A few hours before the disaster.

Every student in the academy had gathered at the edge of the forest. All departments represented, Combat, Magic, Alchemy, Summoning, Divine Studies, and more, arranged in loose clusters along the treeline, their faces carrying a range of expressions. Some were visibly excited. Some looked bored, arms crossed, waiting for it to be over. Others were neutral, unbothered either way.

"Do you think I could end up on Lord Necrotize’s team? Is that possible?" A boy with slightly brown hair and a medium build asked the boy next to him.

"Keep dreaming. I’m going to be on his team. Whoever’s with him is guaranteed to win, and I never lose." The second boy, black-haired and similarly built, replied.

The two students were mid-conversation when their eyes moved toward the entrance path. Two figures were approaching together, one thin, slightly awkward-looking with glasses, the other with dark hair and a face that drew attention without asking for it.

"Lord Necrotize has arrived. But who’s that with him?"

"That must be his roommate. Lucky, sharing a room with him. Though from what I’ve heard, that boy is a commoner."

"A commoner? How does a commoner have the nerve to stay in Lord Necrotize’s room? And now he’s walking beside him like they’re equals." The black-haired boy answered with a hint of disgust on his face.

"The academy doesn’t assign rooms by status. Everything is randomised. That’s why someone like him managed to end up there."

"Randomised or not, it’s still unfair. Imagine waking up every morning across from him. I’d never get a wink of sleep, I’d be too busy worrying I’d done something to offend him in my sleep."

The envy was plain on both their faces. Neither of them said any of it above a murmur.

Necrotize walked beside Simon with both hands in his pockets, listening to all of it without acknowledging any of it. He knew this mindset was common here. The class divide in this empire ran deep, nobles considered commoners beneath their notice as a matter of course, building hierarchies that apparently required maintenance. He disliked it.

He could change it, technically. The political structure of this empire wasn’t beyond his ability to reshape. But restructuring a system by force didn’t change the thinking underneath it. And there was the additional problem that he genuinely didn’t understand politics very well.

Fourteen billion years of existence, he thought, and I still don’t understand politics. If anyone knew that, what would they think? I should find Creation one of these days and ask him to explain it. He was always the best at it.

He was aware of a mild embarrassment at this, which he kept entirely off his face.

"My lord, what are you thinking about?" Simon asked.

Necrotize came back to the present and gave him a small smile. "Nothing important. Let’s go find our spots."

"Right, let’s go."

They moved forward, and a short distance along the path Necrotize spotted Lyra, with Elizabeth beside her. He smiled.

"Good morning. Lyra, Elizabeth."

"Good morning." Lyra replied with an excited voice. She was barely able to contain her eagerness.

"Good morning, my lord." Elizabeth replied in her usual manner. But the stiffness that always lingered in her voice was nowhere to be found. Her voice carried a calmness instead.

"How are you feeling about today’s test?"

Lyra answered first, and she answered at full energy. "I’m extremely enthusiastic. Today is the first time I’ll use your essence in front of everyone, and I’m completely determined to place first."

Elizabeth followed more evenly. "I’m also looking forward to it. Today I’ll be able to properly see how much I’ve improved."

Necrotize was satisfied with both answers. That kind of mindset was exactly what these situations called for.

"Good. I like that spirit." He glanced at Lyra. "Come on, let’s get to the Magic Department section."

"Yes, let’s go."

Lyra said a quick farewell to Simon and Elizabeth, and fell into step beside Necrotize toward their department’s designated area. She and Simon knew each other by now, Necrotize had introduced him to the group at the cafeteria a few days prior, making clear he was his roommate. That had been enough.

They reached the Magic Department section and took their places among the other students. The treeline stretched ahead, quiet and dense, the kind of green that looked like it had never been disturbed by anything larger than a deer. Birdsong drifted faintly from somewhere within it. Nothing about it suggested anything unusual was waiting inside. They didn’t have to wait long before the professors arrived, moving in a group toward the assembled students.

One stepped forward from among them.

Nicholas.

He had taken personal charge of today’s assessment. He had reasons for that, reasons that went beyond administrative preference, but nothing in his manner showed it.

"Silence."

The noise dropped almost immediately.

"I’ll now explain the rules for today’s examination. What you’ll be doing is a monster hunt. The rules are straightforward, monsters have been ranked, and the higher the rank of monster you defeat, the more points your team earns. At the end of the day, the team with the highest total wins." He paused. "Note. This is not an individual examination. This is a team examination. Points go to the team, not to you personally. And the primary thing being assessed today is not how many monsters you defeat. It’s how well you work together. Keep that in mind."

He summoned a large bowl from the air in front of him, filled to the rim with folded slips of paper.

"Each of you will draw one slip. The number on your slip is your team number. Somewhere among the other departments, students with matching numbers are doing the same thing right now. Find them, form up, and begin. That’s all." He stepped back. "Best of luck."

The students began moving forward one by one. Some looked uncomfortable, the idea of being assigned to strangers, for something that carried real risk, wasn’t sitting easily with everyone. But no one raised an objection. They collected their slips and moved away to read them.

Necrotize approached the bowl, reached in without deliberation, and pulled out a slip.

He unfolded it.

34.

Team thirty-four. Fine.

He pocketed it and went to find his teammates.