The days following the tutoring circle incident should have been peaceful.
For most students at Astryx Academy, they were.
Classes continued.
Assignments piled up.
Friendships formed.
Rivalries emerged.
Life at the academy settled into a routine.
For Aren, however, things felt different.
People were watching him.
Not openly.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
But he could feel it.
Conversations stopped when he walked past.
Students whispered after he left.
Even some professors seemed unusually interested whenever he answered a question.
The attention made him uncomfortable.
He had come to Astryx Academy to learn magic.
Not become the center of rumors.
Unfortunately, the academy seemed to have other plans.
The morning began with Magical Foundations, one of Professor Selene’s classes.
The classroom buzzed with conversation as students settled into their seats.
Most of the discussion centered around a single topic.
Aren.
“He solved a fourth-year theory problem.”
“I heard he corrected the professor.”
“No, he corrected an ancient magical structure.”
“Seriously?”
Aren lowered his head onto his desk.
The stories became more ridiculous every day.
A familiar voice spoke from beside him.
“You should probably get used to it.”
Mira sat down.
A book rested beneath her arm.
Aren sighed.
“Get used to what?”
“Being famous.”
“I’m not famous.”
Mira raised an eyebrow.
“Half the academy knows your name.”
“That’s not a good thing.”
A faint smile appeared on her face.
“You aren’t wrong.”
Before the conversation could continue, Professor Selene entered the classroom.
Instant silence followed.
The professor placed several books on her desk.
Then her eyes briefly landed on Aren.
Only for a second.
Yet something about the look felt different.
Evaluating.
Observing.
Studying.
Aren frowned.
Maybe he was imagining things.
Still, the feeling remained.
The lesson began normally.
At least at first.
Professor Selene lectured on mana circulation and spell stabilization.
Students copied notes.
Questions were asked and answered.
Everything seemed ordinary.
Then the professor changed direction.
“A practical exercise.”
Several students groaned.
Practical exercises usually meant mistakes.
Mistakes usually meant embarrassment.
Professor Selene ignored their reactions.
With a wave of her hand, several floating crystals appeared throughout the classroom.
The crystals glowed softly.
“Each crystal contains an unstable mana pattern.”
The students immediately looked concerned.
“Your task is to identify the flaw.”
That sounded manageable.
At least until the professor added one more sentence.
“You may not touch them.”
Now everyone looked worried.
The crystals drifted through the air.
Complex magical structures swirled within their transparent surfaces.
Students began studying them carefully.
Aren focused on the crystal nearest his desk.
At first glance, it appeared normal.
Then he noticed something strange.
One of the internal pathways bent slightly differently from the others.
The imbalance was tiny.
Almost impossible to notice.
Yet once he saw it, he couldn’t ignore it.
Around the room, students started giving answers.
Most were wrong.
A few were partially correct.
Professor Selene patiently corrected each mistake.
Then her gaze shifted toward Aren.
“You haven’t answered.”
Dozens of students immediately turned toward him.
Aren mentally cursed.
He hated being singled out.
“I was still looking.”
“Then what do you see?”
The classroom grew quiet.
Aren glanced at the crystal.
“The third internal pathway.”
Professor Selene tilted her head.
“Go on.”
“The pathway bends inward.”
Aren pointed toward the crystal.
“It should curve outward.”
Several students squinted.
Trying to find what he was describing.
Most couldn’t even see the flaw.
Professor Selene stared at the crystal.
Then, unexpectedly, she smiled.
“Correct.”
The room erupted into whispers.
Aren immediately regretted speaking.
Again.
After class ended, students flooded into the hallway.
Many discussed the exercise.
Others discussed Aren.
Unfortunately.
Mira walked beside him as they headed toward their next lesson.
“That was impressive.”
Aren groaned.
“Please don’t start.”
“I’m serious.”
“It was a tiny flaw.”
“A flaw nobody else noticed.”
Aren didn’t have a response to that.
Because she was right.
The strange part was how natural it had felt.
Just like the tutoring circle problem.
The answer had appeared obvious.
As though he instinctively understood magical structures.
Which made no sense.
He had never studied anything advanced before arriving at the academy.
At least not that he remembered.
The thought lingered in his mind throughout the day.
And it wasn’t the only thing bothering him.
Professor Selene’s behavior felt unusual.
The professor kept watching him.
Not constantly.
But often enough for him to notice.
Every answer he gave seemed to attract extra attention.
Every exercise received additional scrutiny.
It was becoming difficult to ignore.
Meanwhile, in a secluded office located high within the academy, Professor Selene reviewed several reports.
The stack of documents on her desk continued growing.
Most contained a single name.
Aren.
She opened the first report.
Registration Badge Malfunction
The second.
Assessment Crystal Failure
The third.
Practice Sphere Destruction
The fourth.
Advanced Theory Reconstruction
Professor Selene leaned back in her chair.
The incidents were becoming impossible to dismiss.
Individually, each event might be explained.
Together, they formed a pattern.
And she disliked unexplained patterns.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
“Enter.”
The office door opened.
An elderly professor stepped inside.
His white robes identified him as a senior instructor.
Professor Darius.
“You wished to speak with me?”
Selene nodded.
“I have questions.”
Darius chuckled.
“You always do.”
She slid the reports across the desk.
The older professor scanned them quickly.
His expression gradually became serious.
“So it’s the boy.”
“Aren.”
Darius nodded.
“I’ve heard the rumors.”
“Rumors rarely concern me.”
“But this does.”
“Yes.”
Silence settled between them.
Finally, Darius spoke.
“You suspect something.”
Selene looked toward the window.
Students moved through the academy grounds below.
Among them, she spotted Aren leaving another building.
From this distance, he appeared completely ordinary.
Yet appearances often lied.
“I suspect,” she said quietly, “that he knows more than he should.”
That afternoon, Professor Selene made a decision.
A test.
Nothing dangerous.
Nothing obvious.
Just enough to satisfy her curiosity.
Near the end of class, she drew an unfamiliar symbol on the board.
The rune was ancient.
Extremely ancient.
Few first-year students would recognize it.
Most professors wouldn’t recognize it either.
The moment the symbol appeared, students looked confused.
Exactly as expected.
All except one.
Aren.
The reaction lasted less than a second.
A tiny flicker of recognition crossed his face.
Then it vanished.
Most people would have missed it.
Professor Selene did not.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The professor continued teaching as though nothing had happened.
Inside, however, her suspicions deepened.
That evening, as the sun disappeared beyond the mountains, Aren found himself sitting alone near one of the academy gardens.
The cool breeze helped clear his mind.
Or at least he hoped it would.
Instead, his thoughts remained tangled.
The strange incidents.
The growing rumors.
Professor Selene’s behavior.
None of it felt normal.
Footsteps approached.
Mira.
She sat beside him without speaking.
For a while, neither said anything.
The peaceful silence was surprisingly welcome.
Eventually Mira glanced toward him.
“Something’s bothering you.”
Aren laughed softly.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the fading sunset.
“I feel like people keep expecting something from me.”
Mira remained quiet.
Listening.
“I don’t know why strange things happen around me.”
Aren shook his head.
“And I definitely don’t know why professors keep staring at me.”
Mira considered his words.
Then she spoke carefully.
“Maybe they’re trying to understand you.”
Aren smiled weakly.
“Good luck to them.”
For some reason, that answer made Mira laugh.
A genuine laugh.
One of the few Aren had heard from her.
For a moment, the tension faded.
The mysteries could wait.
Tomorrow would bring enough problems on its own.
Far away, within a restricted section of the academy, Professor Selene stood before a sealed archive chamber.
Ancient records filled the room.
Documents older than kingdoms rested on the shelves.
Carefully, she opened a dusty volume.
Its pages crackled with age.
The title was written in faded silver letters.
Records of the Forgotten Age
Selene turned the pages slowly.
Searching.
Comparing.
Investigating.
Hours passed.
Finally, she stopped.
Her eyes narrowed.
A symbol stared back at her from the ancient text.
The same symbol she had drawn on the classroom board.
The same symbol Aren had recognized.
Beneath it was a warning written centuries ago.
A warning connected to lost relics.
Ancient power.
And a figure known only as…
The Awakener.
Professor Selene stared at the page for a long time.
Then she quietly closed the book.
For the first time since meeting Aren, genuine concern appeared on her face.
Because if her suspicions were correct—
The academy was no longer dealing with a talented student.
It was dealing with something far more dangerous.
Something connected to secrets that should have remained buried forever.