Shira nodded and departed swiftly, relaying Nova’s orders to both the commanders and Malachi—who soon appeared before him.

  “I’m here, Boss,” Malachi said with a grin, stepping up to stand beside Nova.

  Without turning, Nova calmly handed him a page from the folder. “Take your generals to the second location. Deal with the purchasing and set everything up properly.” Then, looking him in the eye, he added, “I’ll inspect your work later. Don’t forget.”

  “I’m on it,” Malachi replied with a nod, drawing a deep breath before heading off.

  He approached two commanders from his faction who had just arrived and began issuing directives. The personnel Shira brought were already assigned their tasks and soon entered the building with masks secured over their faces. The commanders, before following suit, checked in with their direct superior to confirm their orders.

  Meanwhile, as Darius and Hector exchanged quiet banter, Nova approached—sword in hand.

  “Here’s your precious,” he said, holding it out to Darius. “Hope you didn’t miss it too much.”

  Darius accepted the weapon awkwardly, stashing it in his Inventory. “I-I knew I could count on you, Boss,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

  Nova smirked but said nothing, turning instead to check on Adira. She sat on the ground nearby, focused on steadying her breath.

  “Good work, Adira,” Nova said, his gaze fixed not on her, but on the building’s entrance, where dozens of people had just vanished inside.

  Adira’s eyes remained shut as she replied between shallow breaths, “Thank... you.”

  “Rest well,” Nova added with a faint, sly smile. “This is only the beginning.” He didn’t wait for a response and turned to leave.

  Adira’s voice drifted after him, soft and tired. “The beginning...?” Her eyes opened as her head tilted toward the spot where Alaric lay sleeping. “Maybe I’ll finally catch up to him with this rhythm...” Just the thought brought a small smile to her lips.

  As Nova walked away, his mind already shifted to the logistics ahead. ‘I need to build a forge here. The problem is... where? Inside? Outside? Underground?’

  He weighed the options. ‘Inside or underground might work for now—but long term, ventilation will be an issue.’

  His thoughts turned to Jack’s manipulation of Mana. ‘A problem that could be solved... if I learned how to control wind.’

  Shaking his head, Nova dismissed the thought. ‘That’s not part of my future plans. I already know what my first element will be.’

  ‘Or… I could just build it outside’, he considered. ‘Then I wouldn’t need to learn wind magic anytime soon.’

  After mulling it over, he made his decision. ‘Outside it is. I want my own space—quiet, undisturbed.’

  With a nod, he circled around the building, heading to the rear to scout for a suitable area to build his smithy.

  As he examined the space, several potential spots stood out. But while the location seemed promising, the size and required materials remained unclear. What exactly would it take to build a proper smithy?

  His thoughts drifted to the weapon Darius had recently returned to him, sparking a realization.

  “The Store...” he muttered aloud. “If I remember right, the first time I browsed through it, there were even furniture listings. I need to check it again.”

  ‘Store’, he thought—and immediately, a catalog of items and categories appeared in his mind.

  He began scrolling, methodically scanning through the options until, near the middle of the list, he finally found what he was looking for.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Buildings.

  ‘Found you’, Nova thought, locking onto the item. As he began preparations for his smithy, far away in the academy, a heated conversation was unfolding behind closed doors in one of the teachers’ private rooms.

  “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I didn’t have time to think about it, Victor.”

  “You did have time,” Victor replied, his tone controlled but cold. “You even spoke with him for several minutes. Don’t lie to me, Jack.”

  Jack winced. He knew that tone—quiet, restrained. It was how Victor sounded when he was truly angry.

  “I know,” Jack admitted. “I messed up—with both you and him.”

  Victor said nothing, so Jack continued, voice growing more earnest. “We’ve been blaming him for Cassie’s disappearance, but... is it really his fault?”

  Seeing that Victor, even though his gaze became colder, was still listening, Jack pressed on.

  “He was trying to get stronger,” Jack said, his voice heavy. “We assumed he didn’t reach out because he either didn’t want to or forgot. But the truth is—he couldn’t.”

  He paused, letting out a sigh before continuing. “His Blue portal lasted nearly seven months. No one could’ve predicted that.”

  Victor stared at him, silent. The conversation had dragged on for almost an hour, circling the same unresolved point.

  “I get it now,” Victor finally said, his voice brittle, “but he’s still the reason my daughter is either dead—”

  “Don’t say that,” Jack cut in, his tone sharp. “Now that we know some Blue portals have severe time dilation, we can’t assume anything. For all we know, she’s only experienced a few days in there.”

  The tension in the room thickened—and just then, the door creaked open.

  Both Jack and Victor turned toward the door as it opened. Rachel, Thomas, Samuel, and Amelia stepped inside, all wearing tired, worn expressions.

  “You’re back already?” Jack asked, brows raised.

  Thomas nodded, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Mhm.”

  Victor remained silent, observing them closely. Jack continued, “How was it?”

  “Challenging, but not overwhelming,” Thomas replied. “We expected a Blue portal to be tougher, honestly—probably overprepared.”

  Samuel gave a quiet nod of agreement beside him.

  Jack shot Victor a glance, as if to say See? Then turned back to the group, a smile breaking across his face—relieved and genuinely happy. “Better to overprepare than end up dead,” he said lightly. “Go get some rest. Don’t push yourselves too hard.”

  But then he noticed something—Thomas and Samuel kept glancing toward Rachel, who stood flanked by Amelia, silent and withdrawn.

  Jack’s smile faded. “Rachel?” he asked gently, eyes narrowing as concern replaced relief.

  Snapping out of her daze, Rachel looked up at Jack. Her face held none of the joy one might expect after clearing a portal—especially in times like these.

  She whispered, “Cassie’s still not back?”

  “No,” came the reply—but not from Jack.

  Victor’s voice cut through the room, calm but firm. Rachel trembled at the sound. Amelia, standing beside her with an arm wrapped around hers, gently tightened her grip.

  “But Nova is,” Victor added.

  The tremble stopped.

  Rachel froze, stunned—along with the rest of the group. All three turned to Victor, eyes wide, silently demanding more.

  This was the second time something happened the moment they exited a portal. The first was when Cassidy left just days prior to them clearing a portal. Now, after having done the same, Nova came back.

  Victor let out a long sigh and shot Jack a look that said, You take it from here. I’m done.

  Jack gave a small nod, cleared his throat, and said quietly, “I’ll explain.”

  It took Jack half an hour to finish recounting everything—both the events Nova had shared with him and what had unfolded at the academy.

  By the time he was done, the room had fallen into a heavy silence. No one could bring themselves to lay blame on Nova anymore. The weight of understanding settled over them like a thick fog.

  But then, a single question broke the stillness—clear and cutting.

  “So… what now?” Amelia asked, her voice quiet but direct.

  Jack turned to her with a bitter smile, shaking his head. “I don’t know.”

  "Should we really stay here?" Thomas asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty. "From what I’ve seen of Nova, I doubt he’ll come back—and this academy was his idea in the first place."

  A conflicted look crossed his face. He didn’t know who to side with. One group had accused the other of something completely beyond their control.

  Worse still, it had all happened the moment he stepped out of the portal.

  “Our idea” corrected Jack provoking Samuel and Amelia to nod. Thomas saw this and nodded too.

  Then Victor finally spoke.

  “I’m staying,” he said firmly. “In case Cassie comes back.”

  He let out a quiet sigh before adding, “But for the rest of you… I think it’s best you focus on your training.”

  “What? Aren’t we training just fine here?” Thomas asked puzzled.

  Samuel shook his head. “Yes… but also no.”

  Thomas turned toward him, expecting an explanation. But none came.

  Samuel just stayed quiet making Thomas grimace.

  Amelia, watching the exchange, could only smile faintly before stepping in to explain—patiently.

  “We have everything we need here. We teach about twenty hours a week, and the rest of the time is ours to train. Plus, we’re getting paid for it. What do you think?”

  Thomas didn’t hesitate. “Sounds like a good deal.”

  “It is,” Amelia agreed with a nod. “But don’t forget—the academy has a rule. For every two months we spend inside a portal, we have to spend at least a week teaching. Not being able to enter another portal.”

  She paused, her gaze flicking to Jack, who already knew what was coming.

  “And…” she continued, letting the words linger in the air.

  “Those were the old rules.”

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