Drenched in sweat, Vanir resumed his jog after taking a sip from his water bottle, a wonderful Union creation compared to a waterskin. For thirty minutes, he’d been circling Amity Academy, surprised to see so many early risers doing the same. Not many enjoyed having their sleep robbed for a straining jog.

‘Hold on, can’t you rest for a minute? You just took a small sip and started jogging again,’ the demon asked through his mind. ‘My feet ache.’

‘And you were the one who recommended this jog,’ Vanir scoffed, pleased to hear the demon suffering. He sneakingly increased his pace. ‘Is this your first time jogging? I find that hard to believe.’

‘It didn’t ache this much in VR.’ The demon grumbled. ‘Just slow down, you don’t want to tire early. It beats the purpose.’

Vanir raised an eyebrow, another terminology to decipher. “Do tell its purpose. What made it important?”

‘Interactions and making connections with people. The series is called “Bonds and Tales” for a reason,’ the demon explained. ‘And jogging is one of the best ways to meet and have a conversation while doing lapses, best of all, most students of Class A jog.’

‘I can understand the purpose, but that didn’t answer the second query.’

‘Oh, it’s just to acquire a passive skill,’ it stated enthusiastically, ‘but I don’t think you’d understand right now, so I’ll explain once you acquired one.’

‘Fine,’ he grumbled, not like the explanation made any sense. What did a passive skill even entail?

When he finished his 46th lap, he decided to squeeze in one more before the showers. That's when he met a short, tanned girl, also drenched in sweat, who was doing her laps.

‘Oh, it’s Tala! Go talk to her.’

Vanir narrowed his eyes as he said, ‘No.’

‘Ah, ah, ah.’ The demon somehow sent an image of it swinging its index finger left and right. ‘You will talk to her because I ORDERED it.’ It grinned.

Vanir grunted and sighed before changing direction. The tanned girl didn’t notice his approach so he had to begrudgingly start the conversation.

“You,” he said. The girl jumped in surprise as she turned to face him. “You’re the stick user if I remember.”

“Ummm.” she tilted her head and scrunched her eyes before her eyes and lips widened as she pointed a finger at him. “Ah, you’re sparky! The guy who beats Ren!” She grinned.

Vanir scowled, “Sparky?”

“Yup, you always cover yourself in sparks,” she spread her arms while jogging, “so I’m calling you Sparky from now on!”

“My craft is not a spark, but a lightning you dim—” his mouth clamped down as he was about to call her a dimwit, “—dimpled adorable girl.” Vanir scowled. He would seriously kill the demon if he had the chance.

“Gee thank you!” The girl responded with glee. “I’m Tala Maligaya, and you?”

“Vanir Cambern, remember it well,” he said.

“Sure, Sparky!” the girl dared to even grin at him. He could already see how insufferable this conversation would become.

‘See, that wasn't so hard, was it?' the demon chimed in smugly. 'Now keep the conversation going. Ask her about herself!'

Vanir grumbled. “What class are you in?” he asked, making the girl smile even wider.

“I’m in class A, ranked 12,” the girl boasted loudly. “How about you? What class are you in?”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“A, rank 13,” he gritted his teeth, annoyed to be outranked.

“Hey, we’re so close in rank!—”

“You got lucky.” Vanir cut her off, he had enough. “That match of yours should have been lost.”

The girl flinched, her lips pursed and her eyes fell to the ground. “You’re right, I didn’t deserve that win,” she remained silent for a while before she smiled and raised her head. “Still, I’m glad for the chance to reach the Class A.”

There was solemness in her voice as she faced Vanir. “Congrats on winning against Ren. I didn’t know anyone could outduel him.”

“Hmph,” Vanir simply turned his head, face forward. After that, their company fell into silence. Once Vanir finished the last lap, he excused himself. “I’m done, see you at class.”

“See you too, Sparky.” She waved at him as she continued her jogging. Vanir just blew out an indignant breath as he headed for the showers.

‘I’m surprised you didn’t intervene.’

‘It’s a decent way to immediately progress the conversation,’ the demon said nonchalantly. ‘Also, it was a good slap in your face as well. You and Tala aren’t so far apart, after all, you only won because I took over.’

‘Shut up.’ Vanir scowled as he stomped back to his room and slammed the door shut.

* * *

A contented sigh escaped Vanir's lips as he twisted the handle until it clicked. The water sputtered from the showerhead.

He dried himself off with a towel as he walked to the closet. Pulling the handle, Vanir couldn't help but smile as he grabbed his uniform and prepared for his first day as a Class A student.

After closing the door, he marched with a straight back and faced forward to his designated class. The academy was massive, so the halls were longer to cover despite having longer legs.

At first, there were only three of them, walking side by side. Then another student joined them, and another, until the halls were packed. Each new student who arrived glanced at him before heading to their classes. But for Vanir, this fed his ego immensely. His crimson shirt stood out from the rest in a sea of students wearing white shirts or blouses. He was different. He was one of the Academy's top students.

That was until a familiar loud voice called out to him.

“Hey, Sparky! Wait up.” Vanir groaned as he faced the grinning short tanned girl, wearing a crimson blouse.

“Fancy meeting you here, milord.” She said cheekily, causing Vanir to raise an eyebrow. “You didn't tell me you were oh so important.” She said as she nudged him with her elbow, much to his annoyance.

“Everyone should have known the Cambern family by now,” he replied, crossing his arms. “I am THAT important.”

The girl laughed at him. The whole walk turned into an annoying one-sided conversation, with him ignoring the loud girl. In fact, he regretted introducing himself to her.

He couldn’t understand her deal, their last encounter should have kept her from approaching.

He was finally released from the midget when they arrived at their class. Like him, they all wore the same crimson uniforms. However, his eyes naturally fell on the black-haired boy he had beaten in the finals. He was looking at him as well. They spoke no words as they stared at each other before he sneered as he claimed a seat in the front row.

The midget, on the other hand, took a seat right next to the tall purple girl. He was rather amused to see the tall girl stammering in confusion as the girl who had beaten her in the finals was now her seatmate.

Arms crossed, he sat quietly for a while, waiting for the instructor. The bell rang and every seat had been taken, except for the instructor's desk. 30 minutes had passed and their instructor was still not there.

Vanir tapped his foot quickly on the tiled floor before looking at the clock and the door. Then back to the clock.

‘I'm leaving.’

‘Stay.’

‘Is that an order?’

‘No, but it's best if you stay.’

Vanir narrowed his eyes, ‘Why? A test?’

'Sort of, yes,' the demon said.

Vanir waited for the demon to elaborate but it remained silent. He clicked his tongue as he waited with crossed arms. A minute had passed and his feet started tapping on the floor.

‘How much longer?’

‘Jut wait—’

A loud screech rang out. Vanir spun his head around and saw a tall, muscular man with dreadlocks and three lip piercings. His crimson shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a white t-shirt underneath. The man's leg was outstretched, having toppled his table to the floor. One of the table's legs was bent.

“What a waste of time.”

The man stood up and headed toward the exit. Hands in his pockets, he lifted his leg and kicked the door, which screeched as it was knocked off its hinges. There were loud gasps, mostly from girls, but no one stopped him as he walked away.

“What's his problem?” Vanir recognized the midget’s voice.

“That's Yulius Kaizer, ranked 2 in class.”

“Is he not afraid to be expelled?” the blonde girl in a short ponytail asked.

“Probably not.”

They were all so engrossed in their stupid conversations that they didn't notice a woman in high heels, a thick crimson coat, and a strap hanging from her neck enter. Vanir watched as their instructor entered through the broken door. She held a pile of folders in her arms and dropped them on the table with a loud thud. The room fell silent as heads turned.

Their instructor adjusted her glasses as her sharp eyes moved across the room, student to student until they landed on the door. She pulled a pen from her pocket, grabbed a folder, and wrote as she said, “For destroying a property, everyone will be docked one point from their grade.”

The room erupted with complaints.