"It's not fair. He wins the combat examination, breaks academy records, and apparently he's some kind of blacksmithing prodigy too? How is one person good at everything?"
"I heard he invented that skateboard thing everyone's talking about. Created it from scratch in a single session."
"Probably inherited talent from his bloodline. Duke bloodline's must get all sorts of advantages we can't match."
The envy in their voices was obvious, though I'd grown accustomed to such reactions. Excellence attracted both admiration and resentment in equal measure.
Jan apparently heard them too, because he raised his voice deliberately. "Talent is meaningless without dedication! Half you lot complain about others' success while spending your workshop time gossiping instead of actually working! Now get back to your projects before I assign remedial hammer swings!"
The students scattered back to their stations with guilty expressions, and Jan winked at me conspiratorially.
