Five months had passed since then. I kept looking around, but I found neither the first prince nor Claire in this academy. I had already strolled around every classroom in our grade, but they could not be found. I tilted my head at these bizarre events. The second prince was here, but there was no sign of the first prince? The first prince was supposed to be only one year older than us. I could understand Claire's absence, as she was the exchanged princess from another kingdom and was likely studying a middle section curriculum in her homeland.

By the way, there was no elementary section in the Royal Academy. The elementary curriculum consisted only of reading, writing, and basic math (addition, multiplication, and division). The school relied on home tutors or parents for that.

"Eli! Look! The second prince is coming!" Nana, my fellow dark mage, was fangirling over the prince. Safira smiled at my disinterest.

"Even though you look like you're not interested, deep down, you do find him handsome, right?" Safira said.

"Well, he certainly has a pretty face. But when there are loads of girls flocking to him, if he somehow took interest in you, those girls would make your life hell, wouldn't they? I don't want to start unnecessary fights," I muttered while glancing at the second prince.

"Oh, Safira, he's the second prince, right? Where is the first prince?"

"Oh, you didn't know? He's studying overseas. He'll join us in two years in the high school section. There will be chaos when that time comes," Safira said. Unlike Nana, who was simply a fan, Safira was a noble and thus knew the intricacies of politics in the capital.

"Argh!" I shuddered at the thought. In the webnovel, there would be a power struggle between them, and it often ended with one of them ordering the other's execution. Just the idea of either a coup d'état or fratricide haunted me.

"Well, I know your pain. The first prince is supposed to be the crown prince. But seeing the popularity of the second prince... Well, I hope they will be kind to each other when they meet. I heard they were good friends during their childhood," Safira said.

"Class, gather around!" The teacher entered and instructed us to step outside.

"Alright! You are the pinnacle of all mages, the top 1% of all mages. You are the backbone of this country. It would be a shame if you were to be killed by monsters. So, here I will teach you about magic duels. Miss Elidranthia, I've heard great things about you. It's rare even for an expert mage to survive an ambush by armed men. Would you please be my partner for this magic duel lesson?" Mister Albert asked. I nodded and walked to the front. After all, this is just a lesson.

"Alright, class, let's begin with the basics of magic duels. In a magic duel, you aim your spells at your opponent," Albert explained. He conjured an ice ball and a fireball and launched them toward me. I was impressed to see that he was a double-element mage. He was similar to Alex. However, he was currently attacking me, so I had to focus on my defense. I quickly extended a magic tentacle and parried the spells. My dark bindings clashed with his magical projectiles, causing both magic to dissipate.

"Hmm, as expected of a level 8 mage. You summoned your dark bindings very quickly. Alright, as you can see, the binding technique, or as some would call it, tentacle magic, has its uses. Though they can only extend a few meters, they can also be used like this."

"But tentacle magic takes a long time to cast!" one student complained.

"Yes, Eli is special. Usually, you just read the mana flow and dodge or cast a faster spell to deflect an incoming attack. Even a high-level spell like a firebomb can be deflected with a lower-level fireball. Eli, try casting a dark ball or dark lance at me!"

I followed his instructions, forming multiple dark balls without chanting and launching them at him. He responded by casting multiple fireballs and expertly colliding them with my dark projectiles. Then, he intentionally missed a dark ball, and when it approached from the front, he dodged it by rolling to the ground.

"That's the basics. Miss Elidranthia, you may find this class too basic for your skill level. There's nothing more I can teach you here. Your abilities already exceed those of a beginner in magic duels. Now, before we move on to duels, I want you all to practice these fundamentals. Shoot at those targets over there. Oh yeah, please lower your output."

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I received an exemption for math and magic. There were only three more lessons left: language, history, and noble etiquette. Well, I wasn't here to study; I was here to make friends! Let's skip these lessons and try to befriend everyone!

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"Losing the Wolf Brigands was unfortunate. How are you going to pay for this? We lost over thirty men because of two child mages, and now the justiciars are on my tail."

"My apologies, Duke Luca. I never knew that those two mages had received military education."

"Elidranthia, huh? She killed three mages despite being a dark mage at the age of ten?"

"Yes, that's what the Reapers told us, Milord."

"Well, never mind. We still have business in the capital. The anti-mage faction is acting up again."

"Should we send in the Reapers?"

"No, I don't care about the mage and commoner squabble. I simply want to profit," he contemplated. If he still had the Wolf Brigands, he could have raided the anti-mage faction. But those bandits were dead now. He had to use a more elusive method.

"Send the Reapers. We will assassinate a high-ranking member of the anti-mage faction. Just one. Make sure to use magic. That will stir them up. Then, their demands from the mages will increase. We could make the kingdom provide more stipends. If the kingdom doesn't agree, we can simply sell weapons to both the anti-mage faction and the mage faction."

Unbeknownst to the kingdom, a lot of subsidy money was being corrupted by Duke Luca, the leader of the merchant guild. He thrived on the suffering of others, robbing people both legally and illegally. The method didn't matter to him. Even though there were two other dukes beside him, none were as wealthy as he was.

"So, who will we assassinate, Duke Luca? Will it be Count Shadowstep?"

"Nah, he is much too well-guarded. We will target his daughter instead. The price should be cheaper then. His daughter is a mage, even though he is in an anti-mage faction. This will be interesting."

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Well, I suppose I should have known that I couldn't go out to the city alone. A twelve-year-old noble girl going out alone in a fantasy world where kidnappings were rampant was a death sentence. The academy guards prohibited anyone from going outside. If they wanted to leave the grounds, they should bring a group of at least five kids and three guards.

"But I couldn't make friends inside the academy grounds. Everyone knew me and actively avoided me!" I screamed in my mind.

Should I sneak out? Or should I bring Alicia and her friends?

As I wandered around the academy grounds, I looked out from the gates. These nobles didn't play like I had hoped they would. Maybe I should visit the knights' grounds. Even if only briefly, I could hold my own with a sword. The supervisor frowned but let me in any way.

"Dark mage, please use the illusion of a troll. Make four of them appear here." I was surprised that the knights employed a dark mage. It turned out the dark mage was hired to use their illusions. I see. Since it is just an illusion, it wouldn't actually hurt the knights. Ten knights, along with their instructor, were put into the illusion, and all of them saw the illusions and fought against them.

From my point of view, the archers were shooting at nothing but air, while the knights were also hitting nothing with their swords. With mana sense, I could sense dark magic affecting them in the eyes. However, I couldn't see the illusions.

"Hmm... I'm also a dark mage. Want to see my version of trolls?" I said to one of the knights, and the instructor's ears perked up.

"Really? Wait, have you ever seen a troll?"

"Yes. My region in Shadowstep saw them every month."

"Excellent. Dark magic users are quite rare. Moreover, the one who has seen a monster. If you have time, please help us train these guys!" The instructor smiled from ear to ear.

"Alright! Bring me an ogre!"

And so, I spent the entire afternoon playing with the guys. However, they weren't very skilled. Even with the trolls slowed down, they struggled to dodge the attacks. The instructor told me to slow down the trolls further since these lessons were not for real knights but teenagers. They didn't have adequate strength yet to dodge them. The students did try their best to fight the trolls, but the instructor scolded them for their weak efforts. In an actual situation, they would get blown away, and their lives would be at risk. When I looked at them again, thinking of them as kids, I realized they weren't actually that bad. Their moves tried to imitate the real knights in my territory.

One positive thing about them was their enthusiasm. The knights in my territory would often groan if they had to fight a stampede of monsters, but here, they eagerly charged at the trolls to land the best slash.

Ah! One kid jumped and slashed a three-meter troll right in the neck. It was counted as a kill, and the instructor asked me to erase the illusion. When I asked about the kid, the instructor identified him as Abel, a skill holder enrolled at the academy. He then scolded Abel for acting selfishly and breaking out of formation. However, I was impressed by his skill. Yet, the instructor was dismissive of skill holders since they were rare and unpredictable. Abel would undoubtedly become a great soldier. Becoming a lieutenant was a given, and if he worked hard, he might even become a captain like my brother. The instructor acknowledged that Abel was very skilled, but he stressed the importance of cooperation.

I offered to come again, but the instructor politely declined. Unlike Count Shadowstep's territory, most knights here needed to fight humans in skirmishes and wars. Thus, lessons on battling monsters were only a part of their curriculum, not the entirety of it. However, my reputation skyrocketed among the knights, and I was even offered treats and chocolates.

"Thank you. See you!"

"Come again, Lady Eli! We can play together again!" the boys shouted.