The entire place felt frozen — no one could move, their expressions unmoving. Shion Lan watched the smile that spread across the director's face. Neither of them spoke for a full minute, until the old man broke the silence and said,
"You seem special, boy. I don't know what happened to you, but you're certainly remarkable."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Shion replied.
"Look, you and I both know you're not your usual self. The strange thing is, I can't see you clearly anymore. I've seen life and death reflected in your eyes — it's bizarre, yet incredibly fascinating. I've never seen anything like it. I can see your art, but I think you're practicing another art that contradicts it. I also sense a legacy within you, but I can't pinpoint it. At first, I thought some spirit possessed you, but your soul seems stable — nothing odd there. There are moments when I feel you're still a teenager, and others when I feel you're older than me. So, I'm simply intrigued by someone who managed to see through my magic."
Shion could only think to himself, "Could this be because of the bloodline and the strong resemblance between me and Shi Yun Lan? But I don't want him to know about that, so I'll have to make something up."
He then said aloud, "It's just that stars live long lives, so time isn't that big of a deal to me. And I don't think I'm interesting enough to catch your attention."
"Oh, but you've already done that," the old man replied.
Shion didn't quite understand what the man meant, but Tim Ayr continued,
"Advanced mages and duelists possess unique abilities, different from intermediates — I assume you've noticed."
Shion tried to grasp what Tim meant and to figure out what that special ability could be, until he realized something.
"You mean… your domain?"
"Yes. You noticed that. I am the king within my domain — everyone must submit to me. Yet I sense no submission from you, as if you're already used to it."
Shion thought for a moment. 'I suppose Shi Yun Han, Shi Yun Lan's father, also has a domain. So being unaffected by domains must be normal for me. Besides, the first three years were spent within a large-scale domain, so I can say I grew up surrounded by them.'
Then both Shion and Tim noticed someone watching them. They turned toward the source — it was the Second Princess, Jina Joul, or rather, her eyes. Tim chuckled lightly.
"Seems that woman is still as insolent as ever."
Tim raised a finger, and a magic circle appeared with clock-like hands and strange symbols. It was the result of multiple circles combined — one, two, three… eight magic circles in that spell. Even though an intermediate mage would only use fewer, the director increased them to ensure the spell affected Jina's eyes. "It seems her inheritance is quite powerful," Shion thought.
As the hands on the circle moved, Jina's eyes began to emit smoke-like wisps. Shion focused and noticed that the smoke contained a replay of his conversation with the director.
Tim smiled. "Enhanced Sixth-Circle Spell — Return to the Past. What do you think, Shion?"
"You're incredible, sir."
"But I doubt this magic would work on you, even with enhancement. So, I want to do something else."
Shion tensed slightly but asked, "What do you intend to do?"
"I want to engrave an oath on you — that you'll never turn against the kingdom or commit evil deeds in the future. You're talented, but I need you to remain good. I don't want evil forces to influence you someday. So, I'll make sure of it — otherwise, I'll shatter your soul."
Shion was surprised but didn't resist, letting the old man proceed. He felt a touch — not magical or physical — but a binding contract upon his heart and soul, one that would destroy him if he ever broke it. It wasn't painful; after his training with Shi Yun Lan, he no longer felt pain that way, which surprised the old man.
When it was done, the director said, "I want you to compete here."
"But I want to keep a low profile since I'll be weak again."
"Why?"
"I used drugs to boost my strength, so my foundation became unstable. I need to rebuild myself."
"Do you dare lie to me?"
"…"
"I know you didn't use drugs for strength enhancement — only to restore your energy. That won't affect your condition."
"But I'll still be weak while learning the Fire element."
"What?!"
"I have an affinity with all elements. According to the Stellar Summet Art, I must first master the six elements."
"In that case, I'll have to grant your request. However, I can't restore everyone's memories on a large scale — it's too exhausting to deal with nearly three hundred students of varying strength, skilled intermediate teachers, and even a few advanced individuals. But I can compensate you — I'll assign you to various missions since you didn't participate in the test. Still, this will tarnish your reputation."
"I don't mind."
"Alright, don't worry. I'll make it up to you somehow."
As soon as their conversation ended, the world returned to normal. Shun Ranus was about to speak, but the director interrupted,
"I don't care whether you think you're qualified or not — you faced a four-circle witch, so you must bear this fame. Otherwise, shame will follow you."
Shion didn't fully understand Tim's intentions — whether he meant to tarnish his name or not — but he nodded and followed the others to the waiting rooms.
He was with Harry Gill, who said, "Sorry, but the director didn't accept my withdrawal."
"Well, he only picked you as a substitute anyway. The results of the student selections will be out soon — let's wait and see which of these kids dares challenge me."
A few minutes passed. Shion sat with his eyes closed. Harry, curious about what he was thinking, asked,
"What changed you so much? As I recall, you used to be timid and afraid of me, but now you seem… different."
'Different…' Shion pondered the word. He had felt it ever since he left the Ranus family. Was his change related to them, or to the poison Shi Yun Lan mentioned?
Lost in thought, he finally replied,
"Some people change because of a great incident, others because of a single word. And some just change on their own, for no clear reason. I don't know what happened to me — whether it was being cast out, or people mocking me back then, or simply wanting to change for myself and for those around me. I don't know. What matters is that I became something better than before."
There was no pride or joy in Shion's tone — rather, something strange, as if the words didn't come from him at all. This left Harry slightly stunned. 'I never thought I'd hear something like that from him.'
Then the list of students and their chosen opponents was announced. Shion hadn't expected much — he assumed his own students would pick him — but what he saw surprised him.
Baro Ferrer and Fiori Tai chose Kin the Noble Division as their opponent. Doesn't makes sense.
He decided to check his own list along with Harry, who seemed nervous. When Shion saw it, he was filled with surprise, confusion, and then overwhelming anger. Harry sensed the fury and instinctively stepped back. Shion calmed himself and said,
"Can I ask you a favor?"
"What is it?"
"That boy from the Ranus family — I don't want to face him."
On Shion and Harry's list were seven students, including the Second Princess Jina, Cole Leon, Rose Gard, and one person Shion never expected — his younger cousin, Leo Ranus. The boy was talented in water magic and used to bully Shion because of his weak position. His father never helped him — in fact, he sometimes rewarded Leo for being stronger. Shion had hated Leo deeply, but now, practicing such a great art, he knew he couldn't stoop to such pettiness. Still, he wasn't sure if he could restrain his rage if they met, so he made that request to Harry.
Then he sat down and closed his eyes. On the waiting room wall appeared a projection of the battle stage. In its center stood the First Prince, Jaiden Joul, facing a student from a royal family who had challenged him.
One of the event's key rules was that senior students shouldn't defeat juniors too quickly — it would crush their confidence. So Jaiden toyed with the boy for a while before defeating him with basic magic.
Shion thought, This festival's supposed goal is to strengthen bonds between students and teachers, but honestly, everyone here has their own agenda. New students seek chances to prove their strength to seniors; the seniors want to assert dominance and recruit talents for their guilds and clubs; teachers look for seeds worth nurturing and assess their students' progress. Everyone's chasing their own goal under the guise of "building connections." What most don't realize is that the connections formed here — or the rivalries — will define their futures. You can forge great friendships or deadly enmities today. That's why I just want to stay out of the spotlight. Since the director will help me avoid attention, I'll just appear briefly and play along.
The First Prince, Jaiden Joul, continued to show off, elegantly defeating one opponent after another. After four matches, he stepped back, and then Violet Night entered the stage — a girl with dark black hair and striking violet eyes, although her beauty, she was showing no trace of femininity. She drew her whip, swung it as a warm-up, and waited for her opponent — another girl, armed with a bow and arrow.
The match was long-range at first, giving the archer an advantage, but Violet soon turned fierce. She swung her whip, wrapped it around her opponent's waist, pulled her close, then drew a dagger and held it to her throat — ending the fight instantly.
Shion watched closely. This girl isn't under the First Prince — she's one of the Second Princess's followers. Unexpectedly, her skills surpass even his. Baro Ferrer and Fiori Tai made the right choice joining the Second Princess — she relies not on tricks or tools but on real ability and strength. That's what will drive them to grow.
After Violet finished her last opponent, it was time for the Noble Division. Once the representative finished his duels, it was Shun Ranus's turn — wielding sword techniques infused with fire. He flaunted himself shamelessly.
I've never seen such arrogance. I can't say for sure whether his fourth star came from an artifact, but I'm certain those flashy skills of his are just decoration — there's no real power behind them. I wasn't sure before, but now I'm convinced this is cheating. Why isn't the director stopping it?
The fourth-year students continued to dominate the newcomers, though several of the twenty-four showed remarkable promise, drawing many eyes. Then it was time for the Royal Division of the third years — both the representative and his opponent entered the stage.