1:00 A.M.
The Royal Necromancer Academy was silent.
Most students were asleep, exhausted after a day of exploring the campus, unpacking their belongings, and making plans for their new academic lives.
Room Seven was no exception.
Rayan Zu lay comfortably in bed, sleeping so deeply that the collapse of civilization probably wouldn't have awakened him.
His blanket was twisted around his legs.
One arm hung over the edge of the mattress.
His mouth was slightly open.
It was not an intimidating sight.
It was not the appearance of a future legendary necromancer.
It was the appearance of someone who had eaten too much and walked too far.
Then—
Click.
The window opened.
A small figure slipped silently into the room.
She wore an oversized coat over her clothes, and her light-blue hair looked almost silver beneath the moonlight.
She closed the window carefully.
Then she turned toward the sleeping boy.
It was Seraphina Veyr.
The Witch of Death.
The principal of the Royal Necromancer Academy.
The leader of the Necromancer Alliance.
The woman whose name alone could silence powerful necromancers.
And right now, she was sneaking into a first-year student's bedroom like a mischievous child.
Seraphina examined the sleeping Rayan.
She tilted her head.
Then she walked toward the bed.
She stopped beside him.
Waited.
And suddenly leaned close to his ear.
"Good morning, Rayan."
Rayan's eyes flew open.
He grabbed his pillow and swung it defensively.
"THE WHALE IS BACK!"
The pillow struck empty air.
Seraphina stepped aside with effortless ease.
Rayan blinked several times.
Then he recognized the little girl standing beside his bed.
His face went pale.
"...You?"
Seraphina smiled.
"Good morning!"
Rayan looked toward the window.
Then at her.
Then toward the window again.
He finally glanced at the clock.
1:00 A.M.
He stared at it for several seconds.
Then he turned back toward Seraphina.
"Lady Seraphina."
"Yes?"
"It's one in the morning."
"Correct."
"That is not morning."
"Technically, it is."
Rayan opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Then pulled his blanket over himself.
"Please leave."
Seraphina blinked.
"How rude."
"Rude?!" Rayan sat up. "You entered my room in the middle of the night through a window!"
"Your window was unlocked."
"That doesn't make it an invitation!"
Seraphina considered his argument.
Then she nodded thoughtfully.
"That's a fair point."
Rayan waited.
"Are you going to leave?"
"No."
He fell backward onto his pillow.
Grandpa, I've discovered a new kind of monster.
It's small, loves ice cream, and has absolutely no respect for other people's sleep.
The Principal's Business Proposal
Seraphina pulled a chair toward the bed and sat down.
Rayan watched her suspiciously.
"What do you want?"
"I have a deal for you."
"I decline."
"You haven't heard the deal."
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"I trust my instincts."
"One hundred gold coins."
Rayan sat upright.
"...What?"
Seraphina smiled.
"One hundred gold coins."
The room became completely silent.
Rayan looked at her.
Then at the window.
Then at her again.
His sleepy expression vanished as if someone had poured cold water over his head.
"Please, Lady Seraphina. Let us discuss this proposal in a professional manner."
Seraphina's smile widened.
"How quickly your attitude changed."
"That's because I'm a reasonable person who respects business opportunities."
"Didn't you just tell me to leave?"
"That was before I understood the depth of your generosity."
Seraphina giggled.
Rayan folded his hands on his lap.
"Please continue, Principal."
"Much better."
She leaned forward.
"Tell me, Rayan. How many of your family's four shadow techniques have you mastered?"
Rayan froze.
His smile disappeared.
For the first time since waking up, he was fully alert.
How does she know about the four techniques?
Grandpa had specifically warned him not to reveal the family's secret techniques casually.
The techniques had been developed through generations of research, and knowledge of them was carefully protected.
Yet Seraphina had asked about them as though she already knew the entire secret.
Rayan studied her face.
She looked completely relaxed.
Almost as if she had asked him what he had eaten for breakfast.
"One."
Seraphina's eyes brightened.
"Shadow Space?"
Rayan's heart skipped a beat.
She even knows the name!
He maintained a calm expression with considerable effort.
"Yes."
Seraphina nodded.
"Interesting."
Rayan watched her closely.
"May I ask how you learned about my family's techniques?"
"You may."
She paused.
Rayan waited.
Seraphina smiled.
"But I haven't decided whether I'll answer."
Rayan stared at her.
One hundred gold coins.
Powerful principal.
Terrible manners.
Extremely suspicious.
I should have become a baker.
The Second Technique
Seraphina rested her chin on her hands.
"Your family possesses another interesting technique called Shadow Eye."
Rayan's expression changed.
Shadow Eye.
He had heard of it, but he had never personally mastered it.
If Shadow Space allowed him to store objects within a separate space connected to his shadow, then Shadow Eye appeared to offer something different.
Something that could make observation far easier.
Seraphina continued.
"If you master Shadow Eye before your first day of classes, I'll tell you something interesting about it."
Rayan narrowed his eyes.
"Something interesting?"
"Yes."
"Something worth one hundred gold coins?"
Seraphina tilted her head.
"Perhaps."
"Perhaps?"
"Definitely interesting."
"That is not a satisfactory business description!"
Seraphina laughed.
Rayan sighed.
He was beginning to understand why the most powerful necromancer in the world could wander around the city buying ice cream without anyone suspecting her identity.
She was unpredictable.
And probably dangerous in ways he hadn't yet imagined.
Still, a hundred gold coins was a hundred gold coins.
That amount could buy useful equipment, books, and supplies.
It was a sum worth taking seriously.
"Fine," Rayan said. "I'll try to master Shadow Eye before classes begin."
"Excellent!"
"But I have one condition."
Seraphina looked at him.
"What condition?"
"I want an advance payment."
She stared at him.
Rayan stared back.
"An advance payment?" she repeated.
"Yes. One hundred gold coins."
"But I said I'd pay you if you mastered the technique."
"Exactly. And I'm asking you to demonstrate your sincerity before I begin working."
Seraphina's expression became thoughtful.
Then she smiled.
"How about this? Master the technique first, and then we'll discuss payment."
Rayan slowly lowered his head.
"I knew it."
"You knew what?"
"That adults cannot be trusted."
Seraphina's smile vanished.
"Rayan."
"Yes, Principal?"
"I'm not that old."
"Of course not."
"How old do you think I am?"
Rayan immediately regretted the question.
He looked at her light-blue hair, her small face, and her oversized coat.
He remembered the stories about the Witch of Death, who had destroyed invading armies and commanded terrifying undead.
He decided that guessing her age would be a terrible mistake.
"Old enough to be respected."
Seraphina stared at him.
Then she burst into laughter.
"Excellent answer!"
Rayan wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.
That was close.
The Principal's Exit
Seraphina stood up.
"Well, Rayan Zu, I look forward to seeing what you can accomplish."
"Wait."
She turned.
"Yes?"
"You haven't told me how you know about Shadow Eye."
Seraphina smiled mysteriously.
"That's part of the deal."
"And the one hundred gold coins?"
"Also part of the deal."
Rayan stared at her.
"So you're leaving me with a secret technique to learn, a mysterious promise, and absolutely no money?"
"Now you're understanding the arrangement!"
"That's not an arrangement! That's exploitation!"
Seraphina giggled and walked toward the window.
Rayan watched her with growing suspicion.
"Principal, the door is over there."
"I know."
"Then why are you going toward the window?"
"Because I came through the window."
She opened it.
Rayan's eyes widened.
"Wait! You're on the second floor!"
Seraphina looked back at him.
"Yes?"
"Are you planning to jump?!"
"Of course."
"THAT IS NOT NORMAL!"
Seraphina gave him a cheerful wave.
"Good night, Rayan!"
Then she jumped.
He leaned out and looked down.
Nothing.
No little girl.
No coat.
No sound of footsteps.
No sign that anyone had been there at all.
He looked left.
Then right.
Then up at the night sky.
The academy grounds were quiet beneath the moonlight.
Seraphina had simply vanished.
Rayan slowly pulled his head back inside.
He closed the window.
Locked it.
Checked the lock.
Then checked it again.
Finally, he drew the curtains.
"...I'm definitely going to need stronger windows."
He stood in the middle of the room, trying to understand what had just happened.
The principal had entered his room at one in the morning.
She knew about his family's four shadow techniques.
She had asked him to master Shadow Eye.
She had promised him one hundred gold coins.
And then she had jumped out of a second-floor window and disappeared into the night.
Rayan sat down on his bed.
He looked at the window.
Then at the ceiling.
Then at his hands.
"Is this what attending the best academy in the kingdom is supposed to be like?"
No one answered.
Rayan pulled the blanket over himself.
"Fine. I'll learn Shadow Eye tomorrow."
He paused.
"After breakfast."
Another pause.
"Actually, after lunch."
He lay down.
"Definitely after lunch."
Within minutes, he was asleep again.
The window remained firmly locked.
For the rest of the night, at least.
The Morning After
The next morning, Rayan woke up and rubbed his eyes.
For a moment, he couldn't remember why he had gone to sleep feeling so uneasy.
Then he remembered Seraphina.
He sat upright.
"Shadow Eye!"
He immediately jumped out of bed.
Then his stomach growled.
Rayan stopped.
He looked toward the door.
He looked toward his desk.
He thought about the hundred gold coins.
Then he thought about breakfast.
After several seconds of intense internal conflict, he nodded.
"Food first."
He washed up and headed toward the cafeteria.
It's not procrastination.
It's preparation.
My brain needs food before it can master a secret technique.
He found Ran and Liora at their usual table.
Ran looked at him suspiciously.
"Why do you look so excited?"
"I'm always excited."
"No, you're usually sleepy."
"That's a cruel misunderstanding."
Liora smiled.
"Did something happen?"
Rayan hesitated.
Should he tell them that the principal had secretly entered his room in the middle of the night?
Absolutely not.
They would either laugh at him or demand to know why he had failed to stop her.
Possibly both.
"Nothing important," he replied.
Ran narrowed her eyes.
"You're hiding something."
"Of course not."
"You're making your suspicious face."
"I have many faces."
"Yes. Suspicious, sleepy, hungry, and confused."
Liora laughed.
Rayan sighed.
One day, I will learn to keep a straight face around these two.
They ate breakfast together and discussed their plans for the day.
After finishing his meal, Rayan returned to his room.
This time, he went directly to his desk.
No detours.
No naps.
No distractions.
He opened the storage space he had access to and carefully retrieved the three scrolls Grandpa had given him.
He placed them on the desk.
For a moment, he simply stared at them.
Three scrolls.
Three secrets.
And one hundred gold coins potentially waiting at the end of his efforts.
Rayan rubbed his hands together.
"All right. Let's see what Grandpa left me."
He unrolled the first scroll.
Shadow Eye.
His expression grew serious.
He set the other two aside for the moment.
One was titled Shadow Devour.
The other was titled Shadow Exchange.
Rayan glanced at their names.
"Shadow Devour sounds dangerous."
He glanced at Shadow Exchange.
"And that one sounds like it could cause trouble."
Then he looked back at Shadow Eye.
"Let's begin with the least suspicious one."
He unrolled the scroll completely.
And for the first time since arriving at the academy, Rayan Zu began studying one of his family's secret shadow techniques in earnest.
He had no idea whether he would master it before classes began.
He had no idea what Seraphina intended to tell him.
But he knew one thing with absolute certainty.
If the Witch of Death was offering one hundred gold coins, he intended to collect every single one.
Preferably without another midnight visit.