Aida woke up feeling extremely refreshed. Lily had delivered a small envelope of powdered herbs when all the students had converged in the dining hall for dinner, as promised. “I mixed all the soporific plants I have in my garden, and added some sweetflower pollen so that it doesn’t taste like evil dreams,” Lily had explained. “You should be able to have a restful and dreamless sleep tonight.”

The brew had tasted awful, when Aida mixed it according to Lily’s instructions. She wondered if it might taste better if the sweetflower pollen hadn’t been added - the sweetness, instead of negating the horrible bitterness, seemed to amplify it, and also brought out a salty aftertaste. It had worked very well, though; her body took the cue from her tongue that it had worked hard enough for the day, and immediately shut down as soon as she slid under the covers.

Aida checked her health and mana. As close to a hundred percent as she had ever seen. To confirm, she performed a few experimental stretches - no pain. Even her torso’s bruise had faded, leaving only a shadow. Aida marveled at the effect of a good night’s sleep. She switched to the window detailing her Skill Levels.

Skill List

Freeze (Lv2): 69% to next level.

Heal (Lv4): 2% to next level.

Ice Blast (Lv1): 40% to next level.

Mana Blast (Lv3): 78% to next level.

Mana Cycling (Lv5): 82% to next level.

Mana Surge (Lv2): 86% to next level.

Water Blast (Lv3): 20% to next level.

Water Manipulation (Lv3): 46% to next level.

Total RP: 78

Aida was disappointed. No new level ups, though she could see that she had made decent progress towards leveling thanks to all the recent combat experience. Likewise, her physical attributes remained the same.

Sue knocked, singing her morning greeting through the thick door. Grabbing her wand, she met Sue with a smile, feeling much more relaxed about today than she had been this past star cycle.

“Well don’t you look like a bright dewdrop this morning!”

“It’s all thanks to Lily’s tea. I never realized how restless my regular sleep was.”

“You’re welcome!”

Turning around, Aida saw Lily bound up the hallway towards them, Vanita following at a more sedate pace. Lily’s face brightened. “You look much better than yesterday!”

The girls chattered as they headed towards the dining hall, excited that the star cycle was nearly over.

“I don’t even care if I lose today, I just want it to be over,” Lily said, making a face.

“But we’ll have to do it all over again next star cycle,” Vanita pointed out.

“At least it will have some variety. These first matches are literally just raw power struggles, with none of the creativity required to handling your opponent of a different element,” Lily grumbled. “Ooo, we should check the results!”

Following the girls over to the board, Aida casually looked at her points. Frowning, she checked the running total for the rest of her cohort. “Am I…”

Leaning over to look at the Water column, Vanita quickly scanned the list. “You are!”

“Aida’s what?” Lily asked, squeezing between them. Her eyes widened. She reached out, swiping her finger down the columns as she compared the numbers. “Aida is!”

Sue joined the cluster eagerly, positively vibrating with excitement. “I knew it!”

Aida was, as of this morning, ranked third in the Water cohort, at five points. Dev and Lara were neck and neck, both tied with eight points. Weyn was ranked fourth, with four points; Levan had two points, and poor Lyn had zero points. Aida focused on her individual match scores, trying to keep her excitement from overwhelming her.

Aside from her two points from Levan’s forfeiture, she had one point from all of her other matches. Even if she threw her match against Lyn today, she would still be solidly middle of the pack, and would no longer have to worry about bearing the shame of being the bottom of the class.

“Well look at that,” Levi spoke, making them all jump. “Congratulations, Aida. Looks like the teachers really do appreciate willpower.” He sparkled at her, green shimmers reflecting off his smooth skin. Rolling her eyes, she made her way to the ordering line. He followed. “Are you still going to try to exploit Lyn?” he asked her softly.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

She grimaced. She didn’t want to, but it would be a mistake to underestimate Lyn just because of her current score. “I’m going to try treating this match as a reset,” she replied equally quietly. “See where I rank against her after all the other insane matches I had.”

“Excuse me,” Sue trilled, squeezing between them. She looked at Levi suspiciously before turning back to Aida, placing her body protectively between her and Levi. “I didn’t get a chance to ask yesterday, but how did it go? Do you want me to tell him to set a forest fire somewhere else?”

“Uh,” Aida said, surprised. Behind Sue, she could see Levi jut his chin out in a small pout, reminding her of their promise. “No, we had a good talk…but speaking of Levi…” Aida pulled Sue closer towards her. “How are you getting along with him?”

Sue pulled back. “What do you mean?” Aida twirled a lock of hair around her finger, trying to think of what to say. She had never tried playing matchmaker before. In the dating sims it was so easy, because as the player she was provided opportunities to respond favorably, complete with dialogue lines; but when she had to be the one trying to create opportunities as a supporting character? She had no idea how to even start.

“You can tell me, Aida,” Sue said fiercely. “Don’t feel like you have to hide anything with me.”

“No! It’s nothing like that!” Aida said, waving her hands helplessly. Screw it, at least Levi can’t accuse me of not trying. “I just get the feeling that Levi - really likes you,” she said quietly, forcing Sue to lean closer to hear.

Sue froze, not even breathing. Aida stared at her for a moment, growing increasingly concerned, until Sue finally blinked and smiled uncertainly. “Are you going to try convincing me that Levi likes me like you did with Caleb?”

“I…was hoping I didn’t have to,” Aida said cautiously. She eyed Sue. “You seem oddly suspicious of him lately. Did anything happen with him?”

“He went overboard with his Mana Resistance training with you!” Sue said, a small whine coming through.

“Other than that, has anything else happened? Did he do anything to you?” Aida probed. “For the record, we’ve cleared the air about that, and we’re friends again.”

Sue shook her head adamantly. “No, nothing at all.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re being really weird about this, Aida.” She snapped her fingers, a spark flying from her fingertips. “Do you like Levi?”

Aida took a deep breath, willing herself to be patient. Sue’s deliberate obtuseness was making Aida’s wingman attempt the most frustrating ordeal she’d experienced in this world thus far. She had a better chance convincing Professor Havi that she was Pritchard in a skirt. A lightbulb flashed in Aida’s mind.

“If I said yes, what would you do?”

Sue’s eyes sparkled. “That’s so wonderful! No wonder you were so insistent on spending time with him,” she cooed. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you out.”

“Wait—“

“But if he breaks your heart, you let me know, okay?” Sue leaned in conspiratorially. “He might be handsome, but I won’t let him get away with hurting you like that.” She winked.

“No—“

Sue spun around, completely ignoring Aida’s interjections. She headed back towards Levi, who straightened as she approached him, hoisting his characteristic charming smile back into place. Snatching him by the elbow, she dragged him to Aida, who was watching them with a horrified look.

“Okay, friends, feel free to water each other’s gardens,” she said melodiously. She smiled serenely at the two of them before pointing two fingers to her own eyes and jabbing at Levi, in the universal sign for “I’m watching you.”

“What have you done?” Levi asked, looking after Sue as she departed.

“I really thought she would take the bait,” Aida said hopelessly.

“What did you say to her?” Levi’s voice was devastatingly calm.

Aida squirmed. “She was being dense…she did say you were handsome, though,” she offered weakly.

“Aida.”

Aida squirmed harder. “I’ll fix it, don’t worry,” she promised. “Besides, it’s only the beginning. I don’t think she’s gotten much further with Caleb and Ezra anyway.”

“What does Caleb and Ezra have to do with it?” Levi finally turned to her, with an almost murderous gaze.

Oh sweet summer child.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Aida managed to put off explaining to Levi what happened with Sue until after the match, but that didn’t help alleviate her nerves as she headed to the stands. The Wood cohort was fighting first today, which meant the Water cohort would be fighting last. She wished they could have gone first, so that she could just get it over with.

Seated in the stands next to her, Sue was humming happily. Aida leaned over.

“Hey Sue, you do realize what I said was just a hypothetical, right? I don’t actually like Levi.”

“You don’t need to convince me,” Sue said breezily. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“I only said that because you were being aggravating!” Aida hissed. “I was just trying to see if you would do anything other than stick your head in the ground.”

Sue stiffened. “Nothing happened with me and Caleb,” she growled back. Her mana flickered, causing Aida to flinch back. Thinking quickly, Aida started piecing hints together.

“Sue…what happened after the second match?” Aida asked softly. Sue continued bristling. “You invited Ezra to spar with you and Caleb yesterday…and you two haven’t even been looking at each other lately.”

Sue finally relented. “I’ve been thinking about what you said when we were in Buddington,” she whispered back. Her purple eyes were watery. “I didn’t think you were serious, but then during our grappling session - I don’t know.” Sue covered her eyes. “We were training without mana, just to get the foundation and techniques down, but then he pinned me and - I wanted to win,” she confessed. “So I Surged, but you know, Caleb’s Mana Resistance isn’t that good, so I accidentally pierced him - and - we mixed our mana,” she finished, mortified.

Aida gaped at her, unsure what to say. Mixing mana?

Sue nodded despairingly, misinterpreting Aida’s expression. “Please don’t tell anyone!” she whispered, her face red. “But…I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him since.”

Aida pressed her lips together, nodding slowly. She patted Sue’s hand comfortingly. Well…shoot.

“So…I take it you aren’t interested in Levi?” Aida asked lightly, trying to inject some levity.

“I can’t even think of that right now,” Sue moaned, burying her face in her hands. Patting her gently on the back, Aida tried to think. Sue had three events with Caleb already, and two with Levi. There was still time for Levi to catch up, if she could convince Sue to spend some time alone with him. She could still hold up her end of her bargain with Levi.

Squeezing Sue’s shoulder, Aida gently alerted her that the Wood matches were almost over. Glumly, Sue squeezed Aida’s hand before heading down to the gate, her head bowed.

Aida looked around, spying Caleb sitting alone in the back. He was watching Sue make her way to the gate, a conflicted expression on his face. He met Aida’s eyes and immediately flushed, ducking his head.

“What did you say to Suelina now?” Levi whispered aggressively, taking Sue’s seat.

“It’s okay, we have a chance,” Aida reassured him. “The story’s finally picking up steam.”