"Hey Mel! How did you do on the exams?" Stent roared as he waved at the red haired boy leaning on the railing at the roof of Mireson Hall.

Mel peered down at Stent, amazed at his enthusiastic behavior. With a wry grin, Mel vaulted over the railing and descended to the ground below. With a roll, he landed safely before his towering roommate. As the young boy dusted himself, he looked up and grimaced.

Seeing Mel's expression, Stent was able to deduce what his roommate scored on the year end exams. "Don't feel bad bro. I'm sure you did fine."

"Thanks for the comfort Stent." Mel smiled. "You know when they post our grades?"

"Probably in an hour. What should we do in the meantime?"

"I barely had anything to eat this morning, let's go to the cafeteria and grab some brunch."

"Okay."

The two roommates headed towards the school's cafeteria for some food. At this time, the cafeteria is transitioning from breakfast to lunch so the leftover breakfast items are still provided while new lunch items are dished out. The students of the academy had coined this transitioning period as brunch time. As Mel and Stent entered the cafeteria, they saw Dora and Tanya standing in line at the omelet section. The four friends greeted each other before the boys headed towards their favorite food sections. Minutes later, the four friends converged at one table where they began to eat and chat. After all, it has been many months since they last sat down and chat. It was a good chance to finally catch up with each other.

"My word, Stent." Dora pointed, "That's a lot of food."

"I can't help it. Forging artifacts drain me. I need lots of food to replenish my energy." Stent responded in between bites.

"Then where did that belly come from?" Mel joked as he grabbed a handful of Stent's belly fat.

"T-That...." Stent stammered as he tried to think of an excuse.

"Haha. Alright, alright, don't tease Stent anymore." Tanya replied before turning to Mel, "So, how was your year? Ever since you raised your ranking and became a direct disciple to Elder Karen, we haven't seen you much lately."

"It was tough. All I did was hole myself in Master's training room, training and studying."

"Must be tiring. I'm sure you've improved though, right?"

"Yea, under the strict teachings of Master, I was able to breakthrough to the first level of the Apprentice Stage." Mel remarked as he flexed his biceps, "I feel at least ten times stronger than before."

"Wow, Apprentice 1st Stage? That's amazing! I'm still only at the 3rd stage." Tanya pouted, "Even Dora is only at the peak of the Novice Stage."

"Yea, well if you were to go through Master's strict training, you would definitely breakthrough a couple of times too."

"I don't think I have the courage and determination to do that."

"Haha. True, true. Anyways, what about you? What have you girls been up to these past months?"

"Not much, as you know, we both broke through.... Oh, just yesterday, an elder asked Dora if she was willing to become his disciple."

"Really? Who?" Stent asked.

"It's Elder Harrison of the Magic-Forging department."

"Master Harrison? Why did he ask you?"

"Master?"

"Yea, I was accepted to be his student a few months back. I really liked his methods in forging and it took me quite a bit of pleading before he was willing to look at my skills. After he saw my craftsmanship, he was very impressed and accepted me."

"Really? So that's how it is."

"So, have you decided on accepting?"

"No...I needed more time to think."

"I see...ah, that's right. Dora, you're a Combat Magic major like Mel."

"Yea, Elder Harrison was impressed with my potion-making skills and he just happened to need an assistant in his potion research. But potion-making is only my minor."

"That's true."

"Well other than that, nothing big has happened so far."

"You forgot about that one incident." Tanya pointed out, causing Dora's face to fall suddenly.

"Wait, what incident?" Mel asked as he noticed the apparent change in his sister's expression. "Did something happen to you Dora? Tell me!"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. I can take care of it myself." Dora shook her head, not willing to tell Mel. She looked at Tanya, gesturing for her to keep her mouth zipped.

"You're lying. Every time you lie, you would scratch your left hand!" Mel exclaimed as he pointed at Dora's hands.

Realizing she was subconsciously scratching her left hand, Dora immediately clamped her hand down under the table in embarrassment. "Don't worry about it. I'm serious."

"We're all friends here, you can tell us anything." Stent replied as he tried to reassure the dejected young girl.

"Stent's right. Not only am I your friend, I am your brother. There's no need for secr-." Mel responded.

But before he could finish, a shadow loomed over him. Mel turned around and saw a young man, roughly three years older standing before them. The blond, pale boy had a sneer on his face as he stared at the four friends. Behind him were two richly dressed boys, each with a sneer of their own. Something about this skinny man seemed...familiar, but not in a good way.

"What do you want?" Mel asked as he looked at the trio disapprovingly. He had mostly kept to himself the past few months and didn't involve himself in any trouble with other students. So, why did three popped up out of nowhere?

The blond haired young man pushed past Mel and Stent, making his way towards Dora. Tanya grabbed at Dora's sleeve, a sense of discomfort flushing over her. Dora glared at the young man and growled.

"You again? What do you want?"

"Dora, have you decided on my offer?" The young man asked as he flashed a haughty grin.

"Give it up. There's no way that's going to happen?" Dora snapped, annoyance welling up from inside her.

"It seems you don't understand the situation here. Many girls want to have this opportunity but don't get the chance. You should be honored to be given the fortune of becoming my girlfriend. You should understand that someone of your status can only be paired with someone of my status."

"Hmph! Not happening means not happening!"

The blond haired young man's eyes flashed cold as he frowned. One of the lackeys behind him stepped forward and snarled, "Listen up bitch! Don't think just because young master Bredon favors you, you could reject him like that. You better agree or else!"

"Shut it!" Bredon roared as he gave a sharp kick towards the boy. With his strength at Apprentice 2nd Stage, a mere kick was able to send the boy skidding some distance away. Bredon turned towards Dora again and leered.

"Become my girlfriend. This is your last chance. If you don't comply, don't blame me for using force!"

Suddenly, a voice sounded behind Bredon as a hand clamped onto his right shoulder. "What did you just say, you fucker?!"