But Haru had already gone in and disappeared.

Haru reached the room by climbing the outer walls, but had failed about 4 times to find which room it was.

"Next time you go out, close the window..." Golden’s son complained, bundled up in blankets.

"Tsk... sorry." Haru said, throwing himself onto the bed.

"People don’t see each other just once..." Haru thought, dozing off.

Haru woke up to the sound of bells, echoing throughout the academy.

Magic amplifying voice, announcement floating: "All students must proceed to the Central Arena. Opening Ceremony in 30 minutes."

When he looked at the courtyard...

All the students in the wing were heading in one direction in an organized flow.

Golden entered the room, cleaning his teeth with a toothpick, with food in his other hand (dessert and coffee).

"Breakfast!?" Haru exclaimed. Golden knew Haru hadn’t eaten anything. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

So he stayed there eating, staring at him, smiling slightly.

Haru was in a dilemma: leave and follow the crowd to avoid getting in trouble, or go eat somewhere he didn’t even know where it was.

"Pass me some..." Haru asked.

"Are you crazy!? Go get it yourself! Hahaha!"

A difficult choice, it was obvious Golden wasn’t going to help.

"And you’re not going?" Haru asked, straightening up and adjusting his clothes.

"What can I do? It doesn’t bother me, you stay in your lane and I’ll stay in mine..."

Haru jumped up, half-dressed, and started following the crowd.

Haru arrived at the main arena; the arena was enormous, with circular bleachers rising high, a capacity for many.

Directors, Professors, Instructors, Trainers, all seated in a reserved area.

"Master!" he heard Kira shout, and when he turned around...

He saw them sitting there; they had even reserved a space for him.

Kira was eating something... he went to sit down.

"Pass me some?" Haru asked. "I haven’t eaten..."

"No need to ask, master! I’m yours..."

The students around looked on, some laughing, others shocked.

"Watch your vocabulary..." Isabela said.

"Huh... did I say something wrong...?"

Yukihime sat on Isabela’s lap, swinging her legs.

"And how was it, little one?" Haru asked, eating.

"It was fantastic!" Yukihime began to tell about her room, other children, and toys she saw.

Then a responsible teacher began to speak; apparently, the director was on a mission.

Voice magically amplified:

"Students! Welcome to the Imperial Academy!"

"Here... you are no longer children of nobles. You are no longer ordinary adventurers. You are nothing more than what you were!" "Here... only excellence exists! Only meritocracy exists! Only those who deserve it exist!"

"This academy respects all religions! All races! All creeds!"

"But it doesn’t respect weakness!"

"The weak leave. The strong remain. The best become the elite of the Empire!"

He paused, looking around, letting the weight sink.

"And remember: here... mortality is real. Accidents happen. Training is brutal. Missions are dangerous."

"If you can’t accept that... leave now."

No one left...

The feeling was clear: the academy is not safe.

"And now... a warrior who needs no introduction..."

...

"It’s him..." Blandina said to Seline, remembering how much she loved that character.

Silence.

Metallic footsteps, echoing, rhythmic, heavy.

...

Eugen entered.

He wasn’t wearing golden armor, he was wearing holy armor, made of silvery-white metal, sacred veils floating behind him, symbols of the Cathedral engraved on it.

Murmurs: "Hero..." "Monster..." "Imperial elite..."

"My God, he’s so handsome..." Blandina said.

"You have a crush on NPCs..." Seline murmured.

"Not anymore... now that I’m here..." Blandina smiled.

Haru looked at Eugen normally, he knew he’d seen that face in the game, he knew he was connected to the Empire, he just couldn’t remember the details.

Before Eugen could speak... He glanced at the audience for a moment.

But then his eyes instantly stopped on Haru.

Eugen smiled. "Gotcha!" he thought.

"In this academy... talent doesn’t matter. Origin doesn’t matter." Eugen paused.

"There’s only one question:"

He looked directly at Haru as he said:

"Who’s still alive?"

And Haru had the clear, unmistakable feeling that this guy was only looking at him.

Eugen continued, walking through the open stadium/arena as if it were his home.

With metallic, measured, confident steps, dominating the space.

Haru heard murmurs around him, veteran students whispering:

"Supposedly Eugen was one of the best students in the third year..."

"No. The best."

"That’s absurd..."

"So he’s still a student!?" Haru exclaimed softly. "And he already works for the Empire...?"

The student next to him replied: "It’s not like work... it’s like an internship."

"An internship in what?"

"Imperial Guard..." the guy whispered reverently. "He’s the Emperor’s grandson."

"That’s it..." Haru exclaimed, trying to remember that character.

But he only remembered Arthur, the most well-known character in the game, almost the canonical protagonist.

"Imagine if he’s a Gamer..." Haru thought worriedly. "Hopefully not. The system would be unfair to us..."

Then Eugen raised his hand, three seconds in the air, in absolute silence.

And everyone stood up, all the non-freshman students, teachers, instructors, trainers.

Like an automatic reflex.

The freshmen, like Haru, didn’t know, they remained seated, confused.

Even Isabela, who was supposedly the know-it-all of the academy among them, didn’t know the meaning of it.

Until a non-freshman said hurriedly: "Stand up! Now!"

Some put their hands on their backs, others on their chests, palms open over their hearts.

Others raised a hand like Eugen, arm outstretched, fingers together.

The non-freshman instructed softly: "Stop at attention! And don’t stay seated!"

Eugen remained like that, head down, one hand in the air, motionless as a statue.

He was listening to noises, from the freshmen being organized by others, feet moving, uneven breaths.

A professor asked softly: "Will he get the timing right...?"

The professor next to him exhaled cigarette smoke, also standing up: "Eugen doesn’t disappoint."

"There’s a perfect timing..." Eugen thought. "When everyone aligns in mana and breath..."

He felt the entire arena, hundreds of people, different energies, chaos organizing itself.

He waited for the right moment.

Then he began, his amplified voice echoing throughout the stadium:

"Knowledge without discipline is calamity..."

The others continued with him, veterans knowing it by heart:

"Power without purpose is ruin..."

The rookies copied, failing, all nervous, behind, out of sync.

Haru repeated half a second later, trying to keep up.

Isabela’s voice trembled slightly too.

Kira only moved her lips silently, afraid of making a mistake.

"Mind, blood, will:"

Dramatic pause, everyone breathing together.

"May our names be worthy of History..."

"May only the worthy remain!"

Eugen fell silent for a moment, waiting, feeling the right name arrive.

"When everyone is in line... then I will shout."

The mana in the arena began to pulse, synchronizing, waves forming, collective energy growing.

Breaths aligning minimally, inhale, exhale, inhale.

"NOW."

"FOR ASTRAEUS ELDRATH!"

They all shouted in unison:

"FOR ASTRAEUS ELDRATH!"

Haru felt something in his heart, like a tightness, a pressure, as if something bigger than him had touched his soul.

Yukihime’s fur stood on end, her whole body bristled, her tail bristling, her ears pressed against her head.

Yukihime felt fear, instinctively, deeply, of a larger predator.

"So..." Eugen said, lowering his hand, "...we declare the opening of the Astraeus Eldrath Imperial Academy."

Everyone began to clap, a deafening applause that echoed for minutes.

Yukihime ran, grabbed Haru’s legs, hugging him tightly.

"I’m scared..." her voice trembled.

"Astraeus Eldrath..." Haru thought, gently stroking her hair, trying to calm her.

But he also had a feeling; this wasn’t just a ceremony. It was something real... and now... he was inside.

After the ceremony, Haru and they went to lunch. It was a huge cafeteria, long wooden tables, hundreds of students talking loudly.

They sat at an empty table; they didn’t have a group yet, isolated freshmen.

Isabela served food: roast beef, potatoes, fresh bread, soup.

Kira ate quickly, beastskin mode, hands and mouth, without ceremony.

Yukihime ate sweets, happy just to be there.

"So..." Isabela began, "...what are our plans here?"

"To survive..." Haru replied, chewing.

"No, seriously. What’s the plan?"

Haru thought and then said, "Not to die, to pass the year, not to draw attention."

"I want to learn advanced magic!" Isabela said. "Ancestral flames, consecrations, everything!"

"I want to learn not to be here..." Kira grumbled.

Yukihime raised her hand: "I want... to be queen!!!"

Haru smiled slightly, touched her head, and ruffled her hair.

"You already are, little one."

A senior student walked by, tapping Haru on the shoulder repeatedly.

"Good luck, freshman. You’ll need it."

Haru looked confused.

"What was that?"

Isabela shrugged: "It must be normal..."

Later, Haru began searching for books in the library. It wasn’t his first time being a student, especially now in a world of magic.

The library was absurd, with five floors, shelves reaching the ceiling, floating staircases, books flying on their own to places.

It smelled of good, comforting old paper.

Haru searched the shelves in the "Fundamentals of Mana" section.

"Knowledge without discipline is calamity..."

Haru froze, turning slowly.

Eugen was there, now without his armor, in casual clothes. Short blond hair, light blue eyes, aristocratic features.

He held a book, extending it to Haru.

"It’s rare to see newcomers understanding the first part of the oath..."

"Start by praising..." Eugen thought.

Haru picked up the book, leather-bound, title engraved: "Astraeus Eldrath: Summary"

"My name is Eugen..." he introduced himself.

"Then give information to obtain information..." Eugen thought.

"My name is Haru Mizuki..."

"Finally... to know how to be, to doubt certainty..." Eugen thought, smiling inwardly.

"Hey..." Eugen gestured casually, "...weren’t there supposed to be two? Where’s that friend of yours... the... the..." He pretended to forget.

"Which one?" Haru asked.

"He’s kind of... that... I forgot his name..."

"Genius!" Haru finished.

Eugen confirmed: "Yes, that one! The Genius!"

"It’s true, the Genius... where could he be?" "Will he study here...?" Haru thought for a brief moment.

"Wait..." Haru said suspiciously. "How do you know Genius? How do you know he’s my friend?"

"Good move..." Eugen thought with a smile. "90% of gamers dream of being part of a guild. Who hasn’t wanted that...?"

"I saw you guys at the guild... remember?" Eugin said naturally.

"At the guild... I don’t remember him, maybe it was the night after the cathedral, but what was the Emperor’s grandson doing at the guild...?" Haru thought. "After all, doesn’t he have everything..."

"Do you know the difference between Mana and holiness?" Eugin asked, seeing that Haru was also holding a book about holiness.

Haru processed: "Mana is... personal energy. Holiness is... divine energy?"

"No." Eugen smiled. "That’s a beginner’s interpretation."

He took a book from the shelf, opened it to a specific page, and showed a diagram.

"Mana is an engine." "Holiness is a mold, but not as you think..."

He pointed. "Mana pushes, holiness guides like a river and its banks."

"A river without banks becomes a flood, power without control. Banks without rivers become dry land, form without substance."

Haru understood, his eyes shining.

"So... Consecration also involves spiritual architecture..."

"Exactly." Eugen closed the book, smiled slightly, and started walking.

"See you there, Mizuki boy." And he left.

Haru stood there, looking at the book he had recommended.

"The guy’s a good person..." Haru thought.

In the hallway, while Eugen walked, he thought.

"Genius... so that other Gamer would be Genius Genials..."

"After the baptism... I’ll pay a visit to the House of Genials. Because if I remember correctly... the Genius disease starts to show itself in these times in the game..."

He smiled.

"Interesting..."