Other students quickly rushed forward to surround the scene and back Zane up. Jax and Kira moved into the direct path and raised their hands to physically block Solomon from reaching Marco.

’Let go of my shadow,’ Solomon cursed in his thoughts, glaring at the dark bindings wrapped around his boots.

Solomon gritted his teeth and forced his legs forward. His boots dragged across the stone floor, pulling the dark bindings along with them.

Sweat beaded on Zane’s forehead as he struggled to maintain the spell. ’How is a first-year overwhelming my magic?’ Zane thought, his hands visibly shaking under the strain. ’Even S-rank monsters struggle against this bind.’

"Calm down right now," Jax ordered, keeping his eyes locked on Solomon. "You cannot just run up and assault people in the middle of the dormitories."

The surrounding students started murmuring and gossiping among themselves. Several onlookers pointed at Solomon, recognizing his face from the viral clips currently circulating on the academy forums and various internet group chats.

A top-rank student named Elias pushed through the crowd and stepped directly between them. "What exactly is going on here?" Elias demanded. He looked between the involved parties. "Fighting among students on campus is strictly prohibited outside of an official duel."

Solomon stopped fighting the shadow binding and stood tall. "This is simply self-defense."

Onlookers exchanged bewildered glances. They had all watched Solomon sprint down the hall and punch Marco entirely out of nowhere. Despite the obvious lie, no one voiced their objections.

Marco finally pushed himself off the floor. His face burned bright red with fury. He reached to his waist and drew a pair of short swords from their sheaths.

Elias held his hand up to block the upperclassman’s path. "Marco Alfoy, put your weapons away right now," Elias warned. "The rules apply to you as well."

"He punched me first!" Marco yelled, gripping the hilts of his weapons. "I am just paying him back for the ambush."

"The rules must be followed regardless of who started it," Elias replied. "If the two of you want to fight, you will settle this through an official duel."

"Fine. I accept," Marco spat in anger.

Solomon let out a mocking smirk. "I accept too."

Elias nodded and tapped the glowing screen of his tablet. "The duel will officially begin in exactly three hours at the House Nova arena. If anything happens between the two of you before then, I will report both of you to the administration and they will deduct your academy points."

The surrounding crowd dispersed, returning to their previous conversations and paths. Zane released the shadow magic, finally freeing Solomon’s boots from the floor tiles.

Marco pointed one of his short swords directly at Solomon. "I will make sure to pay you back for that cheap shot," Marco threatened. "Just wait until my mother hears about this."

Solomon adjusted the leather strap of his greatsword. "Everyone will hear about how I beat the shit out of you."

Solomon turned his back on the group and walked away. Marco remained standing in the corridor, fuming in anger alongside Jax and Kira.

Kira watched Solomon disappear around the corner and turned toward Marco. "What was that about? Did you do something to him?"

Marco refused to answer and simply glared down the polished stone hallway.

Jax crossed his arms over his chest. "Solomon must have found out about our intelligence mission. He knows you shouted at his little sister."

"We were standing right there with you," Kira added, gesturing toward Jax and herself. "Solomon completely ignored us and went straight for you. Your outburst at his house is the only logical explanation."

Marco forcefully shoved his short swords back into their sheaths. "I never shouted at her! That girl was incredibly annoying. We explicitly told her to fetch her parents, and she just kept demanding answers from us."

"You should cancel the duel right now before this gets worse," Jax advised. "This entire mess is your fault."

"I got punched in the face for absolutely nothing," Marco argued. "He attacked me without saying a single word, and backing out of a sanctioned duel after getting assaulted in front of my peers is completely unacceptable. It will humiliate me and ruin my reputation as a noble of the Alfoy family."

Kira stepped directly into Marco’s line of sight. "The Grandmaster gave us strict orders to remain respectful at his house. You broke that rule the second you lost your temper. If the administration looks into this duel, they will uncover what happened and we will face massive consequences."

"My mother is a senior professor at this academy," Marco retorted, brushing past Kira. "I am completely unafraid of the administration or anyone else. I will step into that arena and beat Solomon to a pulp. I will punch his face ten times for that cheap trick."

Meanwhile, Solomon descended the grand staircases leading away from the upperclassmen territories. He walked through the sprawling corridors of the first-year dorm facilities and followed the enchanted directories to finally locate his assigned room.

He noticed two names engraved on a polished plaque beside the frame, confirming it was a shared dormitory. He kept his expectations for the living quarters entirely grounded.

He grabbed the metal handle and pushed. The door remained firmly shut. A small digital scanner blinked red next to the lock. Solomon quickly realized the room key was synchronized directly with the student’s owls.

His personal drone was currently a pile of destroyed scrap metal waiting for a replacement from the Grandmaster’s technicians.

Solomon let out an annoyed sigh and knocked on the wood.

A few seconds passed before the electronic lock clicked. The door swung open, revealing a familiar young man wearing thick glasses. Arthur Vance smiled broadly the moment he saw his new roommate.

"You are finally here!" Arthur said enthusiastically. He stepped back to clear the entryway.

Solomon stared at him blankly. He struggled to remember the face. He recalled someone offering him a hand in the entrance courtyard after his encounter with the panty Princess, but the exact identity eluded his mind.

Solomon subtly shifted his gaze toward the engraved plaque mounted on the wall to check the second name. A look of sudden recognition crossed his features. He forced a polite smile.

"Hey, Arthur," Solomon greeted, stepping inside the room.