You have lost ten health points

That was the first message Astrid saw while she was still lying prone on the ground. Where did that blast originate? They were practicing shields and not attacks, so it didn’t make any sense.

"Sigrid, are you alright?” the teacher asked as he dropped down beside her.

“I’m fine.” She sat up slowly as the prone effect wore off. The pain in her chest was excruciating, but she had felt worse, so she knew the injury wasn’t too bad. The other students had gathered in a half circle a few feet away.

“How much health do you have left?” Birk asked, pulling some vials out of a bag.

Astrid looked at her stats.

Health: 14/24

Stamina: 8/32

Mana: 4/16

Focus: 8/16

Spirit: 10/16

“Fourteen”

Birk looked at her confused, as if he didn’t believe her.

“How much health did you lose?”

"Ten,” Astrid said, and then realization hit her. The other students only had ten health points total, as the vast majority of people did unless they had near-death experiences or leveled up a skill that boosted health points. That meant someone in her class had tried to kill her. She should have been horrified at that thought, but she felt calm. After several fights that almost claimed her life, this incident seemed tame in comparison. This didn’t even count as a near-death experience. She still had over half her health left, so she wouldn’t even get a bonus as she recovered. However, the intent was clear. No one in her class had known that her health stat was above ten before now.

She looked down at herself, noticing scorch marks all over the front of her dress, revealing blistered red skin beneath. The book she had been reading lay a few feet away, burned to a crisp.

Birk handed her the vials.

“Apply this one to the burn wound and then drink this one to restore your health.” Then he turned to address the rest of the class.

“Who cast that spell?” Birk shouted, his voice echoing over the training ground. Astrid had never seen the teacher angry before, but now he looked furious.

No one answered him.

“I’ll find out who did it so you can save us all time and confess immediately.”

Still, no one answered. Birk sighed and turned his attention back to Astrid, who was finishing up applying the content of the first vial to her burn.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, but someone owes me a new book and dress.”

“The school will compensate you for this once we find the culprit. I have to report it to the principal now. Do you want to come along?”

Astrid shook her head. She didn’t want to spend who knew how much time listening to the teacher and principal talking.

“Class is suspended until this issue is dealt with.” Birk said to the whole class. “Put your staffs away and return to the classroom. You’ll all stay there until further notice.

Astrid followed the rest of the class to the shed where the school equipment was stored. She felt like it was her fault class had been dismissed and was sure everyone was going to hate her for it. Why would anyone do this to her? It wasn’t fair. All she wanted to do was make friends and learn magic.

She made it back to the classroom and sank into a seat. Villads and Brigitta rushed over to her.

“Sigrid, Are you okay?” Brigitta asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I can’t believe anyone would do this.”

“I can,” Villads said, glancing towards Ruben.

If Astrid had had to guess, she would also have chosen Ruben as her attacker, but she didn’t want to accuse anyone without evidence.

“I know he is mean, but you think he would actually do such a thing?” Brigitta asked. “Attempted murder is a serious crime. How did you even get so much health to begin with?”

“If you get it low enough, it grows back stronger just like all the other stats,” Astrid said with a shrug, winching as the movement pulled on her burned skin.

“We know, but it’s a really risky thing to do. That’s why we don’t practice it,” Villads said.

“I didn’t do it deliberately,” Astrid said. “It just sorta happened.”

“Is it that dangerous to be a farmer?”

Astrid shrugged again, instantly regretting it. Whether the question had been serious or meant as a joke, Astrid couldn’t tell. Nor could she tell the others that she had been fighting monsters in the forest, as they thought it was her sister who did that. She guessed she could spin a story about the dangers of working the land and caring for animals. She had heard about a neighbor who had gotten scratched by a chicken and almost died from the infection. However, she was getting tired of lying and doing so towards those she was starting to consider as her friends only made her feel worse.

Stolen novel; please report.

“I guess I have just been a bit unlucky from time to time.” Even though it wasn’t technically a lie, the words still tasted bad in her mouth.

“More like clumsy,” Ruben said with a laugh as he approached.

“What do you want?" Astrid said

“Haven’t I made that clear yet? I want you out of my academy. People like you don’t belong here.”

“Criminals like you don’t belong here,” Villads said.

“You can’t prove that I cast that spell.”

“But we can.” Birk said as he entered the classroom, followed by principal Gertrud. “Settle down everyone.”

Astrid was already seated, but the other students quickly found their desks and sat. Gertrud went to the front of the room before addressing the class.

“I have been informed that there was an incident during class today. We can only assume it was a deliberate attempt on Sigrid’s life. This will be the last chance for the culprit to turn themselves in before I review the evidence.

Astrid looked around at her fellow students as no one said anything. She thought Ruben had gone pale from the principal’s words, but then again, so had several other people in the class. Having a murder attempt during class had likely shocked most of them. A boy she had never talked to before was sobbing.

“No one has anything to say?” the principal asked. “How disappointing. We’ll have to investigate the staffs. Then we’ll know who cast the spell.”

“Wait,” the crying boy said, gaining everyone’s attention. “It was me.”

That confession left Astrid confused, and all she could do was stare at the boy in disbelief. She didn’t even remember his name, so why would he try to kill her? That didn’t make any sense.

Alright. Follow me to my office. Sigrid, you can come as well. The rest of you can continue class.

Astrid followed the principle with the boy casting questioning glances at him, but he avoided eye contact. They entered the office, and Gertrud told them to sit.

“Now tell me, why did you fire that spell at Sigrid?

“I don’t know?” The boy mumbled, keeping his eyes on the ground.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” the principal said, sounding like she was losing her patience.

“I just don’t...” the boy shook his head sobbing harder.

“Sigrid. Can you explain what happened?”

She told the principal about it, but as she hadn’t actually seen anything, the story didn’t provide any new information.

“Do you know what could possibly have motivated Filip to attack you?”

“No, we have never even spoken to each other. I have a hard time believing he did it.”

“Well, he confessed, and we’ll have evidence soon enough.”

“What does that mean?” Filip asked.

“The staffs are enchanted to keep a record of every spell cast with it within the last twenty-four hours and by whom.”

For some reason the boy looked relieved at hearing this, further raising Astrid suspicion that something more was going on.

As if on cue, the teacher entered the room, dragging Ruben along.

“Principal, Filip didn’t do it. I checked all the staffs and found that Ruben is the real assailant.”

I knew it, Astrid thought, but she didn’t give any outward signs of the glee she felt.

Ruben was placed on a chair beside the boy, sending death glares at both Astrid and Filip, who whimpered.

“Someone, tell me what’s going on,” the principal gaze shifted between the three of them.

“I have no idea why I’m here.” Ruben said. “Filip already confessed. That should be the end of it, right?”

“I only confessed because you threatened to hurt my family if I didn’t take the blame for this.”

“I think we should wait for your parents to arrive before we discuss this matter further. We have already sent out a message for them.” Astrid felt her body freeze. This wasn’t good. There was no way she could be both her sister and herself at the same time. She had to come up with something quickly.

“My sister is probably still working on quests in the forest and won’t be back for a long time.”

“Do you want to schedule this meeting for another day when she can be here?” the principal asked.

"No, it’s fine. I can manage on my own.”

“Alright. I would still like to speak with her though, so please let her know to show up as soon as she can.”

“I got a new book for you, Sigrid.” Birk said, handing it to her. “And a dress you can borrow.

“Thank you”

“I’ll be going back to the class now.” Birk said and left the room.

“And what about us?” Ruben said.

“You’ll wait here until your parents arrive.” Gertrud said.

“But if we miss class, we’ll get behind.”

“I’m sure missing half a day of classes won’t have an impact on your final grade.”

Astrid shared similar concerns as Ruben, but she would never admit that out loud.

She went to the corner of the room and changed out of her ruined dress and into the new one. The burn wound was healing quickly, but the skin was still tender, so she moved carefully.

“May I read while we wait?” She asked the principal as politely as she could as she sat back down.”

“Of course.

“Thank you.” Astrid grabbed the replacement book she had just gotten and began reading.

After thirty minutes of waiting, two men entered the room.

“What is the meaning of this?” The short, wrinkly-faced one said.

"Farther,” Ruben said. “You have to make these people see sense.”

“Thank you for coming at such short notice,” Gertrud said. “Please take a seat.”

The principal must have spent the wait setting up more chairs without Astrid noticing as the two men sat down beside their children.

The principal explained the situation to the two men who listened attentively.

“All I want to know is why you tried to kill your classmate.”

“It was an accident,” Ruben said. Apparently, he had figured out that denying his guilt was pointless and was now trying to come up with lame excuses to save himself. Astrid couldn’t let him get away with that.

“I don’t believe you. No one is stupid enough to accidentally cast an overpowered fire blast when they were told to practice basic shield. Not even you.” Astrid responded, earning a glare from Ruben, which she returned.

“I doubt it was an accident as well.” Gertrud said. “For much the same reasons as Sigrid just stated.”

“He did it because he hates her,” Filip said quietly.

“Can you elaborate on that?”

“He doesn’t think she should be allowed to attend this academy because she was a farmer and now a refugee. He is also angry that he lost the duel to her the other day.”

“She tried to kill me during the duel,” Ruben said.

“What. I did no such thing.” Astrid said angrily.

“If there had been such an incident, the teacher would have reported it.”

“I expect that you’ll look into the matter further.” Ruben’s father said.

“I can ask the teacher about it, but I trust that he would have reported it immediately if there had been any merit to Ruben’s claims. As it is now, I have no reason to believe otherwise than that Ruben deliberately attacked Sigrid with the intent to kill her and then threatened Filip into taking the blame.

“Well, the girl is clearly not dead, so no real harm done.” Ruben’s father said.

“Well, that is hardly the point.” Filip’s father said. “Your son still committed atrocious actions against my son and the girl. I demand compensation and I assume she does the same.

“I don’t see why that is necessary.” You child could stop being such a pushover, and the girl only got what she deserved. Maybe she’ll think twice about trying to rise above her station in the future. I didn’t think this academy even took in charity cases.

“Sigrid is a student here paying the same rate as everyone else.” The principle said. “Now if you still want your son to attend, you’ll compensate Filip and Sigrid right this instance.

“Alright,” Ruben’s father said, pulling out coins from a small bag and handing one to the boy and one to Astrid. “I believe this should do.”

Astrid looked at the coin in her hand, unable to believe what she was seeing. It was a small silver coin. She had never had this much money at a time. At most she had had large copper coins, and a small silver was worth a hundred of those. Her first instinct was to hand it back and tell the man that she couldn’t possibly accept this but caught herself just before doing so. This was meant as compensation for an attempt on her life. If anything, it wasn’t enough, nor did it feel like Ruben had faced any consequences for his action if he could get his father to pay his way out of it.

“Is the compensation to your satisfaction?”

“It will do.” Filip’s father said, pocketing the coin.

Everyone looked at Astrid for her response.

“I suppose so, but only as long as Ruben doesn’t get near me or talk to me unless it is necessary for class work.”

“Those are reasonable terms.” Gertrud said, getting a nod of agreement from Ruben’s father.

“Then the matter is settled,” she declared.

Astrid still felt like Ruben was getting off too easy, but since he was from a rich, influential family, there wasn’t much she could do about it.