The moon hung low over the academy grounds, veiled in wisps of cold mist. Max stood at the edge of the ruined dueling field, the traces of his earlier battle still visible in scorched earth and cracked stone. The echoes of Thorn's voice—the mission, the urgency, the silent warning—still rang in his ears. But beneath that urgency was something deeper. Something Thorn wasn't saying.
[LEVEL: 13]
[EXP: 34.1%]
[NEW SKILL: "Elemental Cloak (Lv. 1)" acquired.]
[Passive: Stealth Affinity increased.]
Max exhaled, eyes flickering as the system notifications faded. Every victory pushed him further—faster, sharper, deadlier. Yet, each step forward was a step deeper into the unknown.
The system's silence about the artifact worried him. After the last vision—his mother clutching the necklace, the remnants of Peter's mana still lingering—Max knew it wasn't just a tool. It was a lockbox. A prison. Or perhaps… a key.
He walked back toward the central tower of the academy, winding through corridors dimly lit by mana lanterns. Leo was waiting at the door to his room, arms crossed, eyes heavy with something unspoken.
"You're late," Leo said, though his voice lacked accusation.
"There was a complication," Max replied. He didn't offer more.
Leo sighed and stepped aside. "Something's shifting in the lower rings. Beast sightings have increased again. High-rankers are being pulled out for patrol duty."
"That's not a coincidence," Max said. He stepped into the room and sealed the door with a flick of mana. "The corruption we found in the west sector—it's spreading faster than they expected."
Leo didn't flinch. "You think it's linked to the Frost family again?"
"No," Max said. "Worse. I think something's using the corruption as a cover. A distraction."
He paced, the glowing runes from his system faintly pulsing behind his eyes.
[QUEST CHAIN: "Breach in the Veil" Unlocked.]
[Stage 1 Objective: Locate the corrupted node beneath the academy.]
[Warning: Detection by Board Members will result in mission failure.]
Leo's eyes widened slightly as Max explained. "You want to go beneath the school? That place is sealed off by the Board."
"Exactly," Max said. "Which means whatever's down there… they're afraid of it. And that makes it valuable."
Leo hesitated. "You're risking exposure. You've already drawn attention after that last duel. Celia's watching you. So are the instructors."
"I'll manage them," Max replied. "I always do."
That night, under cover of illusion magic, Max and Leo made their way into the hidden substructures beneath the academy. With the elemental cloak skill active, Max moved like a ghost, masking his aura with a layer of condensed ambient mana. Leo guided him through old tunnels marked in an ancient language, inscriptions only half legible even to his advanced perception.
"What is this place?" Leo whispered as they came to a vault door covered in obsidian vines.
Max placed his hand against the seal. The necklace beneath his shirt vibrated softly—almost… in warning.
[Artifact Sync: Warning. Proximity to ancient mana seal detected.]
[Partial resonance triggered. Do not remove artifact.]
"Back up," Max said. Leo stepped away without question.
Max's mana surged—quiet and focused—threaded through the air, binding into the seams of the vault. The system mapped it in real-time.
[Mana Signature Analysis Complete.]
[Seal Type: Anti-Divine Containment Class.]
[Probability of success with current level: 16%]
He stepped back. "We're not ready."
Leo blinked. "Then why come all the way down here?"
"Because I needed to see it," Max said. "This seal wasn't made to keep monsters out. It was made to keep something in."
They returned above ground in silence, leaving no trace of their infiltration. But something had changed. Max could feel the shift—like a thread had been pulled loose in the fabric of his fate.
And back beneath the academy, in the sealed chamber, the vines pulsed once.