After the Imperial Ball—
life within Nexus Academy slowly returned to normal once more.
Classes resumed.
Training grounds filled again.
The once quiet academy halls became lively with students preparing for the upcoming Nexus Festival.
Yet—
something had clearly changed.
As I walked through the academy corridors during the following weeks—
I noticed the gazes directed toward me had become completely different.
The cadets who once looked at me with disdain…
Or believed I was unworthy of holding the title of Apex—
now held respect within their eyes.
Some even moved out of my way instinctively.
Others whispered quietly amongst themselves whenever I passed by.
The Dark Blade.
Apparently the title had already spread throughout the academy.
Honestly—
it still felt strange hearing it.
During those weeks—
I spent nearly every day training relentlessly.
Instructor Elise helped me stabilize my mana core completely.
Especially after the damage caused during the synchronization with Astravax.
Meanwhile—
Instructor Ron focused entirely on rebuilding the foundations of my swordsmanship and movement.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The battle against the demon had shown me something terrifying.
How close I truly came to death.
If Astravax hadn't interfered—
if my space affinity hadn't awakened—
I would've died there.
No.
Everyone would've died there.
My fingers slowly clenched tightly.
The memories resurfaced immediately.
The children screaming.
The blood.
The bodies torn apart by the demon.
Lily.
Fiora.
The orphanage burning beneath darkness.
My expression darkened slightly.
Never again.
I refused to experience that helplessness another time.
Soon afterward—
the academy officially released the rankings for the outside missions.
As expected—
Samuel's group ranked first overall.
Mission Evaluation: S-Rank.
Honestly—
I wasn't even surprised anymore.
That battle maniac was absurd.
Meanwhile—
my group ranked second.
Which honestly shocked me slightly.
Our mission had fundamentally ended in failure.
Yes—
we exterminated the demon.
But our original objective had been protecting the orphanage.
And we failed.
Countless people still died.
I quietly sighed while sitting cross-legged inside my dorm room.
Mana slowly circulated throughout my body calmly.
One affinity after another stabilized within my core.
Fire.
Wind.
Ice.
Lightning.
Darkness.
Light.
And finally—
Space.
My eyes slowly opened afterward.
During the battle against the demon—
for the very first time—
I had managed to properly use space itself.
Not instinctively.
Not accidentally.
But consciously.
Even now—
the memory of space bending beneath my fingertips still felt surreal.
…
There was also… another problem that appeared during this week.
A very massive problem.
I quietly glanced toward the figure currently laying across almost my entire bed.
Long black hair flowed down carelessly like darkness itself while brilliant golden eyes reflected the light from the television screen lazily.
Beautiful.
No—
calling her beautiful honestly felt insufficient.
Astravax possessed an appearance that bordered on unreal.
Her pale skin contrasted perfectly against the darkness of her hair while her golden eyes seemed to contain entire galaxies within them.
Every small movement carried an overwhelming sense of danger and elegance simultaneously.
Her figure was absurdly perfect.
Long legs rested carelessly across the bed while the oversized black shirt she stole from my closet barely hid anything at all.
Honestly—
it was difficult believing this woman was the same black cat constantly screaming about food.
"Haha—"
"You mortals truly are stupid."
"But this is entertaining."
Astravax lazily pointed toward the television while speaking.
I sighed deeply.
During the past month—
our spiritual synchronization had somehow risen to 8%.
And apparently—
as our synchronization increased—
Astravax slowly regained more of his original strength.
Which eventually led to one horrifying realization.
The Dragon of Eternal Stars.
The Dragon of Chaos.
The Dragon of Destruction.
Was a woman.
And somehow—
she had now completely invaded my dorm room.
I stared at her sprawled across my bed before speaking flatly.
"…Hey."
"Move."
"You're hogging all the space."
Astravax immediately glared at me.
"Shut up, mortal."
"It's getting to the interesting part."
I blinked before glancing toward the television screen.
A romance movie.
"…Seriously?"
The ancient calamity feared by gods themselves was currently obsessed with romance dramas.
I slowly covered my face.
"…Haah."
"I'm going out for a bit."
Astravax lazily waved one hand without even looking away from the television.
"Bye, human."
…
As I walked through the academy campus—
I eventually arrived at one of the restaurants located near the central district of Nexus Academy.
The warm smell of coffee and baked food immediately drifted through the air.
"…Hm."
"This place seems nice."
"Maybe a coffee right now wouldn't be too bad."
I quietly entered before walking toward the counter.
The woman standing there looked up toward me—
then visibly froze for a second.
A faint blush immediately appeared on her face.
"…W-Welcome."
I pretended not to notice it.
"Just a coffee please."
She nodded quickly before preparing the order.
Soon afterward—
I took the cup before sitting near the corner of the café quietly.
The atmosphere felt surprisingly peaceful.
Students chatted casually.
Several couples sat together laughing softly.
Others studied while eating.
Honestly—
it almost felt normal.
I slowly took a sip from the coffee.
Leon or Nick was currently away from the academy.
Apparently—
there had been a sighting of Roy near one of the Empire's border regions.
And because of that—
Elena had sent Leon and Emma personally to investigate.
Meanwhile—
Clara Taylor was still avoiding me entirely.
Honestly—
I still had absolutely no idea why.
Then suddenly—
a loud commotion near the counter caught my attention.
"…Hm?"
I glanced over.
A black-haired young man stood there arguing with the café worker desperately.
"Shut up, brat."
"You always come up with excuses to avoid paying."
"I'm not falling for it again today."
"A-Ah come on, ma'am."
"We've known each other for four years!"
"Yeah."
"And somehow you still use the exact same excuse every single time."
"A-Ah but—"
The black-haired man suddenly glanced around frantically.
Then—
his eyes landed directly on me.
A dangerous grin immediately appeared on his face.
"…Oh no."
The next second—
he pointed directly toward me.
"This noble over there said he'd pay for me."
I nearly spat out my coffee.
"Hah?"
"What bullshit."
Before I could react—
the guy casually walked over before throwing one arm around my shoulder naturally.
"You see?"
"Me and him are friends."
"He totally agreed to pay for me."
He kept glancing toward me desperately.
Panicking.
I stared at him blankly for a few seconds.
Then sighed deeply.
Haah…
Fine.
"If that's what it takes to make this idiot leave me alone…"
I walked toward the counter before paying for the meal.
The worker looked genuinely confused.
"S-Sir are you sure?"
"Did that loser force y—"
"No."
"It's fine."
Soon afterward—
the black-haired man happily sat across from me while eating like he hadn't consumed food in weeks.
Meanwhile—
I stared at him flatly.
"…Who even is this guy?"
He clearly looked older than me.
Probably a senior.
Third year maybe.
Yet strangely—
the mana pressure coming from him felt weak.
Almost ordinary.
Eventually—
he finished the entire meal before leaning backward proudly.
"Phew…"
"That was seriously good."
He rubbed his stomach happily afterward.
"Thanks for that, friend."
"…Yeah whatever."
"Now leave."
The black-haired man immediately grinned.
"Oh come on."
"Don't be so cold."
His eyes studied me briefly afterward.
"You're probably one of my juniors, huh?"
"…Seems like you're pretty strong too."
A strange glint appeared in his eyes.
"I hope I see you during the Nexus Festival."
I nodded calmly.
"…Maybe."
The man stood afterward before stretching lazily.
"Well then."
"Goodbye."
"My name's Sylas."
"…Yours?"
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"Noctis."
"Haha."
"Nice meeting you, Noctis."
I gave a small nod.
Then—
Sylas casually waved before leaving the café entirely.
For several seconds—
I remained completely still.
Then slowly—
my eyes widened.
"…Wait."
"Did he just say his name was Sylas?"
…
[Meanwhile — Inside Another Dormitory]
Clara Taylor aggressively messed through her hair while pacing around her room endlessly.
"T-This makes no sense…"
"Who even is this Noctis?!"
She looked moments away from collapsing mentally.
"Why wasn't Silver the Apex?!"
"What the hell happened to Reina Emberheart?!"
"Why is everything becoming a complete mess?!"
Clara grabbed a pillow before screaming directly into it.
"MMPPHHHHH—!"
Then immediately threw it across the room dramatically.
"No!"
"This is all his fault!"
"That stupidly handsome psychopath!"
"What even is he?!"
The truth was—
Clara Taylor wasn't originally Clara Taylor at all.
Her real name had once been Yungseo.
An ordinary woman from Earth.
And more importantly—
the original author of the novel:
Arcane Odyssey: The Strongest Swordmaster.
After finally finishing the story she spent years writing—
Yungseo somehow managed to die in the dumbest way possible.
Falling down the stairs.
And hitting her head.
The next thing she remembered—
she awakened inside the body of Clara Taylor.
A minor side character from her own novel.
The Taylor Family itself was insignificant.
A weak baron household with little influence or power.
Originally—
Clara Taylor barely even mattered within the story.
Yet somehow—
she still managed to enter Nexus Academy.
At first—
everything progressed normally.
Silver Ryker became the Apex like he was supposed to.
Samuel Crimson followed the original storyline.
The major characters remained mostly unchanged.
Then—
he appeared.
Noctis.
And the moment Clara saw him—
the entire story completely derailed.
Because she knew one thing with absolute certainty.
She never created someone like him.
Especially not someone absurdly handsome enough to make literal noblewomen stop functioning.
Even worse—
Noctis somehow became the Apex instead of Silver.
Which fundamentally should've been impossible.
Then came Solmere.
Reina Emberheart's corruption happened far earlier than it originally should have.
The demon appeared too soon.
Characters died that were never meant to die.
And somehow—
Noctis stood directly at the center of everything.
Clara collapsed face-first onto her bed afterward.
"…Ugh…"
"Is this a good thing?"
"N-No maybe it's bad?"
"But the original ending was depressing too…"
"…Wait."
"What if he changes everything?"
She immediately sat back up again.
"No."
"But what if he accidentally causes something worse?!"
"…UGH!"
"This is so difficult!"