Hours later—
I finally finished cleaning the entire training field.
The amount of destruction Evelisse casually caused during training was absurd.
Ice.
Fire.
Collapsed barriers.
Destroyed stone.
And somehow—
I had to clean all of it without mana.
By the time I finished—
my entire body hurt again.
"…What a nightmare."
Eventually—
I headed toward Evelisse's office located near the upper section of the Northern Tower.
I knocked once.
"Enter."
The doors slowly opened automatically.
My eyes slightly narrowed.
The office was surprisingly clean.
Almost excessively so.
Unlike most traditional offices—
this room felt advanced and futuristic.
Transparent screens floated throughout the air displaying magical formulas, mana calculations, and academy reports.
Countless bookshelves lined the walls though every single book remained perfectly organized.
A massive glass wall overlooked the academy grounds outside while blue mana circuits glowed faintly beneath the dark floor panels.
Even the lighting inside the room adjusted automatically depending on where Evelisse walked.
Cold.
Efficient.
Precise.
Just like her.
Evelisse sat behind her desk while calmly reading through floating documents.
"I cleaned the entire training field."
Without even looking at me—
she replied instantly.
"It took you exactly fifty-six minutes and twenty-two seconds."
"…Disappointing."
My eye twitched slightly.
"You never gave me a required completion time."
Finally—
Evelisse slowly stood up.
Her sharp violet eyes locked onto mine coldly.
"I shouldn't have to explain things like that."
"Zio."
The pressure in the room subtly intensified.
"As you are new here…"
"…I'll excuse your mistakes for now."
"But moving forward…"
"…I expect perfection."
Her voice became colder afterward.
"Is that clear?"
"…Yes ma'am."
"Good."
Then suddenly—
she handed me three massive bundles of paper.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"This is?"
"The upcoming examination paperwork."
"I want you to review every single paper and list all mistakes."
I stared at the absurd amount of documents.
"…All of them?"
"Yes."
Evelisse answered immediately.
"Of course…"
"…I could easily finish checking them myself within minutes."
"So it shouldn't be difficult for you either."
My smile twitched slightly.
"…Yes ma'am."
Evelisse returned to her seat afterward.
"Your actual duties begin in three days."
"Until then…"
"…familiarize yourself with the academy."
She casually flipped another floating document.
"You've already been assigned a room within the Professor District."
"Head there afterward."
"Understood."
I turned around—
only for Evelisse to suddenly speak again.
"And Zio?"
I glanced back.
A faint smirk appeared on her face.
"Every single paper is different."
"So make sure you check them carefully."
The moment I left the office—
my expression immediately flattened.
"…What a bitch."
...
Two days later—
I had mostly familiarized myself with Mythralis Academy.
The academy itself was divided into several massive districts.
The Outer Grounds were primarily for first and second year students.
That was where most basic swordsmanship classes, combat drills, and mana control lessons took place.
Then came the Inner Grounds.
Reserved only for elite third and fourth years alongside academy representatives personally chosen by professors.
Most of the monsters within the academy gathered there.
The Professor District where I currently stayed remained isolated from the student areas entirely.
Meanwhile—
at the very center of Mythralis stood the Seven Towers.
Each tower represented a specialized field personally overseen by high-ranking professors.
Swordsmanship.
Mana Theory.
Combat Strategy.
Beast Research.
Ancient Relics.
And several others.
Naturally—
the Northern Tower belonged to Evelisse.
Or as students secretly called it—
The Frozen Hell.
And now—
I once again stood inside Evelisse's office.
"You're done?"
For the first time—
Evelisse actually looked slightly surprised.
"Yes."
"And you checked every paper?"
"Yes."
Evelisse slowly leaned back in her chair afterward.
One leg crossed elegantly over the other while a faint smirk appeared on her face.
Interesting.
"Fine then."
"List the mistakes."
I calmly placed the papers down before speaking.
"The first mistake appears in the third-year Mana Compression Theory paper."
"Question 14."
"You asked students to calculate the stability ratio between dual-element compression under a mirrored mana circulation pathway."
Evelisse's expression remained calm.
I continued.
"The issue is that the equation itself becomes impossible under the academy's standardized mana laws."
Her violet eyes narrowed slightly.
"You used the Seventh Astryx Formula as the base."
"But that formula only functions if both mana pathways rotate clockwise equally."
I tapped the paper lightly.
"Yet the ice attribute pathway you listed rotates counterclockwise at a lower compression density."
"That immediately creates a polarity imbalance."
"Meaning the answer key you provided would actually result in mana collapse."
Silence filled the office briefly.
Evelisse's smirk faded slightly.
I moved onto the next stack.
"The second mistake appears in the fourth-year Arcane Combat Analysis paper."
"Question 31."
"You asked students to identify the weakest moment during a three-stage elemental synchronization sequence."
I glanced toward her calmly.
"But your own synchronization timing is incorrect."
"The second mana pulse overlaps by 0.4 seconds."
"That overlap creates temporary mana reinforcement instead of instability."
"So technically…"
"…there is no weakness during the stage you marked."
Evelisse slowly lowered her crossed leg.
Meanwhile—
I calmly picked up the final paper.
"The third mistake appears in the Ancient Mana Script Interpretation paper."
"Question 52."
"This one is probably the worst."
Now—
she fully stared at me silently.
"You included an Arcathian stabilization sequence."
"At first glance the script appears correct…"
"…but one rune is outdated."
I pointed toward the lower section of the page.
"The stabilization symbol here belongs to Pre-Collapse Arcathian notation."
"But the surrounding sequence uses modern Astryx formatting."
"That mismatch destabilizes the formula midway through activation."
I calmly placed the papers back onto the desk.
"If a student attempted this in practical application…"
"…their mana circuits would likely rupture."
Silence.
Then suddenly—
Evelisse smiled.
Not mocking.
Not cold.
A genuine smile of interest.
"…Really impressive."
She slowly stood up afterward before walking toward me.
"Zio Norken…"
"It seems I misunderstood you."
Then she raised her hand slightly.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself."
"My name is Evelisse Ravencrest."
"I oversee Mana Theory for the third and fourth years of Mythralis Academy."
Her violet eyes carefully studied me afterward.
"You see…"
"I intentionally left only a single mistake inside Paper 31."
A small amused laugh escaped her.
"Yet somehow…"
"…you discovered two additional flaws I hadn't even noticed myself."
Her smile slowly deepened.
"That's honestly very impressive."
"Tomorrow…"
Evelisse returned toward her desk before casually sitting back down.
"You'll accompany me to the fourth-year Mana Theory class."
I nodded silently.
She sighed afterward while rubbing her forehead slightly.
"These sword-brained idiots always think Mana Theory is useless to them."
"And because of that…"
"…they never properly prepare."
There was genuine irritation in her voice now.
Honestly—
after spending two days inside Mythralis Academy—
I could already understand why.
Almost every student here obsessed over combat strength and swordsmanship alone.
To most of them—
magic existed only to reinforce their blades.
Pure mages were rare within Astryx.
And scholars?
Even rarer.
Evelisse suddenly tossed another large bundle of papers toward me.
I caught them instinctively.
"These are the evaluation sheets for the eighty students attending tomorrow."
"Alongside their current score rankings."
I glanced through the stack briefly.
Some names already had absurdly high combat evaluations attached beside them.
Interesting.
"You'll distribute them tomorrow."
"Got it?"
"Yes ma'am."
...
The next day—
I entered the fourth-year Mana Theory classroom alongside Evelisse.
The moment the doors opened—
dozens of eyes immediately shifted toward us.
The classroom itself looked more like a grand council chamber than a lecture hall.
Rows of elevated black desks curved around the massive room while silver mana circuits glowed beneath the dark floors.
Floating holographic screens displayed ancient formulas throughout the air while enormous windows overlooked the skies of Mythralis Academy.
At the center—
a giant circular mana formation slowly rotated beneath the professor's podium.
The sheer mana density inside the room alone was absurd.
Every single student here radiated confidence.
Strength.
Arrogance.
Fourth years.
The monsters closest to graduation.
The loud chatter throughout the room instantly quieted once Evelisse stepped forward.
Meanwhile—
most of their attention wasn't on her.
It was on me.
A new assistant professor this young naturally attracted attention.
Evelisse calmly placed her papers down.
"From today onward…"
"…this will be my new assistant professor."
Murmurs immediately spread.
"Assistant professor?"
"He looks our age."
"No way."
Evelisse ignored them completely.
"Familiarize yourselves with him."
"Any academic questions will go through him first."
"If any of you wish to schedule meetings with me…"
"…you will go through him as well."
Then finally—
her violet eyes shifted toward me.
"Introduce yourself."
I slowly stepped forward calmly.
"My name is Zio Norken."
Silence followed briefly afterward.
Then Evelisse spoke again.
"Now then."
"I have your results from last week's Mana Theory examination."
"Zio will distribute them."
I nodded silently before grabbing the stack of papers.
Then—
I glanced at the very first page.
And instantly—
my body froze.
My fingers tightened slightly around the papers.
The noise inside the classroom slowly faded away.
Even my breathing became heavier.
Astarax immediately sensed the shift inside my mind.
[Rio?]
But I couldn't respond.
Because written at the very top—
was a name I never expected to see again.
#1 — Lucinda Valen (99/100)
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
For a brief moment—
old memories surfaced violently.
A silver-haired girl standing beside Lucivar proudly.
Cold crimson eyes staring down at me after the awakening ceremony.
Disappointment.
Disgust.
Distance.
The moment I was declared talentless—
Lucinda changed.
The older sister who once acknowledged my existence slowly disappeared.
And what remained afterward—
was only coldness.
Because after that day—
she looked at me like I no longer existed.
Slowly—
my eyes lifted from the paper.
Near the front row—
a silver-haired girl sat calmly with elegant posture.
Cold crimson eyes.
An overwhelming aura naturally surrounding her.
Lucinda Valen.
My elder sister.
And at that exact moment—
her gaze slowly shifted toward me.