The walk back to Block Delta was unlike any that had come before. The grey stone walls of the academy corridors seemed less like a prison and more like a training ground. The air, usually thick with apprehension, now crackled with a new, electric energy—the energy of possibility.
Elara was practically skipping, her braid swinging. "A hypothesis! He called us a hypothesis! That's so much better than 'dull ore' or 'foundation shaker.'"
"It is a more accurate scientific term," Ilana agreed, her usual reserve softened by a thoughtful light in her eyes. "It implies observation, testing, and potential for unexpected results."
Leo walked with his hands behind his head, a grin on his face. "My father always said the Guild's initial grading was more about resource allocation than true judgment. Seems the old man was right. They seed the field broadly, then see what actually grows."
Oliver listened, a quiet warmth in his chest. The weight of his Bronze card had not vanished, but it had been framed within a larger, fairer context. He was not a finished product labeled 'inferior.' He was an equation with an unknown variable.
At the fork in the path that led to the separate dormitories, the twins bid them goodnight. "Don't stay up too late theorizing, you two," Elara said with a mock-smile on her face.
"We'll try," Leo laughed. As they walked on, the silence between them was comfortable. The sun was setting, casting long shadows through the crystal panes of the workshop halls. After a moment, Leo broke the quiet. "It's a relief, you know? The 'Guild Protocol & Logistics' class doesn't start for a month. Means they actually want us to learn magic first before teaching us how to file the expense reports for it."
Oliver managed a small smile. "Priorities." "Exactly." Leo paused, then looked at Oliver with sudden curiosity. "Hey. Did you check the academy forum yet?" Oliver's face blanked. "Forum?"
Leo stopped walking and facepalmed with a theatrical groan. "Rill. Oliver. My magically internet-illiterate friend. Your Guild Card! It's not just a key and a bank ledger!" He pulled out his own bronze card, which glowed softly in the dimming light. "It's your terminal. Your link to the Magic Net." Seeing Oliver's continued confusion, Leo sighed, this time with patient enthusiasm. "Okay, basics. The World Government doesn't just run on laws and Sages. It runs on information. The Magic Net is a planet-wide lattice of communication and data storage, woven from stabilized ley-line energy and thought-crystals. Every Guild Card is a personal node. It's how news travels faster than griffins, how quests are posted globally, and how students gossip about their teachers."
"And do not asked me, howi know all this about, 'of course! It's in our academic guide book'".
He gestured for Oliver to take out his card. "Here, let's activate yours. It's about time." Under Leo's guidance, Oliver held his bronze card flat on his palm and focused a tiny, conscious stream of his grey mana into the signature rune. Instead of projecting the simple, functional hologram he'd seen before, the card's surface shimmered like molten metal, then resolved into a complex, semi-transparent interface floating just above it. It was beautiful—a symphony of softly glowing geometric menus, shifting icons, and flowing script. "Whoa," Oliver breathed.
"Right? Now, you need an identity for the academy sub-network. It's separate from your official Guild record. Lets you interact without your tier being the first thing everyone sees." Leo's fingers danced through his own interface, pulling up a guide. "Just will a username into the identity field. Something other than 'Oliver Rill, Grey-Weaver, Bronze.'" Oliver thought for a moment. The name he'd been given, the label that had felt like a brand. What had Kael called it? A unique spectral signature. He focused, and in the field, letters formed: Grey-Weaver. "Bold. I like it," Leo saidapproving.
That when click to oliver, 'oh! That how aunt mira know, when ever i open any book related mana and any similar topic. So its really was a child lock .'
End of chapter