I literally couldn’t catch up to the guy.
Leon was nowhere in sight. It was like he’d evaporated into thin air—no shadow, no presence, not even a blur in the distance. Just... gone. Like a ghost who ran track for a living.
But one thing was for sure.
I knew because I was trailing his footprints—light impressions on the paved path, dust displaced just enough to hint at his passing.
The stone tiles weren’t made for tracking, but when someone moved that fast, you looked for anything to follow.
I clenched my jaw and muttered a low curse.
’Damn it... The gap between Rank ★★★ and Rank ★★★★ isn’t something I can cross that easily, huh?’
Leon was a solid four-star. His stats, his abilities, his instincts—they were all tailored to that tier.
Me? I was still a ★★★. And here I was, arrogantly thinking I could catch him with an ability that just evolved.
I wasn’t just being arrogant.
I was being delusional.
Some pathetic part of me thought I could maybe surprise him. Maybe my new skill would bridge the distance. Maybe I could match him just this once.
But that was all it was.
He’d left me in the dust like it was nothing.
No effort. No struggle.
I gritted my teeth, fists clenched tight.
’Shit... I really hate losing.’
It crawled under my skin like an itch I couldn’t scratch. That suffocating, gut-wrenching frustration of being behind—not just metaphorically, but physically, in every possible metric.
I was practically no-diff’d.
It felt like someone had jammed a blade in my pride and twisted it, laughing.
With a quiet curse under my breath, I followed the trail further.
Minutes passed, the adrenaline wearing off, frustration cooling into a simmer. Eventually, I spotted him.
Leon, standing in the middle of the road, idly fiddling with a loose rock like he had all the time in the world. Like he hadn’t just blitzed across campus like a damn ghost.
That smug, relaxed attitude stabbed deeper than any blade. He didn’t even look tired.
Grinding my teeth, I stopped about a meter in front of him.
"Damn, you’re fast," I muttered, forcing out the words like bitter coffee.
He chuckled, brushing some dust off his coat. "You’re not half-bad yourself."
Then, to my surprise, his tone shifted—not mocking, not arrogant. Just... confused. Thoughtful.
"But I gotta admit," he said, tilting his head, "I’m kind of disappointed."
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
He crossed his arms. "You beat me in the entrance exam. Rank 1. Monstrous score. I figured you’d at least push me in a race."
He paused for a beat, then looked me over more carefully. His white eyes glinted. "Wait a second..."
A moment later, realization clicked.
"You’re a rank below me."
There it was. The flicker of surprise. The disbelief. The way his face scrunched like the math didn’t add up.
And for some reason, that irked me more than anything else.
He started laughing—not cruelly, just in amused shock. "Holy hell, bro! You’re a damn bloodthirsty maniac for real. Slaughtering that many during the exam while being Rank ★★★? What did you do—wipe out a whole species or two?"
’Truthfully... I might’ve.’
But I didn’t remember.
[Eye of the End] had taken over. I was just along for the ride. A passenger in my own body during the bloodbath.
I ruffled my hair, sighing. "I don’t know. Maybe."
Leon let out another chuckle, then stepped forward and patted my shoulder. "Well, whatever the case... I’ll be waiting."
I glanced at him. "Waiting for what?"
He grinned, flashing a thumbs-up. "For when you catch up to my rank. Then we’ll fight. Properly. No restraints."
"Wait—you want to fight me?"
I tilted my head. "What, you got some grudge or something?"
His voice dropped into a flat, deadpan tone. "Yeah."
Shocked. Confused. Maybe even mildly betrayed.
I blinked at him. "Excuse me?"
Leon shrugged like it was the most natural thing in the world. "You did take Rank 1. Of course I’m salty. So, yeah—I wanna beat you. Fair and square."
This fucker was just petty. Damn.
’You bitch,’ I mentally hissed. ’Just you wait. I’ll show you what true pettiness looks like. I’m gonna mop the floor with that smug face of yours one day.’
Outwardly, I just groaned. "By the way... that castle over there—that’s the dorm, right?"
Leon nodded, pretending he wasn’t the devil in disguise. "Yup, that’s the one. Pretty similar to the girls’ dorm, just a little more—" he waved his hand vaguely, "—masculine, I guess?"
My eyes flicked toward the building.
Tall and imposing, it stood like a fortress ripped straight out of a fantasy epic. Towering spires jutted skyward, brushing against the clouds.
The stone walls glistened as if they’d been hand-polished by a hundred servants. Arched windows framed with gold trim. Massive oak doors engraved with crests I didn’t recognize.
Yeah. It was basically a mirror image of the girls’ dorm I’d seen earlier.
I stretched a little, not because I needed to—just out of habit. My neck cracked, and as I casually turned my head...
Just across the courtyard.
Literally a few hundred meters from where we started the race.
Slowly, very slowly, I turned back toward Leon.
He was standing there with the dumbest grin on his face. Smiling like a schoolboy who’d just gotten away with something very stupid. His eyes practically screamed "Oops. My bad."
I grabbed him by the collar, yanked him forward until our faces were inches apart. "You bastard! You made me sprint halfway across the damn academy—for what?!"
His hands flew up in mock surrender, a sheepish grin still plastered on his face. "Okay, okay! I’m sorry! I just... wanted to have some fun, man."
My eye twitched. A visible nerve pulsed on my forehead.
Because of him, I’d wasted energy. Used my lightning element—which, by the way, directly risked my memories—and for what?
For a fucking jog around the block.
Sure, we got a bit closer. Sure, he now considered me a rival for some reason.
But that didn’t justify risking literal pieces of my soul.
I’d maybe forgive him if the dorm had been on the other side of campus, or even a few kilometers away. But no.
A straight line. An obvious landmark.
I gave Leon one last look, filled with every ounce of disdain and silent cursing I could muster, then turned on my heel and stomped toward the dorm.
As soon as I stepped inside, the anger started to melt—slightly.
The place was gorgeous.
The entrance opened into a grand foyer with floors of polished white marble that glinted beneath the soft, golden light of floating magic-lamps.
Velvet curtains in deep crimson lined the walls, accompanied by elegant oil paintings framed in gold.
Spiral staircases curved upward on either side, leading to a balcony-lined second floor.
A chandelier hung from the ceiling—no, floated just below it—held up by a gravity rune embedded in the center crystal. It sparkled, casting dancing reflections across the floor.
Luxury. That was the word.
But I didn’t give a damn.
I wasn’t here to gawk at fancy architecture or praise the absurd wealth this place was dripping with.
I trudged up the left staircase, ignored whatever dorm room number system they had, and stopped at the first door I saw.
Didn’t knock. Didn’t check.
I just turned the handle, opened it, stepped in.
The room inside was spacious, easily the size of a suite.
The bed was massive—king-sized at the very least, draped in silk sheets that looked so soft they could put you to sleep on contact.
One wall was nothing but bookshelves. Another was filled with wardrobes and enchanted mirrors.
I didn’t care about any of that either.
Sank into the sheets like I was being swallowed by clouds.
The tension left my body in waves. My limbs grew heavy. My brain stopped processing nonsense like "manners" or "roommates."
I mumbled into the pillow, barely conscious, "Goodbye... late evening life..."
Sleep took me before I could finish the sentence.