[The Abyssal Academy - The Grand Dining Hall]
The Grand Dining Hall smelled of spoiled meat, stale ale, and dried blood. The cavernous room was a warzone. Two thousand aspiring dark mages, assassins, and demonkin were throwing heavy oak chairs, shattering plates, and brawling over the meager rations provided by the crumbling academy's kitchens.
Victor Thorne stood on the elevated Headmaster's balcony, looking down at the chaos. He wore his immaculate midnight-blue suit, his hands resting calmly on the stone railing. The freezing wind howling through the broken skylights didn't seem to touch him.
To his right, Princess Ignis stood with her arms crossed. Her golden eyes tracked the brawling students, the thin, glowing chain of her 500,000 Gold debt contract linking her wrist to Victor's shadow.
"They haven't had a proper meal in three weeks," Ignis muttered, her demonic fangs bared. "The previous Principal hoarded the budget. If you don't feed them, they will tear this castle apart brick by brick."
"They are destroying academy property," Victor replied flatly, pulling his gold pocket watch from his vest. "And according to the Tycoon's Ledger, the student body has not paid a single copper of tuition in seventy-two months. They are freeloaders. I do not subsidize freeloaders."
Victor snapped his pocket watch shut. The sharp, metallic click somehow echoed louder than the rioting below.
"Seraphina," Victor said without turning around.
The Dark Elf stepped out of the shadows, her violet eyes gleaming as she adjusted her glasses. "The kitchen staff has been liquidated, Principal Thorne. The new catering assets are in place."
"Excellent. Initiate the rollout."
Victor raised his hand. A blinding pulse of golden energy shot from his Tycoon's Ledger, slamming into the vaulted ceiling. The magical shockwave silenced the room instantly. Two thousand violent students froze, looking up at the balcony.
"Students of the Abyssal Academy," Victor's voice amplified, carrying the heavy, suffocating weight of his Tycoon's Aura. "The era of free mediocrity is over. The dining hall is now a privatized commercial enterprise."
Down on the floor, a towering Orc with a spiked club laughed, spitting a glob of black blood onto the stone. "We take what we want, human! We're villains! If you don't give us the food, we'll eat you!"
Victor didn't flinch. He just gave a slight nod to Seraphina.
The massive iron double-doors of the kitchen violently burst open.
Stepping into the dining hall was the Class-A Chimera—the massive, steel-plated Abomination Victor had repossessed from Professor Morbus. It wore a giant, hilariously oversized high-vis yellow vest. Around its neck hung a golden digital barcode reader.
The Orc dropped his club, his jaw going slack in pure terror.
"This is your new Lunch Lady," Victor announced coldly, leaning over the balcony. "The gruel is gone. From today, we serve Grade-A roasted Griffin, enchanted elixirs, and imported Demon-Realm steaks. However, access to the buffet is strictly paywalled."
Victor tapped his gold-nibbed fountain pen against his ledger.
"Basic meals are fifty Gold. Premium meals are one hundred. If you attempt to steal, the Chimera will process you as a delinquent asset. If you cannot afford to eat, my Head of Operations will gladly provide you with a high-interest micro-loan."
The students stared in horrified silence at the massive, drooling monster guarding the buffet tables.
"Welcome to the free market," Victor adjusted his cuffs. "Bon appétit."