In the tall concrete building in the dead center of a bustling metropolis, the office room was dark except for one desk. The desk light and the glow of the computer screen provided the only source of light in the large office room. All the other desks in the office were empty, except that one desk.

Manning that desk was a man in his early twenties. The lens of his glasses reflected the computer screen that he was using, and beneath those glasses, the man's eyes, dry and unable to perceive anything other than the data displayed on the monitor before him. The lights of the monitor dried his eyes, leading to continuous strain. However, the man didn't care. He couldn't care. He was entirely engrossed on the task at hand, ignoring the outside world around him.

Behind the man, the large windows showed a beautiful sprawling metropolis. The nighttime city was characterized with its skyscrapers and neon lights. It was a beautiful sight indeed. Even though it was one in the morning already, the activity outside continue. However, this did not interest the man at all.

I got to finish this by tomorrow, the man thought to himself, rubbing his eyes as the strain became unbearable.

He took a sip from his cup of coffee on his desk and sighed.

"Time to get back to work now," he said, stretching his back and arms as he continued typing on the keyboard, and diving right back into his endless job.

*

The chirping of the birds led to Loganel waking from his slumber. He opened his eyes, and started blankly at the ceiling above his bed for a few seconds. He slowly rose from his bed, sitting up and rubbing his head as he yawned.

What was that dream? Loganel pondered over as he slowly left his bed. He changed out of his indoor clothing into his outdoor adventurer clothes. Then, he made his way to the kitchen, where Juliana was already up and preparing breakfast.

After eating a quick breakfast, the two of them then set out towards the school gate, where they were to meet up with Azura. The morning sun slowly climbed up the eastern horizon, gradually providing the world of its light and dispelling the darkness of the night.

Walking along on the brick road, they passed by numerous other students who were heading out for the day. These other students, most of whom were dressed in armor and equipment that signified their party's recent success. When Loganel compared their equipment to his, he felt a sudden sense of defeat since the others all had equipment that was of higher quality than his. As they passed by the regular dorms, Loganel looked over to the building. There, the lower grade students stared out their windows with jealousy as they looked on at the students that were heading out for the day's quests and adventuring.

Soon, the two of them had arrived at the school entrance. There, numerous other students were present already, huddled up in their own parties and discussing the day's strategies. Loganel ignored them, and surveyed the crowd for the familiar white hair belonging to Azura.

"Over there," Juliana pointed out.

In the crowd, the girl stood apart. It was as if she had created a natural force field of some sort, causing people to avoid her. However, there was an exception.

"You have to come back to us," a boy, probably a year or two older and a grade or two higher said to her. "Duke Stelis would surely not approve of your actions." The boy was dressed in expensive looking plate armor, wearing enough so that it offered ample protection while also weighing light enough for swift movement. On his belt, he hung an extravagant looking sword that has a jewel embedded in the hilt that emitted a light yellow light.

"Please do not bring up my father in this," Azura shook her head in response to the boy's comments. "And I am in no obligation to join your party, Joseph."

The people around them loitered, listening and watching everything as it played out. It was quite rare to see someone approach Azura, and therefore, they were interested in this interaction. Another reason was that the boy she was talking to, Joseph Astrag, was a son of a renown general who was known for his numerous campaigns during the times of war in the past. Joseph was quite popular in the Academy. His appearance can be considered above average, and in addition, he's good in his studies and his party could constantly be found among the top of the party rankings in the Academy.

"It is for your own good," Joseph started to get a bit agitated by Azura's persistence. "Look at the people in your party," Joseph continued. "A son of a lowly noble on the countryside that can't even function in society and his maid? Give me a break. They're ranked at the bottom of the rankings out of all the parties in the school!"

"I--" Azura began to speak but her eyes suddenly stopped on Loganel and Juliana's figure in the crowd. This then cause her to waver, leading to her inability to speak up.

"You shouldn't be associating yourself with people like that," Joseph continued.

Loganel watched on as Joseph continued to defame him. His gaunt eyes stared past Joseph and at Azura, who's eyes nervously darted towards him occasionally. She appeared to be troubled by the boy's bickering and was seeking an escape. However, Loganel doesn't understand. He doesn't understand why she chose to join his party when there were numerous other parties out there. He wanted to know too. That was why he decided to just observe.

"Why did you chose to join that party anyway? They're quite incompetent. Do you all agree?"

"He's right," someone in the crowd called out. This then resulted in an ocean of voices expressing their support for that opinion.

"Loganel," Juliana got a bit closer to Loganel and whispered. She was trying to comfort Loganel while also restraining him from doing anything stupid that'll further harm his reputation.

Loganel however, stared blankly at Azura. He didn't blink or anything, and made no efforts to hide the fact that he was staring, as if to tell her that he is watching. Azura, looked over at him, appearing somewhat sad. She looked at him in a way as if asking for help.

Finally, Loganel sighed and took a step forward and into Azura's force field where the only other person in that space was Joseph and him. "I think I can still function in society," Loganel said, staring with his gaunt eyes at the boy next to him. He had his hands in his pockets and appeared as if he had control of the situation.

"And you are?" Joseph looked at him with a judgmental look.

"I'm that son of the lowly noble on the countryside that you were talking about," Loganel revealed. However, he did not allow this to dampen his sense of authority. Instead, he bore the title with pride. "So what if we're from the countryside?"

"You're mistaken," Joseph suddenly smiled, possibly an act to preserve his good image in the school. "I mean no disrespect--"

"But I sure as hell didn't hear no disrespect. I heard quite a bit of disrespect in everything you've said," Loganel said back to him. "So what? Are us country folks supposed to all die? Is our life less valuable than yours?"

"I didn't say that," Joseph appeared to be getting frustrated. "We'll talk in the future," he said to Azura before just walking off to join in his own party.

With Joseph leaving and no one causing a scene, the crowd around them soon dispersed as well, leaving behind Loganel, Azura, and Juliana standing there, motionlessly. It wasn't until Juliana made the first move that the frozen spell was lifted.

"Are you alright?" Juliana asked the girl.

"Yes," Azura answered. Her voice was rather weak, lacking the usual authority.

She looked over at Loganel, who didn't look at her ever since Joseph had left. Instead all he did was gazing at the distant sky. From Azura's position, Loganel's bangs covered part of his face and eyes, making it difficult for her to ascertain his emotions.

She frowned at this uncertainty and sighed.

"Let's get on with the day," Juliana said, trying to change the subject and make everything normal once again.

"Right," Azura responded. She still appeared slightly troubled, but she was able to slowly regain her composure. "So I was thinking maybe today we could head to a different area."

"Where?" Loganel talked to her for the first time that day. He turned and looked at her with an observing look.

"Eketelas Ruins," Azura revealed. "Instead of the northern forests, I think we should be able to take on the Eketelas Ruins now. I've also found a quest posted on the request board about finding some herbs. More specifically, five Sygl Flowers."

Loganel nodded as he listened. Azura looked at his face as if seeing if he was to make any further comments. But seeing that he was silent, she sighed and continued.

"Let's head out now," she said.