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After I finished praying to the Ceramic God, I went back to the chair I was sitting on, before I was dragged to someplace as a background character. It looked like the place was getting crowded, I wonder why that is.

I asked Signy, who was going back to the kitchen, and she told me that Shura had begun the popularity votes – oh, so that was what he meant by tentative ranking – then I asked her for something to drink. She gave me a glass – of the same amber liquid that Isaiah was drinking a while ago – and she left. I checked the drink, carefully. Is this alcohol? If it is, I’m not drinking.

“Hi, I’m Liv. If you’re not drinking, can I have that?” a voice asked, distinct from the din of the crowd, sultry and relaxing. I turned to its direction – lately, I’ve been twisting my head around. Neck really hurts, now – and there stood, a lovely blonde eyeing my drink. I slowly slid the glass to her over the counter, where she grabbed it, then emptied it in one swig. “Thanks for that,” she said, “and now to annoy someone, immensely.” And with that proclamation, she was gone.

It was then, that Signy came back and went over to me. “So, how was the drink? It’s the best mortal soma ever brewed in all of Europe! Rivaling that of Odin’s meads… tastes like eternity, eh?” she asked proudly with her most-beaming smile, which turned into a frown after she saw my plastic grin. “You didn’t drink it, did you? You just poured it into something, right?” she sighed.

“Actually…” I scratched the back of my neck, trying to avoid eye contact. “Someone else drank it…” I shuddered at her glare. “Uh, her name w-was Liv or something?”

Hearing her name, Signy’s eyes flew open and she dashed off to somewhere, leaving me alone. I looked up at the clock on the wall, it said: 9:42. It was getting late. I stood up from my chair, navigated through the crowds and went out the door. I looked up and the night sky was very beautiful, stars twinkling ever so far away.

Then, a ringing noise sounded from my pocket, I took it out and I saw that it was a message from Shura. How’d he get my phone number? And how’d he get himself on my contact list? Shrugging off unneeded speculations, I read it:

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tom: ready, 8:25. prepare paraphernalia…

make sure twins nd dog r ready 4 there classes.

PS: maledictions pon your sleep 4 gving Liv soma!!!

relax mind.

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Wonder what Liv did. And Maledictions? Paraphernalia? Who uses those words in a text message? I slipped the phone back in to my pocket and headed to my dorm, following the path that I and Shura took before. It was so very serene, eerie even – if not for the dancing night-fairies and the singing pixies in the gardens. I even sighted a sleeping spriggan under a mango tree.

If this was the wilds and they were feral, they’d be indiscriminately hunted for their wings and ashes, but it seems like that life should be distanced from now on – though, I never killed anything that didn’t attack me. Out in witch-towns or in more remote areas, monster-hunting is a praised profession because… well, humans are kind of racist but in areas where such creatures are intelligent enough for ‘human’ interaction, such views are seen as ignorant and uncivilized.

I continued walking on the path, but I noticed that this wasn’t even vaguely the way back to the dorm. Instead I was led to a large pond that looked like the ones that Claude Monet painted during the last years of his life – I remembered reading it on Wikipedia… that’s where I learnt most everything I know, really. It was very handy and could just be accessed through the internet. Well, enough about that.

At the edge of the pond, lying on the sand was a person. She was, maybe, sleeping or gazing at the stars with her eyes closed whilst snoring. I shrugged and turned around and walked back to the path I came from. After a few loops of getting lost and making my way back, I finally reached the dorm. It was quiet – must be because most of the students are at the Trump.

I pressed my hand on the sensor, opening the door to my room. In front of me was an iridescent ball of light. Curiously, I touched it and a sudden surge of information flowed through my mind. The sudden influx made me dizzy, but not enough for a prayer to the Ceramic God.

“Isaiah Alistair Croft. English Designate, moniker: Imperator Sub Caelo. Twenty. Warlock – Third Level, Gladius-Aspirant. Vice-Captain of the Basketball Club. Called the Imperial – personal assessment: classified – tentative ranking: second place.”

Warlock must be a male witch or something… Gladius? This school has a Basketball Club? There’s a ranking for male students, too? Well, gender equality and all that.

“Alina Sultan. Egyptian Designate: Badi’ al-Zaman. Twenty. Sorceress – Fourth Level, Clypeus-Aspirant. President of the Garden Society. Regarded as the seductive Older Sister of the school – what that defines is immaterial to me.”

President? Garden Society? She must be a friend of Manami’s. And… seductive Older Sister? That’s weird – maybe she’s like those sexy onee-san types you find in anime, manga and light novels.

“Liv Johanna Falk. Icelandic Designate, moniker: Freyjasdottir. Eighteen. Witch – Third Level, Telum-Aspirant. Vice-President of the Garden Society. Nicknamed the Virgin Demoness – again, implication is immaterial.”

Garden Society, too? Explains why they were accompanying her, I guess. V-Virgin Demoness? What the hell.

results of rankings:

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Popularity Ranking (female)Name#Victoria Teagan1stAlthea Kokinos2ndManami Yukimura3rdBrielle Eaton4thLiv Johanna Falk5thSigny Sorskygge6thAlina Sultan7thNahal Avakian8thSummer Lee9thRachel Uy Santiago10thpolls done on August XX, 2XXX

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Popularity Ranking (male)Name#Amadeus Firmin Voclain1stIsaiah Alistair Croft2ndRaimundo Serafim3rdSjang Aveskamp4thZhou Jun Ma5thArnulf Dreschner6thJarl Achim Horn7thMarshall Banner8thCzeslaw Wronski-Sienkiewicz9thMaleko Hekili10thpolls done on August XX, 2XXX

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I don’t really care about the rankings, but Signy placed 6th? Good for her, and this Victoria Teagan – she’s higher ranked than Manami or Althea? I wonder what she looks like… I shook my head, driving thoughts of speculation away.

With wobbly steps, I closed the door, went to my cabinet, took the suitcase, propped it beside the bed and I fell asleep on the floor.

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