Morning hit the campus with an unusually heavy weight.
Sera saw the crowd as soon as she arrived at the main board.
Students stood packed together.
Some looked excited while others seemed nervous.
She pushed forward a bit to read the notice.
Notice: Inter-Class Evaluation Matches Starting tomorrow Mandatory for senior students Rankings will be directly affected Schedule to be released by evening Sera read the words twice over.
Evaluation Matches.
Mandatory.
Ranking.
This was no small thing.
Rankings at this academy controlled pretty much everything—missions, privileges, and how outsiders viewed you.
She turned away from the board and almost bumped into Theron.
”Starts tomorrow,” he said in his usual dry tone.
”Yeah,” Sera replied.
”It’s mandatory.” Theron paused, watching the crowd disperse.
“You might get matched with someone tough.” ”We should tighten up practice today.” Sera looked at him directly.
”Will you help me?” Theron gave a short, quiet nod.
”If you want me to.” ”I’m not going to force you.” That attitude always felt a little strange to Sera.
Everyone else usually decided things on her behalf.
Theron actually asked for her consent.
She didn’t try to label the feeling.
She just let it be.
By afternoon, Sera and Theron had taken over a quiet corner of the training grounds.
The other male leads stayed scattered across the yard.
None of them walked over.
Sera had kept her distance on purpose.
”Today is about movement,” Theron told her.
”Speed and footing.” ”Don’t try to force your power.” ”The last thing you need before tomorrow is an overload.” Sera nodded along.
The drills started right away.
Theron gave brief, direct fixes.
A tiny adjustment to her wrist angle, a quick shift in where her feet landed.
When her breathing got too heavy, he just stopped and waited.
No pressure.
No rushing.
Across the field, Lucien leaned his back against a stone wall.
He glanced sideways toward Riven.
”Private training.” ”Again.” Riven didn’t bother responding.
His eyes stayed locked on Sera’s footwork.
From the balcony high above, Caelum watched quietly, his fingers gripping the stone railing.
Kairos took notice of all three of them, but kept his ground without interfering.
Sera knew they were watching.
She didn’t glance back once.
She kept her attention pinned on the drills.
When Theron reached out to fix her stance, a quick spark of warmth ran up her arm.
Her power flared up instinctively.
A golden pulse rippled beneath her skin.
Then the silver dragon magic slid in to balance it out.
This time, Sera didn’t panic or pull back.
She manually smoothed out the energy flow.
Theron caught the change immediately.
”Control is getting cleaner,” he remarked quietly.
”Let’s do it again.” When practice wrapped up and Theron stepped away to grab water, Sera stood alone for a minute.
She looked down at her palm, feeling the faint warmth fading away.
Out of nowhere, an old thought crept back in that unsolved riddle.
The West Wing library, those half-empty shelves, and the ancient name Varis had shown her.
For weeks, all of it had been pushed into the background, buried under match stress.
Am I forgetting about it?
she wondered.
Or am I just avoiding it because I need something normal right now a real competition that makes me feel human instead of just chasing ancient secrets?
Theron walked back with two water bottles.
He handed one over to her.
”What’s on your mind?” he asked without beating around the bush.
”Just old stuff,” Sera said, taking the bottle.
”Sometimes it feels like too many things are happening at the same time.” ”The riddle.” ”Malric.” ”Varis.” ”And now these matches.” ”All stacked together.” Theron stayed quiet for a second.
”Don’t try to deal with everything at once.” ”Take it one thing at a time.” ”Right now, just focus on the match.” ”The rest can wait.” His advice was so plain and simple that it actually surprised her how much sense it made.
They kept the rest of the session short.
Sera made sure not to push past her limits.
As they packed up, Theron spoke again.
“Tomorrow morning.” ”Just a brief session.” ”Keep yourself fresh before the fight.” ”Alright.” The schedule dropped by evening.
Names, groups, and fight times were pinned to the board.
Sera’s name was placed in the second group.
Her opponent was a senior who had stayed near the top of the rankings for a long time.
It didn’t take long for students to notice.
A few whispered that her match was unwinnable.
Others just stared from a distance.
Sera read through the schedule.
She didn’t react at all.
No nervousness, no fake confidence.
She took in the info and turned around to leave.
Livia happened to walk past right at that moment.
Spotting Sera, her voice got louder on purpose.
”Second group.” ”A top senior.” ”Isn’t that way too much for a Zero to handle?” Sera stopped in her tracks and turned around.
The nearby students went quiet, watching them.
”Livia,” Sera said, keeping her tone completely flat, “I can read the board just fine.” ”The difference is, I’m not standing around making comments about it.” ”You are.” ”Maybe that’s why our rankings look different.” A couple of students tried to hide their snickers.
Livia’s expression went rigid.
She stepped closer, dropping her voice so only her inner circle could hear, though Sera caught every word: ”Duke Aldric is on the guest list for the matches.” ”The Duke you’re supposed to marry.” ”Maybe he’ll be right there to watch you fall tomorrow.” Sera’s heart skipped a beat.
Her face stayed totally blank, but her stomach tightened up.
Duke Aldric.
That name had been hanging in the background for weeks she hadn’t agreed to it, nor had she officially turned it down.
She had simply delayed it, running away from making a final choice.
If he shows up tomorrow, she realized, it’s not just a match anymore.
It’s an audition.
Sera didn’t linger to give Livia another reaction.
She walked straight past her.
Theron caught up a few steps later.
He had heard the whole exchange, even if he didn’t bring it up right away.
As they walked down the hallway, he spoke softly.
“Ignore Duke Aldric for now.” ”Tomorrow you’re fighting a senior student, not a Duke.” ”Focus on one battle at a time.” Sera glanced at him, surprised.
“You heard that?” ”Beastman hearing,” Theron said with a slight shrug.
”It has its pros and cons.” A short silence settled between them.
In that calm space, Sera felt that same quiet comfort again.
Clarity.
Relief.
She still didn’t put a label on it.
She just let the feeling stay.
Night came, and Sera sat alone in her room.
Everything from today ran through her head.
The announcement board.
The brief training session.
The match schedule.
Livia’s taunt.
The sudden pressure of Duke Aldric arriving.
The quiet, watchful eyes of the male leads.
She held up her hand and focused her mind.
The golden warmth stirred right on cue.
The silver magic swirled in beside it, balancing the heat.
She let both forces settle quietly inside her.
Her control was definitely improving.
Still not perfect.
But much better than before.
She looked out the window into the dark courtyard.
Tomorrow was the first match.
Her opponent was strong.
People were already betting on her loss.
Livia was waiting to mock her.
Duke Aldric might be sitting in the stands.
But this time, Sera wasn’t going to play into their expectations she was ready on her own terms.
She knew the fight wouldn’t be easy.
Everyone would be watching.
She blew out the candle on her desk.
Tomorrow morning, they would all be waiting to see the Zero collapse.
Except Sera had already decided.
She wasn’t going to break.