"Yo," said a voice beside him, casual and off-beat. "Third year already. You still planning to punch your way into cultivation?"
Guren turned with a half-grin. Scott Kawski stood there, hood up over his frost-blue uniform, cloak twisted and somehow buttoned wrong as usual. His long bangs covered one eye, and his posture screamed 'I don't give a fuck'. He gave the impression of a kid who forgot to finish his homework and never planned to.
But Guren knew better.
Scott wasn't dumb. He was pretending.
"I don't need to punch my way in," Guren replied, slinging his bag higher. "I'll charm the heavens. Smile until they give up."
Scott smirked. "That might actually work. You've got that weird 'I've seen something you haven't' kind of energy. Real cult leader vibes."
"Thanks?" Guren blinked. "I think?"
The two stepped into the sky-tram as it hissed open, its mana-powered doors humming like a low heartbeat. Inside, silver rail lights lit the cabin with a cool glow, casting reflections of students against the crystal-paneled walls.
They found a space near the back, away from the clusters of gossiping high elf girls and overly energetic noble kids.
"You're not nervous about today?" Guren asked.
Scott stretched, yawning exaggeratedly. "Not really. I already read this year's curriculum four months ago. Accidentally."
"Accidentally?"
"I was bored. Thought it was a cookbook."
Guren gave him a sideways glance.
Scott didn't look it, but he was easily top of their year in every theoretical subject. Not because he tried but because his mind moved faster than most people could talk. Teachers knew it. Students suspected it. He hated it.
"I just want one day," Scott sighed, pressing his forehead to the cold window, "just one day where I can be dumb, average, forgettable. Like… someone who gets excited over cafeteria soup."
"You're out of luck," Guren said, grinning. "You're in third year now. Only one step away from cultivation trials."
Scott groaned. "Ugh. Don't remind me. You know what cultivation is, right? It's stress with a glow-up. First you worry about awakening. Then about cores. Then domains. Then whether your Qi matches your girlfriend's astrology sign."
Guren laughed. "You're being dramatic."
"I'm a realist. Trapped in a protagonist's body."
"And I'm the protagonist, thank you very much."
Scott tilted his head, mock-surprised. "Really? I thought you were the philosophical side character with secret trauma and a destiny arc."
"…that's scarily accurate."
Their laughter faded into comfortable silence as the tram curved upward along a mana bridge, revealing the towering spires of their school FrostSpire Academy.
It stood on a raised shelf of ancient frost-stone carved into the bones of the mountain itself. White banners with silver ink drifted in the wind. Rows of silverleaf trees lined the approach, their petals like shards of glass reflecting the morning sun.
The tram slowed.
Students gathered their things. Voices rose.
Scott yawned again. "You ready for another year of pretending we don't notice the nobles picking favorites and the teachers acting like cultivators are the only people who matter?"
"I don't mind," Guren said. "I've got goals."
Scott arched a brow.
"I want to change things," Guren added. "Change myself first, and then maybe just maybe change everything else."
Scott watched him for a long second, his smirk softening into something else.
"…That's the dumbest genius thing I've heard all year," he said, stepping out. "Let's make sure you don't die before midterms, 'kay?"
Guren followed him into the cold light of the morning, the massive gates of FrostSpire creaking open ahead welcoming them into a world of legacy, pressure, and secrets buried deep beneath its snowy foundations.
And as always, the sky watched in silence.
To be Continued.