After a heartfelt goodbye with Asher and Mother, I finally left the Vormir mansion. It might take me at least a full year before I return… maybe even longer .Which was why it was especially hard for them — and for Asher most of all.
The kid cried like someone stole his spirit beast, but after making me promise to return soon and after I reminded him to train properly instead of slacking around, I left.
I first took a teleportation port to the capital city, and from there, the teleportation gate that connected directly to Novacter Academy.
Princess Anastasia and Aldric had already told me to meet them inside the academy, so I didn't wait for them.
From the gate, the academy was about 5 km away, so I simply took a cab.Just like me, thousands of other students were heading toward Novacter Academy.
The academy itself was built in the center of a massive city — appropriately named Hope. A city built solely for students, protected by one of the strongest barriers in all Novacter. You could only enter through a teleportation gate, and only if you had an official invitation and documentation issued by the academy itself.
After all… who would dare come here uninvited?
This place was guarded by an Eternal-rank awakener.
Hope City existed because there were simply too many students, from 1st years to 4th years. It had everything they needed — dorms, shops, training fields, towers, even auction houses. Its economy ran on SP — Student Points, so anyone wanting to buy even a sandwich had to use SP.
I even spotted many seniors walking around.
After about 5 minutes, I finally arrived at the place I had read about in the book countless times.
And seeing it with my own eyes was an entirely different experience.
The academy's main building was a mix of castle architecture and elegant modern design — majestic, ancient, and futuristic all at the same time.
"Although I read about it in the book… seeing it personally is something else," I murmured.
I should build a castle like this inside my Null Dimension later.
The guards checked my documents and application before allowing me in. Of course, they confiscated my storage ring — no outside items were allowed. The only things a student could bring inside were pre-registered weapons.
I had chosen a rapier — fitting my physique and very suitable for my future soul weapon.
I walked to the enormous ground where hundreds thousands of students were gathered. There were still 20 minutes before the exam began.
As I scanned the field, I recognized many characters mentioned in the book.
But the ones who stood out the most were—
A boy with messy red hair, fox ears, and a tail. His face was handsome enough that he could become a celebrity back on Earth. Beside him stood a fox girl with the same fiery features.
The Claver siblings. Rank 12 and 11 in the academy. Both had SS+ talents and physiques.
But their arrogance…That was their real signature.
'Their talent was good, though,' I thought.
Then I noticed a girl with black hair and brown eyes. 17 — she would be in the same assessment group as Aldric and myself later this year. She had an A-rank healing talent, which was completely useless for our combat-focused group, but she and I had a brief conversation in the original story, so I remembered her.
I knew the so-called "star" of this year would take a little longer to show up, so I sat on a bench calmly.
But just as I sat down… someone walked up, smiled politely, and asked:
"May I sit here if you're alone?"
The voice belonged to a boy — neither soft nor cold. Just… normal.
But the moment I looked up and saw his face…
My expression almost twisted in disgust.
Of course, I didn't let it show. I had plenty of experience keeping a poker face — meeting presidents of various nations in my past life had trained that skill well enough.
But this man…This man was the reason my favorite character died in the book.
Dark hair. Silver eyes. A face so painfully average it almost became suspicious.
Roya.
I nodded silently, keeping my expression neutral.
But inside?
My thoughts were drenched in darkness.
'You need to die. And very, very soon.'
Why?
Because he was a spy.
Not of the Abyss Seekers.
No.
He served a far greater enemy:
The Outer Gods.
His job? To remove any future threats — slowly. Either recruiting them…Or killing them.
He had an SS-rank talent but kept it hidden as S-rank.
In the book, it wasn't until the later half that his identity was discovered — only after his memories were extracted.
And when they learned the truth…
The reason one of the brightest stars of the new generation died…The reason Aldric Crestban almost went insane…
Was because of this man.
The one who died…
The one he secretly betrayed…
Was none other than—
Princess Elyndria da' Caelrith.