrap around it. Invisible to most—but I could feel it. Conceptual growth. The result of walking a path others couldn't see.
I rewrapped the grip on his sword and checked the time. Still early.
After class, the usual blur of lectures, stares, and shallow whispers passed me by like wind over glass. I sat in the back, unnoticed. Which was fine.
My mana was in chaos again by noon. [Manacrosis] was draining me worse than usual, like it knew something was coming. But I gritted through it. Didn't complain.
I took my time reviewing demon weaknesses again. I even cross-referenced what I remembered from development logs with newly added lore fragments scattered across the library.
Then night fell.
As the final bell rang and students filtered out of the main building, I stood still under the archway, listening to the silence between footsteps.
Something shifted in the atmosphere.
A single bell tolled in the distance.
Then the sirens went off—
[Alert: Unrecognized summoning pattern detected.]
[Academy threat level raised to Grade D.]
[All students to return to dorms immediately.]
I turned my head.
From beyond the trees near the academy's perimeter, purple flames burst into the sky.
A demonic summoning circle had been activated. Just like the scenario.
Except… it was earlier than I expected.
My eyes narrowed.
"Here we go."
I strapped my sword to my back, and headed toward the forest.