An electric current coursed through Augustus' body, shocking him awake. Jumping in his seat, he saved himself from falling backwards as his right hand instinctively snapped onto the edge of his table. He let out an awkward yelp in fright, causing nearly all his classmates to turn in their seats to look at the bewildered expression on his face. A moment later, youthful laughter rang out throughout the entire auditorium.

“Augustus Light. Sleeping in my class, eh?” Alan Zerne voiced from the front of class.

“Wha- what was that for?” Augustus stumbled on his words, his body slightly aching from the pain.

“Because you were sleeping in my class,” Alan’s smile disappeared, “On the last day of school, three days before your exams. What, did it hurt?”

“No, I just-,” He held his tongue. If he tried to argue, he was going to get shut down instantly. So, he kept his mouth shut.

"I'll be seeing you after class then," Alan commented before he resumed teaching.

Craning his neck around, he saw the amused expressions of his classmates staring back at him. Augustus let out a depressed sigh. The rest of the class seemed to pass by at a snail's pace but eventually it finished, and he handed in his homework. Hoping his teacher had forgotten, he had only gotten one step past his teacher when he bumped into someone. Stumbling back, he realised it Alan.

Wait.. Wasn't he just behind him?

“What’s wrong?” Alan asked with genuine concern.

Hearing this question, Augustus deflated.

“Nothing,” Augustus glanced to the glossy wooden floor of the academy. The Royal Academy may be filled with annoying teachers that Augustus didn’t like. But he would be lying if he wasn’t impressed with the stunning work done by the Empire’s architects and engineers. He had to give credit to them. They could build stuff.

Alan stated, “That is a lie.”

“Nope, I’m just feeling sleepy that’s all,” Augustus rebuked, refusing to make eye contact with him.

“No, there’s something you’re not telling me”, Alan argued again. He was losing his patience.

“Can you just leave me alone?” Augustus snapped at him.

Alan turned silent.

“Sure,” Alan shrugged with a bitter smile on his face. He picked up his leather bag with a sigh. “I sure can.”

He teleported away, leaving Augustus all by himself. After humiliating him in class, there was no way he was ever going to tell him.

…

Augustus loathed Unarmed Combat. Not only because it had been forced upon him by his father. But because of how brutal a class it was. He would fight and fight, have his face smashed into the ground, and then get back up again only to repeat the process another hundred times. At the end of every class, he would be feeling battered and bruised, with red markings all over his body. And he did this three times a week. At least the administration had the sense to designate it as the last period of the day.

After making a change of clothes from his baggier black robes into something looser, he made his way over to a field near the back of the school in a slow jog. The academy did have warded halls that were built for the very purpose of unarmed combat classes. However, their teacher Lukos was a strong advocate of making their lives as difficult as possible. Complaining didn’t do anything either. And people couldn’t drop out. All of his classmates had some sort of military background, and they needed this class on their record.

When Augustus arrived, the rest of the class was already sparring in pairs. It wasn’t pretty or graceful in any way as one might expect of the Royal Academy. It was rough, gritty, and filled with plenty of blood. There were pairs on the ground in complex positions, veins popping out of their heads, people colliding against each other like hulking mountains, and people who exchanged blows non-stop, regardless of the pain.

“You’re late Mr Up and Coming Artillery Mage!” Lukos yelled with a dissatisfied expression, a steel halberd in his left hand. As Augustus came to a stop in front of him, he noticed that a girl was standing next to him with a cold look on her face.

Augustus didn’t care to explain why he was late. Lukos knew that Alan’s class was on the complete opposite side of the school, yet he still took his time to point out he was late every time. By this point in the year, Augustus couldn’t care less.

“Julie isn’t here today, had to go to a damn tea party. So, Evelynn doesn’t have anyone willing to fight her, a bunch of pussies I say,” he explained while gesturing to the girl beside him. “Partner up.”

Realising he had to fight Evelynn, he let out an annoyed groan, followed by a dejected sigh. Evelynn didn’t seem to show any reaction to this.

“I know she can be a difficult opponent, But I told her to go easy on you so you should be fine”, Lukos assured him with an obnoxious smile.

That was a heavy understatement.

As Lukos left the two of them to go observe the other fights up close, Augustus turned to Evelynn awkwardly, unsure what to say. He gulped. If it was someone who he felt there was a decent chance at winning against, he would take those chances and try his best. However, having to fight against someone who he knew could annihilate him in an instant or even kill him if they wanted to, Augustus felt hopeless.

The memories of Evelynn facing off against several guys in her class at once, and winning, was still vivid in his mind. Only Julie, who was the daughter of General Kyrgios, could stand toe to toe with her and eke out the occasional win because she was “careless”. She had beaten everyone else so far into submission that nobody else wanted to fight her. And that included him.

But lucky for Augustus, he was Mr Up and Coming Artillery Mage! A couple of weeks into the year, Lukos heard rumours that Augustus wanted to become an artillery mage and took extra care to prepare him for his career. Among many things, this would hopefully be his last gift from him.

So here he was now, about to fight against the infamous Evelynn. Augustus didn’t try and start a conversation. He raised his fists and waited for Evelynn to attack him first. Not a moment later, she swaggered towards him, her raven black hair swinging side to side with each step as if she was in a battle trance.

Once she entered within his reach, he gave a quick jab to her face. It didn’t connect. As he retracted his arm, she seemed to have disappeared. Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted in his stomach, blowing all the air out of him, and sending him keeling to the ground. As Augustus desperately tried to suck in whatever air he could, Evelynn seemed to leave him, the sound of her leather boots striking the ground growing more and more distant before disappearing completely.

What? How did she…

It took many long minutes of deep breathing until he managed to gain the strength to stand to his feet. Looking around, Evelynn wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Just then, a cheerful laugh came from his right. He looked over and saw Lukos wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

Lukos was cracking up so hard that he couldn’t get past his first word.

When Lukos finally calmed down, he laughed hysterically, “You made Evelynn leave!”

Augustus frowned, resisting the urge to lash out towards him.

“Anyways, since you seem to have the ability to stand, go join one of the pairs and rotate each other in and out.”

Glad that he was freed from Evelynn but still grieving the fact that he had to continue, he walked over to a boy and girl duo who were currently in a tight grapple on the ground, both strangely sensual and touchy as they moved their limbs across and into each other. A few moments later, the boy trapped her in a strangle and the girl tapped out.

As the pair stood back up with dirt and grass all over them, the boy noticed him.

“Augustus! How are you?”, Silco greeted him with a massive grin plastered on his face, his dirty blond hair sticking to the sweat on his forehead.

“Fine, I guess. Can I pair up with you two?”

Silco Looked to Satella for her opinion. She shrugged. “I’m fine with it.”

“Wait. Weren’t you supposed to be paired up with Evelynn?” Silco suddenly remembered, slightly confused.

“Yeah. Then she beat me in one punch and left,” Augustus chuckled, slightly embarrassed.

Silco gave also chuckled before waving him over, “Alright. Let’s do this.”

…

Augustus stumbled into his room feeling beat up and mentally exhausted. Closing the door behind him, he immediately walked into the bathroom, stripped, and jumped into the bath he had prepared for himself in the morning. Although not lukewarm, being slightly colder than he would’ve liked, it felt incredible.

He bathed in silence, letting his mind wander. After what felt like fifteen minutes to Augustus, he hopped out and dressed in his formal robes, gifted to him by the Royal Academy when he became a 3rd circle mage. They were a deep-sea blue with a golden crown insignia on his chest. Giving the silky fabric a gentle rub, a soothing spell seemed to be cast on his mind, all his worries leaving him at that moment. He was nothing special considering everyone else in the fourth grade had also advanced to the 3rd circle and received their robe. But to him, it was more than just a fancy-looking robe.

Giving his light brown hair a quick comb through, he put on a pair of brown leather boots- a part of the academy’s dress code -and left his room into the hallway. Making a short walk down multiple sets of stairs, he exited the dormitory and made his way across a large courtyard with a fountain in the centre of it. Hanging down from tall buildings on each side were large crimson red banners of The Empire.

In golden embroidery was a depiction of the royal crown, an ancient artifact supposedly created by the first emperor. Bejewelled within the crown were three gems. One red, one blue, and one green. And these banners weren’t just here, they were hung all over the academy, throughout the rest of Promici, and the entire empire. Because it was the law. If a building was found without a banner, it would be grounds for treason and the owners would be prosecuted, and in most cases, be sent away to the capital where they would be executed in public. It was terrible. Augustus just hoped that things would turn out well when he left the academy and talked to his parents. It was going to take a lot of convincing and fighting. Especially his father. But he would find a way. And if he failed. Then he would have no choice.

As Augustus entered the cafeteria, the loud chatter of the cafeteria shook him out of such depressing musings. After a short wait, he got a bowl of vegetable soup with two extra sides of meat and sat down at a wooden table, not completely isolated but not too close to other groups. Laying his eyes on the meal in front of him, Augustus was subtly reminded of his mother’s cooking. She always used to cook him vegetable soup as a kid, and when he saw it on the menu for today, he chose it without another thought.

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He dug in and it didn’t disappoint. However, halfway through biting into a particularly juicy piece of meat, out the corner of his eye, he saw two familiar figures approaching his table. Saying goodbye to the other half of the piece of meat and settling for what he had in his mouth, he swallowed, put down his spoon and fork, and turned to the two boys now standing before him. His only friends.

“How are you doing Augustus!” Osvald asked with a mischievous grin as he sat down next to him, his clasping hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m doing good,” Augustus couldn’t help but eke out a small smile, his mood slightly improving.

A lanky boy with bright, intelligent eyes took a seat opposite of him.

“That’s good to hear,” Erwin sighed in relief, having seen Augustus in distress multiple times over the last few weeks. “Are you still sure don’t want to tell me anything though?”

Unlike Alan, Erwin was someone he trusted and was a good friend he had known since his first year here. However, he took care not to grow too attached to him and expect the same response from him. He was the type of guy to be able to make friends with virtually anyone. He had friends and connections spanning all four grades. He was basically everybody’s friend. And it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for a girl to confess to him. In fact, it would actually be strange if nobody did for even a single week. And Osvald wouldn’t stop joking about how nearly every confession he received came from first graders.

“No. I don’t think you would be able to help anyway,” turning back to his food, he fished out the other piece of meat he was forced to part ways with earlier and began chewing on it.

“Augustus,” Erwin spoke up.

Augustus glanced up at him. “Yeah?”

“I think I know what it’s about.”

“Ok. What do u think it is then?” Augustus inquired, not convinced or worried he would be able to figure it out.

“I think you’re trying to leave The Empire”, Erwin leaned in and whispered.

The piece of meat in Augustus’ spoon fell into the soup, splashing the warm broth onto his arm and table. Ignoring the slight stinging pain, he craned his neck up and looked at the boy in front of him in deep shock. The ever-present smile on Osvald’s face suddenly faded as he looked towards Augustus in disbelief.

Augustus stared into Erwin’s eyes and asked, “What would you do if that was true?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“Why?” Augustus was perplexed. Erwin was the son of Count Verne who ruled over Promici and several other towns, wouldn’t his immediate reaction be to report him to authorities?

“The Empire is crumbling before our very eyes. And everyone is desperately scrambling for a piece of it. Corruption is as common as the flu, the Ebecan Kingdom has started to recover from the war and the population is growing bolder by the day. There will come a day when The Empire will fall. And that day is coming very soon,” Erwin explained with a worried expression.

“So?” Augustus prodded Erwin to continue. He was becoming more intrigued than worried. Why hadn't he known about this?

“Twenty years ago, The Empire was a unified force that seemed to be unstoppable. We had the greatest, wisest generals, an arch-mage at the 7th circle and the best army in the world. Day by day, we were constantly expanding. No one could stop us. But somewhere along the way, something happened. The emperor turned silent. No one could go in or out of the palace. It was completely locked off to even the closest advisors and highest-ranking generals. The Empire had a stable foundation and could operate for a couple of years without intervention, but as time continued to pass, things just began to fall apart. It’s been nearly eighteen years since we have last heard from him. The general public has no clue about this either cause my father and plenty of other high-ranking nobles and those in power have made it a well-kept secret,” Erwin explained with a gloomy expression.

“Do you still…” he slightly hesitated, uncertain if he wanted to finish his sentence.

“Go on,” Erwin nodded.

“Do you still support The Empire?” Augustus asked.

“No,” Erwin answered not a moment later. Osvald’s jaw dropped, unable to believe what he was hearing.

Osvaldo interjected “But what do you mean Erwin. When you and I went to those events with-“

Erwin interrupted him. “It’s all an act. We all pretend The Empire is well and thriving, but those in power know it’s bogus. It helps push my father’s agenda and paint an illusion. You don’t know because you just can’t keep secrets without breaking under pressure.”

He turned back to Augustus and assured him, “Don’t worry, Osvald won’t tell anyone. Trust me.”

Huh. He glanced at Osvald, and the boy looked as if he had learnt that he was living in a dream.

“Anyways, I couldn’t care less if you left the country, and at this point, I’d even encourage it if my household wasn’t in need of a mage like yourself. As it is now, it’s laughably easy to cross the border. Even a beggar could cross it if they were lucky enough,” Erwin shook his head.

Augustus squinted his eyes. “How did you know?”

“It’s simple really. I just guessed,” Erwin smiled. “I already know a few other people that want to leave-“

“Who wants to leave?” Augustus almost jumped out of his seat.

“I think… Dale, Kieran, Aurora and Lia.”

“I don’t know any of those people,” Augustus deflated.

A brief silence descended upon them.

Erwin was the one who broke the silence. “Do you want to come to a party with me and Osvald?”

“There’s a party?”

Osvald didn’t comment at the sudden change of topic, and Augustus didn’t seem to mind either. Anything to take their minds off what they had just discussed. And it looked like Osvald was the most affected. The previously energetic boy had turned quiet.

“Yeah. Basically, everyone in the school is going. Including a bunch of post-graduates that still hang around and some representatives from Promici’s mage households. That’s why I and Osvald came here in the first place. Today is our last day of school so it’s the perfect time to let off steam before our exams”, Erwin explained.

“When is it?”

“This evening.”

Augustus blinked his eyes a few times. “Really?”

He hadn’t heard anything about this. But considering that his social network was limited to just two people, he wasn’t honestly surprised.

Augustus wasn’t one to reject an invitation to a party because he didn’t like people. However, all his past experiences at parties have been, for the lack of a better word, unpleasant. As the only son of two mages, he was often shown off by his parents as an object of value. Spewing praise about how he was going to grow up to become just as great as his father. Fortunately, since enrolling in the academy he had been saved from going to all those events. Still, every holiday he would return home and be forced to attend at least one party and show off whatever new magic he learnt.

In the end, it was his last day of school and Augustus was all but assured to pass his final exams and graduate even if he didn’t study tonight. So, he saw no reason why to say no.

“Sure. Where is it?”

…

“Augustus!” Osvald waved at Augustus as he walked towards Erwin’s group. Seeing that Augustus was here, Erwin momentarily stopped his conversation with the two girls he was with and went over to greet him.

“How are you?” Erwin smiled.

“Yeah, I’m doing great, I’m looking forward to it,” Augustus smiled in response, excitement rushing through his veins.

“I’m thrilled you came along. Well, I’m glad you’re wearing something other than your robes. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you had worn them to the party,” Erwin chuckled.

Augustus bitterly smiled. Ever since he had acquired his official mage robes in the earlier months of the year, he had worn them basically everywhere. When he first started wearing them to class his classmates wouldn’t stop snickering about how ridiculous he looked. Augustus thought they were just jealous but quickly gave in and wore normal clothes in class to avoid the constant remarks. However, whenever he was out of class, he would always be wearing his mage robes no matter where he went. Be it outside school or inside.

“Anyways! Let me introduce you to the other two girls and we’ll get going,” Erwin gestured him to follow, and they arrived in front of Osvald and the two other girls he had mentioned.

“This beautiful young lady is Rosethean Ozil,” Erwin gestured to a red-haired girl wearing high heels and big earrings. “She is the sole heir to the Ozil household. An amazing mage and an even better dancer.”

Rosethean smiled and gave a short bow.

Erwin turned to the other girl. She wore an enticing dress that revealed her smooth curves and plump figure underneath it. “Likewise, this charming, but dangerous woman is Yvonne Ophelia. ”

Augustus couldn’t help but cringe when he saw Osvald ogling at her from behind as she bowed. The fool didn’t look like he had just learned a big part of his life had turned out to be a massive lie. Maybe he was trying to temporarily forget about it while he was here so as to not ruin the fun? Augustus didn’t know. At the same time, he was also guilty of this. He was also trying to forget that he was trying to escape The Empire and the eventual fallout that would occur between him and his parents when he confronted them. Forgetting these thoughts, Augustus, along with Erwin’s group, exited the academy through its front gate and onto the crowded streets.

Promici was renowned throughout The Empire and the whole world as the heart of magic. Upon the founding of the academy over a hundred and fifty years ago, a sprawling city grew around it. From the academy’s inception, every student was obliged to serve in the army for life under imperial law. But fourteen years ago, a rebellious mage used the silence of the emperor to discreetly ease out this law into obscurity. This caused households ruled by mages to pop up in recent years. And now that graduates weren’t forced to join the army, they were now allowed the freedom to do whatever they wanted. The vast majority became researchers at the academy or joined one of several households who were willing to pay even the most ridiculous prices and requests to acquire them. With its fame, mages from all over the world flooded in, crossing the border so they could learn about and explore the so-called city of magic.

As the group walked up a flight of stairs, Osvald suddenly mentioned, “You know Evelynn punched Augustus because she caught him staring at her ass in class?”

Yvonne covered her mouth, almost bursting out in laughter.

“No, I wasn’t!” Augustus denied it in outrage.

“Yes, you were. Silco told me so!”

That asshole. He was going to have a long chat with him the next time he had the chance.

Arivving onto a manor’s property, belonging to some rich merchant that offered to host the party, they walked past the gates with no problems. Augustus could see that there was already a large gathering of people hanging in front of the manor. Erwin, as the son of the count was very well-known, and was quickly recognised and approached by a man wearing The Empire’s iconic crimson red military uniform. Wishing them goodbye and telling them to enjoy the party, the rest of the group was quietely ushered inside the manor by Rosethean who Augustus could tell was less than happy at Erwin’s abrupt departure.

For a simple end-of-year party, it was a bit excessive. Paintings borrowed from Promici’s museum hung on the wall, an unknown, sweet-smelling fragrance floated through the air, and unable to stop himself, Augustus inhaled the sweet scent several times in rapid succession. Long tables lined the side of the grand hall, holding countless plates of lavish food that Augustus couldn’t even identify. A grand orchestra of musicians stood on an elevated stage playing classical music that echoed throughout the whole manor, the sound reaching all parts of the hall with the help of a magic-powered amplifier within the inside of each instrument.

As Augustus meandered through the crowd, he jumped in fight when he noticed a group of dark elves conversing with some of The Empire’s military personnel. As he stared in shock, a tall, female dark elf noticed him and gave him a devilish smile. Augustus immediately ducked, hiding himself from view using the crowd. He received strange looks from Osvald and the other two girls.

Without a word, he left the group and made his way to the opposite side of the manor, his thoughts spiralling out of control. Why were dark elves here? Why were they talking to the military? And why had they even been let into this party? It was strange. He had come have fun and forget his problems but as long as those monsters remained here, he wouldn’t be able to relax. And to make it worse, he felt as if the dark elf was somehow familiar.

For several minutes he remained in a far corner of the manor, his heart racing out of control as he tried to calm himself down.

Suddenly, Osvald approached him from behind, almost scaring Augustus to death when he thought it was the dark elf who put their hand on his shoulder. He knew it was Osvald’s thing but he really shouldn’t scare him like that.

“Hey! Oops, sorry I scared you, but you and Yvonne just suddenly left at the same time. I tried to follow Yvonne but uh”, Osvald looked oddly sad as he delegated his next words. “She found herself a boyfriend to dance with so I decided to be a gentleman and let her be and so I tracked you down. Hey, why is your face so pale?”

Augustus sighed. It did nothing to ease his nerves. “I-it’s nothing. I think- I think I’m going to sit this one out and just hang out front. I think it’s the atmosphere or something. It’s making me feel sick.”

He was actually going to leave but he didn’t want Osvald trying to persuade him not to.

“Oh, ok then. Well, you do you man. I’m surprised the crowd has had that much of an effect on you. Sorry for making fun of you earlier. If that makes you feel any better,” Osvald forced a smile before walking away with his head down, a dejected expression on his face.

Slightly shivering, Augustus navigated through the crowd, constantly on the lookout for the dark elves. Fortunately, he didn’t encounter them again and began in a jog as he exited the manor. Making his way past the guards unhindered, he began in a full sprint as he left the property and onto the streets.

Anywhere. Anywhere but here.

He ran and ran, feeling sorry for the several people he bumped into on his way. Eventually, he found himself standing in front of a small café. What was this place? Had he been here before?

He looked around and saw that he was somewhere on Promici’s main street. How come he hadn’t noticed this place before? Augustus thought that he should return back to the academy. But then thought, if he was planning to relax this evening, he might as well go through with it even if it didn’t go as planned.

Walking inside, it looked like very typical, a few standalone tables along with a few stalls for larger groups. Behind the reception stood a gentle-looking white-haired old man with his hands. As Augustus searched for a place to sit, he suddenly stopped in his steps. Sitting at a table all by herself, a raven-haired girl with enchanting blood-red eyes and a gentle smile on her face, stared out the window while observing people as they walked by.

Evelynn?