The announcement still echoed off the walls like a bad hangover as the Hall of Admissions bled students in every direction.
Bags, house crests, boots, egos—the whole lot funneled out, some eager, most grumbling. A sea of rich kids acting like they'd been personally wronged by being told to work before they got their rooms.
Ace and Klaus split at the fork, trading nods. Different wings, same underdog energy.
Ace drifted into the Fire wing, the crowd thinning fast.
The place was suffocating in red—banners, sigils, even the damn light had this molten glow that clung to the walls like smoke. Murals of volcanoes, wildfires, and roaring phoenixes stretched along the ceiling. Subtle wasn't in the design plan.
Ace's boots echoed on polished stone as he stepped into the lecture hall. Rows of curved desks circled a central platform, the whole room bathed in a fiery, low-orange glow like it had been set to 'eternal sunset.'
At the center? The professor.
Tall, lean, silver beard trimmed sharp enough to cut glass. His robes shimmered molten-red, shifting with every move like living lava. Eyes like hot coals, locked onto the class like they were already under a microscope.
"Welcome to Pyros," the professor started, voice calm but carrying the weight of someone who'd burned more than just paper. "You're here because you've got the spark. Fire in the blood. Or so they say."
His eyes swept the room. Landed on Ace for half a second. Longer than necessary.
Fantastic, Ace thought, sliding into a desk near the back. Already flagged.
Front row? Packed with the usual suspects. Rich robes, expensive crests, the 'my bloodline is older than your country' attitude. Ace recognized a few from the courtyard. One in particular—Lysander Valerius.
Same smug posture. Same punchable smirk.
Ace leaned back, sizing up the room. Everyone's watching everyone. Hierarchies forming fast. He clocked nervous eyes, fidgeting hands, overconfident pricks trying too hard to dominate the space.
Professor Thorne kept talking. "Fire is chaos. Fire is creation. You'll learn to control both. Or you'll burn."
He raised a hand. A flame bloomed above his palm, dancing, flickering, contained.
"First exercise: spark control. One spark. Stable. Precision over power. If you blow something up, you fail." His eyes narrowed, smirk faint. "And I laugh."
Murmurs rippled through the class. Chairs creaked. Confidence cracked here and there.
Ace exhaled slow, closing his eyes. The air buzzed faintly with arcane charge, thick like static before a storm. His affinity for Fire, Air, Lightning—the cocktail stirred under his skin.
Easy. Too easy, if he was honest.
He focused, sharp and surgical, picturing the spark, small, perfect, no flashy theatrics.
Around him? Chaos.
Faint pops. Crackles. Curses under breath. Someone's sleeve caught a whiff of smoke. A cocky idiot with a house ring accidentally scorched the desk, recoiling like he'd never seen fire before.
Ace opened his hand. Hovering above his palm: one flawless spark. Tiny, stable, burning bright like a captured star.
He held it. Let it hum. Let the control settle in. Could've done more—could've melted half the damn room if he wanted—but subtlety had teeth too.
The spark winked out as he released the focus.
Professor Thorne prowled the aisles, stopping here, correcting there. His boots echoed over stone as he drifted past trembling sparks and students sweating their self-worth.
He stopped at Ace's desk.
Those ember-bright eyes dropped to Ace's empty hand, then back to his face.
"Dragnell." The name rolled out, neutral, but with edges tucked under it. "Precise. Controlled."
Not praise. Not dismissal. A weighing.
"What did you focus on?"
Ace met his stare. Calm. Calculated. "Restraint. Precision over panic. Fire's useless if it burns everything, sir."
Thorne's expression barely twitched. Maybe approval. Maybe cataloging him for later.
"Noted," the professor said, straightening. His voice cut through the class. "Control is survival. Power without direction is just a funeral waiting to happen."
The lecture spiraled into theory—arcane ignition, elemental flow, containment drills. Ace soaked it in, S-rank intelligence humming along as formulas and structures slotted neatly into place.
The whole time, his mind worked two angles. One? The elemental science. Two? How it all fed his real secret. His molecular ability wasn't pure elemental work, but control bled across disciplines. If he could master fire's chaos? His own body's chaos wasn't far behind.
They wrapped the session with an assignment—philosophical nonsense about elemental balance. Ace already had three sarcastic intros prepped before his boots hit the floor.
The crowd packed up fast, nobles whispering, egos preening.
That's when she approached.
Sharp eyes. House crest subtle, stitched so fine you had to squint. Intelligent, precise steps.
"You held that spark longer than most," she said, cool, analyzing, no flattery laced in.
Ace smirked faintly. "Most waste energy showing off. Small fires prove the point better."
She tilted her head, amused. "Efficiency. Rare for first years."
"Elara Vancroft." She offered the name like currency. No handshake. Just data exchange.
"Ace Dragnell." He filed the name, locked the face, always adding to the mental playbook.
Her smile barely formed—a tactical expression. "See you around, Dragnell." She disappeared into the student tide.
Ace watched her vanish, then turned toward the Pyros hall exit. His boots echoed sharp on the floor.
Low-tier noble. Outsider. They don't see it yet.
But they would.
Ace Dragnell - Initial Status
* Name: Ace Dragnell
* Noble Status: Low-Tier Noble
* Age: 16 (First Year Student)
* Strength: D
* Agility: D
* Endurance: C
* Intelligence: S
* Willpower: A
* Charisma: D
* Arcane Power: C
* Abilities:
* Unique Ability: Molecular Disassembly & Regeneration (Untrained - some basic control achieved)
* Description: The innate power to disassemble one's body to a molecular or even atomic level and reassemble it at will. Can regenerate from a single cell or atom. Can reassemble specific body parts, which will possess the same inherent power as the main body. This ability is currently raw and unrefined, its full potential unknown even to Ace, but he has begun to exercise rudimentary control over it.
* Elemental Affinities: Fire, Air, Lightning
* Skills:
* Basic Self-Defense (C)
* Survival (Wilderness - from his manor's remote location) (D)
* Weapon forging (B-)
* Reputation: Unknown / Low-Tier Noble (among students)
* Silver Crowns: 300(Kinda Broke)