I felt some butterflies as we crossed the Academy gates. I kept reminiscing of the time McCalister singled me out because of the {Wellspring}. A lot of kids with their parents arrived at the Academy for enrollment and registration. Some posh kids with a dozen servants and knights that I quickly {Appraised} as royalty from neighboring countries.

Interesting they sent their royalty to study here amidst all the turmoil. Maybe Windemere could do without a King but a ruling body was absolutely necessary. Would they be ready to become a republic? I had no idea. But corruption was on the rise and the people would soon suffer as the leeches attaching to the dying body of the nation would surely suck their wealth away.

The dwarves isolating themselves was the major point of concern, even greater than Torgo. They could declare independence and who knew what they would do after that? Invade and take over Windemere? How strong were the dwarves right now? All these doubts and worries consumed me.

That’s the reason behind that leap of faith binding Fat Felix to my side. The most valuable commodity now was information. I might even be forced to do some sleuthing on my own. I could only hope my covert efforts yielded fruit. By Fat Felix’s reaction when I revealed myself, I could rally the lamias and the kin under my banner easily.

Was a short-term solution the best for the country? I was of one mind. I held firmly to the belief that Windemere would come out stronger if it survived this crisis on its own.

Now that I thought of that, the number of personal guards inside the Academy grounds was another sign of trouble. Why would students feel threatened inside the campus? Was it a pretext to bring in high-level warriors to strike when an opportunity arose and secure a good position? I knew more than anyone that one powerhouse was worth hundreds of lesser combatants.

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"Haru, it’s your turn," Helger pushed me forward.

Absorbed in my thoughts and conspiracy theories, I didn’t notice it. An elf stared at me from behind the counter, his scowl and tired countenance legendary. I approached and climbed a single step next to the counter to put me at a reasonable level. It was a terrible solution, one that was awkward for both tall and short people. Tall people had to lean in to reach the counter, and short people had to lift their arms too much.

"Name, species, rank, and primary path, please," he droned without a shred of enthusiasm.

"Haru, half-dwarf-kitsune, first rank, crafter."

"Haru… Haru, Haru, here," even bored, his voice was musical as his vocal cords added subtones. "Miss Haru, you’re with a scholarship from the temple of Zacheia, is that correct?"

"Shouldn’t be a scholarship but a sponsorship," I pointed out their clerical error. "The temple is paying my tuition in full."

He went to the back and flipped through a few loose paper pages, grunted, hummed, used a spell to communicate with someone else. A human woman came, they whispered, stole glances at me, and finally, she approached the counter.

"Miss Haru, I’m sorry. It seems we made a small mistake. The temple of Zacheia sent another child and you, but the documents got mixed. She had the full tuition while you kept the scholarship. There’s no difference, I assure you," she lied.

"Well, fix your mistake," I replied matter-of-factly. "Change her registration."

She slouched a bit and pressed her lips together, a clear sign of someone that didn’t want to do their fucking job. It was easier for them to just keep it as it was but I held it firmly. To me, she looked like a child that didn’t want to eat their veggies.

"Miss, try to understand…"

"This is unacceptable," I stared at her and put on some royal air. "What you don’t know is for your boss to learn that you screwed up."

I also had a hunch that the scholarship student would be hazed forever by these Royal pricks. I already had too much on my plate.

"Look here, girl," the elf approached. "You should be glad you got this opportunity to study here. Or do you want to give up? It’s all the same to us."

"You don’t look like Lierin or Fulgen, sir," I asked in perfect Fulgen elvish. "Neither a dark elf. May I ask where you hail from?"

"Thenneas," he ruefully answered as I suspected.

Thenneas was a minor clan of elves from the Scorched Continent that was dislodged when the Second Demon Lord turned half the continent uninhabitable.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

I made an old elvish salute, "May the blessings of the forest lead you home," I earnestly wished.

The lazy woman was losing her shit. I was savoring every face she made, clearly not understanding a bit of our conversation.

"I thank you, miss Haru," he said in Auvani, the trade language of the whole continent. "Josie, get miss Marisol’s documents and fix this mess."

Josie, which was the elf’s subordinate, almost popped her ears out. She turned on her heels and meandered away, fighting her impulses to slack on the job.

The Thennean elves scattered all around the world. They were a dying breed as the odds of finding a mate were close to zero. They found romantic partners among the other species and populated the world with a lot of half-elves. What was worse from my point of view was that some of them bought the centuries of demon cultist propaganda and believed that the First Hero was the one responsible for the destruction of their home. If this was a pen&paper RPG, they would be the normal everyday elves.

"I’m Wyrrentis," he introduced himself. It was pronounced as "Why rent this" but very fast and almost without the "th" in "this".

"Haru at the Forest’s service," I introduced myself in Thennean Elvish. I wanted to bow but my head would hit the counter. "I’m but a humble servant of Nature."

Josie returned with Marisol’s… Hells. How did I miss that? Marisol was my classmate. Off to a great start, I say.

"Thank you, Josie. You can go now. Miss Haru, I have some questions for you. Preferred weapon?"

"Spear."

"Which Magical Tradition are you aiming to obtain?"

"Wizardry."

"Do you have any previous knowledge of magic?"

"Do you mean training? I haven't had any formal training in magic since I was born, sir."

"Magic score?"

"With or without enhancements?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you have enchanted items that add to Magic?"

"Yes."

"Without enhancements."

"Thirty-three."

He stopped, then flipped the pages. "Ah. You’re in the first rank already. It's excellent progress. How long since your awakening?"

"Awakening?" I didn't recognize the strange term but had a hunch.

"Yes. New denomination for when you received the System."

"Is this one of the required questions? I’d rather not talk about my training methods. I… Snuck into a Dungeon." The last part was in elvish.

"No. Just my curiosity. Magic score, thirty-three. Now the final test. I can’t {Appraise} your status for some reason. Are you masking it?"

"It’s a curse. My Status can’t be seen by anyone."

He narrowed his eyes. "Miss Haru, do you have the {Status Forgery} Perk?"

"Nope. Never had any interest in getting it."

He rang a bell. Josie came a minute later. "Josie, fetch the magic evaluator for miss Haru here."

And now the ultimate chiché when the protagonist of the story touches the magic measurement tool and it breaks. Totally avoided. All I had to do was turn off all my traits that added to Magic and the damn tool measured thirty-three to the third decimal point.

Wyrrentis finished the paperwork and I signed the enchanted forms. Oh, that’s why they didn’t want to change it. They’ll have to bother Marisol again. Not my fucking problem.

From the registrar’s office, I went to the Academy shop to buy six sets of standard uniforms and the first-year supplies and textbooks. Books. One of the most expensive mundane items in the world. Paper was expensive to make.

I checked the list of books and found one authored by Marlowe! "The basics of Spell Circles". The cantankerous [Wizard] will surely be happy. I had most of the books, to be honest. After raiding kingdom after kingdom for their libraries, that’s what I get. I removed the duplicates from the pile and only two remained. "Magical Focus Channeling" and "Auvani History, from the founding tribes to the Age of Eclipse." I was eager to see how much bullshit the latter book spouted.

We went to see the dormitories but I lived two blocks away from one of the Academy’s side gates. I signed a release form giving up my dorm room and they refunded me half of the hosting cost as a monthly stipend.

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The visit to the civil registrar was boring. If I didn’t have the documents from the Academy already, we would need to wait until they sent a runner to Rosebush to confirm my origin at the orphanage and back. This act divorced me from the Axejaw family once and for all. The patriarch had disowned only my mother, not me. I was technically part of the family but they thought I was dead. I became Haru Stouthammer, Helger’s adoptive daughter.

But they could still try to claim me if it suited their purposes. Nobody would believe in two half-dwarf-kitsune girls my age. It would be obvious I was Nozmizla’s daughter, especially because I looked like her. If I had foreseen this, I could shapeshift part of my face to disguise myself, but it was too late now.

Back home, I tried the uniform. It consisted of long boots to protect the shoes and a tunic with pants or a long skirt, the student's choice. On top of this, a magician's robe and either a hooded cloak or muffler. Winter in northern Auvanini was very cold, sometimes reaching sub-zero temperatures. There was a wind current coming from the Uroko gulf that was blocked from going further east by the mountains surrounding Windemere. All the cold descended down upon the country like an angry deity’s vengeance.

The fitting was perfect. {Molding Armor} worked on clothes as well. I just needed to change shapes back and forth to fix it. It even opened a hole for my tails if I wished to show them.

Thinking of magical duels with my fellow students, I quickly noticed one huge problem. Detailed damage notifications displayed the name of the modifiers used by the other party. Things like {Titan Skin}, {Eat Magic}, and {Perfect Parry} would be a huge bother to display. I could disable the Perks and abilities, but shutting down my own defenses felt like suicide. I used one of my seven remaining vouchers.

> * Hidden Modifiers (very rare): Your combat modifiers no longer show on the enemy’s notifications. They are condensed and shown as a single number.

Surely, People would wonder why I had a, say, x0.005 damage reduction or a four-digit damage multiplier but it was the best solution available. I could always decide to pull my punches later.

I laid on my bed and pretended to sleep. {Traceless Period} announced I just had my menarche. That meant {Great Longevity} kicked in and I now aged one year for every ten. My school life had just started and I already got my first double A's [1].