ch 82,83,84
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Chapter 82 – The Report, the Lie, the Threat
Blood.
It dripped quietly onto the polished stone of the academy floor.
Tessa's boots left red smears as she walked through the corridor, flanked by the other four.
Silent. Pale. Shaken.
Only Maris met the instructor's gaze directly.
Master Zane — Head of Security — stared at them with narrowed eyes.
"You look like you've seen death."
Maris didn't blink. "We did."
---
Ten Minutes Later – Medical Wing
The students sat on stretchers as clerics checked wounds.
Broken ribs. Fractured arms. One dislocated shoulder. Minor burns.
But no deaths.
And that was the strange part.
Because by all logic… they should've died.
---
Instructor Hall – 3rd Floor
Master Zane read the official report.
> [Mission Objective: Scout unregistered mana surge zone – Southwood]
[Encounter Type: Domain – Undead Themed – F Rank Estimated]
[Casualties: None]
[Injuries: Moderate]
[Identified Threat: Unknown Necromancer – likely student-class, unregistered familiar control, highly advanced tactics and beast coordination]
[Note: Necromancer spared lives intentionally. Warning issued.]
He lowered the page. Looked at the man across the desk.
Headmaster Roan.
An older man. Calm. With eyes that rarely blinked.
"He let them live?" Roan asked.
Zane nodded. "Held back. Controlled the battle. The undead didn't kill — they performed. Formation drills. Precision strikes. And then they stopped when he arrived."
Roan sipped his tea.
"He wanted them to be afraid."
---
Meanwhile – Ray's Room
Ray leaned against the wall of his assigned dorm room, staring at the ceiling.
Seventeen's voice echoed inside his head.
"Your power is too loud now. You cannot be invisible anymore."
"I wasn't planning to be invisible forever," Ray murmured. "But I also didn't expect them to find the domain that easily."
"They didn't," Seventeen replied. "Someone sent them."
Ray's eyes darkened.
---
That Night – Unknown Location
A circular table. Seven seats. Only five filled.
The emblem above them: a crimson serpent coiled around a sword.
A man in a silver mask spoke first. "The scout team confirmed. Domain exists. Controlled by a student."
Another added: "Unregistered power. Threat level increasing."
A woman with a crystal embedded in her chest leaned forward. "We should act."
The masked man tapped the table once. "Let him grow. Let him reveal more."
Pause.
"And when the gate opens — we'll use him."
---
Next Morning – Academy Training Grounds
Ray returned to routine like nothing happened.
He trained with the lowest-ranked class. Smiled. Sparred gently. Showed no edge.
Maris watched from across the field.
She said nothing.
But when he caught her gaze — she looked away.
Not in fear.
In
---
Chapter 83 – Veyla's Hunt
Night in the academy was never truly silent.
Even past curfew, footsteps echoed in the distance. Lights glowed behind study hall windows. Teachers patrolled in pairs. Surveillance spells swept every corridor.
But none of them saw her.
Veyla moved through shadows like they were made for her. No heartbeat. No breath. Just cold purpose wrapped in illusion.
Her feet touched no floor. Her hands left no mark.
Her golden eyes glinted faintly beneath her cloak.
"Master's domain was marked," she whispered to herself. "Someone sold the location. And I will find out who."
---
Beneath the Library – Forbidden Section
The spell lock cracked open with barely a thought. Runes glowed, twisted, and died.
Veyla stepped into the record chamber, eyes scanning rows of crystal memory stones.
Seventeen's voice flickered inside her thoughts. She allowed it — barely.
"Section: Mission Dispatch Logs. Filter: unauthorized south recon."
The shelves shifted. One memory crystal pulsed violet.
She pressed two fingers to it.
Images formed.
A student team. A map. An instructor's voice. "This zone isn't fully scanned. Something strange there. Go, observe, and return."
A different voice, low and calm: "Mark everything. Even the trees."
She froze.
That second voice… She recognized it.
---
Instructor Veral.
Combat Magic and Strategic Tactics.
He smiled during every class. Encouraged teamwork. But he was also a war veteran. And secretly aligned with one of the Seven Factions — the Crimson Coil.
Veyla's lips curled back slightly.
So it wasn't an accident.
They tested the domain. They tested her master.
---
Outside Instructor Quarters – 3 a.m.
Veral snored in his bed, unaware of the deathless thing crouched on his windowsill.
She didn't kill him.
Not yet.
Instead, she placed a fragment of a beast core beneath his pillow — encoded with one of Ray's shadow marks.
A warning. A promise.
You've been seen.
---
Later That Morning – Domain Core
Ray sat beneath the Spine Tree, watching the monkeys train with bone staves.
Seventeen reported: "Veyla found the one who sent the scouts. Instructor Veral. Aligned with an enemy faction."
Ray didn't speak for a moment. Then:
"Did she kill him?"
"No."
"…Good."
Seventeen tilted its tone — faint amusement. "You've grown soft."
Ray stood. Eyes serious. "I don't kill humans unless I have to. Not yet."
Then he looked down at the core. Shadows pulsed softly beneath his fingertips.
"But that doesn't mean I won't prepare."
---
Academy Assembly – Noon
A school-wide announcement. "All students are to begin preparation drills. A Tier 1 Gate is expected to destabilize within the week. Final rankings will be delayed."
Murmurs spread like wildfire.
Ray just smiled.
Because while others panicked… he was already building
---
Chapter 84 – When the Gate Breaks
The sky cracked at dawn.
It was barely visible to the naked eye — just a faint shimmer over the southern forest. But to those who could sense mana or distortion, it was a siren scream.
The Tier 1 Gate had broken.
Students stood on academy balconies, eyes wide. Teachers gathered in quiet circles, whispering with urgency. Overhead, the academy's defensive array activated with a pulse of golden light.
Seventeen's voice echoed in Ray's mind.
"First wave incoming. Ten to twenty low-rank insect beasts. Expect Level 1–3, F-rank and E-minus."
Ray stood at the edge of the southern observation tower, disguised in his academy cloak. No one gave him a second glance.
And yet his pulse thrummed with anticipation.
---
Three Hours Later – Forest Border Patrol
A squad of third-year students had been deployed to scout the area near the cracked gate.
They didn't expect much. Just another test.
They were wrong.
The insects didn't crawl. They flew. They screamed. And they didn't die easy.
The squad leader, an E-rank spearman, was the first to fall — pincers through the chest.
By the time backup arrived, two were dead, one missing, and the remaining three barely clinging to life.
---
Academy War Hall – Emergency Meeting
Ray wasn't invited — officially.
But shadows bent for him now.
Through a tiny viewing slit above the meeting chamber, he watched from the ceiling crawlspace.
Elders debated. Some demanded reinforcements. Others wanted to seal the gate and wait it out.
One young instructor — a fire mage — slammed his palm on the table.
"We need to train the younger ones now. No more theory. Let them bleed. Or they'll die anyway."
Ray memorized every face. Every voice.
These were the ones who would shape the academy's next phase.
And he… would shape it from below.
---
Later – Hidden Domain Core
The Bone Wolf, Graverend, returned dragging two corpses: a spider-locust hybrid and a mantis-like drone with six thin wings.
Ray crouched beside them.
"Level?"
Seventeen answered. "F Rank. Both Tier 1 World Spawn. No skills, but adaptable biology. Weak alone. Deadly in swarms."
Ray's hand hovered above their chests.
[Absorption Attempt – 50% Success Chance]
First: the mantis.
Failed.
Second: the spider-locust.
[Skill Absorbed: Thread Spit]
[Skill Rank: Basic]
[Effect: Allows temporary generation of sticky webbing. Can bind targets or form minor constructs.]
Ray grinned.
Not powerful. But… useful. Especially for traps.
And traps were a necromancer's favorite toy.
---
Undead Army Update
Skeletons: 12
Zombie Brutes: 5
Warcha + 5 Warcha-spawn
Graverend (Bone Wolf)
Shadow Lizard (F)
Spider Viper (F+)
Bone Crows: 3
New Addition: Insect Husk Reaper (Thread-wielding reanimated insect hybrid)
Total Combat Units: 29 + 7 Special
Domain Expansion: +150 meters (last 24 hours)
New Structure: Silken Nest (summons small insectlings to spy or sabotage enemies; limited uses)
---
Midnight – Academy Training Grounds
Ray joined a late-night training group.
He wore his mask of mediocrity well — fumbled a few moves, kept his energy low.
But when a fellow student collapsed from exhaustion, Ray helped him up, smiling gently.
Inside, Seventeen spoke:
"You could have taken control of this group already."
Ray nodded.
"I could."
"Then why not?"
"…Because I want to see who survives without me."
"And the rest?"
"They'll serve."