Meanwhile, somewhere else in the academy…


    Auron sneezed.


    He frowned, rubbing his nose.


    "…Someone better not be talking about me."


    just as he was about to go back to sleep, his peaceful morning was rudely interrupted by an urgent knocking on his door. No—not knocking. This was the sound of someone who had decided doors were merely a formality.


    BANG!


    Auron''s door slammed open, the sudden impact rattling his already half-asleep brain. His survival instincts kicked in, and before he could think, his hand had already reached for the nearest throwable object—a stone, his previous weapon of choice when slaying rats that he had yet to discard.


    "Rise and shine, Raventor."


    A voice, smooth yet firm, cut through the grogginess in his head. It wasn''t loud, yet it carried a hint of authority.


    Auron groaned, shoving his face deeper into his pillow. "Go away."


    Silence.


    Then—


    VRIP!


    The blanket was ripped off him, and the morning chill rushed over his skin like a slap to the face.


    "The hell—" He snapped upright, eyes narrowed and ready to unleash hell on whoever thought this was an acceptable way to wake someone up—


    Only to freeze.


    Standing in his doorway was a lady.


    She wasn''t just anyone—there was something off about her, mostly odd.


    Her silver hair cascaded far too long, nearly brushing the floor as she leaned lazily against the desk beside his bed. Crimson eyes, unreadable yet oddly amused, studied him like he was a particularly interesting bug.


    Auron didn''t know who the hell she was and he didn''t particularly care.


    She tilted her head, watching his reaction. "Finally awake? Good. Get dressed."


    Auron blinked, his brain still booting up. "Who—"


    "I''m your new instructor," she said simply.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    His confusion deepened. "New instructor? What happened to—?"


    "Harwin is dead."


    The words were delivered so casually that it took a moment to register.


    Auron frowned. Dead? He wasn''t particularly close to Instructor Harwin, but the man had been teaching at Glaivemire for years. The idea of him just dying out of nowhere felt… wrong.


    And why was this the first time he was hearing about it?


    Something in his gut twisted.


    The woman in front of him sighed as if bored, stepping further into his room without waiting for an invitation. "You''re surprisingly slow in the mornings, huh?"


    Auron scowled. "Excuse me for not being thrilled about getting dragged out of bed by a complete stranger."


    The amusement in her gaze deepened. "Stranger? Oh, that won''t last long."


    That phrasing made his skin crawl.


    "Who are you?" he asked, voice carefully neutral.


    She smiled. Not the warm kind.


    "Lena Rune."


    The name meant nothing to him and for all he cared he was, utterly unimpressed.


    So this was his new instructor?


    She was tiny—not in a childish way, but in the kind of way that made him think a strong breeze could knock her over. Her silver hair, absurdly long, cascaded past her waist, looking way too well-maintained for an instructor. And those crimson eyes? Maybe they made her look mysterious, but to Auron, they just made her seem like some creepy weirdo.


    Honestly? She didn''t look like a teacher.


    More like some rich noble''s rebellious daughter who had wandered onto the wrong side of the Academy, straight into his room.


    "Alright, Miss instructor Mysterious, you broke into my room, stole my blanket, and ruined my morning. Now what?" he drawled, rubbing his face.


    Lena raised a delicate brow. "Your morning was already ruined the moment you decided skipping class was a good idea."


    Auron scoffed. "Skipping beast taming class, you mean. Forgive me for not being thrilled about a subject that''s about as useful to me as teaching a fish to fly."


    Lena didn''t react, just kept watching him with that unreadable amusement.


    Auron studied her again, taking in the impractical fairy-like hair, the doll-like face, and the complete lack of anything resembling authority.


    This was supposed to be his new instructor?


    He smirked. "You sure you''re not in the wrong place, princess?"


    A muscle twitched in her jaw.


    Interesting.


    "Because you really don''t look like an instructor," he continued, stretching lazily, making a show of not taking her seriously at all. "Where''s the scowl? The permanent air of misery? The tragic backstory that made you devote your life to teaching brats how to summon oversized lizards?"


    Lena stared at him. Then, with deliberate slowness, she took a step closer.


    Auron didn''t move.


    He wasn''t intimidated—why would he be? She was barely taller than his shoulder, and honestly? He''d fought iron ranked beasts with more presence, plus given his latest achievement, he was more or less confident in his abilities after having roughly tuned in his strength so he didn''t break everything around him, his strength had partially integrated with him giving him the illusion he had always had it.


    "You''re awfully talkative for someone who should be getting dressed," she mused, completely unbothered by his antics.


    Auron smirked. "And you''re awfully delicate-looking for someone who''s supposed to be a teacher. Shouldn''t you be, I don''t know, scarred? Battle-hardened? Maybe missing an eye?" He gestured vaguely. "Instead, you look like you belong at some fancy noble ball, probably whining about the injustice of arranged marriages or whatever it is nobles do."


    Lena let out a soft laugh.


    Auron blinked.


    He hadn''t actually expected her to laugh. Usually, this was the part where people got flustered, annoyed, beat the crap out of him or threw something at him.


    But new instructor Lena?


    She just smiled—too sharp, too knowing—and stepped even closer.


    "Auron Raventor," she said, voice smooth. "What a glib little tongue you have."


    Auron''s smirk faltered.


    There was something wrong with her tone.


    Before he could process it, Lena moved.


    No warning. No windup.


    One second, she was standing lazily by his bed.


    The next?


    She was in front of him.


    Auron barely had time to flinch before a finger lightly tapped his forehead.


    And then—


    Pressure.


    A crushing, suffocating weight slammed into him, like an entire mountain had just been placed on his shoulders. His knees buckled instantly, his body crumpling before he even understood what was happening.


    His breath hitched.


    What—


    His mind screamed at him to resist, to push back, to fight—but it was useless. His muscles locked, his limbs refused to obey, and the air felt too thick to breathe.


    "She didn''t move. No weapons, no beasts. Just… standing there. Staring."


    Looking down at him with that same unreadable smile.


    Auron gritted his teeth, his vision blurring at the edges. "T-this… is cheating…what the fuck was this?"


    Lena crouched slightly, tilting her head. "Oh? But I thought I was delicate?"


    Auron hated the amusement in her voice.


    The pressure vanished just as suddenly as it came.


    His body sagged, lungs dragging in a desperate gulp of air as he stumbled back, heart pounding.


    Lena straightened, as if nothing had happened.


    "Get dressed, Raventor," she said lightly, turning on her heel. "I won''t ask twice."


    Auron stayed where he was, reeling.


    What… the hell was that?


    He swallowed, watching her retreating form.


    Okay.


    Maybe she wasn''t just some random rich girl .