"Seraphina, I highly recommend we discuss this like civilized aristocrats!" Kaiser yelled, sprinting down the marble hallway of the Conservatory of Antiquities with his uniform jacket flapping wildly in his grip.
A heavy wooden practice sword instantly shattered the stone pillar he had just bypassed, raining marble dust over his head.
"Civilized?!" Seraphina roared, her crimson hair flaring like a localized wildfire. She wasn't just using physical strength anymore; her red aura was actively leaking from her pores, turning her into a human comet of pure, jealous rage. "I catch you half-undressed in a dark alcove with the Crown Princess, and you want to be civilized?!"
Kaiser vaulted over a floating display case containing a Genesis Era shield, utilizing his newly stabilized E+ Rank core to enhance his agility. He didn't even need [Void Step]. His raw physical stats, combined with [Otaku's Insight], made him incredibly slippery.
"For the record, my shirt was entirely buttoned!" Kaiser corrected, ducking under a horizontal slash that decapitated a priceless stone gargoyle. "And we were merely exchanging... magical theory!"
"Liar!" she shrieked, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
The remaining students in the Conservatory had entirely evacuated, leaving the two Warborns to tear the historical wing apart.
Seraphina cornered him at the end of the hall, near a massive, stained-glass window depicting the empire's founding. Her chest heaved, her golden eyes practically glowing with unshed, furious tears. It wasn't just anger anymore; it was the raw, burning humiliation of feeling replaced.
She gripped her sword with both hands, channeling a massive amount of compressed red mana into the wooden blade until it began to smoke. It was a C-Rank aura strike. If it hit him, his bones would turn to powder.
"You're a Warborn!" she yelled, her voice cracking slightly. "You belong with your family! Not as some... some royal pet to be played with in the dark!"
She swung. The red mana erupted from the blade like a localized explosion, a crescent wave of concussive force aimed directly at his chest.
Kaiser's eyes narrowed. He couldn't dodge. The blast radius would shatter the stained-glass window behind him and likely send him plummeting three stories into the courtyard.
He didn't have time to think. He relied purely on his newly acquired muscle memory.
He dropped his jacket, raised his right hand, and planted his feet.
Abyssal Devour.
A swirling, pitch-black vortex the size of a dinner plate materialized instantly in the center of his palm.
The massive, red aura strike slammed into Kaiser. But instead of an explosion, there was a strange, echoing slurp, like a vacuum sealing shut. The violent red mana twisted, distorted, and was violently sucked directly into the dark vortex on his hand.
In less than a second, the lethal strike completely vanished.
Kaiser stood perfectly still, his hand outstretched, a faint trail of red smoke curling from his palm. He blinked, a sudden, heavy warmth blossoming in his chest as his core digested the raw, fiery energy. He let out a small, incredibly inappropriate burp that tasted like spicy cinnamon and ozone.
The hallway went dead silent.
Seraphina stood frozen at the end of her swing, her sword extended, her mouth slightly parted. She stared at the empty space where her attack should have detonated, and then down to Kaiser's empty, unharmed hand.
"Did you..." Seraphina whispered, her voice trembling in absolute, reality-breaking shock. "Did you just eat my aura?"
"I..." Kaiser slowly lowered his hand, genuinely surprised by the sheer efficiency of the Mythic skill. He looked up at her, flashing a sheepish, hopelessly charming grin. "Well, I skipped breakfast. And it could have used a pinch of salt, honestly."
The sheer absurdity of the situation shattered her rage. The sword slipped from her fingers, clattering loudly against the marble floor.
Before her brain could reboot and process the fact that her F-tier brother had just nullified a C-Rank strike with his bare hands, Kaiser closed the distance.
He didn't tackle her. He didn't pin her. He simply walked up to her, his sapphire eyes incredibly soft, and gently reached out. He placed his hands on her trembling shoulders, pulling her a half-step closer.
Seraphina gasped, her body stiffening. The fight completely drained out of her, replaced instantly by the overwhelming, intoxicating proximity of his presence. He smelled entirely like winter pine and that terrifying, magnetic dark void.
"I'm sorry," Kaiser murmured, his voice a low, vibrating purr that sent a shiver straight down her spine. "I didn't mean to make you worry. My mana pathways were unstable from training last night. The Princess merely offered a quick transfer to cool my core. Nothing else happened, Seraphina. I swear."
He lifted one hand from her shoulder, his knuckles lightly brushing against her flushed, burning cheek.
"You know I wouldn't let anyone replace my favorite sparring partner," he added, a teasing lilt returning to his voice.
Seraphina's golden eyes widened, locked onto his beautifully handsome face. The gentle touch, the sincere explanation, and the sudden realization that she was acting entirely out of possessive jealousy made her heart pound frantically against her ribs.
"You..." she breathed, entirely unable to look away from his sapphire eyes. "You really were just... fixing your core?"
"Yes," Kaiser smiled, leaning his forehead down until it gently bumped against hers. "Though, if you keep blowing up the Academy every time I speak to another woman, I'm going to run out of allowance paying for the damages."
[Target: Seraphina Warborn. Emotion detected: Extreme Relief, Deep Arousal, Absolute Fluster.]
[Affection updated: 33% -> 38% (She is rapidly approaching the romantic threshold. Her territorial instincts are fully engaged.)]
"I... I wasn't jealous!" she squeaked, her face turning a shade of red that outshone her hair. She shoved her hands against his chest, but there was no force behind it. She didn't actually want to push him away. "I was just... upholding the Academy rules! No illicit... alcove activities!"
"Right, right. Upholding the law," Kaiser chuckled, stepping back and picking up his uniform jacket. "Now, come on. Before Instructor Varg finds us and makes us run laps until we bleed."
As they walked back toward the main campus, Seraphina kept her gaze firmly fixed on the floor, but she walked precisely close enough that their shoulders brushed with every other step.
Kaiser mentally checked his system, a victorious smirk on his face. The tsundere armor was officially in pieces.
The Next Morning. The Great Assembly Hall.
The entire first-year class was gathered in the central amphitheater. The atmosphere was a volatile mix of anxiety and aggressive posturing. The 'Honeymoon' phase of the first week was over.
Instructor Varg stood at the podium, gnawing on a fresh cigar.
"Listen up, fresh meat!" Varg's magically amplified voice rattled the crystal chandeliers. "You've survived the first week. Congratulations. You know how to read a book and swing a stick. But out in the frontier, demons don't care about your test scores. They care if you bleed."
He slammed his massive fist on the podium.
"Next week is the Mid-Term Wilderness Survival Trial! You will be dropped into the deepest, most hostile sector of the Artificial Labyrinth. Your goal is to survive for three days and retrieve an A-Rank core from the dungeon boss."
Murmurs of sheer panic erupted from the lower-tier rows. An A-Rank core? First-years were barely D-Rank on average.
"Quiet!" Varg barked. "You won't be doing it alone. To foster 'unity' among the ranks, the Headmaster has decided on a randomized Duo format. Ranks mean nothing here. The magical lottery sphere will pair you up. If your partner dies, you fail. If your partner quits, you fail. You survive together, or you drag each other down."
Kaiser, sitting in his usual back-corner seat, leaned forward, his [Otaku's Insight] firing rapidly.
A randomized duo survival test? This is a classic plot device, Kaiser thought, rubbing his chin. The system is absolutely going to rig this to maximize my suffering. The only question is, who is it going to pair me with to generate the most chaotic outcome?
He glanced down at the front row. Princess Valeria sat perfectly still, her silver aura chilling the air around her. He then looked at the third row, where Seraphina was anxiously gripping her desk.
Above Varg's head, a massive, translucent sphere filled with glowing name-runes began to spin violently.
"When your name is called, stand up and find your partner!" Varg announced.
The sphere flashed, and two names projected into the air in bright gold letters.
"Alaric Vance and... Elara Thorne."
The pairings continued. The tension in the room was suffocating. High-tier nobles groaned as they were paired with commoners. Healers were paired with berserkers.
Then, the sphere flashed a brilliant, violent crimson.
"Rank 27, Seraphina Warborn!" Varg called out.
Seraphina stood up, her golden eyes darting around the room, bracing herself for whoever she was about to carry through the wilderness.
The sphere spun again, the runes blurring until a single name shot out, glowing in a dull, unassuming grey light.
"Rank 300, Kaiser Warborn!"
The entire lecture hall went dead silent. And then, an eruption of hysterical laughter broke out from the noble faction.
"The Warborn siblings?"
"She has to carry the F-tier trash for three days? She's going to fail!"
"Talk about bad luck. The prodigy is chained to the parasite."
Kaiser didn't sigh. He didn't groan. He slowly stood up from his rickety wooden stool, smoothing his midnight-blue uniform.
A blue screen materialized directly in his line of sight.
[MANDATORY QUEST GENERATED: The Crucible of Blood]
[Objective: Survive the Duo Trial with Target [Seraphina Warborn]. Retrieve the A-Rank Core.]
[Hidden Objective: Trigger the 'Romantic Awakening' milestone with Target by demonstrating overwhelming protective superiority.]
[Failure Penalty: Expulsion, Death by A-Rank Beast, or Target's Affection resets to 0%.]
Kaiser looked down at the third row. Seraphina was staring up at him, her expression a turbulent mix of public embarrassment, private relief, and intense, terrifying determination.
"Well," Kaiser smiled, a predatory, thrilling light dancing in his sapphire eyes. "Looks like it's a family bonding trip."
He caught Princess Valeria's gaze in the front row. The Frost Empress wasn't looking at the glowing runes. She was staring directly at Seraphina with an expression of such pure, absolute-zero murder that the student sitting next to the Princess actually passed out from the cold.
Oh yes, Kaiser mentally cackled, preparing his inventory. This dungeon run is going to be legendary.