Arnos walked into the campus and moved toward the main gate of the dorm. It was a simple, large, and sleek black-colored gate. Pushing it open, Arnos walked inside.

There was a black marble rectangular table, two large white sofas, and two small white sofas arranged to make a seating area in the hall. And Arnos noticed Seras sitting beside another girl, presumably a senior. The next thing he noticed was Marcus and Emily standing in front of them rather than taking a seat on the empty sofa.

Emily shows respect to people?, he wondered, observing the scene. Not paying much mind to it, Arnos walked toward Marcus and stood beside him.

Marcus noticed Arnos and looked at him before turning his attention back to the seniors.

Seras was the first to speak.

"Y'all can take your seat," she said, looking at all the first-years standing in front of her. "And hey, you don't have to show this level of respect anymore, 'kay?" she added with a smile.

Emily, Marcus, and Arnos nodded and took their seats on the sofa in front of them and looked at the second-years.

"How about you start by introducing yourselves," Alisa, one of their dorm's second-year student, said, looking at the group.

Alisa glanced at Emily, signaling her to begin her introduction.

"I am Emily Leville from the royal family," Emily said casually.

"That's not the type of introduction mages should give to their seniors. You should also describe your affinity and perhaps your mana level too."

"Yes, Miss," Emily said with a nod. "I am Emily Leville from the royal family. I have an affinity for light magic, and my mana level is S rank.”

"You have an S-rank mana level? Considering your background, I take it you might have started low-magnitude training from childhood?" Alisa asked looking at Emily with slight curiosity.

"Yes, Miss, I did train as a kid."

"That's really impressive. S rank as a starting point," Seras said, looking at Emily. She then turned to Alisa and added, "I might say it's the first in Ares.”

"It is," Alisa confirmed.

Emily had a small smile as she heard all of this.

Obviously, I would be special. I am the princess, after all, she thought with a sense of pride and confidence.

Alisa turned to look at Marcus next.

"And what about you?" she asked in a neutral tone.

"I am Marcus Leville from the Leville household. I have an affinity for fire, my mana level is A rank, and I also possess a special ability, which I call Life-steal."

Alisa and Seras were both intrigued by the mention of a special ability. Seras, asked a question almost immediately.

"What does it do?"

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Arnos was also curious about it and looked at Marcus attentively.

"I am able to absorb half of any monster's mana if they are incapacitated or killed by me while my special ability is active," Marcud responded.

"I see. So, is there any time limit for the ability?" Alisa asked, processing the information she received.

"Yes, I can only activate it for 10 minutes right now. Sometimes the time varies a bit depending on my mental condition, so I think I could still try and increase it a bit."

Alisa nodded in agreement.

"That should be possible. Special abilities can always be developed and strengthened over time. The condition is that you must train hard with it."

Alisa turned her attention to Arnos.

"And you, Arnos, aren't you? Give us your introduction," she said.

"I am Arnos from the city of Alcia. I have dual affinity for fire and dark magic. My mana level is A rank. I also have a special ability. I haven't named it anything yet, though, Ma'am," Arnos said, looking at Alisa.

"Dark affinity, huh," Alisa spoke with a bit of excitement in her voice.

"Well, that's good, Arnos. And your special ability—what does it do?"

"My special ability, It basically enhances my physical prowess with fire. I can potentially cover my body or part of it with fire, and it drastically boosts my physical capabilities," Arnos explained.

"Does that fire hurt you?" Seras asked, looking at Arnos with a serious expression.

Emily, Marcus, and Alisa's looked at Arnos.

"It does. The pain decreases after the first few minutes, though, and it heals automatically when the ability is off," Arnos replied.

"So it's like real fire—the pain is worse when you start to burn, but after some time, it's less because your pain receptors are destroyed?" Seras asked.

"Yes, Miss. That’s supposed to be the case. I still try to limit it to short bursts instead of continuous use, though," Arnos responded.

"And you possess both dark and fire affinities. Have you trained in either of them?" Alisa asked, her expression curious and slightly excited.

"No, Ma’am. I’ve just learned a few basic textbook spells from some adventurers in my town," Arnos admitted.

Seras looked at Alisa's excited expression.

She wants to teach him, doesn't she? she thought, as a small smile crept onto her face.

Marcus whispered softly to Arnos.

"Well, that dual affinity makes you rarer, you know. He teased him and especially the dark affinity—it's as rare as light."

"Your special ability is definitely cooler than anything I have," Arnos said with a serious look.

"It is, doubt that" Marcus replied with a small chuckle.

It is trust me, Arnos responded with a serious tone.

How does this commoner possess such qualities? It's strange. Were his parents adventurers? Emily thought to herself. No, if he were the son of high-ranking adventurers, they would probably have been given a barony. And he can’t be the son of ordinary adventurers—he’s far too gifted for that.

Is it not inherited? Unlikely. Just what’s with him? she wondered, narrowing her eyes and assessing Arnos.

A-rank mana was already surprising enough for her to process. There was another thing, though, that stirred Emily's curiosity.

Why isn’t he telling his full name? Emily slowly whispered in Marcus's ear.

"He is an orphan," Marcus responded in a low whisper.

Emily was shocked by this revelation. She had an idea that Arnos was a commoner, yes, but an orphan? She had no idea. Marcus’s earlier words about how she shouldn’t be the one teaching others etiquette stung her.

I was extremely rude to him, she thought, for the first time that day finally accepting her mistake.

Seras cleared her throat.

"Well, now that you all have introduced yourselves, it's my turn to give you some basic info about myself and others."

"Wait, who appoint—" Alisa was about to interrupt but stopped, knowing her comment might be harmful to Seras in front of the first-years.

"Go on, then; I don’t like intros anyway," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

Seras turned to look at the first-years.

"I am Seras Victoria," she said. "I am proficient with dark affinity spells, though I possess the ability to use light affinity too. My hobbies are basically eating—"

Alisa leaned toward Seras and whispered in her ear,

"That’s not necessary for them to know," she said in a low voice.

Seras, slightly embarrassed, cleared her throat again and looked at Arnos and the others.

"This is Alisa Valteri, and hey! A friendly warning, don’t disturb her sleep."

Alisa gave Seras a sideways glance, narrowing her black eyes like a hunter eyeing its prey.

She's so dead, she thought to herself, glaring at Seras.

Emily sighed. "Well, disturbing someone’s sleep is always a bad thing to do, I would say," she commented in a low voice.