“Some days I wonder if Zir’elon will finally find the balls to just stab one of us.” Emyr declared, entirely unprompted during what had been a rather normal lunch.
“Excuse me, what?” Liliana blinked at her friend, her fork halfway to her mouth. Alistair had just choked on his drink and was trying to remember how to breathe, and Marianne’s head was already descending to rest in her palms.
“That’s rather… violent,” Diana said delicately as she set her own fork down to stare at Emyr as if he’d grown a second head.
“How did we go from discussing our upcoming assignments to this?” Zindru asked no one in particular from his seat down at the end of the table.
Much to Liliana’s continued irritation, their group at meals had grown. First the group battles and then their successful dungeon trip had catapulted her group into some form of popularity she hadn’t been prepared for. Everyone seemed convinced that simply spending time around her group could ensure they retained their seats. Liliana had almost resorted to stabbing people herself to keep the greater part of their class out of their study sessions. Diana and Anya were as much as she could stand.
“He’s glaring at us.” Emyr said as if it explained absolutely anything.
“He does that most days. After the dungeon trip, where he was removed two hours in for running headfirst into a battle without his team and nearly died, his rivalry with Alistair evolved into full-blown hatred.” Liliana said with a sigh, resisting the urge to seek out Zir’elon in the class S lunch room.
She didn’t have to look to know the dæmon prince was glaring at them. Since the dungeon, he seemed to blame Alistair, and by virtue of being his friends, the rest of them, for his every failing. Bad marks on a History test? Alistair probably rigged the test. Didn’t remember the answer to a Math question? Oh, it must be Alistair. The other boy seemed wholly incapable of owning up to his own failures and improving. If he applied even half the effort he put into his mental gymnastics to blame Alistair for everything to his studies, he’d probably be top of their class.
“Yes, but I wish he’d just stab one of us rather than glaring all the time, following us around and trying to start rumors. It would all be easier that way.” Emyr said, sighing dramatically as he flung his hands in the air as if this was all some great inconvenience that none of them had been physically attacked.
“A murder attempt would make it easier?” Marianne asked between her fingers.
“Yes, in fact.” Emyr said with a nod.
“Bored with your counter rumor war already?” Liliana asked as she resumed eating her lunch.
“All of class S, hells all of first year, already knows he’s persona non grata. There’s not much more I can do to his reputation,” Emyr said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Then perhaps you should turn your focus to our upcoming assignments rather than inciting a murder attempt.” Marianne entreated Emyr, sounding quite done with all of them.
She was stressed once again, this time because of the upcoming assignments. Tomorrow they’d have a longer homeroom so Professor Vereign could introduce them to the assignment board, which would live in their classroom from now on. Assignment requests would be posted there and they could take them as they pleased.
They had finally progressed to an acceptable point, according to Rauk, to be trusted with their first assignments. It would start with assignments that could be done over the weekends. Anything that would take longer than two days to complete wouldn’t be posted until after their first semester, and even then, such assignments would be rare until their second year.
Vereign would determine their first assignments after showing them how the entire process worked, so it added a bit of stress to the entire affair. No one would have a choice in their assignments and would have to complete them, whatever they may be, within a month to get full credit for it. That they had their first break coming up in two weeks added to the stress. Everyone wanted to get their assignments done before the start of their summer break so they could enjoy the time off from school.
Liliana was excited, as the assignments were as close to a quest as she would come. There was a certain familiarity in being assigned a task with a deadline and requirements for success. She was fairly confident that there was nothing that would be assigned to a first year that would give her real trouble, and from what she’d heard from the older years in her clubs, first year assignments were usually something that helped around the Academy. Finding specific herbs in the Academy forest, organizing or translating texts from the library, running every training dummy for their class through drills to ensure they were functioning properly, etcetera. Basic things, just to be sure the students were capable of following instructions before they were given assignments from the city and the adventurers’ guild.
“But murder attempts are so much more interesting!” Emyr lamented.
Alistair rubbed a consoling hand on his friend’s back, which had the double effect of thoroughly distracting Emyr and flustering him. Liliana traded a knowing glance with Marianne when Emyr’s skin predictably darkened and he went tongue tied.
“I just hope I don’t get sent to the store for my assignment.” Anya jumped in to distract the conversation and the group from Emyr’s impending disaster.
It hadn’t taken the group long to figure out that Alistair and Emyr were both in love with each other and hilariously oblivious to the other’s feelings. The group swung between being entertained by the drama and being frustrated that neither would come out and confess. There was an entire betting pool going as well.
“Well, you know what happens when one of us says something like that. Now you’re definitely getting the store.” Alistair pointed out, entirely oblivious to the mess he’d made of his best friend.
“The gods of irony do love us,” Liliana agreed with a sage nod.
“Then I really hope I don’t get assigned to the library.” Marianne spoke up.
“Oh, you’re not going to get it for sure now, because the gods of irony don’t like being tricked.” Liliana quipped with a grin. Marianne pouted as the table erupted into chuckles. Marianne’s tendency to curse their group and herself with her words was well known. The dungeon just proved it to them all.
“Let’s just all hope we get something that’s not unbearably dull, yes?” Diana tried, and the group accepted the concession.
Best not test fate too much this close to their assignments. Or Vereign, Liliana wouldn't put it past the dour professor to lurk around just to hear what they didn’t want so he could assign it to them. It was the sort of thing she’d certainly do if she were a professor, if only to enjoy the chaos she caused.
“Since we’re being individually assigned, the tasks will probably be something we’re all comfortable with. So it’s best to not worry, I’m sure we’ll all do fine and then we have our break.” Liliana shifted the conversation and soon the table jumped into discussing their plans for the summer break.
Liliana didn’t discuss too much. She had plans to join Marianne in the palace for a few days, but she was fairly certain she’d be staying at the Academy for most of it. Her father had sent a ‘request’ for her to return to the manor, but she was ignoring it with a flimsy excuse that the travel time was simply too long for such a short break.
She would’ve liked the chance to see Silas, Jason and the kids again, but she didn’t want to step foot in the manor ever again. Silas had mentioned visiting the capital with the rest of the group so she would get to see them at least, and she was excited about that.
Anya was excited because her parents and family were visiting the capital over the break, since she couldn’t travel home in time to get back. Alistair was evasive when asked about his plans, and Liliana knew he was planning to stay at the Academy, too. Emyr was actually returning home. His siblings would all be home for once, so he was obligated to visit to see them all, and Marianne had offered use of the royal teleporters to get him home and back in time.
Diana’s family lived close to the capital, so she would go home for her break. Zindru said his family had a house in the capital that he would stay in while his father taught him more statecraft. Liliana knew her family had a house somewhere in the capital, but her father never left his territory, so she’d never seen it herself.
The rest of the day was normal, and despite Emyr’s hope, with no murder attempts from one angry dæmon prince. By this point, even Liliana’s interest in Zir’elon had faded. She had pictured him as some great and powerful threat who could shift her fate back into what it had originally been. She was, to be honest, disappointed to discover he was just an arrogant, spoiled child with rather sub-par in abilities when compared to the other heroes she’d met. His brother had more hero qualities than he did, with his impressive mastery of runes and creative application of them.
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Liliana had little doubt that by the end of the first semester, Zir’elon would be gone from class S and no longer a problem she needed to care about. So far, her Academy experience was shaping up to be relatively calm and untroubled. Which was fine by her, her life had been filled with enough adventure and intrigue to last her a few lifetimes already. A few years where her biggest worries were her grades would be a much welcomed reprieve.
By the time the homeroom rolled around the next morning, their entire class was filled with nervous energy, almost nostalgic in its similarity to their first day. Vereign walked in and stared out at the students, who had gone quiet as soon as the bell rang. No one wanted to irritate Vereign today of all days, when he could assign them something truly horrid as a punishment for disrespect.
“Good. Today, you’ll all receive your first assignments. If you’ll look to the left, you’ll see a large board. This will fill over time with assignments sent to us by various staff members, the guard from the capital and the adventurers’ guild. Every assignment on the board will have been pre-approved by me before it ever appears. Despite this, before you can accept any assignments, you’ll need to discuss the choice with me.” Vereign paused, looking over the class with a steely gaze to reinforce his words before he continued.
“Occasionally, I, or another teacher, may give you an assignment we believe is suited specifically to you. These will never be optional. You can quit any assignment before it’s completed, but failed or uncompleted assignments will negatively affect your ranking. Conversely, completed or assignments where you go above and beyond will have a positive effect on your ranking, so remember to always do your best. Someone is always watching.” Vereign finished his speech with the rather unsettling warning.
Liliana wasn’t sure if it was true. Could anyone watch them all at all times? If they could, who was this person? Whether or not this elusive person, or persons, existed, it seemed to influence the class, quieting them further and making the lot of them even more nervous than before.
Vereign barely let them adjust to the information and warning before he began calling them up. He went alphabetically, so Allencourt went up first. He walked her to the board, showed her how to press her student ID to it and how to accept the assignment that appeared before he approved it from his side. The rest of the students walked up and took their assignments as they were called.
“I got assigned to help the Blacksmith club with controlling the fires in the forges for 16 hours,” Emyr announced when he sat down with a frown.
It wasn’t a very elegant assignment, but it wasn’t awful. It would help him with his control of his Fire affinity, something he was honestly not the best at. Since he favored explosive, high damage spells, he didn’t care too much about finer control, which usually meant his teammates could suffer if they were caught in the effect area.
“I have to test run all the class S dummies through drills to be sure they’re working well.” Anya told them as she flopped into her seat with a frown.
It would be boring, but the wolf girl struggled to focus on anything that wasn’t directly combat related. Her grades had only managed to stay as high as they were because of a combined effort from Marianne, Liliana, and Alistair to force her to study. Perhaps her assignment would teach her to focus better, even on things she found dull.
Alistair was called before Liliana was, and he didn’t have time to tell her what his assignment was before she was called up front. Liliana couldn’t help the nerves that made her hands want to shake as she walked to the front. She felt like everyone’s eyes were on her, and she hated it. She was certain she was walking oddly and stiffly as she made her way to Vereign, who waited by the assignment board.
“Ms. Rosengarde, put your ID up to the board and it will show you all currently available assignments for you.” Vereign ordered her in his brisk tone.
Liliana hastened to place her ID card on the board and a single assignment pulled up seconds after she had. For a moment, Liliana felt a sense of déjà vu. It was like looking at a large touch screen computer. It felt so alien in this world that was firmly in the medieval era, despite all its magic. Liliana wondered if she was perhaps not the first person from Earth to find themselves in this world.
“Now tap the assignment, yes, just like that. It’ll expand and display the assignment, the requirements, who assigned it, and the time frame it needs to be completed in.” Vereign told her.
He gave her a few minutes to read over the assignment, and Liliana’s eyes quickly took it in. She was being assigned to the stables for 16 hours, same as Emyr’s time. She was to help the stable hands with caring for the creatures, doing whatever they asked of her. It was well assigned to her, as she had an obvious love of beasts. Vereign likely thought she wasn’t very adept at taking care of beasts, something a tamer would need to know, as she was a noble and would’ve always had someone to take care of her beasts for her. They weren’t wrong, but Liliana felt a little insulted. She knew how to care for her bonds!
“Now tap your card against the assignment, and I’ll approve it from my side.” Vereign told her once it was clear she’d read over it. Liliana followed his instructions, and she watched as a little paper emblem popped up on her student ID, denoting she had an open assignment.
“You can check your status reader to check the assignment’s details. When it’s completed, whoever assigned it will send us a notification of it, with any details or notes to add on about your performance. It will update on your status reader so you can review it. All completed assignments will be kept on your status reader for you to refer to. Questions?” Vereign asked her. When Liliana shook her head no, he shooed her off and called the next student, Marianne, as she returned to her seat.
It’s all so much like the game. The quest board, the way the quests, assignments, work. Even being able to see completed ones, it’s just like a quest log. Sometimes it’s hard to remember this isn’t a game and that Realm of Hope was just based on this world, not the other way around. Liliana thought, caught up in her mind as she took her seat again.
“Lili? What’s your assignment?” Marianne asked and Liliana realized she’d been in her head long enough for Marianne and Zindru to get their assignments, the last of the class.
“Ah, I have to help in the stables for 16 hours,” Liliana explained with a shrug. She’d enjoy the chance to see so many beasts, even if it would be manual labor.
“Lucky, you’ll probably love every second even if you’re just shoveling beast poo.” Marianne pouted. “I got the store, 16 hours for it too! Can you believe my luck?” Marianne groaned as she flopped dramatically onto her desk.
Liliana smiled at her friend’s antics. The store would be good. It would be busy, and would teach Marianne how to multi-task and handle stress, and to work through it.
“I’m going to be helping set up the coliseum for the first Scrimmage games and doing equipment checks. I think they just wanted me for manual labor.” Alistair said with a half grin and flex of his muscles.
Liliana noted it wasn’t just Emyr’s eyes that followed the motion, and she frowned. She didn’t like the thought of other people finding her brother attractive. What was attractive about him? He was a big idiot. She could excuse Emyr, he’d been trapped early and probably had brain damage from being dropped as a baby. It was the only explanation for why he was still in love with Alistair despite knowing him since they were kids.
However, the other noble’s in their class who were staring at Alistair as he flexed, she couldn’t excuse. Apparently, many of the nobles in their class had shifted their impression of Alistair from being an undesirable to being once more a sought after partner. How quickly the whims of nobles shifted.
Besides, other than Emyr and maybe Marianne, not that the other girl seemed the least bit interested in Alistair, Liliana didn’t think anyone in their class was worthy of her brother. None of these mercurial nobles deserved someone as good and kind as Alistair. Liliana might need to worry about beating off suitors with a stick soon if those looks turned into anything else. Liliana started noting down names. Just in case someone needed to be more forcefully told to back off. Perhaps at knife point.
“I’m going to be helping in the greenhouses for 16 hours, too. I think they want me to expand my repertoire when it comes to my Nature affinity.” Zindru spoke up, distracting Liliana from her brother’s nonexistent dating life.
“Do you even have a Herbology skill?” Liliana asked the ducal heir.
“I do not, in fact.” Zindru said with a shameless smirk. Liliana’s eyes-brows rose high on her head in disbelief. How did that make sense?
“Isn’t Nature one of your highest affinities?” Liliana pressed.
“I ended up meshing well with the affinity. I had taken Earth and Life intending to become more of a support role. But I ended up with Nature rather unexpectedly. It’s rather intuitive for me, so I never considered looking deeper into plants and the ilk. I suppose this will be a learning experience for me.” Zindru explained with a shrug of his shoulders, acting rather unconcerned with it all.
Liliana pushed down the urge to smack the boy. Zindru was infuriatingly good at most things he set his mind to, and even things he didn’t. He consistently got high marks in their classes without ever seeming to really try. To find out he had gotten an affinity and was just naturally great at it even while he barely understood said affinity was mind-bogglingly frustrating.
Liliana purposefully ignored the fact that she had been gifted a high percentage of unearned mastery in three affinities by a goddess. That didn’t mean any of them came instinctively to her. The only one she could say came naturally was Wind, and she still struggled to raise it.
“Light was like that for me, and Metal.” Alistair said, nodding as if it all made sense to him.
“Life was like that for me,” Marianne agreed.
“Fire for me.” Emyr chimed in, lighting a flame in his palm to show it off.
“Gravity was natural for me.” Anya said with a grin as she made herself so light she floated off her chair for a moment before settling back down.
“Great, I’m surrounded by prodigies.” Liliana groaned with a huff. She froze when four sets of wide eyes glared back at her.
“Really? Really, Lili?” Alistair demanded.
“What? What did I say?” Liliana asked, confused by the sudden change in the emotions of her friends.
“You tamed Lelantos when you were what? Rank 8?” Marianne asked her, a rhetorical question.
“Then Nemesis, when you were Rank 7. And Polaris!” Emyr added in.
“You have 8 affinities, half of them sub affinities. Which are harder to get at all,” Anya listed off on her fingers.
“And you unlocked combos in a single night!” Alistair finished for the group. Liliana shrunk into her seat, her face heating with every new word as she tried to melt into the ground.
“Alright, so we’re all prodigies?” Liliana hazarded an answer. It didn’t seem to really appease them all, and Liliana was still convinced Zindru was unfairly gifted in comparison, but it was obvious no one else would listen to her about it.
She wasn’t a prodigy. No matter what the others said.