2026-04-12 23:57:11The sun rose over Bourbon Academy, but the light did not feel warm to Adam Cook. He woke up on the thin, straw mattress in his tiny servant’s room. The room was barely a closet, tucked away in the basement of the boys' dormitory. It smelled of damp stone and old dust.
Usually, Adam woke up with a heavy heart, thinking about the chores he had to do. But today was different.
When he opened his eyes, the world was not just gray and brown.
Floating in front of his face was a glowing purple screen.
[Time Remaining: 68 Hours, 12 Minutes.]
[Health: 45/100 (Recovering)][Status: Void Vessel Initialized.]Adam sat up. He looked at his hands. They weren't shaking anymore. Last night, he had been a broken boy in a dark alley. Now, he felt like he was plugged into a lightning bolt.
He looked at the wooden door of his room. To his normal eyes, it was just old wood. But as he focused, a layer of shimmering light appeared over his vision. He saw thin, glowing blue lines running through the door.
[Object: Door (Oak)]
[Mana Reinforcement: 2% (Weak)]"I can see it," Adam whispered. "I can see the magic."
In this world, magic—or "mana"—was everywhere. It was in the air, the water, and the bodies of the lucky people born with Spirit Veins. Normally, a Null like Adam was blind to it. It was like living in a world of music but being born deaf.
But now, the System had given him "The Eyes of the Sovereign."
He stood up and walked out into the hallway. It was early, and the elite students were starting to head to breakfast. As Adam walked toward the Great Hall, he saw them.
A group of second-year students walked past. To a regular person, they just looked like wealthy kids in silver-trimmed robes. To Adam, they looked like glowing lanterns.
He saw a girl with a faint orange flame dancing in her chest.
[Target: Human Female. Tier 1 Fire Mage. Mana Flow: Stable.]He saw a tall boy with green swirls of energy around his feet.
[Target: Human Male. Tier 1 Wind Mage. Mana Flow: Low Quality.]"Low quality," Adam muttered with a small, dark smile. These people had spent their whole lives calling him trash, but the System saw them as "weak" and "low quality."
He reached the main courtyard of the campus. The white marble floors sparkled in the morning sun. In the center of the courtyard was a massive statue of the first Headmaster.
Suddenly, Adam felt a chill. Not just a cold breeze, but a wave of ice that seemed to turn his blood into slush.
He turned his head toward the North Tower.
Far above, on a balcony, a figure was standing. It was Catherine Cook. Even from this distance, Adam’s new eyes could see her clearly.
She was looking out over the Academy. To everyone else, she looked like a queen—cold, beautiful, and perfect. But through the System’s lens, Adam saw the truth.
Catherine was surrounded by a storm of jagged, icy blue mana. It was beautiful, but it was wrong. The blue lines weren't flowing like a river; they were snapping like broken glass.
And in the center of her chest, right where her Mana Core should be, there was a crack.
It looked like a black wound. Dark, smoky energy was leaking out of the crack, fighting against her blue ice magic. Every time the black smoke touched the blue ice, Adam could see her flinch.
[Analysis: Cracked Mana Core (Critical State)]
[Condition: Soul-Frost Corruption.][Fact: The target is using 90% of her power just to keep her heart from freezing solid.]Adam gasped. "She’s not just the Ice Witch. She’s a prisoner of her own power."
The "Ice Witch" wasn't cold because she was mean. She was cold because if she let her temperature rise even one degree, the corruption in her core would explode and kill everyone in the building.
This is it, Adam thought. This is my way in.
The system pinged in his mind.
[Mission Update: The Heart of the Frost.][Warning: The target is currently in the Great Library. Favorable Impression is still -90.]Adam knew the Great Library. It was a massive, circular building with millions of books. The upper floors were restricted. Only high-level mages and professors were allowed there. Nulls were strictly forbidden from even stepping past the front desk.
Adam didn't care. He walked toward the library.
When he reached the giant bronze doors, two guards stopped him. They were wearing the heavy armor of the Academy Guard. They carried spears that glowed with yellow electrical sparks.
"Halt, Null," the guard on the left said. He looked at Adam’s cheap, wrinkled clothes and sneered. "The library is for students who actually have brains and mana. Go back to the kitchens."
"I have business with Professor Catherine," Adam said. His voice was calm. Usually, he would have looked at the ground. Today, he looked the guard right in the eye.
The guards laughed. "Business? What, are you her new footstool? Get out of here before I use this spear to give you a permanent tan."
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Chapter 62
Adam’s soul finally cracked. It did not crack from damage. It did not break because it was weak. It cracked the way a dragon's egg cracks right before the beast comes out. It was not a break of destruction. It was a break of release.A bright, glowing purple screen flashed across Adam’s vision.[Criteria Met.][Extreme Magical Energy Directed at Host.][Soul Architecture Expanded.][Second Gate Unlocked: The Gate of Hunger.]The message disappeared. As the Blade of the Dawn came within one inch of Adam’s neck, Adam triggered his new power.[Skill Activated: Mana Devourer Aura.]Instantly, the entire room plunged into absolute, pitch-black darkness. It was not just the absence of light. It was the murder of light.The candles in the hallway outside instantly went out. The glowing golden spears held by the knights turned completely dark. The bright, holy light shining from Malphas’s heavy armor died in a single second.The only thing visible in the room was Julian’s glowing crystal swor
Chapter 61
High Inquisitor Malphas was still standing there. But the proud, dangerous Inquisitor looked completely different.The Devourer Aura had touched Malphas too. The glowing white magic that usually surrounded the Inquisitor’s heavy armor was gone. The magic in his silver broadsword had been completely sucked dry, turning the beautiful weapon into a dull, heavy piece of gray iron.Malphas dropped the heavy iron sword. It hit the floor with a dull clank.The ten Holy Knights in the hallway behind him also dropped their weapons. Their glowing spears were nothing but dead wooden sticks now. The aura had eaten the magic out of every weapon in the room.Malphas slowly raised his hands in the air. He did not bow, but he surrendered. He realized that if he tried to fight, Adam would just eat his soul exactly like he had eaten the angel fragment."You..." Malphas whispered, his voice trembling. "What are you?""I am the answer to your prayers," Adam said softly.Adam took a step forward.CRACK.
Chapter 60
High Inquisitor Malphas was still standing there. But the proud, dangerous Inquisitor looked completely different.The Devourer Aura had touched Malphas too. The glowing white magic that usually surrounded the Inquisitor’s heavy armor was gone. The magic in his silver broadsword had been completely sucked dry, turning the beautiful weapon into a dull, heavy piece of gray iron.Malphas dropped the heavy iron sword. It hit the floor with a dull clank.The ten Holy Knights in the hallway behind him also dropped their weapons. Their glowing spears were nothing but dead wooden sticks now. The aura had eaten the magic out of every weapon in the room.Malphas slowly raised his hands in the air. He did not bow, but he surrendered. He realized that if he tried to fight, Adam would just eat his soul exactly like he had eaten the angel fragment."You..." Malphas whispered, his voice trembling. "What are you?""I am the answer to your prayers," Adam said softly.Adam took a step forward.CRACK.
Chapter 59
Adam’s soul finally cracked. It did not crack from damage. It did not break because it was weak. It cracked the way a dragon's egg cracks right before the beast comes out. It was not a break of destruction. It was a break of release.A bright, glowing purple screen flashed across Adam’s vision.[Criteria Met.][Extreme Magical Energy Directed at Host.][Soul Architecture Expanded.][Second Gate Unlocked: The Gate of Hunger.]The message disappeared. As the Blade of the Dawn came within one inch of Adam’s neck, Adam triggered his new power.[Skill Activated: Mana Devourer Aura.]Instantly, the entire room plunged into absolute, pitch-black darkness. It was not just the absence of light. It was the murder of light.The candles in the hallway outside instantly went out. The glowing golden spears held by the knights turned completely dark. The bright, holy light shining from Malphas’s heavy armor died in a single second.The only thing visible in the room was Julian’s glowing crystal swor
Chapter 58
The broken pieces of the heavy wooden door lay on the cold stone floor. The medical ward was completely silent.High Inquisitor Malphas stood in the ruined doorway. He was a man who had fought in a hundred magical wars. He had killed rogue mages, dark witches, and giant beasts. He wore the thickest, strongest holy armor in the entire kingdom. But right now, his hands were shaking.Malphas looked at the boy sitting on the edge of the broken bed. Adam Cook did not have a weapon. He was not wearing armor. He was bare-chested, wearing only simple dark pants.Yet, Malphas felt a terrible, crushing weight pressing down on his chest. It was not a spell. Adam was not doing anything. The heavy pressure was just coming from Adam’s simple presence."I think," Adam whispered again, his voice echoing inside Malphas’s brain, "you are going to have to fix the door."Malphas opened his mouth to speak, but his throat was perfectly dry. He wanted to raise his heavy silver broadsword. He wanted to sho
Chapter 57
The purple screen flickered. A new message appeared in bright red letters.[Query Acknowledged.][To expand the Soul Architecture, the current walls must be completely destroyed.][Action Required: Open the Second Gate of the Void.]Adam read the words. He understood perfectly.To build a bigger castle, you have to tear down the old one. He had to destroy his own soul's shape to let the Void expand naturally. But there was a catch. The System immediately showed another red warning.[WARNING!][Opening the Second Gate will instantly shatter the current Soul Walls.][If the Host cannot control the raw energy without walls, the Host’s physical body will instantly vaporize in the real world.][Survival Rate: 0.01%.]Adam smiled. It was a cold, dark, fearless smile. "I survived the mud," Adam said softly. "I survived the Ice Witch. I survived the Bone Dragon. I survived the Holy Seraph. Do you really think I care about a decimal point?"Adam raised both of his hands. He looked at the thick
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