Journey to Become the Zenith

The Path That Cannot Be Shared

Footsteps crunching gravel, Victor moved ahead of Videl while Lane followed close behind, their path cutting through dust toward the Knight Academy.

Fantom City’s streets pulsed like a heartbeat none could recall feeling earlier. Past came carriages, clattering over stone while sellers barked offers at passersby. Through thick clusters of people moved knights in steel, steady and watchful. Light seeped from glowing lamps fed by magic, dim halos burning soft under sun. Sounds hit harder here, spaces stretched wider, each step weighed more - as if fate pressed close against every shoulder.

Every few seconds, Videl twisted her neck left then right, those bright blue eyes wide, lit up like she’d stumbled into some fairy tale by accident. Not saying much, Lane still stared just as hard - the high walls, the cloth signs swinging between ancient pillars holding her attention without a word passing her lips.

Far from familiar streets, the city seemed foreign to kids who grew up close to Kanal Village.

Few minutes passed before they arrived at the school.

It wasn’t the distance that caused trouble - just their wrong turns along the way.

Twisting paths coiled underfoot, so when the huge iron gates of the Knight Academy appeared at last, each girl panted just a little, cheeks warm with awkward thrill.

The academy itself was magnificent.

Standing tall at the front, marble columns marked where you entered. Up wide stairs, a gate waited - carved with symbols of long-ago warriors. Sharpness hung in the air, like silence that knew its place.

A figure occupied the first row, seated beyond a lengthy desk labeled REGISTRY.

Staring blankly ahead, he seemed utterly drained by it all.

Her throat tightened as she moved ahead.

The man lifted his eyes and began assessing her.

Her armor was old and cheap—patched, rusted in places. It barely deserved to be called armor at all. To him, it looked like something a child had scavenged from a junk pile.

Yet his gaze paused.

She was beautiful.

Then he examined her stance. Despite her nerves, her posture was straight, her balance perfect. Her body language spoke of someone always ready to draw a blade.

Interesting.

Videl stopped before the table.

”Good day, sir. I’m here to register as a student.”

Her voice trembled slightly.

Standing here made everything real. This was no longer a childish dream of becoming a hero. This was the first step onto that path.

The man studied her silently, then said, ”Wait here. I need to check something. Stand still.”

Though confused, Videl obeyed.

The man took out a pair of strange glasses—an artifact lent by the academy principal.

They allowed him to measure mana capacity.

When he looked through them at Videl—

He froze.

Her mana burned like a blazing furnace.

This wasn’t the level of a normal recruit. This was the mana of a veteran knight who had survived battlefields for over a decade.

Yet this girl was only sixteen.

His breath caught.

Then, at the corner of his vision, he sensed another glow.

Stronger.

Much stronger.

He turned his head.

And nearly fell over.

A few meters away stood a very handsome black-haired boy beside a beautiful dark-haired girl.

The girl’s mana was impressive—well above average, more than enough to qualify.

But the boy—

If the glasses were not broken, then that boy was a monster wearing human skin.

His mana wasn’t just large.

It was overwhelming.

It flooded the space around him like a sea of invisible pressure.

This was beyond the academy principal.

This was captain-class knight territory.

Victor noticed the stare.

A faint, amused glint passed through his golden eyes.

He stopped suppressing his mana—just a little.

Crack.

The lenses shattered.

The man stumbled backward in shock.

Videl, forgetting the order to stand still, rushed forward and caught him.

”Are you alright, sir?”

The man blinked, then laughed nervously.

”Y-Yes. I’m fine. Here—write your name.”

He shoved a registration form into Videl’s hands.

”Should I pay the two gold coins now?” she asked carefully.

”Huh? Oh, that. No need. No entrance exam either.”

He straightened.

”I, Jimmy, sword instructor of the third years, acknowledge you as a student of Skyfall Kingdom’s Knight Academy. Classes begin in two days. Here is your badge.”

Videl stared at the badge in disbelief.

Then Jimmy turned toward Victor and Lane.

”Would you like to enroll as well? No fees. Both of you qualify easily.”

”Not interested,” Victor replied instantly.

Jimmy froze.

Rejected?

Videl hurried over.

”Victor, why not? We could train together!”

Jimmy nodded vigorously.

Victor rested a hand on her head, gently ruffling her blonde hair.

”Videl, I chose a different path long ago. Your road is the knight’s road. Mine isn’t.”

He met her eyes steadily.

”Just because I don’t enter the academy doesn’t mean what’s between us ends. Our paths diverge—but we still walk forward together.”

Her heart shook.

She wanted to say it.

That she loved him.

That she didn’t want to walk any road without him.

But the words stuck in her throat.

She remembered their promise long ago and finally nodded.

Jimmy refused to give up.

”What about once a week? Once a month? Free meals! Noble title upon graduation!”

Victor didn’t even blink.

”Not interested.”

Desperate, Jimmy exclaimed, ”Then speak to the principal!”

Victor’s patience snapped.

”Even if the king himself begged me, I would not change my mind.”

And with that, the three vanished.

They leapt onto the rooftops, sprinting across tiles like shadows.

Jimmy watched them go, eyes burning.

I’ll convince her instead.

...

As they ran across the city skyline, Victor exhaled slowly.

Ever since leaving Kanal Village, humans had done nothing but irritate him.

The deceptive noblewomen.

The lustful guards.

The pushy instructor.

At this point, he was certain the Adventurers’ Guild would be just as troublesome.