The next sixty minutes were a nightmare of cracking stone, stress, and pure frustration.

I sat with my left hand gripping the dull stylus, my eyes locked on the blank slate on my desk. Every time I tried to draw the first line of the Stability symbol, my focus had to stay completely steady. If my thoughts drifted to the ache in my mana channels, or if my stroke got too thick, the stone under my hand would reject my power.

Snap.

Another thin crack ran through the middle of my pen.

"Start over, Mr. Celestial," Professor Zane’s voice cut through the quiet room from the front. He was not even looking at me, his eyes on a different row, yet he knew the moment my focus broke. "You are rushing. Stability needs a steady mind, not a fast hand."

I let out a slow, quiet breath through my nose, forcing my sore shoulder muscles to relax.

Next to me, Caster was in worse shape.

His stylus had not just cracked. It had exploded into four pieces three separate times. His face was pale, his eyes wide and red as he stared at the new stylus on his desk. His hands were shaking so much the tool kept rattling against the wood.

He kept muttering formulas under his breath, trying to use his Structure power to find the tiny flaws in the slate, but the pressure from Zane was messing up his focus.

"Focus, Mr. Caster," Zane barked, his sharp tone making Caster jump. "Your Structure power makes you see the slate’s flaws, but you are letting that break your focus. Control your mind, or leave."

"Y-yes, Professor!" Caster squeaked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

By the time the brass bell rang to end the class, I had managed to draw one, semi-stable line that did not break the stone. It was not a full symbol, but it was progress. The rest of the class looked drained, their faces hollow as if they had just survived a hard fight instead of a simple lesson.

"Class dismissed," Zane said, closing his book with a sharp snap. "Next session, I expect everyone to hold the first three strokes without breaking their slates. If you cannot do that, drop the course before you waste more of my time."

The students filed out in silence. Caster looked like a dead man walking. His shoulders were slumped, his arms hanging limp, his eyes glazed over. He looked ready to collapse.

I reached out and jabbed a thumb into his side as we crossed into the wide hall. "Look at you. You look like you are about to meet your ancestors."

"Worse," Caster wheezed, his voice low from tiredness. "My brain feels like it is leaking out of my ears. The way that man stares at you... it is like he is waiting for you to fail."

I looked around the hall. It was lunch time, meaning we had a one-hour break before my next class — Elemental Control and Theory. The hall was busy with students rushing toward the dining halls, their voices echoing off the stone pillars.

"Come on," I said, nudging him away from the crowd toward a quieter path to the outdoor gardens. "Let us get some fresh air. We need to talk."

Caster blinked, his nervous hazel eyes moving to my face. "Talk? With me?"

"Just follow me."

_

We found a quiet stone bench under a big silver-leaf tree near the edge of the gardens. The cool air helped ease the heat in my core, but Caster still looked tense, sitting on the edge of the seat like he was ready to run.

I didn’t waste time with useless small talk. I turned to him, my expression entirely serious. "I will get straight to the point, Caster. I want you on my team."

Caster blinked once. Then twice. He pointed a thick finger at himself.

"Me? Your team? Mate, you have the wrong guy. Did you see me in there? I can barely keep a stone slate from breaking. You are Leo von Celestial — you should be recruiting people from the top five ranks, not a cowardly half-dwarf who spends his free time fixing broken gears."

"I do not care about your rank," I said, my voice steady as I tapped my head. "I already have people like Lyra, Malva, and Julia on my side. They have the power and the skill. But muscle can only get you so far. I need people who can use their brains."

I leaned in a little, keeping my eyes on his.

"You, Caster? You are one of the few real geniuses I know here. Maybe you are clumsy right now, and physically you are not a powerhouse, but when it comes to your work? You are one of the best. I want you to work with me. I already have another person in mind for the team, and once I get him, you two will work together on the technical side."

Caster fidgeted with his sleeve, his eyes shifting away. He opened his mouth, closed it, and stared down at his hands. The silence stretched between us, heavy with his hesitation.

"Look, Caster," I added, softening my tone. "...You don’t have to answer right now. You can take your time to think it over. You won’t be carrying the weight alone. There will be other people to help you out and keep the pressure off."

I leaned back against the stone bench, crossing my arms.

"Take Riven, for example. Even if he acts arrogant and carries himself like a typical noble, he is solid when it counts. He’s the type who will hold the front line and take the hits so that guys like you can stay safe in the back. And besides Riven, we have other capable people for the brute force. You won’t be a target; you’ll be the backbone."

Caster stared down at his boots, his hands gripping his knees so hard his knuckles turned white. The fear in his eyes was deep, rooted in something heavier than just a difficult academy class.

"I cannot," he whispered, his voice hollow. "I appreciate the offer, truly. But... I cannot be part of a big team. It is better if I stay in the background, fix tools, and blend in. I am sorry, Leo. The answer is no."

I let out a slow, deliberate sigh.

I had not expected him to reject the offer, but seeing him shut down like this meant I had to be direct. He was too valuable to let walk away, especially with what was coming. I needed to let him know where we stood.

"You are running from King Borin, are not you?" I asked softly.

Caster froze. The color drained from his face, leaving him pale. His head snapped up, his wide hazel eyes filled with pure terror. He looked at me like I had just pulled a knife on him.

"W-what are you talking about?" his voice cracked, shaking as he tried to sound strong. "Who... how do you even know that name?"

Seeing him look so broken on the stone bench was not easy. A small part of me felt guilty for using his past like this — I knew how much he had suffered as the son of a human maid, beaten and mocked by his many half-siblings before he escaped the Dwarf Kingdom.

He had come to the academy to build his own strength and escape that shadow. But this world did not give handouts, and if he did not join a strong group soon, his royal bloodline would catch up to him anyway.

Caster’s breath caught in his throat. He looked around wildly, as if expecting royal guards to appear from the shadows of the academy gardens.

"Are you... going to turn me in?" Caster asked, his lip shaking as he stared at the grass. "Is that why you are telling me this? To scare me into joining?"

"Never," I said at once, softening my voice so he could see I meant it.

"I am telling you this because I want to protect that secret. Look at me, Caster. I know you are a cautious person. You do not trust easily, and you have every right not to. That is why I will sign a Mana Oath contract with you later. We will set the terms together, on equal ground, and I will keep you safe from your family. Would that be enough?"

Caster went quiet again, his eyes dropping back to the grass. His chest rose and fell as he took in everything I had just told him. He wasn’t just a nervous student anymore. He was a guy realizing that the walls he had built to hide himself had come down.

But for the first time, someone wasn’t using his bloodline to mock him, they were offering him real protection.

I paused, letting my thoughts drift to my empty inventory. A small sigh escaped me. The only problem is, I don’t have a mana oath contract with me right now.

I had used my last contract on Malva, and those were not cheap.

"I cannot promise the path will be easy," I went on, giving him a faint smile. "But if you join me, your problems become my problems. Everyone on my team is fighting for their own reason, Caster. Let me help you find yours."

Caster stared at his hands, his throat moving as he struggled with what I had just offered. He looked up at me, his eyes full of conflict and worry.

"I... I need some time, Leo," Caster muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as his voice dropped to a whisper.

"You can’t just walk up to someone and say you’ll protect them and expect them to say yes right away. It’s a huge risk. I know you’re offering me a fair deal, but this is a big decision for me. I’m sorry if I’m being difficult, but I need to clear my head and be sure before I agree."

I nodded slowly, showing no irritation. "That’s fine, Caster. That’s actually good. I don’t have a Mana Oath contract with me right now anyway. Those things aren’t cheap, so I will buy one later. Take a few days to think it over, and then we will talk again."

A small look of relief finally crossed Caster’s face. The tension in his shoulders eased a little as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

"Alright. See you tomorrow, Leo," Caster said, his posture looking a little better as he leaned back against the tree.

I turned and started walking back toward the main campus. But after a few steps, I stopped, a thought hitting me as I looked at the big, confusing maze of buildings ahead.

I slowly turned back, looking at Caster with a blank face.

"Hey, Caster..."

The half-dwarf looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Could you... actually tell me where the room for Elemental Control and Theory is? I have no idea where I am going."