he heavy door clicked shut behind Professor Eleanor, her heels echoing faintly into the hallway beyond. Yet, even as she departed, her senses—honed from decades of teaching elite students—remained finely tuned. Just as the door sealed off the corridor, her sharp hearing caught a whisper from the new student.
Jin's voice, low and smooth like silk wrapping a blade, slipped from his lips effortlessly:
**"So this is what they call 'advanced mana theory'? How disappointing... Is the outside world truly this weak? Seems I won't even have to try to be the best."**
There was no arrogance in his tone—only cool amusement. Like a lion surprised that the herd had stopped running.
The classroom remained hushed, most students still recovering from the impact of his presence. Yet Jin moved with unbothered elegance, his long black coat trailing softly behind him as he walked. The sharp click of his boots against the polished floor was strangely musical.
He made no announcements, no introductions.
He walked—straight toward **her**.
Rina Amberhart.
She had not stood.
She had not spoken.
But her golden eyes followed him with a stillness that spoke of familiarity. And as he reached her desk, he placed one gloved hand gently upon it—just beside her notebook. His fingers splayed naturally, exuding control without effort.
He leaned down slightly, just enough that she alone could hear the teasing lilt in his voice.
**"Well, I've done what you asked of me."**
His crimson eyes glimmered with playful mockery.
**"I've joined the academy. Just as you wished."**
His voice held no bitterness. Just an insufferable charm soaked in sarcasm, like a promise dressed in velvet.
Before Rina could respond, Jin turned smoothly to face the white-haired girl beside her.
**"Miss Leona,"** he said with a faint grin, tilting his head in greeting. **"A pleasure to see you again. And in a sober state, no less."**
Leona blinked rapidly, a hint of red creeping into her usually composed face.
He reached into the inside of his coat and, with a flick of his wrist, pulled out a small black device—sleek and rectangular. A **mana transfer key**. Without hesitation, he tossed it lightly toward her.
She caught it with both hands, startled.
**"Since you've already invited yourself into my home once,"** Jin said, voice full of amused cruelty, **"you may as well know you're welcome to return. My mother approved it."**
He said the last part with a shrug, as if mentioning the weather.
Then, he turned back to Rina, his black fringe casting a shadow across his left eye, his red iris on the right glowing like an ember.
**"So?"** he asked with a mocking sweetness.
**"Aren't you going to introduce me to your charming companions?"**
Rina exhaled softly. His arrival wasn't unexpected—she had known he would come—but the chaos he always brought with him was impossible to predict. She turned her head, brushing a strand of fire-red hair behind her ear, and gestured toward her friends.
**"Fine,"** she said, her voice calm, if slightly reluctant.
She pointed first to the green-haired girl seated across the aisle.
**"This is Lilia Crown. She's an archer—precise and deadly."**
Lilia gave an awkward little wave, blinking.
**"Over there,"** Rina continued, nodding to the white-haired boy with sharp blue eyes, **"is Knox. Leona's twin. He's a swordsman."**
nox gave a slow nod, his expression unreadable.
**"And this—"** Rina tilted her chin toward the dark-blue-haired young man sitting upright with impeccable posture, **"—is Ethan Hartley. He's ranked first in our year. Also a sword user."**
Jin tilted his head, his crimson gaze passing slowly over each of them. His smile widened—just slightly—as he addressed them one by one.
**"Lilia Crown,"** he began, eyes glinting with mischief. **"Your reputation precedes you. I've read about your performance in the National Mana Trials. Your arrow pierced a moving target through three barriers of wind displacement. Impressive."**
Lilia blinked. **"Y-you read about that?"**
**"Of course,"** Jin said with a charming grin. **"I like to know who shares the battlefield with me, even if it's just a classroom for now."**
He turned to Knox next.
**"The twin brother of Leona Lionheart, heir to the House of Courage,"** he said smoothly. **"I assume you share her ferocity. Do you also favor the longsword?"**
Nox raised an eyebrow. **"Claymore."**
Jin's grin deepened. **"Even better. Brute elegance."**
Then he turned to Ethan.
There was a pause.
Crimson met dark blue.
Two entirely different storms.
**"So you're Ethan Hartley."**
Ethan didn't flinch, but his gaze narrowed.
**"I've heard a lot about you,"** Jin continued. **"Your duels, your rankings. Everyone says you're the most disciplined swordsman of our age group."**
Ethan crossed his arms. **"And you're Jin Rotschy. Son of Naoko."**
The temperature in the room dropped perceptibly.
Jin's smile didn't waver.
**"You say that like it's a curse."**
Ethan smirked faintly. **"Isn't it?"**
Lilia gasped under her breath.
But Jin just laughed. Light, amused, and oddly genuine.
**"Perhaps,"** he said, turning back to Rina with an exhale of false innocence.
**"But not mine to carry. I came here for her, after all."**
He gestured casually toward Rina, who rolled her eyes.
Leona, still clutching the mana device, was watching the exchange with increasing suspicion. She finally broke her silence.
**"You... already know all this about us?"**
**"Leona,"** Jin said, stepping closer with a grin, **"when you have the resources of House Rotschy and an unhealthy amount of curiosity, nothing is hard to learn."**
Nox muttered under his breath, **"So you're a stalker, then."**
Jin turned to him with a sharp smile.
**"There's a difference between stalker and gathering information, Mr. Knox.'"**
Ethan was still watching Jin closely. There was no overt hostility, but something unspoken crackled in the air between them. A contrast. A friction.
Jin relished it.
Then his eyes returned to Rina, softer now, as if remembering something only the two of them shared.
**"Well?"** he asked, almost teasing. **"Aren't you going to welcome me properly?"**
Rina narrowed her golden eyes. **"Don't push it."**
He chuckled and stepped back, finally turning toward the empty seat behind her.
**"Mind if I sit here?"**
Rina didn't answer. But she didn't stop him, either.
Jin slid into the desk with a motion so smooth it almost looked choreographed. The black coat pooled around his legs. He leaned back, one arm resting lazily on the surface of the desk, like a king who'd just claimed a piece of territory.
The classroom was still filled with whispers.
**"Did you see his eyes?"**
**"He's unreal..."**
**"I can't even breathe right now."**
**"He made Ethan *smirk*! Has anyone *ever* done that?"**
But Jin said nothing else.
Not yet.
He simply folded his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling, as if utterly bored by the world already.
And yet, beneath the surface—something was beginning.
Something none of them could quite name.
But Rina felt it.
The cold hum of mana shifting.
The crimson thread pulling tighter.
.....
heat: so what do you think of Jin's words and the main characters?