(A/N Big thanks to everyone for the Power stones and Golden tickets, they mean a lot. As usual, please don't hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)

Power stones people, Gimme it.

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19:18.

Still early enough that the lounge stayed lively, but late enough that the day's weight finally began to settle.

Orion leaned back into the couch, arms folded loosely.

A long day.

A productive one.

Complicated, yes—but he'd processed enough for now.

Caelum glanced at him. "You alright?"

"Fine."

Orion allowed himself a small exhale.

Tomorrow would bring more.

But for tonight, this was enough.

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The week passed faster than Orion expected.

Not because the academy was overwhelming or chaotic—quite the opposite. It slipped by smoothly, a quiet cycle of his preferred routine. Mornings were the same: he woke early, practiced with his blade, failed repeatedly to catch Thaddeus sneaking up on him, meditated afterward, then went to the library. Lunch came and went. Afternoons were split between reading, taking short walks around the spire, or observing the upper-year students from a distance. Evenings were spent with the group—sometimes in the park, sometimes in the lounge, sometimes simply talking.

To some people, this lifestyle would be boring.

To Orion, it was complete.

He kept track of everything but chased nothing. Selene and Caelum were covering actual groundwork. Seris was collecting social information. He was… reading history. Cross-referencing wars. Memorizing timelines. Studying ancient conflicts.

Most of it would be useless for their academic path, and he knew that.

But he didn't care.

He enjoyed it. And that alone was enough.

Still, even he had limits. By midweek, the slight itch for something more began creeping in—not desperation, not impatience, just a sense that it was time for the next phase. He had visited the training halls a few times. He had watched Seris fight; she was reckless but talented. He watched first-years spar, watched Daenys bulldoze through anyone who challenged her, watched some students train obsessively until evening.

He didn't join any of them. Not because he lacked interest—far from it. But fists and swords against first-years? It was pointless.

He wasn't here for simple face-slapping.

He wanted seniors.

He wanted real fights.

Restricting more than half his power and fighting Erevan hand-to-hand had challenged him. That alone made him curious about what the upper years had in store. He doubted the opportunity would come easily, but when it did, he'd take it without hesitation.

For now, though, he waited.

And read.

And watched.

Their weekly plan had been clear from the beginning, and today—late afternoon—they were finally regrouping in the park to compare what they found. Orion arrived just as Seris was finishing an exaggerated explanation about someone tripping over a cushion in the lounge.

Caelum sat calmly with a folder of neatly organized notes. Selene looked prepared, her expression focused. Seris, of course, looked like she had been waiting all week to talk.

"Alright," she said, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Let's start. My report is very important."

"No one said it wasn't," Selene replied dryly.

Seris ignored her and continued.

"So," she began, "the seniors are… interesting."

Orion waited. Seris saying something was "interesting" usually meant it fell into one of two categories: chaos or nonsense.

"There are groups among them," she said. "Cliques, factions, whatever. Some are arrogant—like really arrogant. I'm talking full 'don't breathe my air' type of senior."

Caelum sighed quietly.

"But some are cheerful," Seris added. "Super friendly. Helpful. They're the ones that told me about floors eight to ten."

Selene looked up. "What did they say?"

"That the upper three floors aren't forbidden," Seris said. "We just don't have access to them yet."

Orion nodded. That aligned with what Rhaena Junior had alluded to during orientation.

"And the eighth floor?" Caelum asked.

Seris grinned. "It's called the Arena."

Selene paused. "Arena? As in… combat arena?"

"Apparently," Seris said. "But it's not open to us yet. Not until something called the cycle rotation. I tried asking what happens there but…"

She made a face.

"They all dodged the question. Every single one of them. Even the friendly seniors suddenly became vague."

"That's odd," Selene murmured.

Caelum agreed with a small nod. "If the information is restricted, why act suspicious? They could simply say it's restricted."

"Exactly," Seris said. "But no. They just go silent or change the subject."

Orion leaned back against the tree behind him, absorbing that.

Something about that was off.

Even if the academy restricted information, seniors usually didn't pretend ignorance unless there was a reason. And if multiple seniors reacted the same way—even the nice ones—it meant their silence was deliberate.

But why?

He didn't say it aloud. He just stored the detail for later.

"So what about Magnum Two and Three?" Seris asked, turning to Caelum.

Caelum shook his head. "I'll summarize later. It's long."

Seris pouted but didn't push.

Selene flipped her notebook open. "My turn, then. I attended the introductory lectures. Department instructors came and talked about what we'd be getting into, their own advices and the likes. Some of them are quite eccentric, and others are painfully straightforward but most of what they talked about wasn't exactly critical or complicated, they avoided going too into detail."

"But from my take, the Scholar courses are going to be quite information heavy, some of the breakdowns were bulky, so I'd say we choose wisely when picking our plus two scholar courses, especially Seris."

Seris stared at her. "Really?"

"What, you admitted you don't like books." Selene shrugged.

"So what courses would you advice?" Orion asked.

"That would depend on what exactly you're interested in." Selene clicked her bracelet and the list of scholar department courses appeared.

Scholars Department Courses

Introduction to Financial and Monetary Management

Introduction to Magical Medicine

Introduction to Art, Law, and Magical Oath

Introduction to Magical Engineering

Research and Development

Rune and Sigil Analysis

Spatial Study and Manipulation (Theoretical)

Spatial Study and Manipulation (Practical)

+2 Combat Courses

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