Being used as a shield to block social conversations was a first for me. An atmosphere of excitement blended into the conversations in the homeroom classroom. Our classmates were eyeing Amanda, trying to figure out when she would be free to talk.

That was where I came in.

There was a subtle art to getting rid of someone that wanted to talk to your friend. When she made it clear that she didn’t want to talk to others it meant that only the most stubborn people still made the attempt.

Gold was the easiest method. Nobody could blame a bird for being a bird, and any time somebody got past me then I would send in Gold to eat a treat and take up Amanda’s time.

“Fue, it wasn’t always this bad.” Amanda muttered.

We left the homeroom in a rush. Amanda stuck to me as the eyes of the students in the corridor turned towards her.

She ignored them. “What do we have first?”

“Math.”

I opened up my system library to double check today's timetable.

First period: Math

Second period: Earth magic studies

Break

Third period: Symbol studies

Fourth period: Science

Lunch break

Fifth period: Metal magic studies

Sixth period: Metal magic studies

“This day is off to a great start.” She groaned.

It was a fun day for me in terms of subjects. For Amanda, she dealt with a different beast altogether. Even in our mathematics class the students still bothered her. When we arrived our fellow homeroom students had somehow gotten there before us, and every second seat was taken.

There was no space for us to sit together.

I looked around the room and not every one of the students looked comfortable with the arrangement. A few of them were looking hopeful, and I could guess what had happened.

They had decided that if they couldn’t approach her, they would make her approach them. It was a lottery who she would pick to sit next to, but they were willing to take that chance over no chance.

“Okay. That’s enough.” Amanda walked up to one of the students, and his eyes lit up. “Get up.”

They’d only succeeded in pissing her off more.

The math teacher arrived before Amanda succeeded in kicking anyone out of their seats. Instead, she sat next to one of the people that looked like they didn’t want to sit with her.

That person received glares from the others.

The math class was simple, and I found my mind drifting. Unease floated on the surface of my heart as I thought over the events of today and yesterday. The headmaster himself had gone to view and test Alexis.

That was the biggest sign of approval the school could give. It also signalled that nothing was wrong. The faculty had taken my concerns seriously, and the investigation turned up nothing.

Maybe there really was nothing there.

There would be more tests. I was sure of that. The students would also be watching Alexis like a hawk, just like they were with Amanda.

A household with two bloodlines inherited was going to soar into the skies of wealth and power. This world shared many differences with Earth but one area they were similar in was respect for personal power.

We left the classroom in a hurry. I dropped Amanda off at her classroom, saving her from being swarmed, and then entered my earth magic studies class.

“Mr Silver. You are late.” Tago of the earth turned to me as I entered. “Do not be so again or there will be consequences.”

I saw Ouros and the stout girl smile at his words and then wave to me. They’d started sitting together, and I joined them.

The girl was the student that had come third in the manipulation tests and knew all of the earth materials by heart.

“Andross.”

“Unice.”

The lesson itself was a repeat of the last one. The foundations of the earth element were the materials that it was composed of.

It was strange to stare at rocks for an entire class, but I could feel my magic improving. Each pebble had a different feel to it, and when they came together, they clashed.

I hadn’t realised until I looked at it deeply how much interference there was with my magic. Each individual material was controllable, but my proficiency varied between each one.

It hadn’t been too much of a problem for me because my earth creation ability allowed me to make pure substances.

For manipulating the earth that already existed in the world this was an important exercise. Distinguishing between the materials would allow me to control them easier and be more fluid and dynamic with my element.

That took some of the edge of the tediousness of the exercises.

When the class finished, we couldn’t wait to get out of there. Gold flew back to my shoulder, and we walked out into the corridor.

“I thought that class would never end.” Ouros groaned. “Please tell me our metal one isn’t going to be the same.”

“Then I won’t tell you.” I spoke. “But yes, it is.”

Unice giggled at our discussion. Ouros turned to her and placed his hand on her head, twirling it around.

“Gah! My hair!” Unice pushed him off. “Don’t take your boredom out on me.”

“You’re going to join us soon enough and you’ll have to suffer.” He laughed. “Why not start now.”

I looked at them. Unice wasn’t angry, and she had a smile on her face.

These two already knew each other.

“Are you attuned to metal?” I asked.

She turned to me and shook her head. “I’m trying. I’ll get there.”

She puffed up confidently and Gold squawked in encouragement. Then a tiny flash of light caught my attention. Just behind Ouros’ green hair was a small flame, barely an ember, wriggling in the air and trying to get my attention. Then it started moving.

“Sorry guys, gotta go.” I smiled. “I’ll catch you at the end of the day, Ouros.”

Gold and I made our way through the crowds of students going on break. The flame was barely noticeable, especially in a school filled with magic users, but it still turned a couple of heads.

I followed it to the garden that led to the arena. Then it took a sharp right turn, deeper into the flower beds.

There were trees here, and the occasional student was sitting down underneath them, and some were meditating. The flame stopped in front of a tree that was big enough to hide a group of people.

Behind it was Amanda.

“Join me for food.” Amanda patted the ground next to her. “Or do it even if I don’t ask. Because apparently personal space isn’t a thing that exists anymore.”

“That bad?”

I knew the answer, but I wanted to give her an opportunity to vent.

“Well, the family is in for a good time. I had several long-lost cousins contact us.” Amanda crossed her arms. “They were wondering if I could put Alexis in touch with them.”

“Not you?” I frowned.

“I’m not the sociable one.” Amanda pursed her lips. “If it wasn’t for my bloodline unlocking, Alexis would be the only contender for head of the household.”

She sat back against the tree, and I noticed that the bark didn’t singe on contact with her hair. She had her flames activated, but they didn’t burn or throw off heat.

“He has good grades, good manners, and the ability to connect to people. And now that he’s unlocked the bloodline it’s different. He’s the only one that can lead the household.”

She sighed.

“Did you want to lead them?” She hadn’t given me that vibe.

“Heck no, there are too many hassles for it to be worth it. I don’t care about reputation.” She gestured into the air and Agni flew into her hand. “I like how I am now. Doing what I like to do. It’s just… I don’t think Alexis wants to do it either.”

“Both of you still have a choice. It’s not like someone can force you to run a household.”

I knew it was a silly thing to say. There was more than just a person telling them to do this. There was their family legacy and reputation, and societal pressures, but I still wanted her to hear the words for her own peace of mind.

She smiled at me, and then gestured with her hands. Food floated in the air, and I brought out my own as well.

We ate and talked until the break was halfway done. She wasn’t as happy as she had been in the morning, and I don’t think the swarm of students was the only issue. Agni had fluttered around her head, chirping at her numerous times, and her hair was sparking more than usual.

Then we got up and made our way back into the main academy building. We tried to keep a low profile, which was difficult with Amanda’s hair on fire.

This time we went to class earlier and before the break had ended. We were the only people in the room, and Amanda let out a sigh of relief as we took our chairs.

Then I sensed something strange. I looked around the room with my eyes narrowed.

“What is it?” Amanda asked.

“I thought I saw something.” I spoke.

Gold let out a low squawk and confirmed my suspicions. Everything was not as it seemed in this room.

I activated my mana sense, but it didn’t pick up anything.

That didn’t mean much. This was a symbols class, and not all symbols used magic as a conduit. Indra had taught me how to view the world with my eyes closed.

My dad had taught me how to see it with them open.

The strange sensation I was getting wasn’t magical. It was instinct. My body and mind had spent months of time memorising symbols. I could spot one immediately, and that was the feeling I was getting now.

There was a symbol in this room. I had seen it, but now I couldn’t remember where. I might even be looking at it right now, not able to consciously piece it together.

I took in the placement of the chairs, and the tables around us. No. They were too malleable, and unpredictable. A symbol couldn’t be made out of them without breaking the moment someone touched them.

The ceiling. The floor. The blackboard. All of them together.

I examined them one by one, and then pressed my hand against the blackboard. Someone had drawn on it with black chalk. I had seen it when I walked in, but I hadn’t registered it consciously.

The moment I disrupted the symbol a man appeared in the middle of the room. He held a cane in one hand and a piece of chalk in the other.

“You figured it out in four minutes.” The man tapped his cane on the ground. “Your father did it in three.”

Amanda squeaked at the sudden intrusion.

“Pernacles Jeval the third.” The man stuck his cane out for me to shake. “Your symbols teacher. I wasn’t expecting students this early.”

I shook his cane awkwardly and stared at the man.

“My dad?” This was the first time I’d heard someone mention him openly.

“You’re the spitting image of him.” Pernacles walked up to the blackboard. “I suppose the extra minute of time is because you tried to check the magic in the room first. A common mistake, but not one that can’t be rectified.”

He was right. My dad was manaless so he wouldn’t have checked for mana. He couldn’t. I stared at the teacher as he set up the symbol on the blackboard again.

“I was going to wait and see if anyone could figure it out during the course of the class.” Pernacles grinned. “It always surprises some of the students. They do some interesting things when they don’t think a teacher is in the room.”

“I didn’t notice anything at all.” Amanda spoke.

Pernacles turned to her and nodded his head gravely.

“The problem with the students at this academy is that they don’t notice things unless they are magical in nature. That is why I designed this test to see who could look beyond that.”

Pernacles finished the symbol but didn’t activate it.

I was familiar with his method of teaching. It was similar to my dad’s. The first lesson he had taught me was that magic and symbols were separate, and it was important to always remember this.

Pernacles was teaching our class the same lesson. He had designed this test so that students would learn the difference intrinsically, and if they didn’t then he would humiliate them by letting them know that they had failed.

“Of course, I did not expect an outlier like you. Normally, I am informed when your household members enter the Academy.” Pernacles pointed his cane towards me. “I’m not going to go easy on you. I will tailor a schedule for you that is separate from the others.”

He turned back to the blackboard. “Any questions before the class starts?”

A possibility had crossed my mind when I was thinking about Alexis’ situation. Magic wasn’t the only force in this world that could create changes.

“Is it possible-”

“Is it possible to create a fake bloodline using symbols?” Amanda interjected.

I stared at her. She’d been thinking something similar to me. A bloodline was a symbol.

Could another symbol be made to fool others into thinking a bloodline existed where it didn’t, even with the tests?

Pernacles turned to look at her in surprise. “You-”

The bell for the end of class sounded in our ears. Pernacles looked towards the door and tapped parts of the blackboard. Then he slapped it and the symbol lit up.

“My apologies for interrupting such dedicated students, but our free time has run out. We can speak about your question later.”

He disappeared into the air.

“Now then, don’t ruin the surprise.”