Outside the tent, the world felt almost muted compared to the tension humming inside. The sun is still high in the sky.

Aston stood among a small cluster of students gathered near the large bulletin board. Gray lazily curled around his shoulders like a scarf.

Rowan stood beside him, arms crossed, and eyes locked on the list. "You're on there… and me! Seria's there too."

Aston nodded, his attention on the board. Around them, hearing Rowan's exclamation, shot the group with envying glances, a buzz of whispers spreading through the crowd.

Then - bzzzzt.And a chime. Then an electric guitar sound.

Aston's phone vibrated, Seria's smartwatch chimed, and Rowan's device rocked. All of their devices rang out at the same time.

Aston pulled his device from his pocket and tapped the notification.

[This is an automated notice from the Shale Academy Entrance Committee. Congratulations, you have passed the Written Exam. The Final Practical Test will commence in three days. Please report to the northern gates of Shale City at 7 o'clock sharp. Latecomers will not be admitted.]

Seria exhaled beside him. "Three days."

"Enough time to prepare and rest," muttered Aston.

Rowan gave a soft chuckle, "And just enough to overthink everything."

Aston glanced around. He saw a select few people who had their devices out, looking at their phones instead of the list.

So they also…

Aston's attention shifted to Rowan's voice.

"So, Aston, Seria, wanna grab something to eat? I know a place where to get good food. All the tension in the exam drained me."

Aston nodded and Seria thought for a while and said, "Sure. I'll just report and bid goodbye to my maids."

Rowan raised a brow and smirked. "Tch. So you are a rich young lady."

Seria paused mid-step, turned her head slightly with a sideways glance, and said coolly, "Don't let the dress and manners fool you. I'm not nearly as soft as I look."

Rowan chuckled. "Noted, but still, the whole 'reporting to my maids' thing gave it away."

"I grew up with them. You'd report to your dogs too if they raised you," Seria shot back with a tiny grin, then spun around and walked off without waiting for a reply.

Rowan laughed under his breath and turned to Aston. "Guess I hit a nerve."

Aston gave a faint smile. "You're lucky she's not the type to throw knives."

"You two, I heard that!" she yelled without looking back.

Aston just shrugged and Rowan laughed loudly. "Let's just wait here. She seems like the kind who won't take long."

True to their expectations, Seria returned in just a few minutes. Her steps were light, and her expression composed again.

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"Alright, let's go."

They walked together through the slowly thinning square. Students who had passed were already buzzing about preparations, plans, and speculations about the final test.

Rowan led them past a few alleyways and through a curved side street, tucked between a pair of stone buildings.

"Here we are," he said, stopping in front of a low, wooden establishment with faint light spilling from its windows. A gently painted sign hung above the door, swaying slightly in the breeze: The Ember Roast.

Aston blinked. "You've been here before?"

"Once or twice. This is the type of a 'hole in a wall' restaurant. I discovered this place by chance. Their food is really good. Besides," he opened the door, letting the scent of grilled meat and spiced broth wash over them, "I figured we deserve something warm after all that."

They stepped inside, the quiet chatter of customers greeting them like an old friend.

They found a booth near the corner, under a softly glowing lantern that bathed the table in amber light. A server came by with a casual nod and handed them a wooden menu.

"Alright," Rowan muttered. "I'm getting the grilled root platter with the spicy glaze.

"They have riverfish stew," Aston nodded aloud. "I'll get that. And a serving of grilled fish." He then turned to Gray and Mirage, "You'll have to share."

Gray protested and meowed loudly, its paws raised and swiped in Aston's direction.

"Look at you, you're getting fat, and you keep on lazing around. You're going to get fatter."

Gray looked down dejectedly.

Seria tapped the side of her lip thoughtfully. "Hmm. I'll have the mushroom noodles with egg, please."

The server jotted it down and left, disappearing behind a swinging curtain.

They settled into the restaurant's calm warmth. The low hum of conversation, the soft clink of plates, and the occasional hiss from the kitchen filled the space.

Rowan leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "So… that butterfly thing earlier, what was that?"

A faint smile touched her lips. She reached up and tapped the edge of her hair, just above her temple.

The butterfly-shaped hairpin shimmered softly. And then, its wings twitched.

Flap.

Slowly, the delicate prismatic wings stirred, moving with an almost unreal grace. Light scattered off its wings in soft, dancing colors that refracted over the table like glass catching the sun.

"It's a Prismatic Butterfly," Seria said calmly.

Rowan blinked. "That thing's your hairpin? The whole time?"

"Not always," she admitted. "It usually stays resting and blends into accessories and clothes. It's shy."

Aston watched the spirit beast flap its wings again. "But in the test, it wasn't."

Seria smiled a little. "It understood the stakes."

Aston sent a thought to Nova.

—

[Spirit Beast: Prismatic Butterfly]

[Type: Insect]

[Attribute: Light]

[Genus: Papilio]

[Rank: 1-star]

[Potential: 6-star]

[Description: A butterfly with translucent wings and an ever-shifting palette of colors. It refracts light into gentle rainbows. Its elegant body, adorned with faint markings, glows brighter whenever it acts.]

[Skills:]

[Lustrous Shroud: Showers an area with its scales, creating illusory projections or obscuring nearby movements.]

[Next skill will be unlocked at 3-star]

[Passive Skills:]

[Soft-Scale Scatter: Generates localized light-distortion fields when airborne, reducing detection accuracy and making it difficult for enemies to focus or aim properly.]

[Innate Skills:]

[Photon Bloom: The Prismatic Butterfly releases a concentrated burst of radiant light from its wings, momentarily blinding nearby targets and disorienting their senses. The bloom also disrupts low-tier enchantments and weak illusions within range.]

[Next skill will be unlocked at 5-star]

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