‘Aprabat’s Most Illustrious Academia for the Study of Spirit Craft and Other Related Phenomena’, or Magus Academy for short, was one of three of its kind in the whole kingdom. Second only to the one at the capital, the academy had one of the most extensive libraries this side of the continent, three observatories, two state of the art alchemical laboratories and a full-blown arena.

Most of these facilities, along side the fifty or so lecture rooms, were to be found somewhere inside –or hanging in between, three huge towers. Combine the oddities of the place with a general lack of signalization and you can start guessing where I was… ‘cuz I had no idea!

“Excuse me if I am meddling good sir but, are you lost by any chance?” A jet black haired young gentleman asked politely.

“Oh, thank god! Yes! Yes, I am completely lost!”

“I presumed so since the third time I saw you cross that corner,” he chuckled good-naturedly, but immediately emended, “Ah! Sorry for not speaking sooner! Some in the peerage tend to mistake a helping hand for off handed condescension, you understand.”

“Don’t sweat it! I am happy enough that someone stop to spoke to me at all!”

I tried asking people many times before bumping with this guy, but in all cases, I’ve been thoroughly ignored. Seriously! Was asking for directions some kind of big city’ taboo?!

“Say, you wouldn’t happen to know how to get to the Maras’ Lecture room?”

“You mean the Mares’ Lecture Room?” he winced.

“Potato, tomato.” I shrugged, “not sure about the name really, but It’s where advance course for beginners is taking place.”

The guy grimaced.

“Just my luck. I had to bump with someone form my own class.” He sighed.

“Wait, we are in the same class? And what’s with the grim face…? Ah! I get it! You afraid I won’t let any chicks for you.”

“Why would I…?” the guy started, nose screwed in confusion, but I interrupted.

“It’s all right, pal. I know how it is. You see this face and think; Damm, how can I compete with that? But worry not, you’ll get used to it.”

“Are you… messing with me?”

“Pretty much.”

There was a moment of awkward silence in which my incredulous interloper studied me, then he laughed.

“What is wrong with you?” he chortled.

“My brother theorize I fell from the cradle but that’s nor here not there. My turn! What’s your name?”

“Oh! Where are my manners…?” he hesitated for a moment, then said; “Please, feel free to call me Aren.”

“Nice to meet you Aren!” I grabbed his hand and shook it, “I am Blake. Say, if we are on the same class, what are you doing here? Pretty sure we are running late.”

“You… wouldn’t understand…” he sighed, dropping on a bench.

“So, girls’ problems, huh?” I sat beside him.

“Wait! You knew all along?!”

“Nah! I just saw a teenager moping and put the dots together; not exactly hard-science if you ask me.”

My new friend berried his face on his hands.

“I am that obvious, aren’t I?”

“Ah, cheer up! Tell you what; you give me all the juicy details of what ever ills your soul, and I lend you my wisdom as an entrepreneur of the female heart…”

He gave me something in between a flat stare and an amuse grin.

“Oh, come on!” I elbowed him, “If nothing else, you’ll take a load off your chest.”

Aren snorted and looked away, but after a moment of pensive silence, he spoke:

“There is this girl… these two girls…”

“Ho, ho! Now we are cooking!”

“Oh, please!”

“Sorry, sorry! I’ll behave.”

He huffed, then continued:

“There are these two girls; one I can’t just leave… and another I can’t forget… What should I do?”

“Which one has the better boobs?”

“If you are not going to take this seriously…” red as a tomato he made to stand, but I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Fine, fine I’m sorry… So, the one you want, the unforgettable one, does she care for you?”

“I…I thought she did but… I am not sure anymore…”

“All right, that’s sounds like a pretty important bit you should know before moving forward but, what about the other one? The one you want to leave but can’t, does she care for you?”

“She does…”

“But you don’t care for her?” I guessed.

Aren frown pensively, making fists with the hem of his pants.

“All right, I’ll take that as a no. Why can’t you leave her again?”

“It’s… complicated…”

“Right, and why don’t you like her?”

“She is… I mean, she can be… Let’s just say she is way too caring…”

“Ugh! One of those… Have you managed to told her you don’t want her?”

“I am not sure I can…” he shivered.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I nodded sagely before imparting my entrepreneurly wisdom;

“Well buddy, as I see it you can either run and hide or find a way to confront your toxic girlfriend. Either way, you shouldn’t try to build another relationship before you wrap that up… Well, unless your other girl knows perfectly what she is dealing with and its fine with It... But, no, trust me on this one, it’s always better to be transparent with all girls involved. If you don’t, it’ll get ugly verry fast.”

Case in point; the baker’s daughter and her cousin use to be such good friends before I came along. I’ll always regret that whole fiasco, but at least they fixed their differences when they and the baker came together to beat me up... Aww man! Such lovely family bonds! I hope the Bakers are doing well.

“Ugh! That, I did not want to hear!” he rubbed at his hair in frustration, “but, you are right. I can’t keep hiding from her, and it wouldn’t be honorable to push another lady into this mess either… I’ll have to confront her somehow…” Aren stopped and turned to look at me, “Thank you Blake. I think I needed to hear that.”

“Any time pal,” I shrugged.

There was another awkward pause.

“Do you still want me to show you to our class room?”

“Oh crap! There was that!”

And, just like that, I made my first friend at the academy. As we walked, Aren and I chattered about some inconsequential things, which is code for; I pester him to read “Rouge Rogue Chronicles.”

Can you believe it? He didn’t even know the series existed! Oh, he knew all about “The Count Mount Black Adventures,” and he knew of Rouge Rogue from the cross over event but he didn’t know the character had his own series…! That had to be rectified…

“Like I am saying, where Mount Black is all grim and dark, Rogue’s Chronicles is fun and light hearted.”

“I don’t know Blake. Sounds a bit childish for my taste. Besides, haven’t you told me the series is fifteen volumes long? That’s a lot. I am not sure I’ll have time for it now that I am at the academy.”

“A lot off books means you have MORE to enjoy! You will understand once you read it! The characters are grate and the world-building is amazing! But you have to be a lil patient! The series really takes off after chapter fifty or so!”

“Fine, fine! I will give it a try.” He chuckled, “You don’t have to be so intense about it you know… Oh, we are here.” Aren pointed at a pair off double doors and grimaced, “Blake, let’s try not to interrupt professor Crimson’s lecture. For what I heard it is easy to get on his bad side.”

“Huh, I think I heard the name before.”

“It would be odd if you haven’t. He is the titular for the advanced introductory course this year. He was responsible for the entry exam.”

“Wait, professor sour-butt is our teacher?!”

“Shh! I heard the man can be pretty vindictive! The last thing we want is he hearing something like that on the first day…”

“Something like what, exactly?”

The doors swung open and an angry professor scowled at us, all the more intimidating with the onyx salamander around his neck glaring its literal burning eyes our way.

“Oh, professor Crimson! we were just…”

“Save the dribble for someone who cares. Go and stand over there.” He ordered sharply.

Aren and I exchanged looks but did as told. Inside the lecture hall rows of long lavish desks staired upwards, curving into an amphitheater. Professor sour-butt made us stand beside a dais, turning to face his students. There were only twenty people or so present; not near enough to fill the huge room. Even so, I found a few familiar faces within the sparse group.

“Since these two gentlemen believe themselves good enough to attend my class whenever they please, maybe they are good enough to finish the lesson in my stead… Well? What are you waiting for? Begin!”

Silence. Long, uncomfortable silence.

“P-professor…” a weak girl’s voice tried to argue, maybe in our defense, but was quickly cut short.

“Be quiet, young lady. The lesson is still ongoing... Or is it, perhaps, that you are unsatisfied with these gentlemen’s teaching methods…? That would make sense; you won’t learn much if they don’t speak. What is it gents? Why can’t you give the lesson?”

“Because we don’t know what the lesson is supposed to be …?” I ventured, seeing as Aren was occupied silently persuading the floor to swallow him up.

“Ah! But if you didn’t know what the lesson was about, why weren’t you attending the lesson?”

“Because we got lost… going to the lesson?”

“So, when a soldier regiment gets themselves kill on a battlefield without a magus to help them, you are going to step up to your superior and tell him, ‘Sorry sir I got lost’?”

“I mean, I am not sure I can be of much help in a battlefield to begin with…”

The good professor walked closer to me, and then slapped me hard enough to drop me into the ground… Auch…

“Listen here boy,” my new least favorite person grabbed me by the hairs, “I would have excused your tardiness and your earlier disrespect of me – yes I heard you loud and clear, if you had at least read the curricula and studied ahead of time. As it is, I have half a mind to drop you out of my class. If you wish for that not to happened, I suggest you and your friend here lower your heads and look for a sit in the most absolute silence while I finish the lecture you almost missed… Do we understand each other?”

He glared at me. I glared at him. Then I nodded… or well, whatever passes for a nod when someone haves you by the scalp. Sour-butt mac doodoo-face –yes that’s his name now– apparently got my message, because he let go of me. Then, as if nothing had happened, without even waiting for us to get to our sits, he resumed talking.

“When the revolution was over the Agorian priesthood, that used to monopolize the spirit-crafting techniques at the time, were hunted to extinction. Sadly, most of this Classical era spirit-craft or Sorcery, as it was called, was lost with them. It is not so big of a loss however, as Agorian Sorcery was deeply mingled with superstition and all sort of religious nonsense. The Fact that they went from being the unifying regional superpower, to be hunted in the streets like rats should be sufficient prove of their magus’ incompetence. Today It is commonly accepted that modern spirit-craft is vastly superior to…”

He droned on and on. The guy must have seriously liked the sound of his voice. Aren threw me and apologetic glance, walking away, shoulders slump, to sit somewhere else. I gave him a pat on the back as if to say “don’t worry about it,” and sit alone to glare at my new nemesis for the entire lecture, thinking mean names to call him in my head.

The class ended after a fashion, but I lingered in my sit for a bit, debating between the elaborate “dung-sandwich-head” and the simple but elegant “farting-pants.” It was at that moment I felt a hesitant tap on my shoulder. When I turned, I found the plot in all its bouncing glory.

“Jane! Good to see you again! How have you been?”

“Ah, o-ofcourse… P-place to meet you again sir Blake. I have been well…”

“Yea, I don’t believe you. You have ‘something is wrong’ written all over your face. What is it?”

She blushed tenderly, averting her gaze.

“T-to tell the true I’ve been a tad worried… f-for you…”

Aww! Well, now I had no choice but to tease her.

“Please my fair lady! Forgive this lowly scoundrel! How could someone such as I rob a pure maiden of her sleep…?! Unless she wants me to…” I waggled my eyebrows.

She pinched my arm…? I mean, I think that’s what she tried to do but she wasn’t putting enough strength for it to hurt, plus her hand was trembling a bit. More over she was giving me the mother of all pouts, so I suppose this was an attempt to be reproachful?

Kind of a cute reaction an all, but I was starting to worry for her. It was becoming clear to me that this girl wasn’t built for working in a society.

“Please be s-serius! I-I don’t believe lady Richa would do anything herself, but you anger her in public. S-some nobles may seek to ingratiate themselves with the counts only h-heir by avenging her honor… I heard you were attacked already… A-are you fine? Have you been hurt somewhere?”

She made a couple of arcane gestures over her handkerchief. When she gingerly cleaned the cheek professor dirty-butt slapped, I noticed the piece of cloth was wet and cold... Dammit Jane! You can’t pull this crap out of the blue! A man has only one heart you know!

I took a long breath to center myself, doing my verry best not to lean over and kiss her. Thinking over her words, I was surprise by her assessment of my situation. It was a relive to know she had some sense after all. But something she said was bugging me.

“I am fine, sorry to have worried you,” I smiled, copping her hand into my own, “Tell me though, how did you know I was attacked?”

“Oh, yes! My…”

*thunk*

“Aren?”

“M-my lord!?”

“Your lord?”

My new friend had fell on his butt while coming down stairs, a hurt look in his eyes.

“I-I… t-think… I-I… m-must go…” he stammered, then ran away like a scared kitten.

“What was that all about…?”

“Master Grahamson.” Someone else interrupted, before a flustered Jane could open her mouth.

“Oh, now what?!” I tiredly turned to see a posh looking teen and two other guys – his minions? posturing beside him.

“In the name of lady Richia’s honor, I hereby challenge thee to a duel.” A white globe flew to my face out of nowhere. I reflexively caught it.

“See you at the arena in a couple hours, Jarmius here will be my second.” He gestured to one of the flunkies. Then he bowed to Jane with a muttered “my lady,” and left.

I turned to look at Jane, who appeared to be at the verge of tears.

“So… can I keep the glove?” I asked her.