By the time we returned to the dorm, the moon had already taken over the sky, spilling silver light through the windows. I heard the academy security was impeccable. Don't make me laugh. Impeccable security. We broke through it with ease. Well, it was never a difficult task for us to break through their defence. But maybe I should tone it down. I don't want to arouse suspicion early on.
Before I even touched the door handle, I felt someone's presence inside the room.
So, my roommate has finally decided to grace us with her presence. Should we take a look? I'd never had a friend before, not with the life I've led but now…now it's a different story. Maybe this time, I can actually make one.
"Good for you, kid. You can finally make a friend now," Nox said.
I pushed the door open to greet her. Standing there was a petite girl, her hair black as midnight, sharp and sleek as if cut by a blade. Her eyes, a deep crimson, gleamed like finely cut rubies catching the light. She looked like a fallen angel ethereal, yet touched by something dark.
There was an eternal quality to her, as if time had tried to claim her but failed.
"It's finally nice to meet the top student of this year," she said, extending her hand. Her voice was soft and gentle, even completely at odds with her striking, almost intimidating appearance. "My name is Vivian."
Just Vivian? So, she's a commoner then. Not that it matters to me.
I took her hand in a firm handshake. "The pleasure is all mine. My name is Cecilia Florence."
The words left my mouth colder than I intended, and I could practically hear Nox laughing behind my back.
Vivian didn't flinch at my tone. Instead, her lips curled into the faintest smile, like she'd already expected it. "I look forward to us getting along, Cecilia."
I simply nodded, keeping my expression unreadable. "Likewise."
From the corner of my eye, I caught Nox leaning against the wall, smirking like he was watching it all unfold.
Vivian glanced past me toward him. "And… who might that be?"
My mind was a storm of questions. How could she possibly see Nox? No one should be able to see him. I kept my voice steady, careful not to let anything slip.
"There's no one here besides us."
"There is." She pointed over my shoulder exactly where Nox was standing.
I turned slowly, bracing myself, only to see Lux lazily circling in the air.
Phew. Just Lux.
LUX… she can see Lux? Not Nox. No one should have been able to. So How? I quickly steered the conversation away.
"No one you need to know about. It's for your own good."
The words came out sharper than I intended, clipped and cold. For once, could I not sound like an unapproachable menace? Any hope I had of making a friend probably just died right there.
But instead of looking offended or wary, Vivian just smiled faintly. "If you say so."
She was… surprisingly understanding.
Then it hit me.
"Wait… you're the one who had that unimpressed look during the orientation, aren't you?"
Her eyes widened for a moment, then she laughed. I winced. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did," she said, still smiling.
"How come you're here, anyway? Weren't you ranked third? I thought they paired us based on rankings."
"They did," she replied with a faint sigh. "But the girl who was supposed to be here decided she didn't want a roommate. No one else wanted to be a roommate with you… So they picked me."
I frowned. "They chose you because you're a commoner, didn't they?"
Vivian nodded without hesitation.
"Those bastards. How dare they."
Her smile this time was small but genuine, like she wasn't used to someone being openly angry on her behalf.
I leaned back against the desk, crossing my arms. "If they think they can shove you around just because of your status, they're in for a rude awakening."
Her lips twitched. "You sound awfully confident for someone who's only just met me."
"I don't need to know you to know no one deserves that kind of treatment," I said, my tone flat but firm. "And besides…" I glanced at her, a small smirk tugging at my mouth, "You're my roommate now. That makes you my problem."
She blinked at me, clearly unsure whether to laugh or be cautious. "You're… different from what I expected."
Nox, who had been leaning against the wall with an amused grin, finally piped up in my head. 'Well, look at you, kid. Making friends already. I'm so proud I could cry.'
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him. "Putting everything else aside, let's get along for the rest of our time here," I said. "By the way, which department are you in?"
"I'm in the Magic Department," she replied before tilting her head. "What about you, Cecilia?"
"I'm in both the Magic and Knights Departments."
Her eyes widened. "You're in both?" She sounded genuinely astonished.
"Yep," I said with a small shrug. "I couldn't decide, so I went with both." Then I glanced toward my room. "If you'll excuse me, I need to shower. I've been talking to you before even cleaning up my apologies for that."
"No need," she said with a soft smile. "I still have to unpack anyway."
"Vivian, I say, "if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me," I told her, offering a brief smile.
She nodded. "I will."
With that, we both opened our respective bedroom doors and disappeared into our own spaces.
I giggled the moment I stepped into my room, shutting the door behind me. Finally—finally—I was graduating from being a loner. "I actually made a friend," I whispered to myself, pumping my fist in the air in victory.
"Easy there, kid," Nox said, lying lazily on the bed, munching on a plate of cookies like he owned the place.
"I'm serious! I'm finally making connections. I actually bonded with someone even if it's just a little."
He swallowed his bite and gave me a pointed look. "Still, be careful. Don't let your guard down. You remember what happened last time." His voice dropped into a warning tone. "If that girl can see Lux, who knows when she might be able to see me too."
"I know," I sighed, my excitement dimming slightly. "And I remember it clearly. That time was… a lesson I won't forget."
Nox leaned back, watching me. "I've been meaning to ask you something for a while… Didn't you erase that lousy Cael's memories before you left?"
"I did," I replied without hesitation. "I erased every memory of myself. Why?"
"In that case," he said, his tone unreadable, "keep an eye on him for a while."
"I understand," I murmured, moving toward the window and unlocking it.
"Where are you going now?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"The usual place," I said with a small smile. "I'll be back in a bit."
Jumping out the window, I cast three spells in the same breath
Flight.
Accelerate.
Invisibility.
The dorm room they assigned me was on the top floor, high enough that the wind bit at my face as I descended. The invisibility wasn't strictly necessary, no one should be awake at this hour, but old habits die hard. It was a precaution… and a shield.
If I didn't visit that place regularly, the consequences could be… disastrous.
The third morning came, and I went about my usual routine. But today felt… different. By the time I returned from my jog, Vivian was already awake.
"Good morning," she greeted, the morning sunlight spilling through the white curtains and framing her in gold.
I froze for a moment. It felt… strange. It had been so long since someone had said that to me. In the rare times people *did* wake me, it was usually with a bucket of freezing water, not a smile.
"Good morning," I replied anyway, though the words felt oddly foreign on my tongue.
"Where did you go so early?" she asked.
"For a jog."
After a brief exchange, we got ready for the day. Vivian looked stunning in the mage's uniform identical to mine, except she wore her cape neatly fastened and had pulled her hair into a half-ponytail, giving her an elegant, composed look.
As for me, I decided to return to my usual style. Yesterday, I wore my hair down to make a good impression, but today I tied it back into a bun. It was easier to maintain… and in case of an ambush, no one could use my hair to pull me back.
Professor Esther's class was boring as it was yesterday. I didn't notice Vivian yesterday, but now that we're sitting together. She is taking notes quite earnestly. For these students, this stuff could be difficult but for me, it's a breeze.
Professor Esther tapped her chalk against the board, mana shimmering faintly around her fingers as the runes formed in midair.
"Now, class. Let's talk about mana trajectories. Imagine you've just cast a Mana Burst straight upward. The spell's height over time is governed by this formula:
h(t) = -5t^2 + 20t
"where t is time in seconds, and h(t) is the mana height in spell-units."
She flicked her wrist and the glowing numbers reshaped themselves into a curved arc in the air.
"The negative five here," she circled the term with a glowing glyph, "is the Mana Decay Constant, the world's resistance pulling your spell back down. The twenty represents your Initial Casting Impulse, or how much force your mana gives to the spell."
A few students scribbled frantically. Vivian just wrote at a calm, steady pace.
"Now, when does our mana sphere return to the ground? We set the height to zero:
0 = -5t^2 + 20t
Factor the runes…"
Her hands traced two glowing circles.
0 = -5t(t - 4)
"Two answers. t = 0 the moment of casting. And t = 4 is the exact second the spell's energy disperses back into the earth. Simple. Four seconds of flight before death."
She let the chalk drop, eyes narrowing slightly.
"And remember, mages' mana doesn't vanish quietly. If your spell is carrying volatile energy, you do not want to be beneath it when it comes down."
"Or directly under your opponent's nose," I whispered, Vivian heard me as she chucked quietly as she tried to hide it behind her hand.
"Magic," she began, "is not just about gathering mana and throwing it forward like a child tossing a stone. Raw force is predictable. Predictable gets you killed."
Her heels clicked sharply against the polished floor as she paced before the class, her dark cloak trailing like a shadow. She stopped abruptly, chalk in hand, and drew a clean arc on the board.
"Mana is not just energy you pour into a spell," she began, her voice crisp, each word slicing the air. "It's a projectile. Whether it's a fireball, a bolt of ice, or compressed wind, it travels. And that means it follows a trajectory."
She sketched a smooth curve, an elegant arc that dipped low before rising again. "This, my dear students, is a mana trajectory. The path your mana takes inside your circuit before it manifests into reality. She tapped the curve on the board.
"This' tap 'is the path your mana will take once released. High arcs for distance. Direct lines for speed. Anything in between…depends on your control."
Her gaze swept the room, pinning a few sleepy faces to their seats.
"A skilled mage doesn't just think about casting. They think about where the spell will be in the next second… and the second after that."
She began drawing various variations of steeper arcs, flattened curves.
"If you aim here" she marked the top of the curve, "your spell will fall short. If you release too early, it will miss entirely. And in battle…" she smiled faintly, the kind of smile that wasn't warm, "a miss is just another word for your funeral."
Her eyes swept across the room.
"If your trajectory is too steep, mana will release early, weak and wasteful. Too shallow, and the spell will collapse before reaching its target. But…" her chalk danced across the board, drawing twin overlapping arcs, "…if you can weave multiple trajectories, releasing mana at each root, you can strike an opponent in two places at once. "
Her voice lowered, "This is why understanding both magic and mana will elevate you above common mages. Control the curve, and you will control the fight."
She turned to the class fully, arms crossed.
"Learn to adjust your mana trajectory. Tilt your aim for wind resistance. Alter your mana density to cut through barriers. And if you're clever…" Her eyes flicked toward Vivian, then you. "…you can make your spell land exactly where you want and where your opponent is."
Professor Esther strode to the centre of the lecture hall. The class fell silent as she extended one hand, palm up, her other hand clasped behind her back.
Without a word, a flicker of crimson light bloomed in her palm then swelled into a glowing ember that twisted and sharpened into the form of a fire arrow. The heat radiating from it prickled against the students' skin, even from meters away.
"Trajectory," she said, her voice echoing against the stone walls, "is not theory to be memorised, it is the line between a clean kill and a wasted spell."
She turned slightly, raising the arrow before her eyes.
"First, the high arc."
With a smooth, almost casual motion, she let the arrow fly. Instead of shooting straight, it soared upward in a long, graceful curve like a comet streaking through the night before descending to strike a wooden target far across the hall. The impact sent a blossom of fire surging upward, engulfing the dummy in seconds.
"An archer might use this to fire over walls or strike from concealment," she continued, her eyes glinting in the firelight. "It sacrifices speed for reach."
A second arrow flared to life in her palm.
"Now, the flat trajectory."
This time, she didn't aim upward the arrow shot from her hand like a bolt of lightning, straight and true. It tore through the air with a crack, hitting a second dummy before the students could even blink. The target erupted in a violent burst of flame, toppling to the floor in charred pieces.
"Fast. Direct. Lethal. But its range is limited. Use it when distance is not your enemy."
She conjured one last arrow, this one brighter, hotter, the flames writhing like serpents.
"And finally… the adjusted arc."
Instead of firing toward a stationary dummy, she aimed at a moving target dummy gliding across the hall on enchanted rails. Her wrist tilted slightly mid-release, and the arrow curved mid-flight, bending around a stone pillar before slamming into the target's side. The explosion was smaller but precise, leaving the dummy's centre mass scorched black.
"The path your mana takes is yours to decide," she said, her gaze sweeping the room. "The untrained mage fires where they see. The trained mage fires where their opponent will be. The master" she let the fire die from her hand, leaving only curling smoke "fires where the opponent thinks they're safe."
"Now open your mana circuits. We will practice shaping this equation into a functioning dual-strike spell."
I was stunned by the way she explained it. I had learned through repetition and instinct, but her method… It was art. Every motion was deliberate, every word sharpened to a point. Her control over mana was flawless, not a single flicker wasted. Each spell was precise, like an archer who knows his arrow will find its mark.
It wasn't raw power that left me speechless, it was the certainty. Every movement told me she had decided the outcome long before she acted. It was magic used with the same deadly confidence as a master swordsman drawing a blade only once.
To be continued.