Sacrificial Lamb

The cafeteria sat at the center of the academy, a sprawling stone building with high arching windows and banners hanging from every beam.

Everyone ate there, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Stone, but that didn't mean they were treated the same.

Noah joined the queue like everyone else, nameplate in hand.

At the front, an enchantment read his tier as he stepped onto a glowing rune circle. The glow turned gray.

A worker behind the counter didn't even glance up as they handed him a tray.

The meal was simple. Steamed root vegetables, a scoop of rice, and a thin strip of salted meat. No spices. No sauces. Just enough to keep the body working.

He walked past the next few counters, where Bronze students were served thick stews and soft rolls.

Further down, Silver-tier students chose from grilled meats, fruits, and sparkling juice.

Gold-tier students didn't even queue. They were seated at private tables, where the workers brought them plates covered with cloches and poured their drinks into crystal glasses.

The school claimed the difference in meals was to increase motivation and competition between students.

Noah hadn't met a single person who believed that.

He sat alone at the edge of the hall. No one bothered him. No one joined him.

He ate quietly, chewing without complaint. The food didn't matter.

It was fuel.

When he was finished, he stood, dropped off the tray, and stepped out alone into the sunlight, letting his feet carry him through the campus.

He passed the arenas, where students in better uniforms laughed as they sparred among themselves.

He walked past the open air lecture platforms, where a mentor was currently guiding his student through spell diagrams drawn in the air with shimmering light.

Noah walked past all of it.

Eventually, he found himself at the edge of a quiet grove near the academy's western boundary.

There, nestled among tall reeds and ringed by trees, was a small lake. The water shimmered with the color of the sky, pale blue and silver where the sun struck, darkening near the deeper parts.

He crouched by the water's edge and leaned forward, his reflection staring back.

This was the first time he was seeing his face since arriving in this world.

His black hair was as it had always been, messy, falling just above his eyes. His face was unchanged. He was still as good looking as he'd always been.

But his eyes.

They were different now.

No longer brown.

His irises had turned a deep, burning orange faintly glowing beneath the sun, like embers held behind glass. And at their center sat a black pupil, round and still.

He frowned slightly.

Then the pupil narrowed into a vertical slit.

At once, his vision shifted. The world didn't blur, it sharpened.

Every leaf across the lake came into focus. He could see the insects crawling across the bark of a tree twenty yards away. The fibers of his own uniform sleeve became distinct, as if under magnification.

Noah blinked in shock.

The slit vanished, and the zoom faded.

He stared at his reflection again.

Dragon eyes.

So that's what they gave him.

He rose to his feet slowly, the wind tugging gently at his shirt.

He wasn't going to hide it.

Not the eyes. Not the strength. Not the hunger.

Let them keep thinking he was some weakling with a broken potential.

He would show them what he really was.

He turned from the lake and walked back towards the heart of the academy.

Tomorrow, class will begin.

And the climb would start with it.

[][][][][]

The next day came with a gray sky and a cold breeze that drifted through the marble walkways of the Royal Academy.

Noah walked alone, hands in his pockets, following the map in his head toward Classroom 6B, where he currently had Magical Theory.

His boots echoed faintly across the stone as early sunlight broke through the clouds, sending the shadows of the buildings painting the floor like clothes fallen from a line.

He kept his head high, a small smile on his face at the whispers of the students. All he hoped was to get to his classroom without interruptions.

Unfortunately, he didn't get far before someone interrupted him.

A voice rang out ahead.

"Hold it."

Noah looked up.

A boy stepped into his path, flanked by two others. He wore the silver trimmed uniform of his tier. His white-blond hair was slicked back, and his eyes were a sharp, cutting gray.

Silver Tier.

First year.

Noble.

The air around him reeked of entitlement.

A group of students nearby slowed their steps, sensing a scene.

Noah said nothing. He kept walking.

The noble didn't move.

He raised a hand, palm outward. "Name's Damien of House Krell. Maybe you've heard of us. Probably not. I heard they don't teach pedigrees in Stone tier."

Noah stopped a few feet away.

Damien's eyes narrowed as he looked him up and down. "So this is what FFF potential looks like. I thought you people would at least dress the part. Ragged and pathetic. But I guess they're giving uniforms to everyone now."

The students around them paused, forming a loose circle. A few smirks. A few murmurs.

Damien stepped closer, his voice rising.

"You know, I was willing to give the summoned lot a chance. Heroes from another world and all that. But then I saw your results."

He sneered. "Stone tier. FFF rank. Roar? More like bark."

Laughter rippled through the small crowd.

Damien tilted his head mockingly. "Come on, bark for us. Isn't that what a mutt like you does? Just a little bark, and maybe I'll toss you a bone."

Noah didn't answer.

Damien leaned closer. "You can't even awaken a skill higher than your potential. That's the law of magic. Potential defines your ceiling. Even if you survive here, you'll never unlock anything worth mentioning."

He smirked. "So come on. Show us what that bark does."

Noah stepped forward.

Just one step.

The crowd quieted slightly, unsure of what he was doing.

He raised one hand.

Damien blinked. "What are you—"

Noah placed two fingers against Damien's shoulder.

And activated Roar.