Under the sun, now fully risen and shining in all its splendor, Roland passed through the Academy Gates, walking past the two guards stationed at the entrance.
The guards looked at the young student with clear surprise. They knew the first classes would begin in five minutes, and by now, every student should already be seated in their classrooms, waiting for the Lecturer.
Roland paid their stares no mind and headed toward the hall where classes for his age group were held.
The stone walkways were nearly empty. With all the students already gathered inside, the echo of his footsteps carried between the Academy buildings.
He passed several familiar wings at an unhurried pace, and after a few minutes reached the corridor reserved for the youngest students.
Stopping in front of the classroom door, Roland heard the loud buzz of excited chatter. Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
The noise died instantly.
The moment the students saw Roland enter, the lively hum of conversation vanished as if cut by a blade.
Leon Weber and Dejvid Lopez, seated at opposite ends of the first row, glanced sideways at Roland, then promptly ignored him, sitting in silence as they waited for the lecturer to arrive.
Amelia Karlsson, also seated in the front row but closer to the center, didn't even look up. Clearly stressed, she kept rubbing her long black hair, her focus fixed entirely on the class about to begin.
The strongest reaction came from Paul Weiss.
Sitting beside Amelia, he froze when he saw his older brother enter. He hadn't seen Roland even once since the Awakening Ceremony, after Roland had left home and taken up residence at an inn.
When Roland passed by his desk without a word or even a greeting, Paul wanted to speak, but no sound came out.
Amelia noticed Paul's reaction out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't respond. All of her attention remained on the lesson ahead.
The rest of the class watched Roland with a variety of expressions as he walked past them, heading toward the back of the room, toward an empty seat by the window in the very last row.
Roland showed no reaction to the unnatural silence or to the dozens of eyes fixed on him. His face remained cold and unchanged, his thoughts occupied by only one thing: sleep, after spending the entire night hunting a Bile-Weave Myrk.
The moment he sat down, he didn't hesitate. He lowered his face onto the desk and closed his eyes.
The students stared at him in shock and disbelief.
He had just gone to sleep, right there on the desk, before the very first class had even started.
"Is he seriously going to sleep during our first lesson?" one student whispered to the person next to Roland, disbelief clear in his eyes.
"Leave him alone," another replied quietly, not even glancing in Roland's direction. "You've probably heard the rumors, about how he's been taking a boat out into the middle of the lake every night this past week, drinking Lake Bile."
"Yeah, I heard that too," a third student added eagerly, joining the conversation. "A friend of my dad's is a hunter. He said he sees Roland every day at the 'Beached Fish' Inn, buying Lake Bile."
"Hmph. And this was supposed to be the greatest talent of our clan?" another student scoffed, looking at Roland with open disdain. "One failure was enough to turn him into trash. All he can do now is drown his sorrows."
Several students nodded in agreement, their gazes filled with contempt as they looked at the sleeping Roland.
Hearing those words, Paul instinctively wanted to stand up and defend his brother. But when he saw most of the class nodding along, he hesitated, unsure of what to do.
At that moment, the Lecturer entered the room.
"Silence."
The word was spoken calmly, without even looking at the students, as the man walked toward the center of the classroom.
The Lecturer was none other than the Academy Elder, the very man who had presided over their Awakening Ceremony.
Stopping at the center, the Elder scratched his short, slightly graying hair and looked over the students with a faint smile, noticing the nervousness on some of their faces.
"My name is Alexander Kowalski."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room.
"As you already know, I am the Elder of this Academy, and the one responsible for the Awakening Ceremony."
He let a brief silence fall, drawing in the attention of every student.
"The main purpose of this Academy is to guide you through your first steps as Myrks Masters, and to give the most ambitious and talented among you the opportunity to grow and compete for the best resources necessary for cultivation."
He smiled slightly at the students in the front row before continuing.
"However, remember this well, the Academy is not a place for the lazy. It rewards only diligent and hardworking students, those who study seriously and make steady progress on their path as Myrks Masters."
As he spoke, the Elder's gaze drifted, almost unconsciously, toward the back of the room, where a student by the window was sleeping soundly through the speech.
At his words, the rest of the class also looked toward Roland, waiting for the Elder to reprimand him.
Instead, the Elder simply smiled, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked away.
"Still… I am not your nanny, nor your caretaker. No one in this Academy will hold your hand or coddle you. You are responsible for your own lives, not us."
His calm gaze moved across the students, driving the point home.
"The Academy and its Lecturers can only show you the direction… point you toward the path."
His voice deepened as he paused, letting his words sink in.
"But the final choice, and the responsibility for it, rests with you alone."
The classroom fell silent. The students contemplated the meaning behind Alexander's words.
Seeing their thoughtful expressions, the Elder smiled lightly and waited in silence, giving them time to fully absorb his message.
After a while, more and more students began to nod subtly, understanding at last that their lives, and their cultivation, were ultimately their own responsibility.
Among them, the students in the front row -Leon, Dejvid, Paul, and Amelia - looked the most motivated. Their eyes burned with hunger as they stared at the Elder, eager to seize their futures and begin their cultivation.
Noticing the fire growing in their gazes, the Academy Elder nodded slightly and spoke again, his expression turning serious.
"Today will be the most important day of your lives."
His voice softened, forcing the students to focus even more intently.
"After this lesson, you will go to the Myrk Vault and choose your Life Myrk."
Excitement flickered across several faces.
"As you know, a Life Myrk is a Myrk that will remain with you for the entirety of your path as a Myrks Master. Choosing it is one of the most important, and most responsible, decisions you will ever make."
His gaze sharpened.
"For that reason, I strongly advise against choosing a Dead Myrk as your Life Myrk."
He paused before continuing.
"As you know, Dead Myrks possess the same abilities and traits as Living Myrks. They even have an advantage, they do not need to be fed, saving an enormous amount of Ancient Stones."
He allowed the benefits to sink in before continuing.
"However, they possess one flaw that will kill your potential as a Myrks Master if chosen as a Life Myrk."
"That flaw is their inability to grow."
"A Dead Myrk, as the name implies, is dead in a certain sense. A First-Rank Dead Myrk will always remain First Rank. A Second-Rank Dead Myrk will forever be Second Rank, and so on."
He wanted them to fully understand this critical weakness.
"Living Myrks, on the other hand, are alive. They possess their own will, which makes refinement far more difficult for us Myrks Masters. But because they are alive, they can grow and evolve."
His voice rose slightly as he spoke of them.
"As your cultivation advances, a Living Myrk will develop and evolve alongside you."
The room fell into silence as the students began to grasp just how important the choice of their first, and Life Myrk truly was.
"Imagine two Second or Third-Stage Myrks Masters," Alexander continued. "One chose a Living Myrk. He struggled to refine it and Spending huge amounts of ancient stones on food, but in return, his Myrk evolved alongside him."
"Now imagine another Third-Stage Myrks Master who chose a Dead Myrk. His early path was easier, no feeding, no refinement issues. But by the time he reached the Third Stage, his Life Myrk was still only First Rank."
Alexander looked at them thoughtfully.
"Which of these two Myrks Masters do you think has better prospects for the future?"
He left them with the question, one only they could answer.
The students exchanged glances, already knowing the answer.
Leon, Dejvid, Paul, and Amelia had already made their decision.
They would choose a Living Myrk as their Life Myrk.
Leon and Dejvid, born to main families of the clan, had no worries about feeding costs, they knew their clans would provide the Ancient Stones needed.
Amelia's face showed quiet determination. Now that House Gonzalez had accepted her, she had gained the backing of one of the major Houses within the Valen Clan.
Only Paul felt a trace of anxiety at the cost of feeding a Living Myrk. Still, he resolved to ask his uncle and aunt for help.
Seeing the determination written across so many faces, Alexander spoke once more.
"That concludes today's lecture. Proceed to the Myrk Vault and choose your Life Myrk. Remember, your choices are your own responsibility."
With that, the Academy Elder left the classroom, leaving the students to slowly file out, heading toward the Myrk Vault to choose their first Myrk.