The early morning sun rose over the towering stone spires of Tuntadel University, casting long shadows across the cobblestone plazas. It was the start of a brand-new week—the very first week of Lashley’s reign as the official Dean of Tuntadel.Students and scholars streamed across the central grounds toward their lecture halls, chatting eagerly about the massive changes taking place. The dark cloud of corruption that had hung over the campus for months finally seemed to be lifting.Suddenly, a loud chime reverberated through the public address crystals installed across the entire campus.DING! DONG! DONG!The chatter in the plazas died down instantly. Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking up toward the speaker.Dean Lashley’s voice boomed loud, crystal clear, and authoritative across every corner of the university."Attention, all students, scholars, and faculty of Tuntadel University! This is an official executive decree from the Office of the Dean!"A heavy pause hung in the ai

The halls of Tuntadel University were buzzing. Everywhere you turned, students were whispering, pointing, and shouting over each other. News of what Mike had done had spread like wildfire through every dormitory, cafeteria, and lecture hall.Inside the Dean’s office, the air was dead silent.Dean Lashley sat behind his massive desk, his hands folded beneath his chin. Standing across from him was Mike, who was breathing heavily, his hands trembling slightly as he recounted the event."I’m telling you, Mike, I’ve never seen anything like it," Lashley said, his voice shaking. "Datrex was pushing you, trying to get a reaction. And then... you changed. Your eyes didn't just brighten, Mike. They glowed. It looked like two burning suns in his sockets. You fought like... like a god. I was terrified just standing near you. What have you become?""I don't believe any of it," Mike muttered under his breath. "It wasn't me. It couldn't have been me. I don't have powers like that. I'm just regular

Hundreds of miles away from Tuntadel University, deep within an isolated mountainous compound, the air was filled with the heavy sound of fists striking iron and boots slamming against dust.Matt was dripping with sweat, his shirt torn as he sparred against three heavy-set fighters at once. These were elite members of the Tiewie gang—ruthless mercenaries hired to push Matt past his physical limits.Standing at the edge of the ring, watching with a cold, unforgiving expression, was Matt’s father, Mr. Windgate."Faster, Matt!" Mr. Windgate barked, his voice carrying like thunder across the courtyard. "If you cannot overpower three Tiewie thugs, how do you expect to crush Baron and his little group? How do you expect to wipe out the Neutral gene?"Matt ducked under a swinging iron pipe, drove his shoulder into the attacker's chest, and swept the legs of the second fighter, knocking them both to the dirt. He stood up, catching his breath, his knuckles bruised and bleeding."I'm ready, Fat

Knox grinned. His bones suddenly cracked loudly, his body shifted, and in a split second, Knox completely shapeshifted into a massive, snarling silver wolf! He let out a deep roar that echoed across the lawn before shifting smoothly back into his human form.Lashley stumbled back, gasping in pure horror. "What... what was that?!""Watch this, sir!" Fred called out.Fred took a step forward and completely vanished! He became totally translucent, his body vanishing into thin air right before Lashley's eyes, only to voice out from right behind Lashley's shoulder: "I can walk right past anyone." Fred reappeared beside Lashley, grinning."That's not all," Felicia said calmly.As a Sage, Felicia raised her hand, casting a quick spell as a soft glowing magic circle hovered over her palm. She closed her eyes and looked directly at Lashley. "You are thinking about the meeting you missed this morning, Dean. And you're terrified of what we might do next."Lashley grabbed his head in shock. "You

Magret stared at the distant cauldrons. The full separation technique was an advanced, painful process that drained the caster's own spiritual energy to force raw elements apart."Extract all four elements in pure separation," Dr. Isabella repeated, stepping back. "Bring them to my desk in four sealed vials. Do that without failing, and I will hand you the rest of the formula myself."Magret stood up from her chair, her hands no longer shaking. "Consider it done."For the next three hours, while the rest of the class packed up and left, Magret remained in the quiet, dim back corner of the Healer's hall.The heat radiating from the elemental cauldrons made sweat pour down her face. Her arms trembled as she held her hands over the raw elemental streams, using her raw spiritual energy to pull the fiery red essence away from the crackling earth base.Crack!A surge of hot spark feedback slammed into her chest, knocking her back against the table. Magret gasped for air, tears of pain sting