Four weeks passed in a blur of steel and sweat.
Arthur and Ren trained together almost every day, sparring sessions that left them both exhausted and somehow still grinning by the end. It was the kind of grinding repetition that turned unfamiliar techniques into muscle memory, transforming two strangers into genuine friends. The Second Form of Thunder Blade Style had become competent across all its movements, though Arthur knew there was a massive difference between competence and mastery. Lightning Bolt had crossed some threshold around week two, and the improvement was dramatic. He could cast two bolts in quick succession now without completely draining his mana reserves, something that would have been impossible before. Kinetic Assimilation remained frustratingly difficult to develop, but at least he'd managed to grasp the absolute basics of how the stored energy actually worked.
The campus had transformed entirely. What had been empty training grounds and quiet corridors was now packed with students from all four nations. The dining hall served hundreds at every meal. The dorms were full. Training equipment was constantly in use instead of gathering dust in empty rooms.
Tomorrow, the academic year will officially begin.
Arthur sat across from Ren in the cafeteria, watching the chaos unfold around them. Students everywhere, talking loudly, gesturing with their hands, the energy almost overwhelming after weeks of relative quiet. The noise alone was giving him a headache.
"This is insane," Ren said, stabbing at his food with more force than strictly necessary. "There's got to be five hundred people crammed in here right now."
"At least that many." Arthur took a bite of his meal and immediately grimaced at the taste. "And somehow the food got even worse than it was before."
"It's free food, so I guess we can't complain too much." Ren paused, then grinned despite himself. "Actually, no, I can definitely complain. This tastes like they cooked it three days ago and have just been reheating it ever since."
"That's optimistic. I'd say closer to a week ago, minimum."
Ren's eyes drifted to the far side of the cafeteria, where a separate counter offered premium meals. Fresh cuts of meat that actually looked appetising, elaborate side dishes with vegetables that weren't overcooked into mush, and desserts that looked like they'd been made by someone who knew what they were doing. A small sign displayed the prices in neat script.
"Look at that spread over there," Ren muttered, his tone caught between longing and resignation. "Three silver for a proper meal. Three whole silver coins. Do you know how long I could eat on that amount if I spent it carefully?"
Arthur glanced over at the premium section. The food really did look significantly better than the mystery meat currently sitting on their trays. "It does look pretty tempting, though."
"Extremely tempting. Doesn't mean I'm actually going to spend that kind of money on it." Ren turned back to his questionable meal with a heavy sigh. "This is perfectly fine. Builds character or something like that, right?"
"That's what they tell us anyway."
They ate in comfortable silence for a moment, the kind that only came from spending nearly every day together for a month straight. Arthur had almost forgotten what it was like to have an actual friend. Oscar's life had been lonely despite living in an orphanage full of other kids. Arthur's original life had been isolated and difficult after his father's death. But now, sitting here with Ren making stupid jokes about cafeteria food quality, it felt almost normal. Like he actually belonged somewhere.
"So," Ren said eventually, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. "Tomorrow's the big induction ceremony. Are you ready for what's probably going to be hours of speeches and formal nonsense that nobody actually wants to sit through?"
"Honestly? Can't be arsed with any of it." Arthur pushed his tray aside, already done with the questionable food. "The headmaster's going to give some inspiring speech about duty and danger, the student council president will welcome everyone with perfectly rehearsed words, all the important teachers will get introduced one by one, and we'll all just sit there pretending to pay attention while slowly dying of boredom."
"Sounds absolutely thrilling. I can barely contain my excitement."
"I'm sure it'll be exactly as boring as we're both imagining it will be."
Ren laughed at that. "At least after tomorrow, we can actually start the real classes and get into proper training instead of just beating each other up every morning in the practice yards."
"Hey, beating each other up every morning has been extremely educational for both of us."
"For you, maybe, since you're learning how to lose gracefully. I'm still winning most of our spars without too much trouble."
"You're a full sub-tier above me in rank. That's hardly a fair comparison to make."
"Since when has life ever been fair about anything?" Ren's grin widened considerably. "Besides, you're definitely getting better at actually putting up a fight. Give it another month of training, and you might even land a clean hit on me."
Arthur was about to fire back with a response when he noticed movement in his peripheral vision. A group of students approaching their table with obvious intent. Five of them in total, all wearing expensive uniforms that had clearly been tailored specifically to fit their bodies perfectly. Noble kids without question, the kind who made absolutely certain that everyone around them knew exactly how important and wealthy they were.
Arthur recognised two of them from Arthur's memories. A few noble banquets over the years where the original Arthur had been forced to attend and make an appearance. They'd made his life miserable whenever their paths happened to cross.
'Oh, fantastic. This is exactly what I needed to deal with today.'
The leader of the group stopped directly at their table, his posture radiating confidence and entitlement. Tall and blonde, the kind of handsome that came from generations of careful, selective breeding among noble families. His eyes settled on Ren first, looking him up and down with obvious disdain.
"Well, well. A commoner actually managed to make it into the Academy." His voice practically dripped with contempt. "I have to admit I'm genuinely impressed that you even figured out which end of the fork you're supposed to use."
Ren's expression didn't change at all, but Arthur saw his jaw tighten just slightly. "Can we actually help you with something, or are you just here to waste our time?"
"I'm just surprised to see your kind here, that's all. I was under the impression they only let in people with actual talent and potential, not charity cases who happened to get lucky on the entrance exam."
One of the other nobles standing behind him laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd heard all day. "Maybe the Academy felt bad for him or something. Diversity initiative to make themselves look good."
Arthur set down his cup very carefully, keeping his movements controlled. "Are you done running your mouth? We're trying to eat here."
The blonde noble's attention shifted fully to Arthur, and recognition flickered across his face almost immediately, followed by obvious amusement. "Arthur Reinhart. You're still clinging to that Baron title like it actually means something important? Your father must be rolling over in his grave knowing that his son spends his time being friends with trash like this."
'These guys definitely knew the original Arthur pretty well. Made his life hell whenever they could. He avoided them like the plague, which was probably the smartest decision he ever made.'
Arthur stood up slowly and deliberately. Ren immediately followed his lead, both of them rising to face the group of five nobles.
"You want to repeat that statement?" Arthur's voice came out calm and level, but his hand had instinctively drifted toward his belt, where his practice sword would normally be hanging. He'd left it back in his dorm room today.
"Which specific part are you upset about? The part where I pointed out your title is completely worthless, or the part where I mentioned that your friend here is peasant scum who doesn't actually belong in a place like this?"
Ren stepped forward, his posture shifting into something more aggressive. "Those are some pretty big words coming from someone who's hiding behind four friends for backup. Do you want to try saying all that again when it's just the two of us facing each other?"
"Please." The blonde noble's smile was absolutely condescending. "I don't waste my valuable time duelling with commoners who aren't worth the effort. Though if you're really that desperate and eager to embarrass yourself in front of everyone, I'm sure we could arrange something. Maybe tomorrow in the training yard after the ceremony? I'd absolutely love to show everyone exactly why some people truly belong at the academy, and others just got extremely lucky."
"That's funny coming from you," Ren said, his tone staying conversational despite the obvious tension building. "I seem to remember hearing that you barely scraped by on the entrance exam yourself. It must have been pretty close, right? You almost didn't make it in at all."
The noble's condescending smile vanished completely. "Watch your mouth very carefully."
"Or what exactly? Will you have your daddy try to buy me out of the academy? Oh, wait, you can't do that, because this place is entirely merit-based. That must be incredibly frustrating for someone like you."
One of the other nobles stepped forward, cracking his knuckles in an obvious threat. "You really want to start something here in the middle of the cafeteria?"
Arthur moved to stand directly beside Ren, presenting a united front. "Five against two. That's real honourable behaviour. Your families must be so incredibly proud of you all."
"We could make it fair if you're really that concerned about it," the blonde noble said, his voice dropping to something dangerous. "Just you and me, Reinhart. One on one. Let's see if that worthless Baron blood of yours actually has any real fight left in it, or if you're just as pathetic as everyone says. Unless you're too scared to accept?"
"Scared of you?" Arthur actually laughed at the suggestion. "Please. I've fought corrupted monsters that were scarier than your personality."
The noble's face flushed bright red with anger. "Outside. Right now. We'll see just how funny you think you are when I'm done beating you into the ground and—"
Vines erupted from the stone floor.
Thick, deep green, covered in tiny, sharp thorns that looked painful. They wrapped around the blonde noble's mouth instantly, cutting off his words mid-sentence before he could finish the threat. More vines shot upward like striking snakes, binding the hands of the other four nobles before any of them could even think about reacting or defending themselves.
The entire cafeteria went completely silent in an instant.
Arthur's eyes widened as he followed the path of the vines back to their source, tracing them across the floor.
A girl stood maybe ten feet away from their table. Tall and graceful in a way that seemed almost supernatural, like she'd been designed by someone who understood beauty on a fundamental level. Pointed ears marked her clearly as elven. Dark black hair fell to her shoulders in a way that caught the light, with vibrant green streaks running through it like veins of living jade. Shimmering green eyes regarded the struggling nobles with obvious annoyance and complete lack of concern. Multiple piercings decorated her left ear in an intricate pattern, the metal catching the afternoon light streaming through the windows.
She was absolutely mesmerising to look at.
"Shut up," she said, her voice cutting through the shocked silence like a knife. "And leave. All of you. You're giving me a serious headache."
The vines tightened considerably around the nobles' mouths as they tried desperately to protest or threaten her. One of them made a muffled sound that might have been an attempt at saying something intimidating.
The girl's expression didn't change even slightly. "I said leave. Now."
The vines released all at once, retracting back into the stone floor as if they'd never existed in the first place, leaving no trace of damage.
The nobles stumbled backwards, clearly off-balance. The blonde one opened his mouth to say something, probably another threat. Then his eyes actually focused on the girl properly for the first time. Recognition dawned across his face, followed almost immediately by genuine fear.
"Princess—" he started, his voice shaking slightly.
"Leave," she repeated, her tone making it clear this was the final warning.
They left. Quickly. All five of them were practically running for the exit like their lives depended on it; their earlier bravado and confidence completely evaporated into nothing.
Arthur stared at the girl standing there.
'That's... Lyria. The elven princess. An actual character from the novel standing right in front of me.'
She'd just used vines to shut up five nobles without even breaking a sweat or showing the slightest sign of effort.
But something was nagging at the back of Arthur's mind. Something that didn't quite fit with what he remembered reading.
'Wait. Did I just see her use water manipulation, too? When those vines first appeared from the ground, there was definitely moisture clinging to them. Like they were being reinforced with something.'
Arthur replayed the moment carefully in his mind, analysing what he'd seen. The vines had appeared far too strong for pure nature manipulation alone. They'd been too solid, too unyielding, almost impossible to break. There had definitely been water wrapped around those plant structures, coating them and making them significantly more effective as restraints and harder to escape from.
'Dual affinity. She's using both nature and water together like it's completely normal for her.'
Arthur's blood ran cold as the implications hit him.
'She only had nature affinity in the novel. I'm absolutely certain of it. Lloyd mentioned it specifically when she eventually joined his group later in the story and made a comment about how rare single-affinity nature users were becoming in the current generation. It was definitely just nature magic, nothing else. Just the one element.'
But he'd just watched her use both elements without any hesitation whatsoever, weaving them together like it was the most natural thing in the world and she'd been doing it her entire life.
First, the riddle changed completely in the ancient rift trial, asking me something different from what Lloyd faced. Now, Lyria has a completely different affinity setup than what the novel clearly described. What the hell is actually going on here? Is the entire story changing and diverging around me somehow, or am I just losing my mind and misremembering everything I read?'