Just another day

Astra performed the same moveset with his wooden sword for the tenth time. Every time he repeated it his moves became more harmonious and agile. This speed of improvement was truly terrifying. He went up to his computer which displayed all the sword techniques and skills in his moveset. After making some slight alterations to it he got back to practicing the modified version.

The clock on his wall showed it was 3 in the morning. Astra has had insomnia for almost his entire life. But The strangest thing was that no matter how fatigued he is, just an hour of rest would make him feel restored. Maybe this is the reason that he was able to get a Ph.D. in Quantum computing when he was only eleven and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics at the tender age of 12.

Four hours passed in just a blink of an eye. Astra quickly got ready and left for his mana theory class. Many students didn't like this subject but Astra who, always loved learning about the inner workings of different stuff and had a great curiosity about it, really enjoyed this class.

The basic principle of mana is that it is a special type of energy only possessed by higher beings and some mortal races. It lets you influence the world around you in any way you like. Every person has a different mana signature or mana type which lets them control different aspects of the universe. The strength of a person is measured by their Mana affinity.

Mana affinity is the knowledge one possesses about their mana signature. To use magic, one must understand the basic principles of their given mana type. Of course, there are some weapons, tools, or special attire that lets people use high-level pre-made spells that they don't have the insight to do so. The art of making these pre-made spells is known as Runic art.

Usually, these mana signatures are inherited from parents. A child inherits the mana signature of whichever parent has the higher mana affinity. There have been some rare cases of dual mana signature or an entirely different one.

After his Mana theory class, Astra had to attend engineering class. Since there was still an hour till it began, he decided to explore the campus. Universum University was truly humongous. If it weren't for the teleportation pads, traveling from one end of the university to the other would've taken days.

He decided to go to the shopping district. Astra had never been a fan of shopping. His finance adviser mostly did most of his shopping back on earth, From clothes to heavy and expensive machinery. He was teleported to a huge circular junction. Around him were a total of eight ways he could go. All these paths led to different sections of the market.

Astra choose a direction randomly and started exploring. This was like a bazaar but more advanced. There weren't many students here right now because they usually liked to visit at night.

Astra roamed around without any intention, He was truly surprised by the variety of stuff sold here. He randomly entered a clothes store.

"Welcome, sir. How may I help you?" A man, who looked to be in his thirties dressed in all red walked up to Astra. The man only had black hair with two red horns on his head.

"Oh. I'm just looking around" replied Astra

"very well sir. If you need any help I'll be at the counter" The man returned leaving Astra alone.

Astra was just looking around when a gown caught his eye. The dress was violet in color with black details. It was a glamorous dress, It instantly reminded him of Raven.

After looking around the market for an hour, he went to his engineering class. As usual Raven was sitting alone in the back. He had already once tried sitting next to her but it was obvious that she was uncomfortable. After that, he decided to give Raven her space and didn't go close to her.

Astra always thought that Engineering was Interesting. After his Grandfather died and he decided to stop pursuing science, he picked up engineering. The engineering he was learning now was even more exciting 'cause it included magic. Things that Astra or other humans thought were impossible before due to limited technology and knowledge could now be achieved. Of course, he wasn't gonna put his main focus on engineering but he still decided to study this subject cause it sounded fun.

While explaining some topics the teacher got off-topic and started talking, no, bragging about his achievements. He told the students how he and his fellow engineers built the wall around the college. The wall that even stood against the horrible beast's attacks 10 years ago. While the teacher was talking about the beast's attack, every student some discreet others not so discreetly sneaked a peek at Raven.

Soon the teacher got even more off-topic and started talking about the previous headmaster. He told everyone that the headmaster once brought a sick child back from some battlefield. He took care of it like it was his grandchild. But The child turned out to be a very strong monster in disguise. After using an ancient technique that cost him his life, The grandmaster sealed the monster's power.

"After that, the monster turned back into the child" finished the teacher while everyone looked at Raven.

"The child should've been left to die" A student chimed in. After this, all the students started saying horrible things to the child in front of Raven.

This enraged Astra. As he was about to speak and shut everyone up, raven stood up from her seat and left the class. After she left, Astra noticed some water droplets on the ground.

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"How can they be so mean and the teacher didn't even stop them," Said Astra as he walked next to Aura. They were walking around the campus ground while eating ice cream.

"Everyone believes that raven is the monster that killed the previous headmaster. Even though the present Headmistress, daughter of the previous headmaster said that it was a lie. Everyone just wants a good story to keep them entertained, no one cares about the truth and no one cares about Raven". Said Aura as she finished her ice cream.

Astra sighed.

They both sat on a bench inside a nice-looking garden.

"What about you Astra, have you ever been bullied?"

"No. I spent the first 13 years of my life with my grandpa and the next 4 in front of documents and computers. I don't like talking to people. The only people I talked to were my board members and that too because I was forced"

Aura chuckled. "You're talking to me right now"

Astra stared into her eyes. "I like talking to you. I can spend my whole life just talking to you and never get bored"

Aura looked away. She was afraid that if she looked into his eyes any longer she would make a mistake. "What about your parents? Why did you live with your grandpa?"

"My parents died in an accident when I was only 11 months old. My grandpa was the only relative who was willing to take care of me. What about your parents?"

Aura looked towards the sky "Hmm... let's see. My mother died on the battlefield while fighting an army of feinds alone. My brother joined the Sacred army and serves as one of the seven blessed warriors"

After waiting for a few seconds Astra said "You forgot about your dad"

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Aura's lips "My mother died when I was 4, but still I talked more to her in those 4 years than I have with my dad in 20 years living with him. The only time we properly talked was when he told me that I was getting married. I think he hates me"

A male voice came from behind the bench they were sitting on "Don't say that. You know he loves you". Aura and Astra looked backward.

"Hi, I'm Basura Figar, Fiance of Aura"