Evan rubbed his eyes. He was feeling slightly lethargic. It would probably be best to take a caffeine pill before today’s mission.

He was in his dorm room. Alone. His roommate Philip seemed to have other things to do today. Perhaps also an urgent mission?

A few papers were propped up against his pillow. The black file lay next to them with the words ‘Grade A’ embossed on the label. It was a mission file.

Soldiers were given a mission file before every mission containing a picture and name for the target they were to eradicate, as well as specifics about the mission and pitfalls to avoid.

This particular mission which Evan was tasked with was no ordinary mission.

Missions were given ‘grades’ based on two things: The level of magic required to complete them, and the stakes at which the school would face had the mission not be completed properly.

The mission Evan was studying for right now was assigned as Grade A. The highest caliber of missions given to soldiers.

Evan didn’t know much about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ business of the school. He had heard it was government-run, but didn’t know exactly why they needed to complete missions or if there was an central authority which gave orders to do so. It had always struck him as odd how (effectually at least) learning about the history and general information surrounding the school wasn’t required of them. It was a topic rarely even talked about, at least among the students.

Perhaps it was embarrassing to discuss? Evan had asked Nick about it once. He didn’t expect his teacher to know much more than himself, but thought to give it a try anyway. Nick was quite close with the Headmaster, being his former apprentice, so there was a possibility that he would know something.

To his surprise, Nick had seemed a little fazed by the question. Maybe it was embarrassing after all.

Rather than answering the question, Nick brought another one of his own to the table.

“Who would even care to know?” he proposed.

“…”

“I was just curious.”

And that was the end of the conversation. Nick always had a knack for ending conversations when he wanted to. If there would be a colour to describe him, it would be … ice cold, arctic gray. That was what he seemed like. A lone wolf prowling through arctic ice, calm as ever, but susceptible to becoming malignant at any moment.

Evan had probably inherited at least some parts of his attribute from Nick. If he thought about it, Nick was probably the single, most potent reason why Evan was as successful as he was.

It was no stretch to say that Nick was the second best soldier in the history of the school, the first being Headmaster Jules himself.

And who was the third person in this prodigious list?

Well, it was Evan. He knew this, but he tried to be humble and would gently graze over the topic if it came up. Magic was very competitive at the school and the unofficial ‘rankings’ of the students was a hot topic for discussion.

However, now was not the time to get lost in daydreams, thought Evan. After all, he had a Grade A mission coming up, and figured that he should probably go back to memorizing the report. He was about to do so when someone came into the dorm.

It was Philip.

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Philip was Evan’s roommate. There was a three year age gap between them: Evan was 12, Philip was 15. It was a gap wide enough where normally Evan would be considered the sycophant one. The subordinate. The follower.

But that wasn’t the case this time. Evan was more skilled in magic than Philip, and had never once lost in a practise duel to him (as expected of the third best student). Philip specialized in the lightning branch of magic. The lightning branch was special in that lightning spells, unlike the inferno spells which Evan was versed in, were not effective when used for prolonged periods of time.

In other words, they were effective for a short, quick, one-shot attack, which is why lightning users need to be masters of stealth. They will typically ‘cloak’ themselves, basically hide their physical selves and all traces of their magic, and then suddenly attack dealing a single, powerful blow. In a masterfully executed cloak spell, a lightning user can eliminate nearly all traces of their presence.

Nearly all.

Sometimes their cloaks will ‘leak’ and some of their magical presence may be revealed. In fact, a perfect cloak with no traces of the human presence at all is impossible. Extremely sensitive and experienced magic users will still be able to tell they are there.

Some of Philip’s magic tendencies may have translated into his character, as he had the habit of suddenly appearing seemingly out of nowhere in front of Evan. And that is exactly what happened here.

“Philip?!” said Evan, startled by the sudden entrance but speaking in a normal tone. He was used to hiding his emotions by now. They were trained from their infant days to basically be emotionless robots. Any excess emotion would get in their way of mission.

“Hey Evan. Are you still studying for the mission?”

“Yeah I was looking at the documents right now.” Was it his imagination, or was Philip was acting somewhat different today?

“Its your first Grade A mission right?”

“Yes.”

“Be cautious out there, got it? Don’t do anything rash. Take care to hold back your emotions.”

“…”

Okay, something was definitely weird with Philip. He wasn’t usually trying to give Evan advice. Though Philip didn’t do the best in the academic subjects at the school, he was still surely smart enough to realize that Evan was better than him. Any advice Philip had to offer, Evan probably already knew.

Or maybe he was just trying to act like an older student? Philip had been promoted to a black suit about 2 weeks ago. The minimum age to become a black suit was 14, which is why Evan didn’t have one yet despite having the skills. So perhaps Philip just wanted Evan to treat him more like a senior?

“Okay, I’ll be careful.” Evan decided to buy along with it.

Philip took a glance at the somewhat vintage analog clock which hung on the wall in their dorm.

“You might be late. What time did the Headmaster say to meet?” Philip questioned.

“He said at around 2 o'clock.”

“You better go soon then.”

“Yes, I was planning on leaving just now.” He was actually planning on reviewing the papers again, but his sudden interaction with Philip had taken longer than expected.

“Okay, I wish you good luck.”

“Yes.” Without another word, Evan left the room.

Something is off for sure, he thought as he walked out of the door. He stole a glance back at the now closed dorm room when he was at the end of the hallway.

Probably nothing he should worry too much about. It was probably better to focus on getting the mission done first.

Ten minutes later, he was on a car taking him to the location of his first Grade A mission. It was then that Philip, back at the school, made his way to the Headmaster’s office door. He knocked three times.

“Come in, Philip,” called the Headmaster.

“Headmaster Jules,” Philip said with a nod when he entered.

“You all ready to go I presume?”

“Yes, Headmaster,” Philip spoke in a slightly quivering voice.

“…”

“Still feeling compassionate towards him, Philip? Let me give you a little motivational speech, then. Don’t you recall all the times Evan beat you in practise games? How the other students would sneer at you, getting blighted by someone three years younger? Don’t you long to be admired by all your peers like he is? Don’t you want to be like him … no. Don’t you long to replace him?”

“…”

“That is going to be your secret weapon against Evan, got it? This is what he lacks, and coincidentally it is the exact mindset you have. It is something called jealousy.”

“I understand, Headmaster.”

“Very well then. We will leave. Come with me. I will take you to the car. And remember, whatever you do, don’t give in to love. It will make you weak.” And thus, Philip followed the Headmaster and got onto the vehicle, headed for the same destination as Evan’s.