CHAPTER 15 - THE FIRST DAY 7

Aegis swallowed.

[Oh, I'm so fucked, I'm so fucked, I'm so fucked.]

And, on the opposite end of that damp, dark space, Nazraya began walking toward her.

Nazraya's heels clicked against the stone floor, each step echoing in the crypt like a countdown. Aegis couldn't move. Her legs felt rooted to the spot as her professor approached, dark energy still crackling between those elegant fingers.

[This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to be here.]

Memories flooded Aegis's mind as she watched Nazraya draw closer. All those forum threads, all those heated community debates about the Halloween event from the game. The zombie outbreak that had turned a solid chunk of the academy into shambling corpses before players could contain it. Everyone had blamed Princess Talia, theorizing she'd been experimenting with forbidden magic to surpass the protagonist. Very on-brand for her, to be sure.

But this... well, this confirmed it.

[It was Nazraya. She's a shadow sorceress.]

The professor stopped directly in front of Aegis.

"My, my. What an unexpected surprise. A student wandering the crypts after curfew. How adventurous."

"..."

Aegis opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

What the fuck was she supposed to say? 'Lovely night we're having'?

"Judging from your reaction, I take it you know what you're seeing, don't you Miss Starcaller?" Nazraya lifted her hand, letting the darkness slither between her fingers. "Shadow Magic. Quite illegal. Quite deadly. And quite unfortunate that you've stumbled upon it."

Without warning, Nazraya's hands moved forward, wrapping around Aegis's throat. The touch was gentle at first, almost tender, but Aegis felt the power behind those fingers.

"P-Professor—" Aegis choked out.

Nazraya began to squeeze, cutting off Aegis's words and making her eyes bulge out of their sockets. Her expression remained extremely calm given that she was about to snuff the life out of someone.

[Think, THINK, you clever bitch!] Aegis urged herself.

The best she could do was:

"Well... Small world, huh?" Aegis managed to rasp out.

The pressure on her throat eased slightly. Nazraya blinked and tilted her head. Then, unexpectedly, she giggled. It would have been very cute any other time than when she had her hands around Aegis's neck.

But, the pressure softened a little.

"Indeed it is, little commoner." Her thumb stroked Aegis's pulse point, feeling the frantic beating beneath the skin. "You know, I was actually quite excited to see what you would do at the academy. Such potential. Such obvious charisma." Her smile widened. "But, oh well. I can't trust you to keep this secret, darling. I apologize. For what it's worth, I genuinely was impressed with what you showed."

"BLEGH!"

The hands tightened again.

[Think, think! There has to be a way out of this!]

Then, suddenly, something strange happened. A dialogue box appeared in Aegis's vision:

[CRITICAL CHOICE]

1. "I've always been interested in the occult." [INQUIRE]

2. "What if I could help you?" [PERSUADE]

3. "Please don't kill me." [BEG]

4. "Choke me harder, mommy." [FLIRT]

Aegis's brows raised even as Nazraya calmly walked Aegis backwards until Aegis's back hit a dust-covered wall.

[CHOICES! Okay, no time. Which one do you chose, Aegis?]

She thought back to what Nazraya was like in the game. What she liked, what she respected. Aegis didn't exactly have much time to analyze each individual option, but she went with the first one that resonated with what she knew about this character.

"I've... always... been..." Aegis tried her absolute hardest to force the words out with what little air she had left, and what little air would make it out of her mouth. "Interested... in... the... occult!"

Suddenly, Nazraya eased a little. A precious sliver of air entered Aegis's lungs, like she'd just added 15 seconds to the countdown on a ticking time bomb.

"A little too interested, clearly," Nazraya remarked with a smirk and a raised brow. But, she didn't immediately resume the strangulation.

"I've been studying it for years," Aegis gasped as the pressure eased slightly more. "Shadow magic, necromancy, blood rites... all the things they don't teach in the official curriculum."

Nazraya's eyebrows rose higher, her red eyes glittering with...

Curiosity.

"Is that so? A commoner with knowledge of forbidden arts?" Her thumb traced Aegis's jawline. "Prove it."

[DIALOGUE OPTIONS]

1. "The Veil of Shadows requires three sacrifices." [KNOWLEDGE]

2. "I've been tracking your research for months." [BLUFF]

3. "Let me show you what I know." [DEMONSTRATE]

Aegis went with her gut.

"The ritual you're performing, it's based on Morgrave's Theorem, isn't it? Shadow condensation through lunar amplification." The words tumbled out faster than Aegis could think them through. "You're using the moon's light to draw out ambient darkness, then binding it to a physical form."

Nazraya's grip loosened further, genuine surprise flickering across her face.

"How could you possibly—"

"The shadow patterns around your fingers," Aegis continued, heart hammering in her chest. "They're forming a Draethic Seal. Classic containment structure, but unstable during lunar peaks without a proper anchor."

The professor's mouth actually fell open slightly. Her hands dropped from Aegis's throat entirely, though she kept Aegis pinned against the wall with her body.

"You're... correct." Nazraya tilted her head, studying Aegis like she was a particularly fascinating specimen. "Though I'm using a modified seal to account for the lunar resonance."

[DIALOGUE OPTION]

1. "Smart. Standard seals leak energy during peak lunar phases." [IMPRESS]

2. "Why risk performing it here? Academy wards could detect it." [QUESTION]

3. "I've been wanting to learn from a true master." [FLATTER]

4. "I could help stabilize the anchor points." [OFFER]

Aegis chose option three, leaning into the flattery while mixing in some genuine enthusiasm.

"I've dreamed of learning from someone who actually understands the deeper arts," she said, letting admiration color her voice, forcing a smile. "Not these sanitized spells they want to teach in class. Real magic. Primal magic." She gestured at the shadows still dancing between Nazraya's fingers. "Beautiful magic."

A slow smile spread across Nazraya's face, predatory yet pleased.

"My, my. The scholarship prodigy has hidden depths." She stepped back slightly, giving Aegis room to breathe. "And what exactly were you doing in the crypts tonight, if not spying on me?"

Aegis pointed toward Queen Rosanna's statue.

"The Moonlight Veil."

She gestured toward the statue's outstretched hands, where a shimmering fabric draped like liquid moonlight. The sapphire-tinged cape caught the beams filtering through the ceiling, transforming them into dancing patterns across the crypt walls.

Nazraya's eyes widened, her grip on Aegis's shoulder loosening further as she turned to follow the gesture.

"What is that?" she breathed, genuine surprise in her voice.

"The Moonlight Veil," Aegis repeated, seizing her chance to step slightly away from the wall. "It only manifests when moonlight strikes Queen Rosanna's statue at precisely the right angle, which happens once a century. Tonight. That's why I came here."

Nazraya approached the statue, her shadow magic momentarily forgotten as she reached toward the ethereal fabric.

"I've been in these crypts dozens of times and never... How did you know about this?"

"Research," Aegis said simply, which was technically not a lie. Hours spent poring over game guides and hidden item locations counted as research, right? "I came to collect it."

"And what does this 'Veil' do, exactly?" Nazraya's fingers hovered just above the fabric, not quite touching it.

"It grants invisibility once per day," Aegis explained, carefully approaching. "Perfect for someone who might need to... conduct sensitive experiments without interruption."

That caught Nazraya's attention. She turned back to Aegis, now genuinely shocked.

"I... see..."

Aegis rubbed her sore neck.

[I'm so close. Just a little bit more...]

She got one more dialogue choice.

SPECIAL DIALOGUE OPTION:

"Professor... Could you... Perhaps teach me what you know?"

WARNING: This choice will fundamentally alter your playthrough!

Aegis stared at the option, her heart thundering against her ribs.

This was it. The kind of choice that would change everything. She'd seen similar warnings in the game when approaching critical branch points. Points that defined what kind of character you were going to make.

She took a deep breath.

"Professor... Could you... Perhaps teach me what you know?"

Nazraya's eyebrows shot up so high they nearly disappeared into her hairline.

"Excuse me?" She smiled in disbelief.

"I'm serious." Aegis stepped forward, emboldened by the fact that she wasn't actively being strangled anymore. "This is the opportunity I've been waiting for. You don't understand. I've been searching for someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Nazraya's voice was half-amused, half-suspicious.

"A true practitioner. Not these academy puppets with their sanctioned spells." Aegis swallowed hard, deciding to go for broke. "The truth is... I lied on my entrance test."

"Oh?"

"I don't actually know how to use magic at all."

Nazraya's laughter echoed through the crypt, bouncing off ancient stone and making dust drift from the ceiling. It wasn't a gentle laugh. It was the sound of someone genuinely caught off guard.

"Let me get this straight," she said when she finally caught her breath. "You, a commoner who scored perfectly on the theoretical portion of the entrance exam, who impressed me in class today with advanced magical theory, are telling me you can't cast a single spell?"

Aegis nodded, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.

"Not one. I understand the theory perfectly. I've done my share of research, which is how I knew about the echo crystal I used during the test. But when it comes to actual practice..." She wiggled her fingers in a sad approximation of spellcasting. "Nothing."

Nazraya cackled again, then reached out to pet Aegis's head like she was an amusing pet. Her fingers threaded through Aegis's white hair, surprisingly gentle for someone who'd been choking her minutes ago.

"How... How absolutely delightful," she purred. "A prodigy in theory, helpless in practice. And you want me, of all people, to teach you? Forbidden magic, no less?"

"Well," Aegis shrugged, trying to look casual despite the professor's hand still in her hair, "I've already got tomb raiding on my criminal record. What's a little forbidden magic, eh?"

That drew another laugh from Nazraya, this one smoother, more genuine. Her red eyes glittered in the moonlight as she studied Aegis with newfound interest.

"Fine," she said finally, her hand sliding from Aegis's hair to cup her cheek. "You're amusing enough. I suppose I could use a new pet. Been a while since I had one."

[... Pet?]

That word sent a shiver down Aegis's spine.

She could hardly believe what was happening. This was absolutely definitively not in the game.

"Every day after class, darling," Nazraya continued, her thumb tracing Aegis's lower lip. "If you're late, or if you tell anyone about what you saw tonight..." Her grip suddenly tightened, fingers digging painfully into Aegis's jaw. "I'll snap your pretty neck."

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the pressure was gone. Nazraya stepped back, the shadows around her fingers dissipating as she smoothed her robes.

"We'll start tomorrow. Don't disappoint me." With that, she turned and glided back into the darkness of the crypt, her footsteps fading until Aegis was alone.

Aegis exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, her knees nearly buckling beneath her.

[CRITICAL PATH UNLOCKED: Shadow Apprentice]

[WARNING: This path carries significant risks]

[RELATIONSHIP UPDATE: Professor Nazraya]

[❤️🤍🤍🤍🤍] [Status: Dangerous Interest]

[Note: Subject finds your naivety amusing]

Aegis turned toward Queen Rosanna's statue, where the Moonlight Veil still shimmered. Nazraya hadn't taken it with her, which was, knowing her, a conscious choice she made.

She reached up and carefully lifted it from the stone shoulders, half-expecting it to dissolve at her touch. Instead, it settled into her hands like liquid silk, cool and weightless.

[ITEM ACQUIRED: Moonlight Veil]

[Effect: Grants Invisibility Once Per Day]

[Special: Conceals Magical Signature]

"Three for three," she whispered, carefully folding the veil and tucking it into her uniform. "Not bad for my first day."

As Aegis made her way back through the crypts toward the academy proper, the adrenaline of her encounter with Nazraya began to fade. In its place came a different sensation. A tightening, a warmth, a pressure between her legs that made her steps falter.

She glanced down and realized with a mixture of horror and fascination that the front of her uniform pants was tenting noticeably.

[Oh. My cock is hard. Painfully hard.]

Aegis pressed her palm against it, both to ease the discomfort and to try hiding the evidence. The touch sent a jolt through her that nearly made her gasp.

"Seriously?" she muttered to herself. "Getting choked and threatened turned me on this much? Nurse Jessie would faint if I told her about this."

But then again, Nazraya had always been one of her favorite characters in the game. Dangerous, mysterious, powerful.

The kind of woman who could break you and remake you however she pleased.

And now Aegis was going to be her apprentice.

Her "pet."

The thought sent another throb through her new equipment.

"This is going to be a problem," she sighed, adjusting herself as best she could before climbing the stairs back to the main academy.

By the time she reached her room, she was practically sweating. She eased the door open, praying that Lune was already asleep.

The room was dark. Lune's steady breathing from the other bed confirmed she was indeed out cold.

Aegis collapsed onto her own bed, still fully clothed, the Moonlight Veil clutched in one hand. Between nearly getting murdered, securing three rare items, and somehow becoming the apprentice to a shadow sorceress, it had been quite the productive first day.

[Day One Complete]

[Items Acquired: 3/3]

[Hidden Route Unlocked: Shadow Apprentice]

[Power Increased: 3 → 5]

[Intelligence Increased: 1 → 5]

[Magical Potency: +15%]

Aegis closed her eyes, trying to ignore the persistent ache between her legs.

Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new classes, and her first lesson in forbidden magic.

Whatever happened next, one thing was certain, this was nothing like playing the game from behind a screen.

This was real.

And Aegis was just getting started.