Angelo didn't relax until the door to the principal's office had fully shut behind him.
He and Xavier walked down the hallway in silence. The academy halls were too clean, too quiet, and every little sound seemed louder than it should have been. The tap of shoes on polished stone. The rustle of uniforms. The faint murmur of students far off in another wing.
Angelo kept his eyes forward.
Principal Titus hadn't outright called them liars, but he hadn't believed them either. That much was obvious. The way his eyes had stayed on Angelo just a little too long. The way Ms. Rose had looked between him and Xavier like she was trying to piece together something that didn't make sense.
It made Angelo's stomach twist.
"They're suspicious," Xavier said quietly.
Angelo glanced at him.
Xavier had his hands in his pockets, his usual lazy smile nowhere to be seen. For once he looked serious. Actually serious.
Angelo looked away again. "I noticed."
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Xavier let out a small breath through his nose. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think we got out of that better than we should have."
Angelo gave a weak huff that wasn't quite a laugh. "That doesn't make me feel better."
That got a faint grin out of Xavier.
They reached the stairs leading toward the dorm wing. A few students were gathered near the landing, talking in hushed voices, but the moment they noticed Angelo and Xavier, the conversation shifted. Eyes followed them. Some curious. Some shocked. Some openly suspicious.
Angelo kept walking.
He was getting really tired of people staring at him.
At the top of the stairs Xavier slowed. "You good from here?"
Angelo hesitated. He wanted to say yes automatically. It was easier that way. Easier than admitting his head was spinning and he felt like everything around him was changing too fast.
Still, after a second he nodded. "Yeah."
Xavier studied him for a moment, like he could tell Angelo was full of it, but he didn't push. "Alright. Get some rest."
He started to turn away, then paused.
"And Angelo?"
Angelo looked back at him.
Xavier's expression softened just a little. "Whatever happened in there... and back in the tunnels... I'm still with you."
Angelo stared at him for a second, caught off guard.
Then he gave a small nod. "Thanks."
Xavier grinned again, lighter this time. "Don't make me regret it."
With that he headed down the hall and disappeared around the corner.
Angelo stood there for a second longer before finally turning and making his way home.
His house was quiet. His parents were most likely still working. He doubted they even knew about the incident yet.
Most of the other students were probably at home talking about what had happened on the field trip, or exaggerating it even more than they already had. That was how these things went. By morning there would probably be five different versions of the story going around, and in every single one Angelo would either be dead weight or some kind of mystery.
He pushed open the door to his room and stepped inside.
The moment it shut behind him the silence deepened.
His shoulders sagged.
The room was small and plain. Bed. Desk. Dresser. One narrow window letting in the last dull stretch of evening light. Usually Angelo didn't mind how bare it was. Today it made the place feel colder.
He dropped onto the edge of the bed and leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
Everything that had happened since entering those tunnels ran through his head again.
The monster.
The panic.
Summoning Z.
Necrotic Ray.
That black armored thing collapsing at their feet.
He could still feel the pull of his mana leaving his body. Still feel the cold shiver that always came with using the Grimoire. It had been worse than usual that time. Stronger. Hungrier.
And Z...
Z had changed after devouring the boss.
Not fully. Not yet. But something had definitely changed.
Angelo rubbed a hand over his face and let out a tired breath.
"What even are you?" he muttered.
For a second nothing happened.
Then the air in the room shifted.
Angelo froze.
The temperature dropped just enough to notice. A chill brushed across the back of his neck and moved down his spine. It was a feeling he was beginning to recognize. Dark mana. His dark mana.
Slowly he lifted his head.
Black mist was gathering over the desk.
Angelo stood at once. "Not again."
The mist thickened, swirling in tight circles. A pulse of energy rippled through the room, soft but heavy, and then the Grimoire appeared.
It did not fall this time.
It hovered.
Angelo stared.
The black cover trembled faintly in the air before opening on its own. Pages began to flip one after another, faster and faster, as if an invisible hand was rifling through them. Symbols glimmered across the paper. Dark letters. Strange lines. Things Angelo still couldn't fully read but somehow half understood anyway.
His pulse quickened.
Normally he had to will it open. Focus on it.
Call it out.
This time it had come on its own.
The pages stopped.
The book hovered in front of him, open to the familiar section.
Name: Angelo Helleck
Class: Necromancer
Level: 4
Health, stamina, mana, all of it sat there in jagged dark lettering. The same as before.
Almost.
Angelo's eyes narrowed.
His mana was lower than he expected. Much lower.
He had known the fight drained him, but seeing the number made it real. Worse, there was a faint gray line beneath it, like a second mark layered under the usual one.
He reached out hesitantly and touched the page.
The moment his fingers brushed it, new words appeared.
Mana Exhaustion Detected
Recovery Slowed
Overuse May Result In Collapse
Angelo's face tightened.
"Great."
So that was new.
His eyes moved lower.
Flash Step. Necrotic Ray. Summon Undead.
Each spell now had more beneath it. Small details that hadn't been there before.
Flash Step — repeated use strains the body.
Necrotic Ray — high mana cost. Unstable under emotional distress.
Summon Undead — connected to will, mana, and spiritual authority.
Angelo stared at that last part. "Spiritual authority?"
He had no idea what that meant.
He kept reading.
Current summon capacity: 1
Current active undead: Z
That part he already knew, more or less.
But there was another line under it.
Undead quality affects burden placed on the caster
Angelo blinked.
"So the stronger Z gets... the harder it'll be to keep him summoned?"
The Grimoire gave no answer.
Of course it didn't.
His gaze drifted back up to the mana warning. He already had low mana after the fight, and now recovery was slowed too. That explained why he still felt so heavy. Like his body had been wrung out from the inside.
He sat back down on the bed, not taking his eyes off the floating book.
This power really wasn't free.
A small part of him was relieved.
That sounded strange, even in his own head, but it was true. If it had no limits, no cost, then it would've felt even less like something he could control. At least this meant there were rules. Dangerous rules, maybe, but rules all the same.
Still...
He had almost collapsed in the tunnels and didn't even know it.
Angelo clenched his jaw.
He needed to get stronger. Smarter too. He couldn't just keep gambling every time something happened. Next time Xavier might not be there. Next time the enemy might be worse. Next time Principal Titus or one of the teachers might see too much.
The thought had barely crossed his mind when the Grimoire's pages flipped again.
Angelo looked up sharply.
The book stopped on the page tied to Summon Undead.
Black mist spilled from the center of the paper and pooled on the floor.
Angelo immediately stepped back.
A second later Z rose from the darkness.
The undead stood in the center of the room, taller than before, or maybe just seeming that way. Its broad frame was still wrapped in worn armor and scraps of rotting cloth, but the presence coming off it felt heavier now. More solid. More dangerous. Faint streaks of dark energy curled through the cracks in its armor like smoke trapped under metal.
Angelo swallowed.
Z slowly turned its head toward him.
Its movements used to be stiff unless commanded. Blunt. Direct.
Now they were smoother.
Not natural. Never natural. But aware.
"Z?" Angelo said carefully.
The undead said nothing.
Still, it took one step forward on its own.
Angelo's heart kicked in his chest.
Before, Z only moved when ordered or in response to obvious threats. Now it just stood there, dark empty eyes locked on him, like it was waiting.
Like it understood.
Angelo forced himself to stay still. "Can... you understand me?"
Z tilted its head a fraction.
The motion was so slight most people would've missed it, but Angelo didn't.
A chill ran down his arms.
It was still Z. He could feel the bond between them, dark and strange and impossible to explain. But it was different now. Deeper. The connection no longer felt like he was simply pulling on a puppet string.
It felt like there was something on the other end pulling back.
The Grimoire flickered.
Angelo glanced toward it.
New text crawled across the page.
Undead assimilation increased
Boss essence consumed
Evolution path available
Angelo's eyes widened.
"Evolution?"
He looked back at Z.
That would explain the change. The new weight in its presence. The way it moved.
Angelo stepped toward the Grimoire and read faster.
Current form insufficient
Requirements incomplete
Of course.
He scanned the page, but the details under it were blurred, hidden behind shifting black script that refused to settle. Every now and then one or two words became clear before smearing again.
Consume...
Rage...
Iron...
Battle...
Then they vanished.
Angelo frowned. "That's not helpful."
The text beneath it changed once more.
Evolution pending
Conditions must be met
He looked between the page and Z.
So there really was a path forward. Z could become stronger. Maybe much stronger.
But there were requirements. Hidden ones.
Something about consuming. Something about battle. Maybe rage.
That fit a little too well with how Z had acted in the tunnels.
Angelo let out a slow breath and rubbed the back of his neck.
The room had gone completely still again. Outside, the light coming through the window had dimmed even more, turning the edges of everything gray.
He looked back at Z.
"Can you go back?"
Z did not move.
Angelo frowned. "Z."
This time the undead lowered its head slightly, almost like it was acknowledging him, and then its body broke apart into black mist. The shadows pulled inward and were swallowed by the Grimoire.
A second later the room felt emptier.
Angelo stood there in silence.
That had definitely not been normal.
He turned his attention back to the open pages. His eyes drifted over everything again. Mana exhaustion. Spell strain. Summon burden. Evolution path.
Every answer the Grimoire gave seemed to come with three more questions.
His gaze snagged on the next page as it shifted slightly on its own.
There was something there.
Not blank. Not exactly.
A new page sat just behind the one he was on, sealed in bands of dark script. Unlike the others, it pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat under paper. Angelo stepped closer.
At the top of the page there was a spell name, but most of it was blurred out.
He could only make out one word.
Necro—
Then even that faded.
Angelo reached toward it slowly.
The instant his fingers touched the edge of the page, pain shot through his hand.
He jerked back with a hiss.
The script flared.
A single line burned itself into the paper.
Requirement not met
Angelo stared at it.
That was it. No explanation. No hint. Nothing.
He clenched his sore hand and glared at the Grimoire. "You really enjoy being difficult, don't you?"
The book, unsurprisingly, did not respond.
For a long moment Angelo just stood there, breathing quietly, mind racing.
He was being watched at school.
His power had costs he barely understood.
Z was changing.
And there were more spells locked inside the Grimoire waiting for conditions he hadn't met yet.
His life had been simple once. Not good, not easy, but simple.
Now it felt like he was standing at the edge of something huge and dark, something that had only just begun to open its eyes.
A noise outside his door made him tense.
Footsteps.
They paused just beyond the wood.
Angelo's heart lurched.
For one second nobody moved.
Then the Grimoire snapped shut.
The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot.
The black book vanished instantly.
Angelo spun toward the door just as the footsteps resumed and continued down the hall, fading a few seconds later.
He stayed frozen for another moment before finally letting out the breath he had been holding.
His room was empty again.
Quiet.
Normal.
But the feeling in his chest didn't settle.
Slowly Angelo sat back down on the bed and stared at the floor.
Whatever happened next, he couldn't afford to be weak.
And he definitely couldn't afford to be careless.
Outside, the last of the evening light disappeared.
In the dark, Angelo could still see the words burned into his mind.
Evolution pending.
Requirement not met.