The first rays of sunlight filtered through the towering windows of Arcanum Academy, casting pale golden hues across the polished marble floors. The tranquil morning stood in stark contrast to Kieran's night—one spent venturing into the unknown, forming the first link in a grand web of secrets and shadows.
He had left Elira in the underground base with a small satchel of necessities—basic rations, enchanted robes tailored by the system, a communication crystal tethered to his own, and an environment orb that kept the hidden chamber temperate. She had accepted them without question, already immersed in trying out her new skills, fascinated by the effects of her mythical job.
Now, Kieran walked through the academy gates like any other student, cloaked in silence and anonymity.
His life above ground… would remain that of an ordinary student.
He adjusted his simple academy-issued robes and tucked a leather-bound notebook under his arm. His features were calm, unassuming. The true power within him slept just beneath the surface, unseen by the crowd of bustling students filling the courtyard.
Around him, nobles and commoners gathered in clusters. Some chatted excitedly about their first classes, while others gave side-eyes, trying to assess who among them would be rivals or allies. It was an arena in disguise—politics and magic braided tightly together under the polished façade of academia.
Kieran took his seat quietly. The classroom was semicircular, made of polished darkwood with high-arched windows that let in cold mountain air. Faint mana runes carved into the walls pulsed gently, preserving temperature and sound.
As the last murmurs settled, the large oak door creaked open.
In walked a woman clad in frost-hued robes that shimmered like glacier glass under the morning light. Her silver-white hair flowed behind her like a frozen waterfall, cascading in precise waves. Sharp, glacier-blue eyes scanned the room with quiet intensity.
A sudden chill swept through the classroom. Breath misted in the air.
Some students visibly shivered.
Kieran narrowed his eyes. The woman wasn't using a spell. This wasn't intimidation through force—it was the natural aura of her magic. Like standing at the edge of a glacier cliff where the wind whispered of buried power.
The classroom fell silent.
Her heels clicked across the floor with calculated precision. She reached the center, her figure upright, posture proud, every movement deliberate.
Then she spoke, her voice like polished ice—calm, cutting, and clear.
"Welcome to the Arcanum Academy. I am your instructor, Professor Ilyana Frey."
Her name washed over the students like a wave of recognition—and for some, fear.
Kieran had already heard the whispers: Frey the Frost Reaper, The Glacial Widow, The Ice Queen of the North. She was a renowned Tier-9 Ice Magus, and some believed she was once a candidate for the Grand Archmage seat of the Kingdom of Velandor. Instead, she had chosen a path even more revered—and feared—to teach.
"Those of you sitting here," she said, her eyes sweeping across the rows, "have passed the preliminary entrance exam. That means little. You are seedlings. Some of you will blossom. Most of you will wither."
A few noble students shifted uncomfortably. One blonde-haired boy in gilded robes scoffed quietly. He had the insignia of House Delmar—the 5th-tier noble house famous for frost magics. Clearly, he thought himself above such a lecture.
Frey's eyes flicked to him. "Something amusing, Lord Delmar?"
The boy straightened. "Not at all, Professor."
"Good. I would hate to test the frost resistance of a frost-blood."
A faint smirk curled her lips, and a few students stifled nervous laughter.
Kieran allowed himself the briefest chuckle.
He was liking her already.
Foundations of Ice: The Opening Lecture
Professor Frey moved to the mana-inscribed board behind her and raised her hand. Frost-blue glyphs emerged in the air as she began the lesson.
"Magic is not only force. It is control, memory, and will. You will not master your element through brute strength or bloodline alone. You will do so through understanding."
She tapped the glyph with a flick of her finger.
"Ice magic, contrary to what many believe, is not about freezing. It is about preservation, stillness, and entropy. In learning it, you will learn to preserve, to delay, and to halt time itself—at least momentarily."
Dozens of hands began to scribble notes.
She turned her back to them, her white hair catching a glint of the morning light. "Beginner spells are not what I will teach. You were expected to study those in your pre-academy years. What I will teach is how to refine, control, and weaponize your magic at a master's level."
Kieran's fingers tapped his desk lightly as he listened. Every word she said resonated with depth. He could already feel the classroom splitting—the eager, the scared, and the arrogant.
He focused. He had a role to play here. The quiet, curious, hardworking student.
But deep inside…
His system was already analyzing Frey.
Scanning... Tier 9 Ice Magus. Combat rating: 8.5/10. Specialization: Cryo-Time Manipulation. Weakness: Lightning-based disruption magic. Affiliation: Velandor Royal Academy (formerly). Loyalty: Neutral.
Interesting.
He made a mental note. Frey was strong—one of the top-level beings in the academy, no doubt. But the system had pegged her under ten. And Kieran hadn't even drawn on a fraction of his real power yet.
Still, she was a formidable presence. One that could serve as both teacher and… eventually, a pawn or ally.
After the Lecture
Class ended with a flurry of frost as Frey summoned a snowflake-shaped sigil and pressed it into the air. The frost-mark hovered silently above the podium.
"Memorize this spell matrix," she said. "By tomorrow."
She turned and walked out without another word.
The room erupted with chatter the moment she left.
"That was intense—did you feel the pressure in the air?"
"She's scarier than the rumors!"
"Forget that! Did you see the spell? It wasn't even Tier-2, but the complexity... insane!"
Kieran stood quietly, gathering his notes. His mind wasn't on the spell—it was on his plans.
Now that he had returned to the academy, he needed to blend in, gather intel, and begin establishing his hidden network.
And Frey… she would be watched. If there was anyone sharp enough to sense a shadow moving through the cracks, it would be her.
But he was confident.
Because from this moment forward—Kieran was not just a student.
He was a king in disguise, building an empire beneath their feet.