The walk back to the dorms was short, but my thoughts made it feel like miles.
The announcement of the Dawn Trial had thrown the entire class into excitement. Everyone else seemed to glow with anticipation — flexing magic, forming battle plans, talking about who'd carry the team to victory.
Me?
I was the quiet name on the roster people forgot to mention.
Mess and the others had left before I even packed my things. No one asked if I was joining them. I couldn't blame them either — it's hard to remember someone who doesn't leave a mark.
The academy's hallway stretched on, lit by magical crystal torches that flickered blue and silver. The flags of the Velarion Empire hung on every polished stone column, boasting dragons, swords, and a legacy of power.
And there I was. The baron's third son. No legacy. No power.
Just Logic.
I reached Dome 73, tucked away in the far end of the West Tower. Not because I liked the quiet, but because the powerful students took the central domes first. Proximity to the mana pillars mattered. For people like me, it was leftovers or nothing.
The moment I stepped inside, the world fell silent.
A cool draft brushed past my cheek, and the dome sealed behind me with a soft hum. Blue runes on the walls pulsed once, recognizing my presence. It was quiet — so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat.
I liked it.
No whispers here. No laughter. No sideways glances.
Just me... and my failure.
I sat cross-legged at the center of the circular chamber and reached out to the mana reader crystal embedded in the wall. A soft glow formed in the air before me — my Status Window.
---
📜 [ Cael Vire – Personal Status ]
Name: Cael Vire
Race: Human
Age: 18
Rank: Level 9 (Tier 1)
Mana Core: Stable
Affinities:
Logic – Basic (Lv.1)
Telekinesis – Basic (Lv.1)
Domain: Locked
---
I stared at it, hoping something might've changed since last night. Maybe the system had glitched and awarded me hidden power.
No such luck.
Logic was considered the weakest of all known affinities. No one respected it. In fact, most spell books didn't even mention it unless they were listing "non-combat talents."
And Telekinesis? Better, but unstable. Moving a sword in battle was cool until it flew out of control and stabbed you in the foot.
Still, I wasn't giving up.
I tapped my fingers against the stone floor and closed my eyes, visualizing the basic spell structure from class — a fireball. Not to cast it — I didn't have the affinity — but to analyze it.
That's what Logic did best. It let me see the flow of mana like a mechanic saw gears in a machine.
In my mind, the fireball spell twisted and spun. I saw the energy loops, the compression points, the heat ignition triggers. I didn't feel the heat, but I understood the sequence — and I could almost sense how to break it apart.
I reversed one loop.
The matrix crumbled instantly, blasting my head with pressure. I opened my eyes, dizzy and gasping.
Blood dripped from my nose.
Still too fast. Still too unstable.
But I was close.
I wiped the blood on my sleeve and tried again. Slower this time. My mana was low, but it didn't take much to simulate spells in my mind.
This time, I twisted the second loop... and stabilized it.
The glow in my chest pulsed — warm, for a second — before vanishing.
The walls around me hummed.
And then I felt it.
A strange vibration. Barely there, but deep — like the dome had breathed. A soft wave rippled through the air.
The rune wall behind me flickered.
I turned quickly.
Nothing.
But the mana in the room... shifted. Just for a heartbeat.
I stepped toward the wall panel again. My Status Window reappeared — identical to before. Except...
Domain: Locked
Now faintly glowing.
"What...?"
I touched the panel, but no new information popped up.
Just that word.
Locked.
But glowing.
Was I close? Was that the beginning?
I'd read once that Domains were only unlocked by those with strong enough mental force to embody their affinity completely. Some called it an "awakened state." Others believed it was a gift from the world itself.
But what would a Logic Domain even look like?
A battlefield of theories?
A world of equations?
I let out a soft laugh, bitter and dry.
"I'll be dead before I find out," I muttered. "At this rate..."
But as I turned to leave, a new window flashed. One I hadn't seen before.
---
[Hidden Trigger – Progression Detected]
> Mental strain threshold surpassed
Logic resonance fluctuating
Potential Unlocked: 0.9%
---
Then it vanished.
I blinked.
Did I imagine that?
No… It felt too real. Too precise.
I turned back and stared at the dome. Something had changed. It wasn't just in me. The dome had responded. To my spell, to my mind, to something deeper.
Something was starting.
---
Elsewhere, at the edge of the academy's magical surveillance tower, a masked figure in instructor robes leaned toward a glowing orb. Within the orb, student names and mana fluctuations rotated.
Most were stable.
One wasn't.
Dome 73 – Mana Signature: Unstable
Affinity: Logic
Surge Detected: 0.9% Awakening Potential
The instructor frowned. "Logic? That shouldn't be possible."
He watched for a few seconds more before turning away.
"Report it to the Chancellor... quietly."