Training Rivals

Before Aayla could finish packing, she was already on her way to the Havrevel River. The other students were already waiting in Forest Waypoint. Ramona gave her an overview of the expedition on the way to meet up with them.

Universities in Tellus often arranges expeditions into the wilderness. The goal of each expedition can vary from training students, studying local plants and animals or taking out a dangerous magical beast. The Havrevel River was an excellent training location for young wizards, so this expedition was held yearly for some of the top students.

This time, Nafriton arranged for a joint expedition to the Havrevel River with three other universities. Originally, this expedition was meant as a friendship exercise between the third- and fourth- year students of each university. However, this time the intentions of their partners were less than friendly. Only fourth-years were allowed to go.

The first university was the Chinebar National University, Nafriton's competitive sister school. With the direct support of the national government, CNU has flourished and become a powerhouse in both magical and nonmagical studies. CNU has been itching to kick Nafriton down from the top spot for ages.

The next university was Tigurum Imperial University, the top university of the Ferreus Empire. The Ferreus Empire was a superpower on Tellus that shared Chinebar's eastern border. Their group climbed the Northern Divide Mountains to cross into Chinebar. Technically a military school, the students leaned towards combat magic.

The final university was the Olafssey University of Wizardry of the Leistung Empire. The Leistung Empire was to the east of the Ferreus Empire, and their students travelled by ship through the dangerous Ural Bay to reach Forest Waypoint. The bay was stormy with freezing waters, strong currents, enormous depths and teeming with deadly magical beasts.

None of the students from these universities were incompetent, and all knew about Nafriton's recent disgrace. If they saw an opportunity to further deepen the blow, they would take it. Especially those from CNU. Aayla was joining as Ramona's assistant, but that didn't protect her from the other students.

When they arrived at Forest Waypoint, the expedition was ready to set off. Aayla was stuffed onto another carriage before she had any time to rest. One full day and two nights of travelling later, the expedition was in the middle of the frozen, magical beast infected area.

The carriages finally stopped in a remote village. They would stay the night then training would begin the next day. The students and faculty were quickly divided up between the houses in the village. A final briefing was held after everyone was settled. For the first time ever, Aayla met the other teams in the expedition.

Aayla stood by Ramona as the teams gathered in the central plaza of the village. She met none of the Nafriton students before, and they all calmly sat around away from the other teams. Every so often a student would glance at the Tigurum or Olaffsey teams. A tall, frosty young lady led the students. They appeared serene on the surface, but a strange gloom hung over them.

"Ramona, what's up with our students?" Aayla whispered.

"The empires have always been strong opponents, and that recent event has created an opening to attack the university's reputation. Coupled with some of their friends disappearing over winter break, none of them are honestly in any mood for mind games. Still, it was impossible to back out at the last minute."

"So, they're going to keep a low profile this time?"

"Yes. As long as no one's injured and they don't come in last, the faculty honestly doesn't really care how well they do."

Aayla's mouth twitched. That's a really low expectation. No wonder the Nafriton team seems so off. Losing comrades then being forced to go on the trip just after a scandal rocked their school. Aayla moved her focus to the other teams.

The CNU team radiated arrogance and shot glares of contempt at the other students, especially those from Nafriton. The Tigurum team seemed to have pride embedded deeply into their bones and gave Aayla the impression of soldiers. Finally, the Olafssey team coldly watched the other teams, blatantly observing the Tigurum team while ignoring the CNU team.

With their own glares ignored, the CNU students gnashed their teeth and started jeering at the other teams. To their frustration, even these provocations went ignored. The Nafriton and Olafssey teams continued to ignore them, while the Tigurum team looked at the CNU students like they were jumping clowns. Free entertainment is always appreciated when it's so funny.

Several of the students turned in her direction when they felt her gaze. Aayla turned her eyes away from them. She was so far away from them, yet they still noticed her. They have sharp senses. Well, most of them. The CNU students seemed to preoccupied looking for trouble.

Aayla twirled the tips of her hair in her fingers. The CNU team were bothering everyone like mad dogs, but focused on Nafriton. The Olafssey team focused on Tigurum students, sometimes watched Nafriton students and ignored the CNU team. The Tigurum team found CNU's little act hilarious, but doesn't really care about any other team. The Nafriton team paid attention to the Tigurum and Olaffsey teams, but wasn't really eager to participate.

So, in order from weakest to strongest the teams were CNU, Nafriton, Olafssey then Tigurum. Normally, Nafriton and Olafssey could be a match, but Nafriton's mental state dragged them down. It should be safe to theorize that the CNU team looked at the Nafriton team like it was a soft persimmon due to this.

Worries weighed down the Nafriton team, but it wasn't fatal. From what Aayla heard on campus, CNU was almost obsessive about beating Nafriton at anything. Those CNU students probably confused the Nafriton team's sorrow with weakness and destroyed confidence. After hearing that Nafriton students from the team went missing, they let their thoughts of victory run wild.

The Tigurum and Olafssey teams obviously still treat the Nafriton team as a bigger threat. However, the CNU team doesn't seem to notice that simple fact. Aayla relaxed her breathing. They will have a rude awakening once the training starts. Nafriton should at least beat them this year.

As soon as everyone arrived, the final briefing began. This year the rules were the same as always. The students would have seven days to explore the river. The professors would not interfere unless a life was in danger. If one was saved by a professor, then they would be out of the competition and stay at the village until it was over. If a team did not return to the village in seven days, then the team would be out.

They would gain points in three ways: mapping the terrain, slaying magical beasts and collecting magical plants. The team with the most collective points would win a prize. This year, it was an expert grade spell book, courtesy of Nafriton University. According to the audible gasps around her, it must be highly sought-after spell.

"That's all of the rules. Remember, if you find anything magical that you don't recognize, mark down its location and don't touch it. A professor will drop by your main camps three times a day. You can report your findings then. Especially don't go in any unknown ruins!

"On a last note, my goddaughter will be joining you this time. Aayla, come here for a moment."

Aayla's eyes widened in surprise as all eyes locked onto her. She barely kept a polite smile on her face as she walked to the center of the plaza. The glares from CNU seemed particularly fierce.

"This is my goddaughter, Aayla Glowery. Aayla will be my assistant for this trip. She's familiar with some useful stuff, so I've brought her out for some experience. Any team can feel free to ask her questions if I or any of the professors are unreachable.

"She'll stay in the Nafriton camp as a field agent of sorts. As a first year, she cannot earn points for the Nafriton team. Aayla can take care of herself, but I would prefer for her to stay with others for safety reasons."

Gasps of surprise echoed throughout the plaza. This was a new turn of events. The leaders of the Tigurum and Olafssey teams turned towards the frosty young lady. She shook her head. Even the Nafriton students hadn't heard about this before. They didn't even realize that Aayla was here until they saw her at the plaza.

One of the Olafssey professors spoke up. "Deputy Heston, why is a first year participating in this year's trip? Shouldn't she be at least a third-year? No offense meant to you or your school."

"None taken. The headmaster has personally approved her participation as a support staff member. She'll won't interfere in the competition aside from answering questions and recording discoveries."

"But what can she actually do? It's very strange to suddenly send along a first-year. They typically haven't built up enough foundational knowledge yet."