“Quiet.”
She spoke, her voice not loud, but it clearly suppressed all the chatter.
“This is Deraellan Reraellan, an exchange student from the Winter Magic Academy. He will be conducting an exchange study at our academy for one semester. Starting today, he will be attending classes with all of you.”
Deraellan offered a slight nod, the corners of his lips curling into a polite arc.
“Hello, everyone. I am Deraellan Reraellan. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
His voice was pleasant—deep and clear, like flowing water in a deep ravine, carrying a faint, subtle chill.
A round of applause broke out in the classroom.
Freya stared at that face. She looked at those deep blue eyes and that long, ice-blue hair.
Familiar. Very familiar.
‘Where have I seen him?’
She frowned, quickly searching through her memories. Then, she remembered.
The exchange competition.
During the previous Inter-Academy Magic Exchange Competition, there had been a particularly eye-catching student among the representatives from the Winter Magic Academy.
He almost never took the field, simply sitting in the audience, quietly watching the matches.
But everyone knew who he was—the top student of the Winter Magic Academy. It was said his strength was unfathomable, yet he never participated in any rankings.
Back then, she had only caught a glimpse of him from afar. But now, he had become an exchange student.
Freya’s frown deepened.
‘In my previous life… there was no such thing as an exchange student. Is my memory playing tricks on me? Or… has something changed?’
Professor Mabel began to arrange the seating. Deraellan’s gaze swept across the classroom, landing in a certain direction and pausing for a moment.
It was toward Freya.
The corners of his lips rose slightly as he gave a small nod in her direction before withdrawing his gaze and heading toward the seat Professor Mabel had assigned to him.
That look was very brief—so brief that almost no one noticed.
But Freya noticed it. And someone else noticed it too.
Lyra was slumped over her desk, her red eyes narrowing as she stared at that ice-blue back. A very faint, soft growl escaped her throat.
Halfway through the class, a sudden flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from outside. Immediately after, the classroom door was thrown open.
A person wearing the Security Team uniform rushed in, his face masked with a rare sense of panic.
“This is bad!”
He gasped for breath, his voice trembling.
“The magical beasts in the Combat Simulation Zone have gone berserk! Many of them have broken through the protection circle and started attacking people everywhere!”
The classroom broke into an uproar. Professor Mabel’s expression changed instantly.
“When did this happen?”
“Just now!” the guard said urgently.
“Everything was fine, but then those beasts suddenly went wild for some reason and smashed through several layers of Protective Barriers! They are running out now, and over a dozen people have already been injured!”
Professor Mabel turned to the students, her gaze sharp.
“Everyone stay in the classroom! You are not allowed to go outside! I am going to check the situation!”
She strode toward the door. Deraellan suddenly stood up.
“Professor, I will go with you.”
Professor Mabel glanced at him and nodded. The two of them quickly walked out of the classroom.
The door closed behind them. A deathly silence fell over the room. Then, someone whispered.
“A magical beast rampage… what does that even mean?”
No one answered him, but everyone knew the answer.
The Combat Simulation Zone of the Central Magic Academy held various grades of magical beasts for the senior students to use in practical combat training.
Those beasts were locked away behind layers of magical barriers; theoretically, escape was impossible.
But “theoretically” and “actually” were often two different things. Once those beasts truly broke through all the lines of defense…
Freya’s expression turned solemn. She looked out the window.
In the distance, toward the Combat Simulation Zone, flames were faintly rising into the sky, mingled with the roars of beasts and the screams of humans.
Her fingers slowly tightened.
Lyra leaned over, her red eyes full of worry. “Boss, what do we do?”
Freya was silent for a moment. Then, she stood up.
“You stay here.”
Lyra was stunned. “Boss, where are you going?”
Freya did not answer. She walked toward the door.
“Freya!”
Anke’s voice came from behind, filled with terror.
“Are you crazy? It is dangerous out there!”
Freya stopped in her tracks. She did not look back.
“I know.”
Then she pushed the door open and disappeared into the hallway.
Lyra froze for two seconds. Then she suddenly stood up and rushed toward the door. Anke reached out to stop her, but Lyra skillfully dodged.
“Lyra! Are you crazy too?”
Lyra did not respond. Her silhouette vanished through the doorway.
In the classroom, only a room full of terrified faces and whispers remained.
The hallway was empty, save for the chaotic sounds coming from the distance.
Lyra ran quickly, her red eyes searching everywhere for Freya. She knew the Boss must have gone to the Combat Simulation Zone.
Why? She did not know. But she knew that wherever the Boss went, she had to go too.
Turning a corner, she almost collided with someone. She skidded to a halt and looked up—ice-blue hair, deep blue eyes.
Deraellan stood before her, the corners of his lips turned up slightly. There was an indescribable meaning in that smile.
“You are… the assistant by Freya’s side?”
Lyra’s brow furrowed. She did not answer, moving to step around him.
“Don’t go,” Deraellan’s voice came from behind her, very soft.
Lyra stopped.
“She is fine,” Deraellan said. “I just wanted to confirm something.”
Lyra turned around, her red eyes staring at him. “Confirm what?”
Deraellan did not answer. He simply gazed toward the distant direction, his deep blue eyes looking as if waves were surging within them.
“Interesting,” he whispered.
Then he withdrew his gaze and looked at Lyra. Those eyes were so deep they seemed to suck in all the light.
“You have something very interesting on you.”
Lyra’s body tensed instantly. Deraellan, however, just smiled.
“Don’t be nervous. I mean no harm.”
He turned and walked in another direction. After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
“By the way.”
He did not look back.
“Tell Freya for me—we will meet again very soon.”
With that, he disappeared at the end of the hallway.
Lyra stood where she was, watching his back, her red eyes full of alertness.
This person… something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
He was more wrong than that crybaby, more wrong than that blondie, more wrong than anyone else in this Academy. She did not know where he came from, but she knew this person was dangerous.
She took a deep breath, turned, and continued running toward the Combat Simulation Zone.
Regardless of who he was. Regardless of how dangerous he was.
The Boss was there. She had to go.
—
In the distance, toward the Combat Simulation Zone, the light from the fires grew brighter and brighter.
The roars of the magical beasts shook the heavens. A storm was brewing.
When Lyra reached the edge of the Combat Simulation Zone, the scene before her made her pause.
Fire. There was fire everywhere.
The once tidy training ground was now a mess. The Protective Barriers had shattered into countless points of light, slowly drifting through the air.
Seven or eight magical beasts of various forms were rampaging through the area—there was a lion-shaped beast covered in blazing flames, a giant lizard with wings on its back, and several four-legged monsters covered in scales that she could not name.
Their eyes glowed with an abnormal red light, and their roars were loud enough to make one’s eardrums ache.
Dozens of teachers and senior students were struggling to hold them back.
Various colors of magical light intertwined in the air—flames, frost, lightning, and Wind Blades—constantly striking the beasts, but they could only temporarily force them back without truly subduing them.
Further away, teachers from the Medical Station were urgently treating the injured.
Over a dozen stretchers were lined up, holding students and teachers who had been burned or clawed. Some were still moaning, while others were already unconscious.
The white robes were stained with blood, and the air was thick with the scent of char and blood.
Lyra’s gaze searched the crowd frantically. Then, she saw Freya.
That long, light purple hair was particularly conspicuous amidst the chaos. She was walking quickly toward a familiar figure—Instructor Kanaya.
Instructor Kanaya stood at the edge of the battlefield, covered in blood, though it clearly was not her own. She was waving her arms, loudly directing the senior students’ positions and attack rhythms, her voice raspy yet still powerful.
Freya came to a halt beside her.
“Instructor Kanaya—”
Before she could finish, Kanaya spun around. When she saw that it was Freya, the face covered in dust and blood instantly erupted with fury.
“Freya?! What the hell are you doing here!”
Her voice was loud enough to drown out the roars of the distant beasts.
“What kind of excitement is a third-grade student trying to find? Get back! Immediately!”
Freya was not intimidated by her roar. “I can help.”
“Help?”
Kanaya laughed out of pure anger, raising her hand to point at the senior students who were fighting bloody battles.
“Look at who those people are! Fifth-years! Sixth-years! The elites of the combat department! You are a third-grade student from the theory department. How are you going to help? By giving them another head to claim?”
Freya pursed her lips. “My combat scores—”
“I don’t care about your combat scores!” Kanaya interrupted her.
“This isn’t a classroom, it isn’t an assessment. This is a real fight for our lives! You have never even seen the levels of those magical beasts!”
As she spoke, her body suddenly swayed. Freya was quick and supported her.
Kanaya looked down and saw a deep claw mark under her left ribs, oozing blood. She had been so focused on commanding that she had not even noticed it.
Freya’s gaze fell on the wound. “You are injured.”
“It won’t kill me.”
Kanaya brushed her hand away and stood straight, though her face had grown noticeably paler.
“You get—”
Before she could finish, a shrill scream echoed from the distance.
Both of them turned at the same time.
A senior student had been pinned to the ground by the flaming lion-shaped beast. His protective Magic Shield had already shattered, and the lion’s claws hung over his head, ready to fall at any second.
Kanaya’s expression changed. She wanted to rush over, but her body swayed, her footsteps faltering.
It was too far. There was no time.
In that instant, a light purple glow streaked past her side. It was so fast the trajectory was almost invisible.
It was Freya.
She did not know how she moved. Her body reacted faster than her consciousness.
Mana surged wildly within her, condensing into dozens of sharp Ice Spikes floating around her as she ran.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.