chapter 15: room assignment

I sat on the sofa, silently waiting as the teacher and the director continued their serious discussion.

But then—

Something weird happened.

I couldn't hear them anymore.

The ticking of the antique clock on the wall was still audible, so I knew I wasn't going deaf.

Wait.

Did they just block me out?!

Was this some soundproofing magic?!

I blinked.

Okay, not gonna lie—that was kinda cool.

I had always wanted to learn magic, but I never got the chance.

To officially awaken magical attributes, students had to attend a Senior Academy.

The academy I was currently in?

It was a Junior Academy—which focused mostly on theory and physical training.

Only after graduation could students enroll in Senior Academies, where they would awaken their magical affinity and start specializing in advanced techniques.

Of course, that only applied to normal people.

Rich noble kids?

They had already awakened their abilities before they even set foot in school.

I sighed.

Life was unfair.

Still, at least I had a system… right?

Inside the Sound Barrier – Director & Teacher's POV

Professor Ryen frowned.

"Director, you enrolled him way too easily."

The Director chuckled.

"You saw it too, didn't you?" he said. "That kid has great reflexes."

Ryen hesitated.

"You're not wrong…" he admitted, rubbing his chin. "But we can't ignore the possibility that he could be dangerous."

"There's no data about him in the national database."

The Director sighed.

"Things like this happen," he said.

"We were only able to search using his appearance and estimated age."

"And since there aren't many details about him, we can't do a deep check."

"There's a chance his records are simply lost."

"Or," he added, "he could be an unregistered kid from the slums."

Ryen let out a deep sigh.

That was… a reasonable explanation.

The Director smiled slightly.

"For now, let's plan accordingly."

"He looks about 14 or 15, and he's clearly malnourished."

"If he's truly an orphan without an identity, we might as well make one for him."

Ryen raised an eyebrow.

"You're planning to give him an official identity?"

The Director shrugged.

"Why not?"

"If we do, he might even owe us a favor in the future."

Ryen sighed again.

"Alright, fine."

The Director nodded.

"Good. Now, take him to his new dorm."

Ryen nodded.

And with that, the sound barrier deactivated.

Back to MC's POV – System Betrayal

I had been bored out of my mind while waiting.

So, to pass the time—

I suddenly remembered.

Oh, right.

I have a system.

I should probably check it.

"System," I called in my mind.

Nothing.

…

I frowned.

"System," I tried again.

Still nothing.

Then, suddenly—

[System is under maintenance. It will be available tomorrow.]

…

WHAT?!

I was dumbfounded.

Can systems even go on maintenance?!

What was this, some kind of software update?!

I felt betrayed.

For the first time, I actually wanted to use the system, and now it was unavailable.

I sighed, rubbing my temples.

Fine. Whatever.

At that moment, Professor Ryen's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Hey, kid. Get up," he said.

I blinked.

"You've been assigned a new room in the academy."

…

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

Why did that sound suspicious?

Still, I had no choice.

I got up, mentally preparing for whatever nonsense awaited me next.