Class (1)

The bells rang for the first time this year. The semester had officially begun as of that moment. Students were running to class, hoping to make it on time. Some students were already taking notes in their respective lecture halls. Whatever the case, the academy had finally come into full motion.

Estelle and Liandra found themselves walking through the same hallway, towards what seemed to be the same lecture hall. Estelle held an amiable grin, striding in even steps. To her, the first class would be a good time to assess where major players are. This would help here in dealing with the obvious issue of lingering plot developments from the original timeline described in the novel.

Estelle had already begun to see Liandra as less of a threat to her existence but more of an annoyance at this point. The leash was tight and not much would happen without Estelle's blessing. Knowing this much, Estelle rarely stressed over Liandra's character growth.

The two finally opened the door to the lecture hall after arriving there a minute early. They were greeted by multiple rows of seats in a semi-circular formation which all faced towards a main lecture podium. Long marble tables paired with the seats perfectly, giving students room to work with. There were also grand chandeliers hung from the ceiling, a symbol of the academy's wealth and status.

However, this was not why students enrolled here. They came for a formal education that would enable them to gain opportunities and progress their skills further in their noble fields.

"Little sister, sit over here." Estelle patted Liandra's shoulder and pointed to a row of seats in the front row.

Liandra promptly nodded in response. The two of them quickly made their way to the seats and sat down next to each other as more and more students steadily streamed into the lecture hall, desperate to make it in time.

There was some shouting as students that were friends outside of the academy were unable to sit together due to many seats being taken already. However, no arguments ended in physical fights. They all attended a prestigious academy; no one was stupid enough to make a scene like that here, especially over something as petty as seat arrangement.

As the seats were quickly filled with students, a brown haired girl suddenly approached Estelle from her left side. Estelle's eyes immediately darted towards the girl as if asking 'why are you looking at me?'.

"Excuse me… could I please sit next to you?" The girl asked.

Estelle did not bother answering with words, she just nodded and went back to minding her own business.

"Thank you, I'm Jade Morris. Would you be able to tell me your name too?" The girl extended a hand after taking a seat next to Estelle.

"Estelle Vermillion, nice to meet you." Estelle did not want to shake hands but it was the polite thing to do. She could already feel that the girl was someone she did not want to associate with.

"That's such a pretty name! You're also so pretty too, I think men are just lining up to get a chance to ask for your hand in marriage." Jade giggled brightly. The girl was more bubbly than most and seemed quite forward with her compliments. It caught Estelle off guard but she did not react like she was surprised. She was simply not accustomed to such personalities.

The more concerning detail that Estelle had noticed was the fact that Jade shared a name with a supporting character. This character was a friend of the female lead that helped defend her from Liandra during the academy arc. However, Estelle remembered that Jade never went out of her way to demonise Liandra for her misdeeds. Instead, Jade seemed to be the only one that felt like Liandra was misunderstood.

"You are rather cute, I'd believe that you have many suitors as well." Estelle shared a warm smile and returned the compliment with one of her own. Because of the new context to the situation, Estelle began paying some attention to Jade.

"Attention!" A loud voice reverberated through the entire lecture hall. An middle aged bald man stood in a black suit behind the podium. He had no facial hair and no eyebrows. The man was odd-looking to say the least, yet stern and intimidating.

"Welcome to Magical Practice 101! I am Lord Martin Raster. I will be teaching this subject as well as grading your assessments. My expectations for this course are very simple. Every class will be devoted to teaching you all a magical concept that will be useful for all of you to become official mages. Your grades will correspond directly to your level of accomplishment throughout the course. For anyone that has concerns about this assessment criteria being unfair or in favour of those that have begun training early I would like to point out that one can learn mathematical concepts in their own time and use such knowledge to their advantage in mathematical courses as well." The lecturer scanned the lecture hall as if looking for something. His face lit up as he found a perfect subject before him.

"Student Estelle Vermillion, already a mage. This is an example of someone that has already passed the assessments with full marks." Lord Raster called out Estelle's name with excitement, seeing as he was in charge of someone with such a powerful mana signature.

"For those that have just learned how to sense mana, you may not be able to detect the mana signatures emitted by mages. But if you become more powerful, your perception will improve."

Estelle pretended like she wasn't bothered by the lecturer nearly exposing her full capabilities. Her fists were clenched under the desk though, nearly shaking as she forced herself to keep a calm exterior. Luckily the lecturer did not tell the class that she was not just at the level of a 1st circle beginner mage.

"You're pretty and talented too? Estelle is such a genius!" Jade whispered expressively.

Liandra of course knew this. But she did not join in on the conversation. She just frowned as she saw her sister speak amiably with a stranger. Something inside of her was yearning for that same type of warmth even if it is only on the surface.