Meanwhile—
inside Mythralis Academy.
A woman with long dark purple hair stood before the office of the Vice Headmaster.
Her sharp violet eyes radiated irritation while a cold aura naturally surrounded her.
She wore the official professor uniform of Mythralis Academy.
A fitted black military-style coat rested over a white high-collared shirt embroidered with silver patterns across the chest.
Dark purple lines ran along the sleeves symbolizing her status as a senior professor while a silver raven insignia rested near her collar.
The coat extended down near her knees splitting slightly at the sides allowing easier movement during combat.
Black gloves covered her hands while high black boots clicked sharply against the marble floors of the academy.
Elegant.
Cold.
Authoritative.
The woman standing there—
was Evelisse Ravencrest.
The Black Swan.
And before her—
sat a man with white hair and sharp icy blue eyes calmly reading a book behind his desk.
Christopher Nova.
Vice Headmaster of Mythralis Academy.
"Christopher."
Evelisse's eye twitched slightly.
"How could you assign me an assistant without even asking first?"
"I already told you before."
"I don't need one."
"He'll be useless to me either way."
Christopher calmly turned another page completely ignoring her complaints.
The office itself remained quiet except for the sound of paper flipping.
Evelisse clicked her tongue in irritation.
Despite being known across Astryx as the Black Swan—
Christopher Nova remained one of the few people who completely ignored her presence.
Surprisingly—
Evelisse was also the Duchess of House Ravencrest.
One of the most influential ducal houses within Astryx Empire.
Yet instead of ruling her territory personally—
she remained within Mythralis Academy as a professor.
Currently—
her son managed the ducal house in her place.
Finally—
Christopher spoke calmly without even glancing up from his book.
"Evelisse."
"I will not argue about this matter with you again."
"It is standard procedure for professors to receive assistants."
"Now…"
He slowly turned another page.
"I don't care what you do with him afterward."
"But I will not remove the assignment without proper reason."
"Ugh…"
Evelisse held her forehead in frustration.
Ridiculous.
Completely ridiculous.
Eventually—
she turned around before storming out of the office.
"Fine."
"I'll just make his life a living nightmare until he quits himself."
...
At the same time—
a sleek black flying vehicle descended toward Mythralis Academy.
The massive campus stretched endlessly beneath the cloudy skies of Astryx.
Towering gothic structures mixed with futuristic architecture rose throughout the academy grounds while streams of glowing mana flowed across pathways and buildings alike.
The students near the entrance seemed visibly surprised seeing the vehicle arrive.
Currently—
Mythralis Academy was completely closed to outsiders during the academic year.
Other than official staff—
nobody was allowed to enter or leave freely.
So naturally—
the sudden arrival attracted attention.
Soon—
the vehicle doors slowly opened.
A young man stepped out calmly.
He wore a fitted black suit beneath a long dark coat while golden eyes lazily observed the surroundings with amusement.
His black hair moved slightly with the cold winds of the academy.
And honestly—
he was annoyingly handsome.
Rio Valen.
Or rather—
Zio Norken.
The students nearby whispered quietly amongst themselves.
"Who's that?"
"A new professor?"
"No way he looks too young."
"Maybe an assistant?"
Meanwhile—
Rio ignored the stares completely.
He slowly walked down the massive pathway leading deeper into the academy grounds while quietly observing the surroundings.
The academy itself was absurdly large.
Massive towers stretched toward the skies while floating platforms moved throughout the air carrying students between buildings.
But what stood out the most—
was the swordsmanship.
Everywhere Rio looked—
students practiced with blades.
Some trained with elegant longswords.
Others used massive greatswords taller than themselves.
The sounds of metal colliding echoed endlessly throughout the academy grounds.
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
The sheer level of skill displayed casually by the students was absurd.
Fluid footwork.
Perfect stances.
Mana reinforcing their blades naturally.
Even the first years here probably surpassed most elite warriors outside.
And strangely—
Rio barely sensed anyone practicing magic directly.
Unlike Nexus Academy—
where both mages and swordsmans dominated.—
Mythralis Academy revolved around one thing.
The sword.
Pure overwhelming combat strength.
As Rio glanced toward a distant training field where dozens of students exchanged sword strikes powerful enough to split the ground beneath them—
he slowly realized something.
This place…
was filled with monsters.
Rio continued walking through the massive academy grounds silently.
Everywhere he looked—
students trained relentlessly with swords.
The atmosphere itself felt sharp.
Violent.
Like weakness simply couldn't survive here.
Eventually—
Rio arrived before a massive black building near the center section of the academy.
Silver letters were engraved above the entrance.
Administration Hall.
Students and professors walked in and out constantly while academy staff managed different counters inside.
The moment Rio entered—
several gazes instinctively shifted toward him.
Mostly because nobody recognized him.
Ignoring the looks—
Rio walked toward the nearest counter.
A sharp-looking woman sat behind it while sorting through floating holographic documents.
She wore the same Mythralis staff uniform though unlike the others—
her expression looked permanently irritated.
Without even glancing up—
she spoke coldly.
"Name."
"Zio Norken."
The woman's fingers paused briefly.
Then finally—
her sharp gray eyes lifted toward him.
A slight look of surprise crossed her face.
"…The new assistant professor?"
Rio nodded calmly.
The woman sighed quietly afterward before pulling out another floating screen.
"You're assigned under Professor Evelisse Ravencrest."
Her expression somehow became even more pitiful afterward.
"…Good luck with that."
Rio raised an eyebrow slightly.
Interesting reaction.
The woman continued speaking mechanically.
"You'll be staying within the professor residential district."
"Classes begin in three days."
"Until then you are expected to familiarize yourself with academy regulations."
She tapped the floating screen again.
A silver academy badge slowly materialized before Rio.
"Your identification crest."
"It grants access to staff sections, training halls, and internal academy systems."
Rio grabbed it quietly.
Then finally—
"Where do I find Professor Evelisse?"
The woman stared at him for a brief second.
Then—
a strange smile appeared on her face.
"…Northern Tower."
"And trust me."
"You'll know when you find her."
...
She wasn't wrong.
The moment I arrived near the Northern Tower—
I immediately sensed overwhelming mana pressure flooding the atmosphere.
Cold.
Violent.
Completely unstable.
I slowly stepped toward the massive training grounds nearby.
Then—
my eyes widened slightly.
The entire field looked devastated.
Huge sections of the ground remained frozen beneath thick layers of ice while other areas burned endlessly with crimson flames.
Melted stone.
Shattered barriers.
Distorted mana.
The battlefield looked more like a disaster zone than a training area.
And standing at the center of it—
was a woman with long dark purple hair.
Evelisse Ravencrest.
The Black Swan.
Mana spiraled around her body beautifully.
Ice formed behind her like blooming crystals while crimson flames danced around her fingertips simultaneously.
Double elemental affinities.
Rare.
Extremely rare.
Yet what truly stood out—
was her absurd control.
The flames and ice never clashed once despite existing together.
A pure mage.
And a terrifying one at that.
I quietly closed my eyes briefly.
What a maniac.
Then suddenly—
a loud amused chuckle echoed throughout the training grounds.
"You must be Zio?"
Evelisse stood atop a floating ice platform while gazing down at me with sharp violet eyes.
"Quite bold of you to become my assistant."
Her smirk slowly widened afterward.
"Do you seriously have no clue who I am?"
"No."
Exactly so it's quite stupi—
She then blinked.
"…What?"
I shrugged lazily.
"No."
"I genuinely don't know who you are."
A small twitch immediately appeared on her smile.
The temperature around the field noticeably dropped.
I simply stared back at her with a faint smirk.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Evelisse slowly narrowed her eyes.
Then suddenly—
she pointed toward the destroyed training grounds below.
"As my assistant…"
"…your first task will be cleaning this entire field."
Her smile became colder afterward.
"Every single part of it."
Then—
she stormed away immediately in irritation.
Meanwhile—
I quietly glanced toward the frozen burning battlefield left behind.
Silence.
"…Azrith."
"How am i supposed to ask her to help me."