"It's not like I was actually planning to use it," Ravina told herself as she lay on the floor. Blackened dust was piled around her, remnants of the materials she had painstakingly gathered from the dungeon. She had used every last drop of mana stored inside them in her experiment, only to produce no results. It was here that she decided to ‘admit’ she just wanted to practice her magic, a simple bandage to cover up the failure before her.

She pulled the open book beside her closer, re-reading its contents, and only raising the internal conflict within her. She read the ‘simple’ instruction. With a sudden burst of speed, she quickly rose to her feet and tossed the useless tome with such force that it broke the cross wood beam as it zipped out of the room. Ravina didn't notice as her eyes were closed, and she was crying out, "Simple my ass!"

After a few puffs of air, she calmed down a bit. Rubbing her head with both hands, she allowed the frustration to wash off of her. With a deep breath, she regained herself. "Right," she said, looking around. "Now, where did I toss..." She froze when she saw the broken window. "Ah... shit." It wouldn't have been a problem if she was at Crock Beak Manor, but she wanted the library that the academy had and thus decided to rent a study room. A study room she just damaged.

"Ahhh, fine," she said, rubbing her head. "At the very least, I could use a couple of minutes away from this stuffy-ass room. Ah - heh, and the window's open now." With that in mind, she left to retrieve the book.

It was a quick walk down to the first floor of the library. There, the librarian was seated at the front desk, a soft-faced woman with more sex appeal than anyone on Red Street, especially when wrapped in the tight suit she no doubt bought when she first started working here.

"Done already?" she asked with a smile.

Ravina smiled shyly. "Well, I need a bit of a break," she decided to say. "I'll be back soon."

"Of course, I'll hold the room for you, love. Take your time."

"Thanks, Lily."

The woman simply smiled at her as she went back to her book, her pink eyes reading the words through thin silver frames.

"Christ, she’d do well on OnlyFans," Ravina noted as she left the library.

It was outside the library however where her mood wouldn’t improve, instead it would take a sharp nose dive; crashing into the ground completely. Holding the book she had thrown out the window, with a big bump on his head, was the world's most annoying man. "Earl Hayes," she voiced his name, barely keeping her contempt at bay. He was the only obstacle she had in classes, the only one who could take all her efforts and make them fruitless, even gaining half a point just to properly screw with her. She could only plaster a fake smile on her face as the top student turned to face her.

Stolen story; please report.

Objectively speaking, he was a handsome young man with silky black hair that framed his face perfectly, giving him an air of effortless elegance. His eyes were a striking blue, with an alluring tilt that seemed to draw people in with their mysterious depth. His sharply defined features, from high cheekbones to a strong jawline, completed his sculpted visage.

He also kept up his figure, his athletic build evident beneath the relaxed yet stylish clothes he wore, enhancing his overall appeal. His fashion sense was impeccable, always managing to look both casual and sophisticated. He was a model specimen of a young man that any magazine would kill for, but gods above, his smug, smiling face was annoying as all hell to look at.

He held up the book in his hand and offered her a question. "This yours?" Damn! Now she was going to have to apologize to him. You could barely even see that bump on his head. Smug bastard.

Ravina’s smile stretched as she clenched her teeth. "Yes, it... seemed to slip away when I was in the middle of an experiment." The bump wasn't that bad; she could have done better. There was always next time.

Earl looked up at the broken window. "So it would seem," he commented. He turned his attention back to the book. "Trying to synthesize mana?" He was able to understand the content even after just reading the title. "It's a lot of effort, but I don’t see how you expect to present your final on such a common topic."

Ahhh... killing him would be so easy. No one would possibly miss this prick. "It's just the start. I plan to use the thread for- ahem, something."

"Oh, may I ask what you have in mind?"

"No, I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Besides, I would hate for you to get a hint about what you want to do."

"Oh, don’t worry about that. I already have an idea of where I’m going."

Ravina blinked. "You do?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Yes, however, I would hate for you to get a hint about what you want to do." See, that right there was exactly why he was nothing more than a smug prick. Ravina held out a hand, the muscles in her cheeks starting to hurt.

"Well, if you please."

However, he held up the book, resting it only just from his lips. "Before I do… I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind me taking a moment of your time."

"Oh, and to what do I owe the great Earl Hayes giving little old me his time." She hated how he smiled when she said his name. She put all of her resentment into its inflection, but it only seemed to amuse him.

"It’s about the final, and a proposition." With that, he turned around and started walking away, holding the book over his shoulder. He called out, "I know a good café where we could have a proper talk."

You know, Ravina thought, murder isn’t illegal in this world...