The moment he entered, a new wave of whispers filled the air."Theron is here!""Wow, there's a big difference between him and Viron.""They're from the same family, yet Theron actually acts like a noble." Viron, still eating, didn’t even look up. But he knew. The moment Theron entered, his mana signature was instantly recognizable.Theron, escorted by two boys, walked slowly forward. His eyes briefly flickered toward Viron, who was seated just a few meters away. Seeing him was enough to ruin his already not-so-great mood.They were the only two members of the Thunder family attending the royal academy.Even though they had come here together, their relationship was anything but friendly. The tension between them was always present, simmering beneath the surface.Since childhood, Theron had worked hard to be acknowledged by his older brother—the one he admires and looks up to.But his brother had never even spared him a glance. Instead, for some reason, his attention had always been

"What did you say you did?!!""Calm down. It's just a simple spar. Why get worked up? It's not like we're trying to kill each other."Viron’s casual response made Zenchi facepalm."Have you ever seen any official public spar between family members of your age range before?"After a quick thought, Viron replied, "No.""Of course not. So you don’t understand how seriously the family takes things like this."Viron stared at Zenchi in confusion. Truthfully, he wasn’t aware of how duels in his family worked. Since childhood, he had always felt something was wrong—or rather, missing. There was an emptiness inside him, and with no direct family members to ask—since they were all dead—he was left in the dark.The only exception was his grandfather, the Patriarch of the family.But even he never paid attention to him.As a result, Viron spent most of his time in seclusion, alone. The other young Thunders then weren’t even allowed to be around him.That was why, when he got into the academy, he

Viron groaned as he regained consciousness.'What happened?' he muttered, sitting up.His last memories of talking with Zenchi resurfaced.'Wait! I actually tried to attack him?' His eyes widened in disbelief. 'What got into me? I haven’t been that angry before. Was it the stress from all the training?'He looked down at his body and noticed some bandages.'He completely rendered me useless with one casual attack? No, he only released his aura with a little mix of lightning. That was barely an attack. What a monster. How does someone even defeat someone like that?'Viron could feel most of his strength returning, so he had no trouble moving. He walked over to the window and gazed outside.The sun was slowly being replaced by the moon, casting long shadows over the academy grounds. Despite the growing darkness, people were still outside—talking, laughing, loitering.Here, as in most academies, it wasn’t compulsory to learn magic solely for battle. Especially in this era, which had mos

Fiona paced so restlessly in the main hall, arms crossed quite tightly over her chest. As soon as the weighty doors swung, her dad walked in, and she turned quickly toward him."Father! You're back!" Lord Varian, a graying, tall man who had a well-maintained beard, took off his coat, handing it to an attendant. He slightly arched an eyebrow at his daughter's tense posture. "I exist. Though, from the look on your face, something tells me you're not here to welcome me peacefully."Fiona huffed. "You won’t possibly believe the thing that happened."Lord Varian chuckled softly, moving onward toward a plush chair near the fireplace. "I think that I shall, actually." He sat down, gesturing for her to continue.Fiona wasted no time. "That very boy we saved—he tried to steal right from us! I caught him right in my own room!"Lord Varian's brow furrowed quite slightly. However, he remained completely silent, allowing her to vent."And after I then confronted him, he tried to begin making excu

Art never thought of himself as some kind of hero who saved every person he didn't know in distress without expecting anything in return. In fact, he considered that kind of mindset foolish—a pointless waste of time, energy, and effort. A simple thank you wasn't enough to justify the trouble. People might call him self-centered for thinking this way, but he didn’t care. That was just how he saw the world. But there were some things even he couldn't ignore. Some acts so vile they crossed a line, and this was one of them. For someone with a 25-year-old mentality—perhaps even older, considering the memories of the life he had replaced—certain things struck a nerve. Especially when he had two younger sisters, though from different worlds. Hearing what these men had done… It triggered something in him. His golden eyes glowed as mana gathered around him, the air shifting with his rising energy. Both men instinctively took a few steps back. 'Wait… he's a mage too? But he looked so