Chapter 5: 0.9%
The walk back to the dorms was short, but my thoughts made it feel like miles.
The announcement of the Dawn Trial had thrown the entire class into a frenzy. Everyone else glowed with anticipation—flashing magic, forming battle plans, talking about who'd carry the team to victory.
Me?
I was the quiet name on the roster no one mentioned.
Mess and the others left without a word. I hadn't packed yet, and no one asked if I was coming. Couldn't blame them. Hard to remember someone who doesn't leave a mark.
The academy hallway stretched on, lit by crystal torches that flickered blue and silver. Velarion Empire flags draped every polished column—dragons, swords, and power etched in cloth.
And me? The baron's third son. No legacy. No fire. Just Logic.
I reached Dome 73, tucked into the edge of the West Tower. Not for the peace, but because the stronger students claimed the central domes near the mana pillars. For people like me, leftovers were generous.
The moment I stepped inside, the air changed. A cool draft brushed my cheek, and the door sealed with a soft hum. The walls pulsed once—mana recognition. Silence followed. Deep. Complete.
I liked it.
No whispers here. No smirks. Just me—and my failure.
"Funny. One life wasn't enough to figure things out, so here I am in another, still trying to survive."
I sat cross-legged in the center of the chamber. My fingers reached toward the wall's embedded mana crystal. A soft glow emerged, forming a translucent panel before me.
---
📜 [ Cael Valeon – Personal Status ]
Name: Cael Valeon
Race: Human
Age: 18
Rank: Level 9 (Tier 1)
Mana Core: Stable
Affinities:
Logic – Basic (Lv.1)
Telekinesis – Basic (Lv.1)
Domain: Locked
***
No changes. I'd hoped—somehow—that something might've shifted. That maybe I'd wake up special.
No such luck.
Logic. The lowest of affinities. Most spellbooks barely acknowledged it. Telekinesis? More useful, but volatile. If you weren't careful, your own weapon might decide you're the target.
Still. I wasn't done.
I tapped my fingers on the floor and closed my eyes, replaying the structure of a standard fireball spell. I couldn't cast it, didn't have the affinity. But I could see it. In my head, the spell came apart—energy loops, compression triggers, thermal focus.
I reversed one loop.
The construct collapsed. My chest seized.
I gasped and opened my eyes, blood dripping from my nose.
Still unstable. But closer.
I wiped the blood and tried again. Slower. More deliberate. This time I unraveled the second loop, and the construct didn't collapse—it held, flickered, then vanished. A warm pulse echoed in my chest.
The dome vibrated faintly. A breath. A shift. Runes flickered across the wall.
Status Panel reappeared. Same as before. Except—
Domain: Locked Now faintly glowing.
"What...?"
I touched it. Nothing changed. No prompts. Just that word—glowing like a question I wasn't ready to answer.
I'd read about Domains. Rare. Born from complete affinity resonance. Some called them awakenings. Others—gifts from the world.
But what did a Logic Domain even look like? A battlefield of theories? Equations instead of spells?
I almost laughed. Dry. Bitter.
"I'll be dead before I figure it out."
But just as I turned to leave, another panel blinked to life.
[Hidden Trigger – Progression Detected]
Mental strain threshold surpassed
Logic resonance fluctuating
Potential Unlocked: 0.9%
Then it vanished.
I stared. Real. Precise. Not a hallucination.
Something inside the dome had responded. Something deeper than magic.
Elsewhere, atop the Academy's surveillance spire, a masked figure leaned toward a glowing orb. Names and mana signatures rotated across its surface.
Most stable.
One wasn't.
Dome 73 – Mana Signature: Unstable
Affinity: Logic
Surge Detected: 0.9% Awakening Potential
The instructor frowned.
"Logic? That shouldn't be possible."
He stared a moment longer.
"Report to the Chancellor. Quietly."
****
Back in the dome, I stared at the panel. Domain: Locked. Still glowing.
I wasn't sure what I'd done. But I'd done something.
And I couldn't die now.
Someone was still waiting for me. And even if the world forgot his name—I wouldn't.
The screen dimmed. My breath slowed.
But the silence had changed. It wasn't just empty anymore.
It was… watching.
I shut the panel and stood. My sleeve still carried dried blood. The ache had dulled, but a strange fatigue clung to my chest.
I knelt, opened the drawer beneath my bed, and pulled out a battered notebook. Not a spellbook. Just pages of diagrams, loop breakdowns, formulas. My thoughts, drawn in ink.
I flipped to a blank page and began to write:
"Hypothesis: Domain Lock is tied to pattern recognition, not raw power."
"Loop inversion may trigger resonance events."
"Stress is a catalyst, but clarity controls the output."
I paused. Then added:
"If I'm right… my mind is the key. Not my mana."
The pen moved in rhythm. The hum of magic shifted faintly.
Then—
A knock.
I froze.
Nobody knocked on Dome 73.
I stood, hand hovering near the rune-triggered repulsion ward. I opened the door an inch.
Arin.
Same oversized robe. Calm eyes. Holding something under her cloak.
"You're hard to find," she said.
"I like it that way."
She stepped inside. Uninvited, unapologetic.
She handed me a thin metallic band. Etched. Complex.
"Resonance stabilizer," she said. "I made it."
"You made this?"
"You triggered something earlier. I saw the alert."
"You're tracking me?"
"I track anomalies," she said. "You're a puzzle. I like puzzles."
A pause.
"So what—you're spying on me now?"
"No. I'm here to see what happens when the academy's biggest anomaly stops hiding."
Another pause.
"And maybe to help."
I didn't answer.
But I didn't say no either.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone