Reincarnated as the Only Male in an All-Girls Magic Academy!
Chapter 47: A Long Wait.

Chapter 47: A Long Wait.

Everything clicked.

It didn’t slam into him like lightning or explode like one of those dramatic anime revelations, it was quiet.

A simple realization that slipped through the gaps of his panic and planted itself in the middle of his mind like a glowing puzzle piece falling into place.

The reason he couldn’t evolve rune compatibility was because, it didn’t exist. At least, not as something the Evolution Forge recognized.

The term, the entire concept of "compatibility" was a simplification. A theory. A guess made by weavers and rune scholars who couldn’t quite explain why some people just clicked better with certain runes.

And now, inside the Forge, staring down death itself, Ren was realizing something insane.

The whole field of rune compatibility?

Incomplete. Possibly even wrong.

He began pacing in a frenzy, his brain on fire now, hands flailing wildly as he muttered to himself.

"It’s not a real thing, not in the way they describe it. No true compatibility value exists that I can just extract and evolve. The forge can’t touch things that don’t technically exist. Which means..."

He stopped mid-step, turning toward the crimson glow of the altar. His eyes sharpened with intensity.

"...I need to find the thing that actually represents compatibility."

That was the true mission now.

His soul was cracking, his body was already bleeding out in the real world, and yet here he was, trying to rewrite an entire field of magical science in under five minutes. Classic Ren.

But this was how he worked.

In his past life, when he was still a scientist with far too much caffeine in his blood and way too little sleep, Ren had learned something important:

When a system doesn’t give you the answer you want, stop asking it and start asking why it doesn’t have that answer. Break the system apart. Rebuild it with something better.

So, if rune compatibility wasn’t real...

Then what was?

What was the real thing controlling how well his rune worked with his body? What was the invisible bridge between him and his rune that made it feel more or less connected? What dictated Resonance?

He went through possibilities like a deck of cards.

The rune itself? No, that’s already evolved and embedded.

His soul? Tried it. Rejected.

His spirit body? No form to target.

His physical eye? Tempting, but also stupid, this wasn’t an eye issue, it was a soul rejection problem.

Then, it came to him.

"Resonance."

The word echoed in his mind like thunder in a cave.

That was it. That was the actual link between him and the rune. Not compatibility. Resonance.

That moment when a rune harmonized perfectly with the body and soul, where power flowed naturally, beautifully, like a dance with no missteps. That was the true connection point.

And if he could evolve that...

He spun toward the crystal, fire in his veins now.

"I’ve got a shot at this."

He gripped the red evolution crystal and poured his will into it like water from a broken dam, commanding for his resonance to enter the crystal.

Nothing happened at first.

Then, flicker.

A dim, flickering violet flame appeared inside the crystal. Faint. Flickering. Like it was about to go out at any second.

It wasn’t the overwhelming blaze of his Phantom Panther rune evolution. It didn’t pulse with dominance or power. But it was there.

His watch chimed softly on his wrist.

[Stage 1 Umbral Kinephantom Soul Flame added to Red Evolution Crystal.]

[Estimated Evolution Time: 300 hours (Real Time) → 3 hours (Chamber Time)]

[Does host wish to evolve?]

Ren’s jaw dropped slightly.

"...Soul Flame?"

He stared at the small flickering fire inside the crystal and suddenly the world shifted. Soul flame. Not resonance. That was the real term.

The Forge had peeled back the curtain, lifted the mask off the idea that rune resonance was some mystical, vague connection.

In truth, it was this; this barely visible flicker of soul energy burning in sync with a rune.

Which meant...

"Wait. So what people call resonance is really just how strongly the rune’s soul flame burns inside me? That’s what determines compatibility? No one knows this?"

He actually laughed. Right there. In the middle of his own potential soul-death.

The sound echoed awkwardly across the empty forge, half manic and half brilliant.

"This is going to blow up the Rune Department if I survive."

But he wasn’t smiling long.

Because now came the hard part.

His finger hovered over the confirm button.

Evolve.

Normally, he wouldn’t even hesitate. This was a moment of breakthrough. He’d discovered something no scholar had ever written about.

If it were any other day, he’d already be pulling out a notebook to scribble every detail down before pressing the button.

But...

He looked at his left eye. The rune inside it. The one that had nearly killed him.

That was also a moment of overconfidence, of him thinking he knew what would happen, only for reality to nearly rip his soul out of his spine.

He gulped.

"What if I mess this up again?" he whispered.

Would the soul flame explode? Would it vanish? Would his resonance go to zero and the rune go berserk?

He didn’t know.

And that was the problem.

He hated not knowing.

But death was knocking. No, death was already halfway inside the house, raiding the fridge and wearing his bathrobe.

Ren closed his eyes, inhaled deep, and opened them with cold focus.

"I don’t have a choice."

His finger neared the button.

But right before he touched it, he had another idea.

.....

Bang!

The doors to the infirmary exploded open with a bang, nearly unhinging themselves as Lia burst inside, her arms trembling, her legs soaked with sweat, and Ren’s limp, blood-smeared body slung across her back like a sack of death.

His body twitched violently every few seconds—spasms that cracked his joints with sickening pops and made her nearly drop him.

His hair was matted with blood, his clothes were wet and soaked in red, and trails of crimson leaked from his nose, eyes, mouth, and even ears.

It looked like his soul was trying to claw its way out of his body. Lia stumbled forward with a wild look in her eyes, her breath ragged and hoarse as she screamed toward the glowing green lights that floated lazily across the whitewashed infirmary walls.

"HELP! PLEASE! HE’S HAVING A SOUL SEIZURE!" Her voice cracked, raw with fear. "HE’S GOING TO DIE, DO SOMETHING!"

The healing spirits, spherical and semi-transparent, with pale green glows like floating jellyfish made of moonlight, whirled around her in a rush of movement.

Where they had once floated calmly through the air like sleepy fireflies, they now darted to action with chilling calmness; no hesitation, no flinching, just pure, professional, magical efficiency.

The largest of them pulsed brightly and let out a soundless command.

Swish!

In a blink, Ren’s body was levitated off Lia’s back, his blood dripping in a trail as he was guided through glowing doors into a bright white emergency chamber, where dozens of enchanted tools started floating off the walls and buzzing to life.

They formed rings around him; spinning orbs, rotating crystals, vibrating scrolls, and pulsed in rhythms only the spirits understood.

The entire room glowed with pale green light, humming like a living thing.

Lia stood outside the glass, her hands balled together so tightly her knuckles were white.

Her golden eyes shimmered with tears, and her face was pale, the adrenaline still pouring through her body like poison. She didn’t scream anymore. She didn’t even breathe loudly.

Her chest rose and fell in shallow huffs as if she didn’t want to waste a single sound.

She just watched. Watched as her friend flailed helplessly on the glowing bed, his body shaking in ways no human body should.

Why?

Why did this happen? He was fine just last night. They’d laughed and joked and even held a few long gazes. But now?

Now he was dying.

And she couldn’t do anything.

"Status report," the head healing spirit said in a tone that echoed directly inside everyone’s mind, soft yet emotionless like a wind chime in winter.

One of the enchanted orbs hovering over Ren beeped and glowed dark red.

"Soul seizure severity: Critical," it chimed. "Ruptures detected in spiritual veins. Compatibility misalignment at 86%. Rune resonance instability detected. Cognitive collapse imminent. Estimated time until total spiritual collapse: 4 minutes, 53 seconds."

A silence heavier than lead fell over the room.

The head spirit, larger than the rest and glowing with a steady emerald light, floated to the center of the emergency chamber and rotated slowly, absorbing the data from the orb.

Then, it did something unexpected, it sighed.

Lia’s breath caught in her throat.

"Unless a certified Life or Soul Weaver reaches the patient within the next five minutes," the spirit intoned, "we will lose him."

"No..." Lia whispered. Her body shook now. "No, no, no, no..."

"Is there a weaver here?" she shouted suddenly, hope twisting her heart into knots.

"We have issued an emergency request to the Main Academy," another spirit said, hovering closer to her side.

"The closest Life Weaver has been informed and is en route via short-distance teleportation. We can only wait."

"WE CAN ONLY WAIT?!" Lia shouted, the tears now slipping freely down her cheeks. "Why don’t you HAVE ONE HERE ALREADY?! THIS IS AN ACADEMY FULL OF TALENTS! WHAT IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN?!"

The spirits floated quietly for a moment before answering.

"This is the first recorded soul seizure in all three side blocks," the head spirit explained.

"Seizures are statistically way more common in the Main Academy, where rune experimentation is more advanced and risky.

"We have never needed to house a Life Weaver in this location before. Our current resources are more than sufficient for all known medical needs... except this."

"But—!" Lia growled, her voice cracking again. "But he’s going to DIE!"

"We are aware," the spirit said. "However, this is a Critical-Level Soul Seizure. It exceeds standard containment methods. This is an anomaly."

Lia could barely stand anymore. She collapsed into the chair by the emergency room window, burying her face in her trembling hands.

Her nails dug into her palms as she whispered, "Please, Ren... just hang on."

Inside the room, Ren’s body spasmed again, harder this time. One of the crystal rings around him cracked slightly, then was instantly replaced by another.

Red sparks of energy flickered around his left eye, and his limbs curled inward unnaturally, as if some invisible force was twisting his soul into a shape it didn’t belong in.

The healing spirits pulsed faster now, casting layer after layer of stabilizing light onto him. But the cracks were spreading.

His skin was starting to glow faintly, not with power, but with warning.

His soul was breaking.

Lia pressed her forehead against the cold glass and whispered again, "Come on... Come on, you idiot... Don’t die now. You haven’t even explained that ’loom spaghetti’ thing to me yet..."

The countdown orb chimed again.

3 minutes, 17 seconds.

And all they could do now was wait.