By the time Rayan Zu arrived at the cafeteria, he was already thinking about Shadow Eye.
Unfortunately, his stomach had other plans.
It demanded food.
Immediately.
Rayan collected his dinner and spotted Ran and Liora sitting at their usual table.
He joined them.
Ran took one look at his face and frowned.
"Rayan, what happened to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You look like you fought a ghost."
Liora studied him carefully.
"Actually, he looks like he fought a ghost, lost, and then spent the afternoon arguing with the ghost's family."
Rayan sat down.
"Thank you both for your concern."
"You're welcome," Ran replied cheerfully.
"I wasn't thanking you."
"We know."
Rayan sighed and began eating.
After a few moments, Ran leaned forward.
"You really spent the entire day practicing that technique?"
"Most of it."
"And you still haven't mastered it?"
Rayan paused with his spoon halfway to his mouth.
"Do you want me to answer honestly or preserve our friendship?"
"Honestly."
"Then no. I haven't mastered it."
Ran nodded sympathetically.
Liora smiled.
"Don't worry. Some techniques take time to understand."
"That's what I keep telling myself."
"Besides," Liora continued, "you've already mastered Shadow Space. You can do this too."
Rayan appreciated her encouragement.
Unlike Ran, who sometimes treated his difficulties as an opportunity for entertainment, Liora seemed genuinely interested in helping him.
Then Ran added, "If you can't do it, you can always ask Grandpa for help."
Rayan looked at her.
"I can do it."
"Of course."
"I just need more time."
"Naturally."
"I will master it."
"Absolutely."
Rayan narrowed his eyes.
"Why do I feel as though you're not taking me seriously?"
Ran smiled sweetly.
"Because you're very perceptive."
Liora quickly intervened before the conversation could deteriorate.
"How about this? Rayan can practice tonight, and tomorrow we can celebrate his success."
Rayan looked at her.
"And if I fail?"
"We'll celebrate your effort."
"And if I don't even make progress?"
"We'll celebrate the fact that you tried."
Rayan slowly nodded.
"That sounds suspiciously like a plan designed to make sure you get to eat something delicious regardless of the result."
Liora blinked.
Then she smiled.
"Would you like to celebrate with us?"
"No."
"Then you can practice harder."
Ran burst out laughing.
Rayan wondered whether making friends had been a terrible decision.
He finished his meal, exchanged a few more jokes with the girls, and returned to his dormitory.
There was no time to waste.
Only one day remained before the academy's classes began.
If he wanted to claim the hundred gold coins promised by Seraphina Veyr, he needed to master Shadow Eye before then.
One hundred gold coins.
The thought alone was enough to restore some of his determination.
"One hundred gold coins," he whispered as he entered his room.
Then he closed the door.
"That's a lot of ice cream."
He stopped.
"No. Wait. That's what the Witch of Death would say."
He shook his head and sat down.
"Focus, Rayan. Focus."
That night, Rayan began his practice again.
He sat cross-legged on the floor and allowed his shadow to separate from his body.
It rose before him, stretching into a dark humanlike figure.
Rayan closed his eyes.
He searched for the connection.
At first, he found nothing.
He relaxed.
He tried again.
A faint sensation appeared at the edge of his awareness.
There.
He carefully followed it.
The connection seemed delicate, as though the slightest disturbance could make it disappear.
Rayan resisted the urge to rush.
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Instead, he concentrated on maintaining the connection.
Once he could sense it clearly, he began transferring a tiny amount of mental energy.
The process was painfully slow.
It felt as though he were trying to pour water through a needle.
He sent a little mental energy forward.
Then he waited.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
A little more mental energy moved through the connection.
His shadow trembled.
Rayan's eyes snapped open.
"Did you move?"
The shadow stood motionless.
He stared at it.
"Don't pretend you didn't. I saw that."
Of course, the shadow didn't answer.
Rayan took a deep breath and continued.
Minute after minute passed.
He gradually became better at sensing the connection. Each attempt taught him something new about the faint link between himself and the shadow.
He began to understand that he couldn't simply force his mental energy through it.
He needed to guide it.
Carefully.
Patiently.
The first time he had tried, he had treated the connection as though it were a rope he could pull.
Now he imagined it as a narrow path.
He didn't need to drag his mental energy along the path.
He needed to let it flow.
A tiny amount of energy passed through.
Then another.
Rayan's lips curled into a smile.
"That's it..."
He continued.
The room was silent except for his slow breathing.
Outside, the academy gradually settled into darkness.
Students returned to their dormitories. Doors closed. Footsteps faded.
Rayan noticed none of it.
His entire attention was focused on the connection between himself and his shadow.
Slowly, his mental energy began reaching the separated shadow.
And then—
Rayan felt something change.
For the briefest moment, his awareness seemed to shift.
He could almost perceive something from the shadow's position.
But before he could understand what had happened, the sensation vanished.
His head began to ache.
His mental energy was nearly depleted.
Rayan opened his eyes and looked at the shadow standing before him.
He was breathing heavily.
His forehead was damp with sweat.
Yet he couldn't help smiling.
"I felt it."
He had finally transferred his mental energy through the connection.
It wasn't enough to master the technique.
But it was the first real breakthrough.
Rayan let his shadow return to his feet and lay down on the bed.
He intended to rest for a few minutes.
Just a few minutes.
Unfortunately, his exhausted body had other ideas.
The moment his head touched the pillow, sleep dragged him under.
The next morning, Rayan woke up with dark circles beneath his eyes.
He stared at the ceiling.
Then he slowly turned his head toward the window.
Sunlight streamed into the room.
He had practiced throughout the night.
And he had slept for almost none of it.
"...I look terrible."
He sat up and rubbed his face.
His reflection in the window looked like someone who had spent three days exploring a haunted graveyard.
Perhaps that was appropriate.
He had spent the entire night staring at his own shadow.
At least a ghost might have offered some useful advice.
Rayan washed his face, changed his clothes, and headed to the cafeteria.
Ran spotted him immediately.
Her eyes widened.
"Rayan!"
"What?"
"What happened to your face?"
Rayan sat down.
"I was practicing."
"All night?"
"Yes."
Ran stared at him.
Liora looked equally concerned.
"You should have rested," she said. "Mental energy needs time to recover. If you exhaust yourself too much, your concentration will suffer."
"I know."
"Then why didn't you stop?"
Rayan picked up his spoon.
"Because I was close."
Ran sighed.
"You're impossible."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I know."
Liora pushed a glass of water toward him.
"Eat properly, then get some rest. You won't be able to practice effectively if you're exhausted."
Rayan accepted the water.
He knew they were right.
He had made progress during the night, but he couldn't continue endlessly without recovering his mental energy.
Besides, he had already spent enough time looking like a walking corpse.
He didn't need to become one.
After breakfast, Rayan returned to his room and slept.
This time, he didn't set an alarm.
He didn't wake until the afternoon.
When he finally opened his eyes, he felt considerably better.
The dark circles beneath his eyes had faded slightly, and his mental energy had recovered.
Rayan sat up.
"All right."
He clenched his fist.
"Round two."
He washed his face, drank some water, and sat cross-legged on the floor.
This time, he approached the technique differently.
He didn't rush to separate his shadow.
He first concentrated on sensing the connection while the shadow remained attached to his body.
He followed that familiar sensation carefully.
Then, without losing his concentration, he allowed the shadow to extend away from him.
The connection grew faint.
But Rayan didn't panic.
He had felt this before.
He knew what he was searching for.
He relaxed his mind and followed the connection.
Slowly, the sensation returned.
Rayan carefully guided his mental energy along it.
This time, he didn't try to force it.
He let it flow.
A small amount of mental energy passed through the connection.
Then more.
Then more still.
The shadow standing in front of him suddenly became clearer in his awareness.
Rayan felt as though his consciousness had reached a second pair of eyes.
His own eyes remained closed.
Yet he could perceive the room from a different position.
The bed.
The desk.
The window.
His scrolls.
Everything appeared from the shadow's perspective.
Rayan's heart began pounding.
He had done it.
He had finally established the connection and transferred his mental energy successfully.
Shadow Eye had been activated.
Rayan opened his eyes.
His irises had turned completely black.
He looked toward the shadow.
Then he concentrated again.
His vision shifted.
Now he could see from the shadow's position without turning his head.
He could observe the room through his shadow's eyes while still sitting on the floor.
A grin spread across his face.
"Hahaha!"
He laughed so suddenly that a student passing outside his room stopped walking.
"Is someone dying in there?"
Rayan ignored the voice.
He was too excited.
He had finally mastered another of his family's secret techniques.
First, Shadow Space.
Now, Shadow Eye.
He could already imagine the possibilities.
He could observe a distant location without physically going there. He could use his separated shadow to investigate unfamiliar places. He could watch for danger without exposing himself.
Of course, there was one important limitation.
He couldn't hear anything through the shadow.
Shadow Eye transmitted sight, not sound.
Still, that was an incredible ability.
Rayan recalled Seraphina's promise.
One hundred gold coins.
And some mysterious information.
His smile grew wider.
"Excellent."
He returned his shadow to its normal position and leaned back.
He could visit Seraphina's office immediately.
But he stopped himself.
The technique had exhausted him once again, and there was no reason to rush.
He would rest, recover, and visit her the next morning.
That was the sensible plan.
A calm, reasonable, mature plan.
Rayan nodded to himself.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll collect my reward."
Then he glanced toward the window.
It was still open.
He frowned.
"...I should close that."
He stood up, walked toward it, and reached for the frame.
Then he stopped.
The afternoon breeze felt pleasant.
He decided to leave it open for a little longer.
After all, what could possibly happen?
That night, Rayan finished dinner and returned to his room.
He checked his scrolls, put them away carefully, and reviewed what he had learned about Shadow Eye.
He was pleased with his progress.
Very pleased.
He had mastered the technique in less than two days.
Grandpa would probably be surprised.
Perhaps even proud.
Rayan smiled as he climbed into bed.
Tomorrow, he would visit Seraphina and claim his hundred gold coins.
He would also discover what she had been hiding from him.
It was an excellent plan.
A perfect plan.
And, as usual, Rayan forgot one tiny detail.
He had left his window open.
Late that night, a small figure approached the academy.
She wore an oversized office coat, and her light-blue hair swayed gently in the night breeze.
Seraphina Veyr.
The Witch of Death.
The principal of Royal Necromancer Academy.
The woman who had promised Rayan one hundred gold coins if he mastered Shadow Eye before classes began.
She looked up at the second-floor window.
It was open.
Seraphina smiled.
"What a considerate young man. Leaving the window open for his guests."
Any reasonable person might have used the door.
Seraphina was not particularly interested in what reasonable people did.
She climbed through the window.
Her feet touched the floor without making a sound.
Then she turned toward the bed.
Rayan was sleeping peacefully beneath his blanket, completely unaware that the most dangerous person in the academy had entered his room.
Seraphina approached him.
She looked at his sleeping face.
Then at the blanket.
Then at the empty space beside him.
A mischievous smile appeared on her lips.
"Time for a little wake-up call."
She bent her knees.
Rayan shifted slightly in his sleep.
Seraphina waited.
Then—
BOING!
She jumped straight onto him.
"GOOD MORNING, RAYAN!"
"WHAAAAAAT?!"
Rayan shot upright with a strangled scream.
Unfortunately, Seraphina was still sitting on him.
His blanket flew into the air.
His pillow hit the wall.
And his soul nearly left his body to begin a new life somewhere far away from the Royal Necromancer Academy.
For one terrible second, Rayan thought the undead whale had somehow followed him into his dormitory.
Then he looked down.
A tiny, light-blue-haired girl in an oversized office coat was sitting on his stomach.
She smiled brightly.
"Good morning!"
Rayan stared at her.
She stared back.
He slowly raised one trembling finger.
"...You."
"Me!"
"...Why?"
"Because you weren't awake."
Rayan opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Finally, he managed to speak.
"THERE IS A DOOR!"
Seraphina glanced toward the door.
Then back at him.
"Yes."
"You could have knocked!"
"I could have."
"YOU COULD HAVE USED THE DOOR!"
"I could have done that too."
"THEN WHY DID YOU JUMP THROUGH MY WINDOW AND LAND ON ME?!"
Seraphina tilted her head.
"Because this was faster."
Rayan stared at her in complete disbelief.
He had faced dangerous men in a dark alley.
He had nearly been swallowed by an undead whale.
He had spent an entire night fighting a technique that refused to work.
Yet somehow, none of those experiences had prepared him for the academy principal using him as a mattress.
Seraphina patted his chest.
"Now, then. I've come to discuss our little deal."
Rayan's expression changed.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
He remembered the hundred gold coins.
He remembered the promise.
He remembered the mysterious information.
Then he looked at the tiny witch sitting on him.
"...Can I get paid extra for emotional damage?"
Seraphina smiled.
"No."
Rayan fell back onto his pillow.
His academy life had barely begun.
And he was already beginning to regret leaving that window open.