Chapter 17: The Academy Starts Watching


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    I knew it was only a matter of time.


    After the Nullborn attack, my sudden rise in power, and my questionable new companions, the academy wasn’t just going to let me walk around unnoticed.


    I had become a variable.


    And people don’t like variables.


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    Summoned by the Elite


    The day after training with Noctis, I was summoned to the High Council Chamber.


    A place where only top-ranked students and instructors gathered.


    I wasn’t invited.


    I was ordered.


    Elias whistled when he saw the summons. "Damn, already caught their attention? That’s gotta be a new record."


    I groaned. "This is either really bad or really bad."


    Nyx hummed in my mind. "Perhaps they seek to recruit you. Or perhaps they wish to dissect you."


    "Thanks. That’s so comforting."


    Noctis grinned. "Just flash them a smile and talk in riddles. Works for me."


    I was so doomed.


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    Meeting the Council


    The chamber was huge, lined with stone pillars and floating mana crystals.


    At the center, sitting in high-backed chairs, were the academy’s top instructors and elite students.


    Kaien Aldren was there, arms crossed, watching me with thinly veiled contempt.


    Iris Fontaine, the Ice Queen, studied me with a cool, unreadable gaze.


    Instructor Vance looked bored. Instructor Selene, curious.


    And then, at the head of the room—


    Headmaster Alden Graves.


    He spoke first.


    "You are… an anomaly, Tatsuya."


    I didn’t respond. Just waited.


    "You lack a proper ranking," he continued, "yet you’ve displayed abilities far beyond your supposed level."


    His gaze darkened.


    "And now, you’ve bonded with an Eldritch Beast."


    A pause.


    Then, calmly, he asked:


    "What are you?"


    The room fell silent.


    I exhaled slowly.


    Then shrugged.


    "A really lucky C-Rank?"


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    A New Interest


    Some of them weren’t convinced.


    Some of them didn’t care.


    But one person?


    She was intrigued.


    Iris Fontaine.


    I had seen her before, but we had never spoken.


    She was an S-Rank prodigy, an ice elementalist who rarely interacted with others. Cold, distant, untouchable.


    But as I left the chamber, she approached me.


    "You’re reckless," she said.


    I raised a brow. "And you’re observant."


    A tiny smirk. "That thing you summoned. Noctis."


    He twitched his ears. "Oho, already asking about me?"


    I shot him a look. "Not helping."


    Iris ignored him. "I’ve read about creatures like that. They don’t bond easily. You must be… interesting."


    I shrugged. "Or just lucky."


    Her gaze lingered, thoughtful.


    Then, without another word, she turned and walked away.


    Nyx hummed in amusement. "She is watching you, my master."


    Noctis grinned. "Oooh, does our dear summoner have an admirer?"


    I groaned.


    I was never going to hear the end of this.


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