After waiting a whole hour outside the classroom, Lucius, a bit startled, stepped away from the door as it suddenly slid open on its own. He looked at the inscriptions at the doorknob and smiled to himself.

Simply magnificent.

He walked to the very back before taking a look around, amazed by the different magic-infused decorations scattered all over, along with the gigantic, empty platform in the middle of the room.

What the platform was for, he didn't know yet, but he had a nagging suspicion that it was more than likely used for practicing spells.

"Hey there, kid. You an early bird too, huh?"

"Hello."

Much to Lucius's surprise, the first student to walk in after him was Margraves who he just met earlier, followed by Tissette and the rest of her friends—all of whom immediately walked over and sat around him.

"You look pale. You hungry or somethin'?" Tissette said as she looked at Lucius with a cheeky grin. "You could've come with me to the cafeteria first and ate breakfast, y'know."

"I wasn't hungry," Lucius replied, with a straight face. The slight rumble that sounded out from his stomach, however, told Tissette otherwise.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Tissette said before pulling out a large bag filled with a bunch of round, delightful-smelling pieces of small pastry topped with what bits of chocolate chips.

The sight of the snack alone was enough for Lucius's mouth to salivate. "What is that?"

"Cookies. I bought em for you, just in case."

Although a bit hesitant at first, Lucius eventually gave in and shrugged before taking the bag with a grin. "Thanks."

Mort, after moving around the seat in front of Lucius, looked back and whispered, "Hey, new guy. Can I have some?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Lucius tossed the bag over to Mort who caught it with a wide smile on his face.

Ardred, quick to retort as always, said, "Wow, didn't you eat like five waffles already? You gotta watch it with the sweets or your base Corpus might go down. And you already know what Master Katherine thinks about students who're more at the rounder side."

"Four," Mort angrily reiterated. "And I'm not getting fat, you are!"

"Oh, shut up you two."

Orlen leaned over and pushed both Ardred and Mort on their shoulders as before sat down beside Tissette, making her chuckle.

After enjoying a few bites of cookies, Lucius paused as he remembered something important. "Eating's not allowed during class, is it?"

Mort, still chewing on a mouthful of cookies, grumbled, "Not on Master Aless's class it ain't."

Lucius nodded and before getting back to munching on his snack.

Master Aless. It sure sounds like he's more laid back than Master Katherine. While I do not know if that's a good thing or not...

Lucius smiled wryly as he looked at the cookie in his hand. After disregarding his thoughts, he realized that there was also a possibility that he simply had a different perspective regarding people who call themselves 'Master'. After living with someone like Castarossa, he figured anyone would.

"Hey, isn't that your roommate?"

Lucius looked ahead to where Tissette was pointing and saw Gilly entering the classroom all on his own.

Gilly looked around for a moment before seeing Lucius, but his expression visibly deflated after seeing who was with him. He then walked to a seat in the middle of the room and sat without even looking back, making Lucius frown.

What has gotten into him? Was it something I said? No. Was it perhaps...

Lucius turned to look at Tissette who sighed softly, looking at him apologetically for a moment before averting her gaze.

Here I go.

Convinced that there was something going on that he needed to know about, Lucius took a deep, silent breath and asked, "Tiz?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind telling me what's—"

"Hey, the freakshows are back in town!"

Lucius, along with everybody else in the classroom, looked at the large, horned Ferrian who strode in confidently with a large group of students behind him, smirking. He scowled as he recognized the Ferrian's smug, incorrigible face.

"Dario. What the fuck are doing here?" Orlen said as he shot up from his seat and confronted Dario and his group with a tight frown.

Both Ardred and Mort also left their seats and came over, glaring at Dario—two simple acts that only added more tension in the already heavy atmosphere.

"I heard that your little band of misfits gained a new addition after last Monday's PCC class, Tissette," Dario said, ignoring Orlen entirely as he looked at Lucius dead in the eye. "This the one?"

"Leave him alone," Tissette said in a low, resolute tone, although her eyes were fixed solely on the ground.

"Say that again, bug. I dare you."

Why, these cretins!

Lucius gritted his teeth absently after hearing Dario's words, an expression which the latter immediately saw and took note of.

"Woah, this one's got spunk!" Dario shouted before laughing along with his group. "I've seen what happened in PCC last Monday. What're you gonna do, pant me to death?"

Lucius's sight dimmed as he glared at Dario. Confused by both the situation he was suddenly put in and the intense anger he was feeling, he tried his hardest to maintain his composure and eventually prevailed.

Being humiliated hurt, but not as much as losing, he thought to himself as he looked around calmly.

I'll escalate things if I act out, and I'll simply be dragging the others with me. I can't let this situation get out of hand.

Sighing, Lucius stood up from his seat before putting his hand up in a disarming way, just like he did when he first met Tissette. "Please leave us alone, sir. It's early in the morning and—"

Suddenly, Lucius felt a hand grab him by the ear before he was thrown across the floor—his harsh landing eliciting several gasps from the students around him.

"Do you really think I give a shit how early it is, you pathetic piece of garbage?"

"You fucking asshole!" Orlen roared as his hands glowed a sickly green, ready to throw spells at any moment.

"You want some too?" Dario said, gritting his teeth as he stared down Orlen, unperturbed by the latter's threat. "You're a failure and a disgrace to your kingdom's nobility, Orlen. Why'd you think they sent you all the way here?"

Seemingly stunned by what he just heard, Orlen remained listless for a few seconds. It was all Dario needed to catch him off guard. With one, smooth motion, Dario grabbed Orlen by the collar of his uniform, lifting him off the ground with just one hand.

"Get your hands off of him!" Ardred shouted as he ran over and tried pushing away Dario with all his might—the latter barely even budging.

Noticing the disparity between his strength and the opponent's, Lucius stood up from the ground while clutching his ear and frowned.

It's either this one has decent materia or his level is high enough while only having his Corpus improved. Curses! How do I stop this?

"Leave them alone, Dario."

A voice familiar to Lucius echoed from across the room, garnering the attention of every student nearby.

"Boss Aidan!" Dario greeted the newcomer with a smile before pushing Orlen away. "We were just having some—"

"Just stop it. You're the First Seat of the Shining Collective. Act like one, will you?" Aidan said with a sigh before taking a seat in front of the class. He then threw Tissette a subtle look which Lucius saw and took note of.

"Fine," Dario said before eyeing Lucius and the others. "This ain't over."

"Shithead," Orlen mumbled as he watched Dario and his group went to sit Aidan who was at the front of the room whilst chattering amongst themselves.

"You alright Lucy?" Tissette asked she walked over and tried to touch Lucius's ruffled ear, but the latter simply leaned away and nodded.

"I'm alright."

After looking at Tissette with a reassuring nod, Lucius stopped clutching his ear and got back in his seat.

With a dissatisfied expression, Tissette nodded as she and the others sat down as well, wordless as they stared at each other in silent contemplation.

Lucius, however, only had eyes for Dario who was laughing with his friends without a care in the world. His eyes glazed over as his fists tightened for a split second, but he caught himself.

He sighed, and with one last glance at Dario and his group, he finally left them alone—his mind already preoccupied with something much more important.

The Asherii never tolerated any manner of disrespect.

Why should he?

...

Mere moments after the chaos, a tall, well-dressed elf entered the classroom with a small, charming smile on his face. He swept the room with his gaze and his smile widened even further.

Lucius looked at the elven man—particularly at the Mark of Providence on his forehead—with much interest.

Master Aless. This one certainly wasn't among the Outworlders in the throne room back then.

"Good morning class!" Aless said with much gusto. After looking around for a while, his eyes locked onto Lucius. He beamed. "I see we have a new student! Welcome to your first Practical and Combat Magic class!"

The jovial elf then squinted more closely towards Lucius before mouthing off, "Hmm. Interesting stats you got there, Lu...Lucius? Hmm. Very interesting name."

Lucius frowned as he turned to Tissette and whispered, "Did he just read my stats? That's just rude, is it not?"

"You'll get used to it," Tissette said with a wry smile. "He is an Outworlder, so it's kind of an old habit for him, y'know. After all, they were the only ones who knew the trick regarding the reveal command back then. A bit hard to shake off when you've been doing it all your life, I'd imagine."

"So he says," Lucius said, his brows curving into that of displeasure as he stared back at Aless.

The fact that he can use the reveal command on me makes his Virtus at least twice as mine. Tsk. There is surely no way to avoid this but to increase my own Virtus.

From within Aless's glowing yellow eyes sparked interest, and it was plain to see. The sight almost sent a chill down Lucius's spine, making him a tad uncomfortable.