Chapter 49: Room 13

The door opened wider.

A cold breeze moved through the corridor.

The lights flickered.

Somewhere inside the darkness, a voice whispered:

"Ethan Vale..."

Noah Blake immediately stepped behind Adrian Cross.

Adrian glanced at him.

"You were braver when the Royal Army attacked."

"The Royal Army was visible."

"That is your excuse?"

"The academy is much more dangerous than the army."

Ethan raised his black sword.

Elena Frost stood beside him, her ice sword already drawn.

Rowan stared at the doorway.

"Should we answer?"

"No," Ethan said.

The voice whispered again.

"Ethan Vale..."

Noah pointed toward the door.

"See? It knows his name."

"It knows everyone’s name," Ethan replied.

"How do you know that?"

"It called mine twice."

"That is not evidence."

Ethan stepped closer to the door.

The number **13** was carved into the wood.

The academy had no Room 13.

The first-year classrooms were numbered from One to Twelve.

The second-year classrooms were in another building.

The advanced training rooms were underground.

There was no reason for a door to exist here.

Professor Aurelia Voss arrived at the end of the corridor, carrying a stack of papers.

She stopped when she saw the door.

Her expression became completely serious.

Noah whispered:

"That is not a good sign."

Professor Voss slowly lowered the papers.

"Who opened that?"

Everyone pointed at Ethan.

Ethan looked at them.

"I did not open it."

"You were closest," Elena said.

"That is not proof."

"You were holding your sword."

"I hold my sword often."

"You also touched the door," Adrian added.

Ethan stared at him.

"You saw me?"

"No."

"Then why did you say that?"

"It sounded likely."

Professor Voss walked toward the door.

"No one move."

Noah raised his hand.

"What if we are already moving?"

"Then stop."

"What if stopping is dangerous?"

"Then choose which kind of danger you prefer."

Noah slowly lowered his hand.

Professor Voss examined the number.

Her face became even more serious.

"This room was sealed before I became a professor."

Veyron appeared behind her.

"It was sealed before I became a student."

Noah looked at him.

"You were a student here?"

"I studied at Greymoor during its first century."

"You look very good for your age."

Veyron stared at him.

Noah cleared his throat.

"I mean... your skin has excellent magical preservation."

"Stop speaking."

"Yes, Professor."

"I am not your professor."

"Not yet."

Veyron took the papers from Professor Voss.

She turned toward him.

"What are you doing?"

"Preparing for tomorrow’s lesson."

"Your lesson is not until morning."

"Preparation is important."

"You have been a historical consultant for less than one hour."

"I have already prepared three lectures."

Veyron looked at the first page.

"Lecture One: The Final War and Its Unnecessary Participants."

Ethan glanced at the title.

"That is not an appropriate lesson."

"It is accurate."

"Your name appears in the historical records as one of the people who caused it."

"Exactly. My perspective is valuable."

Noah looked at the second page.

"Lecture Two: Why Betrayal Is Bad."

Veyron nodded.

"A practical lesson."

Adrian looked at the third page.

"Lecture Three: How to Manipulate Seven Kingdoms Without Creating Suspicion."

Veyron’s expression remained calm.

"That one is advanced."

Professor Voss took the papers from him.

"You are not teaching tomorrow."

Veyron stared at her.

"Why?"

"Because you are banned from writing lesson plans."

"I have centuries of experience."

"You also have centuries of questionable decisions."

"That is unrelated."

"It is directly related."

The voice from Room 13 whispered again.

"Ethan Vale..."

This time, the whisper was followed by a loud crash.

Everyone froze.

Noah slowly raised his knife.

"If something jumps out, I am throwing this."

Ethan looked at him.

"Your knife does not solve every problem."

"It has solved three."

"Two."

"The armor counted as two."

"It was one suit."

"It had two personalities."

Elena sighed.

"Can we focus?"

Professor Voss placed her hand against the door.

The wood became transparent.

Inside was a classroom.

Dusty desks stood in straight rows.

A blackboard covered the far wall.

On it, in white chalk, someone had written:

**WELCOME, CLASS 1-B.**

Beneath that:

**PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS.**

A third sentence appeared.

**ESPECIALLY ETHAN.**

Everyone looked at Ethan.

He looked at the blackboard.

"I did not write that."

Noah raised his hand.

"I have a question."

"What?"

"Why does the room know you are in Class 1-B?"

Ethan activated the Witness.

The classroom remained ordinary.

No magical creatures.

No hidden army.

No ancient throne.

No golden eye.

Only desks, a blackboard, and a small wooden podium.

The Knowledge Fragment detected a weak enchantment.

It was not dangerous.

It was an automated academy spell.

Ethan lowered his sword.

"It is an old classroom enchantment."

Professor Voss frowned.

"An enchantment that writes names on a board?"

"Possibly."

The blackboard changed.

**CORRECTION: A VERY OLD CLASSROOM ENCHANTMENT.**

Noah looked at Ethan.

"It heard you."

Ethan stared at the board.

"Magic should not be able to do that."

The board wrote:

**MAGIC SHOULD DO MANY THINGS. YOU SHOULD ATTEND MORE CLASSES.**

Adrian covered his mouth.

Elena looked away.

Noah failed to hide his laughter.

Ethan slowly turned toward Professor Voss.

"Can you remove it?"

"I can try."

Professor Voss lifted her staff and cast a dispelling spell.

Crimson light filled the corridor.

The door remained.

The blackboard wrote:

**NICE TRY.**

Professor Voss’s eye twitched.

Veyron stepped forward.

"Allow me."

"No."

"I understand ancient magic."

"You also taught the First Thought how to create three different magical systems."

"I was younger then."

"That was only a thousand years ago."

"I have matured."

The blackboard wrote:

**DEBATABLE.**

Noah laughed so hard he had to hold the wall.

Veyron turned toward it.

"You are an educational structure. Show respect."

The board replied:

**SUBMIT A FORM.**

Adrian looked at Ethan.

"Is this normal?"

"No."

The blackboard added:

**FALSE.**

Ethan drew his sword.

The board immediately wrote:

**VIOLENCE WILL RESULT IN DETENTION.**

Ethan stopped.

Noah pointed at the sword.

"Put it away."

Ethan looked at him.

"Why are you giving me orders?"

"Because the room is stronger than your sense of consequences."

The board wrote:

**CORRECT.**

Ethan sheathed the sword.

Professor Voss sighed.

"Everyone inside."

Noah took a step back.

"You said no one should move."

"That was before we understood the room was a classroom."

"We do not understand the room."

"We understand that it is not currently trying to kill us."

The blackboard changed.

**CURRENTLY.**

Noah immediately stepped behind Elena.

Elena looked at him.

"You are taller than me."

"That does not make you less useful as a shield."

"Move."

"Yes."

They entered Room 13.

The door closed behind them.

The classroom lights turned on.

Desks moved across the floor by themselves.

One desk stopped in front of Ethan.

Another stopped in front of Elena.

Noah’s desk moved toward the corner.

He grabbed it.

"I do not want this seat."

The desk pulled him forward.

"No!"

The blackboard wrote:

**NO TALKING DURING CLASS.**

Noah pointed toward the board.

"I am not talking to you."

The board replied:

**DETENTION.**

"What?"

**ARGUING WITH THE CLASSROOM.**

"You started it!"

**DETENTION EXTENDED.**

Noah looked at Ethan.

"Please destroy the board."

Ethan sat at his desk.

"No."

"You are abandoning me."

"You created this situation."

"I asked one question."

"You asked twelve."

"That is called participation."

The classroom door opened again.

Rowan entered carefully.

"Where should I sit?"

The desks shifted.

One moved toward him.

A small golden label appeared on it:

**NEW STUDENT.**

Rowan sat.

The desk immediately produced a stack of papers.

Rowan picked up the first sheet.

"What is this?"

Noah leaned over.

"An exam."

Rowan’s eyes widened.

"Already?"

"It is a placement test."

"How do I complete it?"

"You answer the questions."

Rowan looked at the paper.

The first question read:

**1. What is your favorite school subject?**

Rowan stared at it for a long time.

"Is this a difficult question?"

"No."

"What is a school subject?"

Noah’s face became serious.

"We have a problem."

Ethan looked at the paper.

"Choose magic."

Rowan wrote it down.

The next question:

**2. Who is your best friend?**

Rowan looked toward Ethan.

"Is this asking for a name?"

"Yes."

"Who is my best friend?"

Noah raised his hand.

"I nominate myself."

Elena looked at him.

"You have known him for less than a day."

"That is still longer than most people who have been created today."

Rowan wrote:

**Noah Blake.**

Noah smiled proudly.

The blackboard wrote:

**QUESTIONABLE.**

Noah stood.

"I object."

**OBJECTION DENIED.**

"This room is biased."

**CORRECT.**

The third question appeared:

**3. What is your greatest fear?**

Rowan looked at the paper.

He thought carefully.

"The First Thought."

The answer vanished.

A new line appeared:

**TOO ABSTRACT.**

Rowan frowned.

"Being controlled."

The answer remained.

Noah looked at his own paper.

His face turned pale.

"What did you get?"

Rowan leaned over.

Noah quickly covered it.

"Nothing."

Ethan reached across and pulled the paper away.

The question read:

**3. What is your greatest fear?**

Noah had written:

**Public speaking.**

Ethan looked at him.

"You spoke to an entire Royal Army yesterday."

Noah grabbed the paper.

"That was different."

"How?"

"They were far away."

"You were shouting."

"I could not hear them judging me."

The blackboard wrote:

**HONEST ANSWER ACCEPTED.**

Noah stared at it.

"Why are you nice to Rowan and not me?"

**ROWAN IS NEW.**

"That is discrimination."

**YOU HAVE BEEN HERE TOO LONG.**

Elena looked at her paper.

Her first question had already been answered.

**Favorite subject: Combat Theory.**

Her second:

**Best friend: Undecided.**

Her third:

**Greatest fear: Losing control of my own power.**

She quickly covered the paper.

Noah tried to peek.

Elena froze his chair to the floor.

"No."

"I was not looking."

"You were leaning."

"I lean naturally."

The blackboard wrote:

**ELENA FROST: ACCEPTABLE.**

Elena’s eyebrows rose.

"Acceptable?"

The board changed.

**VERY ACCEPTABLE.**

She nodded.

"That is better."

Adrian looked at his paper.

His face became increasingly irritated.

"What did you get?" Noah asked.

"Every answer is marked as ’too dramatic.’"

Noah took the paper.

The first answer read:

**Favorite subject: The Art of Swordsmanship and Noble Conduct.**

The blackboard wrote:

**SWORDSMANSHIP.**

The second:

**Best friend: I do not require such a title.**

The board wrote:

**NO FRIENDS DETECTED.**

Adrian stood.

"That is insulting."

The board wrote:

**CORRECTION: ACCURATE.**

Noah fell out of his chair laughing.

Adrian drew his sword.

The room immediately produced a wooden sign.

**DETENTION.**

Adrian slowly sheathed the blade.

"I will remember this."

**YOU WILL FORGET.**

Ethan looked at his own paper.

The first question:

**Favorite subject.**

He wrote:

**Advanced Magical Theory.**

The answer disappeared.

**TOO OBVIOUS.**

He frowned and wrote:

**History.**

The board replied:

**YOU WERE PRESENT FOR MOST OF IT.**

Noah leaned over.

"That is technically true."

Ethan wrote:

**Combat Theory.**

The board paused.

Then:

**YOU HAVE DESTROYED THREE TRAINING ROOMS.**

Ethan sighed.

He wrote:

**None.**

The answer remained.

The board displayed:

**ACCEPTED.**

Noah stared at him.

"You failed the favorite subject question."

"It was not a graded question."

"It still feels important."

The second question appeared.

**Best friend.**

Ethan looked around the room.

Noah was arguing with his desk.

Elena was trying to freeze her paper.

Adrian was staring at the board like he intended to challenge it to a duel.

Rowan was carefully answering every question.

Ethan wrote:

**Noah Blake.**

Noah stopped arguing.

The board wrote:

**ACCEPTABLE.**

Noah placed a hand over his heart.

"I knew you cared."

Ethan looked away.

"Do not make this emotional."

The third question appeared.

**Greatest fear.**

Ethan held the pencil above the paper.

The room became quiet.

He thought of Darius.

The throne.

The First Thought.

The possibility of becoming a tyrant again.

He wrote:

**Becoming someone who believes he is always right.**

The answer remained.

The blackboard did not make a joke.

For a moment, the classroom was completely silent.

Then a small line appeared beneath it:

**ACCEPTED.**

Ethan looked toward the board.

The door opened.

Professor Voss stood outside.

"The test is over."

Noah looked at his paper.

"I only answered three questions."

"That was the complete test."

"That is suspiciously short."

"The academy values efficiency."

The blackboard wrote:

**THE TEST WAS DESIGNED FOR ETHAN.**

Everyone turned toward him.

Ethan stood.

"Why?"

The blackboard erased itself.

A single sentence appeared:

**BECAUSE ROOM 13 HAS BEEN WAITING FOR ITS TEACHER.**

The lights went out.

A hidden door opened behind the teacher’s desk.

Cold air entered the classroom.

Professor Voss raised her staff.

Ethan drew his sword.

Noah reached for his knife.

Rowan stood beside him.

Adrian lifted his golden blade.

Elena’s hands filled with frost.

The blackboard wrote one final message:

**WELCOME TO YOUR FIRST LESSON.**

From beyond the hidden door, a familiar voice whispered:

"Ethan Vale."

Noah swallowed.

"That voice again."

Ethan stared into the darkness.

This time, he recognized it.

It was his own voice.

But older.

Angrier.

And laughing.

---

**Author’s Note: Add the novel to library, and send support if you like it!**