I’d never been to a party before. I’d heard about them. Sort of seen them through the windows of houses. I always thought they looked like fun, with the dancing and dressing up. However, I didn’t exactly grow up in a social circle that would have allowed for it and hoped this party would live up to my limited expectations.

I picked at some lint as I looked myself over in the mirror. I was clean, my hair was combed and slicked back, giving me the formal look required of my cover. I had to be precise with my outfit. It was a dark grey military outfit that Rychanian youths were expected to wear to formal events. There were no insignia of rank or medals of valour on a youth uniform. I wore dark grey slacks tucked into knee-high black leather boots. A white shirt covered by a dark grey jacket that buttoned up to my neck. It was also a little tighter then when I’d been fitted for the suit months prior. I hadn’t realised how much muscle I’d put on, or how much rounder I was since I stopped caring about how much I ate after learning about badgers. I hadn’t had cause to try Torpor yet but I would be ready if it ever became necessary.

I checked myself in the mirror one more time, straightened my jacket, gave myself a nod, and exited my apartment, heading up to Al’s apartment.

Al’s apartment looked completely different from the last time I’d been there. The furniture had been pushed against the walls to make more room. The food and cake were set up on the countertops as well as on a few end tables that had also been pushed to the walls. The string quartet—still giving last minute tunings before the party— was a pleasant surprise and sat tucked neatly in the corner of the room beside an elaborately decorated piano that had seemingly just been delivered for the party.

“Burion!” Robin shouted, catching my attention. She and her brother were sitting on one of the couches. The tall, muscular beargirl surprised me with the bright pink dress she wore. It . . . was odd to see her that way when I’d only ever seen her dressed more . . . defender-y. “You’re here. Thank goodness, I was starting to worry I was going to be the only one to show up.”

Rober cleared his throat, reminding his sister that he was also there, but she ignored him. “This party was such a good idea. We have been working so hard lately and taking so many extra classes. Who ever heard of getting a skill for a lair then being required to get it to Intermediate rank? And all in less than a month and a half.”

The Intermediate Skill she was referring to was Tracking. The common skill was apparently essential for the next lair. The normal version of the lair was to hunt a beast, or rather, tracking a beast and killing it. One beast per day for a month. Who knew what the Heroic version of the lair would be like? More beasts? Most likely. Deadlier beasts? Definitely. Harder to track beasts? Most likely and hence the Intermediate requirement. I just hoped our training prepared us well enough to get through it alive.

“But we succeeded,” I countered with a smile for my friend. “I am personally very pleased to have achieved such.”

“Oh please, that skill was easy for you. Your unfair Synesthesia skill makes tracking a breeze for you . . . literally a breeze,” Robin complained. She was right. My Magical Synesthesia made tracking easy. Once I had the scent, I could follow it almost unerringly.

Rober rolled his eyes at his sister. The larger bearman was quiet, though I didn’t think it was by choice. I think his sister just talked enough for the both of them.

“We all have our advantages. I would not be much of a scout if I could not track, now would I?” I offered as an explanation for learning the skill so easily.

Robin laughed, “I don’t know, Burion, you seem to learn everything so much faster than the rest of us, well, except for Al. Other than being the hero, I have no logical explanation for how he learns as fast as he does. Then again, are you sure you’re not the hero?”

I barked a laugh. “If only. I just work harder. When we leave class, I go home and continue my training. I wake up early and train some more. Then I go to the academy and squeeze every last drop of training out of it that I can.” I grew quickly. I could only imagine how quickly I would be growing if I had taken the Unsung Hero Job.

“Bah,” Robin scoffed. “I like Al, don’t get me wrong. But he’s not very . . . uh . . . heroic.”

I laughed again, more genuinely this time. “Don’t I know it.”

Rober chuckled and nodded his agreement.

Any further conversation was forestalled when Alphonse emerged from his bathroom at the back of the apartment. He was dressed as nicely as I expected though with a bit more flair thanks to a navy vest on silk ascot cravat. He looked around and frowned. “Esteban’s not back yet?”

I shook my head, “He said something about going to pick up some people.”

Al nodded and turned to the door and grinned. He crossed the short distance and opened the door letting Plvoer enter. The Eagleman was dressed down compared to the rest of us. Nice trousers and shirt, but that was it. And he had his sleeves rolled up. It was very informal.

“Come on in,” Al said.

“Did you hear me coming?” Plvoer asked.

Al grinned, “I caught your scent coming up the stairs.”

Plvoer nodded. “Your Scent Tracking is getting quite powerful.” More proof of Al’s growth.

Sam and Han showed up next, one then the other. Then Yui appeared, dressed in a flowing silk kimono that highlighted her pale skin and black hair. She practically floated into the room, every eye glued to her. But she only had eyes for Alphonse.

That was about the time the music started. It was gentle but enjoyable and it didn’t prevent anyone from being heard. Alphonse added a log to the fireplace that warmed the room, complaining, "It's so darn cold up in these mountains. I don't know how anyone can stand living up here."

Robin and Rober exchanged a glance and laughed. "Oh, do you remember the winters when we were children?" Robin asked her brother.

"The winters in the mountains were always so cold," Rober began, "but that never stopped us from running around in the snow."

Robin added, "It was so much fun! Until one day I fell through a hole in the ground and ended up stuck in the middle of an icy cave!"

Rober smiled wryly. "I had to rescue her, and after that we decided to start learning how to rock climb so that neither of us would ever run into such trouble again. Little did we know it would become our first Uncommon skill!"

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

The room exploded with laughter as everyone shared their own unique tales, each more embarrassing and exciting than the last.

"I remember when I first discovered my affinity for Earth magic," Han said, his voice wistful. "It was when we were travelling in the Zhou-Qui Kingdom. We had gone to visit relatives and my family decided to take a walk through the woods on the outskirts of town. My mother was pointing out plants and animals and I noticed this one particular tree beckoning me with its branches. So I touched it."

He paused, his brow creasing as the memory returned. "Then suddenly this terrible growl came from behind it and a pixiau, a forestbeast, leapt out! I was so scared, I hadn't known it was only protecting its nest. But at that moment, I felt a connection to the power of Earth like nothing I'd ever experienced before."

He paused again, his eyes unfocused as if he were looking into the past. "I threw out my hands and pebbles rose into the air and shot out at the pixiau, who yelped and ran away. My parents were afraid of what I had done, but I couldn't help myself from exploring this new form of power. I manipulated the earth around me like clay in my hands and eventually I could summon rocks out of thin air or create walls of solid earth. Then Mancer found me and offered me a place to learn more about my skills, which is how I came here."

The room was silent, lost in the details of Han's story. Then Sam cleared his throat and began to speak, "My family were all surprised when I first used fire magic too. Usually only members of the Sarong family can do that and I'm from a branch family. My cousin Seth was so jealous at first until he realised he could do it too—and better than me!" He smiled ruefully before continuing. "Of course Seth was always going to be sent to Mancer to study, but it was a surprise to both families when my cousin, Seth's father, also put up the coin to send me. He said it would be a good investment."

The comment dampened the mood, likely reminding everyone of how much their parents, sponsors, or even entire villages had spent to send them to the academy.

Then Yui spoke, "You all seem too serious for a party. Perhaps I can do something to liven things back up?"

Yui spoke to the musicians quietly and then stepped into the middle of the room, her hands clasped together in a prayer-like pose. She gave Alphonse a sultry look before she closed her eyes and began to move with the rhythm of the music, swaying her body to and fro. As she moved, she opened her mouth and a beautiful voice emerged. Her song was one of sorrow mixed with longing, a sorrowful love song from her homeland of Sunappan.

The notes floated around us like mist, bringing a gentle calmness to all who heard it. The melody combined perfectly with Yui's graceful movements, creating an atmosphere of serenity that seemed to penetrate deep into our souls.

We had no idea how long she sang for; time seemed to stand still while we watched in awe as Yui's ethereal voice brought forth a healing energy within us all. When at last she finished singing and opened her eyes again, there was only silence followed by rapturous applause, which seemed like it would never end.

Esteban showed up almost an hour later and with a dozen people in tow, mostly girls. There was also a bearman I recognized from Cooking, though I didn’t know his name. As I was looking over the group, I realised Esteban was up to something. I couldn’t help but notice the group make up was a compliment to our lair team’s make up. It was made even more obvious when I saw Bella Brightwood, the badgergirl from my Charisma class.

I hid a smile as Esteban made the rounds, introducing the girls and guys around. A brightly coloured birdgirl was introduced to Plvoer who was quick to strike up a conversation. The bearman from cooking was introduced to Robin and a beargirl I didn’t know was introduced to Rober.

Eventually, the dogboy got to me. “Burion Belov, uh, this is Bella, Bella Brightwood. She’s in my Sociolinguistics class.”

I shared a smirk with Bella. “Comrade Esteban, are you trying to set me up?”

“Who? Me? Set you up? Perish the thought,” Esteban denied with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes at the short and portly dogboy then turned my attention to Bella. “Good to see you outside of class, Bella.”

“Good to see you as well, Burion,” Bella replied, a demure smile on her lips. “Esteban did not tell me his friend was the infamous Burion Belov.”

I frowned at that, “I do not know about being infamous.”

“Not from the way Esteban tells it,” Bella teased.

I raised an eyebrow and turned my gaze on Esteban.

The dogboy at least had the grace to blush, “So, you two already know each other?”

“We have Charisma together,” Bella answered.

Esteban grinned as he teased, “Oh, do you now? Having Charisma is a good thing. Chemistry is even better, you know?”

Of course the little reprobate would go there, “Class, Esteban, class.”

Esteban’s grin grew wider and he stood a little taller, “Why thank you, I do aim to be classy. But I’ll leave you two here to work on your chemistry. I have more people to introduce around. Have fun you two. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.” Then the dogman wandered off to another group.

I sighed. “Sorry about Esteban. He means well . . . I think,” I joked, getting a giggle from Bella.

“He does,” Bella agreed. “Sadly, I am already betrothed. I am afraid there can be nothing between us.”

A dull ache spread through my chest as I heard her answer. I had sensed something between us, had caught the admiring glance, but it had all been a figment of my imagination. We were never meant to be. My mission was a priority and I couldn't allow myself to get involved with anyone—especially not her, not while my identity was a fabrication. I suppressed my sorrow and feigned nonchalance. "Really? You never mentioned it during class."

Bella nodded. “It’s true. But we don’t really talk during class except to work on the exercises Professor Gurdy gives us.”

That was also true. Professor Gurdy kept us very focused on our tasks for the time we were there. She also had no tolerance for any table talk during class, especially if someone was performing. We were there to work, and hit on the teacher, not each other. A fact Gurdy adhered to even harder since my entire Lair Team was forced into the class.

“Well then, he must be a very lucky badgerboy,” I said, trying to move her further into the friend only category.

“Matthew is very lucky,” Bella said lightly. “I am looking forward to meeting him.”

That confused me. “You are looking forward to meeting him? You mean, you haven’t met him yet? ”

Bella shook her head. “Arranged marriages are often that way. For now, we exchange letters. It is a way to get to know each other. Also, it is all either of our families will allow. ”

“Is he studying business like you are?” I asked.

Bella shook her head. “No, he left Mancer at the end of last term, that is the only way I was allowed to attend this year. He is part of a very powerful mercenary company, like you, he fights for a living.”

I nodded along.

“Our marriage will bring his mercenary company into the holdings of the Brightwood Group. I am expected to eventually manage the mercenary company, hence studying business,” Bella continued to explain, pausing to study me. “Do you have plans when you finish at the Academy?”

I laughed. “Trying to recruit me already?” I asked, shaking my head. “Unfortunately, I am expected to join my father’s mercenary company.”

Bella looked disappointed and a little . . . was she sad? “I see. So we both have obligations to our families. As expected of dutiful kin, we all do what we must for our families. Will you excuse me? I need to freshen up.”

I nodded. I felt sad to watch her walk away. I wondered if I had done something wrong..

I wandered through the party, meeting most of the kin that Esteban had brought. I tried to find Bella again but it felt like she was purposely avoiding me.

I found myself eating but not really enjoying the food Esteban and I prepared when Al stopped the music and started to speak. “Thank you everyone for coming. Tomorrow is a big day for my lair team and we appreciate the chance to unwind a little. So, thank you. With that out of the way, I think it’s time to dance.” His voice lingered in the silence until he signalled to the band to start playing once more, this time louder and faster than before.

Just as the music was filling the room, there was an abrupt crash as the door was kicked in and several bodies came bursting through the windows. Naturally, that's when everything went to hell.