It was Monday, and I was dragging myself to my next class. The heat was relentless, coating my neck in a layer of sweat long before noon. Earlier that morning, the administration had held a faculty meeting regarding the upcoming interschool competition in IPN. Most of my co-teachers were assigned major organizational roles—decorations, logistics, bracket management.Me? I was assigned to do absolutely nothing.According to the vice principal, I didn’t know enough about the game to be useful, so they didn't bother giving me a task. I didn’t argue. Honestly, it was a hidden blessing. If I wasn’t stuck on the planning committee, I could actually enter the tournament as a competitor.The competition was set to take place inside the game’s official arena. Since my public account was still registered as a novice, my thoughts immediately drifted to build preparations and gear upgrades.When I reached my classroom, I handed out the third-quarter examination papers and gave brief instructions.

The faint echoes of my last cast subsided, replaced by the chill of a new reality as a system notification flared to life.===================================================[SKILL ACTIVATED: Mental Supremacy (Lv. 30)][Effect: Hostile Telepathic Intrusion Neutralized]===================================================The momentary shock was instantly countered by a wave of crystalline calm. The skill—a bedrock of my passive defense—automatically erected an impenetrable fortress around my consciousness, effortlessly shattering Philsuat's attempted mind-control magic.It confirmed my worst fears. The enemy wasn't just a political opponent; he was a master manipulator trying to turn me into his next puppet. My initial caution solidified into grim determination. I needed to understand the true scope of the threat, and that meant immediate investigation within the heart of the royal palace.I glanced through the wall to the adjoining room, my augmented sight momentarily piercing the co

The world fell into absolute silence.It was not the peaceful quiet of dawn, nor the comforting stillness that follows a violent storm. It was the silence of a world holding its breath.White frost stretched endlessly across the gray wasteland, transforming the lifeless desert into a frozen ocean of crystal. Jagged pillars of ice pierced the sky like the fangs of an ancient titan, each one glittering beneath the pale light.At the center of it all stood Auxilva.The Water God remained imprisoned within a colossal glacier, his enormous body suspended beneath countless layers of enchanted ice. His sapphire eyes were closed once more, hidden behind frozen scales that reflected a thousand shades of blue.For one fleeting moment, time itself seemed to stop.The icy wind whispered across the battlefield, carrying tiny crystals that danced through the air like snow.I collapsed onto one knee. My chest burned—every breath felt like inhaling broken glass as warm blood dripped from my nose onto

The battlefield remained frozen beneath the jagged remnants of Deepfreeze.Auxilva stood suspended inside the colossal glacier, but the cracks across his form continued to multiply at a terrifying pace. I knelt on the ice, coughing up dark blood as my mana pool hovered dangerously close to zero. Beside me, Alexander and Angelica braced themselves, drawing their weapons for the leviathan's inevitable release.Then... Auxilva didn't roar.He cried.His divine tears flowed through the fractures in the ice, dissolving the crystal structure around his chest. Instead of lashing out at us, the Water God desperately clawed at his own sternum. His razor-sharp claws left deep, bleeding scars across his own divine scales as if he were frantically trying to tear something out from within his own soul.Alexander gasped, stepping back. "He's... he's attacking himself!"Angelica’s playful demeanor vanished entirely. "Oppa... look at his scales!"Black, corruption-laden veins were spreading beneath A

The final school bell echoed throughout the campus.Students poured out of their classrooms, filling the hallways with laughter and lively chatter before gradually disappearing through the front gates. The once-bustling campus slowly settled back into its usual late-afternoon quiet.I remained seated at my desk in the faculty office. My lesson plans lay open before me, but my eyes weren't on the papers.Instead, my fingers unconsciously traced the rough sketch of a symbol I had drawn on a blank sheet—the same jagged sigil seared into the black chains that had bound the Water God."...What are you?" I murmured, frowning.No matter how thoroughly I searched my memories, nothing matched that emblem. Not the ancient archives inside the Lone Tree of Nothingness, not Dryad Frosy's diary, nor the historical records left behind by Hero Riq.Nothing.Yet the image refused to leave my mind. It was as if the symbol itself insisted on being remembered."Mr. Klovis?"I quickly folded the paper in