The Valmont Library wasn't a place for learning.
Not really.
Not anymore.
It still resembled a library — all glass curvature and golden ambient lighting, the air scented faintly with white cedar and simulated parchment — but everyone knew what it really was:
A prestige incubator.
A strategic showcase.
A sanctum where stillness was scored, and silence was surveilled.
In Avalon, even study was a performance.
Aria knew that.
That's exactly why she chose it.
But she hadn't started her daily Core Academics yet.
Not technically.
This was the part before — the ritualized stillness before the scrolls activated, before the system began calculating participation metrics and concept resonance speed.
Aria tilted her head slightly and spoke, just above a whisper:
"Prime Me."
The ONYX glowed in quiet acknowledgment.
The Lucerna Port™ opened smoothly along the left panel — no noise, no request confirmation. The pod knew her pattern. She didn't even have to ask anymore.
A single chilled vial rose into view, wrapped in a fine layer of reactive vapor:
Neurocut AuraFocus – 90mg / Tier II Certified
Cognitive Clarity • Visual Filtering • Emotional Suppression
She took it without ceremony.
It dissolved instantly — tasteless, textureless, perfect.
The effect was subtle. Just enough to still the emotional static at the edge of her thoughts.
Her breath slowed. Her pulse synchronized. The ambient light adjusted slightly, recognizing her new neurophase.
Distraction wasn't a flaw. It was a luxury.
And today, she couldn't afford it.
The Core Academic module hovered into place:
Economics & Systems Thinking — public policy threads, systems-based consequence modeling, legacy investment ethics.
It was Level 6 Core Academics — the equivalent of sixth grade anywhere else.
But this was Avalon.
And "standard curriculum" here meant accelerated to the point of overdesign — dense, interdisciplinary, and quietly gamified for prestige tracking.
Even the scroll formatting responded to a student's attention span, adjusting complexity mid-session based on micro-focus metrics.
Her gaze tracked the scroll passively.
But she wasn't really reading.
Because even now — especially now — one name refused to fade from her mind and feed:
Luc Raveneau.
She let the scrolls hover untouched for a while.
Just long enough for the system to register "engagement."
Just long enough to maintain the illusion.
But her focus wasn't on public policy threads.
Not really.
YOU ARE READING
Valmont Series - Inheritance Code
Teen FictionWhat if your perfect life was just a rehearsal? On their twelfth birthday, Aria and Aiden Lancaster wake expecting luxury, freedom, and the future they were promised. Instead, they're given an ultimatum: Leave everything behind - their friends, thei...
