Part 1

The air that Wednesday morning felt like a warm caress on my cheeks. The sun was shining behind a lazy white cloud as soft as wool. My jacket was lightly flapping just like the loose hair on my head, at times covering my eyes. I was leaning on a column that stood right before the entrance of the female dorms, with my back against it and my hand in my pockets, fidgeting with what little coins I had in them.

The one I was waiting for was Sora. I knew that she had a habit of being in the classroom a little while before the lesson started and that morning we both had to attend the practitioner tier practical magic course. It was a good opportunity for me to talk to her, since for the last couple days I had been ignored by her. The reason was the attempt on mine and Lucas’ life. I scoffed it off like nothing happened and covered it with the bandits lie but she still looked worried about me, and the fact that I didn’t tell her right away led to the current situation.

As I was starting to worry that she had already left for the classroom, her silky white hair greeted me as brightly as a star in the night’s sky. Her black skirt was flapping rhythmically with the wind, only bringing your attention to what stood below it. A pair of fit and slim pearly legs, for the whole academy to admire. Even if the mind was of a now forty years old, the body was still that of a twelve years old boy full of hormones. Her beauty was too captivating for me to avert my gaze now focused on the lower half of her body. That until her eyes finally took notice of my presence.

“Raphael-san?-” Said her with a puzzled expression while approaching the column, letting the small heels of her shoes create a rhythm “-What are you doing here?”

“Hey Sora-san-” I said, finally meeting her eyes “- Lucas was late and I was all ready and all so I thought I could come, you know, pick you up?”

I swear I could see a blush for a brief moment, before turning back into the grumpy and judging expression that she gave me for the past two days.

“It’s very sweet of you...too sweet I’d say. What do you want to talk about?”

“*sigh*-” I replied with a defeated expression “-You can get a read of me that easily? Oh well anyway,-” I started as I began to follow her from her side “- you know, for the past two days you’ve been mad at me, I understand. So, well, I guess I’m here to apologize...I’m not good at those things though so I probably sound pathetic...it’s just that...if anything happens ever again, you’ll be the first to know”

“Why!? Are things like that gonna happen again?!”

“I-I don’t know!”

“Well, make sure that they don’t!”

“...does that even make any sense Sora-san?”

“Shut up! Let me vent!...*sigh* I can’t really stay mad at you, just...please don't put yourself in danger!”

“Haha I can’t promi-” I was stopped on my tracks by a powerful cold gaze coming from Sora’s ruby eyes “-Ehm I mean, I promise I’ll try not to get in dangerous situations”

“Hmph good enough” Replied the now calm Sora. Her lips curled a bit on the side forming a little mischievous smile.

“By the way Sora-san, there’s something that I’m curious about. Isn’t Youm studying in the academy too? If I recall Elodor-san said that he had awakened his circuit just a little later than you”

“Mh? Didn’t I tell you? He’s done the first year with me but now, since our family has become part of nobility, he was “forced” to attends balls, greets and all that nobility related stuff”

“What a shame...is he not coming back?”

“Ah no no, I think he’s already headed here. In last week’s letter father told me that Youm was preparing for the journey”

A refreshing feeling pervaded me. It had been years since I saw Youm. In Elodor’s letters he kept boasting about his children’s ability and their aptitude for magic, especially Youm was interesting. His favoured element was fire; meaning that, if used correctly, he could be considered a really dangerous opponent for one who had a wind aptitude like me. On the other hand, he was nowhere near able to beat his sister who had a water affinity. Not only that but Sora only focused her studies in the subject of magic while Youm, influenced by the stories Elodor told him about his adventures with my father, decided to try and pick up the sword. In that aspect he was very similar to me.

As we kept walking and chatting, I couldn’t stop myself from wondering who would come on top if me and Youm had a duel. By the time my fantasies ended, me and Sora had already reached the training grounds.

Part 2

“Good morning everyone. I would like to start this lesson by spending a few words. I very well know that you are not familiar with me. This course was supposed to be taught by professor Lambert but due to certain...circumstances regarding his person, he won’t be able to teach for the time being. As such, I was tasked with your instruction on the matter of practitioner tier practical magic. For those who are seeing my face for the first time, I’m professor Shailad. I hope that our time together will prove fruitful!”

Instead of the usual tired face of professor Lambert, a new one, unknown to me, was greeting us warmly. The man wearing that new face was small compared to some of the students and clearly had an appetite for food. Not only was his body unhealthy fat, with double chins, fat rolls and flab under his arms, but on top of his tight jacket that looked like it could explode at any given moment were many different kinds of crumbs. Bread mostly, but also something similar to donuts, a sauce that looked like marmalade and a stain of either tea or wine. His blond hair was tied in a very small high ponytail. Tied so tightly that his whole forehead seemed to stretch upwards, making his eyebrows stand as if he always carried a surprised expression. With plump red cheeks, big deep brown eyes and an untrimmed goatee on his chin, he looked really unpleasant to the eye.

It was not my place to judge someone by their appearance, yet something about the way he carried himself felt off. He showed too much pride and self-esteem while explaining basic enchants that we had already studied under professor Lambert. The first half of the lesson was boring to the point where some students, who purposely sat on the back rows of the bleachers, were peacefully sleeping or minding their own business. It was when the second half of the lesson, the true practical exercise, started that my suspicions towards me only intensified.

“Now, now, I know you’d like to learn more of the usage of those spells but stacking too much knowledge without practice is not good. Now then, take your wands out and five at a time, aim for the dummies and cast “water pierce”. Your goal is to simply hit the dummy, don’t try to focus on breaking it. This exercice’s goal is to have you familiarize with the spell-”

[Is he an idiot or something? Half of the class was sleeping! How could you think that “we would like to learn more”...fucking pissing me off!]

“-mhh but maybe we should have someone demonstrate it for the whole class...mmhh, oh! Raphael Bluescale, why don’t you come in the front and show it to the class? I heard from the headmaster that you have quite the talent!”

Reluctantly, as instructed, I positioned myself in front of a dummy, probably between eight and ten meters away from it. Since I had no wand I just casted it like usual: with my left hand straight forward and my right grabbing my left wrist to increase stability. “Water pierce” is a rather simple practitioner tier spell. The mana the caster generates promptly becomes pressured water and flows, in a laser kind of way, towards a designed target. Accomplished mages are able to intervene in the pressure and speed of the water stream.

“I do not know what the headmaster thinks of me, but I am not as talented as you portray me professor. There are student more fit to demonstrate to the class”

“Oh? Are you implying that both me and the headmaster have judged you wrongly? Perhaps you are thinking that you are beyond our judgment?”

“No...that’s clearly not what I had intended to-”

“Just cast the spell and do not question me!”

[The fuck is this guy’s problem? Did he wake up with a stick in his ass?!]

Swallowing the instinct of answering back, I got into position and started gathering mana on my left palm. As I fired the spell, easy enough for me not to spend mana on any modification, the previous perfectly straight trajectory suddenly changed as a powerful wave of mana hit my shoulder. SInce it was mana I didn’t buldge, it was simply the residual mana coming from a spell or a magic item. I looked back at my classmates that seemed unfazed by it. Was I the only one who noticed?

“Tch tch tch, you missed your target Bluescale-” Said the fat professor with an evil smug smile on his face “-it should have been a simple spell for someone recognized by the headmaster!”

It was clear that he held some kind of animosity towards me. His smile was a clear sign that he found my failure amusing and was now trying to shame me in front of the whole class. As if I didn’t already have a bad reputation.

“Sorry if I disappointed you but, as I already said, you and the headmaster both gave me too much credit”

“Again with that!-” His face suddenly reddened from his stretched forehead to his flapping chin “-You dare counter the judgment of me, a noble and a professor? That’s it! I will consider this as a test that you miserably failed...how many points should I deduct?”

“I don’t mind if the professor considers this as a test-” The previously smug and victorious expression on the face of the fat man, turned into one of confusion “-but I’m not sure if the professor knows that I have zero points soo...deducting something from zero should be impossible. Well, I will now return to my spot”

His expression was priceless. Thinking he could shame me and trample my scholastic career or my will to study by merely deducting some points was his misunderstanding. The reason why he harbored such strong feelings against me was still unknown but it was clear that he lacked information about me. What kind of person hates someone without knowing about them? At that time it felt strange but I didn’t pay too much mind to it. I figured he was looking for a way to crush my nonexistent pride from being “recognized by the headmaster”. In any case that man didn’t concern me too much. At the end of the semester I would take the exam to advance to the advanced tier practical magic class, so it was only a matter of five months before we could get rid of each other.

Part 3

When the lesson came to an end I was finally able to let out a sigh of relief. Having the judgemental eye of professor Shailad solely focused on me felt rather heavy. He was like a cat ready to strike at the first error the little bird committed. My inner thoughts probably were leaking out to my facial expression and Sora took notice of them.

“Don’t worry too much about it Raphael-san!-” Said the snow haired girl with an angelic smile “-the professor probably just had a bad day. I’m sure it won’t happen next time!”

I was being cheered up. It was a strange sensation. Other than being cheered up by my parents from time to time, no one had ever done that to me. If I was ever feeling down or discouraged, Lucas was there ready to make fun of me and fight. Needless to say that I repaid him with the same coin. This method, and our relationship in general, could be considered unconventional but it was nonetheless efficient.

“That’s fine-” I said, feeling warmth coming from deep within the stomach “-I’m not mad nor sad. It’s just...discouraging seeing a professor trying to make fun of a student. Well, not that it really matters to me”

Conversing with Sora was always calming. In the past month we began growing closer by the day to the point where I could consider her my only friend. Even though because of my busy schedule we didn’t have that many afternoons to chat together, it was mostly done during the breaks between lessons. As usual, after the first lesson of the day, the garden between the school building and the training grounds was flooded with students. First years, second, third, fifth...a whole lot of different students were out there leisurely chatting, eating and hurriedly studying for the upcoming tests. I couldn’t stop myself from reminiscing about my school days and finding some similarities with my current lifestyle.

[Doesn’t matter where you go, school will always remain school huh?]

“Ohh I see you are in a nice mood!-” Called with a loud voice an unknown student blocking my path. He had deep red hair, very short on the side and long on the top. They stood up with a wave rising from left to right. The man was a little taller than me with broad shoulders and thick arms. His eyes were narrow and sharp with bright red pupils having hints of yellow in them. He was looking at me with a smile. A prideful smile. I knew exactly who that student was yet I couldn’t even think that he would even speak a word to me. The student ranked first of the first years.

“- My name is Danthe Hannes! My title is not worth mentioning since we are on school grounds. Raphael Bluescale...I challenge you to a duel!”

His last words were delivered so loud that more than a shout it felt like a roar, a lion’s roar. Eyes filled with curiosity started to gather around the three of us, hoping for a duel to break out. It wasn’t the first duel that happened since the start of school, but a duel was alway a duel and soon excited students gathered around us in a chaotic circle.

I was startled. Why would the supposedly strongest of the first year challenge the weakest? Before I could even realize it I was conversing with the red haired man before me.

“I don’t know if you have realized that you, the first on the first year’s scoreboard, just challenged the last”

“Hahaha don’t humble yourself. Me being the first and you the last is just a mere coincidence!”

“Well, even if it was, it would be problematic for me to accept. First of all I still have zero points so, following the rules of the school, I’d have nothing to wager on this duel. Secondly, accepting this duel would only result in me shaming myself. Engaging an already lost battle is way beyond foolish”

“I do not care for the wagering rule in all honesty so if it puts you at ease none of us will gain or lose points after this duel.-” A sly smile slightly cracked on his face, showing his perfectly white teeth “-But I really can’t stop myself from wondering...are you really worthy of the last position?”

“Mhh, it seems like you’ve already done your share of studying-” I said while crossing my arms. His only answer was a smug shrug of his shoulders “-, that’s the more reason for me not to accept”

“You really are a coward, Bluescale!-” A loud shout came from behind the first line of the circle around us. From it appeared a familiar face carrying on his head an impeccable blonde bowl cut. Floyd Nave. His face was livid with fury as his arms swung around randomly just like an inflatable rubber man.

“- How can you refuse a duel from one of the esteemed Hannes house?! Didn’t you understand what I told you last time!? You really have no shame!”

I was already in a kind of bad mood because of professor Shailad, the bullshit coming from that pathetic excuse of a man was the last drop. I fixed my eyes on him, ready to cast a spell as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Mana was already gathering on my clenched left hand. Sora, who kept silent since the start of mine and Danthe’s conversation, probably caught wind of my intentions and strongly gripped my left arm with both hands. When I turned my head around to see the reason for her action I was struck with her pleading face. Her eyes were filled with worry and as she looked deeper into my eyes her grip on my arm intensified. The cursing shouts of Floyd suddenly faded in the background as I was being filled with a sense of guilt. The promise I made her that morning struck my brains like a fiery arrow. I released my clenched fist.

When I diverted my gaze from Sora to once again face the student who stood in front of me I was struck with the unexpected. Danthe Hannes, a high noble coming from a city in the east of the War Lands, the strongest of the first year students, had an obviously disgusted face as he glared at the cursing Floyd.

“Ugghh...seems like the audience is not fit for a duel” Said Danthe with an annoyed grimace.

“A barking dog does nothing but spoil the mood I guess”

“Ohh so you do get it! That’s good! I’ll back off for today, but I’ll be back...that is until you accept my duel, Raphael Bluescale!”

“I had a feeling you’d say something like that”

With a lazy wave of his hand he turned his back on me and started walking towards the school building. But, soon after having walked two steps, he turned his head around looking me in the eye one more time over his shoulder.

“Ah, just one little friendly tip. Forests are perfect for assassinations, don’t you think?”

As he laughed his way out of the circle, the people around us, dissatisfied with the result, started walking away whispering and minding their business. Even the previously furious Floyd was nowhere to be seen anymore.

[Forests are perfect for assassinations huh?]

“You couldn’t be more right…” I said to myself in a low tone.

His last words rang through my brain like a morning alarm with a hangover. To everyone else those words might have seemed like a threat or just pure nonsense. But to me those words had meaning since I had already been the target of an assassination in the woods. In the past few days I struggled to find a reason behind that attempt without being able to find an offence that could have provoked the green haired girl. His words just proved the rumor that Gallher created a group of powerful nobles. Danthe was one of them. Knowing about the assassination only meant one thing: the green haired girl was part of that same group. I couldn't stop myself from chuckling.

“Mh? Raphael-san, are you ok?” Asked Sora, now standing right in front of me.

“Oh? Yes, yes I’m totally fine...even better, I feel really good. I just met someone way more interesting that I could think of!”

[Soo you really want me dead uh Gallher? It’s not fun if I leave all the work to you though...this fight it’s a game that two should play!]

Part 4

My days were very busy. Between lessons from morning to early afternoon, self study until sword lessons in the dojo and the adventurer job, the only really free day I had at my disposal was saturday. And it was during a saturday morning, a little more than a week after the incident with Hannes, that me and Lucas finally had time to sort out what we gathered.

“Soooo, you said that you’re sure that the one behind the attempt was Gallher, right?” Asked Lucas, the now empty mug of tea idly dangling from his index finger.

“Yes. You could say I’m even sure of it”

“How tho?”

“First off: the green haired girl. She is someone I had never talked to, offended nor met around school. We know for a fact that she was the one who paid the adventurers, but it wouldn’t make any sense for her to hold a grudge against me, I have never done anything to her! Soo, either she’s some kind of maniac who enjoys killing fellow students or someone set her up to it. The latter seems more plausible, right?”

“Yeah, there’s no doubt about it. Even I have never done anything to her so it does make sense that someone is behind her”

“Right, so who’s behind her? I thought about it and some time ago I came across an interesting rumor saying that Gallher was gathering strong and influential nobles to create some sort of group. You heard about it right?”

“Yes, yes. I heard something similar not too long ago. A couple of girls in my class were talking about it. Didn’t pay much attention back then”

“So, if the only ones that have a grudge against me are Gallher and his servants or group, then it’s possible that the green haired girl either works for Gallher or is part of his group. That said, I had no concrete proof on the matter so I couldn’t really be sure about it”

“Then how did you come to be sure?”

“Remember last week, when Danthe Hannes challenged me to a duel?”

“Yeah and you soundly refused hahaha!”

“Mh there was no point in dueling him...I would have just made a show of my skills and all this facade of the “weak guy” would crumble. But we are getting off topic. As he was leaving he said something rather interesting. He said that “forests are the best place for assassinations”. This could easily be taken for a threat but I have a feeling it’s not. It’s too big of a coincidence that a noble who’s also the strongest of our year talks about forests and assassinations. You get where I’m going right?”

“Fuck! Now it all makes sense doesn’t it? He knows about what happened in the “Moonlight woods”, and the reason he does is because he is in Gallher’s group, since it’s common knowledge around the academy. And if he’s in Gallher’s group and knows about the assassination attempt it could only mean -”

“-That the green haired girl is someone connected to Gallher!” We said in unison.

“Fiuuu, you’ve got some dangerous people who want your neck!” Chuckled my brother.

“Yeaah, not like I asked any of this!”

“So? Now that we know who’s behind, what are you gonna do?”

“Mhh, what do you mean? Obviously I’ll do nothing!”

“What?! They are coming for your head and you’ll just sit here doing nothing?”

“Yeah, kind of...Listen, we now know three people in the group. The rest is unknown. I’m not gonna risk my neck and sulk my reputation by going on a witch hunt against them. We’ll just play in defense. Neither of us has yet to show what is truly capable, right? That’s our trump card! They’ll send against us what they deem necessary to take down two of the worst of the school, and of course we’ll easily come out on top. Once they grow restless or have a shortage of pawns they’ll start attacking us themselves...that’s when we’ll go on the offensive!”

“Smart...why bother searching for the enemy when you already know the enemy is searching for you? But what if they target Sora-san? She was with us that day”

“Gallher is prideful and full of himself but he’s not stupid. Sora-san is nobility now, it would be really a bad move to lay hands on the daughter of a noble. Plus Elodor-san and Gallher’s father are nobles of different countries. What do you think would happen if he, for example, kidnapped her?”

“Worst case scenario?...War would break out”

“Correct...let’s just hope he really is that stupid tho! Now onto more pressing matters-” I said as I reached for a small wooden basket in the wardrobe “- we still have to decide what to do about the loot we stole from the adventurers”

“Riiight! I almost forgot!”

“Ook ladies and gentlemen. To start off we’ve got one, two...six torn pieces of clothing used by the assassins to hide in the shadows!”

“Pffff HAHAHA! You sound like a vendor in a downcity market HAHAHA!”

“Haha, that was the objective. Did it sound good?”

“It sure did! Have you ever thought about abandoning magic and becoming some sort of bard?”

“Oh shut up! Now seriously, what do you wanna do about them Lucas?”

“Mhh well, they are neither stylish or useful to both of us...I guess selling them would be best?”

“Yes, I think so too...we’ll just have to clean them up a bit. There’s still blood on some of them”

“True, even though I don’t think we’ll get much from them. Other than their clothes we have...uuhh a wand! Some wands are really expensive, you know! We might have hit the jackpot...you know what, you don’t have a wand right Raph?”

“Uh? Well, no. I can cast spells strong enough without the wand so I saw no reason for buying one”

“Then how about you keep this one? It might be of a different element but it’ll still give a small boost to your other spells. Think of it as a last resort I guess, in case of emergency!”

“...You know Lucas. It’s strange... sometimes you actually say something intelligent. I’ll take up the wand. Then how about you take the two swords and we sell the remaining weapons?”

“I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear only because you gave me the swords. Is there something left?”

“Yes, just their sets of light armors”

“How many are usable?”

“Probably two, three if you don’t count a small cut in one of them”

“Then should we keep those intact and sell the other three? Having some armor even if it’s light when adventuring doesn’t sound like that bad of an idea”

“I agree. Then it’s decided! Today afternoon we’ll have a walk around the city and sell the cleaned clothes, the broken armors and the weapons we don’t use. Sounds right?”

“Sure thing brother!”

As time went by and the sky started turning a deep orange colour, changing the colour of the building and casting shadows on the stony streets, my and my brother’s goal to sell the stolen stuff had already ended and we were now on our way back to school. We didn’t earn as much as selling monster corpses but it was still free money. From selling the black clothes we earned 7 copper coins a piece, since the material could be reused. The three weapons that were either broken or different from a sword were sold for a total of 55 copper coins while the armor sets were too broken to sell them for a good price. Luckily we found a smith who was kind enough to buy them off our hands for 10 copper coins each set, almost one eighth of their actual price. At the end of the day we were happy to go back home with a little bit more than one silver coin.

As we walked around the school gardens towards our room, talking about the various recipes that we could try with the gold coat boar meat that we bought with a discount from the butcher, a fairly big crowd was gathered close to the entrance of our dorms. Shouting students, especially girls from the second year, were pushing each other, trying to get closer to the middle. Inside this rowdy crowd, two people were standing out because of their atypical snowy mane. When we approached the crowd the details of their figure grew clear. Snow white hair, ruby red eyes and slightly pointy ears. They were the Evergard: Sora and Youm.

“Hey Raph, who’s that pretty boy that has all those girls fawning over him near Sora-san?” Asked Lucas in a slightly pissed tone. Especially when talking about the fawning girls.

“That’s her twin brother: Youm-san”

“She has a twin?”

“Yep! Can’t you see how similar they are?”

“Now that you mention it...but when did he even arrive?”

“Apparently right now” I said while pointing at his vast amount of luggage at the side of his legs.

Youm had vastly changed from the last time I saw him. That was to be expected since more than four years passed. His whole body had undergone big changes, starting from his height, now a little taller than me. His shoulders were now fairly broad. One could see that he trained with the sword because of them, yet they did not look as broad and sturdy as Floyd’s ones. A sign that he either started training late or the sword wasn’t his only focus. Legs, arms and neck were all developed in a similar way to his shoulders. Another change came under the form of his looks. The way he behaved himself, his pose, his cocky yet dignified smile and his short loose hair falling on his sides and forehead divided in locks, only stopping before reaching his eyes. Everything about his figure spelled noble, and that made him look rather handsome.

As I was appreciating how my childhood acquaintance had grown, his eyes met mine and an expression of pure joy cracked on his face. Without even time to wave at him, he rapidly pushed his way through the crowd to stand right in front of me. After a good second spent on eyeing me down from head to toe, he finally said:

“Haha you’ve grown quite handsome Raphael-san! Tell me, how many girls are trying to hit on you?”

“Haha than...what? You know that I-”

“Don’t worry-” He said, leaning closer and whispering in my ear “- I already know of your secret with my sister. I won’t be telling anyone”

“Good, less things to explain! But I guess I could say the same to you...you’ve got quite the crowd after you!”

“Hehe, what can I say? Being beautiful and popular has its ups and downs” His chest pumped up in a boastful attempt to appear stronger.

“Hooo look how cocky you’ve become haha! But I was wondering...what were you doing standing in front of the dorm like that?”

“Please excuse his idiocy Raphael-san-” Said a sweet voice from behind Youm’s back “- I couldn't convince this idiot brother of mine to back down!”

“Mh? Back down from what?”

“RAPHAEL BLUESCALE!-” A powerful voice coming from the man standing in front of me with his index finger almost touching my nose “- I, Youm Evergard, challenge you to a duel under the academy rules!”

“Ugh this!” Replied Sora, covering her face with her hands.

I took a moment to look around, pondering whether to accept the challenge or not. More people started gathering around us, both girls and boys, people were even looking down on us from their balconies. Everyone's faces were expectant but in some cases they were even skeptical. I could hear someone whispers saying things like “Why did Evergad-san challenged HIM?” or “Isn’t it a little unfair for that guy?”. Basically I was being looked down on, not that I didn’t expect it. It was actually what I was aiming for: making everyone believe that I was actually weak. But right now, in that moment, the only thing cruising through my mind was the sole curiosity of knowing how strong did Youm really become. “Fuck it” I thought.

“I accept your challenge, Youm Evergard!” I said pointing my finger at his face. our arms right beside one another. Cheers from the crowd were accompanied by loud laughs and mekery. Two people wore a different expression than the rest: Sora and Lucas. They clearly didn’t expect the duel to actually take place since their mouths were wide open in complete disbelief. Youm on the other hand was wearing an excited smile.

“Hahaha then it’s decided! Somebody, please call a professor. We need a referee for the duel!”

“Do you mind If I take said role, Evergand-kun, Bluescale-kun?”

The man who just spoke was one I had rarely seen around school other than the first day. With his long purple robe with intricate golden designs and a beautifully kept white beard, the old man that was the headmaster of this academy presented before us. Under his arm he was carrying a pile of books and behind his moustache, a sly smile fueled my weariness of that man.

“H-Headmaster? We wouldn’t want to take away your time with this duel!” Said a panicking Youm.

“Oh nonsense, time spent on my students is not time wasted! On a side note, I am rather curious about the results of this duel so I’d be glad to act as warrantor”

“I’m fine with it-” I said “-, thanks for your time headmaster!”

“Good, now how much will the two of you weager?”

At the old man’s question me and Youm looked at each other completely lost. Apparently neither of us ever thought about the weager rule.

“Mhh fact is that I don’t have any points” I said scratching the back of my head.

“Me too! I spent them all during last year’s final exam”

“Mhhh then we’ll bend the rules just a little-” Said the headmaster scratching his beardy chin “- Each of you will wager one of his possessions, except money that is. I shall see that the two wagered possession are of similar value”

I took a moment to think about something to weager, something that I would not miss even if I lost. Yet nothing came to mind since in the first place I didn’t have that many possessions. In the end, the only thing wearable was what I was carrying on my person at the moment.

“Should this wand be enough as a weager?” I asked, taking out the bluish wand from the internal pocket of my jacket and showing it to the headmaster.

“Yes, it will suffice. And you Evergard-kun, what will you wager?”

“Mhh, I don’t know if you’ll find any use to it but I have this new set of clothes that I brought from home. Will this be enough?”

“Yes it will. Now, may I ask the two duelant to prepare themselves while the other students take a few steps back? I shall cast a barrier once you are ready. It wouldn’t be kind to have your spells ruin our good dorm haha!”

As Youm started to stretch his arms and legs, I went up to Lucas and took off my jacket for him to hold it. Before walking back to the center of the clearing where our duel would take place, I rolled up my sleeves and took off my suspenders, letting them dangle from my waist.

The headmaster whispered some inaudible words and casted a large glass-like barrier around me and Youm. It was a new spell for me but my curiosity had to be put on hold. At the moment I was getting way too excited about the upcoming duel.

Me and my opponent were face to face at about five meters from each other, our eyes locked into one another. A smile cracked on my face.

“Are you both ready?” Asked the old man in a stoic tone as if he was putting up a show. Neither answered, we just nodded without taking the eyes off each other. We weren’t allowed to carry weapons so duels were other hand to hand or magic related. I lowered my waist, slightly squatted with one foot pointing towards and the other sideways, the arms in front of me in a box-like stance. Youm simply had his palms open facing towards me.

“Then I declare this duel started!”