I woke up feeling refreshed.
The window in the middle of the room was open, letting in a cool breeze.
I sat up, taking a deep breath before reaching into the side table by my bed and taking out a schedule.
I held it in front of me, looking at my classes.
Or my choices for my classes.
Between every class, you have five minutes to get to your next one. Tardiness will not be tolerated after this week, you will be warned and then punished.
You also have a Mandatory lunch break at 12:05-1:00, and you are free to get breakfast in the morning before Magical combat.
MANDATORY CLASSES
8:00-10:00 Magic combat/Colosseum
10:05-12:00 Magic Theory/Classroom 37
AUXILIARY CLASSES/MINIMUM OF 2
1:05-2:10 Herbalism/Classroom 47
2:15-3:20 Runes/Classroom 202
3:25-4:30 Magic History/Classroom 343
4:35-5:40 Etiquette/Classroom 17
etc....
Some classes run simultaneously, and others stretch to 8 pm.
There are tens of choices for different classes, all seemingly very interesting.
It seems everyone is together until lunch in the mandatory classes.
From there, we pick our classes.
I went through the Auxiliary classes for a bit before deciding on three that are important for me.
I first chose Runes, I've had an interest ever since the first test, where simply putting my hands on a stand can discover so much about me, it's fascinating.
My second choice was Etiquette, although I hate etiquette, I do live with a son of a Duke.
And I'll be conversing with many nobles in this academy, it's only right that I know the proper etiquette, even if I'll never use it.
My last choice was hard, I was stuck between Herbalism and Formations, or a free learning period where I could practice whatever I wanted.
I had to think about it for a bit before deciding to use a free period.
It's not that I had no interest in Formations or Herbalism, but I'm already in the Runes class, which is entirely new to me.
I don't want to get overwhelmed in my first year, after all.
Besides, I could use the extra workout period to practice whatever we don't cover in Magical Combat.
The shower door flew open, and River walked out of it, his hair still damp and steaming from the hot shower.
Before I could even get a word out, he yelled.
"Those fucking showers rock! These are better than the ones back home, they have a huge temperature range."
I laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
"You know your behavior is so strange for a noble, you're supposed to be a stuck-up cunt."
He laughed back and then said.
"Don't worry, you'll see plenty of those this week."
I hopped in the shower before putting it on a colder setting.
In the mines, the showers were all cold because instead of runes, we'd just use the water from a local river.
Cold water was all I ever knew, it was more comfortable for me, even after having access to hot water in Alaric's mansion.
I finished washing myself quickly before drying myself and putting on my uniform.
It was identical to the man I saw walking around the market, a red blazer with a white collared shirt. The emblem on the chest of the Blazer was a phoenix chasing its tail.
I had Black striking pants and black shoes, despite looking like I was on my way to a fancy dinner.
I could tell this outfit was functional for combat, it felt way more comfortable than my old clothes, looser and more flexible.
What I didn't notice before was the mark on my shoulder.
It was a single dash.
I assume that's because I'm a first year, where a second year would have two dashes, neat.
Once River and I were all ready, we went down the stairs and out of Building G.
We walked down the path for a couple of minutes before arriving at the meal hall.
It was one giant open space with a couple of hundred tables, and at the back of the room was a long line with rows of food to choose from for breakfast.
River and I were chatting and made our way over to the line.
While we were walking over, I overheard whispers from the tables we walked past.
"Do you think that's him? "
"Scars all over and black hair, it has to be him."
"Rank 1, huh?"
"Seems to be friends with rank 5, River Norton."
The whispers went on and on, but I ignored them.
River and I grabbed our food and made our way over to a table on the far side of the room.
While eating, we continued to small talk.
"Not much for noble friends?"
River smiled a bit.
"I had some, but they got annoying pretty quickly, especially after I beat them up too many times while sparring."
As I was about to answer, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I turned my head over my shoulder to see Alice Rividen standing there with a tray of food in her hands.
"What do you want?"
I asked her with a sigh.
"Well, that's rude to assume I need something, perhaps I'm just saying hello."
I looked at her with a blank look.
"Can I sit here?"
She asked somewhat embarrassingly.
"Are you going to challenge me to a food-eating contest?"
Her face lit up in surprise.
"Uh, no, just combat prowess, no food challenges, I promise."
I looked at River, and he just shrugged his shoulders.
Before he suddenly smiled and said.
"How thoughtful of you to grace us with your presence, your majesty."
Alice looked at him.
"You're welcome, my worthy peasants."
She said with a bow.
We continued to talk at our table of three while everyone else in the cafeteria freaked out that Ranks 1,3, and 5 were at the same table.
It turns out River and Alice knew each other somewhat; they often went to Royal gatherings and parties together, so they conversed from time to time.
Far from the level of friends, though, more like close acquaintances.
Breakfast went quickly before we walked together to the Magical Combat class.
Turns out it was at the same giant colosseum that we had our third trial at.
After a brisk walk, we arrived.
Walking into the colosseum, we had a seat near the front.
We were a little early, so we patiently sat and waited for the class to start.
More students poured in by the second, before Professor McKannan walked out from the lounge area and into the middle of the arena.
After waiting another minute for the last batch of students to pour in, he started to speak.
"Hello, first-year students of Castor Academy."
He took a second before continuing.
"First of all, congratulations to everyone of you for getting accepted into Castory Academy, one of the most prestigious academies in Marebore."
Everyone started to cheer in satisfaction.
Before McKannan put his hand up.
As if on cue, everyone went dead quiet.
"But, just because you made it here doesn't mean you can stay."
Confusion lies on the face of each student sitting in the colosseum.
"You have until the end of the semester to impress me with your improvement, not your combat prowess in general, but just how much you can improve."
"If by the end of the semester you don't improve to my taste, I will personally expel you from this class."
He states while still smiling in the middle of the arena.
End of chapter 13