The next day,

Author

The faculty meeting had just settled into its usual rhythm - reports on attendance, supply counts, dungeon clearance rates - when the door opened and three students stepped inside.

They were all omega-tier - Mara, the healer who had joined Aria’s first training group; Kian, who had led the first omega team through the West Shrine Catacombs; and Jessa, who specialized in rune-locking and ward-breaking. Between them they carried a single sheet of parchment, rolled tight and sealed with wax pressed from wild clover.

They walked to the front of the room without hesitation, laid it on the headmaster’s desk, and stood back, shoulders straight, hands...