When Nn exited the ss, he saw the students pouring out of their various ssrooms.


    Unlike in the morning, things were quieter than usual.


    Nn''s eyes shed as he walked toward the school exit gates.


    He noticed two-star Ascendants walking among the one-star Ascendants.


    He didn''t need to be told what was happening, but everything had nothing to do with him.


    Smartly, Nn weaved through the students, using precision to avoid any gaze that lingered on him for too long.


    He made sure to evade the predatory stares.


    It hadn''t been up to five minutes when he exited the gate, finally freeing himself from the clutch of the two-star Ascendants.


    He inhaled deeply, feeling a sense of relief.


    [What? You''re scared of those jerks?] the system mocked, seeing Nn exhale after avoiding trouble.


    "No, I''m not. I just think battling for points is a waste of time. Besides, I have to get back home early," Nn replied, quickly making his way to his dorm room.


    Since all the new Ascendants had just finished their sses and were still tucked away in their teaching halls area, the streets were much quieter than usual, with only a few people passing by—mostly two-star Ascendants.


    A few eyes followed Nn as he calmly walked by, but no one made a move on him.


    They simply stared hard at him for a while before hurrying off.


    While Nn was pleased by this, he soon noticed something unusual.


    The Ascendants who had initially approached him with clear nefarious intent suddenly stopped when they were about ten meters away from him.


    They froze for a moment, then turned back and left him alone.


    And that has happened a total of three times now_ Ascendant giving him a hard stare, thier eyes shing all of a sudden and then quickly departing from him.


    [Something''s wrong. It''s like they''re afraid of you. But why would they be scared of you?]


    [ You''re just a one-star Ascendant like everyone else,] the system remarked.


    Nn''s eyes shed with a strange light, yet he acted like he was oblivious to everything happening around him.


    When he reached his dorm building, he saw a few Ascendantsughing and talking in the hallway.


    As soon as they saw Nn, three of them immediately walked toward him, seemingly blocking his path.


    One of them tried grabbing his shoulder, only to stop suddenly.


    The Ascendant stared at Nn''s shoulder in shock.


    Then, all three of them quickly moved out of his way, ignoring him as if he wasn''t even there.


    [There''s something on your shoulder,] the system immediately noted to Nn, who immediately turned to look at his right shoulder.


    His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the strange dark symbol etched onto it.


    "What the...? How did that get there?" Nn muttered in shock as he examined the symbol seemingly made from drawn with dark dust.


    It was shaped like a circle, with a total of three eyes drawn in its middle.


    What surprised Nn the most was that he knew the symbol wasn''t part of his uniform design and also wasn''t there when he had left the ssroom earlier.


    Someone must have touched him long enough to draw the symbol on him, yet Nn had no idea when or how it happened.


    With his high perception, he should''ve sensed it.


    Instinctively, Nn reached up to brush the mark off, but he was immediately stopped by the system''s notification.


    [Don''t dust it off. Take it to your room and ask Luna, she might know something,] the system advised, and Nn''s eyes brightened.


    Somehow, he also felt that the stamp had to do with some ult practice, but he couldn''t figure out what it meant.


    If there was anyone who could help, it would be Luna.


    She had spent more years in the Ascendants'' area than him and had more experience.


    She would definitely know something.


    Nn resisted the urge to brush off the stamp and continued walking.


    Just like before, the other Ascendants ignored him, their eyes shing with some hidden understanding when they spotted him.


    Nn acted oblivious, eventually arriving at the elevator.


    He swiped his runic card, and the doors opened with a ding.


    Soon, he was being whisked up to his dorm.


    Momentster, Nn arrived at the familiar ss door of his room.


    He raised his runic card and slid it into the reader.


    The door opened, and Nn stepped inside.


    The instant he entered, he felt someone''s presence.


    Bright eyes turned toward him as Luna stood in front of him with a beaming smile.


    "You''re back!" Luna called out.


    "And you''re pretty early too. 4:09. Understandable since it''s your first day in ss," she said with a shrug as Nn raised an eyebrow.


    "But you mentioned that the first day would be hectic,and so I should make sure to fill up, didn''t you?" Nn asked, recalling what Luna had told him before.


    She rolled her eyes yfully and took Nn''s bag off his back before he could  even blink.


    "Go take a shower. You''re sweating so much. Almost got in trouble, huh?" she teased with a wink.


    Nn remembered what the system had told him and tried to ask her.


    "Hey, Luna. I wanted to ask you about—"


    "Shower first!" she interrupted, her tone authoritative before disappearing into the room and shutting the door behind her.


    Nn sighed.


    Reflexively, he smiled to himself, though it was more of a resigned smile than a cheerful one.


    "I''m being bullied so unfairly…" he mused before heading to the bathroom for a quick shower.


    When he finished showering and returned to the living room, he found Luna waiting for him with a big tray of food.


    Nn didn''t need an invitation before he sat opposite her and started eating.


    As usual, Luna''s cooking tasted amazing, and after nearly 5 minutes of silent eating, Nn finally felt it was the right time to ask her.


    "Hey, Luna?"


    "Yes?"


    "I want to ask you something…"