The heavy silence that followed my acceptance was palpable. The four S-rank guards didn't move, but the oppressive weight of their mana eased just a fraction, signaling that I was no longer a target, for now.
Oksana leaned back into her chair, drawing one last, slow breath from her pipe.
"Well, this is our time for now, het some rest, Zenni. You are a weapon. Use that knowledge of yours in the academy to get stronger. A brave, top first-year student working as a narcotic is considered special to me. Don't disappoint your Queen."
She said, her voice dropping into a low, commanding tone that carried a chilling edge of finality. With those words, Oksana offered a silent, calculating nod of respect, dismissing me from her court.
I bowed my head in a perfectly executed show of submissive loyalty, turned on my heel, and walked out of the obsidian doors with Dorin following closely behind. The moment the heavy doors clicked shut, the suffocating pressure of the four S-ranks vanished, and I could finally breathe normally again.
As we walked through the opulent, green-glass hallways of the Emerald Spire, passing heavily armed bandits who now glared at my ivory and gold uniform with a touch of newfound caution, I leaned closer to Dorin.
"Hey, drop me off at the dorms just outside the academy gates. I need to get back, look over my materials, and blend in properly as a top student. If I miss curfew or look messy tomorrow, the faculty will start asking questions."
Dorin looked down at me, a rough, understanding grin breaking across his scarred face. To him, I was just a fiercely dedicated slum kid whose entire life revolved around his studies, a prodigy trying desperately to use books to escape the gutter, even if it meant selling his soul to the cartel at night.
"Yeah, I get it, kid, keep your head in the books by day, keep your blades sharp by night. That's how you stay alive. Let's get you back to your fancy school."
We descended the winding jade staircase and stepped out into the cool evening air. The very same heavy wooden carriage was waiting right at the doorstep of the Spire, its horses huffing patterns of vapor into the twilight.
I climbed inside, the dark curtains shutting out the final, bleeding rays of the sunset. As the carriage lurched forward, heading back down toward the academy grounds, I leaned my head against the wooden frame. The burns on my face and shoulder throbbed, but my mind was perfectly clear. I had survived the lion's den. I was officially inside the empire.
The wooden carriage rattled along the cobblestones at a medium speed, the rhythmic thudding of the horse hooves doing little to calm the storm brewing in my mind.
I pulled back the edge of the heavy window curtain just an inch and peeped outside into the darkening alleyways. My stomach dropped. Even out here, away from the slums, I could see a few students wearing the exact same ivory and gold uniforms of the Sisiphon Magic Academy. They were huddled in the shadows, their eyes glassy and vacant as they eagerly sniffed the glowing violet particles of Lotus Dust.
A heavy, bitter irony settled over my chest. I was officially the drug lord's apprentice. I was working for the very empire manufacturing the poison that was rotting the minds of my own classmates. I felt a genuine wave of disgust and guilt wash over me, but I forced my expression to remain blank, tightly maintaining the cold, detached Zenni persona. I couldn't afford a single slip of empathy.
As the carriage passed through the iron gates of the southern district, a much more immediate, stressful reality hit me.
The truth was, I had absolutely no idea where Zenni's actual room was located within the massive dorm complex, let alone how to access it without his key. I felt a sharp pang of anxiety tightening in my throat. How was I supposed to introduce myself to the dorm wardens or navigate the halls without completely blowing my cover as a regular student? I was a legendary hunter, yet the thought of getting lost in a freshman dormitory was making my palms sweat.
"Get a grip, I'll just find a way to manipulate the lock or read the heat signatures on the doors." I thought
The grand, towering structure of the academy dorms finally came into my vision, its windows beginning to light up with warm magical lamps. I let out a soft sigh, preparing to signal Dorin to stop.
But I never got the chance.
BOOM!
A sudden, violent explosion ripped through the bottom of the carriage. The concussive blast shattered the wooden floorboards into a million flying splinters, instantly throwing the carriage off its balance. The horses shrieked in terror as the entire vehicle tilted violently through the air, engulfed in a flash of hostile, roaring orange fire.