(After Adrian left the academy and only volunteers were left)
The academy had grown quieter over the past few days.
Not silent—far from it. There was still movement everywhere. Students ran between sections, volunteers carried materials, instructors gave instructions nonstop. The entire place was alive with preparation for the Third-Year Event.
And yet…
Something felt off.
Sylwen was the first to notice it.
She stood near one of the preparation zones, watching as a group of second-year students adjusted the mana circuits embedded into the arena floor. Her expression remained calm as always, but her eyes lingered longer than necessary.
"Something is wrong," she said.
Thalia glanced at her, slightly confused.
"Wrong? Everything looks normal to me."
Sylwen didn't answer immediately. Instead, she pointed toward the mana circuit.
"That line," she said. "Look carefully."
Thalia narrowed her eyes, focusing.
At first, she saw nothing unusual. The mana flowed steadily, just as it should. The formation was intact, the alignment correct.
Then—
She noticed it.
A slight delay.
Barely noticeable.
But there.
"…It's lagging?" Thalia muttered.
Sylwen nodded.
"Not enough to disrupt the system," she said calmly. "But enough to cause instability under pressure."
Alaric stepped closer, crossing his arms.
"So what? A small error?"
Sylwen shook her head.
"No," she said. "This isn't an error."
She turned her gaze toward the surrounding area.
"This is deliberate."
A brief silence followed.
Seraphine tilted her head slightly.
"You're saying someone tampered with it?"
Sylwen didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Alaric frowned.
"That doesn't make sense," he said. "Who would mess with something like this? And why?"
Sylwen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's what we need to find out."
At that moment, one of the second-year students nearby spoke up.
"Hey, is something wrong?" he asked.
Sylwen turned toward him, her expression returning to normal.
"No," she said. "Just observing."
The student nodded and returned to his work.
But Sylwen didn't move.
Her gaze remained fixed.
Thalia stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"You really think this is intentional?"
Sylwen nodded.
"Yes."
Alaric exhaled.
"…Great," he muttered. "So now we have a hidden problem during event preparation."
Seraphine smiled faintly.
"That sounds fun."
Alaric shot her a look.
"This isn't fun."
"It could be," she replied lightly.
Sylwen ignored them.
Her mind was already moving ahead.
"This isn't isolated," she said.
Everyone turned toward her.
"What do you mean?" Thalia asked.
Sylwen pointed toward another section of the arena.
"I checked three different circuits before this," she said. "All of them have similar inconsistencies."
That changed everything.
Alaric's expression hardened.
"…So someone's been messing with multiple systems?"
Sylwen nodded.
"And they're careful," she added. "None of these errors are large enough to be noticed immediately."
Seraphine's smile faded slightly.
"So it's someone who knows what they're doing."
Sylwen's gaze sharpened.
"Yes."
A brief silence settled over the group.
The moment Sylwen said it wasn't random, everything changed.
What had initially seemed like a minor flaw in the system was now something else entirely. The group no longer looked at the arena as a simple construction site for the Third-Year Event—they were now looking at it as a problem waiting to be solved.
Or rather… something hiding beneath the surface.
Sylwen stopped near the edge of the arena and looked down at the mana circuits embedded into the ground.
"Seraphine," she said calmly, "can you map the flow?"
Seraphine nodded without hesitation.
She crouched down, placing her fingers lightly on the glowing lines. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she focused, not just on what was visible, but on the underlying structure.
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
Then—
"It's not just this section," she said.
Alaric frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Seraphine stood up slowly, brushing dust off her hands.
"The mana flow here isn't broken," she explained. "It's being redirected… subtly."
She paused, choosing her words carefully.
"If it were a natural error, the flow would collapse or become unstable immediately. But this… this is controlled. Someone adjusted it."
Thalia stepped forward, her gaze scanning the ground.
"we know someone adjusted it already but....Adjusted how?" she asked.
Seraphine pointed toward the circuit lines.
"See this?" she said. "The lag is because circuit is made to lag."
Thalia leaned down, observing more closely.
At first, it looked normal.
Then she saw it.
"…It's lagging," she muttered.
Sylwen nodded slightly.
"Not enough to disrupt basic function," she said, "but enough to create failure under pressure."
Alaric crossed his arms.
"So during the actual event…"
"It could collapse," Thalia finished.
A brief silence followed.
Roderick let out a low whistle.
"…That's not a small problem."
Liora looked uneasy.
"But why would someone do this?" she asked. "If they wanted to sabotage the event, wouldn't they just break it completely?"
Seraphine shook her head.
"No," she said.
Everyone turned toward her.
"If the damage is obvious," she continued, "it gets fixed immediately. After all there are second year students working too and they will find the flaw. But this kind of adjustment…"
Her eyes sharpened slightly.
"…it hides."
Sylwen's expression didn't change, but her gaze deepened.
"Which means," she said slowly, "whoever did this didn't want immediate results."
"They wanted delayed failure," Thalia added.
Now it made sense.
Alaric let out a breath.
"…So we're dealing with someone patient."
"Not just patient," Sylwen said.
Her voice remained calm.
"Careful."
Seraphine nodded in agreement.
"And knowledgeable," she added. "This isn't something just anyone can do."
Thalia straightened up.
"Then we're not dealing with an amateur."
"No," Sylwen said.
She turned, looking toward the rest of the arena.
Roderick frowned.
"So it's not a mistake."
"It never was," Sylwen said.
Liora hesitated.
"Then… what do we do?"
There was a pause.
Then Sylwen spoke.
"We don't report it."
Alaric blinked.
"…What?"
Seraphine tilted her head slightly, clearly interested.
"Explain," she said.
Sylwen met their gaze.
"If we report it now," she said calmly, "the person responsible will stop."
Thalia understood immediately.
"And we lose them," she said.
Sylwen nodded.
Alaric exhaled.
"So instead, we let them continue?"
"Yes."
Roderick smirked slightly.
"…Now that sounds interesting."
Liora still looked unsure.
"But what if something goes wrong?" she asked.
Seraphine answered this time.
"It won't," she said.
Everyone turned toward her.
She smiled faintly.
"Not if we're watching."
That was enough.
Sylwen turned and started walking.
"First," she said, "we find the pattern."
Thalia fell in step beside her.
"I'll check the outer circuits," she said.
Seraphine followed.
"I'll map the mana fluctuations," she added. "There has to be a connection."
Alaric cracked his knuckles.
"Then I'll keep an eye on people," he said. "Someone had to do this."
Sylwen voice was calm.
Certain.
"And We wait."
There was something in her tone.
Something that made even Alaric pause.
"…For what?" he asked.
Sylwen glanced back.
"For them to slip."
The wind moved slightly through the arena.
The mana circuits glowed faintly beneath the ground.
Everything looked normal.
Perfect.
But now—
They knew better.
And somewhere within the academy—
Someone had already made their first move..
The arena looked normal.
That was the problem.
Thalia crouched near the outer edge of the mana grid, her fingers hovering just above the glowing lines. She didn't touch them immediately. Instead, she watched.
Carefully.
Patiently.
The flow of mana moved in smooth streams, connecting one segment to another in a near-perfect rhythm. To anyone else, it would look flawless. Even experienced students might miss it.
But she didn't because she knew what to look for.
"…There it is," she muttered.
Sylwen, standing a few steps behind, didn't move.
"Same delay?" she asked.
Thalia nodded.
"Yes," she said. "But this one is slightly weaker."
She straightened slowly, her eyes narrowing as she traced the path mentally.
"It's not random placement," she added. "These points aren't scattered. They're… connected."
Seraphine, who had been standing at a distance, approached them with a thoughtful expression.
"I've been mapping it," she said, holding up a small sheet filled with notes and diagrams.
Alaric leaned over her shoulder.
"…That looks messy."
"It's not messy," Seraphine replied calmly. "You just don't understand it."
Roderick snorted.
"She's got you there."
Alaric rolled his eyes but didn't argue.
Seraphine ignored them and turned toward Sylwen.
"Thalia's right," she said. "The delays form a pattern."
She pointed at the diagram.
"They're placed at intervals… not evenly, but strategically."
Sylwen stepped closer, her gaze sharpening.
"…A structure within the structure," she murmured.
Thalia crossed her arms.
Seraphine tapped the paper.
"These adjustments aren't just weakening the system," she said. "They're guiding the flow."
She looked up.
"If something happens during the event… the mana will collapse in a very specific way."
Thalia's eyes widened slightly.
"…You mean it's controlled failure."
Sylwen nodded slowly.
"Yes," she said. "Not destruction."
"Redirection," Seraphine added.
Roderick let out a low whistle.
"So whoever did this isn't trying to break the event…"
"They're trying to control it," Alaric finished.
Liora's expression grew more uneasy.
"But why?" she asked. "What would they gain from that?"
Sylwen didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she turned her gaze toward the center of the arena.
"The final stage," she said quietly.
Everyone followed her gaze.
The central platform.
The most important part of the event.
Thalia exhaled slowly.
"…So everything leads there."
Seraphine nodded.
"Yes."
Alaric frowned.
"…Then we're not just looking for someone messing around."
"No," Sylwen said.
Her voice was calm.
"But we already knew that."
A brief silence followed.
Then—
Alaric turned away.
"Alright," he said. we find that person."
Roderick cracked his knuckles.
"Finally," he said. "Something straightforward."
Sylwen shook her head slightly.
"No," she said.
Roderick blinked.
"…No?"
"This isn't straightforward," Sylwen replied. "And if we treat it like it is, we lose."
Seraphine nodded in agreement.
"Whoever did this knows the system better than most students," she said. "Maybe even better than some instructors."
That changed things again.
Thalia frowned.
"…So we're dealing with someone experienced."
"Or someone with access to information through someone outside accademy," Liora added.
Sylwen's gaze shifted slightly.
"…Yes."
Alaric caught that.
"…You're thinking the same thing as me, aren't you?"
Sylwen didn't deny it.
"This isn't just about skill," she said. "It's about opportunity."
Roderick tilted his head.
"You mean someone who works here?"
"Or someone who can move freely," Sylwen replied.
That narrowed things down.
A lot.
Alaric exhaled.
"…Volunteers."
Seraphine nodded.
"Most likely."
Liora's expression tightened.
"So it's someone among us."
The air grew heavier.
Thalia looked around the arena again.
"…Then we've probably already seen them."
Sylwen turned away.
"Yes," she said quietly.
"And they've already seen us."
A faint breeze passed through the arena.
The mana circuits continued glowing beneath the surface.
Everything looked exactly the same.
But now—
It wasn't.
Because somewhere among the volunteers—
There was someone who didn't belong.
And they were watching.
Waiting.
For the right moment to act.