The group sprinted through the red grass, under the black stone arch, and in. Babyface was there, staring at them entering, and looking pissed.

"Drop your assignments in this pile and take a seat. We are starting now."

She was eyeing them, ready to give them a thrashing, but surprisingly she didn't. Goosebumps climbed up Asva's back as they made their way to Aldy at the back, as if the predator stalked them still. The professor struck the moment they were seated.

"Where is Mr Miles?" she asked.

Asva had no clue, so she shrugged. Aldy too.

"Aren't you two roommates, Mr D'vier?"

"He was gone when I woke up, Professor."

"Was he? Disappointing. Tell him to come see me after the class."

The class continued.

"I do hope that some of you pondered the nature of the illusion cast in the last class. Any volunteers?"

Only one. The class representative Liu. Babyface nodded, permitting her to speak.

"It affected all of our senses."

"Obviously."

"Ah... and um, it induced fear."

"And?"

"..."

"Sit down."

"Anyone? Yes, Mr von Buchanoir."

"The spell was not a mass hallucination as it first appeared to be. Each of us saw a different illusion."

"Good. Anything else?"

"I have a hypotheses, though I am not certain... The spell targeted us individually, as if-"

"Enough."

She cut him off, her visage turning from bored to serious in a second, almost angry. Yet, she didn't berate him. Instead, she paused for a bit, composing herself, and continued.

"I asked about your thoughts, not gossip amongst yourselves. However, you are right. The spell drew from your personal experiences, which requires acute finesse but a paltry amount of mana compared to a mass illusion. More targets increase the difficulty polynomially, depending on your affinity and ..."

Babyface seemed increasingly annoyed yet she was incredibly composed and civil. Business-like. Her face betrayed her distaste all too often. Some brave souls started chatting, and yet she continued teaching and actually answering questions. Not even an insult. And was gone the moment it was time. No homework.

[Miracle!]

[She looked constipated.]

"Pfft."

...

Mana Shaping was relaxed. The same calming voice accompanied Asva as she sailed on the warm currents flowing within her. Crossing each meridian, diving through pools forming in her organs, she watched the leisurely gyrating whirlpool deep inside her. Nine equally spaced rivulets of mana flowed into it, seeping in through her skin, passing the flesh, breaking down into fine droplets as they hit the rotating wall of condensed mana, and got absorbed into it.

The sigil ate up any mana that escaped the suction, storing it within. She felt something crack. Not like broken crockery. Rather, a snap of a discovery, or the thunk of a latch being opened and an unbarred door. The mana rushed in. The sigil glowed a little, and the voice spoke to her.

"Congratulations on surpassing your limits and entering Tier 2. Observe the new pathways as they emerge. Do not rush to fill the newly opened space. Hold back the first pool of mana while the ambient energy enters and fills the void. Slowly, gently, flowing like the fresh snow."

...

Next class, Morgan continued their exercise from the previous class, adding moving dummies to the practice.

Not everyone had to hit the dummies the same way though. Aldy was handcuffed while he targeted. Something about disrupting combatants. Some had blindfolds, others facing outwards while they tried to hit the now glowing dummies behind them. One girl was just running.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Asva was given a cube-like contraption made of criss-crossing glass tubes with no openings and a few columns of water within. Her task - keep a column together, use it to pass obstructions and complete the corresponding circuit of the maze.

"It will train your precision and focus issues. When you finish a lap, try doing it slower or faster, change the orientation, focus on a different column." Morgan instructed.

Asva tried. She was slowly getting a hang of moving it around, but keeping the water together when crossing the barriers was hard. Worse, it was boring. Instead, she fiddled with the new features of her mark - a messenger, and a clock. She intrinsicly understood that she could communicate through the sigil, but there no one at the other end to receive her pleas for release. And the clock, it moved slow as ice. Lunch couldn't be so far away, could it?

...

Comm sliced into the bacon with vengeance, a lot more relaxed in the current company.

"Where's the merchant?"

[Who?]

[The missing boy.]

[Ohhh, Ttommmy? Noo clue.] Asva said, stuffing another dumpling in her already full mouth.

"He left some time last night. No note or anything." Aldy said.

"Probably ran away. Many commoners do. Good that he knows his limits."

[He's not like that, jackass.]

"You!-"

"What if he is sick or something?" Dalda asked, worried. "Or injured, or kidnapped. Did something happen-?"

"What could happen? We are at the Academy."

"Aye. My bet is he's passing smiles or going to town on a cutie, that Miles."

[Nope, it has to be a mysterious auction. He'll steal an artefact and come back overpowered and stuff.] Asva chortled.

[Why would there be an auction? Where would an auction even be?]

[That wouldn't be mysterious, now would it?]

[Girl, you have entirely too much free time.]

[You are one to talk. You are always sleeping.]

[I cannot even sleep.] Dalda complained.

[Really? I even played you a lullaby. Are you telling me I'm bad?]

[You play an instrument, Asva?] Baldy asked.

[Yes yes! Flute. And pipes. And harmonica... Everything really...]

[Cool!! We gotta jam, there's songs I've penned.]

[Little brother, your poems are awful. They are not songs.]

[Let's do it!]

Abruptly, Aldy pushed his seat back and got up.

[Sorry. I need to leave. Any of you in combat?]

"Aye. Me"

[What happened?]

[Some unforeseen mana anomaly at the Wayhub, and we are being assigned to the peacekeeping force.] Aldy replied.

[That's sketchy.]

[No way. Did I jinx us?]

[Unlikely. I believe it is a surprise test, or emergency drill of sorts. Let's go and find out.] Aldy conjectured.

[Hah, little brother. You got a test already. Suck it.]

"Oh grow up, brother." Baldy said, "Anyway, I'mma bounce."

[Team Aldy Baldy reporting to duty.] Dalda quipped.

[No!!!]

[Ho ho ho... How about a new name for you too, roomie?] Asva asked, a glint in her eye.

Dalda lunged, pressing her palm over the other girl's mouth. "Asva! Don't you dare. I'll kill you..."