Academy Hospital

  Healing magic worked fast.

  Too fast.

  Within minutes of returning from the jungle, the academy healers had sealed my wounds. Cuts vanished, bruises faded, even the scrape along my leg disappeared as if it had never existed.

  Physically, I was fine.

  Unfortunately, healing magic didn’t fix exhaustion.

  So I was still lying in a hospital bed inside the academy infirmary.

  To my left was Varek.

  He had taken worse hits during the hunt, so the healers kept him for observation.

  On my other side was Zane.

  She had only a few scratches from her encounter with a Hollowed, but the instructors insisted she stay for a few hours anyway.

  Apparently the academy preferred to double-check anyone who had encountered a Hollowed.

  The door opened.

  Several cadets stepped inside.

  Most of them were the top-ranked students—Seraphina, Selene, Iris, Tyrion, Kade.

  They stayed only briefly, discussing the chaos in the jungle.

  But only one person walked over to my bed.

  Aric.

  “How are you holding up?” he asked.

  “Tired.”

  He nodded.

  “Fair.”

  After a moment he added quietly,

  “And… thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For warning the other groups. Several teams reached the entrance because of it.”

  I shrugged.

  “Anyone would’ve done the same.”

  “Not necessarily.”

  Aric glanced around the room before continuing.

  “You’ll probably need to report what happened later. Student Council. Disciplinary committee.”

  Of course.

  “This incident’s too big to ignore.”

  Then he added,

  “But you should rest first.”

  He nodded once and left with the others.

  The room grew quiet again.

  For a while, no one spoke.

  Then Varek broke the silence.

  “So.”

  He looked toward me.

  “Did you kill the Hollowed that took Selene?”

  “No. I ran.”

  Varek nodded.

  “I ran into Zane’s group afterward.”

  He gestured toward her.

  “And I killed the one chasing us.”

  Zane turned immediately.

  “You?”

  Varek smirked.

  “You and your group helped a little.”

  “A little?” Zane said flatly.

  “About ten percent.”

  She stared at him.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “I should’ve left you to fight it alone.”

  I ignored them.

  “So how many groups encountered Hollowed?”

  Varek answered immediately.

  “Ours. Zane’s. Iris. Selene. Seraphina.”

  Five groups.

  That wasn’t random.

  I stayed silent, thinking.

  “Aric and Iris killed one too,” Varek added.

  “And Hugh stalled the one in Seraphina’s group until the instructors arrived.”

  “What happened to it?”

  “It escaped.”

  Before I could respond—

  “Could you two stop talking?”

  Zane’s voice cut in.

  “I’m trying to sleep.”

  Varek snorted and leaned back.

  “Fine.”

  His eyes closed.

  Conversation over.

  I was about to do the same when a faint light flashed across my eyes.

  I frowned.

  It came from the window.

  Someone stood outside.

  Ada.

  Of course.

  I sighed, slipped out of bed, and quietly left the infirmary.

  Behind the Dormitory

  Ada waited near the trees.

  She glanced at me once.

  “You skipped training.”

  “I was injured. There was an incident.”

  “They healed you.”

  “Yes.”

  She tossed something toward me.

  I caught it.

  My sword.

  “I grabbed it from your dorm,” she said.

  Then:

  “Let’s start.”

  I nodded.

  “Thanks.”

  I hesitated.

  “Can you teach me something?”

  Ada raised an eyebrow.

  “What.”

  “I want to learn to throw my sword.”

  Her eyes narrowed slightly.

  “Because you can recall it.”

  I stared at her.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I saw you.”

  She said it casually.

  “When you fought the Hollowed.”

  So she had been watching.

  “You were there,” I said slowly.

  “And you didn’t help.”

  “You didn’t need help.”

  She shrugged.

  “I dealt with that Hollowed afterward.”

  I blinked.

  “So it won’t bother you again.”

  She said it like she had swatted an insect.

  That explained why it never returned.

  I tightened my grip on the sword.

  “So… will you teach me?”

  Ada studied me.

  “You’re not ready.”

  “Learn proper swordsmanship first.”

  She turned slightly.

  “Then we talk about throwing it.”

  “Okay.”

  She paused.

  “You can practice something before that.”

  “What?”

  “Throw your hatchets.”

  She demonstrated.

  “Recall them before they hit.”

  “Then throw again.”

  I frowned.

  “Rapid throwing?”

  She nodded.

  “If you can’t control the recall perfectly, throwing a sword will get you killed.”

  Fair point.

  Later That Night

  Training with Ada lasted far longer than it should have.

  By the time I returned to the infirmary, exhaustion hit instantly.

  I fell asleep almost immediately.

  Morning

  When I woke up, the infirmary was nearly empty.

  Most cadets had already left.

  Varek stood beside his bed.

  He glanced at me.

  “You look worse than yesterday.”

  Thanks to Ada.

  I didn’t answer.

  Varek looked toward the door.

  “Class starts in an hour.”

  Great.

  Another day at the academy.

  Strategium of Helix — Later

  I attended the remaining classes as if nothing unusual had happened.

  Theory passed in a blur of mana equations.

  Applied combat was quieter than usual. News of the jungle incident had spread through the academy.

  When classes ended, a message arrived.

  I was required to report to the Strategium of Helix.

  The Strategium served as the academy’s command chamber.

  A circular table filled the center of the room, carved with a relief map of the Verdant Abyss Jungle while mana projections hovered above it, replaying cadet movements during the hunt.

  Several members of the Student Council were already waiting.

  Aric Vayne stood near the center.

  Seraphina Vale sat beside him.

  Selene leaned against the table with folded arms.

  Kade lounged in a chair, spinning a dagger between his fingers.

  Tyrion stood silently near the wall.

  Varek was there as well.

  Aric looked at me.

  “Tell us everything from the beginning.”

  I nodded.

  “We encountered a man claiming he was lost in the jungle. He asked to travel with us. Varek allowed it.”

  I explained the encounter calmly.

  The stranger joining us.

  The Hollowed revealing itself.

  The fight.

  When I mentioned meeting Aric’s group, Aric nodded.

  “You told us to retreat toward the entrance.”

  I continued.

  “I later encountered Selene’s group.”

  Selene’s eyes narrowed.

  I described the ambush.

  The mana pulse.

  The cadets collapsing.

  The Hollowed taking Selene.

  “And you chased it,” Tyrion said.

  “Yes.”

  Kade tilted his head.

  “Why?”

  “Instinct.”

  Kade watched me but didn’t push.

  Aric gestured for me to continue.

  I described the chase.

  Then the cliff.

  “I reached a cliff while carrying Selene. The Hollowed caught up soon after.”

  I paused.

  “I used her chain blade as an anchor.”

  Selene frowned.

  “I secured it to a hatchet wedged between rocks.”

  Silence.

  “Then I bluffed.”

  “I told the Hollowed I’d throw her off the cliff if he came closer.”

  “He didn’t believe me.”

  “So I threw her.”

  Selene’s head snapped toward me.

  “You did what?”

  “You were secured by the chain,” I said calmly.

  “You only dropped a short distance.”

  Selene stared at me.

  “You threw me off a cliff.”

  “You’re alive.”

  Her voice turned colder.

  “That is not justification.”

  Maybe you should start with thank you, I thought.

  Instead I get accused.

  I shrugged.

  “Maybe I should’ve handed you to him.”

  Kade snorted.

  Aric raised a hand.

  “That’s enough.”

  The room quieted.

  “You’re certain the Hollowed fell?” Aric asked.

  “Yes.”

  “And Selene was unconscious during this?”

  I nodded.

  “That concludes the report.”

  The projections dimmed.

  I turned and left.

  After Korin Leaves

  Silence lingered in the room.

  Then Kade leaned back.

  “He’s hiding something.”

  Selene folded her arms.

  “That story doesn’t add up.”

  Tyrion spoke quietly.

  “A first-year cadet chased a Hollowed alone… injured it… and escaped.”

  Seraphina nodded slightly.

  “Several details remain unexplained.”

  Kade spun the dagger once.

  “Too many coincidences.”

  He glanced toward the door.

  “He slips and hits a Hollowed perfectly.”

  “Chases it alone.”

  “Escapes while carrying someone.”

  “And throws someone off a cliff as a strategy.”

  Kade shrugged.

  “That’s not luck. That’s suspicious.”

  Selene’s voice was colder.

  “And his reaction speed.”

  “He avoided the mana pulse that knocked my entire team unconscious.”

  Kade smiled slightly.

  “Exactly.”

  Varek spoke.

  “He’s telling the truth.”

  Kade raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh?”

  “I fought beside him,” Varek said.

  “He makes strange decisions.”

  A pause.

  “But they work.”

  Selene scoffed.

  “That explains nothing.”

  Varek looked at her.

  “If he were a Hollowed, why would he attack one?”

  The room fell silent.

  Kade tilted his head.

  “Fair point.”

  Selene didn’t look convinced.

  “Hollowed are not the only ones capable of having alternative motives.”

  The words hung in the air.

  Seraphina narrowed her eyes slightly.

  Aric remained silent for a moment.

  Then he folded his arms.

  “For now, speculation changes nothing.”

  The Strategium fell quiet again.