"Go straight, the passageway to your right. Room 123."

Leo nodded slightly and left the reception of the academy’s dormitory. When he arrived, he and Mirage’s luggage were collected by the academy officials and taken to their respective rooms.

So he still hadn’t gotten a chance to see his room. The school itself was located on a desolate island that was miles away from the military’s area, the two locations separated by a large swampy red forest called the Bloodroot Expanse.

The forest stretched endlessly between the military districts and the academy island like a living barrier. Massive crimson trees rose from dark swamp waters, their roots twisting together like giant veins beneath the surface. Even from the academy bridges, students could sometimes see thick red mist drifting between the trees at night.

According to the academy guidebook, the forest was filled with unstable Aura zones and creatures that had adapted too deeply to the environment over the years. Because of that, crossing the Expanse without permission was strictly forbidden to students below Taurus Rank.

Of course, that only made Leo more curious about it.

The dormitory sector itself was located behind the eastern academic structures, separated from the main academy by a series of elevated walkways suspended above the lower portions of the island. Unlike the cold military atmosphere of the classrooms, this part of the academy felt strangely normal.

At least until one noticed the armored patrol units walking around every few minutes.

Leo followed the hallway to the right as instructed.

The corridor was long, lined with dark stone walls illuminated by soft blue fire lamps fixed near the ceiling. Every few meters, numbered doors stretched along both sides of the passageway, each carrying small engraved inscriptions beside them.

Some doors were open.

Students moved in and out carrying books, weapons, training gear, and luggage while conversations echoed faintly throughout the floor. Some looked exhausted already despite it still being the first day.

Leo even spotted one boy limping badly while his friend dragged him toward what looked like the medical wing.

’Practical Aura Application?’ Leo guessed inwardly.

Honestly, the class sounded more dangerous the more he thought about it. Even he was completely tuckered out after the class.

Eventually, he stopped in front of a dark door marked:

[ROOM 123]

Without hesitation, he placed his hand on the wooden door. It glowed and then identified him as Leo Atlantis before unlocking with a click.

As he stepped inside, a spacious rectangular area greeted him immediately, divided neatly into sections. There were two beds on opposite sides, meaning he had a roommate. Large windows overlooked part of the academy island, revealing distant bridges, training structures, and beyond them, the faint red mist of the Bloodroot Expanse stretching toward the horizon.

The room itself looked modern and heavily reinforced at the same time. Smooth wooden walls carried faint inscriptions beneath the surface while the furniture looked durable enough to survive an explosion.

Which honestly felt very academy-like.

Leo dropped onto one of the beds immediately.

’Finally.’

After everything that had happened since arriving at Primoria, this was probably the first time he had gotten a moment alone without someone trying to kill him, teach him, lecture him, or emotionally damage him.

He closed his eyes briefly. Then the dormitory door suddenly opened again.

Leo lazily lifted his gaze.

An average-height student stepped inside carrying a bag with him. He had rough pink hair, sharp pink eyes, and the type of calm expression that made him look permanently annoyed at the world.

Lucien stopped after noticing Leo. Leo stopped after noticing him.

Silence filled the room.

"...You’re my roommate?" they both said at the same time.

Then both frowned immediately afterward.

"Well that’s good," Lucien said and sighed. "Thought I’d have to start dealing with a new stranger."

Leo blinked a couple of times. "So I’m not a stranger."

Lucien dropped the bag on the bed and landed his back on the soft mattress. He stared at the ceiling with an unreadable expression.

"At least you know my name."

Leo didn’t say anything. Instead, he laid his back on the mattress and also stared at the stone ceiling. He was really tired after the two classes he had.

Lucien remained silent beside him, seemingly uninterested in continuing the conversation.

Leo honestly appreciated that.

As he had expected, the Practical Aura Application class had been dangerous. Although it mainly taught how different ranks were able to use Aura properly, the actual process was still brutal. Their class focused entirely on Capricorn-level Aura usage, which meant most of what they learned was still considered rudimentary by higher-ranked Farmers.

The Mortal Rank existed as the state before Awakening, something every ordinary human belonged to. Once a person awakened, they automatically stepped into Capricorn Rank.

It was the foundation rank. The rank where an Aura Farmer became familiar with Aura itself. At Capricorn, students learned how to sense Aura properly, stabilize their Aura Core, awaken the Aura circuits spread throughout the body, and apply basic reinforcement techniques into combat and movement.

It was simple in theory and extremely painful in reality.

Leo lifted one arm slightly and stared at his palm.

Even now, faint traces of Aura still moved beneath his skin in thin streams. During class, the instructor had repeatedly forced them to circulate Aura through specific pathways while performing physical movements at the same time.

Apparently, failure to synchronize both correctly could damage one’s circuits temporarily, which explained why several students had collapsed during training.

’The academy really likes suffering.’

He exhaled slowly and dropped his arm back down.

Beside him, Lucien suddenly spoke without moving from his position.

"How does it feel?"

Leo turned his gaze to meet Lucien’s. "How does what feel?"

"I mean... being a Royal, having the ability to carve your own path, an adoptee automatically belonging to two families."

Leo didn’t reply immediately. He didn’t know why Lucien was asking such questions.

"I don’t know honestly. Good? Bad? At the end, I believe my life is the most unpredictable. I’m unlucky to be gifted such luck by the universe and thus I’m repaying it as a debt back to the universe. Have you ever wondered what it would feel like being the only person able to carve his own path?"

Lucien stayed silent for a while. "I don’t know but I’m guessing everyone will have different opinions on how they’ll feel having such luck. It’s definitely luck to be able to carve your own path."

Leo glanced back at the ceiling.

’We’ll see,’ he said inwardly.

He turned back to Lucien. "So you also just resumed?"

"No. I started this academy last year. I know you think I should have been in the second class now but due to some issues, I decided to skip my ranking process till the coming winter."

Leo blinked. "Same with the other two, right?"

Lucien nodded.

"May I know how you met them?"

"Ah, same way they met you, he carried me up while strangling me and I beat him to a pulp."

They stared at each other for a while before bursting into laughter. Soon an aroma started to fill the room. Leo stopped laughing, tracing the aroma to the bag Lucien brought in.

Noticing his questioning gaze, Lucien sat up, opened the bag, and brought out two plates of delicious food. Leo had totally forgotten he had not eaten, and it seemed the aroma had finally woken up the hunger that hid in his stomach all day. Saliva was literally dripping from his mouth.

Lucien stretched one plate to Leo.

"Want to join me?"