Asgard never truly sleeps. When night falls, the academy doesn't sink into silence, but instead pulses softly, like the undying heart of an ancient being. Crystal light drifts gently along the corridors; partly illusory, and partly real. Verchiel stands on one of the high balconies, leaning his back against a cold, white stone pillar.
His mind is restless.
Three days since the Garden of Illusion. Three days since he ascended to level 6 and began to realize: this system is alive.
He begins to have strange dreams, flashes of a past that isn't his own. Memories of the novel he wrote mix with something new—snapshots of a story he never wrote. Characters he never created.
"You're... starting to change, huh?" he murmurs to his own scythe, which now seems heavier, colder, as if it has grown with him.
---
The Next Day, Underground Training Arena - Special Class Room
This class is not for ordinary students. Only those deemed "dangerous or high potential" are invited. Verchiel is, of course, included. When he stepped in, several pairs of eyes immediately turned. Gazes of awe, cynicism and fear. He ignored everything.
"Schwarz. Sit in the middle row."
A woman's voice, calm and sharp. Verchiel turned around—and for the first time, he was silent
The woman stood at the front of the class. Her long white hair hung down to her waist, glistening like snow in the sun. Her golden eyes seemed to penetrate the soul, and her academy attire was slightly different—with a winged star emblem on her chest, the symbol of her Monarch Candidate rank.
She wasn't an instructor. But she wasn't an ordinary student either.
"My name is Aetheria Lys Arvane. I'm a second-year student. And today, I've been assigned to be your mentor in tactical training in the magic system."
Aetheria. A name Verchiel never even wrote down.
She wasn't part of a novel.
"...Damn. This system is messed up."
---
The training session began.
Verchiel stood in the center of the domed training arena, facing Aetheria.
"I'll test your skills in a 1v1 battle. No assist systems. No active skills. Just technique and instinct."
"Huh? Did you think I'd just go along with it?"
"No. But you'll still lose if I don't."
She attacked him without warning.
Light! No ordinary magic. Every step Aetheria took fused with the rhythm of the field. She seemed to be dancing, and the light followed her movements. Verchiel could barely read her movements.
One second. Two seconds. He received two heavy blows to his shoulder.
"Tch. That was fast."
[Passive: Battle Analysis active - Adaptation progress 34%...]
He spun around, using the momentum to counterattack with his scythe, but Aetheria parried it with only her index finger imbued with dense light.
"You're too rough. You fight like you're courting death."
Verchiel hissed, then smiled sarcastically. "That's exactly what it was."
---
After 10 minutes of brutal combat,
Aetheria finally retreated.
"Enough."
"Give up already, princess?"
"You're crazy. But also interesting. Your system isn't stable yet. But your potential... is extraordinary."
Just then, the system appeared again.
[Skill: Scythe Mastery D → C]
System Note: The skill will only improve when the user is under extreme pressure and fighting against a much stronger enemy.
And then:
[The Initial Bond Formed - Main Character: Aetheria Arvane] [Hidden Title Revealed: "The Girl of the Forgotten Light"]
---
Nighttime - Roof of the Boys' Dormitory
Aetheria stood beside Verchiel, the night breeze blowing through her hair.
"I know you're not from here. Your aura... is too foreign. This world rejects you, but it also... shapes you."
Verchiel looked up at the sky, which seemed to crack at a small point.
"I also know one thing. You're not from the story I wrote. You're... part of a system that lives on its own."
Aetheria smiled faintly. "Perhaps. Or maybe I'm a part of you... that you've never known."
They were silent.
But it was a beginning.
---
[Verchiel Schwarz's Stats - After Practice Battle]
Level: 6
HP: 140
MP: 80
STR: 11
AGI: 14
INT: 16
VIT: 12
[Active Skill]
Awareness D
Writer's Instinct D
Scythe Mastery C
[Special Stats]
Privilege EXP x3
Initial Bond: Aetheria Arvane