CHAPTER 50: NEW RULES, OLD RIVALRIES

The orientation crowd had scattered, instructors guiding students into different wings of Nexus Academy. By the time Kairo was swept along with the others into the dormitory halls, he almost forgot to breathe.

He was not used to all of this.

This wasn’t the slums.

This wasn’t a rusted car shell or a bridge trench. This was...

"Holy...!"

The dormitory stretched wide like a palace corridor.

The walls gleamed with polished marble that caught the glow of enchanted crystals overhead, filling the air with a steady, soft light.

The floors were smooth, made from mana-carved stones that seemed to clean itself under every step. It didn’t feel like he was stepping on mortal ground, it almost felt like he was in heaven and marching on floors of gold.

Doors lined both sides of the hall, each marked with glowing sigils that shimmered as students approached, attuning themselves to their owner.

Every student would have their own room, the instructor already informed them ahead of time but Kairo was still struggling with the new reality.

’Me... alone in my own room?’ The train of thought was alien to him.

He blinked, struggling to take it all in. For him, this was luxury beyond imagination.

And then...

"Don’t trip, slumrat," a voice muttered from behind.

He turned his head just enough to catch the sneer on Valek’s lips. The noble’s posture screamed arrogance, his uniform fitted perfectly as though tailored from birth. He didn’t even bother lowering his voice.

"Heard they found him eating raw meat during the trial," another whispered, not even subtle. "Like a beast".

Even Kairo had to admit that the sight of him eating raw meat like a savage a week ago was not the brightest sight to see, but still... he was desperate.

Besides, this was old news already. ’These bastards...!’ He coldly stared at them as a chuckle rippled among the nobles.

He didn’t stop though. He kept walking, his jaw tightening but his face unreadable. Valek didn’t stop though as he was relentless, following him.

Kairo felt annoyed but before he could reply, a sharper voice cut in.

"Careful, Valek," Mira said, sauntering past with her usual unbothered swagger. "You might choke on your silver spoon if you keep talking with your mouth full of arrogance."

For a moment, there was stunned silence.

Then snickers broke out among some of the scholarship survivors trailing behind, while Valek’s expression twitched. His hand tightened into a fist, but he didn’t reply. Not here, not now.

He still remembered the rules of the Academy, and even with his noble background, he knew that he could not afford to break them.

Kairo smirked faintly; Mira didn’t miss a beat.

About a minute later of walking, Kairo stopped in front of a door glowing faintly with his name.

[Kairo Vale]

He pressed his hand against the sigil, and the door unlocked with a hiss. The moment he stepped inside, his breath caught.

The room wasn’t massive, but to him, it was a kingdom.

On the corner, there was a real bed with clean sheets and a mattress so soft he almost didn’t dare touch it. There was also a wooden desk with ink and parchment ready, and a wardrobe for clothes he didn’t even own.

A glowing mana-lamp hovered in the corner, and...

He froze at the sound of running water in the adjoining chamber. ’Wait, is that...? A shower! A real, f*cking private shower!’

Kairo’s throat bobbed.

His hand dragged over the bedsheets, the fabric cleaner than anything he’d touched in years. For the first time... he didn’t have to look and admire from afar. For the first time, luxury like this felt like his.

He sat down gingerly, as if the bed might vanish if he leaned in too much. Feeling the comfortable feel of the bed underneath him, he sighed, once again agreeing that all the effort to get the scholarship was more than worth it.

But then, he was interrupted...

Knock!

The door swung open without waiting as Mira strode in like she owned the place, hands behind her head.

"..."

For a second, Kairo just stared speechlessly.

"Not bad," she said, glancing around. "Still looks too clean for you, though. Place might catch an infection."

Kairo’s eyes witched as he raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Just checking if you’d faint from touching luxury". She plopped onto the chair at his desk, spinning once before kicking her feet up. "Didn’t think you’d know how to use a bed though".

Kairo snorted. "Didn’t think you’d know how to sit like a normal girl."

Her grin widened. "Normal girls bore me."

They sat there for a beat, the banter bouncing naturally.

Behind the sarcasm though, something settled, an unspoken acknowledgement. They’d stood together in the Trial of Steel, they’d survived the massacre.

This room, this safety... it was only possible because they’d clawed their way through fire to make it here.

"I’m not stopping here," Mira said suddenly, her voice lower.

She twirled a knife from her belt, staring at the blade. "The Demons showed us what’s waiting out there. If I’m weak, I’ll die. So I’m going to fight harder than anyone else in this place".

Kairo studied her for a moment.

He didn’t press. He didn’t need to, he understood.

He leaned back on the bed. "Good, just don’t slow me down."

Her eyes flicked to him, and for once, she didn’t smirk. She nodded.

The rest of the evening passed in a haze.

Draven, the loud brute with Titan Arm, stomped through the hall, laughing too loud and trying too hard to look unaffected by it all. A few others whispered in corners, voices low, their eyes still haunted from the blood of the coliseum.

By the time the mana-lamps dimmed into a softer glow, the dormitory fell quiet.

Kairo lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The sheets were soft, the room warm, but his stomach still growled, the gnawing ache never leaving him.

’This place is another battlefield’, he thought, fists clenching at his sides. ’Not with blades, but with pride, bloodlines, and prejudice’.

His lips curled into a thin, stubborn smile.

"But I’ve survived worse. Nexus Academy... come at me".