CHAPTER 174: GO WITH THE FLOW.

Morning crawled in slowly.

Orion blinked awake with a groan, dragging a hand across his face. His limbs felt slightly heavier than usual — a pleasant heaviness, not exhaustion. He rolled onto his side and squinted at the bracelet clock on his nightstand.

10:03 AM.

Not surprising.

They had partied until 3 AM — and that was when he had had enough. He was almost certain the party was still raging even after he’d left. With Arlen as DJ and Seris as chaos commander, anything was possible.

Orion exhaled, pushing himself upright.

He had... enjoyed it.

More than he’d admit out loud.

The noise, the dancing, the chaos — it had been overstimulating at first, but somewhere around the second hour, he had loosened up. Just enough to blend in without feeling trapped. And Irelle had been a surprisingly pleasant companion — calm, quiet, easy to speak to despite the noise.

She hadn’t tried to cling.

She hadn’t tried to force conversation.

She simply existed beside him in a way that eased him into the environment.

They’d walked Selene home afterward — she’d been very energetic, loudly insisting she wasn’t drunk while being suspiciously drunk in three different ways — and then Orion had gone straight to bed.

He tugged his robe closer around his shoulders and walked into the bathroom. Steam drifted around him as he washed up, letting hot water chase away any lingering fatigue. He dried his hair with a towel, rubbing slowly, still half-dazed from sleep.

A soft ping echoed from his bracelet.

He frowned.

A message?

At this hour?

He tapped the panel open.

A class-wide announcement.

FROM: Instructor Doran

TIME: 2 PM

NOTICE: All A1 students are to report to the general classroom. Attendance is mandatory.

Orion stopped mid-motion.

A weekend summons.

Unusual.

Highly unusual.

He’d expected some kind of announcement soon — probably connected to the rumored upcoming event — but not on a Saturday. And definitely not the morning after a massive academy-wide party.

Considering the sheer number of students who were probably still unconscious, this was bold.

He shrugged.

’They’ll all show up anyway.’

A1 was many things, but undisciplined wasn’t one of them.

He acknowledged the message and set the bracelet aside. After dressing in comfortable clothes, he left his room and headed downstairs.

On the way to the cafeteria, something caught his attention.

His spatial senses... were picking up more maids than usual. A subtle increase in activity. Not overwhelming, but noticeable — at least to someone like him.

He paused.

It felt off.

But after a moment, he dismissed it.

Could be a recalibration issue. Happens sometimes.

He grabbed breakfast — a light plate of eggs, roasted herbs, and a steaming cup of morning tea — and returned to the quiet dorm halls. Most of the boys were definitely still asleep, recovering from last night’s chaos.

He ate, then settled into meditation, pulling mana into his Nexus with practiced ease. After an hour of refining, he leaned back and reviewed notes on his latest project — diagrams, calculations, theoretical breakdowns.

And then—

His door clicked open.

Orion didn’t look up immediately.

He had sensed the presence long before the handle turned.

Caelum.

"Morning," Orion said, already smirking as he closed his notebook.

Caelum stepped inside, giving Orion a singular, suspicious stare — the kind of stare that came from a man who knew someone was about to be annoying.

"...What’s up?" Orion asked, tone deliberately calm.

Caelum sighed and ignored the smirk. "Nothing. Just wondering what you think about the summon."

Avoiding last night’s topic like his life depended on it.

Orion let him escape. For now.

"It’s weird," Orion said, leaning back in his chair. "But not new. They’ve done surprise summons before. Probably about the rumor."

Caelum tilted his head. "Are you sure?"

There was genuine surprise in his voice.

He had been expecting Orion to dissect the message thoroughly.

To read into it.

To overthink it.

To theorize twelve possibilities before noon.

"That’s most likely it," Orion said casually. "I think. I don’t want to read too much into it."

Caelum stared at him.

Not blinking.

Not breathing.

Just staring.

"...Did Seris say something to you?" he asked bluntly.

Orion flinched.

Living among hyper-observant prodigies was exhausting.

"She said I get too paranoid and read too much into things," Orion admitted, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "So I’m trying to relax. Not everything has to be uptight and rigid."

Caelum’s brows slowly rose.

"And since when did you decide that?"

"Since now," Orion said with a serene, almost monk-like expression. "I’ve decided to try going with the flow."

Caelum stared even harder.

Orion remained still, maintaining his calm aura.

’Who knows,’ he thought inwardly, ’maybe loosening up will help me find the spark.’

By 1 PM, they were already making their way out of Orion’s room.

They descended the stairs and met the other boys in the dorm hallway — Arlen with a faint hangover aura, Galen yawning into his sleeve, Thaddeus trying to look dignified despite the fact he’d very clearly been awake until dawn.

No one complained.

No one lagged behind.

Instructor Doran had drilled punctuality into them so thoroughly over the years that even without the threat of losing points or grades, every A1 student respected him deeply.

And more importantly...

Everyone knew Doran demanded students be 30 minutes early.

So they moved as a unified group through the campus walkways, their steps echoing across the stone floors.

By 1:28 PM, the entire class was seated.

Boys, girls, CD (Combat Division), SD (Scholar Division).

Every face familiar.

Every posture upright.

Even Seris — hair braided neatly, looking like she hadn’t caused a riot eight hours ago.

Selene sat calmly beside her brother. Irelle was two rows ahead, hands folded neatly on her desk. A few students still looked half-asleep, but all were present.

The air grew still at exactly 1:30 PM.

A ripple swept through the classroom.

Orion didn’t need Temporal Locus to know who it was.

Instructor Doran teleported in.

He scanned the room.

Nodded once.

"Good," he said, voice steady. "Everyone’s here."