I sighed, glancing at the paper in front of me, my right foot tapping a steady beat on the floor. Officially, the only pass or fail tests lay at the end of the spring semester, right before the summer break. The Academy claimed this was to encourage continued efforts and ensure late-bloomers did not suffer for early failures.

Unofficially, every master here had their own particular brand of testing to gauge current progress. This told them which apprentices had potential and, more importantly, who did not. Ferris was not a fair place, and masters did not want to waste their time on the weakest and least skilled. The strong prospered, and the weak fell behind.

I would not be one of the latter.

First was Spellcraft, where we had to cast and hold as many individual spells as possible without losing control of any. By this point, I could handle two without much trouble and three with some difficulty, which put me ahead of most but not far enough to earn a prize.

In Magic Theory, I had passed a written test and earned myself an approving nod and a small book a few dozens pages long for my efforts. I had not read much through it, but a cursory glance found that it contained exercises to improve gathering efficacy. Not very effective, but any little bit helped.

Enchanting was another written exam, requiring each apprentice to list as many runes as we could recall, along with intended uses and well-suited elements. Master Hamilton asked us to theorize on potential combinations and their likely overall effects in an end product for extra credit.

Master Barlow's test was to demonstrate our talents and improvements in another duel against her, which ended about as well as the first time around. However, though none came within eyesight of what could be called 'victory,' a few did manage to dodge an attack or get off a few more spells than the first time around.

When I used my sensory abilities to detect a hidden spell coming at me from a blind spot, Barlow graced me with an eyebrow raise and brief nod. I had a strong suspicion she was not trying to hide her magic, which tempered the momentary thrill of satisfaction, but it was better than the first time.

Forging was similar to Spellcasting but focusing on altering constructs on the fly using nothing but mana control and focus. Though we moved to reinforcement, Master Laila wanted to ensure our foundations in creation were solid. At the end of class, she pulled me aside, handing me a packet of notes to study over the break.

In Magic Beasts, we had a test on major species of creatures living near Volaris, asking their probable abilities and how best to study, capture or kill them. Additionally, Master Kendell included a section on prominent aspects of a magical creature's biology and how it might differ from a human. That last part was elementary, considering I had already studied the topic in depth.

Finally, here I was in Espionage, trying to ensure I answered this test to the best of my abilities without embarrassing myself in front of Master Julian. That would be a poor start to working with him.

I had breezed through the section on ciphers, using strategies ingrained into my mind thanks to past training. The portion focusing on possible means of hiding my presence from mundane and magical tracking was more difficult, but again experience helped. I had already hunted several creatures capable of sniffing out a human, quite literally.

But the last portion was the one that took up most of my time. Though we barely discussed the topic, Julian asked us to establish and maintain an informant network. My best guess was he wanted to see our personal deductions using logical reasoning and what we already knew from past topics.

There were a dozen little ways to eke out information from another person or turn them to your side; A few were relatively pleasant and many more far less so. I listed them all down in elaborate detail, such as how you could turn a vice against someone, offer bribes to the greedy, or use superior power to strong-arm them into a task.

It was mostly speculation, as this was an area Girem personally did not use. He appreciated the need for subtlety, and in truth, it was not out of any moral reasonings. If he had his way, he would do all manner of horrible things to ensure Ferris and Duke Estton prospered.

But Duke Estton, like his son, was an idealist and outright refused such underhanded tactics. They still obtained information from a network of informants, but this was more like friendships than spying.

I had to wonder if it occurred to my lord that few others shared his moral standing. Honor was little comfort when your enemies had a dagger at your back.

By the time I turned in my test, the room was empty except for Master Julian. He raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, I almost asked him about it before remembering that Amelia was waiting for me outside. We did not have training with Sig tonight, and she had asked if I wanted to eat dinner with her. A sort of celebration for the end of classes, since she would be busy with her family until the banquet in two weeks.

When I turned in my tests, I found that the room was empty except for Master Julian. I considered asking him about it but remembered that Amelia had invited me to dinner after class. A sort of spontaneous celebration before our break began.

"Finally!" Amelia said as I walked out, "I thought you fell asleep in there."

"Somehow, I doubt Master Julian would approve," I remarked with a smile.

She shrugged, and I asked, "Was I really that long?"

"Last one besides you walked out around fifteen minutes ago."

I winced, replying, "Okay, I suppose I could have worked faster. Sorry."

"As long as you admit it," she joked, nudging me with her elbow as we walked together.

After a few seconds, she spoke again, "So, excited to get some time off? You've been running yourself ragged for months now."

"Of course," I answered, knowing full well that there would be no time off in my future.

Amelia seemed to sense the almost evasive reply, rolling her eyes and saying, "Should've known. For a smart guy, you never seemed to learn how to take a break."

I could not very well respond, "Well, I would prefer to live and cannot take a break," so I shrugged, remaining silent.

She seemed to take that as agreement, and we fell silent until we reached a nearby dining hall a few floors up. As we walked inside, I scanned the room, noting that most tables were filled and spotting some familiar faces.

Simon, Leon, and Sophia sat together near one wall, with Simon writing down something on a paper and showing it to the others. There was enough room for both of us, and briefly, I realized this would be the first time Amelia met the twins. Something told me Leon would have a bit of teasing for me. Maybe more than a bit if he learned that we were attending the banquet together.

Before I could make a decision, Amelia swore under her breath, turning to me with a frown and saying, "I'm really sorry about this, Vayne, but can we postpone dinner for another night? I just remembered I have something pretty time-sensitive to finish."

I felt a brief flicker of something unpleasant. Disappointment, maybe, or concern, but either way, I hid the reaction and smiled, replying, "Of course. Another time."

She returned my smile, nodding once before turning and walking back out. I followed her for a moment, a frown returning to my face before shaking my head. Whatever her reasons, speculating on them would only bring me more frustrations.

Leon shouted my name when I came within earshot, drawing gazes from the other apprentices and heating my face. He thrived under so much attention, but I wilted.

"You took longer than I'd expected," he said as I sat down, unknowingly echoing Amelia's sentiment from a few minutes earlier.

"My last class ran long," I explained, briefly inclining my head to the other two, "How did yours go?"

Leon shrugged, "Mostly fine. Master Kendell said my answers on hunting were some of the best she'd seen, and Master Barlow positively loved Simon's creation. Said it was an 'interesting solution to an uncommon problem' though she also advised me that it was too straightforward and one-dimensional."

Simon and Leon had worked together over the last few months, creating an enchanted bow and arrows. This granted Leon penetrative force with his attacks near-equal to my Mana Beams, though with far less mana required.

Simon chimed in, "I have a few ideas to improve it, sir. I mean, if you'd be interested, of course."

If anyone else had said this, I might assume it was from pure greed. But from Simon, I knew it was a genuine offer hoping to help Leon. The young man was almost too compassionate for his own good.

Leon nodded, "I'll speak with my father about it. Speaking of which," he returned his attention to me, "He is...unsure about your plan to remain behind, Vayne. My father and Girem feel you're paying too much attention here and not enough to your duties."

I frowned but had assumed they would say as much, replying, "I do not wish to contradict either, my lord, but remaining behind and continuing my studies is a part of my duties. Master Julian is a brilliant wind mage, and his knowledge might help the family. You in particular."

After a second, I realized my mistake and turned to Sophia, continuing, "And of course, I can set aside time to help you as well, my lady."

She folded her arms, not bothering to respond.

Leon, for his part, leaned forward, chuckling and saying, "Alright, I'll talk to my father again. Don't worry, Vayne. I'll convince him."

I was, in fact, worried but felt an unfamiliar rush of warmth in my chest; Another good reason to avoid returning back to the estate. Girem would have my head if he knew I was growing soft and attached like this.

The other three had already ordered food, and I followed, having a simple meal of fruits and vegetables with water. It was the easiest thing for my stomach to handle, considering how rarely I ate solid foods nowadays.

When we left the hall an hour later, I had planned to return to my room alone, but before I could, Sophia stopped me with an icy look in her eyes.

"You owe me a rematch," she said, not bothering with anything resembling friendliness. At least that made it easy to remember my place and what to say.

I met her gaze before replying, "With all due respect, my lady, fighting again is a terrible idea.

She opened her mouth, but before she could reply, I carried on, "Neither of our elements is particularly safe, and without a master to supervise our duel, we risk injury. I cannot injure you and would rather avoid one myself."

Sophia took in my reply for several seconds, briefly gnawing at her lip. It was the closest thing to worry or annoyance I had ever seen from the young woman. Finally, she responded, "Fine. I will speak with a master who is willing to supervise our duel."

That was not my intention, and I nearly said as much, but the look in her eyes stopped me dead in my tracks. She looked almost like she was daring me to protest and continued, "Try to get out of this, and I will ensure you return back home with us."

"I-" I stammered for a moment before catching myself, nodding once, "I understand, my lady."

Clearly, she was not letting go of this issue, whatever it was, and trying to avoid it further was pointless. If she wanted to duel, she would have her duel.

Sophia met my eyes again, examining me for a moment before turning and walking away. On a whim, I reached out and scanned her mana, checking to see what I was facing. I could get a broad sense of others, mainly element and location, but had to take a closer look to get a better idea.

And when I did, I could not help the swear that slipped past my lips. I had hoped to be the first of our year to reach Haze, but it seems that Sophia had beat me to that milestone.