TWO DAYS LATER!

The first thing Albedo saw when he woke up was a sterile white ceiling. His vision was still blurry as if waking up from a long, feverish dream, yet as he adapted to the environment, he found himself on a hospital bed.

He blinked and looked around, not feeling any pain. Instead, he felt refreshed, like he could punch a dragon. He sat up and and looked around the infirmary.

There was 15 beds lined in arcing rows, and Albedo noted that he wasn't alone. Three other students lay nearby, one unconscious, one reading silently, the third staring blankly at the ceiling in a trauma-induced daze.

Then he noticed the faint hum of a projection crystal in the corner. A shimmering flat screen hovered beside a bookshelf, playing a news broadcast. The anchor's voice was clipped and composed, but there was no mistaking the fury buried beneath her tone.

"And once again, Zephyr Academy finds itself embroiled in controversy following the catastrophic events during the Monster Scape Examination," said the anchor, a sharp-jawed woman with silver hair and eyes like judgment incarnate.

"Sources confirm that a breach in security allowed an Amethyst-Ranked Abyssal Worshipper and a Abyssal Hydra to manifest within one of the biomes. The result? Tragedy."

A chart appeared beside her, displaying the stats of how many students died or got injured.

Confirmed Casualties: 83 Students.

Critically Injured: 112.

Missing: 17.

Faculty Injuries: 5.

"The question on everyone's mind," the anchor continued, "is how this could happen. How did one of the Empire's most prestigious institutions fail to protect its brightest stars? Where were the teachers? Where were the safeguards?"

Footage flickered onscreen. Drones capturing glimpses of the battle. A blurred Hydra towering above the lake. Students fighting for their lives in scattered pockets. Magical shockwaves vaporizing chunks of forest.

The final shot showed Raphaeline easily taking down the Hydra and the anchor's tone changed as she saw that,

"The Headmistress herself engaged the beast… and won. Witnesses say she single-handedly defeated the Hydra and detained the Abyssal cult leader responsible. No lives were lost once she arrived. But many are asking why she arrived so late."

The broadcast cut to a political panel, where nobles argued about funding, defense protocols, and whether the Academy should fall under stricter Imperial oversight.

Some crazy Nobles even argued to revoke the rules about different races being the Heads of the Academies, as other races may not be as engaged in protecting Humans, but they were firmly shut down.

Albedo slowly leaned back, and thought about what happened.

Eighty-three dead. It was much less than in the Novel, despite the attack being harsher. He could say that his presence directly saved hundreds of lives, but he still wished he was stronger.

He checked the system, spotting two rewards waiting for him.

[ DING! Host has ranked #1 in Mid-Term Examinations. Host is Rewarded with Soul Lamp! ]

[ Soul Lamp: A lamp placed inside the Soul that releases a light which slowly improves Soul Power. Lamp is effective until Soul Power reaches Diamond Rank. ]

Albedo took out the lamp and quickly placed it in his Soul, and while he didn't feel any immediate drastic changes, he could feel the various flames rampaging within him slowly but surely growing in force.

In the long term, he knew having a stronger Soul would be massively beneficial.

Then, he looked at his second reward.

[ DING! Host has survived the Mid Term Examinations. Host is Rewarded with Book of Aevarion ]

[ Book of Aevarion: A book written by Aevarion of the Scarlet Orbit, the creator of the Crimson Moon and by extension, its physique and techniques. Book is an encyclopedic spell book dating back to Primordial times and includes various tips to improve the physiques power. Host has only unlocked Silver Ranked knowledge. ]

Albedo raised his eyebrow. Aevarion of the Scarlet Orbit, another figure who was never talked about in the Novel, it just seemed like everything was going more and more mysterious.

Yet he couldn't wait to read the Book, it would certainly be a massive powerboost. But he couldn't do it here, so he calmed his nerves and just sat patiently, watching the news until someone knocked on the door.

A moment later, it slid open.

Veronica and Elara stepped inside, both of them looking relatively composed, despite the dark circles under their eyes. As soon as Elara saw Albedo was awake, she rushed to the side of his bed.

"You're awake," she said softly.

Albedo nodded, "How long as I out?"

"Two days. You sustained some noticeable injuries, but mostly you were just completely exhausted. As for Morgana, she was barely alive when we found her, we thought she wouldn't make it."

"So she's okay now?" Albedo asked.

"She's stable. Healing. Sleeping in the room next door." Veronica smiled faintly as she cut in and spoke "She made a nurse cry by trying to strangle him when he touched her hair while she was unconscious."

That drew a brief, broken laugh from Albedo, "Yeah, she's fine then," he said, thinking for a while before turning back to Veronica who was leaning against the bed frame.

"…What happened after I passed out?" Albedo asked.

Veronica looked at him for a moment then responded.

"It was chaos," Veronica finally said, her voice tight, precise, "You probably missed the worst of it, which is saying something considering what you went through."

Albedo gave her a dry look, "I did fight a Venomous Abyssal Octopus at the bottom of the lake."

"Right," she murmured, "Well… about two minutes after you passed out, Raphaeline and Kayle, rom what I've gathered, and what we saw, they eradicated the Hydra in under five minutes."

"Elara says it was less than three," Elara added without looking up, "I timed it."

Albedo blinked, "As expected of our Professor and Headmistress."

Albedo muttered, in the Novel, Raphaeline had basically never lost a fight, she was the ultimate deus ex machina for Lucian all the way throughout until the ending.

"Wait. They killed a Peak Amethyst-Ranked Hydra in three minutes?"

Veronica smirked faintly as she continued, "Raphaeline sat on a throne of ruin and summoned a meteor that devoured the Hydra. The thing didn't even explode. It was just… consumed."

Albedo whistled low under his breath.

"She also captured the Abyssal Worshipper behind it all," Veronica continued. "An Amethyst Rank… I don't know his name. But she took him alive and dragged him to some kind of underground prison. I overheard Professor Kayle calling it 'the Deeplock Vault.' Even the Empire can't access it without the Headmistress's approval."

Albedo sat up a little straighter, "And the students?"

Veronica looked away, guilt passing like a shadow over her face.

"Most are alive… but broken. The infirmary is full. Some are recovering. Some might not wake up again. Lucian's still unconscious."

"Lucian's stable, but he's not woke up. Zeus and William's families pulled some strings and moved them to their ancestral homes.You know how it is with Nobles." Elara said and Albedo nodded.

Then Veronica added, softer, "Your sister came by."

Albedo's eyes widened slightly.

"Gwen?"

"Yeah," Veronica said with a smile. "She snuck in yesterday morning. Sat next to you for about two hours, didn't say much. Just watched you sleep. I didn't know you had such a cute little sister,"

Albedo just laughed and relaxed a little once he heard that. Hearing Gwen was safe soothed a bit of the worry in his chest.

Then Veronica pushed off from the bed, brushing her gloves together. "When you're cleared to walk, you're expected to visit the Headmistress. She told all the students who contributed significantly to the fight that she has rewards waiting. Not just compensation."

Albedo tilted his head, "Did you go already?"

"I did," Veronica said. Then she raised her hand and clenched her fist. A ripple of faint gravity warped the air around her glove, "I picked these."

The gloves were sleek, matte-black, laced with thin gold filaments that pulsed like veins. Her gravity magic flared subtly just by her presence.

"They're called Gravemark Gauntlets. Tailored to amplify control over gravitational fields. They make it easier to manipulate localized mass and force. Perfect for battlefield control and precision spell layering."

Albedo raised an eyebrow. "Nice."

Elara tucked her vial away and smiled softl,. "I picked a new Mana Technique. It's called Solar Ember. It's… well, it enhances my healing magic during combat, supercharges buffs, and, " she looked a little shy here, ", gives me control over flame-based mana. Not combat fire, more like… alchemical purification."

Albedo grinned, "I bet you can't wait to lock yourself in your lab for a week and test those flames,"

Elara blushed but nodded, "I'm actually planning to use the break to test stuff. By the way, the break got extended from 2 weeks to a month. Once we get back, its just a few weeks into Final Exams,"

Albedo nodded. Another change from the Novel. That month would give him enough time to move forward with all of his plans, and maybe get close to reaching Peak Silver Rank.