My first official day as a student had gone both spectacularly great and abysmally bad. After I’d accidentally insulted my new headmaster I was taken promptly to her office to be reprimanded for punching out my teacher. She was standing by the windows near the back of the room talking to someone. It seemed like she had an actual corner office. It looked out on to the school grounds and I could see the sun had set fully now. She’d asked me to sit down and be quiet until she was done. After she’d made a flourish with her own wand and a face of a man I’d never seen before appeared out of a pool of water sitting on a stand that resembled a bird bath. I couldn’t hear what the two of them were saying so she’d probably cast some kind of mute spell. I was sitting in a large plush chair in front of a large desk. I had expected it to be piled with stacks of parchments or a melted candle or two, maybe even a feather quill and ink pot like an old wizened scholar would have. Instead the Headmaster’s desk resembled a modern CEO’s. It had her name on a small gold placard and it was sharp and angular. It didn’t have a single stack of paper on it, but it did have a picture of a group of people huddled together in safari outfits posing next to a jeep. One of them looked a lot like Octavia, which I assumed must have been Headmaster Hopp in her earlier years. I didn’t recognize the other 5 people in the photo, but suddenly I heard a familiar voice chime in.

“Wow. That Headmaster lady, She looks a lot like your little girlfriend from earlier huh?” Shadow said. I flinched hearing his voice talking directly into my mind. I had completely forgotten the deal we made. He was now able to piggy back off the signals from my optic nerve so he could see what I did. He still wasn’t able to see exactly what I did, but more like an interpretation of the scene recreated inside my soul ocean for him. I actively had to hold back a response. Could I just think one back and he’d know?

“Yes, you can.” Shadow said. I twitched again with the voice. This would take a lot of getting used to.

“Is there anyway to turn this off?” I thought back to shadow in response.

“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” Shadow replied. Each time he did I felt that coldness in my chest swell.

“You’re going to explain it to me later. For now, just be quiet.” I replied.

“So, I guess you don’t want to know what she’s talking about then?” Shadow mused.

“What? How can you hear them when I can’t?” I asked.

“Because I can see flames as well remember?” He said.

“Right.” I said skeptically. “So, what is she saying?”

“Well, that other man isn’t physically here so I can’t read his so it’s only half a conversation. She’s asking if there’s any report? I think he works for her. She’s listening mostly, but she’s not happy with whatever he’s saying.” Shadow said. “Oh. Now that’s really interesting. She’s asking about you.”

“Me? Why?” I said a little taken back.

“Hmmmm. She wants to know your background. I think maybe this guy is some kind of private investigator. She’s talking about your lack of a digital footprint and some kind of issue with tracking down your family history. Oh. She’s finished, heads up.” Shadow said suddenly wrapping up as Headmaster Hopp dismissed the watery face and turned around to face me.

“Apologies. That was an urgent work call.” She said as she settled into her chair. As she did she reached up behind her and scratched the head of what I thought was an ornamental reptile carving on the chair’s frame. The lizard’s scales all changed colour and it climbed down onto her shoulders. It’s scales shimmered again and it seemed to change into a scarflike texture and settled like it wasn’t even there. It was a bizarre phenomenon to witness. It was like a chameleon that took camouflage to the extreme. The headmaster didn’t seem phased. I would have to get used to really odd shit like this happening more frequently if I wanted to fit in.

“Well. Where do I even start with you, August?” Headmaster Hopp said as she sat down across from me. Her tone was one of exhaustion. “Firstly, I’ll need to address something with you that requires a touch of finesse. Do not take this as an endorsement of your behaviour. Because it’s not. However, I do need to congratulate you on achieving one of the highest scores on a opening exam we’ve seen for a new student. And certainly the highest score for anyone without a background in magical studies or no knowledge of the magical world.” She allowed a moment for the compliment to set in. I wasn’t sure if I was meant to smile or anything so I just said the first thing that came to mind.

“I think I was just lucky, but thank you.” I said. She forced back a smile. It seemed she was struggling to remain stoic and authoritative.

“Luck isn’t a stat we track here.” She said. “But contrary to popular belief, it is indeed managed by the system here.”

“Wait, you’re saying you can see my luck stat?” I asked.

“Yes, just like strength and intellect, you have a luck stat. It plays a lot into the system. If we’re being honest, and I hope that going forward the two of us can be honest with each other, the luck stat was a by product of the QuarterMaster system trying to balance things between skill or knowledge gaps. It’s colloquially called your “Chaos” stat here among the facility.” She seemed to relax into her chair as she spoke. I wondered why she was being so casual now.

“So what’s my luck at?” I asked.

“Well. We’re not able see it anymore. The system removed all visibility of it. It led to unforeseen bias from the teachers here. A high luck stat meant the system preferred you over the other students when receiving items or bonuses.”

“So there’s no way to know?”

“Well, August. There’s certain tells we’ve been able to identify. Firstly, with you. We’ve already seen our first appearance of the personal announcement. You remember your fight with the Cyclops when the QuarterMaster spoke directly to everyone?” She said.

I remembered that booming voice coming in right before the fight and announcing the special win condition.

“Yes. It was a little strange.” I noted.

“And doesn’t usually happen until well into half way through the year.” She said. “That’s not the usual way we can figure it out. Usually we gauge it on the amount of asterisks you’re getting on items. Yours was almost like a bright neon sign of the QuarterMaster saying ‘here’s my favourite this year’.” She said with a pained smile.

“Wow.” I said a little taken aback.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. That’s always a double edged sword, August.”

“Being lucky?” I asked perplexed. I’d always relied on my good luck. Headmaster Hopp sighed.

“The QuarterMaster isn’t here at the moment, there’s a few places in the school where it’s not allowed to listen. So, I can say this openly. Have you ever been on a rollercoaster, but everything seems to be going a little too slow?” She said. I nodded wondering where this might go. “The QuarterMaster is the architect here, I may be the headmaster, but my powers extend only as far as the system allows. The QuarterMaster is in essence a teaching system. It introduces a problem and pushes you to solve it. But it’s self aware enough to tailor that problem in line with the individuals skill and ability to solve the problem. And if at any point it thinks the ride as been too smooth for you. It’ll introduce a new twist in the track. Do you understand what I mean?” She said with with air of utter seriousness.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“I understand.” I said, not really grasping the full extent, but I could see a warning where there was one.

“Good. Let’s move on. I’ve got a few questions about your background August.” She stood up and moved to the far window. She pulled out her wand and tapped the glass with it. It changed and instead of showing the school grounds it showed a scene I’d never seen before of an old decaying mansion. It had vines covering a lot of the building, but I could see that it still looked like someone had been living there recently.

“Oh shit! Don’t worry. Just repeat after me alright?” Shadow suddenly said. I tried not to jolt. Headmaster Hopp began to speak.

“So, this is where you grew up?” She asked.

“Just say, Yes.” Shadow said.

“Yes.” I repeated.

“And your father, you never knew him?” She said. I tried not to show my confusion. Shadow spoke directly into my head.

“I’ll explain it later, just repeat the words. Trust me.” Shadow said. I repeated the answers word for word as he spoke them into my head.

“No. I only met him once as a child. What does he have to do with anything?” I repeated, trying my best to sound upset. In truth I was a little upset by the questions as I didn’t like lying about my parents ever.

“Calm down.” She said. Clearly I’d done a good enough job that she had bought the lie. “There’s very little here about your background so I’m just looking for some clarity.”

“Fine. Go ahead.” I repeated shadows words again.

“So, you only recently learned you were the last remaining relative of the Tenebrion family, how did that make you feel?” she asked. I didn’t even wait for shadow to respond before I spoke for this one.

“Confused.” I said genuinely.

“I was going to say relieved, but confused works.” Shadow said. “But hey, try not to deviate too much, I’ve got strict instructions on how this is meant to go.”

“Understandable.” Headmaster Hopp said nodding. She tapped the glass again and the vision changed to a group of people who were huddled on their knees in what seemed like a old style wooden platform. I realized immediately where they were.

“Is that a guillotine?” I asked.

“Yes. This is a recording taken a year ago. These criminals are being readied to face the executioner.” She tapped the glass and the vision pushed in on one of the faces. They looked up and their expression was one of pure hatred and rage. Tears streamed down their face and their nose was caked with dried blood. Their face made my blood freeze.

“That’s… looks like my father.” I said shocked. Shadow spoke directly again,

“Keep it cool, August. Don’t blow this.”

“But he’s dead.” I said not listening.

“We thought so too.” She seemed confused by my reaction. I stood and moved closer to the screen. The recording continued as they placed the man into the guillotine and locked him in. He was shouting something, but no sound was being produced by the recording. We both watched as the blade fell and swiftly severed his head from his body. I shuddered as it fell to the floor and rolled away. “Apologies. I thought you hated the man.” Headmaster Hopp said with genuine concern in her voice. I heard shadow shout something in my head and I did my best to repeat it.

“Family is complicated.” I repeated. Then I added something of my own. “I’m sure you know that.” She looked back at me and I couldn’t read the expression on her face as either anger or regret.

“Moving on. This is another recording from three days ago.” She tapped the glass again and the vision changed to a blurry video of someone breaking into a bank vault using what looked like a wand to melt the lock away. They turned up to look directly at us and then used that same wand to destroy whatever was recording them. Headmaster Hopp slid her wand across the glass and the recording rewound to the moment just before the figure fired with their wand. It showed my father’s face staring back at us.

“That’s not possible.” I said.

“And yet, here it is.” She said.

“This has to be fake. Somebody tampered with the recording of the video.” I yelled.

“That’s a little hard to do. It’s pulled from one of the vault gargoyle’s brain directly. What we’re looking at is their direct memory of the event. And to change something’s memories takes tremendous time and effort.”

“Okay so someone was using a magical disguise then. My father is dead, I buried him myself.” I said. I heard shadow yelling to be quiet, but I was beyond listening to him now.

“I don’t deny that. But we can’t rule anything out.” She said and tapped the glass again. The recording disappeared and the view of the grounds returned. She turned to face me and looked at me square in the eyes with those same green eyes Octavia has. “Are you here working for your father?”

“What? He’s dead!” I said.

“That’s not what I asked.”

“No, the answer is no. I am not working for my father.” I said. She seemed to relax. I didn’t notice until now, but her grip on her wand had turned her knuckles white. She sighed and slumped back into her chair. “That’s a relief.” I had my fists balled up as well and I let my grip go.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked.

“I needed to know where you stood, August. You might not have been raised as one, but your blood is still Tenebrion. We couldn’t take that chance. Please sit, sit. The hard stuff is out of the way now. We can talk about the real issue.” She said gesturing to the chair. I breathed out slowly and thought in my head a response to shadow.

You and I need to talk. You’ll have a lot to explain, I thought. I didn’t get a clear response, but I felt like he was agreeing in silence.

“So, No one else, but a few of the staff really know your true name. For the time being, keep playing the part of August Adams.”

“Playing the part? August Adams is real.” I said matter of factly. She cocked her head and tapped her wand making it spark.

“That’s interesting. You must really believe that.” She said. I looked at her confused. Of course I did. “Sorry, the truth dome spell cast in here makes us both a little more forthcoming than we usually are.” I nearly stopped dead.

“Truth dome spell?” I asked.

“Oh yes, yes. It just makes it so no one inside can tell a lie, but it’s based on the perspective of the person.” She said clearly not noticing the cold sweat that was creeping down my forehead. I heard shadow take in a sharp breath.

“Haha. Yeah. Weird.” I said not really sure of a better response.

“Don’t worry. The really hard questions are over. We’ll be moving on to your punishment for punching Professor Cyrus.” She said. I breathed a sigh of relief and I heard Shadow do the same. “So, First things first. If we were allowed to we would demote you back into Iron rank, but the system doesn’t allow us to revoke a rank once it’s been awarded. So, we’ve compromised. You’ll be assigned special duty as a Professor’s aide.”

“Not to Professor Cyrus, right?” I grimaced.

“No. That wouldn’t be all that helpful. The man teaches literature for merlin’s sake.” She said. I noted that she’d used merlin as a curse word there. Did that make him a real guy?

“He’s a bit of a big deal here.” I heard Shadow say in my mind. I really needed to find a way to turn this connection off when I wanted.

“The Professor you’ll be assisting is his partner, Professor Dos.” She said. “The Professor is in charge of your first classes anyway so it’s going to work out quite well. The thing is he’s recently had a bit of a relapse and is in need of a someone to be his sober companion. Professor Cyrus usually would take the class, but with his son as a member of the class we can’t risk there being any bias or favoritism. So Dos will take charge of this year’s class of new students. I think the focus will be good for him while he manages his condition. But you’ll be there to assist him should anything go awry.”

“Me? Do you really think I’m the most qualified for the position? I mean I’m the one who fed him the biscuit.” I said feeling a small tinge of guilt.

“All the more reason to make it up to him then.” She had stood now and was making her way over to the other side of the desk. She motioned for me to stand and it was very clear the conversation was at an end. “Don’t worry, my granddaughter will also be assisting you in these duties. So you two will be spending a lot of time together. So, it’s not all that much of a punishment, is it?” She winked slightly as she said it. “Alright! Astrid will see you out. I hope to never need to see you in my office again this year!” She promptly pushed me out of the door and without a another word she slammed her office door behind me. The Lady with the clipboard from earlier was standing waiting for me.

“Astrid?” I asked. The serious looking woman’s face didn’t change as she turned and walked down the hall. She turned back and looked at me. “Do I follow you?” She didn’t flinch or blink. “Okay then.” I sighed and followed her down the hall to what I could only assume was my first class.