Plates of food and tankards of ale covered the large round table, raucous laughter filling the air. The tavern was mostly empty at this time of the afternoon, the bulk of the students only arriving in the evening.

Jon, Bella, Deon, Aeron, and Nevil were all together at the table along with a few additions. To Bella’s side were three other women, all wearing the academy robes. Her roommates. Other than the trio of women, Elina was also present, sitting to the left of Deon with a hand resting on his knee as she downed her drink. Deon, in turn, was not so subtly taking glances at Bella’s roommates. As for Nevil and Aeron, the two were engrossed in a conversation about spell theory.

Jon munched on a piece of roasted chicken, trying his best to not let his frustration show. On the other side of the glass window behind him, the academy’s previously lush trees were all stripped bare as autumn brought a wave of cold. Four months had passed ever since he became a third-level Crusader. The time for the Winter’s Tourney was fast approaching. In less than three months, Jon would be fighting in another tourney that could decide his entire future.

Although the contestants would only be announced at the start of winter, Jon was confident in his chances of gaining a spot. He had been consistently collecting academy points in all of his classes. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he might have the most points across all the 1st-year students. There might be a few nobles ahead in this regard but, among the commoners, Jon was at the top.

Elina, sitting two chairs from him, did particularly well in Practical combat. Jon already expected it given that his only defeat at the Squire’s Tourney had been against her. Unfortunately for Deon’s lover, she couldn’t maintain the same level of performance in other classes. Not only that, her low spell cultivation prevented her from even attending any classes on magic.

If the two ever met at the Winter’s Tourney, she might pose a bit of a challenge, but a surmountable one. Jon was stronger now than when they first fought, and he wouldn’t be using the heavy armor from back then. His chances now were much better. When only blades were involved, he had a fighting chance against any of his classmates. The real problem was those who fought with more than just blades.

Bella had an uncharacteristically large smile on her face. Why wouldn’t she? After all, they were all celebrating in her honor. Earlier in the day, they were all gathered in the feasting hall having breakfast when she suddenly passed out. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell face-first on the plate of food she had been eating. The commotion began and ended quickly. Professors rushed in and soon realized what happened.

Bella was having a breakthrough. They moved her to the infirmary. An hour later she woke up as an Archmage. This made her the twentieth-sixth Archmage amongst the first-year students. Jon made sure to keep track. Twenty-six students to who Jon was bound to lose in direct combat given his inability to counter their spells. He lacked the ability to instantly cast spells and also lacked triotium equipment that could suppress enemy magic.

Sure, there were a few odd students who didn’t want to participate such as Nevil and Deon. The former due to his dislike for fighting and the latter because he cared little for whatever glory there was to be gained in this foreign tourney. Jon was in complete support of both as it meant less competition. But this still left twenty-four other Archamages for him to worry about. Possibly more if any other student had a breakthrough in the next couple of months.

Someone put a hand on Jon’s shoulder. Looking to the side he found Nevil, a tankard of juice on his hand. The two of them were probably the only ones not drinking any alcohol. “Are you okay?” he asked. “You seem distracted.”

“Just thinking about the tourney,” Jon said in a low voice so that Bella wouldn’t hear it.

Deon said something by Elina’s ear and she laughed before shifting in her seat. Jon had to look closely to make sure her hand remained only on Deon’s knee. One could never be too sure with those two.

Nevil took a gulp out of his juice. “So I guess you’re still planning on asking for that crazy concoction.”

“If I can get a spot among the top ten, then yes,” Jon answered, though there was still the matter of the spells. His only hope of countering those was with a triotium armor, which was prohibitively expensive for someone like him.

“Aren’t you afraid of dying?” Nevil asked, worry evident in his dark eyes.

Jon shook his head. Somehow, the idea of failing in his quest was much scarier than dying. If he died, then that would be the end of it. If he failed though, he’d have to live with that knowledge for the rest of his existence in this world. The knowledge that, despite his best efforts, he wasn’t capable enough to accomplish his mother’s wish.

Elina stood up from her seat, stepping lightly towards the counter to buy more drinks, leaving Deon alone. Jon had been waiting for that moment. No matter what, he needed a triotium armor. He didn’t have that sort of coin, but his foreign roommate did. The only question was how to convince him.