Military Academy? My Nightmare Has Officially Begun.

"Don't stand out. Don't draw attention. Don't get called on…"

Deren chanted his mantra like a sacred prayer as he walked toward the tech training room on the lower level of Nova Academy.The atmosphere inside resembled a high-tech lab crossed with a military workshop—wires everywhere, holographic displays, and the smell of hot metal in the air.

"Hey, Deren! You're in the Core Control class too?"Kael shouted from across the room.

…Low profile failed in record time, Deren sighed internally.

Kael waved enthusiastically like he'd spotted a long-lost friend.Next to him, Ryn gave a small nod.Deren quietly took the workstation in the farthest corner and tried to become part of the furniture.

Class began.Today's instructor was a tall woman with metallic blue hair, known as Instructor Lianne—calm, strict, and obsessed with perfection.

"Today, we'll be learning how to regulate Core energy flow in light weapon systems.If you miscalibrate it, the weapon can explode."

Everyone tensed.

Deren?Already halfway to dreamland.

"Each station has a training weapon. Your task is to adjust the Core flow so it fires without overheating."

With that, the cadets got to work.Some failed—their weapons overheated and shut down.Kael tried to tweak the cooling system… and triggered another minor explosion (again).

Meanwhile, Deren stared at the training weapon like someone who'd rebuilt its real version three times already.

"Hmm… this flow system is so outdated," he muttered.

He rearranged some wires, flipped a few connectors, and within two minutes, the weapon fired three plasma rounds without a hint of heat.

Kael, sitting nearby, gawked."Dude… why are you even in this class? You should be the instructor."

"Because… I accidentally exploded a sync orb yesterday.Karma, maybe."

Instructor Lianne approached.

"Who—"She paused upon seeing Deren's station.

"You got this to fire? With no overheating?"

Deren gave a half-nod."Just… rerouted the input path and added a manual cooler using backup circuits. Pretty standard."

Lianne stared at him."Did you train directly under a military engineer?"

"I trained under… life. And underground tech forums."

A few cadets coughed awkwardly.Ryn's eyes sharpened even more.This guy… is not a normal cadet.

Later that afternoon, Deren successfully escaped to the academy's back garden.He lay sprawled on a bench, hoodie pulled over his face.

"…Today was exhausting. I stayed off the radar for… 12 minutes.New record."

Kael showed up and sat at the edge of the same bench.

"Tomorrow we've got a small test—Core sync while in motion.They say anyone who fails… gets a week of extra training."

Deren shivered."That… is the greatest threat this academy has to offer."

Kael laughed."Let's train together! You can teach me that energy efficiency technique!"

"Kael. I'd rather nap on a minefield than be your personal coach."

"C'mon, just an hour!"

"And I need ten minutes—to vanish."

Deren rolled off the other side of the bench, trying to disappear from view.

Nearby, under a tree, Ryn sat silently, watching them while scribbling notes on his tablet.

Note: Cadet Deren – Advanced technological understanding.Behavior inconsistent with profile.Requires further observation.

Meanwhile, in Aether Corps' command room...

"Target has yet to show any signs of direct cooperation with the underworld," one agent reported.

Sarka narrowed her eyes at the holo-display, showing Deren… sleeping on a garden bench.

"Continue observation. But if he blows something up again—we intervene personally."

Deren yawned."If the world could just stay quiet for five minutes…maybe I could live in peace."

Unfortunately—not today. Not tomorrow.And definitely not this week.