Orion's eyes opened before the sun rose. For a few seconds, he lay still on the massive bed, staring at the dim ceiling while his legs trembled lightly.
Then he smiled, that stupid morning reflex he'd always had back on Earth. A small shake, a lazy stretch and that quiet reassurance of Yeah, I'm alive.
He rolled onto his side.
The bed felt expensive, not in a soft way but in a comfort-is-a-privilege way. The sheets didn't cling or wrinkle and there was no detergent smell. Just clean, neutral nothing.
With his whole body still buried in the soft pillows, he remembered what he'd done yesterday afternoon.
Meditation had worked. Somewhere inside him, there was a place that could store mana now.
He'd probably need to meditate a few more times before he could feel it clearly.
If his guess was right, the amount of mana he'd built up yesterday was more than it should've been.
For a moment, he wondered what would happen if he followed a purely physical path, using both the System and mana.
Then he pictured flying through the sky, throwing fireballs and raising massive tsunamis.
The kind of stuff a teenage boy would daydream about. If he had a chance like this and never even tried to become a mage, he'd regret it later.
Orion rubbed his face and glanced between the bathroom and the kitchen. He paused in the doorway, weighing the choices.
Shower or breakfast.
He didn't actually need a shower. He'd already washed last night after waking up from meditation sleep.
But something inside him confidently insisted on a shower. First day matters.
Orion sighed. "Alright. You win."
He stepped into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror. His hair was bent in three different directions, like it had fought gravity and lost.
What should've been a quick rinse turned into a slightly longer shower.
He found a body gel and shampoo that smelled aggressively masculine. No variety. No "fresh breeze" nonsense.
This was definitely made for men.
He rinsed off, dried and dressed without much thought. The academy uniform still felt strange on his skin.
After finishing primary school on Earth, he wouldn't have imagined this.
When he stepped into the kitchen, Kalista was already there.
She'd changed into new clothes. A thin shirt matching her hair color sat beneath a black jacket.
The pants were long, black and cleanly cut. They were linen or something similar.
Her shoes were the same as always, dark and practical.
She nodded once.
Orion smiled. "Good morning, Kali."
His gaze drifted to her shoes for a moment longer than necessary. Most students wore cloth shoes, even the ones who looked wealthy.
The colors were almost always white or black.
Does no one make anything else, or are colorful leather goods some kind of luxury?
"They are expensive. Even for most of the nobles."
It bothered him in a strangely practical way. Back on Earth, even cheap or poor people had options.
Here, in the most expensive academy humanity had ever built, there was no variety and some basic stuff felt limited.
No mass production, branding or endless choices he was used to.
Orion was about to start preparing breakfast when the door made a soft sound from the hallway. He looked up.
Leile slipped in quietly, clearly trying not to be noticed. The moment she realized Orion was already watching, she flinched.
"You keep scaring me, Mr Vale!"
Orion blinked, then laughed. "Good morning to you too."
Leile huffed but immediately moved into the kitchen. Her movements were fast and she looked like she'd practiced with the kitchen gadgets.
By the time the wall clock edged toward eight, the table was full.
Not just plates and cups. The table was packed. Fully full.
Warm bread. Cheese. Fruits. Meatball soup. Eggs.
A porridge-like dish Orion didn't recognize. Tea. A sweet drink.
And something salty that looked suspiciously like fish.
Leile placed the final dish down and stepped back.
Orion noticed it instantly. Neither Kalista nor Leile touched the food.
They didn't even reach for a cup.
They waited and Orion finally got it. Another invisible rule. Only after he took the first bite did the others start eating.
Orion took a bite of bread and chewed slowly, keeping his expression neutral while his thoughts raced.
No one would eat anything until he did. He'd noticed it before in smaller ways actually.
Leile asking permission before leaving a room. Kalista doing the same before stepping away, even briefly.
It wasn't fear or law. But they were conditioned to follow these social rules.
This was normal here. Midka etiquette. Noble etiquette. Something like that.
His thoughts flickered to the princess girl he'd passed without greeting on his first day. He'd ignored her completely after talking with Samuel.
He wondered if he messed up.
He shrugged internally. Probably. But hopefully, silence isn't a crime.
He ate and glanced at Leile. "So. What's the plan today?"
Leile straightened instantly, like his casual question was a formal command.
"If you require it, I can bring you lunch," she said. "The dining halls near the classrooms have a service area. I can cook there and deliver it."
"If you prefer, I can also bring food to the training centers. Elite students' diets are considered important." She said it all in one breath.
Orion paused mid-chew. "Let's not go that far yet. At least today."
"I'll handle lunch myself. I wanted to see the classroom district anyway."
Leile's expression dipped just slightly, like someone had taken something from her.
"You already handle breakfast and dinner," he said, keeping his tone calm. "There's no need to walk all that way for lunch too."
Leile didn't argue, not because she didn't have other opinions. Because she couldn't.
Once she'd received a direct order from her boss, she couldn't go against it.
Orion wasn't officially a noble yet. But she treated him like becoming one was inevitable.
Respect comes first for people on his level.
After breakfast, Orion dressed properly and stood before the mirror. It looked good enough.
They left the residence together.
Orion walked toward the classrooms while Kalista followed a step behind, silent as always.
Some students walked with guards like him. Many had already formed groups with dorm mates.
A few first-years were openly holding hands.
"They're fast, right Kali. It's only been three days."
"Mm.."
As he passed a small pool of water along a path, something felt off. He noticed that everyone was a first-year.
Today was the academy's official first day. He'd seen upperclassmen before, in the library, the Hunting Zone and other buildings.
They'd looked rougher. More tired. More focused.
Aside from a few provocatively dressed girls near leisure areas, everyone had looked busy. Purpose-driven.
But now, no upperclassmen. And no one else seemed to notice.
A few minutes later, Orion checked his cloth bag for the building location and spotted several upperclassmen in the distance.
They weren't heading toward the classrooms. They were going the opposite way.
Eventually, he left the excited crowd behind and approached a six-story building at the very end of the long path.
A girl stood by the entrance, smoking something that looked like a cigarette but smelled different. No one else was around.
Orion entered, climbed to the first floor and found his classroom.
Inside, there was only one person.
He ignored her for the moment and scanned the room.
Expensive chairs. Expensive tables. Heavy curtains.
The place looked less like a classroom and more like a private corporate studio.
It felt less like a university and more like a game development studio, just missing the computers.
When he stepped fully inside, the girl in the corner looked up.
She had short, curly hair. Dark brown skin. A tall, muscular build.
She wasn't wearing the academy robe, so the definition of her arms and a few scars were clearly visible.
But her eyes were the most striking part.
"Hey."
"Hey. Morning. I'm Orion."
Her relaxed smile froze for a split second. Her gaze dropped briefly, then snapped back up, scanning him head to toe.
"Hi. I'm Elara. S-6." Her smile returned, crooked and proud. "And yeah, I know you're the Champion. Haha."
Orion instinctively decided to sit near her.
He took a seat at the middle-back table and dragged the wide chair closer to hers.
Conversation started naturally, small talk about dorms, food and the academy.
A couple of minutes later, another girl entered.
She wore a velvet dress in shades of black and navy. Long, straight black hair. Violet eyes.
She looked unreal in that polished, curated way, like she'd stepped out of a magazine and into the room.
Elara was naturally attractive. But this girl looked curated and fancy.
The new girl walked to the seat closest to the door. Her eyes flicked to Elara briefly, lips pursing in disdain.
Then she noticed Orion.
Her expression hardened instantly.
When Orion opened his mouth to greet her, she made a quiet hmph sound, turned her back on both of them and sat down.
She pulled a thick book from her bag.
"What's her problem?" Orion whispered.
"Fu*ked-up nobles.." Elara muttered.
Both Orion and the noble girl glanced back at her like they couldn't believe she really said that.
Elara adjusted her posture, her smile anything but innocent. Her full height became obvious.
Nearly two meters tall.
Orion had no doubt, she wasn't a mage.
He grinned and leaned closer. "By the way. Did you notice? Everyone except first-years was heading somewhere else."
"Know anything about that?"
Elara shook her head. "No idea."
Orion leaned back in his chair and stared at the room again.
This felt like a conference room, not a damn classroom.
It was like a meeting room stolen straight out of a rich merchant's office and shoved into an academy just to mess with them.
High-quality chairs that didn't creak when you moved were a nice upgrade.
He tried to force the chair to make a sound. It didn't.
It was probably magically muffled.
After a few seconds of messing with the chair and table, Orion looked around.
Elara was watching him, smiling at his silent battle with the furniture.
She sat like she'd always belonged in places like this. Broad shoulders, scarred arms, messy but striking curls.
Orion thought it was cool how she gave off an I can bite you and not apologize vibe that made people tense without realizing it.
Her skin was dark and her features had that mixed look you couldn't place at first glance.
The opposite was also present. Across the room, the purple-eyed noble girl sat closer to the door with a book open, already pretending the rest of the world didn't exist.
Long black hair. Milky-pale skin. Eyes with that faint purplish hue that made her look like she'd stepped out of a cartoon.
She wore black and deep navy velvet, like she'd dressed for a private party instead of the first day of school.
It wasn't modest but stylish clothes, either. Her dress could be used for a real royal event.
Orion's gaze dropped to the small S-mark pinned to his own uniform. He was the only idiot wearing the full academy outfit.
On Elara, the S emblem wasn't on a robe at all. It was stitched onto the edge of her sleeve, like someone had slapped it on and said, close enough.
On the purple-eyed noble girl, it was a small metallic brooch clipped into her velvet collar. It looked clean and deliberate.
Orion leaned slightly toward Elara. "So," he muttered quietly, "you sure this is the right place?"
Elara raised an eyebrow. "You think I'd walk into some random building and sit down?"
"I've done dumber things in the last three days," Orion said.