Ava

Ava was bored. But that was nothing new, she was always bored.

She hated boredom more than anything else.

She would literally sacrifice an arm to experience some excitement. The pain still pulsating through her arm was probably the best proof of that.

It had been three weeks since she completed her practical final exam at the university and lost her arm in the process. It really was a painful experience.

Healers had immediately come and healed it, but they did a sloppy job, and now her arm hurt with every movement. Ava was pretty sure the healers did it on purpose.

It was her first punishment.

Her second punishment, the real one, was thirty lashes that were not to be healed afterward.

Although it was incredibly painful, a smile still crossed Ava's face as she remembered the exhilarating fight against her professor.

It was supposed to be a simple practical exam where the professor would decide whether one passed or failed based on a brief fight, but the adrenaline rushing through Ava's head didn't let her think clearly.

She only stopped after ripping out her professor's throat.

She lost an arm in the process, but the temporary pain was well worth it.

After all, she had won, even though her professor was a realm above her.

Of course, her professor had also survived.

If she had actually killed him, the story would have turned out quite differently.

They wanted to expel her from the school, but they couldn't. They had to recognize her graduation anyway, so now, three weeks later, she walked along the long corridor of the old university building.

The other students, regardless of their age, avoided her. Those who hadn't known her before the final exam had definitely heard of her now.

Ava was many things. She was intelligent, strong, talented, fast, and an extraordinary fighter and mage, but above all, she was insane. At least in the eyes of the other students.

Ava was known for seizing every opportunity for a fight and even creating one herself. And once she started fighting, she never held back. She only stopped when someone forced her to and didn't care about her own well-being or that of her opponent.

By now, Ava was twenty-three years old. She had long black hair and eyes as dark as raven feathers.

She was slender, and her skin had a typical light tone for the region, but it was flawless and pure.

Her clothing was extravagant and expensive. She wore a long shirt and black pants, both made of incredibly expensive fabric. She had shoes specially made for her, crafted from leather of rare and nearly extinct animals.

And of course, she wore a long dark coat over it all.

Although she wasn't full-figured and enticing like the other popular women her age, she had her small circle of secret admirers.

But they held back and tried, like most others, to avoid Ava as much as possible to give her as little reason as possible to force them into a fight.

The last time someone openly confessed their feelings to Ava was a well-known story on the campus.

A young man who had just arrived at the university claimed to have fallen in love with Ava instantly and confessed his feelings to her. He was completely convinced of his looks and charm and didn't expect Ava to simply stare at him coldly and ignore him.

This, of course, hurt the stupid young pride of a person who was used to always getting what he wanted. And especially who he wanted.

He started harassing her again and again. At first, Ava held back, but after his third confession of love and public embarrassment, she had had enough and attacked him. The poor boy ended up with several broken ribs and a broken arm.

The university wanted to expel her for it, but Ava came from a very powerful family that was one of the noble houses of the kingdom.

So all they could do was give her a harmless punishment of a few lashes.

Finally, Ava arrived at the large double doors leading to the assembly hall.

She entered the huge crowd gathered there. They were all students from the younger years of the university.

Ava pushed her way through the crowd, which was not difficult since people made way for her regardless. Everywhere she passed, the students started whispering about her.

Ava spotted her classmates and joined them.

Graduating from this university was something, not everyone could achieve. After all, it was the most prestigious university in the kingdom.

All of Ava's fellow students were just like her, now in their third realm. They all had highly noble blood and came from good and wealthy families.

Ava sat slightly apart from them on a wooden chair in the front row. She yawned heartily.

Then after about eight minutes, the door at the podium opened and the various important individuals of the university stepped out.

Among them were all sorts of professors, making their way to their assigned seats.

Only the university director and his deputy remained on the podium, quietly sorting out a few organizational matters.

Then the professor presented himself and activated a small symbol on his throat. It was responsible for amplifying his voice so that everyone in the hall could hear him clearly.

"Dear students, please take your seats!" he said loudly, and immediately silence fell in the room as every student found a place.

"As every year, we have gathered here today to honor the students who have successfully completed this university. As much as it pains me to bid you farewell, I am equally delighted to witness the blossoming and growth of such young minds. Over the past years, my deputy, the other professors, and I have had the privilege of educating and training these talented young individuals, but it is time for them to enter the next phase of their lives. Regardless of the profession they pursue, we wish them all the luck and success! Now, a few words from the student speaker, Alex Stargove!"

Applause echoed through the hall as the director stepped aside, making way for a young man. Alex Stargove was incredibly good-looking and charming, around 23 years old. He had short brown hair and was tall and muscular.

He was the first student speaker and probably the most popular person at the university. There was hardly anyone he didn't get along with.

Like Ava, his family belonged to the nobility of the kingdom of Eldora, and they were powerful and wealthy.

The second student speaker, who wasn't called forward but went anyway, was a young woman named Maria.

You could immediately see why she was chosen for the position. She was tall, had splendid curves, and her clothing was barely existent. She was the kind of person all men wanted to be with and all women wanted to be like.

She was very popular. She was intelligent, but also kind and always polite, though it wasn't difficult to see through her facade unless you were blinded by foolish desire.

Of course, there were also people who didn't take a liking to both of them, mostly out of envy. But Ava knew that both of them had their own skeletons in the closet.

In the end, Ava didn't have much to do with either of them. In the nine years she had spent at this university, she had hardly spoken to them. However, she found the few training fights against Alex quite enjoyable, but nothing particularly exciting. She had won every time.

Alex was saying something about how much he enjoyed the time and such, and Maria also made her contribution, but Ava wasn't really paying attention.

Her thoughts were already on the person she had to face after the end of this event, and it sent shivers down her spine.

Now the director stepped forward again and began calling out names one by one. Ava's attention was only drawn back to the director when her name was announced.

"And now to the best student of the year, Ava Aetherborne. Her performance in both the theoretical and practical exams was excellent. She even won a fair duel against one in the fourth realm! Ava is an incredibly talented student and we will miss her greatly but are also excited about the countless successes that will inevitably follow her path."

Ava stood up from her seat and walked up the stairs. Applause filled the hall, but more hesitantly and way quieter than before. Ava felt the countless hostile glares from the many people she had made enemies with during her time here. Especially the professors did not seem to be very enthusiastic about her.

She firmly shook the director's hand and thanked him politely. Then she turned around, faced the crowd with a wide smile, and took a deep breath. A tense silence spread.

"I can't say much except this: You all were fucking annoying. Even my professor was nothing more than a punching bag for me to practice my magic. I am so glad to finally leave this place!"

With that, Ava descended the stairs and, paying no attention to the gazes thrown her way, left the building with a faint smile on her lips.

But her smile didn't last long as she stepped outside. The sun shone brightly on her face, and it was a warm day, yet she felt as if the air around her began to freeze.

Standing next to a golden and magnificent carriage was a beautiful woman with black hair and pitch-black eyes. She looked to be in her late thirties but was actually over sixty years old. She stared directly at Ava with her cold eyes. She couldn't stand this person.

No, that was an understatement. She hated this person so much that she couldn't put it into words herself. This person had been responsible for most of the misfortune that had befallen Ava in the course of her life, and yet this was the person she had known the longest.

Ava sighed and approached the woman,

"Hello, Mother. It's been a long time."