I yawn as I sit up from the paperwork I’d been filling out. There is a surprising amount of bureaucracy involved with getting a hold of monster blood and bones. Then there is the paperwork I have to fill out with the school to use those materials in my class. I’m glad that I’ve gotten a head start on all of this.

The bell ringing seven times reminds me that dinner is over and that I have a meeting to get to. I take my dishes right outside of my office door, assuming that a servant will likely pick them up soon. I’d decided to eat dinner in my office so that I could have some peace and quiet while I ate, but that decision might make me a little late to the meeting of the other professors.

I rub my back as I walk to the instructor’s hall. My body isn’t used to sitting still for so long, and I’ll likely have to up my morning workout routine.

Groups of students greet me politely as I pass them by. Classes are over for the day, so the students are enjoying their free time with their peers. No doubt more than half the students will have hangovers tomorrow; you can’t expect to keep noble children away from alcohol.

I catch a glance of Luna and Levi in a group of other commoners that had been accepted to the academy. I smile at the energetic way they are interacting with their friends. It can’t be easy being surrounded by teenagers that literally rule over their family’s lives.

I pause at the large wooden doors that mark the entrance to the instructor’s hall. It took me a surprisingly long time to reach here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if my office had been placed so far away on purpose.

Putting on my best smile, I open the doors to find a surprisingly cheerful atmosphere. Instructors from all different walks of life talk with each other animatedly over drinks or desserts.

The instructors are seated or standing around an assortment of comfy looking chairs, while servants pass through them with platters full of drinks. Most of the instructors are human, but a few stand out as being from other races. Dwarves, elves, humans with demonic ancestry, I even see a member of the elusive fae.

Most of the instructors in the room turn to look at me as I enter the room, the room growing surprisingly silent.

I nod my head to the room, doing my best to cover up how uncomfortable I am with their gazes. Why do I have so much of their attention? I almost sniff myself to make sure I don’t stink.

“How nice of you to join us, Instructor Devani.” Thankfully, the dean, Silah Silverman, breaks the silence.

“It is my pleasure to be here Mrs. Silverman.” I respond, doing my best to remember proper etiquette. “I’m sor-” I catch myself, remembering to speak in the noble dialect, “I apologize for being late to the meeting. I was under the impression that I had more time.”

“You weren’t late.” Mrs. Silverman says, adding to my confusion. “We were just discussing your new position here actually.”

“I see…” I say carefully, recognizing the line separating the other instructors from me. “Nothing too terrible I hope.”

“Of course not.” Mrs. Silverman smiles, the emotion not reaching her eyes. “We were just thinking that it may be a good idea to prove your skill to us… and the students of course.”

“Of course.” I stop my hand from unconsciously reaching towards my dagger. They aren’t actually threatening me, probably.

“In fact, it might be a good opportunity to show the skills of our new fire attuned instructor as well.” She motions towards the young woman with demonic ancestry, she looks slightly uncomfortable from the attention. “Have you had the pleasure of meeting Tira Deensa?”

“I’m afraid not.” I say, studying the woman. Flaming red hair frames a pretty face, her lips are in a slight pout and the red eyes that give away her demonic ancestry watch me carefully, I assume that any horns she might have are purposefully hidden by her hair. She wears the robes of an instructor, but hers have red flames drawn into them all along their length. Her last name implies some relation with my student, Alera, and she carries herself like a noble.

I turn my gaze back to Silah Silverman. What in the world is she planning? Fighting a fire attuned mage with demonic ancestry would be suicide for most mages.

Mrs. Silverman answers one of my unspoken questions. “I don’t expect you to win, but it would be a good opportunity for you to show off some of your runework against a top mage.”

A test then. I should have expected that she would want to test my ability. Still, the reaction from the other Instructors is strange. What were they talking about before I arrived?

I realize that I haven’t said anything and quickly respond in polite noble talk, “that sounds acceptable. I assume that you want the demonstration as soon as possible?”

“That would be preferred.” Mrs. Silverman smiles, and I just know that there is something that I am missing. “An hour before lunch tomorrow, if you are free Instructor Devani.”

I nod in the affirmative.

After that, the atmosphere in the room shifts as the instructors discuss different things like lesson plans, problem students and stand-out students. I mainly stay quiet as the other instructors don’t make too large of an effort to include me.

My mind is focused on the main problem ahead of me. If I win the match tomorrow, I might reveal a little too much of my hand, and it is never a good idea to win a fight against nobility.

If I lose the match, as the dean expects me to, I’ll be playing into whatever the dean is planning. I don’t like people plotting with my life.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Tira Deensa does a splendid job of avoiding me during the entire meeting, I almost believe that she isn’t trying to avoid me, she just happens to be busy, really far away from me.

After the meeting ends, I can’t put my usual smile on my face.

I walk alone through the mostly empty halls of the academy, servants starting to light the lanterns as darkness approaches.

The guards at the gate of the Academy nod to me as I pass by, opening a small door in the larger gate for me. Students below a certain age aren’t allowed off of academy grounds after a certain hour, so the guards are there to make sure no troublemakers get out and to prevent any unwanted visitors.

The city surrounding the academy is full of life. The locals who live in the city design their businesses to cater to the nobles and servants that travel to the academy at the start of the school year, which means that the streets are well lit, and there are all sort of after dark activities for the adventurous.

I pause for a moment to enjoy a light attuned mage who is putting on a colorful show for the people in the square, before quickly moving on.

Vendors call out to me, hawking their wares, citing the rare and unusual qualities of their products. I ignore them in favor of getting to my room faster.

The academy does offer rooms for instructors, but I feel more comfortable in the more common rooms of the city. Growing up on the streets, I never quite got used to the beds of the rich.

Turning down an alleyway, I leave the main street behind and things grow quieter. Common folk pass me by, minding their own business. A pair of passing guardsmen nod to me, no doubt on their usual route through the streets.

Out of all of the cities I’ve been in, Elenon, the Academy’s city, is definitely one of the best managed I’ve seen. The slums were clean, guardsmen patrolled the entire city, pickpockets were rare, and gangs mostly remained quiet.

Eventually I reach a small inn known as The Witch’s Broom. Laughter hits me as I open the door to a group of gamblers joking and drinking.

The Witch’s Broom doesn’t have a lot of customers, but it makes up for it with the quality of those who frequent it.

The wife of the innkeeper greets me as I walk towards the stairs leading to the private rooms. She is a dark skinned, petite woman who moves with a grace befitting a dancer. I suspect that she has more than a few knives hidden on her person and that she knows how to use them.

“Arin! A letter arrived from your lady friend, I told the messenger that I’d give it to you personally.” She reaches into a fold in her dress, pulling out the letter sealed with Sariah’s personal symbol.

“You know it’s not like that Mara.” I say, smiling as she hands me the letter. I resist the urge to open it immediately, instead putting it into a pocket of my robes. “We’re just old friends.”

“Old friends that send love letters to each other three times a week.” Mara teases with a smile.

“They’re not- Fine. Think what you want.” I sigh in defeat, unable to help the smile that spreads on my face from her teasing.

“Arin!” One of the gamblers calls out from the table. “You should share some of that nice instructor’s salary with the rest of us!”

I look at the group of gamblers, before shaking my head. “You wish! Spirit knows that half of you are cheating anyways.”

“We don’t cheat!” The gambler protests.

“At least not in a way you can prove!” Another one says, and the whole group breaks into laughter.

I shake my head at their antics before turning back to Mara. “Thanks for delivering the letter Mara. Has there been any news about the materials I asked for?”

“Quality products take time. I’m sure my husband will have everything you need in a few weeks.” Mara says, moving behind the bar to pour me a drink.

I accept the drink happily, discussing a few more inconsequential things with Mara, before moving back up to my room.

It’s a small room with space for a single bed and a desk covered in materials and enchanting notes. I have a larger house in a village a day or so away from here, which a friend is watching, but I hadn’t felt the need to purchase a house here in the city. The room does me well enough.

Sitting on my bed, I pull the letter out of my robes and open it.

Dear Arin, I hope this letter finds you well.

I was going to make this a surprise, but it looks like I’ll be going to Elenon city to deal with some family matters. While I’m there, I hope to hear everything about how your position as instructor is going. No doubt you’ve already given away some of your rings to your students, you always did give away your enchantments too easily.

I hope that the Dean isn’t giving you too hard of a time, she can be a real bother when she wishes to be.

I’m looking forward to seeing you.

-Sariah

PS: You were right about the news to the north. The hunters know.

I frown at the last words. Likely the whole letter was sent just to get that message to me. Something hadn’t felt right about the attack from the dragon, but I’m not in a position to investigate something like that anymore, so I’d asked Sariah to look into a hint my superiors in the Hunter’s association had given me. Someone in the Hunter’s association had likely stolen the dragon’s egg under orders from one of the five kingdoms.

The five kingdoms have been at peace for twenty years, but it looks like that might be changing soon.

But that’s not my problem right now and there is nothing I can do about it.

I walk over to my desk, grab an unenchanted bronze ring from a pile that had been sitting in the corner of the desk, and pull out a small quill.

Dipping the quill into a small vial of blood, I use my mana to inscribe the blood into the bronze ring. Enchanting is all about preparation, and since I’ll be facing a fire attuned mage in the morning, it’s best if I have some enchantments prepared beforehand.

The rest of my night is spent enchanting the ring to attract any fire that comes close to hitting me to it, the ring should then absorb that energy, converting it back to fire attuned mana for me to use. Useful, considering that my mana is completely unattuned. Of course it only works up to a certain threshold. To create anything truly powerful would require a specific monster’s blood, which I don’t have on hand. Considering the instructor’s demonic ancestry, she probably has enough firepower to easily overload my enchantment, but I don’t think it will come to that.

It’s just a showmatch, right?

I pause at that thought, studying the ring for a moment.

With a sigh, I pull out a mortar and pestle, and crush some bones into a powder. Then I apply that powder to my enchantments.

There is a reason that so many enchanters resort to... darker methods for their materials. Life essence is the best enchanting material after all.

I’m not sure what time it is by the time I finish my enchantments, and I suspect that I don’t want to know. With lumbering steps, I collapse into my bed and fall asleep, my dreams thankfully staying peaceful.