When I arrive at the dining hall, most of the students are already halfway through their dinner or finishing up. I hurry to get my tray and sit at the prince's table, where it's now normal for them to save me a spot.

"Hello, Bianca. How was your afternoon? Training a lot?" Darius greets me.

"Actually, yes," I answer while filling my glass from the water pitcher on the table.

"Hey, did you achieve mastery?"

"Not yet, but I must be close."

"We should go to a dungeon, to fight against creatures. That way it will be easier for you to get it," Alistair, the other redhead, intervenes. "And it won't hurt me to get it for my secondary weapon."

It's true, I remember seeing him training with a mace on Wednesday afternoon when he usually wears a sword at his belt.

"Do you think you could get us a pass for some low-level dungeon?" Alistair turns to the prince.

"Sure, the general gave me a pass years ago to enter any novice-level dungeon, and a few months ago he upgraded it to apprentice."

"Ugh, me too, but he hasn't upgraded mine," Lily chimes in. She is dining with us today.

The princess sometimes eats with her brother's group and other times with her closest friends at the academy. These do not include Sol or her two puppets.

"It must be nice to be able to access a dungeon whenever you want," Mary comments, without any envy. "The people in my village wouldn't even think of it. Everyone knows creatures are dangerous. Even for me, who has been given this incredible opportunity to study and improve my magic, the idea of approaching one is very daunting."

"We will protect you, Mary. With you and your healing magic by our side, I think I can try asking the general to raise the rank of the dungeons I can access."

"I really appreciate the protection, but the only dungeon I've set foot in is the test one. I don't feel qualified to go to one that isn't for novices."

"By the way, Mary, now that I remember," I interrupt. "Did you come looking for me earlier? I have a note from my roommate."

"Oh, yes. I wanted to talk to you."

"Tell me."

"Well..." she gets a little flustered, "girl stuff. We can take a walk tomorrow and talk about it."

"I'm in," Lily perks up. "And for the dungeon too. Catrina scolded me for my performance on the trial exam," she adds with a pout.

"Oh, little sister," Vincent says to her. "You're such a scaredy-cat. You know what mother says, you don't need to prove anything. You can return to the palace whenever you want. Not everyone has to level up and be a bloodthirsty warrior." He winks at her.

"Yeah, but I don't like people saying I'm spoiled. I also want to show that I'm worthy."

I remember the day of the exam. She doesn't seem very motivated. Rather, it seems like an attempt at self-affirmation so weak that at the slightest difficulty I imagine her, as her brother says, back in the palace.

As Mary keeps looking at me expectantly, I mentally review my Monday schedule. After afternoon classes I have my first private class on the light element. Like the others, it starts at six and lasts until very close to dinner time.

"So, when are we meeting?" Lily asks, returning to a conversation topic she feels more secure about. "At six and we'll go for some sweets in the city?"

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"Sorry, I already mentioned the other day that I'm behind in my studies. My father has hired a private tutor for me and I have study sessions with him every afternoon," I continue with the lie from the other day, making up the tutor thing so it at least resembles reality a bit. "I can't make it until a quarter past eight and it would be more of a walk through the academy gardens. We can meet at the mermaid fountain."

"Oh," Lily deflates.

"Works for me," Mary thanks me. "We can go to dinner together afterwards. Princess?"

"I preferred going to the city..." she seems a bit sulky. "Let's do this, you two meet up and promise me that another day you'll come with me. There's a pastry shop where you can have tea with the most delicious sweets I've ever tasted, second only to the royal chef's."

"Sure, Lily. Whenever you want," Mary assures her.

The princess smiles and eats the last wedge of fruit from her dessert. Although they have all finished eating, they stay with me. I'm still on the main course, and that's after quickly eating the starter, a vegetable soup.

"That boy, he looks at you a lot," Vincent tells me.

I turn around. He's referring to Ronan. It seems that this time he has taken the time to sit down for dinner, instead of taking it to nibble on while training. Maybe it's because of the soup.

I nod to him in acknowledgment. He responds in kind. Darius greets him too.

"Today we were training together for a while. Me with the sword and him with the mace. He finally got his mastery."

"He's the boy who's getting hit by a skeleton all day in the gym when there are no classes, right?" Alistair asks.

"Yes."

"He's a bit scary. There summoning a skeleton no less and with all that affinity for dark magic. Some guys asked me to tell him there's a list to sign up for requesting a turn to use the courts, but... I know some call me an airhead, but there's no way I'm going to say something that displeases someone like him."

I shake my head.

"You're prejudging him. Ronan is a sweetheart of a boy. Honestly, I don't know what thoughts or impulses he has to justify that high dark affinity; but with me he's only been kind and polite."

Vincent is looking at me, I can't decipher the expression on his face.

"And where did you train?" Darius asks me, very interested. "Not in the gym. What an uproar that the court was free today." He laughs.

I can't tell you, I think. Not that we've gone to a forest through a portal.

"Around there, on the meadow." I shrug, referring to the one that surrounds both the academy and the nearby city.

"Well, apart from rabbits and some small birds of prey, you couldn't have hunted much. Or have you been doing practice fights?"

"No... hunting rabbits."

Darius looks at me with some suspicion. I think I'm not good at lying. I'd say it's because of my affinity but I've never been good at it, not even on Earth.

"Well, let's invite him to join us another day so he's not always eating alone."

Vincent and Theodore frown at the same time. I understand them: bringing someone like Ronan to your table can be a brutal drop in popularity.

"I don't know if you'd be comfortable with that, Mary," the prince tells her, using her as an excuse. "You have two opposite affinities."

"Well, you have to be kind to everyone and, as Bianca says, you shouldn't have prejudices." The girl tries to smile, but she looks pale at the idea.

However, before the prince can use her reaction as an excuse, Darius settles the matter:

"Great, decided then! Tomorrow at lunch we invite him."

I hold back a laugh at the boy's spontaneity and how little he pays attention to details. I finish what's left of dessert and we say goodbye. From the look of horror on her face, I'd say Lily is going with her friends tomorrow. And that the prince would too if he could. I leave laughing to myself on my way to my room.

Once there, I see Judith and greet her.

"Thanks for the note," I say.

"Don't worry about it."

"By the way, I'm pleased that you're so quiet and we both let each other study in peace, but... if you ever need my help, just ask."

I say it because now she also has to be careful not to touch the stones I put in the gap between the beds, closer to mine, of course. I'm creating an inconvenience for her and she's so shy that it's possible she wants to tell me something and doesn't dare.

"Thank you. I will."

Well, end of conversation. Time to study some theory and sleep but first... first I sit in my desk chair and open my status sheet. It's been a long time since I've done it. I notice that, since I tried to read what level I had for each affinity, the sheet shows them to me.

Bianca L'Crom

Race: human

Age: 18 years

Level: 6

Constitution: 6

Strength: 2

Intelligence: 5

Agility: 5 + 1

Wisdom: 6

Health points: 6

Mana points: 6

Magical affinities:

Elemental: Earth, medium level. Water, medium level. Fire, medium level. Air, medium level. Spirit, high level.

Non-elemental: Light, medium level.

Skills: Runner.

Spells: Intermediate earth control. Minor fire arrow. Minor breath control. Minor splash. Minor healing. Minor channeling with earth, water and air. Medium channeling with fire.