A few hours later, after the meeting concluded, Juliana Randalorion was the only person seated in the large room.

Everyone else had departed, leaving her and the shadowy figure that remained still throughout the meeting and even after it concluded.

“Haa… that was exhausting.” She muttered to herself, resting her back on the comfortable chair.

Sitting upright for so long was enough to make anyone’s butt sore, and their back ache a little. However, that wasn’t what made her sigh so loudly. The prime reason she found the meeting to be tiresome was due to the fact that she had to speak so many times and interact with a lot of people.

“This whole day has been tiring…”

From addressing the students, to exploring the Academy Grounds and speaking to all the staff, and now communicating with the Supervising Officers… such interactions took a heavy toll on her, which made another sigh leak out of her lips.

For someone like Juliana, all of these burdens were too much.

‘I really should get back to practicing my Mage Arts…” She whispered to herself, nearly getting up.

“Not so fast, Academy Head.”

Before she could rise, a heap of documents landed on the table before her.

It caused her to squeak a little.

“You still have a lot of work to do.” The shadowy figure behind her said, now moving to the front so she could see their figure clearly.

The masculine voice that echoed in the room made it obvious that this was a man, and his stature—though hidden underneath a big, black hooded cloak—belonged to someone in his twenties, at the very least.

“Academy Head? Really? You can cut it out with the formality, Leon.” Juliana smirked, looking at the man before her with a different kind of aura than what she displayed with the rest of her subordinates.

She was casual, friendly even.

“Even if you say that, I won’t let you off.” The figure said, chuckling under his hood.

That only served to increase the frown on Juliana’s face, though that didn’t stop the man from speaking even further.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here with you, so it won’t be lonely.”

“Urgh…” She replied with a groan. “And how long do you plan to keep wearing that? Should I assume you’ll remain like that throughout?”

“What? No way!”

At that moment, the dark cloak vanished—almost like darkness that was being dispelled by light.

Underneath the darkness was a man who was dressed in casual wear. He had a black shirt, with dark blue trousers. His hair was black as night, and he had an eyepatch on one side of his face that gleamed with the same darkness.

His purple eyes gleamed bright as he offered the unfazed Archmage a slight smirk.

“Isn’t it better that you watch my handsome face as you work? I’m doing all this for you, you know?”

“Urgh! Please stop! There’s no way in hell I’d ever find you attractive.”

“Really, now?” He rolled up both his sleeves and placed his hand on the desk, nearing Juliana in one swift move. “Are you sure about that… milady?”

“....”

“....” He flashed a charming smile, one that was enough to woo any lady, even going further as to wink at her.

However, even after everything, Juliana remained perfectly still.

“Are you finished?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now go play around or something.” She waved her hand away, causing him to take a few steps back. “I want to do my job without distractions.”

“But how sure am I that you won’t slack off?” He protested quickly, acting like he was concerned.

Juliana had a response for that too.

“I’m not like you, so there’s no need for concern.”

“Ahh… fair enough.”

The man walked away from the presence of the Academy Head at that moment, on waving farewell as he neared the exit.

“Hold on.”

As soon as Juliana said this, he stopped moving.

“What do you think about that boy from Year 1… Dan Nilrem?” She asked, shifting her gaze to where he stood.

“Hmm. What do I think about him, huh?”

A large smile formed on his face as he turned to Juliana, a twinkle flashing in his purple eye.

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“He’s a crazy kid.”

“Reminds me of a certain someone…”

“Haha! Well, I won’t object.” His grin became wider. “I like him already.”

“So, does that mean you’ve taken an interest?”

“Nah! It’s too early for that.”

“I figured.”

“Merit is all that matters here. As long as he proves himself, he’ll not only get my attention, but the attention of everyone else in this Academy.”

“You really think he can do that?” Juliana raised her brows as she looked at the man before her.

“Who knows?” He shrugged. “I only know that he was able to obtain a perfect score in the Runecrafting Exams, even as someone of commoner status.”

“....”

“There has only been one person in the history of the Academy that has managed such a feat.”

“And I’m looking right at him.”

“Haha!” The man laughed, resuming his walk while waving once again. “This First Semester should prove to be quite interesting.”

Juliana didn’t need to be told that before recognizing the same.

‘What are the chances that three students from Noble Households are in Year 1, at the very same session? And then we have the issue of their Supervising Officer.’

Ketiya Lampshade was not someone she would have chosen as a Supervising Officer, but it couldn’t be helped due to the circumstances.

‘This is the best way I know how to protect you, little one…’ She smiled sadly to herself. ‘I hope you actually find this job fulfilling.’

It was rather unfortunate for Ketiya that she had to be the Supervising Officer for such a problematic set. With three of the six Noble Families already having a presence in her class, as well as a deviant whose future remained unknown, her first experience as a Supervising Officer—no, as an Educator—was going to be quite eventful.

‘There’s also quite a bit of drama going on in the other classes, but so far… things are under control.’

As the Head of the Academy, it was her duty to make sure things remained that way.

‘And, unfortunately…’ She gulped, looking down at the several documents she had to sort through. ‘... that also involves these.’

A bead of sweat formed on her face, and she instantly regretted sending her only reliable aide away. Since her pride wouldn’t let her call him back, however, she had to brave the storm on her own.

“I can do this… I have to do this.”

**************

“I did it!” Dan beamed as he collapsed on his bed in complete exhaustion.

Visible breaths escaped his lips as he powerlessly lay upon the hard mattress, his chest rising and falling at erratic intervals.

Despite the constant pain coursing through his body, and the uncomfortable pouding in his head, he maintained his bright smile. After all, he had been able to achieve the initial goal that he set out for himself.

‘It only took all day, but I pulled it off.’ He groaned slightly, feeling a slight surge of pain pierce his entire body as he tried to rise.

‘Looks like I’ll have to remain like this for a while.’

Considering what he had just pulled off, this was to be expected. In fact, he was lucky that he wasn’t experiencing anything worse than this. If he had been slightly off, the kind of pain he would be going through at the moment was going to be incomparable to that of his present experience.

‘I suppose that goes to show how skilled I am in Runecrafting.’ He chuckled to himself. ‘Still got it!’

Despite being naked in the rather cool room, he was perspiring.

His lean body was still, everything exposed as he set his eyes on the ceiling above him. He would have loved to check himself out in the mirror, but he couldn’t move.

That didn’t mean he didn’t have an idea of his current appearance.

All over his body were Runic Inscriptions. Like tattoos, they were neatly imprinted on his flesh—from his arms, to his shoulders, to his chest, and his stomach, down to his legs, and up to his feet.

There were also inscriptions on his back, but those were covered by the mattress.

‘It looks like I’ll have to be wearing long-sleeved clothes for a while. Thankfully, the uniforms are designed that way, and I have a few casual outfits like that.’ He thought to himself. ‘There’s no use bothering with concealment Runes, since I don’t have nearly enough Magia to use any sophisticated one and an expert will easily see through any basic kind I try to employ.’

Fortunately, there was no need to resort to active concealment.

‘Even if my body is exposed, most people will only think these symbols are tattoos. They’re all written in Runic Shorthand, so they won’t be recognized by even the most experienced Runecrafter.’

Of course, this was only contingent on the fact that Runic Shorthand didn’t yet exist.

‘Based on what I’ve observed, the chances of it existing are very low… almost nonexistent.’ He told himself. ‘If it really existed, there would be clear signs.’

For example, more students would have signed up for Runecrafting.

But, based on his observations… most students didn’t have a favorable impression of Runecrafting, and it seemed a majority of students chose Magia Engineering and Spellcasting. It wouldn’t even be surprising if he found himself to be the only student in his class who had Runecrafting as his Major.

‘I suppose this all works out well for me, since I’m trying to keep a low profile.’

There was always the chance that someone somewhere had discovered Runic Shorthand and was hoarding the information, though, so Dan still planned to keep his inscriptions as hidden as possible from any prying eye.

‘I’ll think of a better solution once I’m able to do so, but this is all I can prepare for at the moment.’ He sighed to himself. ‘Hopefully, it’s sufficient.’

There was still so much he didn’t know about this new world—and that included who he could trust and couldn’t.

This tied into why he still intended on keeping his abilities and knowledge secret.

‘Until I’m able to learn more about this world, as well as the current Magus Community, it’s safest to hide everything I know and am capable of.’ Dan told himself.

His hope was that he wouldn’t have to keep it a secret for too long. After all, an improvement in Runecraft would really go a long way in the advancement of civilization as everyone knew it. It wouldn’t just be the Magus Community that would benefit, but even the common person.

‘Transportation, Medicine, Education, etc. A lot can be improved based on the knowledge I possess. But if I am too impatient, there’s a chance that things could turn out for the worst.’

Power could be used to heal, but also to kill.

As long as he wasn’t aware of all the variables, he couldn’t expose such important secrets to the world. At the very least, he had to be sure about the current state of society, as well as have an influential position in it, before he showed the world what he had learned in his past life.

‘In the spirit of keeping secrets, I should definitely also hide the fact that I reincarnated.’ A slight smile formed on his face.

‘At least… until I learn more about how it could have happened.’

Everything he did from this point on had to hold some significance. He wasn’t some ignorant brat, but a grown man who had a good idea of how the world could be.

‘Which is why I also need to get stronger as quickly as I can…not just for this Academy, but for what comes after.’

And, using the Runes that were inscribed on his body, Dan had already taken his first step.

‘Right now, my biggest issue is the quantity of Magia this body has and its incredibly slow flow. But… I’ve solved all of that with this.’

Thanks to that, Dan was confident that he could grow much stronger.