Chapter 15

Eva Lemuria-15 years old

The next day I had woken up and followed the same routine to get ready. The only difference today is that I'm still covered in bandages and Julie told me not to try my new technique until I'm fully healed. I agreed with her because I think I was lucky my technique worked at all even with slight burns. As we leave my room I look at my schedule and realize that almost all my classes will be in the same room for knowledge courses and any combat or physical classes will be located elsewhere.

I have seven classes today which are Beasteology, Adventures guide, Magic theory, magic combat, weapons combat, history, and etiquette. These are all the classes that the Academy has decided I should take. Each class is also split into parts that the students take through multiple years so all my classes I'll take only the basics this year and then continue some of them next year. If I can do well enough in some of the classes then they may deem it unnecessary for me to continue and give me another class.

Beasteology is a class that will teach about beast and mana beasts. We will learn about their habits in the areas they live, how they interact with their own kind and other beasts. Most importantly we will learn about the beasts weaknesses. I have high hopes for this class because I have already learned about several beasts from Shadow, but his knowledge is limited while the Academy will have the latest knowledge that anyone could have. The academy can be considered the humans center of knowledge.

Adventures Guide will probably be useless to me since I'm already a 5th tier adventure and I've gone on multiple missions over the past year. They are supposed to teach about what the adventures guild is and also what missions there are. The most common are beast Subjugation, but there are also other missions like escorting merchants, bandit subjugation, and even retrieval missions where you are supposed to go look for an object or plant. Most people ignore gathering missions because sometimes people will even put in a request for their grocery shopping. I mostly stuck with beast subjugation for the experience in fighting.

The magic theory class is going to be a class that is exactly what it sounds like. It will be talking about theories and what magic is and why it works. It will discuss what a mana heart could actually be and why mana beast grow a mana heart when they mutate. Why living beings mutate from large quantities of mana exposure is another talked about subject. This is a class I'm eager to go to since these will be asking the questions that I've had myself. I hope I might be able to learn something about myself. I know the chances are low for me to learn something other than the possibility of me being a mana mutant, but I still want to try.

Magic combat will be a class where students can physically train their magic spells. They will be able to fight each other or targets. The class is supposed to give students the chance to try their own spell except with help from instructors that will be present. The only problem is that the basic class will mostly be lectures and the class will barely use any actual spells. Apparently, at most, they are going to have us use basic spells on training dummies for the first year. This class I will probably just look for a tree to lay down under and sleep.

Weapons combat will be a class completely useless to me. Apparently, they're supposed to train students in a weapon of their choice. They're going to mostly just be attacking a training dummy while occasionally sparring with other students or instructors. My problem with the class is I doubt anyone would be able to help me with my halberd because it's such a rare type of weapon. Apparently, it's from a dwarven kingdom and even there its supposed to be rare. I'll probably just take the same actions as the magic combat class of sleeping under a tree.

The history class is something that will be interesting in later years so I have to put up with it for now. The class will be teaching about the history of the world and various kingdoms. It will talk about history before the kingdoms even started to rise from what little sources there are. Apparently back then there weren't that many people recording what is happening so history before the kingdoms is a gray area for us. The class will also talk about the other races as well which is why I want to stick with this class. We won't get to this part until another year, but I really am interested in the other races.

Finally, there is my most dreaded class that I will have to take, etiquette. It's a class that's basically supposed to teach girls how to become proper ladies. They're supposed to know how to walk, talk, and even smile like a proper lady. Mother has been trying to teach me these things for years, but I have refused all this time. I wonder if Mother had a hand in me taking this class or if they just make every girl take it. Either way ill just have to try and not burn down the classroom and go with my usual plan of just sleeping.

I reach the room where all the noncombat classes will take place. The class is filled with first-year students. I don't really recognize anyone, but that could be because I don't know many people. I look around and the only seats left are in the front by the window. I take the seat and lean my halberd on the window before waiting. I notice several people are giving me weird looks but at this point, I don't care about their reasons. I just quietly sit while looking out the window. Julie had gone to the back of the room with the few other attendants because only certain students are allowed them.

An instructor finally comes into the classroom and introduces himself as the beasteology instructor. Instead of starting lessons he starts to talk about our future schedule. He doesn't go into anything specific, but it seems like he's trying to leave a good impression on us. He talks for about half the class time before students start asking him questions. After a while, no one else has questions so he says he will leave early today and that we should just wait till our next teacher. The next instructor is the adventures guide instructor and he does almost the exact same thing of just talking before answering the questions. After this, I begin to understand how today will be. After that, the magic theory and history instructors came in and followed the same routine. Finally, things made a slight difference as an old lady came in and told all the guys they could go to their next classes now.

“Now my name is Instructor Ingrid and I shall be teaching you how a lady should act.” She looks around the room looking for each girl to judge them. When she gets to me she has a look of disgust on her face and I can feel a vein on my forehead bulging. “Who are you? How can there be a lady that dresses like you and carry around such a barbaric thing?”

“My name is Eva Lemuria. I am a princess of the Lemuria Kingdom. Nice to meetcha!” Wow, that shocked look is so hilarious. Oh, now she looks confused.

“How can that be possible? The Queen is known to be one of the most refined and graceful ladies in the noble circles. If you are the princess how could the queen let you be so unrefined?” Ohhhhh I didn't know mother had such a reputation. I feel like we're thinking of two different people because my Mother is an overly affectionate cute thing addict.

“Mother has tried, but I found the whole thing to be pointless and the only point is to keep women as the social norm. If there's one thing I am it's not normal so give this your best shot and see how well it goes for you. It would be best if you just ignore me and let me sleep.”

“I cannot do that! It is my job to make proper ladies out of all of you now remove your hood and come stand up here.” I sigh and then go and stand in front of the class but I do not remove my hood. She notices my actions and reached for my hood. “I said remove your hood. There is no reason for it.”

“The last time someone tried to touch my hood the ended up with a broken hand and his followers ended up worse.” Her hand stills.

“So that incident was you? I heard it was the prince and his friends that had gotten hurt but no one said who it was so the issue was dropped. I guess I can tell those in charge who it was now.” Wow, that idiot didn't say anything about the incident. I thought he would definitely try to get me in trouble, but he must have something else in mind. “Either way remove your hood it's unladylike also where is your skirt? It's a part of all girl uniforms.”

“I have my own reasons that have nothing to do with you. As for the skirt, it was mysteriously burned to ashes so I decided pants are better. Now I feel slightly sick so ill be taking me leave now. Hopefully, I will show up to this class tomorrow goodbye.” With that, I grab my halberd and walk out of the class. I was being too annoyed by that old lady and felt I would go insane listening to her ideas of how a lady should be. I still have awhile until the combat classes so I guess I will just go find a tree now for the future and mark it as mine.

I find my way to the academy training grounds where my classes will be. There seems to already be a class here taking what seems to be a weapon combat class. There are students all striking training dummies with simple weapons like swords, daggers or spears. There are also a few with bows and arrows. As I keep looking around I notice a tree next to the weapon rack so I make my way over there and lean my halberd on the tree before leaning against the tree myself. I decide to just close my eyes because I'm sure that Julie will tell me when my class is here.

As I'm sleeping I feel a shift around me and I open my eyes to see a boy grabbing my halberd. I jump up and grab it before pushing him away.

“What are you doing? Why'd you push me?” Student 1

“Why would you go around touching other peoples weapons? This is not like those training weapons over there. This is a real weapon and one that already has an owner too.”

“So you just attack someone for touching it? Who are you anyway? I don't think you belong to this class.” Student 1

While we are arguing we seem to attract the attention of other students. They start crowding around us. All of a sudden one of the students looks me over and then panics before running over to the student I'm arguing with.

“That's the Princess from the rumors you know Princess Eva of Lemuria. She's supposed to be crazy strong and violent like a beast.” Well, the rumor is mostly how I want it to be. “You really shouldn't fight her. Look she even has a 5th tier adventurer armband on. Are you blind?” Student 2

“Crap let's just go then. I don't know why she's here but let's just leave her alone then.” Student 1

Good, the rumors have worked how I wanted. Hopefully, it will keep people away and only those who don't believe rumors like that will approach me and ill-treat those who are friendly the same and those that look for trouble ill give trouble. After everyone leaves me alone I sit back down and close my eyes again. I don't know how long I waited but the class that was here left and then my class showed up, but I stayed where I am until the instructor showed up. The instructor was a red headed woman with a big and flashy robe that matched her hair.

“Ok, class I am instructor Nana! I will be your magic combat Instructor, but please hold your applause!” She still ends up pausing as if we would all start applauding her anyway but most students are just looking at her weirdly. Her energy seems to fade a little. “Ok, today I want everyone to throw a simple spell for each element you have at the training dummies. We will go one at a time so we can all compare it with our own. Ok, now you go!”

She points to a random student and he walks up before shooting a bolt of water at the training dummy, but it barely even shakes the dummy let alone leave a mark. This same thing repeats itself several times. I do notice that two of the students who had a 6th tier and 7th tier armband did better than the other by leaving a slight mark on the training dummies, but that's all. After a while, it was finally my turn. I knew eventually others would find out my magic is different I guess I just wasn't expecting for it to happen on the first day of classes.

I decided I'll do a very simple fire bolt and lightning bolt so I don't seem too flashy and I can try to keep as many of my spells concealed. I raise both my hands towards two training dummies and release my mana through my mana heart. I then form the two spells in my hands and I hear surprised gasps behind me as I release both the spells. The lightning creates a hole in the dummy on the left and the right dummy has a dent on its chest while some flames are still burning on it in all their darkness.

I turn around and look at everyone's surprised faces. I guess they weren't expecting something like this. I look over to Instructor Nana and see her eyes are bugging out. I can't blame any of them for these reactions because not only are my basic spell stronger than all theirs, but they are also both black. As I'm observing the actions of my fellow classmates' Instructor Nana runs up to me and begins shaking me by the shoulders.

“What was that? Why were they black? Is this a technique you learned? Does the technique also make your spells stronger?” While she keeps shaking me her intensity increases which the shaking and eventually my hood falls and her eyes open wide and she backs up. “What is this? How are you like this? What are you?” This damn instructor has completely ruined everything for me. I quickly pull up my hood before walking to my halberd and sitting back against the tree except for this time my halberd is on my lap. “Wait I'm asking you questions!”

“Instructor Nana! May I remind you that not only are you being rude to all your students by ignoring them, but you are also being incredibly rude to Princess Eva while ignoring the academy policies of not asking any of those questions?” Julie stops Instructor Nana from coming any closer to me while letting off a very intimidating pressure.

“She's right Nana. No matter what you are being rude to everyone here and completely unprofessional. Do you want to lose your job as an instructor you worked so hard for?” A woman who looks almost completely identical to Instructor Nana walks over except she has dark green hair and heavy armor on. The armor is steel with dark green trims. She comes over and pushes Instructor Nana behind her before bowing towards Julie and I. “I am sorry for my sister. She doesn't mean any ill intent but she is completely obsessed with mana research and forgets herself sometimes. She's worked hard to become an instructor at the academy in hopes of advancing her research, but it seems as if she's done something unforgivable. All I can do is apologize and promise she won't do it again. I am Instructor Nala and I am supposed to be this classes Weapons combat instructor.” She bows her head while grabbing Instructor Nana's head and forcing it down. I am still pissed so I've decided not to speak anymore and just let Julie handle it.

“This doesn't change the fact that her actions have already caused the Princess a number of problems and she doesn't seem to reflect at all. Turn around and look at the students behind you and tell me if you think this is a simple problem of an apology.” Julie tells them to look and when they do they see my classmates faces filled with fear and disgust. Just the usual looks that I receive like everywhere else. I had wanted to be not seen this way here at the academy for a little longer, but it seems half a day was what I got. After this, the rumors will spread to everywhere.

“It seems my peace has ended here at the academy. From now on I will only ask questions when I need them, but besides that, all you two can do is ignore my existence and leave me alone. I do not need someone like her helping me with my magic and I doubt you can even help me with my weapon choice.” While speaking up I point to them both with anger in my voice. They both seemed a little shocked and then seemed sad for some reason that I don't care about. I knew eventually I would be found out, but this has just ruined any peace I'd have for a while. I get up from under the tree and begin to walk away. I would rather just go to my room and take a bath at this point.

Instructor Nala

My name is Nala and I have a sister named Nana. The both of us are orphans so neither of us has last names and we just decided to never think of one for ourselves. We both grew up in our orphanage since young and because we refused to separate we were never adopted by anyone. Over the years we both found our talents. I was a strong fighter and Nana was strong with the mana control. I would train with different weapons constantly while Nana would spend all her time researching mana.

We both worked hard and eventually we were accepted into the Academy as students. We had to go through years of hazing from nobles and we had almost no friends. It was ok as long as we had each other, but most of the time it was me fixing Nana's mistakes she created because of her personality. Finally after years of hard work we both graduated and were allowed to become instructors at the academy. I was excited because I could train my skills while helping future students with theirs. Nana was excited because she could continue her research and maybe discover new spells or techniques.

It was our second year of teaching and I was standing under a tree watching Nana give her lessons as usual. At this time I don't have a class to teach so I always watch Nana while I wait for my class right afterward. Nana was her usual self, but then she called up a hooded girl I had noticed earlier. She was different from everyone else. She was a girl, but wore pants and had a hood on her uniform. Even with that, you could still tell that she is a girl from her figure, but then you'd think twice when you see the weapon she's carrying around with her. I've never seen anything like it before and it makes me excited to teach her. The girl then cast her spells and I may be standing far away but I can still see her unique spells color and power from here.

I get a bad feeling in my gut so I start making my way towards Nana's class. Nana starts freaking out and shaking the poor girl so I quicken my steps but stop once the girls hood falls. She is a beautiful girl, but she has completely black hair and black eyes. They are like a starless night sky, but I know these weird features must be why the girl was wearing a hood. She pulls her hood back on and goes back to the tree she was sitting at before. Nana tries to question the girl, but a maid I hadn't noticed before steps between them and I realize this girls Identity must be important. I hear the maid speak and I realize Nana has made a terrible mistake this time. I try to apologize for Nana but they just tell us to look behind us. When we do we see the other students reactions and I feel appalled by these looks they're giving this girl. The Princess then tells us that she will not be needing us to teach her and that she will only come to us if she needs something. I can't help but feel saddened by this because I genuinely wanted to teach the princess and it seems Nana feels the same way. I watch the Princess walk away and I can't help but wonder if she knows how lonely her back looks from here.

“Nana you have messed up big time. Forgetting about her identity you have completely ruined that girls future peace at the academy. I would normally help you fix your mistake, but I don't know what could be done in this situation. Look at the students' faces. Did you ever think of why she wore a hood or why she was alone in the first place? Or did you just think of your own mana research?” The only thing I can do now is scolding Nana.

“Nala I know I messed up. I thought she had a technique she was using to create those black elements. I didn't even think that maybe there was another cause for her spells being different. It seems like all these students think she's a mana mutant, but that's impossible. Every mana beast has always had animal like features. Even if she has the same color as a night panther or other black beast she would still have other features like a tail or animal limbs. She's a normal girl who has different hair, eyes, and a unique magic. Nala what do I do? She's someone we both would be eager to teach.” Nana asks me this but I have no answer we can only wait and see if she comes back. The least I can do is help her get a little revenge. I turn around and begin teaching my class. I hold nothing back and make them work till they drop while Nana is under the tree the girl was looking deep in thought. I will just have to wait till she comes to us to ask something and hopefully she sees we sincerely want to teach her.