Inner Edge.
Second Year Hostel — The Villa.
The hallway was steeped in shadow. Ancient vases lined the walls between eerie murals, each brushstroke soaked in power, pain, or pride.
And then there were the sounds.
Soft gasps. Choked moans. Laughter dulled by breathless pleasure.
The floor was a mess of tangled bodies—young women sprawled across plush rugs and velvet cushions, eyes glazed, lips parted. Their clothes had long since been discarded, forgotten like last night's wine.
It wasn't just lust.
It was worship.
At the far end of the hall, past the chaos and perfume, a throne room sat open.
And on that throne, leaned back like a king bored with conquest, sat a boy.
Jet black hair spilled across the headrest. His mouth hung slightly open, breath shallow, his jaw clenched as a girl knelt between his legs—devoted, focused, relentless.
He barely moved.
Didn't have to.
He ruled this place.
And when he finally let go—when the tension in his body snapped—he exhaled like he was shedding weight.
In that exact moment, the hallway lit up with a new sound.
CHIM.
[ Prepare to be transported to the Catacombs. ]
[ Show the freshers the Academy's glory. ]
The pleasure-drunk silence cracked.
Several girls lifted their heads. Confusion spread like smoke. Some scrambled for clothes, others just blinked dumbly at the light.
Beams of gold shot down.
One by one, they were taken.
Vanished mid-laugh, mid-sigh, mid-sin.
The golden beams did not discriminate and also went for the black haired boy, but he didn't flinch.
The girl by his legs was teleported, but strangely, he was still present.
He stood up, still present in the beam, and got dressed—dark pants, black shirt, and his signature jacket sliding onto his shoulders as if summoned by thought.
Embroidered in blood-red across the back:
Second Years Undisputed Rank One.
He stood slowly, cracking his neck once.
Then he grinned.
"Let's go have some fun."
Finally, he was teleported.
---
Meanwhile.
A fair distance away from the Villa.
A warm breeze rustled the tall grass. Birds chirped lazily. In the distance, a handful of sheep grazed, fat and unbothered.
Logan stood in the middle of the field, staff in hand, straw hat tipped low over his sleepy eyes.
He yawned.
One of the sheep wandered too far. Logan sighed and whistled. The sheep immediately turned back, obedient.
Just as he leaned back against a tree to nap, a golden light shot down from the sky.
[ Prepare to be transported to the Catacombs. ]
[ Show the freshers the Academy's glory. ]
"Tch," Logan muttered, deadpan.
The light swallowed him.
---
Second Years Hostel—Knight Table.
"So... uh... I think you're pretty and stuff," Jake said, scratching the back of his head, eyes darting everywhere but at the girl in front of him.
She stared at him.
"Like, not just pretty. You're also smart-looking. Not that you look smart—I mean, you are smart, but—"
The girl slowly blinked.
Jake swallowed hard. "Wanna get coffee sometime? Or... water?"
CHIM.
[ Prepare to be transported to the Catacombs. ]
[ Show the freshers the Academy's glory. ]
A golden beam swallowed him before the girl could reply.
"No fair," he muttered as he vanished. "I was killing it."
---
Second Year Hostel—Rat Steel.
Miler crouched low, eyes narrowed like a soldier on a stealth mission. He was barely five feet tall, thin as a twig, with a hoodie two sizes too big.
He tiptoed past two patrolling maintenance bots, holding his breath as they scanned the area.
A second later, he dove behind a crate and yanked out a tray of dumplings.
"Jackpot," he whispered.
Then:
[ Prepare to be transported to the Catacombs. ]
[ Show the freshers the Academy's glory. ]
A golden beam struck him mid-chew.
"Wait! I just got the—"
Gone.
---
Second Years Hostel—Delicate Valkyrie.
In the private estate.
A candle flickered on the desk.
A heavy book lay open, pages filled with romantic prose—and explicit imagery.
Ambria sat back in a silk robe, one hand delicately flipping a page, the other...
Occupied.
Her eyes glazed as she mouthed a line from the book: "He plunged into her like destiny itself—"
CHIM.
[ Prepare to be transported to the Catacombs. ]
[ Show the freshers the Academy's glory. ]
She froze.
Looked down at herself.
"...You're kidding."
A golden beam swallowed her whole.
"I was almost there..."
---
Main Core.
Back in Maki's office.
The room was cast into darkness, with all windows and other conventional light sources switched off.
Soon, the room was illuminated as multiple displays popped up all around the room.
The displays showed multiple locations across the First Years' three hostels and Second Years' five hostels.
Her eyes wandered through various display, a smirk of authority played on her lips.
She does not specifically know how the Academy's surveillance system works. It was present everywhere except the private rooms, restrooms and rare specific places.
But she does not really care, as long as it works.
She watched on as First Years were teleported.
They had received the messages first. Each students was teleported and landed randomly in the catacombs. Even if two students were in direct contact with each other when the beam fell, they would land at different locations.
Her smirked widened as she saw everyone being teleported.
"You future troublemakers would not know what hit you. I will use the second years to flog you all."
A maniac laugh threatened to leak out of her, but she controlled herself.
And just then.
Her smirk completely disappeared as her eyes caught sight of a scene.
Anessa had refused.
Not just that, she has stopped the beam and even sent it back.
Maki eyes dimmed as she felt the former authority she thought she had fade away.
"I hate them."
She spat out through gritted teeth.
Bang!
Her door was swinged open.
She looked over to see a middle aged man standing there with a wronged expression.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
"I should be asking the questions here. Why did you teleport the Second Years?" The man shot back with an indignant look.
"Why not?" Maki was confused as normally, no one actually cared. She was practically the only human staff in the whole academy who actually did her job.
"I am in charge not you."
"So?"
"You should have asked me, and I would have made you push it forward a bit."
"Is that why you barged in her without pants on?"
"Arrhh... I was so close... And you teleported the beauties away." The man cried out before he slammed the door shot and left.
His right hand never left its intended position throughout the encounter.
Maki starred at the door for a long time.
"What the fuck just happened?"
She looked around—maybe someone might just appear and explain it to her.
"This Academy is weird."