[ Bubblegum Mana Hand Grenade: 500 Nexus Coins ]

  I smiled at the notification after adding the free item to the Game Store.

  ?It wasn’t nearly as impressive as one of Elda’s inventions, only capable of disintegrating 15 skulls in each direction, but 500 Nexus Coins was more than I’d received from any of the more recent items from the Chromatic Pendant.

  ?And in this realm, Nexus Coins were the only currency I had at my disposal.

  ?“Hey,” Aegus said. “Where did it go?”

  ?My gaze drifted past the hovering notification and met my roommate’s stare. He stood by the door, shoulders tense, eyes fixed on me.

  ?“That was a mana grenade,” he added.

  ?He looked genuinely shaken.

  ?Good.

  ?I initially wasn’t sure if he’d know what I had in my hand, but if he knew and had that sort of a reaction, it was frankly better for me.

  ?Better he remain reasonably wary of me than try to pull any shenanigans. I wasn't exactly all-powerful in my own realm. But here? I was about as weak as a fly.

  ?So I said nothing and simply stared back at him.

  ?Aegus didn’t move for several seconds from his spot. His hand hovered near the doorframe, as if considering leaving the room, but then appeared to have thought better of it. His eyes flicked briefly toward his own bed and then back to me.

  ?“…You shouldn’t have things like that,” he said at last, stepping fully into the room and crossing to his side.

  I shrugged lightly. “It’s gone. You’ll never see it again.”

  It was the truth. Glancing at the Game Store screen, I saw that it had already sold off. The speed at which it was bought was something I’d only seen occur with food.

  “That was an unsanctioned artifact,” Aegus said, setting his basket beside the bed and hanging his towel over the chair. “High-output ones are especially against dorm rules. If you’d used that thing in here, alarms would’ve gone off. Prefects. Faculty. Expulsion.”

  He paused.

  “Possibly worse,” he added.

  Worse than expulsion? My eyes glanced at the Black Mana Cuffs on my wrists, remembering that being locked up in Glimver Dungeon was a fate I barely evaded not that long ago.

  “But I didn’t use it,” I said.

  “You still had it.” Aegus finally met my eyes again.

  “That’s right,” I replied evenly. “Had.”

  Aegus frowned, then, having studied my expression, sighed and looked away.

  ?“Whatever you’re involved in,” he said, tone clipped now, “don’t involve me.”

  ?I shrugged. “Sure thing. As long as you don’t bother me, I won’t bother you.”

  He gave me another long, evaluating look. Then he gave a short nod.

  “Good,” he said, and snapped his finger.

  The lightstone lamp on his side of the room went dark—no, not simply dark. It was consumed in darkness, shrouding his half of the space entirely. A line cut through the room, splitting the space in half, in an almost surgical division. Light on my side. Absolute darkness on his.

  “If I snap my fingers,” I murmured to Apophis in my native tongue, “do you think my side will go dark too? Or was that a spell?”

  ~I’m not familiar with this realm to know that. Apophis hissed. He was no longer on my shoulder, but still somewhere in the room, though I could not see him. You could try snapping your fingers and find out.

  Tch.

  I could try and just snap my fingers. But what if nothing happens? What if it was a spell? Then I’d look exactly like what I couldn’t afford to be: a fraud.

  I glanced toward Aegus’s side of the room, swallowed by darkness.

  ?Should I wait for him to fall asleep to test it out?

  ?I sighed and hung my head.

  ?No. Unless he was the type to snore, I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to discern if he was awake or asleep. And I wasn’t about to sneak over to his side to check. That was an excellent way to start a fight I couldn’t possibly win.

  Besides, I was far too exhausted to wait. My lids were so heavy, they felt like they’d shut close and not open up till morning. The short nap I had taken had powered me with enough energy until just now.

  ?I pulled up the Game Store and flicked my fingers through the available merchandise until I arrived at something I’d seen before.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  ?[ Shadow Eyemask ]

  ?The black eyemask came with a few… unnecessary features. But at 210 Nexus Coins, it was a steal. And I didn’t have the patience to hunt for a cheaper and more basic alternative.

  [ Description: Generates an impenetrable veil of darkness around the wearer or target, rendering them effectively blind regardless of ambient lighting conditions. Ideal for kidnappings, forced relocations, and other activities that benefit from disorientation and panic. Also suitable for sleep. ]

  I laid in bed and pulled on the mask.

  The fabric was soft. Plush, even. It hugged my face comfortably, like it had been designed by someone who genuinely cared about customer satisfaction—despite the whole abduction part.

  And more importantly, pure darkness swallowed my vision. Not a hint of light bled in from the edges. No cracks or gaps.

  Perfect.

  ?

  * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

  ?

  Aegus rose up. He squinted at the clock on his nightstand.

  Four in the morning. Damn it.

  ?Far too early to be awake. Or in his case, far too late to still be up.

  His eyes burned. His eyelids felt like they weighed several pounds each. He turned his head toward the other bed in the room.

  Crazy lunatic.

  Not only did Luca not bother showering or changing out of his school uniform before going to sleep, but he also didn’t even bother turning off the light on his side of his room. It didn’t bother Aegus; his side blocked the light of Luca’s side. However, it didn’t change the fact that his roommate chose to sleep in a fully lit environment.

  Not that it matters to him, I bet. Not with that thing on.

  Luca’s face was engulfed in a writhing, eerie black shadow. Wisps of darkness licked the air around his face, thickest where the eyes were, as though reality itself was being slowly devoured.

  He groaned and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

  He stood up and stretched out his limbs, which felt like rusted hinges on a door, every part of his body cracking like an old man. He changed into his uniform, adjusted his tie, and slung his bag over his shoulder. Having finished getting ready, he glanced back toward Luca.

  Should I submit a roommate transfer request?

  He paused, hand on the door handle.?

  Then he shook his head.?

  No. I should stick it out.

  He had wanted to have only one roommate for a long time. But his requests never made it through; those with more prominent and powerful connections always snagged the best rooms. This room—corner placement, a bathroom next door, extra access privileges, fewer ward restrictions—had felt like winning the jackpot.

  I should have known it was too good a deal to be true.

  The office was far too eager to provide him with his room, and in his excitement, Aegus didn’t bother asking any probing questions.

  ?He rubbed his eyes with his flesh hand and stepped into the quiet hallway, the rest of the dorm still fast asleep.

  I’ll give it a week. Just one week.

  Aegus nodded to himself.

  Yes. One week. Surely no one could be this unsettling for more than that.

  He frowned and glanced back

  ?…Right?

  ?

  * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

  ?

  “Hahhhh~”

  I smiled as I pulled off the eyemask and let out a long, satisfied exhale.

  ?Whether it was the mask or finally sleeping on a proper bed instead of an office couch, I’d had one of the best nights of sleep in a while.

  Glancing at the bedside clock, I blinked in surprise. It was only a little past six in the morning. Yet it felt like I’d slept for a week straight.

  I turned toward my roommate’s side and was surprised Aegus was already gone.

  Huh, I guess he’s an especially early riser. Wouldn't have pegged him for one.

  With almost three hours to my first class of the day, I took my time showering, getting changed into a clean uniform, and not rushing through breakfast, and taking my time to indulge in the food.

  ?It was a great start to the day.

  “Hello, I’m Luca Frey.”

  I paused just inside the doorway at the top of the round tower, giving a small wave as I introduced myself.

  It only felt proper. There were just seven students in the room, four already seated around a circular table. This was Advanced Life Essence Theory—the class I’d been added to as part of my mutually beneficial agreement with Professor Sullivan.

  There was the Prefect girl whom I recognized from the exam. A girl with short black hair and multiple facial piercings. A boy with a bowl cut and thick glasses that obscured his eyes like white shades. And a man—or at least someone who looked to be in his late twenties or thirties—with a thick head of tousled red hair and muscular arms bursting out of ripped uniform sleeves.

  Notably, none of them looked afraid of me. And while I appreciated it, their nonchalant behaviour was also a sign of how peculiar a class this must have been.

  ?“Hello, I’m Paisley Lister,” the girl with the piercings said, giving a warm smile.

  “So you’re the guy who saved this class from removal after Alice disappeared,” the muscular student added with a grin. “I’m Guillermo Garren.”

  I smiled and took a seat between them, as they seemed the most friendly.?

  The Prefect girl didn’t bother introducing herself—she simply nodded her chin at me. And the boy with the bowl cut merely gave a brief wave before returning to his textbook whose pages were as yellow as the teeth of someone who’d gone a decade without using a toothbrush.

  The remaining students arrived shortly after, but before any further introductions could happen, Professor Sullivan strode in right behind them.

  “Alright, let’s get right into it,” he said brightly.

  Professor Sullivan took a seat at the circular table with a smile that stretched across his face as was physically possible.

  “Luca, we’re a few weeks into the course already,” he added, turning to me, “but I’m sure you’ll catch up.”

  He gave me a wink.

  I felt a familiar, sinking sensation in my stomach.

  “He certainly will,” one of the late arrivals said—a boy with a gold hoop in one ear. “Highest entry score to date. A prodigy.”

  The Prefect girl nodded, and a few others smiled in my direction.

  My stomach dropped another notch.

  ?“I’ll do my best,” I said, managing a polite smile.

  “How modest,” Guillermo chuckled.

  Ah, damn it.

  I’d answered a question in Professor Sullivan’s other class out of sheer luck if truth was told, and had passed the entry exam with flying colors through sleight of hand. My first two classes the previous day had made it painfully clear that I was far, far behind. And I was only on my second day.

  I wasn’t ahead of anyone here. I was no prodigy. I was barely keeping my head above water, paddling frantically and hoping no one noticed the splashing.

  Still, this was an advanced theory class. Surely I could survive theory. Written portions, auditory explanations—I could manage those with Apophis’s help. Even if he grumbled about it.

  I sent a small, hopeful prayer into the air.

  “Since Luca hasn’t had the chance to catch up on the reading portion yet,” Professor Sullivan said pleasantly, “I thought today’s lesson would be more practical than theoretical.”

  My smile froze.

  Oh.

  Apophis hissed softly, evidently amused at my distress, which only he was acutely aware of.

  ~Master, his tone suddenly shifted, sharpening into a serious voice without any note of amusement. It would seem the fly—the shapeshifter—is back. It’s near the right window.

  I closed my eyes for half a second.

  Damn it. So much for easing into things.

  My eyes glanced briefly toward the window.

  And to think there’s some unknown entity with unknown intentions keeping tabs on me too.

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