ROOM 1313

5

The plaza remained deathly silent as thousands of eyes were fixed on the two freshmen.

No one had expected a fight before the students had even stepped foot inside their room, and even fewer had expected the outcome.

"A human..."

"He actually injured Prince Karl..."

"I don't believe it."

Whispers spread through the crowd like wildfire.

Karl's arm was still smoking faintly where the silver dust had touched it, his face twisted with humiliation and rage.

Not because the injury was severe.

After all, it wasn't.

But because a human had managed to force him back in front of thousands of people.

Meanwhile, Liam appeared calm on the outside, but only he knew the truth.

That had been far too close.

He secretly took a deep breath, trying to steady his racing heart.

Everyone thought he had matched Karl, but they couldn't have been more wrong.

From the moment Karl charged, Liam had survived only because he had predicted every move before it happened.

Everything had been carefully calculated.

The silver dust had never been meant to defeat Karl.

It had only been meant to buy him a single moment.

And once Karl lost his temper, Liam knew he was finished.

Fortunately, that had been part of his plan as well.

Principal Alaric was never going to let the fight continue.

Liam glanced at the old man standing between them.

If the battle had lasted even one second longer, he would've died.

There wasn't the slightest doubt in his mind.

I'm still too weak...

He clenched his fists.

Bronze Advanced.

That was all he had managed to achieve before entering Blackthorn Academy.

Against someone like Karl, it simply wasn't enough.

And now, he was expected to share a room with him.

This is going to be a nightmare.

Principal Alaric's piercing gaze shifted between the two students.

"You have both chosen a wonderful way to introduce yourselves." His voice was cold.

"Prince Karl Fenrir."

"You attacked another student before your first day had even begun."

Then his eyes settled on Liam.

"And you, Liam Carter..."

"You knowingly provoked him."

Liam opened his mouth to explain.

"He started—"

"I did not ask who started it," Alaric interrupted flatly.

The plaza fell silent once more.

"For today..."

"I will overlook this incident."

A wave of relief washed over several professors.

"This is your first day."

"Consider it the only grace either of you will receive." He said as his expression hardened.

"The next time either of you starts a fight without authorization..."

"The punishment will not be so lenient." He did coldly.

"I can't live with him!" Suddenly, Karl's furious voice echoed across the plaza as he pointed directly at Liam.

"Then drop out." Principal Alaric looked at him without the slightest change in expression.

Karl froze.

"...Impossible." The answer came almost instinctively.

Everyone understood why.

Blackthorn Academy wasn't simply the greatest academy in the world.

It possessed training grounds, relics, professors, and opportunities that could be found nowhere else.

To abandon Blackthorn Academy was to abandon the greatest opportunity to become truly powerful.

Alaric folded his hands behind his back.

"Then your room assignment stands."

Karl's face twisted with anger.

After several long seconds, he finally spoke through gritted teeth.

"I can't promise..." His murderous gaze settled on Liam.

"...that I won't kill him."

A heavy silence immediately settled over the plaza.

Every student slowly turned toward Liam.

How would the human respond?

Would he finally back down?

Or would he drop out?

Liam looked at Karl for a moment before adjusting his glasses.

"Then..." He shrugged.

"Try not to die first."

The words were spoken so casually that, for a second, Karl thought he had misheard them.

The veins on his forehead bulged with anger.

"You—!" He growled angrily.

"Enough." Principal Alaric's voice sliced through the tension and then his sharp gaze shifted toward Liam.

"And you..."

"You seem to enjoy provoking people."

Liam smiled awkwardly.

"I'm just being honest."

"I wasn't asking." Alaric said coldly.

The smile on Liam's face immediately disappeared.

Several students couldn't help but chuckle.

Even Alex struggled to hold back his laughter.

For the first time since arriving at the academy, someone had finally managed to shut Liam up.

Alaric's eyes slowly swept across every freshman.

"Since this appears to be necessary..."

"I will explain the academy's most important rule." His expression became stern.

"Inside Blackthorn Academy, students are free to compete."

"You may challenge one another."

"You may settle your differences."

"You may even fight until one side admits defeat."

"But..." His voice suddenly turned cold.

"Only inside the academy's authorized arenas."

"Any student who attacks another outside those areas will be punished regardless of status or race."

"No exceptions."

"If your opponent dies because of your actions..."

"You will answer to the academy." He said as his eyes rested on Karl.

"Do I make myself clear?"

"...Yes," Karl replied reluctantly.

"Good."

Just as Alaric was about to continue, a calm voice echoed from the back of the crowd.

"Sorry, I overslept."

Thousands of students instinctively turned.

A young man slowly walked through the plaza with his black academy jacket resting loosely over his shoulders.

One hand remained tucked inside his pocket while the other lazily rubbed the back of his neck, as though he had simply arrived late for an ordinary class.

Despite saying that, he walked like he wasn't in a hurry and neither did he apologize again.

The strange thing was, the crowd moved before he even reached them.

Without anyone saying a word, students instinctively stepped aside, creating a clear path leading straight to the front.

Lucas wasn't flashy, yet there was an indescribable mystery surrounding him.

His hair was just as messy as Liam's, but he carried himself with effortless grace and composure and his face was strikingly handsome.

So handsome that girls from every race found it difficult to take their eyes off him.

"It's him..."

"Lucas..."

"The Demon Prince..."

Whispers immediately spread through the crowd and soon, people were discussing the countless feats attributed to him.

Rumors spread faster than the wind, and no one knew which of them were actually true.

But only one fact was certain, Lucas Astaroth was someone people feared.

He finally stopped in front of Principal Alaric.

The principal looked at him for several long seconds.

"You're late." His tone was cold.

"I know." Lucas answered flatly.

His crimson eyes drifted toward the Mirror of Destiny before stopping on a single line.

Room 1313.

A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

"...Interesting." That single word made the atmosphere even heavier.

Principal Alaric felt a headache creeping into his head.

He let out a quiet sigh and then called out.

"Professor Eleanor."

A woman in her early thirties stepped forward from among the faculty.

She had long chestnut hair tied neatly behind her and wore the academy's dark blue professor's coat.

"You'll escort the students of Room 1313 to their dormitory."

Professor Eleanor looked at the four names displayed on the mirror before turning to the four students themselves.

Her eyelid twitched almost imperceptibly.

"...Of course." She said, but there was a faint trace of reluctance hidden beneath her calm voice.

She had guided countless freshmen over the years.

Never, had she seen a room assignment like this.

Alex slowly walked over to Liam and nudged him with his elbow.

"So..."

"This is where we split up."

"Looks like it." Liam forced a smile.

Alex glanced at Lily, Karl and finally, Lucas then, he patted Liam on the shoulder.

"If you survive the week, come and visit me." He said with a wry smile.

"You're talking like I'm attending my own funeral." Liam laughed.

"I wasn't…" Alex said and then paused before looking at Liam's future roommates one last time.

"...until I saw them." he muttered.