The dawn came harsh and cold.
Max stood before Thorn's private office in the northern wing of the academy, cloaked in silence and shadows. His hood was drawn, masking the exhaustion in his eyes, but it did little to hide the heaviness in his step. The events at Hollow Vale still buzzed in his bones—the clash with the corrupted beasts, the resonance with the sealed relic, the cracking sky.
He hadn't told anyone.
Not about the system. Not about the true nature of the relic. Not even about the way the artifact pulsed under his skin like a second heartbeat.
A voice echoed from within. "Enter."
The heavy doors opened with a groan, revealing Thorn seated behind a stone-carved desk, stacks of aged scrolls and mana crystals strewn about. His gaze was sharp and calculating as always, but something in his posture told Max he already knew more than he let on.
"You retrieved it."
Max stepped forward, nodding slowly. He held out the relic, now wrapped in reinforced cloth. Its elemental pulses had subsided, at least outwardly.
Thorn took it carefully, as if expecting it to bite. "You managed this without alerting the other instructors. Impressive."
Max didn't speak.
Thorn set the relic aside and leaned forward. "Tell me what you saw."
Max hesitated, then recounted only part of it—the beasts, the mana storms, the battle, and the retrieval. He made no mention of the system, the artifact's response, or the surge of knowledge that had briefly entered his mind during the relic's resonance.
Thorn listened silently. When Max finished, the man folded his hands.
"You did well," Thorn said finally. "Very few could survive the Hollow Vale at your level."
"I had help," Max said, not bothering to mention Leo by name.
"Then make sure he remains useful," Thorn replied coolly. "This is only the beginning."
Max nodded.
As he turned to leave, Thorn's voice stopped him. "Max."
He paused at the door.
"That relic is one of five," Thorn said slowly. "They were sealed away long before this academy was built. You may not understand it now, but you're involved in something far older than you realize."
Max's jaw tensed. "Why me?"
Thorn smiled faintly. "That's a question only your artifact can answer."
—
Back in the dormitory, Max found Leo waiting.
He was seated on Max's bed, tossing a mana shard between his fingers, eyes tired but alert.
"You didn't think I'd just ignore last night, did you?" Leo said without looking up.
"I hoped," Max muttered, closing the door.
Leo stood. "You healed me. Not with potions. Not with spell scrolls. You did something different. I've been thinking about it all night."
Max stayed quiet, brushing past him to sit at his desk.
Leo approached. "I don't need the full truth, Max. But I need to know if I'm following a leader or a ticking bomb."
Max turned his head slightly. "What if I'm both?"
Leo blinked, then smirked. "Then at least I picked the right explosion."
Max exhaled, rubbing his eyes. "I didn't want to involve anyone. But you followed me. You fought with me. You bled."
"Yeah," Leo said, his voice dropping. "And I'd do it again. Just… keep me in the loop. Or next time I might not be fast enough to dodge the fallout."
A silence settled between them. Then Max nodded once.
"Fine."
Leo grinned. "Progress."
—
Later that week, the academy buzzed with news: the upcoming Aether Trials, an advanced evaluation designed to rank students into three tiers—Iron, Silver, and Gold. The best among them would be chosen for elite missions outside the capital.
Max knew it was a distraction.
Thorn's words haunted him. "One of five."
The relics were real. The artifact was real. And the system… was something more than even Thorn understood.
[System Message]
[New Main Quest Unlocked – "The Broken Cycle"]
[Objective 1: Locate Second Relic – Status: Unknown]
[Objective 2: Avoid Detection from External Observers – Active]
[Bonus Objective: Increase Mana Bond Level: 12% → 25%]
[Current Level: 14]
[EXP: 22%]
Max stared at the floating screen only he could see.
The Broken Cycle.
Whatever it meant, he was in it now.
—
The Aether Trials arrived with fanfare and tension.
Students from all elemental backgrounds were pitted against each other in teams and solo challenges, their strength and cunning measured by simulated battles, labyrinth runs, and complex mana puzzles. The entire academy transformed into a coliseum of magic and ambition.
Max was placed in Group 7—alongside Leo, a quiet wind-user named Erin, and a hot-headed earth manipulator named Roen.
Their first task: survive the Mirrored Ruins simulation, a conjured dungeon built by the academy's Grand Arcanists. It mimicked ancient ruins from the pre-mana era, filled with traps, illusions, and summoned creatures.
"Everyone ready?" Max asked, glancing at his team.
Roen cracked his knuckles. "Let's wreck it."
Erin nodded, blades already hovering at her sides via wind manipulation.
Leo gave Max a firm look. "Let's make it count."
—
Inside the simulation, they moved quickly.
Max led with caution, triggering traps from a distance using earth pulses and controlled bursts of lightning. The team worked together better than expected—Erin's wind sliced through enemy illusions, Roen's brute force broke barriers, and Leo struck from shadows with precise dagger throws.
But halfway through the dungeon, Max felt it.
A presence.
Familiar, ancient… watching.
[Artifact Resonance: Triggered]
[Warning: External Observer Detected]
[System Cloaking Engaged… Successful.]
[Mana Signature Hidden – 94% Effectiveness]
Max stiffened.
The system was hiding him—but barely.
And someone, somewhere, had noticed him.
He pressed on, masking the unease with resolve.
At the dungeon's core, a phantom guardian awaited—twice the size of a man, wielding a blade of molten iron and eyes like suns.
Max ordered the team to spread out.
He went forward alone.
Drawing on his new skill, Mana Sculptor, Max began reshaping the terrain mid-battle—creating spikes of ice and stone barriers, redirecting the guardian's attacks, and slowly breaking its rhythm.
Finally, with one last surge of fire and wind, the creature fell.
The room dimmed.
[Simulation Complete – Group 7 Ranked "Gold"]
[Rewards Pending]
[EXP Gained: +4,500]
They emerged into applause—but Max's mind wasn't on victory.
Someone had watched him.
And the artifact had responded.
—
That night, Thorn summoned him again—but this time, they met in the underground chamber beneath the library. The same place Max had first been tested.
Thorn stood beside a map etched into the stone floor—five glowing marks across the continent.
"One down," he said. "Four to go."
Max looked down at the glowing points.
"Where's the next one?"
Thorn's eyes gleamed. "Buried beneath the ruins of Aetheron's Fall. We leave in two weeks."
Max clenched his fists.
The game was accelerating.
And soon, the whole world would be watching.