The deep, resounding toll of a massive brass bell echoed violently through the stone corridors of the Southern Dorms, shattering the silence of the early morning.
"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"
It was 6:00 AM, the mandatory wake-up call for the students of Sisiphon Magic Academy.
Luckily, my hunter instincts had forced me to draw the heavy, dust-caked velvet curtains completely shut before I closed my eyes. As a legendary hunter of my caliber, my true biology carried a severe vulnerability, direct, unshielded morning sunlight would blister and burn my skin within minutes.
It was time to play the part of the model student.
I scrambled out of the creaking cot, rushed into the cramped bathroom, and took a freezing shower to fully wash away the lingering fatigue of the previous night's bridge massacre and jailbreak. I slipped into the pristine, freshly mended ivory and gold uniform I had taken from Josan, fastening the gold buttons precisely. To ensure not a single trace of blood or sulfur remained, I thoroughly sprayed myself with the lavender perfume.
Before leaving, I paused and stared into the vanity mirror one last time. Still nothing. The glass reflected the empty bathroom tiles behind me. I was a ghost preparing to walk among the living.
I grabbed Zenni's canvas backpack, slipping only my thick leather Registry of the Condemned inside. As I reached for the doorknob, a sharp realization hit me.
"Dammit. My protective robe." I said
In the absolute chaos of the jailbreak and shapeshifting into Miera, I had left my heavy, sun-shielding hunter's robe back in the dark corners of the Western District tailor shop. Walking out into the bright academy courtyard without a barrier against the sun was a death sentence for my skin.
I scanned the room frantically until my eyes locked onto the corner of Zenni's coatrack. Resting against the wood was a heavy, tightly furled black umbrella with a reinforced steel handle.
A slow, confident smirk crossed my face. It wasn't my usual cloak, but it would do perfectly.
I grabbed the umbrella, slung the backpack over my shoulder, and unlocked Room C-1's heavy wooden door. I stepped out into the bustling hallway, immediately blending into the sea of groggy male students wearing identical ivory and gold uniforms, ready to conquer the academy by day before running Oksana's drug empire by night.
"Huh, the morning air. It's nostalgic, Plasma." I thought to Plasma
"Come on Eirene, I thought your hunting Oksana's head, not playtime in the academy."
"It's still risky going to Oksana alone, look at the stats of the four S-ranks guards, it's a life sentence if your confront them."
The hallway of the Southern Dorm was a chaotic sea of ivory and gold as second and third-year students shuffled out of their rooms, rubbing sleep from their eyes and yawning loudly. But as I stepped into the corridor, the ambient chatter suddenly died down, replaced by a cold, heavy tension.
Heads turned. Eyes narrowed.
"Look who finally decided to show up," a second-year muttered loudly, leaning against the doorframe of Room C-3.
"Is that the slum rat from C-1?" a tall third-year sneered, crossing his arms and looking down his nose at me.
"Hey, junkie! Don't trip over your own feet today, we don't want your filth rubbing off on our uniforms, I thought the guards finally locked him away where he belongs. Smells like he bathed in cheap perfume to hide the gutter stench." another shouted, intentionally bumping his shoulder into mine as he brushed past toward the stairwell.
Instead of a standard morning greeting, the entire hallway became a gauntlet of rude expressions, venomous glares, and mocking whispers. To them, Zenni Roy was just a pathetic, low-life slumboy who had skipped a week of classes to feed a drug habit, completely unaware that the Zenni they were mocking had spent the previous night shattering an elite assassin squad and breaking out of a maximum-security cellar.
My fingers tightened around the handle of Zenni's black umbrella. A dark, predatory surge of my true mana flared just below the surface.
"I could rip the throats out of every single one of these arrogant brats before they even finish their next breath," I thought, my vision flashing crimson. My jaw clenched so hard the bone popped.
But I hesitated. I forced a slow, deep breath into my lungs, letting the lavender scent ground me.
"No, snap their necks now, and the game is over. Oksana wins. The Council finds out. Let them talk. Let them think Zenni Roy is a weak, defenseless addict." I told myself, letting my grip relax.
I lowered my head, putting on Zenni's familiar, sullen scowl, and walked silently through the gauntlet of insults, heading down the stairs toward the bright, dangerous morning courtyard.
I joined the flowing river of students emptying out of the dormitory wings. The long, winding stone staircase was packed with bodies, and as I descended, I began to see familiar faces from the first-year class. They kept their distance from me, whispering and casting suspicious sideways glances, but I ignored them entirely, keeping my eyes locked on the exit doors ahead.
The moment my boots stepped across the threshold and onto the outdoor porch, I snapped Zenni's heavy black umbrella open with a sharp thwack.
The morning sun was just peaking over the horizon, casting long, golden beams across the courtyard. I tilted the black canopy forward, completely shielding my face and upper body from the harsh rays. Beneath the dark fabric, my skin remained safe and cool.
Holding the umbrella tightly, I proceeded down the paved path toward the main courtyard gates that connected the dorms to the academic grounds. As I approached the checkpoint, a familiar towering figure caught my eye.
It was Garret.
The hulking molten metal mage was walking slowly, his eyes glued to a thick, leather-bound textbook while his heavy boots rhythmically clicked against the cobblestones. Despite his massive size and the terrifying molten metal magic he wielded, he was trying his absolute best to look like a disciplined, top-ranking model student. It was almost comical.
"Morning, Garret," I called out in Zenni's casual, slum-born tone, tilting the umbrella back just enough so he could see my face in the shadows.
Garret paused, shifting his gaze from the book to me. His brow furrowed, his usual edgy, brooding personality instantly taking over as his jaw clenched. He stared at me for a long, tense moment, likely remembering how I had systematically dismantled him in our duel yesterday.
"Good morning, Zenni," he muttered, his voice dropping into a low, gruff rumble.
He didn't say another word, snapping his book shut and speeding up his pace to distance himself from me.
"Still as charming as ever," I thought with a mental smirk.
I walked up to the heavy iron gates of the Southern Dorm perimeter. A glowing blue mana scanner was embedded into the stone pillar. I reached out, firmly pressed my thumb against the glass interface, and waited.
[Ding!]
[Zenni Roy: First-Year Apprentice. Clear to Exit.]
The heavy iron gates swung open with a mechanical groan. I stepped through the threshold, leaving the restrictive walls of the dormitory behind as I walked onto the grand, sunlit main campus of the Sisiphon Magic Academy, ready to see what Oksana and the High Council had in store for me today.