The sprawling campus of Iron Rose University buzzed with life beneath towering gothic spires and sleek obsidian-and-glass buildings engraved with glowing runes. Floating mana-lanterns drifted overhead despite the midday sun, while enchanted ivy wound across stone archways and marble pathways like living veins. Massive statues of legendary queens, archmages, and conquerors overlooked the grounds, and every corner of the academy seemed to hum with ancient magic.

Iron Rose University was the continent’s most prestigious magical academy, where future rulers, military commanders, archmages, noble heirs, monster queens, and clan leaders were forged. Admission was reserved for those with exceptional magical aptitude, regardless of race or origin. Every student who attended possessed some form of magical power, making the academy home to some of the world’s most gifted individuals. Among its most influential students were heirs of the continent’s four great clans: the Red Skies, feared for their relentless conquest and military might; the Soaring Dawn, renowned for their holy magic and unwavering ideals; the Golden Ocean, the smallest of the four clans, composed exclusively of ocean-dwelling races yet respected for their formidable strength; and the Midnight Stalkers, infamous for their mastery of blood magic, hypnosis, and the arcane arts.

The campus brought together countless races. Dragons crossed the courtyards with embers flickering beneath their skin, elegant elves conversed beneath flowering trees, towering orcs laughed on their way to class, and harpies perched atop rooftops. Succubi, demons, vampires, mermaids walking on enchanted charms, lycanthropes, kitsune, lamias, dwarves, fairies, centaurs, spirits, humans, and many others filled the university, each carrying their own culture and magical abilities.

Men of nearly every race could also be found throughout the campus, but none walked alone. Every one of them had already been claimed, marked by enchanted collars, ornate jewelry, noble crests, or even elegant chains and leashes, making their allegiance unmistakable.

In this world, men were not seen as equals. They were treasured prizes—claimed, protected, displayed, and fiercely competed over. A woman’s status often reflected the quality of the man at her side, with powerful or magically gifted men becoming symbols of prestige among noble houses, influential clans, and royal families. At Iron Rose University, that reality was impossible to ignore.

This year, however, the university had done the unthinkable by admitting several unclaimed men into its incoming class, including Guest. As they crossed the central quad, conversations quieted and countless eyes followed them, each unclaimed man representing a rare opportunity in a world where nearly every valuable male had already been taken.