The last class of the day ended with Professor Vane droning on about supply lines and logistical strategy, important, probably.

Kyle and I filed out with the rest of the students, the sun already starting its descent toward the horizon. The campus was bathed in warm, golden light, shadows stretching long across the pathways.

"So," Kyle said, stretching his arms overhead. "Food? Or do you wanna check out the—!"

"Actually," he paused mid-stretch, his expression shifting to something awkward. "I, uh... I gotta go do something."

I raised an eyebrow. "What something?"

"Just... something. You know."

"Right."

"Yeah! So, uh, I'll catch up with you later? At the dorm?"

"Sure."

"Cool! Okay! See you!" He was already backing away, nearly tripping over his own feet before turning and hurrying off toward the training grounds.

I watched him go, shaking my head.

He's probably going to think over the duel tomorrow.

Or worse, try to talk to Seraphina.

Either way, not my problem right now.

I stood there for a moment, alone in the flow of students heading to various destinations—dining hall, dormitories, library, training grounds. Everyone had somewhere to be, someone to be with.

And here I am. Standing like an idiot.

I sighed and started walking.

No destination in mind. Just... walking.

The campus was massive, and I'd barely scratched the surface during orientation. Might as well explore while I had the time.

I passed the main academic buildings, the training grounds where a few students were still sparring, the library where a steady stream of scholarly-track students filtered in and out.

Eventually, I found myself near the gardens.

The Academy gardens were exactly what you'd expect from a place trying to look prestigious, manicured lawns, carefully pruned trees, flowering bushes arranged in geometric patterns.

Stone pathways wound through it all, leading to small clearings with benches and fountains.

Perfect.

I wandered deeper into the gardens, looking for somewhere to sit and think without being surrounded by people.

Every bench I passed was occupied. Couples sitting close together, whispering. Groups of friends laughing. Solo students reading or napping in the fading sunlight.

Of course they're all taken.

I kept walking, rounding a corner near a cluster of flowering trees.

And there finally a bench with only one person sitting on it.

A girl.

She sat at one end of the bench, a book open in her lap, her posture straight but not stiff. Brown hair fell just past her shoulders, catching the light in a way that made it look almost bronze. Blue eyes scanned the pages of her book.

She wore the standard Academy uniform, but there was nothing particularly notable about her appearance otherwise. Plain features. No jewelry. No signs of wealth or noble lineage.

Emma Vale? The commoner from the magic trial.

I approached slowly, stopping a few feet away.

"Can I sit here?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral.

She looked up, her eyes widening slightly, surprise flickering across her face.

Right. I'm a noble. And she's a commoner.

This probably looks weird to her.

For a second, she just stared at me, like she was trying to figure out if this was some kind of prank or trap.

Then she shifted over slightly, making room. "Yes. You can."

"Thanks."

I sat down at the opposite end of the bench, leaving a respectful amount of space between us. The wood was cool beneath me, smooth and worn from years of use.

I leaned back, closing my eyes, letting the sounds of the garden wash over me. Birds chirping. The distant murmur of voices from other students. The faint rustle of leaves in the breeze.

Okay.

Kyle's fighting Marcus in a duel he's definitely going to lose. Cassandra's the Student Council President.

And I'm rank 447 with mediocre stats, and a skill set that only works if no one realizes what I'm actually doing.

So. Business as usual.

I exhaled slowly, trying to let the tension drain from my shoulders.

I need a plan. Short-term and long-term.

Short-term: survive. Don't draw attention. Keep my head down.

Long-term: level up. Get stronger. Figure out what the hell the System wants from me and whether I can actually survive four years.

The exhaustion hit me all at once.

My eyes felt heavy, the adrenaline from the day finally wearing off. The warmth of the fading sunlight, the quiet of the garden.

When was the last time I slept without worrying about waking up to someone trying to kill me?

I let my head fall back against the bench, my breathing slowing.

Just... five minutes.

Five minutes of not thinking about anything.

I jerked awake to the sound of pencil scratching against paper.

Shit. Did I fall asleep?

I blinked, disoriented, my neck stiff from the angle I'd been sitting at. The sky had shifted, no longer golden, but deep amber bleeding into violet. The sun was nearly gone.

How long was I out?

I yawned, stretching my arms overhead, feeling my shoulders pop.

Then I glanced to the side.

Emma was still there, but now she had a notebook open in her lap instead of a book. She was scribbling furiously, her brow furrowed in concentration. Equations and diagrams filled the page, something involving mana flow calculations, from what I could see. Numbers, variables, arrows connecting concepts.

She muttered something under her breath, erasing a line and rewriting it.

I watched for a moment, my brain automatically parsing what she was doing.

Mana efficiency formula. She's trying to calculate optimal output versus input for sustained spellcasting.

But she's approaching it wrong.

She was treating it like a linear function, input A produces output B but mana didn't work that way. It degraded over time, compounded by environmental factors, user fatigue, and...

I rubbed my eyes, still groggy.

It doesn't matter. Not my problem.

I stood, stretching again, feeling my ribs protest slightly but nowhere near as bad as before.

And looked back at her notebook, at the equations she was wrestling with.

I sighed.

"It's a logarithmic function," I said.

Emma's head snapped up, eyes wide with surprise. "What?"

"The answer," I said, gesturing vaguely at her notebook. "You're treating mana efficiency like it's linear, but it's not. It's logarithmic. You need to account for compound decay over time, otherwise your output calculations are going to be off by at least fifteen percent."

She stared at me, her pencil frozen mid-air.

I shrugged. "Just... thought you should know."

Then I turned and walked away before she could respond.

----

The dining hall was half-empty by the time I arrived, most students had already eaten and left. I grabbed a plate of bread, some kind of stew, and an apple, then found a seat in the corner where I could eat in peace.

I finished eating, dropped my plate off at the collection area, and headed back to the dormitories.

Building C was quiet when I arrived. Most students were either still out or already asleep. I climbed the stairs to the second floor, my legs heavy with exhaustion.

Pushed the door open.

The room was dark.

Kyle's bed untouched, pack still sitting on the floor where he'd left it this morning.

He's not back yet.

I frowned, closing the door behind me.

Where the hell is he?

I crossed to the window, looking out at the darkening campus. A few lights flickered in distant buildings, the library, maybe, or some of the study halls. T

A flicker of unease twisted in my gut.

He's fine. He's probably just... somewhere.

Doing something stupid.

Because that's what he does.

I turned away from the window, sitting down on my bed with a sigh.

Not my problem. He's a grown adult. He can take care of himself.

I pulled off my boots, tossing them onto the floor, then lay back against the thin pillow.

And closed my eyes, trying to push the thought away.

But the unease didn't go away.

It settled in my chest, heavy and persistent, like a weight I couldn't shake.

Goddammit, Kyle.

I opened my eyes, staring at the empty bed across from me.

Where are you?

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