The campus was far too big, making it easy to get lost. Even with the bit of exploration he did yesterday, Soren found it no easier to navigate. He found himself mostly relying on Amon’s direction.

  The two of them once again departed from the dorms together, the cool winter air felt far more soothing than its harsh frigid counterpart back home. Many students were relaxing in public spaces, taking in the beautiful day.

  ‘Must be nice…’

  After overhearing a few discussions in the dormitory, Soren found out that the advanced classes had a much tighter schedule than their peers. His classes started much earlier and lasted a few hours longer. Not that they weren’t given ample time to relax, it just wasn’t nearly as much.

  As they walked, Amon shot his lilac gaze to Soren. He didn’t say a word, but he could see the thoughts running rampant in the young noble's head. Soren had a sneaking suspicion of what those ideas were about.

  ‘He probably heard one of those damned rumors… Who the hell is even making them?’

  It had only been a few days since his arrival, but the gossip around him was spreading like wildfire. Thankfully, not nearly as much as what they were saying about Cyra.

  A majority of these rumors revolved around his father, or that Soren was a devil in human skin. Even most directly about him were false, they still seemed to distance him further and further from his peers. Was Amon buying into them?

  “Hey, Soren… Mind if I ask you a question?”

  Fidgeting with the ring on his finger, Soren let out a deep breath.

  “If it’s about those rumors, then you should know they’re just gross over exaggerations… Mostly.”

  Amon straightened up slightly, scratching the back of his head. A slight bit of humor in his voice.

  “Oh, no… That’s not what I was thinking about. I wanted to ask… Why do you still hang around me?”

  Furrowing his brows, Soren tilted his head slightly at the question. He was sure he answered this before, even if he didn’t say it directly, wasn’t it obvious.

  ‘Actually, why am I still hanging around him? I don’t have time for friends. Then why…’

  The two of them walked in silence for a moment, the laughter of students around them felt distant, making this moment feel isolated from the rest of the world.

  “I’m not entirely sure… If I had to give a real reason, then I’d say, It's better to know someone rather than no one.”

  The small smile on the young noble’s face slowly faded, returning his gaze ahead of them, as they continued on their way. Another brief moment of silence followed before Amon responded.

  “I see…”

  The rest of the short walk was spent in silence, following the crowd of students as they went about their day. Eventually arriving in the classroom and finding their seats.

  Tapping his foot repeatedly, waiting for the inevitable wave of fear to hit him, Soren watched the door closely. Amon shared his anticipation, his gaze darting to the door briefly, then back to his lap.

  ‘Come on! Just get it over with…’

  Soren’s heart sank into the pit of his stomach, his pulse quickened, as fear filled his being. The loud footsteps of Hanami echoed over the dead silence of the classroom. Somehow the fear felt worse than yesterday.

  Watching as the professor took his place at the head of the room, Soren fidgeted with the ring. Trying his best to distract himself from the overwhelming feeling, he focused on Hanami’s words.

  Hanami began with mathematics, focusing on a few formulas we needed to memorize. Students diligently took notes as he taught, doing their best to ignore the fear that had gripped their hearts.

  Soren tried his best to follow along, but just as he would begin to understand one part, he would move on to another.

  ‘Damnit! How the hell are any of us supposed to follow along…’

  Briefly shooting his gaze over to the other students, expecting to see the same struggle he felt, he saw them keep up relatively easily. Even Amon seemed to be grasping the material.

  ‘Really? Am I the only one struggling here?’

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  Gripping his pen tightly, his foot tapped the floor repeatedly. All the information he was receiving was moving in one ear and out the other. Cursing under his breath, he tucked his hand under the desk. Small threads of soul burrowed into the runic ring on his finger.

  His mind felt sharper, every detail was so clear now. Soren began copying every word that the professor spoke, the ring wouldn’t allow him to keep the knowledge he learned, but it did give him a chance to copy it down for later.

  ‘It’s not cheating… It’s innovation… Right?’

  It felt like the class dragged on forever, as they finished up with the core lessons. All that was left was the weaving section, thankfully they were allowed a good amount of time before the section began.

  Collecting their things, students poured out of the classroom. Looking down at the large stack of notes he had made, Soren stopped funneling soul into the ring. The sharpness of his mind faded, as all the information he learned seemed to slip away from his mind.

  ‘Is wasting soul really the only way I can keep up with everyone?’

  Soren was pulled from his self-loathing by a gentle nudge. Looking up he saw Amon giving him a slightly concerned look.

  “Want to get some food?”

  A small smile appeared on his face, after the relentless assault of fear and stress he suffered through, there was nothing more he wanted than to stuff his face.

  Leaving the building complex behind, they ventured closer to the center of the academy grounds. At the center of the academy, a large structure more reminiscent of a castle than a place of learning. Its large towers threatened to pierce the sky.

  The castle was meant for main branch children of the families, it was more isolated than the rest of the campus. Students were allowed to go anywhere on the grounds, except for the castle of course.

  ‘I see why they call it the palace, only royalty is allowed within its walls… So unfair.’

  Keeping a fair distance from the looming structure, they entered a neighboring building. Inside countless students of all backgrounds gathered in a spacious dining hall. The ceilings stretched far too high, allowing you to see the mass of weavers on the floors above.

  It was incredibly noisy, students rambling about anything they could think of. Clutching his rumbling stomach, Soren and Amon ventured past the dining area.

  Stepping in line, they patiently waited to collect whatever food the staff had prepared for them today. After a short while, the two of them departed from the line with trays of steaming hot food. Taking in a large whiff, Soren let out a satisfied hum.

  “It might sound strange, but I think my favorite part about this place is the food.”

  Amon chuckled in reply, as they sat down at an empty table.

  “Far from it… It’s the only thing that doesn’t stress me out.”

  The two of them greedily devoured the beef stew in front of them. The stew was beyond delicious, even the carrots Soren normally hated, he found incredibly flavorful.

  As they ate, the two chatted about whatever came to mind. Amon was the one who mostly initiated the conversations.

  “Ugh… That class is going to be the end of me.”

  Letting out a deep sigh, Soren nodded.

  “Yeah, he moves so fast… I can barely keep up.”

  Amon opened his mouth to speak, only for a loud crashing sound to interrupt him. Looking over, they saw two second year students standing over another seated student.

  Looking closer, he could see these two were harassing this blonde haired girl.

  ‘… Cyra?’

  Indeed it was the stoic young woman. She was currently being yelled at by two second year boys.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing here?”

  Cyra shot them an indifferent glance, then returned to mindlessly twirling her spoon.

  “… Eating.”

  The bowl of incredibly tasted stew was knocked away from her, its confines spilling out over the table. Slamming his hands down on the table, the older boy angrily barked back at her.

  “There! Looks like you're done, now get out of my sight, filth!”

  Amon leaned over to Soren, his voice barely above a whisper.

  “Should we do something?”

  Gripping his spoon tightly, looked at the girl, then back to his food.

  ‘Why should I? Because it’s the right thing to do? Look what happened when I helped you out… Gods knows what kind of trouble I would get myself into by helping her.’

  Continuing to eat his food, Soren avoided looking at the girl. Coldly, he responded to Amon.

  “It’s not our problem… Just ignore them.”

  A surprised look appeared on the boy's face, shooting one last glance at the situation unfolding behind him, he looked down to his bowl.

  After a brief moment, Cyra stood up from her table. Looking around the dining hall, she let out a deep sigh, quickly leaving. A bit of laughter could be heard through the mass of students, the two second years stood proudly as they watched her leave.

  Soren and Amon spent the rest of their meal in silence. The food tasted a lot worse than before, even so, he slowly finished the bowl. Amon on the other hand, picked and prodded bits of meat, eventually discarding the bowl.

  ‘I’m no white knight, It’s not my job to help… Then why do I feel like this?’

  Walking back to their class, the atmosphere between them felt thick. A nasty feeling was eating away at his stomach. Gritting his teeth, he ignored it as best as he could.

  Looking over to Amon, he could see the turmoil brewing in the boy. Shaking his head, Soren returned his focus ahead of them. Moving through the massive courtyard, pushing through crowds of students, they made it back to their class.

  Fear washed over them as they stepped through the doors and took their seats. Looking over, Soren saw Cyra fidgeting with her pen. A sharp pang of guilt hit him, unable to look at her, he focused on the professor.

  ‘Let’s just get this over with.’