Duelcrest Academy

The rest of the morning went by peacefully.

After wishing us a good school year, Headmaster Skylark had made way for a stern-looking teacher.

Montague and Sophia, seemingly perfectly healed, returned to class half an hour later while we were being shown the layout of the school.

As I had already noticed, the Academy had two wings. The east wing, where we were now, housed the facilities for our training. Besides this classroom, dedicated to theoretical lessons, there were others with various equipment useful for practical training. There was also a large inner courtyard. The school had three floors, but we weren't told what was on the upper floors of the east wing. I imagine there were teachers' offices and their rooms.

The west section was entirely dedicated to student accommodations and other spaces for our free time. There was a dining hall, two large bathrooms, a recreation room, and a sports area complete with even an indoor pool.

Each of us would have our own room.

Amy was excitedly fidgeting beside me. For both of us, who had so far lived in a humble village, living with all these luxuries would be incredible.

«A room all for myself!» squealed Amy happily.

I got her, as she had grown up with three brothers, finally having a little privacy would probably feel like a dream. A couple of hours ago, I would have reacted in a similar fashion.

But now my mind kept going back to the duel I had witnessed and to Sophia Thornton.

I needed to figure out the secret behind that girl's strange blade.

"Maybe I should try to exchange a few words with her, perhaps I could discover something useful."

Usually I was terrible at making friends, but if I approached her together with Amy, I might have a chance.

Unlike me, chatting and getting to know new people was second nature to her.

It wasn't nice to approach her with ulterior motives, but this was a competition. I had to get every advantage I could.

Luckily, the opportunity presented itself on the same day, after the end of the morning lessons, which had mostly been an introduction to the Academy.

Amy and I stopped in the class for a few minutes to chat about what we had discovered so far.

«I've never been great at casting spells... But I think you can do it. You have the largest magical power in the class, and you've always been so smart. I'll do my best to support you,» said Amy, puffing up with pride.

«Thank you, Amy. But as you saw from that duel, mana isn't everything.»

«That's true, that girl was incredible. I've never seen anyone so skilled with a sword. But you don't just have mana on your side, right?» Amy replied, winking at me.

Mmmh, she was right. After all, I also had an ace up my sleeve, but I wasn't sure if it would be useful against someone like Sophia. And unlike the ability to cut spells in half, it was something rare but not unique. Who knows how many other mages were capable of doing something like that in here.

«Well, let's go to lunch. All these rules and explanations have made me hungry.»

Amy and I left the classroom and headed towards the west wing.

Finding the dining hall wasn't difficult.

We just had to follow the noise: chairs being moved, cutlery clinking, and the cheerful buzz of our classmates' conversations.

We went through a double door and found ourselves in a vast room illuminated by several chandeliers. Dozens of tables occupied most of the space. There were tables of various sizes, from long tables to more intimate ones for 4 people. It seemed there were more seats than necessary, perhaps to ensure a solitary lunch for those who wanted to be on their own.

Amy and I joined a line that started to the left of the entrance, guessing it was for getting our food. Peeking over the shoulders of the students in front of us, we caught a glimpse, at the beginning of the line, of a table covered with a red cloth with a complicated magic circle drawn on it.

When a student approached it, it emitted a glow, and a tray full of dishes materialized out of thin air.

I faintly remembered hearing something about it during the lesson.

Apparently, our meals were personalized. They would take our tastes into account to serve us balanced and healthy meals.

Certainly convenient. But it all seemed a bit cold and mechanical.

These thoughts were soon dispelled when it was my turn, and I received my portion. A plate of pasta and a large steak with an inviting side salad materialized in front of me.

If we ate like this every day, mechanical as it may be, I'd get used to it.

After Amy also received her tray, we walked around looking for a place to sit.

There was plenty of choice, but that's when I got an idea.

Lunch was the ideal time to try and make friends!

I scanned the dining hall until I saw her.

Sophia Thornton was sitting alone at a table near the wall, seemingly intent on devouring a plate of spaghetti.

Her tray was visibly fuller than mine.

"She must have gotten half of Montague's," I thought, chuckling.

I signaled for Amy to follow me and headed towards Sophia's table.

When we reached her, I asked:

«Can we sit here?»

Sophia barely glanced up from her plate and nodded.

Amy and I sat down and began to eat our lunch.

Amy immediately lost herself in praise for the school's cuisine. Amidst the various bites, we continued to chat about what had happened today.

Throughout all this, Sophia didn't seem remotely interested in joining our conversation.

"She doesn't seem very sociable. I don't know why, but that's what I expected..."

She was definitely a peculiar girl. With that vaguely bored attitude, as if the first day at the mysterious Royal Academy of Magic was business as usual.

While she was busy with her extra-large lunch, I studied her features.

Her face was illuminated by those sharp green eyes, now partially obscured by a fringe, as she studied the fish in front of her.

Her pale skin seemed incredibly smooth. She probably took good care of it. The same went for her long black hair that fell in gentle waves over her shoulders.

I would never have the patience to keep them in such perfect shape.

That's why I always opted for a shoulder-length cut.

"She's really beautiful..." a type of beauty that was carefully maintained, different from what I was used to.

«Need something?»

"Shit."

Sophia was staring me straight in the eyes. Her face had captured me so much that I hadn't realized she had lifted her gaze and caught me staring.

«Sorry, it's just that... Amy and I were really impressed by your duel. Right?» I said, blushing, trying to save face.

«Of course! You were incredible, you showed that arrogant noble what's what,» Amy energetically came to my aid.

«Mmh, thank you,» Sophia replied laconically and lowered her gaze again. She seemed to want to return to her lunch.

But I didn't want to miss the opportunity.

«Anyway, I'm El—»

«Elizabeth Belvoir,» Sophia interrupted me without looking up from her plate, «the one with the most mana in the class.»

For some reason I could hear a note of comptempt in her voice.

«Ahah, yeah...» I laughed nervously.

Things weren't going as expected. My attempt to start a friendly conversation had been thwarted from the start.

«I, on the other hand, am Amy! Amy Thomson, nice to meet you!»

Sophia just nodded at her.

Even the more outgoing Amy seemed unable to make a dent in the wall that was Sophia Thornton.

"I can't give up..."

«So, how do you like the school?» I tried again.

This time, Sophia raised her gaze.

«What do you actually want?» she asked in a cold tone.

Her emerald eyes seemed to want to pierce through me, as if trying to get an answer to her question by reading it directly from inside my skull.

«Uh, I was just trying to strike a conversation...»

«Out of all the empty seats in the dining hall, you decided to sit here on purpose. I can already guess what you're thinking, so don't try to lie to me,» her voice was now clearly hostile.

I thought about coming up with some other excuse, but in the end, I decided it was better to be honest.

"Operation friendship: failed."

«That sword... It's not really enchanted, is it?» I asked, looking her in the eyes.

I noticed her pupils dilate for a moment from surprise. But she was quick to hide it and with a mocking smile she asked me:

«Oh? And what makes you think that?»

Meanwhile, Amy seemed to be in panic mode, shifting her gaze between me and Sophia, as if she were following a hectic tennis match.

«Mainly for two reasons. First of all, weapon enchantments usually leave some trace on the blade, like a faint glow. Your sword, on the other hand, seemed completely normal,» I replied, «I can't exclude that there might be a way to hide an enchantment's visual effects , though. But the most important thing is the nature of the enchantment itself. An enchantment capable of nullifying others' spells would be incredibly unstable. I doubt that if something like that existed, it could last on a blade for more than a few minutes. We were at school for at least an hour before the duel. I can't imagine you enchanted it yourself just before the fight, given your low mana level. So unless you have an accomplice...»

Sophia didn't seem surprised by my explanation.

«Interesting... Let's assume what you're saying is true. Why would I pretend to have an enchanted sword?»

That was obvious; after all, I had tried to do the same.

«To hide your true abilities,» I declared, «you made everyone believe it's better not to challenge you because you have an enchanted sword that can nullify magic. But in reality, your power is something else, but you don't want to draw attention to it.»

Sophia gave me a small round of applause.

«Bravo!»

But her expression quickly turned into a contemptuous one:

«Assuming what you're saying is true, what do you think you're doing right now?»

"I-I just wanted to make friends. But I guess I failed spectacularly. Now I'm just antagonizing her by snooping around."

«I see that you've figured it out. I don't think you're the only one who thought something like that after my duel. But you're the only one who came to tell me. I don't know whether to admire your boldness or laugh at your stupidity,» Sophia's voice lost all semblance of cordiality.

«Let me give you some advice. As you've imagined, I want to try to avoid attracting attention. Keeping a low profile is important in a competition like this. After all, it's not important to be first in the rankings, but only not to be last,» she explained, «Going straight to one of your rivals and telling them "I know what you're hiding, I'm keeping an eye on you!" is not what I would consider laying low. It would seem like you want to make enemies,» Sophia mocked me.

"I wanted to do the opposite."

My cheeks were burning with embarrassment. But at the same time I felt my blood boiling.

«And even if I did? Unlike you, I don't need to resort to stupid tricks to win a duel,» I burst out angrily, standing up.

«Oh, do you think you could beat me?» Sophia replied, also getting up and putting her hand on the hilt of her sword.

The mocking expression she had kept during our conversation disappeared, giving way to a furious one.

It was kinda strange.

She had given me the impression of being some sort of ice queen, but apparently it didn't take much to make her snap.

Obviously, I had made yet another misjudgment. Or maybe I had touched a nerve.

But our conversation was no longer private.

If Sophia wanted to keep a low profile, well, her plan was having the same success as mine. We had indeed attracted the attention of the entire dining hall.

Sophia seemed to realize it too, and her angry expression suddenly changed to one of regret, like that of a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, her pale cheeks now tinged with pink from embarrassment.

"Despite her attitude, she seems to be a normal girl underneath," I thought, before feeling someone tugging at the sleeve of my shirt.

I had almost forgotten that Amy had witnessed our entire conversation. Now the poor girl was trying to get us to sit back down.

Both Sophia and I complied.

The rest of the lunch proceeded in an awkward silence.

But the troubles weren't over there.

After finishing my meal, I stood up, ready to leave the table as soon as I could, when a handsome boy with long brown hair suddenly stood in front of me.

«Miss Belvoir, am I correct?» he asked pompously.

«Yes, what's up?» I asked confused.

«Allow me to introduce myself, I am the first son of the Marquess Von Bitten, my name is Ferdinand. I present myself to you to challenge you to a duel,» he replied.

«Huh? Okay...» I replied, surprised.

It was all very sudden, but a duel would do me good. I could unleash some of the anger I harbored toward that insolent girl.

«Well, as my condition, if I win, I would like for you to have a date with me,» Ferdinand said energetically.

«Excuse me?» I asked, hoping to have misheard.

«A date. I think someone with your magical power would be a great partner for someone of my lineage.»

Silence pervaded the dining hall. Everyone seemed to have heard what that boy said.

I blushed again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sophia smiling maliciously.

I could imagine what she was thinking: "This is what happens when you attract attention. Only annoyances."

And it was annoying. But I should have expected it.

It was a sort of common belief among the noble class that mana level was hereditary. That's why it was customary for them to seek out wives or husbands among those who possessed large quantities of it. For many, this custom was a positive thing. After all, it was a way to obtain a noble title, even if one was of humble origins.

I found it disgusting. I had no intention of reducing myself to a baby-making machine for some guy I didn't even know, let alone love.

I took a deep breath and replied as calmly as possible:

«Fine. If I win, please don't speak to me again.»

I heard some chuckles erupt in the dining hall.

«Very well,» Ferdinand replied unperturbed.

A moment later, a magical barrier swelled around us, gently moving the tables and even some students sitting at them, until an ample free space formed around us.

I drew my wand and assumed my position.

I was ready. I would show that brat what I was capable of.

The countdown began.

3...

I would do as usual. A nice fireball with as much mana as I could cram into it. If it weren't for the barrier, I could blow up half the dining hall...

2...

Then I would use my ace in the hole. With my left hand, I would...

1...

My mind returned to the conversation with Sophia. The importance of not attracting attention. How it was better not to make enemies...

«Frostbolt.»

A dart of ice flew at me from my opponent's wand.

«Fire shield.»

I conjured a simple shield of fire, and the dart melted in mid-air.

«Lightning bolt.»

It was the turn of a small lightning bolt. To which I responded with a wall of stone.

"How boring..." I thought as I neutralized yet another spell. Then I cast another couple in response.

A couple of minutes later, Ferdinand yielded.

It had been a textbook duel, with no surprises. I had simply summoned the appropriate defenses and struck when I could.

Ferdinand seemed to want to say something, but his voice didn't seem to want to come out of his mouth.

It seemed magic would make sure my conditions were respected regardless of his will.

As I gathered my bag, Sophia passed by me on her way to the exit.

«Maybe there's more going on inside that head than just mana...» she whispered to me.

I resisted the temptation to throw my bag at her head.

As I headed toward the afternoon classes with Amy, I thought that maybe I hadn't made an enemy, but at very least a rival.