030 In Full Bloom

Professor Stance walked out from the administration building, feeling a little sense of accomplishment. It had been years since he checked his mail and fulfill his duties. He finished the paperwork assigned by the Academy and left the building to continue his research.

After aimlessly walking about, an unexpected scent reached his nose.

"Giopoli flower in full bloom?" This was a surprise for the professor as Giopoli only bloom in the fall.

He followed the scent, walking south toward the Nuccen Immediate Dorm. As he approached the back of the dorm, he looked up toward a balcony and stared in awe at the blooming Giopoli. However, the biggest shock was the other manaherbs surrounding the blooming Giopoli.

"The balcony belongs to the students?" The professor's eyes widened in shock.

He headed inside the dorm, and knocked on the door.

A chubby teenager looked at the elderly professor and bowed three times.

"Hello student, my name is Professor Stance. May I ask if you are the one growing the manaherbs in the balcony?"

The boy shook his head. Professor Stance went on to the next dorm, still no luck .

"I was sure it was the fifth balcony from the left." Professor Stance continued knocking doors.

If the professor had any sense of direction, he would have known that it was the fifth balcony from the right.

Professor Stance reached the 11th dorm room from the left and knocked. A blond hair boy opened the door and looked at the elderly man in a purple robe.

"Professor?" Ashe bowed three times.

"Hello student, my name is Professor Stance. May I ask if you are the one growing the manaherbs in the balcony?"

"The manaherbs?" Ashe looked out toward the balcony. "They are my roommate's."

"Is your roommate here?" Asked Professor Stance.

"No, he's hunting in Arango Forest."

"Do you know when he will return?"

"Probably in the afternoon."

"May I have his name?"

"Nico of Rinlin village."

Professor Stance vaguely remembered the name. "Thank you, may you leave him a message that I will come back around three?"

Ashe nodded.

"Thank you... And... You are from the Hartlet clan?"

Ashe mouth slightly jarred opened. "Yes, my name is Ashe."

"I have read one of your essays, keep up the good work."

"Thank you Professor." Ashe bowed respectfully.

Professor Stance turned around, looked to the right and then the left of the hallway, He decided to leave from the right.

Ashe looked to the balcony and at the blooming Giopoli. His roommate had been cultivating manaherbs ever since they had moved into the dorm.

Manaherbs weren't easy to care for. They were picky in the amount of water, sunlight and nutrients required. From observing Nico daily routine, he could see that each plants had received different amount of water and nutrients as though he could tell what the plants needed to grow.

When he had asked Nico about it, Nico didn't even know the names of the plants. It was odd for someone to know so much about manaherbs, but don't even know the most basic information.

Nico was busier than usual, and Ashe wondered if he even slept at night.

Academy students were a strange bunch, so Ashe didn't think too much about it. Vincent would also disappear for days. Jack probably had the most consistent hours.

Ashe closed the book he had finished reading and walked to the student hall.

It was still early, and he wanted to practice a couple of spells. He didn't want to fall behind Nico and Vincent.

It annoyed him that he couldn't defeat Nico, who was a complete novice. Granted, Nico was a better fighter than a lot of the students he had fought against.

Spells were difficult to cast, but with practice, casting time could improve. In addition to proficiency, the most important factor in casting speed was a person alignment. If a person aura naturally aligned with water, they could naturally form water spells faster.

For Ashe, he had the Aqua Fox and naturally aligned with water spells.

The Hartley clan was known for their powerful Nine-tail Fox, commonly inherited by the next head of the clan. Unfortunately, other than his grandmother, no one in his generation had inherited the spirit.

With no apparent heir, there were tough competition between the members.

Ashe was not the strongest fighter nor the strongest magician, but he was known as the most diligent in the clan. However, being diligent was not the criteria for the next clan head selection. If he wanted to get ahead, he needed to prove his worth.

As he walked inside the student hall lobby, he saw Anya arguing with a group of girls.

"Look you low class bitch, we register for the court already," one of the girls complained. She was a green robe, and naturally felt superior to the blue robe girl.

"We all know you're removing our slot as petty vengeance for last week." The other girls of five banned together.

"Whether I'm low class or not, people should already tell by the way you speak," Anya sniped back. "Your appointment is at 9, but it's already 11. You're more than two hours late and you expect the court to be free?"

The red-haired girl in the middle narrowed her eyes, and her maid immediately raised her hand.

Slap!

Anya braced herself and took the slap. Although she was in the right, she was still a student association member, and needed to show restraint.

"This is your second warning," Anya temper rose a notch and clinched her robe tightly. "I don't care if you're the princess of Gordon. If you want a slot, you must register and arrive on time like everybody else."

Anya stared at the maid. "As for you, I will report you directly you the student association. If you dare touch me again, I'll exercise the defense clause and break you arm, got it?"

"Hmph, as if the association is able to do anything," The maid wanted to see if the girl have the guts.

She raised her hand to slap Anya again.

Slap!

Ahh!!!! The maid screamed.

Just as she was about to hit Anya, an unexpected force had pulled her hand and she had slapped herself.

The princess sensed the power source and turned back to look at the approaching boy.

"Tsk, tsk. Ashe Hartley, it's unusual for you to step in," the princess sneered. "I guess birds of the feathers really flock together."

"Oh Princess Toria, you're pretty vicious as usual," Ashe retorted back. "The semester is just beginning and you're already bullying the students. Your reputation precedes you."

"You're really planning to go up against the princess because of a commoner!" The maid asked. "Don't forget the Hartley clan is just a Gordon citizen."

"Oh, I don't dare to go against The Princess and the Gordon Empire, but I want to see what this princess can do."

Princess Toria glared at Ashe. "I can do a lot more than you."

"Only because you have started with more."

"If I recall correctly, my ranking is higher than yours."

"This lowly one does not think I can surpass Princess Toria in terms of resources. But if I recall correctly, you have lost the last time we have sparred."

Princess Toria looked annoyed. "Lina, let's go, I'm tired of being around peasants."

The princess and her entourage left grudgingly.

"Thanks for your help," Anya gave a slight bow. "Is everything going to be okay?"

"Well, it's fine. Toria can be bratty and domineering, but it's all for show," said Ashe. "How did you end up crossing her?"

"We were finalist for the student association, and they chose me over her. The association clearly wanted someone new to represent the incoming students. She has been trying to pick a fight ever since."

"I see. Has she been causing you some trouble?"

"Not anything that I can't handle."

"You're being ostracized and that's why you're hanging out with us?" asked Ashe.

Anya widened her eyes, she was surprised he had figured it out so quickly. She thought for a moment. "Are you also being ostracized?"

"Yeah, same boat."

They both laughed.

Ashe remembered his purpose here. "Can you book me a training court today?"

"Sure. It's a little busy, but two o'clock should be fine. You can come right after lunch at Killo."

"Thank you!"