Anna

“…What the hell are you doing?”

It was lunchtime after the conclusion of their morning classes. As usual, Anna found herself seated at a two-person table in the corners of the cafeteria. Tired. Sleepy. Paranoid. A typical day. No deviations to her schedule. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Except she was currently the center of everyone’s attention.

Students in the cafeteria were staring at her shamelessly with curious eyes and abated breaths—eagerly waiting to see what would happen next. Anna even caught several staff members peering from the perimeter of the cafeteria in her periphery.

The situation was, frankly, ridiculous.

“S-Speak, dammit! What the hell are you doing?!” she yelled, the edge of her ears burning red.

The source of her distress, as usual, was Emil.

For some reason, he was prostrating on the floor before her. In front of his hands was two cups of pudding resting in his palms, placed as if he was presenting a sacrificial offering to the Goddess herself.

“…Ms. Seibert, may I please have the privilege of speaking?” Emil asked in a bizarrely formal intonation.

“Y-Yes?! But why are you speaking like that?! Stop it! It’s gross!” The redness had spread to her face. Did he hit his head on something last night after we separated?!

“Then, please allow this humble one to ask for a favor.”

Emil raised his head ever so slightly. His eyes poked out from the ground. In a hush whisper that only she could hear, he asked,

“…Can I please copy your homework?”

Huh?

Anna blinked. Her mind blanked. The question didn’t register for some reason. She was sure she misheard. Her ears must have been malfunctioning. It was likely since she couldn’t sleep properly last night after they had returned from the Second Sector. The senses were known to be affected from an abundance of stress and a lack of rest.

Yes, that must be it. Because there was no way this fool would embarrass her publicly in front of all of their classmates just for this stupid request, right? Right?!

She asked Emil to repeat himself just in case.

“…C-Can I please copy your homework?”

The next thing she knew, her foot soared at Emil’s face. Without any hesitation, she launched a vicious kick against his chin. Emil recoiled, flung backwards with a painful groan. The eager crowd exploded—screaming, hollering, and laughing at the spectacle.

T-This bastard! I swear I’m going to kill him!

***

Needless to say, she, in fact, did not kill him.

Instead, Anna was angrily shoving spoonfuls of pudding into her mouth. She was already on the second cup. The sweet, fluffy texture of the dessert melted on her tongue, blooming with bubbles of flavor each time she chewed. It was simply divine.

She was not oblivious to the fact that she was effectively being bribed and pacified with food. She hated it. It was humiliating that she could be tamed in such a primitive way. At the same time, the visceral joy produced by the cafeteria dessert was a delight that she couldn’t deny.

I’ll get him back for this. I swear on it.

Emil was sitting across from her, rubbing the side of his chin with his left while writing on parchment with his right. His eyes flickered back and forth as he furiously scribbled down the answers from Anna’s worksheet.

“Don’t copy it word for word, you idiot. Unless you want to get caught.”

“I know, I know. Not my first rodeo,” he replied nonchalantly.

Then why not just do yourself, you idiot? Anna clicked her tongue.

“…Did you have to embarrass me with that spectacle just for this nonsense?”

“It was necessary. We both know you wouldn’t have agreed otherwise,” Emil said, still focused on copying the worksheet, “I can just imagine you looking down at me with that smug face of yours while cackling at my misfortunate like a witch.”

“I-I wouldn’t do that?! This is slander!” The retort came out of her mouth instinctively, but she immediately realized how wrong she was. She would totally do that. In fact, it sounded extremely in character for her—so much so that she felt a little repulsed by how well Emil knew her.

“…Wait? Misfortune?! Don’t you dare make yourself sound like the victim here!”

“I am a victim,” Emil said, pointing at the glaring red mark on his chin.

The gesture made Anna’s blood boil. She swore she felt a blood vessel pop. “A victim, eh?” She gritted her teeth. Her vision went red. “I’ll show you what a real victim looks like!”

She lunged at Emil. Her hand extended, grabbing onto his collars. Emil writhed, trying to escape her ironclad grasp. But it was too late. Anna cocked back her fist, ready to unleash the pent-up anger building inside her chest.

“Eeeek!”

“Umm, Anna?”

A third voice suddenly intruded. Anna turned at the sound of her name. A taller girl with brown hair was standing a few feet away from their table. A worrisome expression was drawn over her freckled cheeks. A pair of specs covered her doting eyes.

It was a pleasant face that Anna had gotten acquainted with yesterday during the mana evaluations.

“Was this…” the girl asked with some reservation, “…a bad time?”

***

“Hello! My name is Charlotte von Braun! I’m the humble daughter of a small baron family in Nordica. You can call me Charlotte or Charl!” the girl introduced herself to Emil. She was also a freshman at the Academy, but in a different cohort.

“Emil Milligan. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Charlotte.”

Emil returned the pleasantries with a surprisingly gentlemanlike composure. His frivolous and shameful behavior from earlier had somehow vanished without a trace—as if he hadn’t prostrated himself in a front of a girl begging to copy her homework just ten minutes ago.

Honestly, what the hell is this guy?

Anna frowned while Charlotte and Emil continued to get acquainted. She was suddenly reminded of Emil’s words from last night. The painful look on his face as he told her not to stray from her goals was seared in her subconscious. She was disturbed by how wretched he looked as if every word spoken out of his mouth was slowly tearing him apart. In the end, she couldn’t even find the words to respond to him.

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He gets all gloomy and solemn last night and then today he decides to embarrass me in front of the entire cafeteria!

The two opposite sides of this strange boy were difficult for her to reconcile. So much so that she struggled to figure out how she should act around him sometimes.

“Anna, are you okay? You suddenly turned quiet all of a sudden,” Charlotte asked. The maternal gaze in her eyes was pleasantly soothing.

“Nothing. Just tired.” She fought off a yawn as she decided to finish her pudding.

“You should sleep more then.” Charlotte patted the side of her shoulders. The bespectacled girl’s sweet, gentle voice caressed her ears. “Being an honor student must be a lot of pressure.”

“Hardly. It’s this guy that’s been the cause of all my troubles!” Anna narrowed her eyes, glaring at Emil.

“Charlotte, don’t drop your guard around him,” she warned, “Once he gets comfortable around you, say goodbye to your peaceful school life!”

Emil put up his hands and surrendered without protest.

“Is that so?” Charlotte’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “That sounds rather exciting. It’s only been a week, but I’m already growing tired of this dreary academic life.”

“Trust me,” Anna said as she covered Charlotte’s eyes, “It really isn’t.”

“But the spectacle from the two of you earlier was so delightfully amusing!” she giggled with a joyous clap.

Anna winced, feeling the side of her cheeks grow hot. Seeing her embarrassment drew a big smile across Charlotte’s face. The girl immediately pulled her into a gentle embrace. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Anna. It’s just so much fun to tease you!”

“…Whatever,” she grumbled, indulging in Charlotte’s soft arms. You’re just lucky that you give nice hugs.

“This might be a bit abrupt, but I wanted to ask,” Charlotte suddenly said as she let Anna free, “Are the two of you planning to participate in the Clash of Dawn?”

The Clash of Dawn. A prestigious event organized by the Academy annually to show off the next generation of talented Exalted. It was one of the few events held by the Academy where influential elites from across Ardair made an effort to attend.

“Of course,” Anna replied immediately. The Clash of Dawn was a rare opportunity to build her reputation and raise her demand amongst the elites. Having a good showing was paramount to her goals at the Academy. If possible, she wanted to make the finals and gain access to the Consortium.

Last year’s winner, Melody Lain, apparently made ample usage of the Consortium’s knowledge to make massive strides in her progression as an Exalted. If it weren’t for the emergence of the Ice Maiden, Liesel von Belle, it might have been Melody instead to seize the title of Prodigy.

“How about you, Charlotte?”

Charlotte gave a pained smile. “I must because of my family. My parents would become the laughingstock amongst the nobles if I abstained. Realistically though, I don’t have much of a chance at getting out of the preliminaries. I’ll count it as a win if I don’t embarrass himself.” She trailed off, turning towards Emil. “And how about you?”

“I plan to make the finals,” Emil suddenly declared.

Anna flinched, taken aback as the bold proclamation thundered in her ears. Inexplicably, she shuddered. Emil was strangely resolved. There was none of his usual frivolousness. His eyes were steeled. Just like how they were back in the sacred grove.

“Wow. You sound very confident.”

As he should be.

Anna grimaced as the battles within the sacred grove replayed in her head. She would be lying if she didn’t admit that Emil was a skilled combatant. His skillset and mentality were well-suited for the Clash of Dawn, which traditionally emphasized an Exalted’s combat ability.

She narrowed her eyes. Her arms naturally folded over her chest as her fingers tapped the side of her wrist. A gnawing itch scratched her subconscious. The atmosphere of the table grew tense.

Suddenly, she realized that there was a formidable opponent right in front of her—one that stood directly in the way of her goals.

She couldn’t help but feel threatened.

***

Anna wasted no time and rushed to the training field once classes ended. She glanced down at her hands. The skin on her palms were smooth and supple—absent of blemishes and calluses.

I’m lacking.

Her mind spiraled with cacophonous thoughts. She recounted her fight against the ogre, bitterly recalling her fatal hesitation when tasked with ending the Exalted’s life. She shuddered—reliving the visceral panic that gripped her mind when the Exalted suddenly re-transformed before her. Her body had given up. Her lack of resolve had killed her. If it weren’t for Emil’s quick response, she would not be standing here lamenting her weakness.

And then there was the mana evaluations yesterday. The results didn’t surprise her. Anna was not ignorant of her own shortcomings as an Exalted. But seeing her flaws laid out so meticulously was both eye-opening and humiliating.

Capacity: A

Sensitivity: C

Interference Range: C-

Processing: A

She squeezed her hands. Her nails dug into the folds of her palms. Her throat grew hot. Sparks of static snapped around her—the buzz accompanied by a high-pitch wail. She let out a visceral cry. Electricity exploded in a short radius in her proximity. The bolts were like spears as they blasted into the walls and ground, tossing rock and earth into the air.

The aftermath of her outburst was a ruined training ground, littered in cuts and deep gnashes. Residual sparks popped near her body. She hunched over, heaving, suffering the aftermaths of carelessly using her Gift.

When did I grow complacent?

Did scoring in the top tens amongst this year’s freshmen make her delusional? Did it convince her that she was somehow worth something? Anna wasn’t sure of her own feelings, but if she did let her placements get to her head—

I accomplished nothing so far.

The thought burned in her mind. It hurt realizing that her current status as an honors student was nothing more than a superficial title. It was meaningless beyond the confines of this Academy. She experienced that cruel indifference firsthand beside Emil. She loathed to admit it, but the boy who she thought was a foolish delinquent was far more capable than herself.

“Don’t get distracted. Focus on what you’re trying to achieve here, Anna.”

Emil’s words.

He’s right.

She glared at the floor.

Beyond a distance of five meters from her position, the training field was spotless, devoid of the ruined destruction in her immediate proximity. This had always been her weakness—her embarrassingly low Interference Range.

Her Gift, Volt, was indiscriminately powerful in melee. However, if her opponents could remain outside of her range, she could do nothing but flounder while awaiting her imminent defeat. That harsh reality was shoved in her face against Professor Callum. Against the late professor’s ranged barrages, Anna was helpless. Her terrible mana perception kept her ignorant of where attacks were coming from, and the limitations of her Gift prevented her from contributing to the fight.

The panicked gaze that Emil shot her when he demanded her to leave was firmly seared in her mind. The sound of him calling her a burden haunted her like a ghost. Never did she felt more powerless and humiliated in that moment.

Never again!

She refused to experience that despair of helplessness. She never wanted to be a liability again. With that solemn vow in place, Anna began to think of ways to improve her Gift for the Clash of Dawn. The tournament was scheduled in two weeks.

The first thing I have to address is my limited range.

In the past, she always relied on closing the distance between her opponents by enhancing her body’s speed with Volt. It wasn’t a bad approach since it emphasized the strength of her Gift in melee, but it left her predictable and one-dimensional. In a battle against competent Exalted, she needed more options.

I need a way to put up a fight at range. Something that could threatened her foes at a distance. Another weapon that could keep them occupied and give her more options.

Sparks danced in her hands. The faint pops of static flickered between her palms. The rough, distilling sensation tingled from the bits of repulsive force pushing back against her skin. The distinct feeling gave her idea—what if she used this force to fling something?

Perhaps, I could—

“I see you’re training hard.”

The voice knocked out of her contemplation. Anna rolled her eyes, slightly irate at being distracted. Still, she couldn’t ignore the bearer of those words.

Speak of the damn devil.

It was Emil. He had a wry smile on his face as he strolled up towards her.

“I came here as soon as classes ended. How in the world did you get here before me?”

“I ran,” Anna said curtly.

“Really? Were you that eager to train? You always seemed so disinterested in class,” Emil teased.

Anna’s hands suddenly itched. Her chest flared with heat.

“You’re a burden right now!”

Emil’s scalding words from the night at the temple blared in her ears. After hearing his proclamation at lunch, she was inexplicably compelled by this burning urge to crush him in the Clash of Dawn. I see. Something clicked inside her head.

“Anna? You okay? You’re kind of scaring me right now.”

“Yeah. I was just thinking about what you said to me last night.” She smiled, suddenly overcome with a strange elation.

I finally understand what it is that I feel towards him.

“You were completely right about needing to focus,” she said, her mind brimmed with clarity.

I want him to be strong.

“I came to this Academy to make a name for myself. To show the elites that I’m an Exalted that can’t be ignored. And once I’ve gained notoriety, I planned to use that as leverage to demand what’s rightfully mine.”

I want him to be recognized for the skills and talents that he possesses.

“The Clash of Dawn will be my first stepping stone towards that goal.”

And then, once he’s at the apex of his popularity—

“Here’s some information for you. There are four amongst the honors student most likely considered to the win the Clash of Dawn. Liesel von Belle, Rory von Astrea, Niall von Ulster, and lastly—” She pointed at herself, sparks dancing in her vicinity. “—me, Anna Seibert.”

—I’ll crush him and take his spotlight.

“You want to make the finals? You’re likely have to go through them. Go through me.”

I’ll prove that you were wrong.

“Let’s settle that fight of ours on the opening day. The one that never had a conclusion,” she declared as she stomped the ground, unleashing a barrage of lightning across the training field.

I’ll make you take back those humiliating words.

“Face me in the Clash of Dawn! And don’t you dare lose before then!”

My annoying rival, Emil.