At dawn after defeating Ianix, Vis settles into the Class Five dorm, then meets Callidus, who jokes about Vis’s anger and notes the students’ fear. Vis cautiously acknowledges that Callidus’s suspicions about his hidden background were right in principle, stressing the severe penalties for falsifying Census records. Callidus accepts this partial admission as a start, easing the tension between them.

During sparring, Callidus admits he bet on Vis against Ianix and won heavily. He then reveals why he previously urged caution: for the past four Academy cycles, multiple students from Classes Three and Four have died during the Iudicium at Solivagus, and several Class Three graduates later vanished from their pyramids. According to Callidus, these events were downplayed through coin, favor, and writs of Silencium. He learned this from his father in the Census, a confession that would be ruinous if exposed. Vis promises silence but remains committed to advancing.

Weeks pass in a rigorous routine. Each morning, Vis spars and studies advanced theory with Callidus, sometimes joined by Emissa, whose competence underscores the level Vis must reach to compete in Class Three. Under Praeceptor Taedia’s firm, effective instruction, classes become productive and challenging. Though classmates are civil, Vis’s reputation—shaped by the brutal duel, his Catenicus name, and Iro’s lingering influence—keeps him aloof, which he accepts as he focuses on distinguishing himself.

In the evenings, Vis tutors Eidhin in Common; Eidhin’s rapid progress convinces Vis that Eidhin belongs in a higher class and has been held back by communication barriers and Dultatis’s prejudice. Meanwhile, neither Dultatis nor Ianix faces consequences for the suspected cheating in the duel, and the Praeceptors treat the outcome as legitimate.

Privately, Vis withholds what he learned in the island’s ruins, brooding over the Labyrinth and suspecting that the Academy’s replica functions as a proving ground connected to the deaths and disappearances. He cannot contact Ulciscor until the trimester break and refuses to endanger his friends. After weeks of disciplined work, two days into his fourth week with Taedia, Vis’s efforts are rewarded with promotion to Class Four—bringing him nearer to the dangers Callidus warned about.