The Grand Assembly Hall remained loud long after Headmaster Alaric finished speaking.
Students gathered into small groups, discussing the announcement from every possible angle.
Six weeks.
That was all the time Valhalla had.
Six weeks before they would stand in Hildgard.
Six weeks before they faced the other fourteen academies.
Six weeks before they discovered exactly how wide the world really was.
Noah walked through the academy courtyard with Squad Seven.
Eric was still talking.
"I’ve heard Asgard students can split boulders with their bare hands."
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
"That’s probably exaggerated."
"I heard Elementro students can cast spells without incantations."
Damien nodded.
"That part is probably true."
Eric stopped walking.
"...You know, I’d really appreciate it if someone said something reassuring."
Luna looked at him.
"You could always stay home."
Eric’s expression became serious.
"Absolutely not."
Noah laughed.
The excitement around him was contagious.
Even he was beginning to feel it.
But underneath that excitement...
Something remained unsettled.
That voice.
That single word.
Kill.
They reached Training Field Three.
Professor Ingrid was already waiting.
Her arms were folded.
Her expression was unusually stern.
"Six weeks."
She looked at the five members of Squad Seven.
"That’s the amount of time you have before we leave for Hildgard."
Eric raised his hand.
"Professor."
"What?"
"Are we allowed to surrender if we encounter an Asgard monster?"
"No."
"Understood."
Professor Ingrid turned toward the training field.
"From today onward, your training changes."
She pointed toward Noah.
"Blackwood."
Noah stepped forward.
"Yes?"
"You’ll train separately."
Eric immediately looked concerned.
"Why?"
Professor Ingrid didn’t answer him.
Her eyes remained on Noah.
"Your power has changed since Eldermere."
Noah’s expression tightened.
"You noticed?"
"I’m an instructor."
She walked closer.
"I’d be incompetent if I didn’t."
Noah looked at his hand.
"I can control it."
"Can you?"
He hesitated.
Professor Ingrid noticed.
"That’s what I thought."
She turned toward the others.
"Eric. Strength and endurance."
"Understood."
"Sophia. Barrier speed."
"Yes."
"Luna. Mobility."
Luna nodded.
"Damien. Tactical analysis."
Damien adjusted his glasses.
"Of course."
Then she looked at Noah again.
"And you..."
She paused.
"...control."
Noah nodded.
"Understood."
Training began.
Immediately.
Eric charged toward a reinforced training construct.
BOOM!
Sophia began casting barriers.
Luna disappeared into the trees surrounding the field.
Damien observed everything from a raised platform.
Noah stood alone.
Professor Ingrid placed a small crystal on the ground.
"Light your hand."
Noah did.
Orange fire appeared.
"Increase output."
The flame grew.
"Stop."
Noah stopped.
"Compress it."
He concentrated.
The fire shrank.
Smaller.
Denser.
Hotter.
The crystal began glowing.
Professor Ingrid’s eyes narrowed.
"Interesting."
Noah looked at her.
"What?"
"Your flame is becoming more efficient."
She didn’t explain further.
"Again."
Hours passed.
The sun moved across the sky.
Noah’s control improved.
But something continued bothering him.
Every time he pushed Ragnarok too far...
That faint maroon-pink color appeared.
Only for a fraction of a second.
Then disappeared.
Near sunset...
Noah’s flame suddenly changed.
The orange became darker.
A subtle pink hue spread through it.
Professor Ingrid immediately raised her hand.
"Stop."
Noah tried.
The flame didn’t disappear.
His eyes widened.
"Ingrid..."
"I said stop."
Noah clenched his fist.
The fire flickered violently.
Then vanished.
Noah staggered.
He caught himself.
Professor Ingrid stared at him.
"What did you feel?"
Noah hesitated.
"...Nothing."
She knew he was lying.
But she didn’t press.
Not yet.
Across the field...
Laura had arrived.
She stood near the entrance.
She had watched the final exchange.
Her violet eyes remained fixed on Noah.
When their eyes met...
She walked toward him.
"Are you alright?"
Noah nodded.
"Yeah."
Laura looked at his hand.
There was a tiny smear of blood near one of his fingers.
She gently caught his wrist.
Noah froze.
Laura noticed the blood.
"You’re bleeding."
"It’s nothing."
"You always say that."
Noah looked at her.
"You remembered?"
Laura released his wrist.
"...Maybe."
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
She turned away.
"I’ll get something to clean it."
Before Noah could answer...
She walked off.
Eric watched from several meters away.
He slowly turned toward Sophia.
"...Did you see that?"
Sophia smiled.
"Yes."
Luna sighed.
"Don’t start."
"I didn’t say anything."
"You were about to."
"I was."
Noah looked after Laura.
He smiled quietly.
Then...
His smile disappeared.
For just a moment...
He saw his reflection in the dark window of the training hall.
The reflection smiled back.
Noah didn’t.
His reflection’s eyes were maroon.
A faint pink shimmer surrounded them.
Then it returned to normal.
Noah stepped backward.
"What..."
He blinked.
Nothing.
Just his own reflection.
That night...
Noah couldn’t sleep.
He sat on his bed.
The room was dark.
The moonlight outside was pale.
His right hand rested on his knee.
"Dead Zone..."
He whispered.
The word felt strange.
Almost foreign.
Yet somehow...
Familiar.
A system window appeared.
[Ragnarok Dead Zone]
[Status: Dormant]
[Control: Unavailable]
Noah stared at it.
"So you’re real."
The system gave no response.
He leaned back.
"Then why do I keep seeing you?"
Silence.
Noah closed his eyes.
A voice whispered from somewhere deep inside.
"Because I’m already here."
His eyes snapped open.
The room was empty.
Noah’s breathing became heavier.
He stared into the darkness.
"...Who are you?"
Nothing answered.
Far away...
A carriage crossed a moonlit road toward Hildgard.
Inside sat several students wearing the crest of Volstra Academy.
Among them...
Alcris Vannheim quietly read the tournament documents.
Names.
Rankings.
Abilities.
Potential competitors.
He reached the page containing Valhalla Academy.
His eyes stopped.
Noah Blackwood.
Alcris stared at the name.
Something from the previous day’s announcement returned to him.
That strange sensation.
That brief warmth.
That impossible feeling.
He closed his eyes.
For a moment...
He felt it again.
Heat.
A burning pressure.
Something ancient.
Something that made his instincts whisper:
Danger.
Alcris opened his eyes.
Instead of fear...
He smiled.
"...Interesting."
He placed his finger over Noah’s name.
"Let’s see what you’re hiding."
The carriage continued toward Hildgard.
And six weeks suddenly felt much shorter than they had before.
The next morning, Noah woke before sunrise.
He hadn’t slept well.
The voice from the previous night remained buried somewhere in his thoughts.
Because I’m already here.
He hated how real it had sounded.
Noah sat at the edge of his bed and stared at his hands.
Nothing.
No flames.
No strange aura.
Just his hands.
He stood.
"Enough."
Whatever Ragnarok was becoming, he would figure it out.
But not by sitting around worrying.
The training grounds were already occupied.
Squad Seven stood before Professor Ingrid.
Eric was stretching his shoulders.
Sophia was checking the straps around her wrists.
Luna stood silently with her eyes closed.
Damien had several sheets of paper in his hands.
Noah joined them.
Professor Ingrid looked at all five.
"From today until departure, your training will follow one principle."
She turned toward the enormous training field.
"Preparation for the unknown."
Eric frowned.
"That’s not very specific."
"Exactly."
The field suddenly changed.
Runes beneath the ground activated.
Stone walls rose from the earth.
Platforms emerged.
Training constructs appeared.
A maze formed across the far side.
Then the terrain shifted again.
A river appeared.
The entire field became a miniature battlefield.
Eric stared.
"...You could’ve warned us."
Professor Ingrid ignored him.
"The tournament won’t tell you what you’re facing until you’re already inside the event."
She pointed toward the changing field.
"Some challenges will reward speed."
A section of the field became a racecourse.
"Some will reward strength."
Massive stone constructs appeared.
"Some will reward intelligence."
The maze sealed itself.
"And some..."
She looked toward the five.
"...will punish anyone who thinks they can win alone."
The first exercise began.
Team survival.
Five against twenty training constructs.
Eric grinned.
"Finally."
He charged.
"Let’s go!"
BOOM!
His fist smashed into the first construct.
It flew backward.
Sophia immediately raised a barrier.
"Left!"
Luna moved.
A construct attacked from behind.
She ducked beneath it and struck its leg.
Damien shouted instructions.
"Three coming from the east!"
Noah turned.
Fire wrapped around his arm.
He moved.
WHOOM!
A wave of flame knocked the three constructs backward.
"Behind you!"
Noah turned.
Eric was already there.
He blocked the incoming strike.
"Got it!"
Noah nodded.
For the next several minutes...
They moved almost instinctively.
No unnecessary commands.
No hesitation.
They had fought together enough that each understood where the others would be.
Eventually...
The final construct collapsed.
CRASH.
Eric raised both fists.
"YES!"
Sophia smiled.
Luna exhaled.
Damien lowered his notes.
Noah looked around.
They had improved.
A lot.
Professor Ingrid approached.
"Better."
Eric grinned.
"That’s all?"
"Yes."
His smile disappeared.
"...Cruel."
Professor Ingrid looked toward Noah.
"Your control is improving."
Noah nodded.
"But..."
She paused.
"You keep suppressing something."
Noah’s expression changed.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"You do."
Her eyes remained on him.
"Whatever changed after Eldermere..."
"Don’t force it."
Noah looked away.
"...Understood."
Later that afternoon...
Noah trained alone.
He stood in front of a row of reinforced targets.
One.
Two.
Three.
He raised his hand.
Fire appeared.
Orange.
He pushed more power into it.
The flame brightened.
Then...
A faint maroon color appeared at its center.
Noah immediately stopped.
The flame vanished.
His breathing became heavier.
"Again."
He tried.
Orange.
Pink-orange.
Maroon.
Gone.
Again.
Same thing.
Noah clenched his teeth.
"Why?"
A notification appeared.
[Ragnarok Dead Zone response detected.]
Noah’s eyes widened.
"You’re reacting to me."
The notification disappeared.
He tried again.
Nothing.
A quiet voice came from behind him.
"You’re going to hurt yourself."
Noah turned.
Laura stood several meters away.
Her silver-white hair moved in the wind.
"When did you get here?"
"Just now."
Noah looked at his hand.
"I’m fine."
Laura walked closer.
"You keep saying that."
Noah smiled.
"You’ve said that before."
"I meant it before too."
She stopped in front of him.
Her violet eyes studied his face.
"You look tired."
"I am."
"Then rest."
"I can’t."
"Why?"
Noah looked toward the training field.
"The tournament."
Laura was silent for a moment.
Then she said softly:
"You don’t have to prove everything at once."
Noah looked at her.
She smiled faintly.
"You’re already strong."
He didn’t know how to respond.
Laura turned away.
"Come on."
"Where?"
"Food."
Noah blinked.
"...That’s your solution?"
"Usually."
He laughed.
"Fair enough."
They walked away together.
Neither noticed the faint orange flame that briefly appeared around Noah’s fingers.
That evening...
The academy’s selection board was posted.
Students crowded around it.
Names were being discussed everywhere.
Noah pushed through the crowd with Squad Seven.
At the top was the provisional Valhalla roster.
NOAH BLACKWOOD
LAURA ESTERIA
ERIC
SOPHIA
LUNA
DAMIEN
And several additional contestants.
Eric stared.
"We made it."
Sophia smiled.
Luna nodded.
Damien quietly studied the list.
Noah looked at Laura.
She looked back.
Neither said anything.
But they both knew.
They were going to Hildgard.
Then someone shouted from behind the crowd.
"Look!"
Everyone turned.
A second document had been posted.
The tournament’s confirmed academy rankings.
The five highest academies were listed.
1. ASGARD ACADEMY
2. ELEMENTRO ACADEMY
3. MILGARD ACADEMY
4. VOLSTRA ACADEMY
5. VALHALLA ACADEMY
The crowd became restless.
Someone laughed.
"Fifth place."
Another student replied:
"Better than most."
Eric folded his arms.
"We’re going to beat the top four."
Luna looked at him.
"That’s ambitious."
Eric grinned.
"That’s the point."
Noah stared at the rankings.
Asgard.
Elementro.
Milgard.
Volstra.
Valhalla.
He didn’t know what awaited them.
But for some reason...
The name Volstra caught his attention.
He couldn’t explain why.
Far away...
Alcris sat inside the Volstra carriage.
He had the same ranking sheet.
His finger rested on Valhalla.
Then Noah’s name.
He smiled.
"Six weeks."
He leaned back.
"That’s plenty of time."
His eyes became colder.
"Let’s see what you really are."
Above Hildgard...
Three moons slowly appeared in the evening sky.
The Crimson Moon.
The Blue Moon.
And the Scarlet-Violet Starlight Moon.
Their light touched the ancient forests.
Deep beneath the soil...
Something ancient stirred.
A faint pulse traveled through the roots of the divine trees.
Then disappeared.
Nobody noticed.
Not yet.
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