CHAPTER 17: The Iron Shackles
The West Dormitory of Eclipse Academy was a monument to the Empire's obsession with hierarchy.
But as Lucius walked, the silver thread on his uniform seemed to dull under the shadow of the towering spires.
The administrator had not handed him a gold or silver token like the other scions of the Seven Houses.
Instead, resting in his palm was a heavy, tarnished piece of copper.
Lucius stopped ten paces from the servant gate, the boundary where the lives of the elite and the labor of the help were forced to separate.
The crowd of bustling students and emotional families felt like a different world—one of soft silk and loud promises.
This is as far as you can go, Elara, he said. His voice was low and steady, stripped of the biting coldness he used for his enemies.
Elara stopped abruptly, her hands white-knuckled as she clutched her travel pack.
she looked at the copper token, then at the run-down, grey stone building located at the very edge of the campus, far from the gleaming towers.
It was the Commoner Block, a place meant for those the Academy deemed useful but unworthy of comfort.
Young Master, her voice wavered, thick with a sudden, sharp grief. They put a Venus in the commoner block? This is an insult that shames the entire lineage! We should go back to the Administration.
Your rank is Unique! You belong in the Spire with the other heirs!
Elara. Lucius stepped closer, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder.
The touch was firm, grounding her. Look at me. They put me here because they think a broken Teleportation talent isn't worth the luxury of a Spire suite.
They want to see if the falling star will crumble under the shame of sleeping on straw.
He leaned in, his voice dropping to a private whisper that the passing nobles couldn't catch.
But this is actually a gift, Elara. In the Spire, I would be surrounded by those bastards from the Great Houses every second.
Every breath I took would be monitored by their lackeys. Here, in the mud, I can breathe. I can practice in the dark where no one thinks to look.
While they are busy fighting over who sits at the head of the table in the Spire, I will be sharpening my blade in the cellar.
Elara wiped her eyes with her sleeve, her anger turning into a quiet, fierce resolve.
I understand. I will not let their disrespect distract me from my task. If they think so little of us, they will be careless with their words in the servant halls.
Good, Lucius said. The servant quarters will be full of gossip tonight about the Fallen Count in the commoner dorms.
Use that mockery. While they laugh at the Venus name, you find out who is coming from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom and I need to know other kingdoms as well.
I need to know the synergy of their teams before the Entrance Exams tomorrow.
The exams, Elara whispered, her mind shifting to the tactical requirements.
The Group Dungeon, the Sparring, and the Written Test.
Exactly. Now go. Become my shadow in the dark.
He gave her shoulder a final, firm squeeze and walked toward the grey stone building. He did not look back, his silhouette cutting a lonely but resolute figure against the setting sun.
The Commoner Dorm was cramped and smelled of old iron, damp stone, and the sweat of desperate ambition.
There were no enchanted heaters here to ward off the evening chill. Lucius navigated the narrow, dim hallways until he found Room 402.
He pushed the door open. The room was small, containing four narrow bunks and a single wooden table. Two of his roommates were already there, and the air was thick with the hum of low-tier mana.
To the left, a scrawny boy with thick glasses was staring intensely at a floating blue panel—his Talent interface.
He was clutching a wooden staff that hummed with a faint, flickering light.
This was Hans, a youth who had awakened a Rare Tier: Mana Bolt Talent. In this world, his path was fixed; he was a ranged damage dealer, his stats skewed heavily toward Mana and Sensitivity.
To the right was Jax. He didn't have a staff. He had a short spear, and his panel was open to his Rare Tier: Piercing Thrust Talent.
His body was lean and corded with muscle, the physical manifestation of the Strength and Agility stats his Talent provided.
Jax looked up, his eyes narrowing as he took in Lucius's black-and-silver uniform.
"A noble?" he spat, though there was more confusion than malice in his voice. "Did you get lost on your way to the palace, silk-skin? This is the block for people who actually have to work for their grades."
Lucius ignored the remark, his gaze sweeping the room with clinical indifference. He walked to the only empty bunk in the far corner—a spot near a drafty window.
"This is fine," he murmured. "It's quiet."
Hans pushed up his glasses, his eyes darting between Lucius and his own status screen. "I'm Hans. That's Jax. We heard a Venus was coming, but we didn't think... well, we didn't think you'd actually show up.
Most nobles would have withdrawn rather than stay here. Your Talent is Unique Tier Teleportation, right? The one with the delay?"
Lucius sat on the hard mattress, the frame creaking under his weight. "Withdrawal is for those who have a home to go back to. I only have the path forward."
He closed his eyes, signaling the end of the conversation. Jax and Hans exchanged a look but went back to their gear.
They could sense the wall Lucius had built around himself—a wall far thicker than the stone of the dormitory.
Lucius turned his inward gaze to the void behind his eyes. He had lost so much in the transition. His old skills, his refined techniques—all stripped away as if they were nothing more than dead skin.
All that remained was his Poison Immunity and that, flawed Teleportation talent. But it was that very flaw, that "mistake" in the system, that had allowed the Authorities to manifest.
System, Lucius thought. Show me everything. I need to know the state of my soul before the sun rises.
A blue light flickered, expanding into a massive, detailed holographic grid.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Lucius van Venus
Title: Overlord of the Abyss
Level: 16
Talents: Law of One [God tier]
CORE STATISTICS
Strength: 19 (Physical power and striking force)
Agility: 20 (Movement speed and reaction time)
Mana: 26 (Internal energy capacity and output)
Sensitivity: 15 (Detection of mana and hidden threats)
Endurance: 13 (Physical defense and stamina)
Available Stat Points: 0
AUTHORITIES
1.Authority: EXODUS [??]
Chapter 1: All Things Being Equal (Passive/Active Domain. Forces parity between the user and all entities within a 5-meter radius. Strips away level advantages and stat-buffs)
Chapter 2: White Void
A domain-type Authority that forcibly drags the user and target into an isolated space known as the White Void.
- No interference. No escape.
- Only the user and the target exist.
The user gains:
- +50% increase to all stats
- Enhanced perception and control
Limitations:
If the target is far stronger, the Void will destabilize and eventually shatter, returning both to reality.
• High mana consumption
2.Authority: VOID DISPLACEMENT [??]
A spatial Authority derived from Teleportation. → Allows instantaneous displacement without delay. → Ignores conventional activation time. → Limited to 3 uses per day due to strain on space stability.
SKILLS:
Poison Immunity[max]
Immune to all poison and abnormal status effects.
Lucius stared at the screen. The Void Displacement was his trump card. Everyone expected the five-second delay of his old Teleportation.
In the one-on-one spar tomorrow, that misconception would be the noose he used to hang his opponents.
But the endurance stat—13—worried him. The upcoming Group Dungeon was an E-rank, but the Academy was known for throwing "surprises" at Class 1-A to test their limit.
If a high-output mage like Julian Garcia caught him in a crossfire before he could activate his domain, his physical body would shatter.
System, Lucius whispered. Can you hide my presence from the Academy's surveillance while in this dorm?
Current Environment: Low-Level Surveillance.
Commoner Block monitoring is 70 percent less intensive than the Spire.
Law of One: Internal Concealment is currently 100 percent effective.
A dark, satisfied smile touched Lucius's lips.
The Academy's arrogance was his greatest shield. They didn't think a commoner block was worth the high-grade scrying orbs.
He lay back, staring at the cracked ceiling. Tomorrow was the three-stage Entrance Exam.
First, the Group Dungeon. He would have to find a group among these commoners or the lower nobles, forming a synergy of defense and range.
Second, the Spar. A chance to bleed the arrogance out of the Spire students.
Third, the Written Test. A trial of the mind he had already prepared for in the Venus library.
Lucius closed his eyes, not to sleep, but to begin the internal mana circulation. He had much to do, and the sun was already a ghost on the horizon.
To be continued.....