"Last one down buys breakfast!"
Ria's challenge hung in the dusty air of the stairwell, but it wasn't a game. It was a tactical sprint for survival.
The massive DONG of the bell was still vibrating through the stone walls, shaking dust loose from the ceiling. It was the kind of sound that didn't just wake people up; it woke up the architecture.
I scrambled down the spiral stairs, my sneakers squeaking on the uneven stone. Ria was ahead of me, moving with a fluid, parkour-like grace, skipping two steps at a time.
"Slow down!" I hissed, grabbing the central pillar to swing myself around a tight corner. "If you trip, I'm not carrying you!"
"If I trip, just loot my corpse!" she called back, her voice echoing.
We hit the ground floor. The heavy oak door I had squeezed through earlier was still ajar, but outside, the peaceful night had turned into a disco of magical searchlights.
I skidded to a halt behind Ria, who was peering through the crack in the door.
"Problem," she whispered.
I looked over her shoulder.
Three Gargoyle Sentries were converging on the tower base. Their yellow searchlight-eyes were sweeping the grass in chaotic patterns. Behind them, I could see the glow of mana-lanterns approaching from the Faculty Hall.
"We can't go out the front," I said. "The gargoyles have thermal tracking. If we step on the grass, they'll turn us into paste."
Ria bit her lip, looking around the cramped entry hall. "Windows?"
"Too high up. And barred."
"Then we fight," Ria said, her hand drifting to her dagger. "I can distract the one on the left. You... throw a rock at the one on the right?"
"Terrible plan," I said immediately. "Those are Grade-4 constructs. Your dagger will snap, and I'll be dead before I find a rock."
I closed my eyes, forcing my breathing to slow down. I needed to see the lines.
[Observer Vision: Active.]
The world turned into a wireframe blueprint. I saw the red pulses of the gargoyles outside. I saw the blue ley-lines of the academy's wards. And then, I saw something faint beneath our feet.
A grey line. Old magic. Fading, but present.
"The floor," I said, pointing to a large, cracked flagstone near the back wall. "There's a hollow space underneath. A drainage tunnel."
Ria looked at the stone, then at me. "You have X-ray vision now?"
"Just a hunch. Help me lift it."
We ran to the stone. It was heavy, cemented by decades of grime. Outside, the heavy thud-thud-thud of stone feet was getting louder. A yellow light swept across the crack in the door, illuminating our panicked faces.
"On three," I grunted, jamming my fingers into the crack. "One. Two. Three!"
We heaved. My back screamed in protest, but the stone grated against the floor and slid aside just enough to reveal a dark, damp hole. The smell of stagnant water and mold wafted up.
"Ew," Ria said, wrinkling her nose.
"Breakfast or prison," I said. "Your choice."
"Fine. But you're buying the coffee."
She jumped in. I followed, sliding the stone back into place just as the heavy oak door was smashed open by a stone fist.
The tunnels were awful. They were slick with slime, narrow, and infested with what I hoped were just normal rats and not the magical, ankle-biting kind.
We emerged twenty minutes later through a grate behind the cafeteria kitchens. We were covered in cobwebs and smelled like a wet dog, but we were alive. And un-expelled.
"Okay," Ria said, dusting off her cloak as we stood in the shadow of a dumpster. "That was... exhilarating."
She looked at me, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "You're weird, Ren. You know secret tunnels, you drop bells on demons, and you talk like you've read the strategy guide to life. Who are you really?"
I hesitated. I couldn't tell her the truth. 'Hi, I'm from another dimension and your life is a paperback novel.' Yeah, that would go over well.
"I'm just an observer," I said, sticking to the truth-adjacent script. "I pay attention to details other people miss."
Ria studied me for a second, then shrugged. "Works for me. Everyone has secrets. Mine is that I actually hate tea, but I drink it to look sophisticated."
She fished a gold coin from her pocket and tossed it to me. I caught it reflexively.
"Keep it," she said. "That's my contact info. If you need that lock picked at the library, scratch the edge of the coin three times. I'll find you."
"Wait," I said as she turned to leave. "The library job. It's in two days. We need to prep."
"I'm always prepped," she winked. "Just tell me the target."
"The target is a trap," I said seriously. "And the person setting it doesn't even know it's a trap."
Ria's smile faded slightly. She nodded. "High stakes. I like it. See you around, Grey-coat."
She melted into the shadows, heading toward the girls' dorms.
I looked at the coin in my hand. It was warm.
[Item Acquired: The Trickster's Token]
[Affinity with Ria: Level 2 (Ally)]
I pocketed it and snuck back to the commoner dorms. Tybalt was still snoring, exactly as I left him.
I collapsed onto my bed, not even bothering to change out of my dirty clothes. I stared at the ceiling.
The Shadow Hound. The Editor. The Trap.
"Two days," I whispered.
I closed my eyes, and for the first time since arriving in this world, I didn't dream of the plot. I dreamt of a giant iron bell crashing down, over and over again.
The next morning, the reality of being a student hit me like a bucket of ice water.
"Linear Magic Theory," the professor droned, writing a complex formula on the chalkboard. "Can anyone tell me why the variable X must remain constant in a wind-shear calculation?"
I sat in the middle row of Class 1-C. Tybalt was next to me, frantically taking notes and sweating.
"Ren," Tybalt whispered. "I don't understand. Why is there math? I thought we just waved sticks and yelled words."
"Magic is math with sparkles, Ty," I murmured, keeping my head down. "Just copy the board."
I wasn't paying attention to the lecture. I was watching the seat two rows ahead and to the left.
Cian.
He was a small, pale boy with messy brown hair and ink stains on his fingers. In the novel, Cian is the "Hidden Genius" archetype—a character with massive intelligence stats but zero combat ability. He usually stays in the background until Volume 3, where he invents a mana-battery that saves the city.
But right now, he looked like a wreck.
He had dark circles under his eyes. His leg was bouncing nervously. He wasn't taking notes on the lecture; he was scribbling in a leather-bound journal that looked far too old for a first-year student.
[Observer Vision: Active.]
I focused on the journal.
Text Analysis: "...Ancient Runes of the Void... Basement Sector 4... The Gateway requires a blood sacrifice... No, that's a mistranslation... it requires a mana overload..."
My stomach tightened.
The Editor was right. Cian wasn't trying to blow up the school. He was trying to open a "Gateway." Probably thinking it led to knowledge or power.
He didn't know it was booby-trapped.
The bell rang for lunch.
Cian slammed his book shut, shoved it into his bag, and bolted out the door before the professor even finished the sentence.
"Ren? Lunch?" Tybalt asked, packing his bag. "They have Shepherd's Pie today. If it's real lamb, I might cry tears of joy."
"You go ahead, Ty," I said, standing up. "I have to... return a library book."
"You just got here yesterday! You already have library books?" Tybalt shook his head. "Nerd."
I followed Cian.
He didn't go to the cafeteria. He walked straight across the campus, head down, muttering to himself. I trailed him from a distance, using groups of students as cover.
He entered the Great Library—a massive, cathedral-like building filled with the smell of old paper and silence.
I slipped in after him.
The library was a labyrinth of towering bookshelves. Cian bypassed the main reading area and headed straight for the "History of Magic" section in the back.
He sat at a secluded table, pulled out his journal, and opened a massive tome he must have hidden there previously.
I hid behind a shelf of "Herbology for Beginners," watching him through the gap between books.
He looked desperate. He was cross-referencing something.
"Why won't it align?" Cian whispered, his voice cracking. "The sequence is perfect. The geometry is sound. Why does the text say 'Beware the Watcher'?"
He ran his hands through his hair, pulling at it.
"I have to prove it," he muttered. "I have to show them I'm not useless. Dad was wrong. I can use the Old Magic."
Ah, I thought. Daddy issues. The classic motivator for accidental villainy.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over Cian's table.
I tensed. Was it the Summoner?
No. It was a girl carrying a stack of books on healing arts.
Mira.
She stopped by his table, her expression soft. "Um... excuse me?"
Cian jumped, nearly knocking over his inkwell. He slammed his journal shut. "I wasn't doing anything! I mean—hi."
Mira smiled tentatively. "Is this seat taken? The rest of the library is full."
It wasn't full. Mira was just too nice to sit alone, and she probably sensed Cian's distress. She had a radar for sad people.
"No," Cian mumbled, shifting his books. "It's free."
Mira sat down. "I'm Mira. Class 1-A."
"Cian. 1-C."
"You're studying... Ancient dialects?" Mira asked, tilting her head to read the spine of his tome. "That looks hard."
"It is," Cian said, a hint of pride creeping into his voice. "Most people think it's dead language. But it's not dead. It's just... sleeping."
"Like a hibernation spell?" Mira suggested.
Cian blinked. "Exactly. Like a hibernation spell."
I watched them talk. It was a sweet, wholesome interaction. The quiet genius and the compassionate healer. In a rom-com, this would be the meet-cute.
In this story, it was the setup for a tragedy.
If Cian triggered the trap in the basement, the resulting explosion or magical backlash wouldn't just kill him. It would kill anyone nearby. And since Mira was now befriending him, she would likely be with him when he tried to "prove himself."
Two days, the Editor had said.
But watching Cian's frantic energy, I doubted we had two days. He looked like he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
I backed away slowly, stepping silently on the carpeted floor.
I needed to find Ria. And we needed to get into that basement tonight. We couldn't wait for the deadline. If Cian figured out the code early, Mira was dead.
I hurried out of the library, blinking in the bright sunlight.
I pulled out the gold coin Ria gave me. I scratched the edge three times with my fingernail.
Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.
Nothing happened.
"Ren?"
I turned around.
Elara was standing there. She wasn't wearing her uniform. She was wearing a casual blouse and trousers, but she still held that damn clipboard.
"You're stalking Cian," she stated. It wasn't a question.
I froze. "I was... observing. We're in the same class."
"You followed him from the Main Hall to the Library. You stood behind the Herbology section for six minutes. You didn't pick up a book." Elara tapped her pen against the clipboard. "Observation implies intent. What is your intent, Ren?"
This girl was dangerous. She was too smart for the plot's own good.
"I think he's in trouble," I said, deciding that a half-truth was better than a lie. "He's messing with stuff he doesn't understand."
Elara's eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "And you do understand it?"
"I have a bad feeling. Call it instinct."
Elara studied me. The silence stretched, heavy and uncomfortable.
"Cian has been requesting restricted tomes on subspace geometry," Elara said slowly. "The librarians denied him, but he found copies in the donation pile. He is trying to access the lower levels."
"The basement," I said.
"Yes. Which is sealed for a reason. There are mana leaks down there." Elara stepped closer. "If you are planning to intervene, do not cause a scene. The Student Council is already on high alert after the Bell Tower incident last night."
My heart skipped a beat. "Bell Tower incident?"
"Someone destroyed a piece of school property. A clapper. And there was residue of... unauthorized magic." Elara lowered her voice. "If you know something about that, Ren, now is the time to speak."
[Narrative Alert: Elara Suspects You.]
[Story Stability: 94.0%]
I looked her dead in the eye. "I was in my dorm all night. Ask Tybalt. He snores, I can prove I was there listening to it."
Elara didn't blink. "I already asked Tybalt. He said you were asleep when he woke up. That doesn't account for the hours between midnight and 4 AM."
She was good.
"Look," I said. "I'm just trying to keep people from getting hurt. Cian is going to do something stupid. If I stop him, will you get off my back?"
"If you stop him without destroying school property," Elara corrected. "Then I will consider your 'bad feeling' a valid asset. If you fail, or if you cause damage... I will report you to the Headmaster."
She turned and walked away. "You have 24 hours, Ren. Fix it."
I let out a breath I had been holding for five minutes.
"Okay," I muttered, looking at the coin in my hand again. "Plan changed. We go tonight. Definitely tonight."
I felt a vibration in my pocket. The coin was warm.
A voice—Ria's voice—echoed in my head, transmitted through the enchantment on the gold.
"Meet me behind the greenhouse at sunset. Bring gloves. And maybe a snack. I'm thinking heist time?"
I gripped the coin. "Heist time," I whispered.
The objective was clear: Break into the library basement, disable the trap, and save the future villain and the healer.
But as I looked back at the library, I saw a figure standing on the roof, watching me.
It was a silhouette wrapped in black cloth. It wasn't a student. It wasn't a teacher.
It raised a hand, and for a split second, I saw a flash of red light—a Fire Shard.
Vance?
No. Vance was expelled. He was gone.
The figure vanished.
[New Plot Variable: The Avenger.]
[Identity: Unknown.]
"Great," I sighed, starting the walk to the greenhouse. "Just what I needed. A mystery character with a grudge."
The arc was accelerating. I just hoped I could keep up.