[The Demon Realm Border - The Abyssal Academy]
A freezing wind howled through the shattered stained-glass windows, carrying the faint, metallic scent of old blood and ozone. Rain lashed against the towering glasspanes of the Principal's Office, casting frantic, watery shadows across the massive mahogany desk.
Victor Thorne opened his eyes.
He didn't gasp. He didn't panic. He simply sat perfectly still in the high-backed leather chair, his jaw tightening as the cold air bit into his skin.
He looked down at his hands. They were resting on a pile of moldy parchment. He wasn't wearing standard fantasy armor or a wizard's robe. He was wearing an impeccably tailored, midnight-blue business suit. His gold cuffs gleamed faintly in the dim light of the roaring fireplace.
The memories of the previous owner flooded into his mind like a hostile data transfer. This body belonged to the newly appointed Principal of the Abyssal Academy. It was a dumping ground for the continent's worst villains, dark mages, and exiled assassins. The previous Principal had died of a stress-induced heart attack exactly ten minutes ago.
Victor slowly adjusted his tie. He was a corporate tycoon in his past life, a man who swallowed international conglomerates for breakfast. Reincarnation didn't scare him. Bad accounting did.
He reached out and touched a heavy, black leather book resting on the desk.
[System Bound: The Tycoon's Ledger activated.]
[Scanning Institutional Assets...]
[Warning: The Abyssal Academy is currently 4.2 Million Gold in debt to the Iron Bank.]
[Warning: Faculty embezzlement detected at 84%.]
[Warning: Student tuition unpaid for 72 consecutive months.]
"Unacceptable," Victor whispered. His voice was completely flat, slicing through the ambient noise of the storm.
The heavy oak doors of the office suddenly swung open with a loud creak.
A woman stepped into the flickering firelight. She was a Dark Elf, her skin the color of polished obsidian, her silver hair pulled back into a severe, tight bun. Instead of armor, she wore a sharp, dark business skirt-suit, holding a silver clipboard against her chest.
This was Seraphina. The Head of Operations.
She looked at Victor, her piercing violet eyes narrowing in genuine surprise. "You are still breathing, Principal Thorne. The betting pool in the faculty lounge had you hanging yourself before midnight."
"Cancel the pool," Victor said calmly, picking up a gold-nibbed fountain pen. "And seize the wagers. Gambling on academy grounds without paying a commercial tax is a violation of protocol."
Seraphina froze. Her grip on the clipboard tightened, the leather of her gloves creaking. She was hyper-competent and notoriously cold, but she had expected a coward. The man sitting behind the desk possessed an aura so heavy and suffocating that the shadows in the room seemed to bend toward him.
"Sir," Seraphina stepped forward, her heels clicking sharply against the stone floor. "We have a critical situation. The Shadow-Blade faction in Dormitory B has murdered another instructor. Furthermore, the Iron Bank has sent a final notice. If we do not pay 100,000 Gold by the end of the month, they will foreclose on the castle."
She waited for him to panic. She waited for him to resign.
Instead, Victor smiled. It was a terrifying, predatory smirk that didn't reach his eyes.
"Seraphina," Victor flipped open the Tycoon's Ledger. "What is the penalty for murdering an instructor?"
"Expulsion, sir. Or execution," she replied cautiously.
"Both are a waste of perfectly good human capital," Victor stated, writing a quick line in the glowing ledger. "Draft a new policy. Murdering a staff member is now classified as 'Unauthorized Destruction of Academy Property.' The offending students are to be fined 50,000 Gold each, subject to a fifty percent late fee."
Seraphina's eyes widened. "Sir... they are elite assassins. They won't pay a fine. They will just try to kill you."
"Let them try," Victor closed the ledger with a heavy, echoing thud. "I need to balance the budget, Seraphina. And starting today, every single drop of blood spilled in my school will be heavily monetized. Welcome to the new administration."