In the Principal's Office, deep inside the oldest tower of Silver Blade Academy, the respected Principal Duldor—known as the Dual Silver Blade—sat hunched over a messy desk.
Sunlight from the stained-glass windows barely reached the piles of reports covering his oak desk.
His eyes, old but still sharp, scanned each page quickly and carefully.
He flipped a page.
Then another. And another.
The soft rustle of paper filled the room as he worked through the stack.
These weren't just normal reports—they were heavy with worry, warnings, and fear.
Every single one talked about the same thing: strange shadow creatures appearing outside Silver Blade City.
Reports came from traders, patrols, and even hunters. They described dark, human-shaped monsters, bigger than normal, leaking corrupted magic.
Some people said they heard laughter coming from the woods at night.
Others told stories of villages, two cities away, that had vanished into darkness.
Witnesses said the creatures didn't run away anymore. Instead, they attacked anyone who showed fear.
Duldor frowned and flipped to another report, this one marked urgent from the Mage Tower of Derrazel, a city three weeks to the east.
Their scout captain warned, "These creatures are multiplying faster than ever before—faster than what should be possible. Our mana sensors were destroyed just by being near them."
He turned another page.
The Silver Blade City Council urged everyone to prepare.
The military had already begun planning. Now it was the Academy's job—his job—to train new defenders, starting tomorrow.
The students would go through emergency training: mana resistance tests, mental strength exercises, and survival lessons. Not perfect, but necessary.
Duldor sighed deeply and reached for his ink quill.
Suddenly, a sharp, loud cry shattered the quiet.
"AAAGHHHHH!! P-P-PRINCIPAL!!"
Duldor's chair scraped loudly as he jumped to his feet.
Bursting through the office door like a man fleeing battle was Granfire.
His robes were torn, as if he'd rolled down the hallway. His face was pale and covered in sweat and dust.
He limped, barely able to stand. One shoe was missing, his hair was a mess, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"P-Principal!" Granfire gasped, shaking so hard he nearly knocked over a display.
"What's going on, Granfire?" Duldor asked sharply. "Calm yourself."
Granfire shook his head wildly, his mouth opening and closing without words. He clutched his chest, as if his heart might burst. Finally, he blurted—
"HE SUMMONED IT!"
Duldor frowned. "Summoned what?"
"T-The new teacher! Nolan! The one applying for Mana Specialist with me! He—he summoned a corpse!"
"A corpse?" Duldor's voice hardened. "What are you saying?"
"It was dead—but moving!" Granfire cried, dropping to his knees. "It walked, hissed, and—it looked at me!"
"Explain clearly," Duldor demanded.
Granfire whimpered. "I…I wanted to toughen up the students. So I made a deal with Nolan. I told him to scare them a little…but he—he summoned an undead right in class! The students are screaming, running—it's chaos!"
Duldor's expression grew dark when he heard the name Nolan.
That teacher.
He had come to Silver Blade City like a man on the run. Strange eyes. Always quiet. Hardworking, but now…Granfire's words made him seem dangerous.
Possibly a Grimm—a cursed descendant of ancient necromancers.
Suddenly, more voices flooded into the office.
Students, breathless and wide-eyed, ran in.
"He's a devil!"
"He's evil!"
"Execute him!"
"Kill him before he curses us!"
Duldor slammed his cane on the floor so hard the air seemed to shake. "ENOUGH."
Silence fell instantly.
He reached under his desk, opened a hidden compartment, and pulled out a polished crystal orb.
It glowed faintly—designed to detect disturbances in the Academy's pocket realms.
"Let's see what he's doing now," Duldor said, his voice grim.
The orb shimmered, showing an aerial view of Nolan inside his assigned assessment classroom.
Nolan held a blade. Not a conjured sword or a fancy mana weapon, but a plain, simple, and jagged steel knife—something straight from Earth. With it, he was fighting.
He moved fast and sharp, dodging and stabbing with deadly precision.
Each infected individuals, hunched and growling like empty husks of people, rushed at him.
Nolan took them down quickly and skillfully.
Blood sprayed.
Moans echoed.
He pivoted, rolled, and sliced. His movements were smooth, practiced, and efficient.
As if he had done this all his life.
"That's it!" Granfire shouted, pointing wildly. "THOSE THINGS! THAT'S WHAT HE SUMMONED! HE BROUGHT THEM OUT! THEY'LL ESCAPE AND KILL US ALL!"
The students behind him nodded furiously.
"Yes!" "He's using black magic!" "He's raising corpses!" "KILL HIM BEFORE HE KILLS US!"
Duldor stayed quiet. He kept watching Nolan closely.
He wasn't just looking at the scene—he was studying Nolan's skill.
Then Duldor noticed something strange. Nolan was improving—fast. Way too fast for someone at a beginner level.
The way he handled his enemies, predicted their moves—he wasn't just fighting.
He was learning and evolving with every attack. And he was doing all of this with no armor, no spells—just a single knife.
The orb zoomed in. Duldor's eyes widened.
"…These aren't undead," he muttered as he stared at the infecteds with clear discerning eyes.
Granfire gasped. "W-What?!"
"Their souls are still there. They're alive. Controlled—but not reanimated. They bleed, they breathe. They're not undead… they're—"
"Puppets?" one student whispered.
"No…" Duldor narrowed his eyes. "Worse. They look like they are some sort of people trapped under mind control. Some kind of illusion-based simulation. But not necromancy."
Granfire fell back, shocked. "T-Then…he lied? Those aren't undead?"
"Yeah, but he showed you fear," Duldor said calmly, stroking his beard. "You asked for that, didn't you?"
The students blinked in confusion.
"You paid him, didn't you?" Duldor asked.
Granfire went pale. "I-I gave him crystals! He said he'd scare them—not traumatize them!"
"And did he do what he promised?" Duldor raised an eyebrow.
"…Y-Yes…"
Duldor's smile was thin and knowing. "Then I'd say the teacher passed his first lesson in psychological training very well."
The students' eyes widened.
"WAIT! We got tricked?!" "HE CHEATED US!" "HE MADE US LOOK FOOLISH!" "I paid TEN CRYSTALS! TEN!" "I WANT A REFUND!" "CALL THE GUARDS!"
Duldor raised his hand again. "You got exactly what you paid for."
"BUT HE'S EVIL!" Granfire yelled.
"He's efficient," Duldor corrected firmly. "Too many teachers waste time on theory. But this one made you all feel a fear you won't forget. That is real teaching. I'll be watching him closely. His Arcane Space is still small, but his skill is impressive."
"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!!"
"I'm always serious," Duldor said coldly. "And he didn't summon anything unusual. Those are just memories or images in his Arcane Space. Now… all of you, leave."
"But—"
"You will prepare for tomorrow's city-wide drills. Don't disturb me again. I have more important things to do. Go."
The room emptied in stunned silence, the students muttering and grumbling as they left.
Granfire looked like he'd aged five years in five minutes. He limped away, muttering, "Shameless… he's shameless in human flesh…maybe he's laughing so hard at me now!"
Duldor kept staring at the crystal orb.
Nolan stood victorious now, his clothes soaked in red, shoulders rising and falling with each breath, knife still in hand.
His expression wasn't angry or happy—it was curious.
Duldor narrowed his eyes.
"…Nolan, huh? You'd be a good Mana Knight but I don't think with your record this month, you'll pass as a teacher of this Academy… He turned off the orb and went back to his reports.
Then he paused, tapping his chin. "…Should I put him in that class?"
Old man Duldor would recall the violent class; they are just the sons and daughters of rich families of Silver Blade City whom the principal was tolerating.
Suddenly, the principal remembered the damage caused by those students, and Nolan scaring a fellow Novice Mana Specialist and other students.
"...I think that Nolan can defend himself against the students but as for teaching them, hmmm… maybe he can scare them."
Suddenly, the old man Duldor would smirk. He's not sure if Nolan could do it, but he scared a fellow teacher, maybe he can do it to those students too.