Morning arrived quietly over Arcadia Academy, the first rays of sunlight slipping gently through the tall windows and settling across the room in soft, golden streaks. The air carried a calm stillness, undisturbed, as though the world itself had yet to fully awaken.

On the bed—

Luca stirred.

His eyes fluttered open slowly, his vision adjusting to the light as consciousness returned in fragments. For a brief moment, everything felt distant, hazy, as though his body and mind were not entirely aligned.

Then—

Clarity.

He inhaled.

And paused.

Something was different.

Subtly.

But undeniably.

His breath felt... smoother.

Not just physically, but deeper—more controlled, as though each inhale naturally aligned with something within him. The faint resistance he had always unconsciously felt while circulating mana—

Was gone.

Completely.

Luca’s brows furrowed slightly as he pushed himself up, his movements instinctively lighter, more precise than before. There was no lingering fatigue, no heaviness from the previous night—only a strange sense of balance, as though his body had reached a new equilibrium.

He raised his hand slowly.

Closed his eyes.

And focused inward.

Mana responded instantly.

Not forced.

Not guided with effort.

It flowed.

Smoothly.

Naturally.

Like a stream that had finally found its proper path.

His awareness sank deeper, tracing the flow within him as his breathing steadied further. The chaotic, unrefined circulation he had grown used to had transformed into something far more stable—compressed, refined, and instinctive.

Denser.

Sharper.

Controlled.

His eyes opened.

A quiet realization surfaced.

"...This feeling..."

He lowered his gaze slightly, his fingers tightening faintly as the pieces began to align within his thoughts.

The strange smoothness from yesterday.

The closeness to breakthrough.

The violent instability that followed.

And then—

That night.

His expression hardened slightly as understanding settled in.

"...So that’s what it was..."

His voice was low.

Measured.

He exhaled slowly.

Then finally muttered, almost to himself—

"...I’ve broken through... to Core Compression."

Luca remained seated on the edge of his bed for a few moments longer, his gaze lowered as the realization settled more deeply within him. The calm flow of mana within his body contrasted sharply against the chaos he had experienced the previous night, and that contrast alone made his expression grow more serious.

"...Core Compression..." he murmured again, as if confirming it to himself.

A faint crease formed between his brows.

"That stage... isn’t something you just stumble into..."

His fingers curled slightly as his thoughts sharpened.

It was a threshold known for its danger.

Not because it was difficult—

But because it was unforgiving.

One wrong step.

One unstable surge.

And the result would not simply be failure.

"...You explode..." he muttered under his breath, recalling the warnings that had been drilled into every practitioner attempting that stage.

His gaze darkened slightly.

"And I did it... unconsciously?"

The question lingered heavily.

There had been no preparation.

No deliberate attempt.

No controlled compression of aura into a stable core.

Yet—

He had crossed that line.

"How is that even possible..." he whispered, the disbelief evident in his tone.

Then—

Her face appeared in his mind.

Dark hair with a faint violet tint.

Ghostly pale skin.

Those unsettling eyes.

His expression tightened.

"...That woman..."

The memory of her presence, of the overwhelming force she carried, resurfaced vividly now that his mind was clear.

"Who exactly are you...?" he murmured, his voice low.

More questions followed immediately.

"How did she even get inside the academy...?"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"No alarms... no detection... nothing..."

That alone was impossible.

Arcadia Academy was not a place one simply walked into unnoticed—especially not someone of that level.

"And why... me?"

The question lingered longer than the others.

Unanswered.

Unsettling.

With a quiet exhale, Luca pushed himself up from the bed, deciding there was little point in circling the same thoughts without answers.

He moved toward the bathroom, turning the handle and stepping inside as he let the hot water run.

The warmth spread across his body, washing away the remnants of sweat and fatigue, yet it did little to quiet the questions forming in his mind.

Water slid down his shoulders and back, the steady rhythm grounding him slightly as he allowed himself a moment of stillness.

Too many things don’t add up...

After a while, he stepped out, drying himself before retrieving a fresh set of clothes from his storage ring. The familiar black academy uniform with gold trims settled neatly over him, restoring a sense of normalcy—at least outwardly.

But inside—

Everything had changed.

He glanced at his hands briefly, flexing his fingers as he felt the refined, compressed energy within him respond effortlessly.

"I need to test this newfound strength..." he muttered quietly.

Not just to confirm his strength—

But to understand it.

To control it.

Then—

Another thought surfaced.

He paused.

Aurelia.

His expression grew firm.

"...No matter what," he said softly to himself, his voice carrying quiet resolve,

"I have to tell her the truth today."

The academy corridors were already alive with movement as Luca walked through them, though his pace remained steady, his mind still lingering on everything that had changed within him since the previous night. The refined flow of mana, the clarity in his senses, and the quiet weight of what he still had to do all pressed against his thoughts at once.

He turned a corner absentmindedly—

And nearly walked straight into someone.

Kyle.

Luca stopped just in time, his shoulder brushing lightly against him as he stepped back.

"Sorry... I was a bit lost in thought," Luca said, his tone calm as he adjusted his posture.

Kyle looked at him.

But this time—

There was no usual smirk.

No teasing glint in his eyes.

Only seriousness. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

A kind of seriousness Luca had rarely seen from him.

For a moment, Kyle said nothing.

Then he exhaled quietly and spoke.

"...Aurelia has been worried about you," he said, his voice steady, but carrying a weight that made Luca immediately pay attention.

Luca did not interrupt.

Kyle continued.

"She didn’t say much," he added, his gaze shifting slightly as though recalling her behavior. "That’s just how she is... she won’t force answers out of you, even if something is clearly bothering her."

His expression tightened faintly.

"But I can tell."

There was a subtle firmness in his tone now.

"As her brother... I can tell when something’s not right with her."

Luca’s eyes lowered slightly.

Kyle stepped a little closer.

"If there’s something going on," he said, his voice quieter now but more direct, "then you should talk to her."

"She’s not going to push you."

"But that doesn’t mean she’s not hurting."

The words settled heavily.

"And if you’re in trouble... or dealing with something difficult," Kyle added, his tone softening just slightly, "you don’t have to carry it alone."

A faint pause followed.

"That’s what friends are for... right?"

Luca remained silent for a moment, absorbing every word.

He noticed... even without her saying anything...

A faint sense of guilt surfaced again, sharper this time.

She really was worried...

His expression grew more resolute.

He looked back at Kyle and gave a small nod.

"...I’ll talk to her today," he said quietly.

Kyle studied him for a second longer—

Then nodded back.

"Good."

With that, the two of them began walking toward the classroom together, their steps falling into a natural rhythm as the earlier tension eased slightly.

After a few seconds, Kyle glanced at him again, this time with a hint of curiosity returning.

"...Something feels different about you," he muttered.

Luca raised a brow slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Kyle narrowed his eyes slightly as he observed him more carefully.

"I don’t know... it just feels like..." he paused, searching for the right words, "...like you’ve gotten stronger overnight or something."

Luca did not deny it.

Instead, he answered calmly.

"I broke through."

Kyle blinked once.

"Broke through... what?"

Luca looked ahead as they reached the classroom door.

"...Core Compression."

Kyle stopped walking.

Completely.

His expression froze.

Dead still.

Then slowly—

Very slowly—

He turned his head toward Luca.

"...Y-you..." he started, his voice losing all composure.

Then finally—

"...you monster!"

Kyle’s outburst did not go unnoticed.

The moment his voice rang through the classroom, several heads turned instinctively, conversations halting mid-sentence as attention shifted toward the small group near the entrance. Among them, Aiden and Selena were the first to react, both moving closer with visible curiosity, while Eric approached from behind with his usual casual demeanor, though his eyes already carried interest.

"What happened now?" Eric asked, raising a brow as he looked between them. "What did he do this time?"

Kyle pointed directly at Luca, still half in disbelief.

"This bastard," he said, his voice carrying both shock and accusation, "just told me he broke through Core Compression."

For a moment—

Silence.

Then—

"What?" Aiden was the first to react, his expression shifting instantly from confusion to outright disbelief as his eyes widened.

Selena’s usually composed face faltered slightly as well, her violet eyes narrowing as she studied Luca more carefully, as though trying to confirm whether he was serious.

Eric blinked.

Once.

Then twice.

"...You’re joking," he said flatly.

Luca said nothing.

And that—

Was answer enough.

Aiden stepped closer, his voice rising slightly.

"Are you serious right now?" he asked, his tone almost incredulous. "Core Compression isn’t something you just casually achieve. People prepare for months—years even—and you’re telling me you just... broke through?"

Selena crossed her arms lightly, her gaze still fixed on Luca, analytical as always.

"How?" she asked calmly, though the curiosity beneath her composure was unmistakable. "Your aura stability wasn’t at that threshold yet during the last assessment."

Eric let out a short breath, shaking his head.

"Don’t tell me you had some secret training method you’ve been hiding all this time," he added, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Because that would be seriously unfair."

Kyle, meanwhile, still looked as though he had not fully processed it.

"Overnight..." he muttered again, as if repeating it might somehow make it less absurd.

"Who even does that...?"

All eyes remained on Luca.

Waiting.

Expecting.

Demanding an explanation.

Luca stood there quietly, taking in their reactions without immediate response.

Inside, however—

A completely different thought surfaced.

Would it be too depressing...

His expression remained neutral.

...if I just said I did it while sleeping?

He exhaled faintly.

Perhaps—

Some truths were better left... simplified.