Lucien slowly opened his eyes, his body feeling heavy and his mind clouded. The dim light of the room filtered through the curtains, casting soft shadows on the walls. He groaned, lifting a hand to his head, which throbbed with a dull ache.
["Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. How's the whole nearly-dying-of-mana-exhaustion thing treating you?"] the system chimed in.
"Shut up…" Lucien muttered, slowly sitting up. But as he did, a strange sensation ran through him. He remembered last night—Lilia's visit, her unexpected kindness, and then… nothing. He had collapsed.
"What… happened?" he asked out loud.
["Oh, nothing major. You just had a little mana outburst that could've turned the entire academy into a giant bonfire."]
Lucien froze. "WHAT?!"
["Relax! It didn't actually happen. The fire from your mana outburst didn't harm anything and disappeared almost instantly. But, oh boy, you should've seen the panic."]
Lucien's heart pounded. "Wait… why didn't it burn anything?"
["That's the weird part. You released an insane amount of fire magic—way beyond what your current stats should allow—but it vanished without a trace. No damage, no burns, nothing."]
He swallowed hard, the implications sending a shiver down his spine. "Is that… normal?"
["Oh, totally! If by 'normal' you mean 'absolutely terrifying and unheard of,' then yes!"]
Lucien buried his face in his hands. "I'm gonna die… I'm so gonna die…"
["Not if you stop being an idiot and learn to control it. Now hurry up—class starts soon, and you're already the academy's least favorite student. Let's not add 'destroyer of worlds' to your reputation."]
As Lucien stumbled out of bed, the weight of everything that had happened—and everything that might happen—pressed down on him. He needed answers. And fast.
But just as he reached for his uniform, there was a sudden, frantic knock at his door.
"Lucien! Open up!" The voice was panicked—one of the academy's servants, by the sound of it.
Lucien opened the door to find a pale, trembling maid standing there. "Y-You need to come… now! The headmaster… he wants to see you! It's… it's about last night!"
His blood ran cold.
["Oooooh, you're so screwed."]
"I know!" Lucien hissed.
As he followed the maid through the corridors, whispers trailed behind him. Students stared, their eyes full of fear and suspicion.
["Man, you've really outdone yourself this time. First, you're the academy's most hated creep, and now you're their potential apocalypse. Bravo!"]
Lucien ignored the system's taunts, his heart thudding harder with every step. When they finally reached the headmaster's office, the heavy doors creaked open…
And inside stood not only the headmaster but Leon Albright and Cecilia Winslet as well. Their eyes turned toward him, filled with barely restrained fury.
["Welp. It was nice knowing you."]
"Lucien von Zephyr," the headmaster said gravely. "Explain yourself."
Lucien's throat went dry.
And then Leon took a step forward, hand already moving toward his sword.
["Okay, okay, stay calm… Or, you know, run for your life. Both are valid options!"]
Lucien didn't get a chance to choose. The room's temperature suddenly dropped, and an overwhelming pressure filled the air.
"Last night's incident…" Cecilia's voice was ice. "Was that… your doing?"
Lucien opened his mouth to speak—but no words came out.
And then the headmaster raised his hand… and everything went black.