The Crystal Spire didn't just touch the clouds; it pierced them.
A monolith of blue crystals and white stone, it spiraled upward into the night sky, lit from within by thousands of magelamps that made the entire structure glow like a captured star. The road leading to the entrance was a river of gold—gilded carriages drawn by thoroughbreds, carrying the apex predators of Altavian society.
At the foot of the grand staircase, just outside the crush of arriving nobles, Mizuki rolled her shoulders and winced.
“My body is still sore after your training,” she muttered, trying to keep her posture regal despite the ache deep in her muscles.
“Pain is a good teacher,” X said.
Mizuki glanced at him. For the first time in a week, he didn't look like a wandering mercenary. The black suit she had forced him into was tailored to perfection, hiding the bulk of his muscles while emphasizing the dangerous width of his shoulders. He looked less like a thug and more like a royal executioner on his night off.
To her other side, Noll was… presentable. Pretty, even. His left hand was covered with a glove—a precaution to ensure no one asked questions about the metal arm beneath it.
Mizuki herself wore an elegant silver dress with long sleeves that extended down to cover her hands, hooked around her middle fingers. The shimmering fabric perfectly complemented her white hair and matching hat. She took out a small mirror to check her makeup one last time before nodding, satisfied.
The trio moved to the entrance, which was blocked by a guard. He was a large man in professional attire that looked as if it were cut for both battle and grand celebrations.
Mizuki halted. The guard wore a burnished iron breastplate over his formal wear.
Ferrum? Mizuki thought, eyeing the emblem of the Clan Ferrum etched into the metal. Why are they working here?
“Names?” the guard asked, opening a folder and flipping through its pages.
“Mizuki Yumaki,” she said, pointing at herself. “X,” she gestured to X, who was looking around the spire, seemingly captivated by the magnificent monument. “And Noll.” She pointed to Noll, who was currently fighting his suit because it was too tight on him.
The guard shuffled his papers and then scoffed. He looked up at Noll and X.
“Oh, so you are those two Nameless Grandmaster Kris was talking about.” He snapped the folder closed. “Didn’t think he would actually invite you.”
He stepped aside, a strange smile on his face.
“Please, come on in, and enjoy.”
Mizuki stepped through the entrance, her heels clicking against the floor. There was no grand staircase inside, only a circular chamber of smooth white stone that stretched upward into darkness.
In the center of the room waited a hexagonal platform carved from black obsidian, ringed by jagged blue crystals that hummed with a faint, rhythmic sound.
"Fancy," X muttered, scanning the smooth walls for hidden turrets or traps.
Noll, however, ignored the architecture and walked straight to the edge of the platform. He crouched down, squinting at the glowing minerals. He poked one with his finger, then scraped it with a nail.
"High-grade mana quartz," he murmured, sounding disappointed. "Standard conductive lattice. Boring."
"Get on," Mizuki hissed, stepping onto the obsidian slab. "And stop scratching the crystals."
The moment the three of them were on the platform, the crystals flared with blinding azure light.
Hummmmm.
The sound rose to a whine, and then—whoosh.
The platform launched upward.
Mizuki braced her legs, expecting the crushing weight of G-force to slam her into the floor, but it never came. The world outside the platform blurred into a streak of gray stone, moving at a speed that should have turned their stomachs inside out. Yet, she felt nothing more than a gentle vibration, as if they were merely drifting on a calm river.
"Inertial dampeners," Noll whistled, standing perfectly straight as the stone walls whipped past them at terminal velocity. "Expensive."
A few moments later, the platform slowed to a halt. The walls vanished, replaced by a small, enclosed antechamber containing nothing but a massive set of double doors.
Mizuki checked her hat in the reflection of her compact mirror, making sure it sat perfectly straight. She adjusted a stray lock of hair, took a breath, and looked at the boys.
X was checking his suit, ensuring his range of motion wasn't restricted. Noll, however, was staring at the double doors. He wasn't blinking. His gaze was intense, fixed on the wood as if it were transparent and owed something to him.
A single bead of sweat formed on his forehead. He wiped it away with an impatient swipe of his gloved hand.
I guess even he can be nervous… Mizuki thought.
She straightened her spine, chin high, shoulders relaxed. She painted a polite, aristocratic smile onto her face—her armor for the evening.
“Mizuki,” X called out softly. “Do not protect us.”
“Huh?” Mizuki turned to him, her mask slipping for a second.
“He means you shouldn’t risk your position to protect Nameless like us.”
Noll sighed, finally tearing his eyes away from the door. “If anyone tries something on us, don’t intervene.” He clutched his gloved left hand. “We already talked about this… thing.”
Mizuki remembered. Right before leaving the Outpost, Noll had given her a specific instruction: if anyone discovered his Nexus-Blade or his heretical tech, Mizuki was to play dumb. She was to act as if she had been deceived by him, just like everyone else.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Logic dictates… The words echoed through her head. Everything was about logic for him. About calculating the best possible result.
For everyone but himself.
Mizuki hesitated. She didn’t know if she could actually do that.
“X…” Noll turned to the large man. “That applies to you too. Neither of you should burn yourselves up for me.”
X didn’t look at him. He adjusted his cufflinks, his jaw set tight. Mizuki knew that expression. It hid the same uncertainty she felt.
“Let’s go already,” X muttered, stepping toward the doors.
As if on cue, the massive oak doors groaned. They swung inward, not by hand, but by hidden mechanisms.
Instantly, the silence of the antechamber was shattered.
A wave of sound hit them first—the swelling strings of a live orchestra, the clinking of crystal glass, and the dull roar of a thousand conversations. Then came the light. Golden radiance spilled out from crystal chandeliers the size of carriages, blinding them for a split second.
And finally, the smell. Roasted venison, expensive perfume, and the metallic tang of magic.
They stepped onto the balcony overlooking the Grand Hall. Below them, a sea of nobles in vibrant silks and sharp suits churned.
A man in a red coat stood by the entrance, holding a golden staff. He banged it twice against the floor.
Thump. Thump.
The music didn't stop, but the nearby conversations quieted. The Herald raised a scroll, his voice magically amplified to boom across the hall.
“Presenting!” he bellowed. “From the Yumaki Clan... Lady Mizuki Yumaki!”
Mizuki stepped forward, executing a flawless, shallow curtsy. There was a ripple of polite applause. A few heads turned, acknowledging the daughter of one of the ten original Clans.
Then, the Herald looked back at the list. He paused. He squinted at the paper, then looked up at the two men standing behind her—one a giant in a black suit, the other a scruffy man with a gloved hand who looked like he had been dragged here.
The Herald cleared his throat, his amplified voice capturing the hesitation.
“And... her guests.” The ‘guests’ felt forced
The Herald frowned, reading the names as if they were insults.
“...X and Noll from Outpost 404!”
The music didn't stop, but the applause died instantly.
Hundreds of eyes shifted upward. They didn't look with admiration. They looked with confusion, then judgment.
Noll didn't seem to notice the heavy silence. He leaned over the railing, sniffing the air, then pinching his nose in disgust.
"I smell seafood," he whispered to X.
“What’s the matter?”
A heavy voice rumbled through the hall, cutting through the murmurs like a blade. A figure parted the crowd, the nobles stepping aside like water. Mizuki instantly recognized him. Beside her, X stiffened. Noll looked at the figure, not even blinking.
Tim Kris.
The Grandmaster walked up to the trembling Herald, took the golden staff from his arm with a gentle but firm grip, and banged it twice against the floor.
THOOM. THOOM.
“I will not tolerate disrespect toward my guests,” Tim’s amplified voice echoed through the room, silencing every whisper. “Lady Yumaki and her Nameless saved my life. That is the truth.”
The Herald was paralyzed with fear, his face pale.
Tim turned to Mizuki, that same unreadable, polite smile on his face.
“Lady Yumaki, please, ignore them and enjoy the celebration.”
He bowed his head slightly—a gesture that sent shockwaves through the crowd—and then turned, departing without waiting for an answer.
The crowd erupted into applause—hollow, forced applause born of fear and respect for Tim—before awkwardly returning to their conversations.
Mizuki let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and moved forward, descending the stairs into the crowd of Named.
She looked around, observing the Named in the hall. Most of them weren’t even from the original ten. They were just branches, created because one of the heirs was gifted a new technique, and wanted to branch out.
They talk about independence, while they use the original Clan’s resources to lift themselves up.
To her right, she spotted several figures walking with notepads, their eyes darting around the room like hawks. They were scribbling frantically without even looking down at their paper. Mizuki noticed the emblem embroidered on their collars: A Silver Quill.
Clan Carolus. Scouting for information and scandals, like they always did.
We need to be careful, she thought. If they catch Noll saying something heretical...
Mizuki looked back over her shoulder.
“X, make sure Noll doesn’t—”
She stopped.
X was right behind her, looking tense.
But Noll was nowhere to be seen.
Before Mizuki could panic about Noll's disappearance, the Herald’s voice boomed across the hall again. But this time, he didn't just read a name. He slammed his staff three times.
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.
The room went dead silent. It wasn't the silence of confusion like with Noll, or the silence of fear like with Tim. It was the silence of absolute, suffocating reverence.
“All rise,” the Herald commanded.
And they did. Even the drunkest nobles scrambled to their feet. Even the Carolus spies stopped scribbling.
“Presenting the Patriarch of the Yumaki Clan. The King of the Wilds…”
The Herald took a deep breath.
“Lord Satoru Yumaki!”
The sound that hit the room wasn't a cheer. It was a thunderclap. Every hand in the room came together in perfect, rhythmic unison. It was louder than the music. It was the sound of pure, concentrated power.
A tall man with black hair walked in. He didn't look at the crowd; he looked through them. He moved with the grace of a king who knew the ground was lucky to be stepped on by him.
“And his heir,” the Herald continued, his voice trembling with respect. “The defender of the West. The one chosen by fog. Genichiro Yumaki!”
A young man stepped up beside Satoru. He was handsome, sharp, and wore the Yumaki silver with a confidence that made it look like armor. He smiled, waving to the crowd, and the applause somehow doubled.
X stood there, his hands in his pockets, watching the spectacle. He looked at the father, then the son, and then at Mizuki, who was shrinking into herself.
She had the same Name. She wore the same colors.
But when she walked in, the room had barely whispered. When they walked in, the room shook.
X scoffed under his breath. “So it’s not the clan they hate…” He glanced at her. “It’s just you. Why?”
“Because they are more successful than me…” She scoffed. “That’s it.”
The applause had barely faded when the Herald spoke again, the momentum of the Gala shifting from reverence to intimidation.
“And now, our next honored guests!” he bellowed. “You know them, you revere them! The scourges of Krinden, the executioners of traitors. The Mage-Hunters!”
He let the pause hang in the air, building the anticipation.
“I present to you: The Head of Clan Percival. The God of War…"
Mizuki tensed, her blood running cold as she recognized the titles.
“Torus Percival!”
The audience erupted. It wasn't the polite applause Mizuki received, nor the silence Noll received. It was a roar of genuine adoration and fear.
A mountain of a man stepped through the doors. He wore a midnight-black suit, but his expression was darker than the fabric. He didn't look like he was attending a party; he looked like he was inspecting a battlefield.
Behind him, a figure in a sharp emerald dress glided in. She was smiling and waving at everyone, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
“And his daughter,” the Herald continued, “currently Rank 3 on the Council Sanctioned Generational List… The Silver Claw, Bella Percival!”
X looked at Torus, then at Bella. He squinted, moving his head back and forth between them. It was like looking at the same person in two different timelines, merely gender-swapped. The same sharp jaw, the same predatory eyes.
“Mother’s genes didn’t even put up a fight, I see,” X muttered under his breath. He looked at Mizuki, who was paralyzed, looking directly at Bella.
“Hey,” he shook her. Mizuki snapped back. “Are you okay?”
“I have to go.” She said, leaving X alone.
The next second, the Herald’s voice echoed over the applause. Bella paused, looking at the announcer with sharp irritation as he interrupted her moment to announce a new guest.
“…You know her! You love her! I present to you the Goddess of Beauty! Rank 5 on the Generational List… Elara Vane!”
The crowd erupted even louder than they had for Percival. It was a mania. As a stunning woman with sea-blue hair stepped out, wearing a dress that shimmered like the ocean to match her eyes, nobles practically toppled over each other just to get a better look. She smiled and waved, basking in the light.
X was the only one not looking at the Goddess of Beauty.
He was watching Bella.
For a split second, her mask slipped. Her face shifted from cold superiority to a look of utter, twisting disgust and anger. Then, just as quickly, it snapped back into a forced, crooked smile.
Torus didn't even acknowledge the commotion. He kept moving forward like a juggernaut, cutting a path through the crowd, leaving his daughter standing alone in Elara’s shadow.
“Well, well…” X sighed, a dry chuckle escaping his lips. “Trouble in paradise.”
"Mother’s genes didn’t even put up a fight."
The Power Rankings: We just met the heavy hitters:
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Satoru & Genichiro Yumaki: Treated like gods. This makes Mizuki's situation even sadder. She is the black sheep of a royal family.
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Torus & Bella Percival: The "Mage-Hunters." Scary, military vibes. Bella is Rank 3, which is huge.
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Elara Vane: Rank 5, but the crowd loves her more than Bella. That jealousy is going to be a problem (or an opportunity).
Tim Kris's play: Did you catch what he did? By silencing the room and "defending" them, he made sure everyone knows exactly who Noll and Mizuki are. He just put a spotlight on his enemies.
The Missing Mechanic: Noll is gone.
Next Chapter: Mizuki tries to navigate the social minefield. X plays bodyguard. And we find out where Noll went.
If you felt bad for Mizuki during the entrance: Leave a Like!