<h4>Chapter 3: Arcanium University</h4>


    As Ss stepped through the grand archway that marked the entrance to Arcanium University, he couldn''t help but stare in awe at the architecture. The campus sprawled out before him, a testament to centuries of magical knowledge and power.


    Towering spires of ancient stone reached towards the sky, their surfaces covered in vines. Bridges spanned the gaps between floating inds of lush gardens and shimmering pools. The entire campus hung over a vastke, its waters reflecting the magical aura that permeated the air.


    At the center of the campus stood the Grand Athenaeum, a library that housed the umted knowledge of generations of mages and schrs. Its facade was adorned with mosaics depicting great magical discoveries, legendary deeds, and the most renowned practitioners of the arcane arts.


    As Ss made his way across campus, he couldn''t help but notice the changes the school had undergone due to the war with the Fae. Gone were the specialized colleges that once focused on the various branches of magical study. Several buildings he passed by looked long abandoned and unused.


    Ss''s mind wandered to the Fae, the powerful ancient civilization that continued to wage a hundred-year war with the magical society of Eldoria. Their expansive gctic empire spanned multiple star systems and countless colonizeds they called the Fae Wilds. The magical prowess of the Sidhe, the ruling ss of the Fae, was said to surpass even the strongest mages in Eldoria.


    Shaking off these thoughts, Ss focused on his immediate surroundings. Students wearing uniforms that bore the insignia of the realm''s military hurried to their next training session. Instructors barked orders to second-years, and demonstrations of battle magic filled the air with energy and the stench of ozone.


    When he got to the registration office, there was a line going all the way around the room. As Ss stood in line, he couldn''t help but notice the group of students ahead of him. They exuded a sense of superiority, their expensive clothing and the inconsiderate way they took up space in the room setting them apart.


    The clear leader of the group, a tall, young man with chiseled features and piercing blue eyes, turned to face Ss. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said, his voice dripping with condescension.


    He extended a hand, his fingers adorned with glittering rings. "stair Devereux, of the esteemed Devereux family. And these are mypatriots, Cyrus Lockhart and Vivian Thorne."


    Cyrus, a burly young man with a shock of red hair, nodded in Ss''s direction. Vivian, a petite girl with delicate features and a mane of golden curls, offered a smile that didn''t quite reach her eyes.


    "Ss ckwood. A pleasure, I''m sure," he replied, tension coiling in his gut.


    stair had been eyeing Ss''s aviator sses the whole time. "Those are some interesting spectacles you have there. Mind if I take a closer look?"


    Ss instinctively reached up to defend the frames from being taken off his head. His heart raced at the thought of anyone seeing his eyes. "I''m afraid I can''t do that," Ss said, struggling to keep his voice steady. "These sses are... special to me. A family heirloom, you might say."


    stair''s eyes narrowed, a hint of annoyance shing across his features. "Is that so? Well, perhaps we coulde to an arrangement. You let me have those little trinkets of yours, and I''ll see to it that you''re weed into our little circle with open arms."


    Ss felt a surge of anger rising within him, his jaw clenching tightly. He knew the type all too well - the entitled, arrogant scions of wealthy families who thought they could buy and bully their way through life.


    "I appreciate the offer," Ss said, his tone icy. "But I''m afraid I''ll have to decline. My sses are not for sale or trade, and I have no interest in joining your little clique."


    stair''s face flushed with anger, his eyes shing dangerously. He opened his mouth to retort, but Ss cut him off with a raised hand.


    "Now, if you''ll excuse me, I believe it''s my turn to register." And with that, Ss brushed past the group, his head held high as he stepped up to the registration desk. What was funny is that he clearly just skipped them in line, but the group was so stunned they didn''t say a thing.


    Ss approached the registration desk, his heart pounding in his chest as he handed over his eptance letter. Thedy behind the desk, a stern-looking woman with graying hair and a no-nonsense demeanor, scrutinized the document for a moment before nodding curtly.


    "Everything seems to be in order, Mr. ckwood," she said, her voice clipped and efficient. "You''ve been assigned to Dormitory C, Room 217. Your ss schedule is as follows: Combat and Magic I at 8:00 AM, Arcane Theory at 10:30 AM, Mana Maniption at 1:00 PM, and Independent Study at 3:30 PM."


    Ss nodded, taking the offered room key and ss schedule. As he turned to leave, a sense of unease settled over him. He knew this confrontation with stair and his cronies was far from over.


    Sure enough, as he stepped out of the registration office, he found himself face to face with stair and his cronies. The entitled young man''s eyes were zing with anger, his lips twisted into a sneer.


    "You think you''re clever, don''t you?" stair hissed. "Skipping the line, disrespecting your betters. Well, let me make one thing perfectly clear, ckwood. You''re nothing. A nobody. And if you cross me again, I''ll make sure you regret it."


    After a nod to Cyrus and Vivian, stair stepped back as they shoved Ss roughly against the wall, Cyrus''s forearm pressing against his throat. Ss gasped for air, his eyes watering behind his sunsses as he struggled to breathe.


    "Those sses," stair growled, his face inches from Ss''s own. "I want them. And I always get what I want."


    Ss''s mind raced, searching for a way out of this situation. He knew he couldn''t let stair see his altered eyes, but he also didn''t want to get in trouble for fighting on the day he arrived. These chumps were nothing to him physically with his newly enhanced stats, but in terms of influence, they were dangerous.


    As panic threatened to overwhelm him, a familiar notification appeared in his mind''s eye.


    System Notification: Physical contact has been established. Initiating Drain.


    [System Notification: Host is in danger.]


    [New Quest: Defeat the hostile students.]


    A sense of calm washed over Ss. He didn''t need an excuse to fight, but the quest notification confirmed he was making the right decision. With renewed determination, he prepared to defend himself.


    Ss mmed his knee into Cyrus''s groin. Therger boy let go of Ss, his hands immediately going to cover his crotch. Ss took advantage of this, grabbing Cyrus''s head and mming his face down into another rising knee. Cyrus crumpled into a heap.


    With some arcane hand symbols and a whispered phrase, "culter spinae," Vivian pulled something out of the air. It looked to be a knife made out of arge thorn. She started to circle Ss, looking for an opening.


    Ss''s heart pounded as he watched Vivian''s movements. In a split-second decision, he grabbed the knife by the de and ripped it out of her hand. Pain shot through his palm, but he pushed it aside, knowing a health potion could fix itter.


    While she was reacting to Ss literally grabbing a knife with his bare hand, he stepped forward and performed a snap kick to her stomach, causing her to double over. Ss then performed a double hammer fist strike to her upper back, mming her to the ground.


    Now all that was left was stair. The entitled young man had grabbed the knife off the ground. He cut his wrist, and with some arcane hand symbols and a muttered, "gellum sanguinis," blood flowed out of his wrist, forming into a whip.


    stair cracked the whip and gestured Ss towards him. "Come on, ckwood."


    Ss waited, knowing just walking into range was a bad idea. His mind raced, trying to formte a n. Tired of waiting for Ss toe to him, stairshed the whip out at Ss. Being barely within range, he took three small gashes to the face.


    stair lunged forward andshed out with the whip again. With blood dripping down his face, Ss dodged it, its crimson tendrils whooshing past him. He tried to close the distance, but the whip was too versatile and had too great of a reach.


    Desperate for a solution, Ss scanned his surroundings. His gaze fell upon a rock lying on the ground. Ss scooped it up and hurled it at stair''s face.


    When the rock hit stair high on his right cheek, he reflexively closed his eyes.


    Seizing the advantage, Ssunched himself into the air, channeling all his strength into a devastating punch aimed at stair''s face.


    The punch hit him in the side of the face, knocking him to the ground, where hey still. Ss''s sses flew off his face and ttered to the ground feet away.


    Ss''s eyes were no longer hidden. They were exposed for all to see - the inky ck sclera and the glowing pink irises that marked him as something other than human.


    Panic gripped Ss as he realized his secret was exposed. He quickly scanned the area, relief washing over him when he saw no one around. Or so he thought. Unknown to Ss, another student had been walking through the alley nearby. Lyra Voidwalker had noticed the fight and decided to hide behind the wall.


    When she saw his eyes, she knew he wasn''t human. What he actually was, she was curious to find out.


    Realizing the best targets to drain mana from were bullies, Ss began draining the mana of his attackers. He started with stair [+110 mana][New spell learned: Blood Whip (tier 10 spell)], then Cyrus [ +40 mana][New spell learned: Barrier of Silence (tier 9 spell)], andstly, Vivian [+75 mana][New spell learned: Thorn Knife (Tier 10 spell)]. He ended up with [Mana: 240/25,000] and a few low tier spells for his troubles.


    As he finished draining Vivian, another system prompt appeared.


    [System Message: Would you like to loot this person''s body?]


    Ss hesitated, a mix of curiosity and guilt washing over him. He checked Vivian''s pulse, relieved to find it steady. After a moment''s consideration, he decided to ept the prompt.


    [System Message: Items added to your inventory: 40 coins, Vivian''s nt journal, Vivian''s silver gardening tools, Vivian''s bag of seeds.]


    Ss felt a weight settle in his pockets. Checking them, he found all the items already there. A wave of difort washed over him as he held Vivian''s personal items. It felt wrong, invasive. He quickly shoved the journal, tools, and seeds back into Vivian''s robe, keeping only the coins.


    He was sure stair and Cyrus had personal items and money too, but he had lingered too long. It was time to leave.


    [System Notification: Quest Completed! +5 Exp perbatant, +10 Exp for questpletion. You''ve leveled up! You are now Level 2 with 15/20 Exp. You have earned 20 affinity points. You have earned 5 ability points.]


    Ss''s mind reeled from the influx of information. He would worry about all thatter. Right now, he had to get out of here before anyone saw him.


    Suddenly, a booming voice echoed across the campus. "Attention, first-year students! Report to the Arcane Aptitude Assessment chamber immediately. Tardiness will not be tolerated."


    Ss quickly retrieved his sses, his heart still pounding from the confrontation. As he made his way towards the assessment chamber, he couldn''t shake the feeling that his life at Arcanium University was going to be far moreplicated than he had ever imagined.