The buzz of activity within the vast dome of the Clock Tower was a comforting sound after the forest's oppressive silence and the terror of the underground chamber. Indra, Reid, and Claire were huddled at their table, an island of familiarity in a sea of students and scions.
"So, let me get this straight." — Reid said, rubbing his chin in disbelief. His emerald green eyes scanned Indra as if he were a rare specimen.
"You found an Elven cave, almost died to a bear the size of a house, got struck by a bolt from the Silver Tempest—and survived—formed your core, created your own technique from scratch, and then killed the aforementioned colossal bear? All of that in three days?"
Indra shrugged, feeling the weight of the sleeping cat in his lap. He had told them an edited version of events, omitting the Kingdom Ruler, Tzigane's notebook, and the Vallencourt curse. Some secrets were too big to share, even with potential allies.
"More or less." — he replied, his voice still a bit hoarse. "It was... intense."
Claire shook her head slowly, her white hair swaying. She crossed her arms, making the intricate irezumi tattoo on her arm twist.
"Intense is an understatement, Indra. That's insane. You're a monster."
Reid laughed, a dry sound.
"A monster who killed a Dormant Terror. Alone. As a freshly-minted Graduate. That's not crazy, Indra, it's... it's unprecedented." — There was a new respect in Reid's gaze, mixed with a hint of residual disbelief.
Before Indra could respond or downplay his feats further, Professor Aurelia's voice cut through the air, amplified by a thread of energy.
"Students." — she began, her golden eyes sweeping over the crowd and instantly silencing all conversation.
"The Practical Lesson has concluded. You have been tested, and most of you have proven your worth. The results you will see now are a reflection of your performance, a measure of your current progress. Remember: this is a thermometer, not a sentence. It will not determine your success or failure in the Paranormal Exam, but it should serve as motivation—or a warning."
Indra heard some muttered discontent from a group of common students near them. "Sure." — someone whispered bitterly. "Easy to do well when you're born with a silver spoon in your mouth and have Legendary Artifacts to hunt Dormants with."
"Of course the scions will dominate the rankings." — another grumbled. "That forest was a playground for them."
Indra understood the frustration, but his own path had shown him that power wasn't just about birth. It was about survival, adaptation, and, he suspected, an insane amount of luck.
Professor Aurelia raised her left hand. With a fluid gesture, she drew an arc in the air, and a gigantic scoreboard of pure energy and shimmering light materialized in the center of the dome, hovering above all their heads. It was colossal, easily listing over a thousand names.
Indra's first thought was panic.
How in hell am I supposed to find my name in all that?
The question evaporated almost instantly. The moment his eyes landed on the board, he felt it. A familiar resonance, a faint but unmistakable echo of his own energy signature, pulled his perception directly to a specific point on the vast list. The Society's system was ingenious—each name was tied to the student's unique energy signature, recorded during admission. Finding yourself was intuitive, a matter of feeling for yourself.
He found his name.
519. Indra Shuemesch — 500 Points
A faint smile touched his lips. 519th place out of 1037. Almost exactly in the middle. Considering he had started as an untrained Awakened, surrounded by scions who had trained their whole lives, and had spent most of his time running or learning, rather than hunting... it was a more than respectable result. It was incredible. A spark of genuine pride ignited within him. Placing well in the Paranormal Exam was no longer a distant dream; it was a tangible possibility.
His gaze then wandered to the top of the leaderboard, drawn by the murmurs of awe and envy sweeping through the crowd.
The top 10 was a predictable, yet no less impressive, list.
1. Ye Chen — 9200 Points
2. Kade Rockefeller — 7600 Points
3. Aurora Bianchi — 7420 Points
4. Yamazaki Sosuke — 7370 Points
5. William Von Goethe — 7340 Points
6. Johann Von Der Schulenburg — 7321 Points
7. Tanya Romanova — 7292 Points
8. Shin Jin-Sung — 7274 Points
9. Alexia Valois — 7216 Points
10. Mia Nefertari — 7043 Points
Indra's breath caught. Nine thousand two hundred points. The number was so absurd it seemed fictional. How much time would Ye Chen have had to dedicate solely to hunting, without sleeping, to achieve such a number? The gap to the second place was also colossal—1600 points. It was a chasm of power and efficiency. It put things into perspective. He could, perhaps, dream of competing with scions from minor or mid-level clans in the distant future. But the Nine Great Clans? They inhabited a different realm.
The reality was humbling, but not crushing. It was fuel. He would fight. He would change that reality, no matter the cost.
"The Practical Lesson is officially concluded." — Aurelia's voice echoed again. "I congratulate each of you who persevered. I expect great things from everyone in this room. May this be only the first step on a glorious journey."
She sounded genuinely pleased, a tone Indra had never heard from her before. A glint of paternalistic pride was in her golden eyes.
A collective wave of relief washed through the room, followed by subdued celebration. Tired smiles were exchanged, and the rigid posture of many students slackened. Three days in the forest had drained them.
Then, without warning, a complex, giant magical circle composed of gold and silver runes lit up on the marble floor, covering the entire dome. Energy swelled, the air vibrated, and the world around Indra distorted. It was a sensation of being pulled and twisted, not unpleasant, but profoundly disorienting.
When the sensation passed, he was back in the familiar entrance hall of the Esoteric Academy. The transition was as abrupt as their departure had been.
Professor Aurelia, already posted on a platform, dismissed them with a final wave.
"Rest. Prepare. The Paranormal Exam awaits you."
The students dispersed quickly, in small groups or alone, exhausted but relieved. Reid clapped Indra on the shoulder.
"We'll talk more later. You're not getting off that easy." — he said with a mischievous grin.
Claire nodded.
"Get some rest, you monster. You look like you were run over by a train."
Indra returned the smile, grateful for their quiet concern.
"Looking forward to it."
He watched them leave before turning and exiting the Academy, plunging into the bustling streets of the Royal Borough.
On his way home, the surreal landscape of the Esoteric Society barely registered in his fatigued consciousness. The vibrant purple sky, the dark clouds streaked with multicolored lightning, the silver sun that bathed everything in a cold, ghostly light—it all seemed faded. The white marble streets, the mansions blending Gothic, Victorian, and futuristic architecture, and even the imposing Hero's Spire, an ivory pinnacle scratching the sky and telling the Society's history in intricate carvings—none of it could capture his attention.
His mind was focused on a single goal: getting home. Collapsing into his bed. Sleeping for a week. And, if the gods were kind, into Sophie's arms.
Finally, he stopped before a large gate of obsidian. It was tall and imposing, and emblazoned upon it was the symbol of a two-tailed raven—the crest of Clan Ledger. His sanctuary.
He pushed the heavy gate—which recognized his energy signature and swung open without resistance—and stepped through.
The interior of the mansion was as he remembered: cold, silent, and imposing. Everything was made of polished obsidian—the walls, the floor, the vaulted ceiling. Ahead was the spacious living area, with its heavy stone table in the center. To the left, an obsidian counter separated the room from the kitchen; to the right, a wall with an archway led to the stairs climbing to the private quarters.
Indra let out a deep, relieved sigh, the weight of the last three days finally beginning to settle on his shoulders. He was home. He was safe.
He was about to take his first step toward the stairs when a movement from the upper floor made him pause.
The sound of light footsteps came down the staircase. And then, she appeared.
Sophie Ledger.
Her ink-black hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders. Her face, with its pale skin, was flawless, and her heterochromatic eyes—one steely blue, the other emerald green—shone even in the dim light. She wore only a black silk robe, tied loosely at the waist, which gaped slightly with her movement, revealing flashes of her pale skin and her slender, powerful frame. And then, the most striking detail: her long, thin, articulated red tail, like that of a demon, swayed gently behind her, tracing slow arcs in the air.
She descended the remaining steps with a feline grace and stopped on the other side of the living area, her heterochromatic eyes fixed on him, tracing his disheveled figure, his bare and marked torso, the torn pants, and the now awake and alert cat in his arms.
A loaded silence hung in the air for a moment, broken only by the cat's low purr.
Then, Sophie's lips curved into a small, warm smile, a glimpse of genuine warmth amidst the obsidian chill of the mansion.
"Welcome back." — she said, her voice a soft contralto that seemed to vibrate in Indra's very bones.
And for a moment, all the fatigue, all the terror, all the pain—it all just vanished, dissolved in that simple welcome. He was home.