The combat grounds of Aetherial Institute were overflowing with life.
Thousands of students occupied the massive open training field.
Ancient stone arenas spread across the landscape like giant chessboards.
Weapon racks lined the edges.
Protective magic barriers shimmered faintly beneath the afternoon sunlight.
The distant sounds of metal clashing against metal echoed continuously.
Laughter.
Arguments.
Boasting.
Challenges.
The atmosphere felt alive.
Dangerously alive.
Kel and Luna walked toward the gathering students.
The moment they entered the grounds, Kel quietly spoke within his mind.
"Status."
Instantly—
A translucent window appeared before his eyes.
Invisible to everyone else.
Completely private.
Only Kel could see it.
As always, the System remained silent.
No quests.
No rewards.
No advice.
Merely information.
A passive ledger recording his existence.
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Kel von Rosenfeld
Current Identity: Aedon Flinth
Race: Human
Titles: Nameless Scholar, Frontier Lord, Leviathan Conqueror, Hidden Sovereign
Level: Hidden
Aura: Sealed
Mana: Sealed
Current Seal Percentage: 99%
Primary Weapon Masteries: Sword, Spear
Skills: Hidden
Known Elements: Hidden
Current Condition: Excellent
Kel glanced over it briefly.
Nothing had changed significantly.
Good.
The window vanished.
The academy returned.
Students.
Noise.
Chaos.
Unfortunately—
The instructor had already arrived.
A large man stood upon the central platform.
His broad shoulders made him resemble a walking fortress.
The moment he spoke, his voice echoed throughout the grounds.
"Students."
Instant silence followed.
Even the loudest troublemakers became quiet.
The instructor folded his arms.
"Today we will conduct partner combat exercises."
A collective groan spread throughout the crowd.
The instructor ignored it.
"Each of you will select a weapon of your desire."
"After selecting your weapon, you will draw a number."
"The student holding the matching number becomes your partner."
The crowd immediately became interested.
The instructor continued.
"The first half of the day will be used to understand your partner."
"Learn each other's strengths."
"Discuss teamwork."
"Develop strategies."
His gaze swept across the field.
Then his expression became dangerous.
"The second half..."
A smile appeared.
A very unpleasant smile.
"You will participate in team battles."
The students immediately felt danger.
Great danger.
The instructor nodded.
"Excellent."
"Now stop wasting my time."
"Go choose your weapons."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Chaos erupted.
Absolute chaos.
Students sprinted toward weapon racks.
Swords.
Spears.
Axes.
Daggers.
Staves.
Bows.
Everything immediately became crowded.
Meanwhile—
Kel simply walked.
No rush.
No panic.
No excitement.
Unlike most students, he already knew what he wanted.
Luna stared.
Then sighed.
"Sometimes I think you're incapable of behaving normally."
Kel looked confused.
"I am walking."
"Everyone else is running."
"That sounds exhausting."
Luna couldn't even argue.
Because he sounded completely sincere.
The pair separated near the weapon sections.
Students flooded every corner.
Kel slowly moved through the weapon racks.
His attention wasn't focused on the weapons.
Not entirely.
Instead—
He observed the students.
Again.
Many immediately selected swords.
Predictable.
Swords remained the most popular weapon.
Others chose spears.
Axes.
Daggers.
Several mages grabbed staves.
Nothing unusual.
Kel quietly observed.
Interesting.
Weapon preferences often revealed personality.
A reckless student preferred heavy weapons.
A patient student preferred bows.
A practical student preferred spears.
People revealed more than they realized.
Eventually he reached the archery section.
Rows of bows rested upon wooden stands.
Simple bows.
War bows.
Composite bows.
Magical bows.
Dozens of designs.
Kel picked one up.
Examined it.
Returned it.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Nothing felt right.
The bows weren't bad.
Far from it.
Aetherial Institute possessed exceptional equipment.
But none of them interested him.
Several minutes passed.
Kel was already considering changing weapons.
Then—
His eyes stopped.
Interesting.
A weapon rested quietly within a forgotten corner.
Unlike the others, it looked unusual.
Elegant.
Practical.
Dangerous.
Kel picked it up.
The bow possessed dark silver limbs reinforced with enchanted steel.
The grip contained hidden mechanisms.
The edges appeared surprisingly sharp.
Then he discovered the interesting part.
The bow could transform.
With a slight movement—
Click.
The structure shifted.
The limbs folded.
The weapon transformed into a sword.
Kel blinked.
Then transformed it back.
Then again.
Bow.
Sword.
Bow.
Sword.
A smile slowly appeared.
Now this was interesting.
A weapon capable of functioning in both ranged and close combat.
Exactly the sort of practical design he appreciated.
If arrows ran out—
Sword.
If enemies remained distant—
Bow.
Simple.
Efficient.
Useful.
Kel immediately decided.
"This one."
Nearby students glanced toward him.
Then immediately looked away.
Because unlike everyone else—
Kel looked genuinely happy after finding a weapon.
A concerning sight.
...
Several minutes later.
The weapon selection phase ended.
Students lined up before a large box.
Inside were numbered wooden tokens.
One by one they selected numbers.
When Kel's turn arrived—
He reached inside.
Pulled out a token.
Then looked down.
90
A perfectly ordinary number.
Or so he thought.
Kel placed the token into his pocket and stepped aside.
The instructor raised his voice.
"Find your partners."
The world immediately exploded.
Absolute chaos.
"NUMBER TWELVE!"
"WHO HAS TWELVE?!"
"I HAVE THIRTY-SEVEN!"
"FIFTY-ONE!"
"SEVENTY-THREE!"
The combat grounds transformed into a marketplace.
Students ran everywhere.
People shouted.
Others climbed obstacles.
Several waved numbers above their heads.
One student somehow fell into a training dummy.
Another accidentally challenged the wrong person.
The entire situation became absurd.
Kel watched quietly.
The scene was strangely entertaining.
Far away beneath Scarder Lake—
Seiren's voice echoed inside his mind.
"Humans truly enjoy creating disorder."
Kel nodded internally.
"They're surprisingly talented at it."
"Is this training?"
"Technically."
"Fascinating."
The goddess sounded highly amused.
Meanwhile—
Kel slowly began searching for Number Ninety.
No rush.
No urgency.
The partner would eventually appear.
Then—
He saw it.
A hand raised above the crowd.
A wooden token.
The number engraved upon it was unmistakable.
90
Kel immediately looked toward its owner.
Then froze.
"..."
The world became silent.
At least from his perspective.
Because standing there—
Holding Number Ninety—
Was the crimson-haired girl.
One of the three descendants from the Seven Pillar Houses.
The same girl he had identified earlier.
The same girl approaching professor-level combat capability.
The same girl radiating dangerous energy.
For several seconds—
Kel stared.
The girl stared.
Then—
Without saying a word—
Kel turned around.
And walked away.
Very quickly.
Not running.
Definitely not running.
Merely moving with unusual determination.
The crimson-haired girl blinked.
Confused.
Several nearby students blinked.
Also confused.
Meanwhile inside Kel's head—
A simple thought echoed.
Too early.
He wanted to become friends eventually.
Eventually.
Not today.
Not immediately.
Definitely not through forced partner assignments.
Unfortunately—
Fate clearly disagreed.
Kel attempted another strategy.
Perhaps he could exchange numbers.
A simple solution.
Reasonable.
Practical.
So he approached another student.
"Would you like to trade?"
The student looked interested.
Then glanced at Kel's token.
Then toward the crimson-haired girl.
Then immediately paled.
"No."
The answer arrived instantly.
Kel blinked.
The student backed away.
Rapidly.
Kel tried another.
Same result.
A third.
Same result.
Eventually curiosity overcame him.
"Why?"
The student looked horrified.
"You don't know?"
"Know what?"
The student pointed toward the crimson-haired girl.
Then lowered his voice.
"That's Lady Valeryn."
Several nearby students immediately nodded.
With the seriousness of war veterans discussing a natural disaster.
Another student joined.
"You've never met her?"
"No."
The crowd looked shocked.
Genuinely shocked.
Then one student spoke carefully.
"As someone who values his continued survival..."
"I strongly advise caution."
Kel blinked.
The warning sounded excessive.
Another student nodded.
"Very excessive caution."
A third added—
"She has a temper."
A fourth corrected him.
"That's an understatement."
The third student reconsidered.
"Fair."
Then the fourth continued.
"She gets angry quickly."
"Very quickly."
The fifth student nodded.
"Extremely quickly."
The sixth looked traumatized.
"Once she broke three training dummies."
Kel frowned.
"That doesn't sound unusual."
The student looked offended.
"With one punch."
Silence.
Then another student added—
"Before asking questions."
A second nodded.
"She punches first."
A third nodded.
"Then asks questions."
A fourth shook his head.
"Sometimes she skips the questions entirely."
The group collectively shivered.
Kel stared.
Then slowly turned toward the crimson-haired girl.
Who was still standing there.
Patiently.
Watching.
Waiting.
The moment she noticed him looking—
She raised the Number Ninety token again.
Like a reminder.
Like a threat.
Possibly both.
Several nearby students immediately retreated.
One stepped backward.
Then another.
Then another.
Within seconds a noticeable empty space surrounded Kel.
The speed was impressive.
Almost artistic.
Luna arrived at that exact moment.
Then noticed the situation.
The empty circle.
The frightened students.
The crimson-haired girl.
And Kel.
She blinked.
Several times.
Then asked—
"What happened?"
One student immediately answered.
"He got Number Ninety."
Luna looked confused.
"So?"
The student pointed.
Toward the crimson-haired girl.
Recognition appeared.
Then sympathy.
Deep sympathy.
Luna placed a hand on Kel's shoulder.
"Aedon."
"Yes?"
"Good luck."
Kel stared.
"You aren't helping."
"No."
She nodded seriously.
"I'm not."
Far away beneath Scarder Lake—
Seiren laughed so hard the telepathic connection nearly vibrated.
Kel immediately regretted existing.
Meanwhile—
Across the training grounds—
The crimson-haired girl folded her arms.
Her crimson eyes locked onto him.
Sharp.
Confident.
Dangerous.
Like a warrior waiting for battle.
And somehow—
Kel had the distinct feeling that his peaceful afternoon had just died.
A tragic death.
One worthy of mourning.
Because whether he liked it or not—
Partner Number Ninety had already found him.