Settling In

|Rachel|

As I trudged towards the dorms, a heavy sigh escaped my lips. The Director had decided to make this a surprise, so I had no idea what my room number was or who I would be sharing my dorm with until after the ceremony.

The academy had two male and two female dorms, with the underclassmen and upperclassmen housed separately. Underclassmen were students who were still taking their general education classes, and they were moved to the upperclassmen dorms once they had completed these courses and chosen their area of specialization.

However, not all underclassmen dorms were created equal. There were exclusive dorms reserved for members of the Student Council and Disciplinary Committee, which were more upscale than the others.

"Room 386, room 386, room 386..." I muttered under my breath as I scanned the room numbers, finally locating my own.

"Finally!" I exclaimed, placing my hand on a round stone above the handle. The door recognized my mana signature and swung open, allowing me to step inside.

My room was certainly grander than the one described in Arthur's original story.

The space was vast, equivalent to three noble bedrooms combined. The room was almost divided in half, with two enormous beds occupying opposite sides. To the right, there was a bathroom with an oversized noble bath. On the left, there were numerous closets, spacious enough to accommodate all of my clothes.

In addition, there was a cosy mini living room with two couches and three chairs arranged around a white marble table. The floor of the room was covered entirely in a plush fur rug, which felt luxurious underfoot.

And, of course, I couldn't forget the two vanity desks, one in pink and the other in silver, which were lined up along one wall. Taking a deep breath in, I sat down on the luxurious couch and relaxed, waiting for my roommate to arrive.

While I was doing so, I began to think about what all happened. The story had been derailed heavily from the original.

There was no Elijah in the Academy and he wasn't Arthur's friend either. Arthur had a very important role from the beginning and he wasn't Lucas's enemy because he never went to the Dire Tombs.

This also means that Tessia won't get the infected beast will from him, so it was a good thing overall.

Xyrus Academy can be seen as the last "happy" arc of the story. Following this was simply depression of the War saga where many characters lost their lives.

'Which is what I want to prevent,' I thought.

The most important events that led to Dicathen's collapse were the continuous betrayal of the dwarves and the power gap.

The power gap wasn't something I could control much by. Also, it wasn't something that would likely have a great impact on the war anymore because of how powerful we Paladins are.

However, the betrayal of the dwarves was a key factor which led to Dicathen's fall. Of course, there was also Eralith's betrayal but that can be prevented much more easily if Dicathen was put in a winning situation.

They only betrayed to save their people, the dwarves betrayed because of greed.

'However, this makes it hard to prevent,' I frowned, 'I need to have enough influence in the Council by the time the war starts to restrict them.'

This was a daunting task, nearly impossible, in fact. An alternative solution would be to use Gary's capabilities, as he was widely regarded as the leader of our Paladin group. By the time the war erupted, most of us would have achieved the white stage, making us stronger than the lances as a whole. Therefore, Gary would wield considerable power and influence, making him a crucial asset.

My thoughts were interrupted when my roommate entered the room.

My face brightened and I smiled at the princess, "I am so glad you are my roommate Kathyln!"

She looked at me with a cold face that melted into an expression of joy as she nodded in agreement.

'Aaahhh she's so cute!' I screamed internally without changing my facial expression at all.

The two of us had gotten very close after spending a few months as members of the Disciplinary Committee.

'Come to think of it,' I thought, 'I need to protect Claire as well.'

Claire lost her mana core in the attack on Xyrus Academy, and I didn't want that to happen again in this world.

We conversed about the classes we had. The disciplinary committee met every morning, which meant that I had to wake up a bit earlier than I used to.

My daily class schedule had six classes, two lower-division and four upper-division classes. I had Fundamentals of Mana Theory and Basic of Artificing in the morning, and Deviant Magic Theory I, Team Fighting Mechanics I, Advanced Chain-Casting and Advanced Mana Utilisation.

Kathyln, on the other hand, had a slightly different schedule. She had five classes: Fundamentals of Mana Theory, Team Fighting Mechanics I, Deviant Magic Theory, Advanced Chain-Casting and Advanced Archery.

I couldn't help but feel surprised that she was an archer instead of a normal conjurer, but with all the changes in the story, it wasn't entirely unexpected.

Other than these classes, we also had another class simply known as the Special Class. This was a class exclusive to the Paladins, so I was excited to see what the Director came up with.

Despite knowing that our time at Xyrus Academy would be cut short by Draneeve and the Alacaryans, I couldn't help but smile at the memories we had already created and the ones that were yet to come.

_________________________________________

|Arthur|

With a tired sigh, I flopped onto my bed, relishing the softness of the mattress.

Alistair's gentle voice interrupted my relaxation, "We should head to the dining hall, don't fall asleep just yet." He neatly placed his clothes into the closet and turned to me.

I grinned and picked up my sleepy companion, Sylvie, and placed her on my head. "Let's go then," I said with a playful tone.

Alistair's uniform was simple, yet it caught my attention with its subtle flashiness. The captain's platinum plaque on his chest stood out against the navy fabric, glinting in the light.

"I'm ready when you are," he said, his eyes meeting mine.

Together, we left the room, eager to grab a bite to eat.

As we entered the dining hall, the room fell silent and I could feel the weight of the curious gazes upon us. Ignoring the attention, we joined the line and got our food, making our way to a quiet corner in the back of the room.

"Looks like we're already the talk of the school, Art," Alistair remarked, his fork piercing a juicy piece of roasted meat.

"It was to be expected," I replied with a playful flip of my hair. "We are the best-looking students after all."

As we ate, we discussed our class schedules for the day. We both had morning meetings with the disciplinary committee, which meant I would have to break my poor sleeping habits.

In addition to the morning meetings, I had a full load of classes: Fundamentals of Mana Theory, Practical Mana Manipulation, and Basics of Artificing in the morning followed by upper-division classes in the afternoon, which included Deviant Magic Theory I, Team Fighting Mechanics I, and Spell Formations I.

I couldn't help but feel a little envious of Alistair's lighter course load. We only had Fundamentals of Mana Theory and Team Fighting Mechanics I together, with his other classes consisting of Advanced Chain-Casting, Mana Utilisation II and Deviant Magic Practical I.

As I finished my plate, I realized I barely tasted the meat. Looking up, I saw that Sylvie had happily eaten most of it while perched on my head, letting out a contented "kyu."

Throughout our meal, I could sense that people were talking about us, but no one dared to approach us until now.

A group of students, all with battle mage uniforms, walked up to our table, completely ignoring my existence. The leader of the group, a tall male with wavy brown hair that was parted in the middle, stuck his hand out to Alistair.

"Greetings, Prince Alistair! My name is Charles Ravenpor II, born from the famous Ravenpor Family. I'm sure you've heard of it, right? I couldn't help but notice you spending time with someone beneath you. I wish for someone of lineage as noble as yours to join me!" His chin stuck out, confident that Alistair would take his hand.

"The Ravenpoop Family? Never heard of a family named after a bird's feces. Have you, Art?" Alistair looked at me with a teasing look, making me laugh through my nose.

"No, but I'd be very embarrassed to be in family like the Ravenpoop, even if I did know of them." I tried to hide my smile as I played along in this immature exchange.

Some of the students nearby who were listening in on our conversation started snickering.

"Y-You . . . How dare you mock a prestigious family like the RavenPOR House?" Charles slammed his fist on our table, emphasising his house name, which made them laugh even more.

"I am a second class student that should be shown respect! I reached out to you, a newbie, because I didn't want a battle mage student to lower himself by being with a commoner trash, but you instead spit in my face like this?" His hand was already twitching to reach for the wand strapped to his right leg.

Alistair looked him dead in the eye and refuted, "I have never heard of the Ravenpor family, which means that you guys aren't anything worthy of my attention. Art is a close friend of mine, and you dare to insult him?"

Alistair had a terrifying look on his face that caused the goons to slightly step back.

Issuing duels inside a facility not meant for battle was prohibited so using magic inside the dining hall would result in quite a big punishment, but that didn't seem to stop Mr Ravenpor here.

Wind gathered around him as he struggled to keep his anger under control. "Jack!" he roared, the wind settling down around him as he called forth one of his minions.

A boy that had a face that looked around 13 but a body that looked too big for his age stepped up from the back.

"Show these brats how things work around here," he growled, stepping back. He seemed to have forgotten that Alistair was a prince and treated him just like he treated me.

'I did expect Alistair's status to be affected by the fact that he isn't born into royalty, but to think he can be disrespected this much.' I thought.

Jack looked a little hesitant but Charles barked that he'd be properly compensated, making Jack reveal a wicked grin as he fit a clawed gauntlet over his fists.

"Sucks for you," he simply smirked, cracking his neck before splitting the table in half.

The dining hall was in a commotion by now as the students all gathered around, some standing up on the tables to get a better view.

I could tell that there were other members of the Disciplinary Committee, but they decided to not intervene.

It's not like there was a need.

He was a second-class student as well by the two stripes on his black tie, but even without an attribute, his core was still dark orange, which, for his age, was pretty damn good.

However, that is only when compared to the average.

Alistair sighed before flicking his wrist in annoyance, causing vines to encase not only Jack but all the members of Charles's gang including him.

His face paled as he realised just how heavily he was outmatched by Alistair.

"You dare to disrespect a Prince," Alistair said threateningly as he walked towards him slowly. This wasn't anything compared to Gary but it had quite the effect as all of the goons had expressions of terror.

"I don't care how great your family is," he continued, "Do you think it can compare to royalty? I find it pathetic when I see nobles like you who beat their chest for achievements you have never even come close to. Before you bring how powerful and great your families are, become strong enough to be worthy of carrying that name."

"Well said, Alistair," a familiar sound resounded as a person clapped his hands

"You are completely correct in what you said," Gary continued, "Which is why we should make an example out of these... nobles. If anyone thinks they can hide behind their family name and have 'fun' in this academy, you are dead wrong. I promise that I will find you and punish you for the crimes you have committed."