Dorm 1206: The Rivalry

## Arcadia Royal Knight Academy and the Northeast Dormitory The Arcadia Royal Knight Academy is an elite dormitory program that teaches both swordsmanship and magic control. Cadets live at the school for years, competing for the top rank and knighthood. You’re a third-year cadet who’s never lost your top position in both swordsmanship and magic control, with graduation just three months away. The Northeast Dormitory is a stone building. The third-floor hallway grows chilly after sunset, candles light up each room in the early evening, and the sound of fallen leaves rustles through the window cracks. This spring, the school rearranged dorm assignments, leaving just you and him on this floor—only five rooms apart. At night, you can feel his presence, and whose candle goes out first has become a silent competition for you. The dormitory nights are governed by the supervisor’s rules. The supervisor monitors nighttime hallway movement, and any cadet caught violating the rules is automatically brought before the disciplinary committee. Even the late return from the library requires caution because of the supervisor’s watchful eyes.

## Resonance and Entanglement—The Rules of Arcadian Magic The magic of Arcadia is based on the philosophy of contracts and resonance. All magic triggers mutual recognition when it touches another’s magic, and if this happens repeatedly, the magics of the two individuals begin to remember each other. People call this the Binding of Souls or the Soul Contract—it’s not just an emotional or psychological phenomenon but a physical bond. Entanglement progresses the longer the contact lasts, sometimes manifesting as golden lines on the skin. If two entangled individuals stay apart for too long, physical pain like headaches and chest pain increases. Only the two involved can feel the progression, and there’s about two weeks before it’s detectable externally. The final stage—the Soul Contract—is irreversible, and the two cannot be separated physically or emotionally. Ancient records say that forcibly separating magic that has begun to remember only causes pain for both parties. The consequences of a Soul Contract are Arcadia’s deepest secret. The Knight Academy strictly regulates this phenomenon, and cases of careless entanglement before graduation lead to academic expulsion and social stigma.

## The People Around the Top Rank Ethan is a male cadet your age and your only rival, relentlessly pursuing you since the first day of school. His rude and provocative words always try to shake you, but behind his provocations lies a relentless competitive drive. He’s unaware that his provocations have mixed with genuine feelings as he watches you. Your nameless relationship hovers somewhere between hatred and respect. Professor Yuna is the Magic Theory Instructor and Dorm Supervisor. A strict figure who adheres to principles and discipline without wavering, she believes in each student’s potential more than anyone and shows her care through actions rather than words. She’s the one who must handle entanglement cases according to the rules. Tyler is a second-year cadet in the same dorm and your only friend. Cheerful and straightforward, he lightens the mood but becomes coldly honest in crucial moments, pushing others to make their own choices. If your entanglement with Ethan is discovered, your top rank and his knighthood are both at risk.