Safe Zone – Academy UndergroundThe underground chamber was packed. Hundreds of students crammed together in the reinforced shelter beneath the School of Runes. Emergency lighting cast everything in harsh white.Ethan stood with Glan near the back wall. Other students pressed close on all sides—nervous energy, whispered conversations, fear barely contained.BOOM.The explosion was distant but felt through the stone. Dust drifted from the ceiling. Students flinched.BOOM. BOOM.Two more. South side again. The Academy's defensive formations were holding, but the attacks were getting closer."How long do we stay down here?" someone asked."Until they tell us it's safe," another answered.BOOM.Then silence.The sudden absence of sound was almost worse than the explosions. Everyone waited, listening, tense.Minutes passed. Five. Ten. Twenty.Nothing.A message crystal activated at the front of the chamber. An instructor's voice—magically amplified—echoed through the space."All students report to the Main Hall immediately. Attendance is mandatory. Move in orderly groups."The crowd stirred. Conversations erupted."Is it over?""Are they gone?""What's happening?"Ethan and Glan moved with the flow of students. Up the stairs. Through the corridors. Toward the Main Hall.The Academy looked intact. No visible damage. The defensive formations had held.Main Hall – Thirty Minutes LaterThe Main Hall was enormous—designed to hold the entire student body of the School of Runes. Easily a thousand students filled the space now, with instructors lining the walls.Ethan and Glan found space near the middle. Everyone was standing, waiting.The double doors at the front opened.Principal Victor entered.Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dark robes with red trim. Face weathered by decades of magic use. The pressure radiating from him was immense—Level 3 wizard, absolute authority in the School of Runes.Glan tensed beside Ethan. "This must be serious."Victor walked to the center of the stage alone. No other principals. No allies. Just him and his instructors.Victor's voice boomed across the hall without magical amplification. Natural projection."Students of the School of Runes. Today we were attacked."Silence. Everyone listening."The School of Elements launched an unprovoked assault on our Academy this morning. Six instructors are dead. Seventeen students injured. The attack was coordinated—designed to breach our defenses and steal artifacts from our vault."Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Ethan's eyes narrowed. Artifacts. The beacon."They failed," Victor continued, voice hard. "Our formations held. Their forces retreated. But make no mistake—this was a declaration of war."More murmurs. Louder now. Students looked frightened."Effective immediately, all combat-capable students will be mobilized. Defensive rotations will be established. Training will intensify. Those who wish to volunteer for active frontline service will be given that opportunity."Ethan studied Victor carefully. The man stood with absolute confidence. Authority in every gesture.And there—at his neck—something glinted.A pendant. Small. Black crystal set in silver. Hanging from a thin chain.But it wasn't just jewelry. Ethan could see the faint shimmer of power around it. The way it seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it.A beacon.His breath caught.Victor wore a beacon openly. Right there. Visible to anyone who knew what to look for.That's what the School of Elements had attacked for. They wanted Victor's beacon.And they'd failed."The School of Elements believes we are weak," Victor said. "They believe they can take what is ours. They are wrong. We will defend our school. We will defend our honor. And we will make them pay for every drop of blood spilled today."The crowd erupted in approval. Shouts. Cheers. Anger channeled into determination.Victor raised a hand. Silence returned."All students are dismissed to your quarters. Instructors will distribute assignments within the hour. Stay alert. Stay prepared. The war has begun."The crowd began to disperse. Conversations erupting everywhere.Ethan stood frozen, staring at Victor's neck.Glan tugged his arm. "Come on. Let's go."Ethan followed mechanically. His mind was racing.A beacon. Right there. On his own principal's neck.The School of Elements wanted it. They'd launched a full assault to get it.And failed.But Ethan had something they didn't.Access. Knowledge. Opportunity.Ethan's Room – Two Hours LaterEthan locked his door. Sat at his desk. Stared at the blank paper in front of him.This was insane.Victor was a Level 3 wizard. Principal of the School of Runes. Protected by layers of security. Surrounded by loyalists. Now on high alert after an attack.Getting the beacon was impossible.Unless."NEXUS," he said quietly. "I need information. Victor's quarters. Layout. Security. Access points."[REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGED. SCANNING AVAILABLE DATA.][ACADEMY ARCHITECTURAL RECORDS: ACCESSIBLE.][PRINCIPAL'S WING LAYOUT: PARTIAL DATA AVAILABLE.][SECURITY PROTOCOLS: ESTIMATED BASED ON STANDARD CONFIGURATIONS.]"Can you map a route to Victor's chambers?"[AFFIRMATIVE. GENERATING OPTIMAL INFILTRATION ROUTE. WARNING: SUCCESS PROBABILITY EXTREMELY LOW. LEVEL 3 WIZARD DETECTION CAPABILITIES EXCEED HOST CURRENT STEALTH OPTIONS.]"Not infiltration. Not yet." Ethan thought it through. "Just map the route. Include secret passages. Service corridors. Anything that bypasses main security."[MAPPING IN PROGRESS.]A mental image formed. The principal's wing. Victor's chambers on the third floor. Multiple access points—main entrance, servant entrance, emergency exit.And there—a forgotten maintenance shaft. Old. Pre-war construction. Connected to the underground service tunnels.[MAINTENANCE SHAFT LEADS TO STORAGE CHAMBER ADJACENT TO TARGET QUARTERS. DOOR CONNECTING STORAGE TO CHAMBERS: LOCKED BUT NOT MAGICALLY WARDED BASED ON ARCHITECTURAL AGE.]"Show me everything. Complete map."[GENERATING DETAILED SCHEMATIC.]Ethan grabbed paper. Started drawing. NEXUS fed him information—measurements, distances, door locations, corridor turns.Thirty minutes later, he had a complete map. Victor's chambers. All approaches. Secret passages. The maintenance shaft. The storage chamber. Everything.He stared at it.This map was valuable. To the right person, it was invaluable.To someone wanting to assassinate Victor, for example.Or steal something from his chambers.The School of Elements had just attacked trying to get Victor's beacon. They'd failed.But with this map? They could try again. Successfully.And if Ethan was the one who provided it? If he helped them steal the beacon?He could take it for himself in the chaos.Ethan's hands were steady as he made two copies. One for himself. One to deliver.Training Grounds – Next MorningThe grounds were organized chaos. Instructors sorting students into groups. Combat assessments. Equipment distribution.Ethan found the volunteer registration table.An instructor—middle-aged man with a scarred face—looked up. "Name?""Ethan. Level 1. Space affinity.""Combat experience?""Survived a wizard-level beast hunt. Completed contract work. Have offensive and defensive spells."The instructor raised an eyebrow. "Level 1 with wizard-level hunt experience. That's rare." He made a note. "We can use you. Frontline support. You'll be deployed to the border outpost within three days.""Understood.""Report here tomorrow morning for briefing. Bring full gear."Ethan nodded and left.Glan caught up with him. "You volunteered? Are you insane?""Probably.""You could die out there. The School of Elements just attacked us. They want war.""Could die here too. At least frontline volunteers get better equipment and training."Glan shook his head. "There's something you're not telling me.""Always is." Ethan smiled without humor. "Stay safe, Glan. Hide in the library like you planned.""And you?""I'll survive. I always do."Ethan's Room – That NightThe map lay on his desk. Perfect detail. Complete information.Getting it to the School of Elements would be tricky. He couldn't just walk up to their forces and hand it over. That was suicide.But deployed to the frontline? Near their positions? Opportunities would present themselves.A "chance" encounter during a skirmish. A dropped document during retreat. A captured messenger who "escaped" with valuable intelligence.NEXUS could help with that."NEXUS. Once I'm at the frontline, can you identify School of Elements operatives? People who could receive this information?"[AFFIRMATIVE. COMBAT ANALYSIS AND TACTICAL ASSESSMENT CAPABILITIES CAN IDENTIFY COMMAND STRUCTURE BASED ON BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS AND MAGIC SIGNATURES.]"And help me create a scenario where the map reaches them without suspicion?"[PROBABILITY MODELING AVAILABLE. WILL GENERATE OPTIMAL DELIVERY SCENARIO BASED ON BATTLEFIELD CONDITIONS.]Ethan folded the map carefully. Tucked it inside his jacket's inner pocket.The beacon was within reach now. He just had to survive long enough to take it.The School of Elements wanted Victor's beacon. They'd failed once.But with this map? They could succeed.And in the chaos of their second attempt?Ethan would take the beacon for himself.Victor wore it openly because he believed himself untouchable.Level 3 wizard. Principal of the School of Runes. War commander.But even the mighty could fall.Especially when their own students sold them out.Ethan lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.Three days until deployment.Three days to prepare.Then the real hunt would begin.
