The academy did not feel the same anymore.
Not to Zeal.
Not after the Rift entity.
Not after the Judgment Stone broke.
Even walking through the corridor now felt different.
He could feel it.
Eyes that weren't visible.
Mana threads embedded into the walls.
Surveillance spells layered into the air itself.
He wasn't just a student anymore.
He was being studied.
Kyle walked beside him, hands behind his head like always, but even his usual careless attitude was slightly off.
"…So," Kyle muttered, glancing sideways, "Class-0 Observation Status. That sounds like something you don't want to have."
Zeal kept walking.
"I didn't ask for it."
"Yeah," Kyle replied. "But you got it anyway. That's the problem."
Ahead of them, Chloe Ashfield stood near the dorm junction.
Smoke drifted slowly around her fingers, but it wasn't relaxed anymore.
It was controlled.
Focused.
Like she was holding it back from reacting.
Lucius Lockwood stood on the opposite side of the corridor.
Lightning flickered faintly across his arm every few seconds.
Neither of them moved until Zeal reached them.
Then Chloe spoke first.
"You're being recorded."
Zeal glanced at her.
"I noticed."
Lucius stepped forward slightly.
"Not just recorded."
A pause.
"Analyzed."
Kyle sighed.
"Yeah, that sounds worse."
Zeal looked at Lucius.
"By who?"
Before Lucius could answer—
a voice echoed through the corridor.
Cold.
Official.
"Institutional authority."
Instructor Vael stepped out from the side hallway.
Behind him stood two masked academy officials wearing silver insignia.
Vael's expression was sharper than before.
"Zeal Greyhound. You are now under permanent observation protocol."
Kyle blinked.
"…Permanent?"
Vael nodded once.
"Class-0 designation."
Chloe narrowed her eyes.
"That classification doesn't exist in standard academy structure."
Vael didn't look at her.
"It does now."
Lucius crossed his arms slightly.
"And what does that mean exactly?"
Vael answered without hesitation.
"It means if something goes wrong… we will be ready."
Silence.
Zeal frowned slightly.
"So I'm dangerous."
Vael corrected him.
"You are unknown."
That word again.
UNKNOWN.
Not weak.
Not strong.
Not ranked.
Just unreadable.
One of the masked officials stepped forward.
"You will continue normal classes."
Another pause.
"But all mana fluctuations, emotional instability, and abnormal readings will be monitored in real time."
Kyle groaned.
"So basically… he's a walking experiment now."
No one corrected him.
That silence said enough.
Zeal exhaled slowly.
"…Fine."
Everyone looked at him.
"I'll stay."
Chloe's eyes shifted slightly.
Lucius studied him more carefully now.
Vael turned slightly.
"You will comply?"
Zeal nodded once.
"But I want answers."
Vael didn't respond immediately.
Then—
"You will get them."
But his tone suggested something different.
Not when.
Just eventually.
The officials stepped back.
Vael left without another word.
The corridor became silent again.
🌑 THAT NIGHT — ZEAL'S ROOMThe dorm room was simple.
Stone walls.
A bed.
A faint suppression field engraved into the floor.
Zeal stood in the center of it.
Alone.
Finally.
But silence didn't help.
Because something inside him still wasn't calm.
The black scale was gone.
Destroyed.
And yet—
he could still feel it.
Not as an object.
As presence.
Inside him.
Zeal placed a hand on his chest.
"…Still there."
A faint pulse responded.
THUMP.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Then—
he noticed something.
The suppression runes on the floor were dimmer near him.
Not broken.
Just… hesitating.
Like they were unsure if they should suppress him at all.
Zeal exhaled slowly.
"This is getting worse."
Outside—
a shadow passed his window.
Slow.
Silent.
Unregistered.
Watching.
Far beneath the academy—
deep underground—
something else reacted.
A massive structure of unknown origin shifted slightly.
And for the first time in centuries—
it acknowledged a signal.
🐉 END OF CHAPTER 6If you want next ,
Chapter 7
first combat evaluation classLucius vs Zeal tension escalatesChloe investigates his "smoke reaction to him"Kyle becomes official partner in classZeal partially uses Calamity power for the first time (controlled accident)Just tell me 👍