It was early evening when Lia's bracelet pinged, sending her a message that her application to the subject, Studies of No-Space, was received. She did not have to come for a talent check as her achievements were already taken into consideration, accepting her application on the spot.

"That… silly fox!" Lia grumbled in her room, scaring Keily, who was reading the 'Fire of Noon, Ice of Midnight,' the book Lia bought on her first day here. Until that moment, it was silence between the two, broken by Lia's cry.

"Silly fox?" He asked confusedly.

"The Headmaster! Tsk! He did it again! Like my finals last year! He is a silly fox that he is! Hmph, hmph!"

"I never saw anybody who is as angry as you, Boss, when it is about not having to take tests! I… I think you are weird!"

"Tests are important!" She countered him, sitting on her bed, wearing her pajama, a fluffy onesie with markings of cat paws all around it. "If I am not tested, how should I know if I am doing the right thing? If I made mistakes? How will I know that I am doing well? Or bad? What to fix? What if I learn bad habits?"

"Um…" Keily flinched, finding himself unable to argue with her.

"See? I want to take tests because I want to do it well! And that silly fox doesn't want to test me! Hmph! I'll tell him my thoughts when the first class begins! For sure!"

"I… misspoke earlier, Boss!" Keily told her, his eyes shining, looking at Lia, fired up in his own way, "You are strong, Boss! I never thought about it like that! You are right! Tests are good!"

"See?" She grinned, encouraging him in a way that if Koadriana heard, she would feel sick to her stomach.

…

…..

……

The first day of school was very similar to the previous year. Dayen welcomed them back, reintroduced them to their weekly schedule that changed nothing, and explained how their extra subjects would work. At the end of her explanation, the little bells connecting her horns chimed as she chuckled, making her body shake seducingly.

"At the end of the year, besides your normal exam, you are going to be tested in one of your extra fields of study! We won't tell you which one, so make sure you attend them!"

"More tests…?" Koa moaned under her breath, feeling duped.

"Finally!" Lia whispered, shocking her cousin, "Last time I was robbed of it! Hmph! I hope I'll be tested by that silly foxy!"

"That is an Amarin for ya…." Raufon whispered to Keily, sitting beside him right before the three sisters.

"I am already used to it." He answered, taking notes in the meantime, checking his timetable. "Tomorrow, I'll have my first dueling class. I am a bit nervous, as we will be put together with all the third- and fourth-year students who took it up."

"Just don't get pummeled into the ground!" Raufon joked and then looked back at Aurora, "But you will be there with Sion and Aurora. I don't think anyone would dare to pick on ya!"

"And all of my subordinates." Aurora wrote to them, "Ceiline already had around 50 applications, did you hear? Many want to join us."

"Good!" Lia answered as their first introductory class was coming to an end, and Dayen was letting them go and prepare for tomorrow. "We can start hiring people! While back home, I had mom write up our rules, mimicking our 4th branch! I passed it on to Ceiline, and we will start growing our organization! I sent a message to Lorin's successor too! I brought with me some good recipes that dad let me share, so at least our starting funds are in place!"

"How big do you want to grow the Misfits?" Koa asked curiously.

"Around a hundred members? That should be enough." She answered after a brief thought. "Plus, I want to have a squad of every element! So we can mix and match, depending on the upcoming competitions this year! With your dueling classes on the way, I thought you should go and aim to climb the ranking list! We should start branching out! And, of course, this year's Egg Hunt will be ours! Again!"

"Well… now that Olivia is gone," Koa mused, "I don't think many will try and pick a bone with us… especially as our Leader here is part of the Student Council!" She grinned, nudging Lia, who suddenly slapped her forehead.

"I totally forgot!" She stood up hurriedly, "I have a meeting soon! See you later!"

"And there she goes!" Raufon chuckled, watching Lia disappear from the auditorium, alongside many others as their class was over. "I am surprised she is this collected! Four years ago, I couldn't hold my attention on one thing for more than five minutes!"

"Hormones." Koa joked, but then Aurora looked at her, writing in the air.

"Which you still suffer from."

"I can't and won't deny that!" She winked back, enjoying the defeated look on her face as she was expecting a sharp retort and not acknowledgment.

…

….

……

Everyone was present in the student council's room, and to Lia's surprise, Headmaster Lucian was also there, welcoming them.

"Good! Sit down, everyone!" He said, pointing at an elongated table as he sat down at the head position. "A new year, some new faces! As always, in the first meeting, I want to welcome all the new additions and ensure you are all clear! All of your actions are under my watchful eyes. I expect that all of those who are part of the Council will graduate with an Honorary. If not, I will expel you all by my right as Headmaster!"

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Oh…" Lia thought, surprised, but seeing the now 4th-year students' collected expression, it seemed this was a regular event and a usual speech at the start of every year.

"I know those who start their last year here are going to be extremely busy, but your role in the council can't be downplayed! Checking everyone's elements, I already placed you in the respective Towers' care where you will work this year!"

To Lia's surprise, her bracelet buzzed, and looking down at it, she was assigned to the Tower of Fire under Master Zorgan, who she had never met before.

"If they ask you to come and help out, you must do it. This is your responsibility as council members!" Lucian continued, and everyone knew this mainly was an explanation for the newcomers. "Now! Another thing, but this is more personal! Finally, someone had the balls, or ovaries in this case, to take my course!" He smiled, looking at Lia, who was stumped by his words… just like the rest of the council.

"Me?" She pointed at her face by reflex.

"Hah!" Some 4th-year students laughed out, unable to hold it back, and many were looking at Lia with amused expressions as if they were witnessing some interesting show that would unfold in the next few weeks.

"Well.. it was up there! Why did you put it there if not for students to sign up for it?" She pouted suddenly, looking directly into Lucian's eyes. "Silly fox, you are!"

"..." Now the amusement in their eyes turned to shock, and with a swooshing sound, all heads snapped towards Lucian, who was sitting there, grinning.

"There were a few, every year, who signed up for it. None lasted more than a week." Lucian softly explained, "I am not a traditional teacher per se."

"Do you molest your students? Just so you know, Lala is very protective of me! So is my mom!"

"..." Now even Lucian's face twitched a little. It was minuscule, but it did not escape everyone's sharp eyes. Looking back and forth at the two, they were starting to admire Lia and her braveness. Or stupidity. One of the two. Some thought, of course, she would get a seat in the Council; she is an Amarin. But… this was turning out to be a pretty good show to watch.

"And-" Lia wanted to continue, but Lucian raised his hand.

"No. I am just exceptionally strict. My standards are high. Even for someone who is from a House. I'll tell you here and now, daughter of the Angel of Death; I won't show mercy, not even if you threaten me with your mother's name!"

"It can't be that hard!" Lia murmured, still pouting but now a bit unsure. The light in Lucian's eyes was… intense.

"We'll see. In the past seven years, nobody has taken up my class. You are the first~."

"Hmph! I'll see how hard it is tomorrow! I'm not afraid!"

"I do hope your optimism stays this strong!" Lucian clapped, standing up and fixing his clothes. "I will let you all get back to your rhythm! See you tomorrow, daughter of Reyra Amarin!"

"I have a name, silly fox!" She replied, feeling weirded out by how he called her. Especially as it reminded her of the wyvern for a moment.

"Me too. And also an official title. It is called: Headmaster." Lucian said, walking out of the room. "But as you fail to use it, I don't see a reason to act differently towards you!"

"Grrr… Is he always like that?" Lia asked the others, gritting her teeth, looking at the bemused, stumped faces of the others. It was like... watching two juveniles. Only... Only Lia was indeed a kid.

"Well…" One of the 4th-year students scratched his throat, "Nobody dared to talk so casually to the Headmaster in centuries, I think! Even amongst the teachers, maybe only Master Lauron would dare to speak to him like that!"

"Yeah… I bet he is angry under that fake smile of his!" Another added, whispering but sounding extremely happy about it.

"Hmph!" Lia crossed her arms, biting her lips, munching on them, "He started it at last year's exam! Tsk!"

Now they really wanted to know what happened, and seeing their questioning gazes, she told them plainly, getting worked up by simply remembering it, making sure to call Lucian a 'silly fox' as many times as possible.

…

….

……

When the time came for her first lesson, under Lucian's tutelage, Lia made sure to arrive at the designated classroom way ahead of time. Strangely, it was at the end of the school's right-wing building, on the bottom floor. Or at least, her map pointed at that location.

"Weird…" She said out loud, standing where her map was pointing, but all the rooms around her were storage rooms, not actual classrooms. After she opened all the doors, finding nothing but hundreds of knick-knacks collecting dust, she started walking around in circles, checking the floor, the ceiling, and the walls. "Is the system wrong?" She thought to herself, tilting her head back and forth. "No. That shouldn't be the case." She threw that idea out of her head immediately.

After ten minutes of thinking, checking everything, and tapping at the walls and against the floor, she returned to square one. She couldn't find a hidden door, a hollowed-out wall, or feel any magic residue that indicated some kind of illusion spell was cast here, hiding the entrance to the classroom.

"Should I just start… blasting?" She moaned, snapping her fingers, throwing out orange wisps of flames, and then it happened. They were suddenly sucked up by the air, disappearing from view right before her. "..." Lia slowly blinked her eyes, trying it again, watching it disappear as soon as it left her fingers. "Gotcha! I knew something was off!" She giggled, licking her lips and watching the empty air.

Touching it, walking over it, she felt nothing strange, but whenever she snapped her fingers, the flames were eaten up, slurped away like water flowing down a drain.

"This has to be some kind of spatial magic! Well… No-Space is spatial magic…." She whispered, recalling the basic knowledge she had read about back home.

Spatial magic was amongst the few weird magic types of Meriath. Just like artifact crafting, with its formations, manipulating space was something that was uncategorizable, going by the eight elements. Everyone could learn it, and everyone could cast it if they had the mind for it. They did not conflict with any elements, yet they were not part of them either. Since the Dark Ages, there had been debates about what to categorize spatial magic as. Some said it was part of the darkness attribute. Some argued it was closely related to metal. Some voted for the theory it was nature-based. None had a definitive answer, though.

"That silly fox did summon our bracelets from nothing on our first day…." Lia murmured, remembering the event. "No wonder it is his class… hmmm… how should I get in? I don't know anything about No-Space! I can't manipulate it yet!" But she was not about to give up.

Summoning a steadily burning wisp of flame, she watched as its tip flickered unnaturally. Walking around a little, she saw it getting 'caught' in an invisible suction that began siphoning it away. She kept feeding it until she could precisely pinpoint where that weird opening should be.

"Now… how am I supposed to open it up?" She asked herself, furrowing her brows.

"You can't. Not yet." Arrived Lucian's voice, standing there with hands crossed behind his back, watching Lia with a soft smile. "I am surprised! Only a handful of people managed to find the opening leading to my classroom. From your age group… even less."

"But some did?" She asked, already curious, dispelling her flames with a flick of her wrist.

"Of course! I only work with talents! Those who have none get rejected from my class! The rest quits when they can't figure it out!" He said, snapping his fingers, and a purple, swirling gate appeared from thin air. Lia tried looking through it but could only see a soup of amethyst-colored energy rippling in the air before them. "After you!"

Lia didn't hesitate, walking through it expectantly, and she felt like a cold breeze washed over her as she appeared in a simple, white room with only a door at the other end of it. Looking back, she watched as Lucian came through, and the purple gate vanished, leaving them in a completely sterile, empty space.

"Welcome to the antechamber of No-Space!"