From the main hall, Sophia guided the duo to the cafeteria, the place Chloe had been waiting to visit from the moment she arrived.

Once the trio had filled themselves to the brim, they moved outside through the back gate of the main building, stepping onto the vast open campus with buildings visible in the distance.

"The paths to the male and female dormitories separate from here," Sophia informed them, as the stone road ahead split in different directions. "Your room is in building Y-1. This is the key."

She handed the key to Vlad and asked, "If you need me to guide you there, just say the word."

"No, I will go on my own. Thank you for your help, Senior," Vlad replied politely.

Turning to Chloe, he held out her backpack and said, "Stay close to Senior Sophia and don’t cause any trouble."

"I never cause trouble," Chloe said, snatching her bag away. After a brief pause, she added, "Don’t get lost."

Before Vlad could respond, she pivoted on her heel and walked off.

"What’s with her mood again?" Vlad sighed, while Sophia observed the exchange with an amused smile.

"What is your relationship with Chloe?" she asked, curiosity lacing her voice.

"She is family," Vlad replied, his gaze warm as he watched Chloe’s retreating figure.

"Oho~" Sophia playfully gasped, raising a hand to her lips. "Aren’t you two a little young for that?"

"What do you mean?" Vlad asked, tilting his head in genuine confusion.

Sophia stared at his puzzled expression for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "No, my bad."

With that vague answer, she turned and left with Chloe. She didn’t want to keep Chloe waiting. She had even taken it upon herself to guide these freshers through the campus, a duty originally assigned to another student, and had paid for their cafeteria meal on top of that.

She wanted to earn Chloe’s favour so that she could recruit her to the Student Council.

Once Chloe and Sophia disappeared into the distant darkness, Vlad continued along his path. Even in the dark of night, the road was clearly visible, lit by glowing lanterns hanging from slender wooden poles on either side at even intervals.

The air here was colder than in his village, and fewer stars filled the sky. Now that he was finally alone in the cool breeze, a heavy feeling settled over his heart.

"I wonder what mother and father must be doing," Vlad whispered with a sigh. He shook his head and laughed softly to himself. "I hope father behaves himself and doesn’t get beaten to death by mother."

Step... step... step...

The sound of his footsteps echoed through the otherwise silent surroundings. There had been many students in the main building, but out here, it was strangely quiet.

"Oh right, I should claim the reward from the quest," Vlad said, steering his thoughts elsewhere. "On that note, how do I activate this system?"

He did what seemed most obvious: he called out to it directly.

"Ren, you there?"

With a faint shift in the patterns of his eyes, a translucent hologram materialised before him.

[Yes, Host.]

"That was conveniently easy," Vlad said with a satisfied nod. "I want to claim the reward from the quest."

[Reward claimed!]

[Congratulations! The host has unlocked a new hidden stat: Resonance.]

---

Status Screen

•Host Name: Vlad

•Rank: D

•Attributes:

 –Lightning (Res: Mortal)

 –Darkness (Res: Mortal)

•Core: N/A

•Stats:

 –Strength: 32 Speed: 29

 –Defense: 31 Agility: 31

 –Endurance: 38 Vitality:40

•Skills:

 –Foresight Eye {Yet to learn}

---

"Everything is the same except for this new term beside my attributes," Vlad murmured, reading the screen.

"Ren, what does Resonance mean?"

[Resonance represents affinity with an element. Currently, the Host has Mortal-level Resonance with Darkness and Lightning. With a deeper understanding of the elements, Resonance can be raised to higher levels, allowing the Host to access elemental powers more easily.]

"Woah, I never knew there were ranks to how well we could control the elements," Vlad gasped, surprised by this previously unheard information.

Although he had grown up in a village, he had read all the foundational knowledge required for the path he had chosen. He recalled reading that there were eleven primary elements: Pyro, Hydro, Cryo, Anemo, Dendro, Geo, Lightning, Darkness, Lumen, Aether, and Necro.

Awakeners could access one or two of these elements to draw upon the power of nature. Vlad had always assumed that affinity with the elements would naturally deepen as an Awakener grew stronger, but he had never read of it having a ranking system of its own.

It was then that he realised just how shallow his understanding of this mysterious world truly was. The thought only excited him further, eager as he was to learn everything he had yet to discover.

Before he knew it, his long walk ended at a modest stone building, three floors tall, built in the same medieval style as the rest of the academy. Ivy and moss crept along the lower walls, softening its austere appearance. A single wooden door served as the entrance, framed by a pair of lanterns matching those along the campus path. Beside the entrance, a signboard stabbed into the ground bore the bold italic letters of Y-1.

Vlad walked in through the front door, stepping into a warm common lounge. A few worn armchairs and sofas were arranged around the fireplace. Along the side wall, a bookshelf was stocked with light novels. In the corner stood a notice board on a stand, where announcement posters and dormitory rules were pinned.

Perhaps because it was quite late at night, only one person occupied the room, sitting in a wooden rocking chair with a book resting over his face. He wore a casual half-sleeved shirt and loose trousers.

"Go to yer room before I beat ya to a pulp," a heavy voice rumbled from behind the book. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

From those words, Vlad concluded the man must be the warden. But what was with such a harsh tone?

"Could you tell me which floor room 21 is on?" Vlad asked, ignoring the remark. The number was engraved on the key Sophia had given him.

"Oh, so yer the poor soul who got stuck with him," the warden said, lifting the book from his face. He was a middle-aged man with messy auburn hair, weathered skin, and a beard threaded with grey.

His handsome face carried a slight flush, and Vlad noticed now that the man held a half-filled bottle of grog in one hand.

’Is he drunk?’ Vlad thought inwardly before asking, "What do you mea—"

"Second floor," the man answered before Vlad could finish, and took a long swig of the alcohol. "What are ya lookin’ at? Get lost already."

Vlad decided to ignore the eccentric man and climbed the stairs, emerging into a long stone corridor with doors on either side, lit by wall-mounted lanterns.

He passed a couple of doors before finally reaching the one bearing the same number as his key.

With a soft click of the knob, the door swung open, and Vlad stepped inside.