Ch. 31 - Not all sunshine and rainbows

Cock-a-doodle-do! Cock-a-doodle-do!

Yawn.

I slowly got up and rubbed my eyes to get rid of my eye guck. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I noticed that my eyes were bloodshot, and I had dark circles around my eyes. I felt terrible from not getting much sleep last night. Looking at Zain, my pet rat, he was still blissfully sleeping, seemingly enjoying a good dream, truly enviable.

"This is going to be a terrible day," I muttered to myself

I first took a shower to freshen myself up. I didn't get a chance to shower last night because I didn't want to alert the quartermaster.

After taking a lukewarm shower, I slowly changed into my student attire, a robe that reached my knees and formal clothing beneath. I still don't understand why magicians seem to insist on wearing robes. I think wearing robes or capes is a liability to the user because they get in the way of movement, could get caught on something, and is at risk of being grabbed by your opponent. Capes and long robes serve no benefit to the user. When I become a magician, I'm going to bounce from this whole robe thing.

After getting dressed, I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb my hair. As I was brushing my teeth in the dormitory bathroom, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw that it was a fellow freshman.

"Do you need something?" I asked the classmate in a friendly tone.

"No. Nothing in particular. However, you might need something from me," the classmate replied in a mysterious voice.

"Oh. What would that be mind I ask?"

"You snuck out last night didn't you?" (Classmate)

"No, I didn't."

"You're lying! I saw you leave the dormitory around midnight last night." (Classmate)

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Keep acting. We'll see what the quartermaster has to say about this." (Classmate)

"Mate, you're delusional."

"You know, originally I was going to offer you a deal in exchange for me overlooking you sneaking out last night, but now I don't feel like it. Prepare to suffer. Ha ha ha ha." (Classmate)

"Sure buddy. By the way, what's your name?"

"Me? My name? Typically I would not tell someone of such low stature such as yourself my sacred name. However, you are in luck. The anticipation of you being punished and thus humiliated by the quartermaster has put me in a good mood. If you so insist, my name is Brandon Mazur, the fourth son of the Mazur family. Remember my name well. This might be your only chance of interacting with a noble such as myself." (Brandon Mazur)

"You are a noble?"

"Yes, I might as well be a noble at this point." (Brandon Mazur)

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"My family name may not have yet been etched onto the noble registrar. However, I am destined to achieve greatness and bring my family name into nobility." (Brandon Mazur)

"So you're a commoner pretending to be a noble."

"How dare you accuse me of being a filthy commoner. You have insulted my pride, and I will not rest until I teach you your place." (Brandon Mazur)

"I mean, am I wrong though? Didn't you just say your family is not of nobility?"

"Yes, however, because I will become a noble in the future, I might as well be a noble now." (Brandon Mazur)

"What kind of backward thinking is that? Are you that desperate to be a noble?"

"What do you know?! You have no idea how desirable it is to become a noble. I will do anything to become a noble." (Brandon Mazur)

"Even if it means sacrificing your being?"

Silence.

"This conversation has been dragged on for far too long. I have seen through your attempts on buying time. I will now go tell the quartermaster of your infraction." (Brandon Mazur)

"You do you."

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(At the cafeteria)

The three of us, me, Valde, and Ronald, were all looking mighty tired. Ronald had the easiest time as he was the first to head back to the dorms. Valde had big black circles around his eyes, and I suspect he didn't sleep at all last night.

"How are you two doing this morning?"

"Terrible." (Valde)

"Bad." (Ronald)

"Looking forward to our classes?"

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to." (Valde)

"Ronald?"

"No." (Ronald)

"I hope that we won't be doing much in our classes today."

"Hopefully." (Valde)

"Hey Valde, you know a student named Brandon Mazur by any chance?"

"Yeah. Why ask?" (Valde)

"This morning, he was trying to blackmail me with me sneaking out the dorms last night."

"Do you need my help taking care of him?" (Valde)

"No, I had it under control, and I doubt the quartermaster is going to care much anyway. I wanted to ask. He is a commoner, is he not?"

"Yeah, he's a commoner. Did he pretend to be a noble or something?" (Valde)

"Yeah, he did."

"Get used to it. It's a common thing you'll see among commoners here." (Valde)

"Why?"

"Because of envy," Ronald butted in.

Valde seemed a little upset that Ronald had interrupted him but accepted it.

"As I was going to say, it is exactly because of envy. Many think it is desirable to become a noble as, in most cases, it brings with it fame, power, and glory. Honestly, you can't blame the commoners who wish to become nobles. They look at the noble children wearing fancy clothes, casting powerful spells, carrying a dignified aura, and imagining themselves being like that. They only see the benefits of being a noble but ignore the dangers and tragedies that it brings along." (Valde)

"What's bad about being a noble?"

"Many things. As a noble, not only do I have to take extra precautions against assassination attempts and kidnapping, I must also deal with the cut-throat competition within my family to become the family head. Being a noble is not all sunshine and rainbows. Everyone is aiming to take you down to elevate themselves. It is the truest sense of the law of the jungle—the strong gobble up the weak. I have long since expressed my intention of not vying for the position of the family head in my family, but that hasn't stopped my siblings from trying to sabotage me. In their eyes, as long as I breathe, I am a competitor, that I am only fit to be dead or a vegetable. That's part of the reason why I have decided to come to this academy. I could've gone to a more prestigious academy, but my siblings are already there, and I know they will do everything in their power to obstruct my growth. Plus, I would hate being there because that school is just a circle jerk of nobles. They only accept nobles, and the atmosphere is absolutely rotten." (Valde)

"I didn't know that."

"Well, now you do." (Valde)