*Knock knock*
Arthur woke from his slumber after hearing the aggressive knocking echoing from his room door. The bed he had spent his night on was so unbelievably comfortable that he had almost forgotten how bad the previous day had gone.
To him, this was what a luxurious life felt like.
The room assigned to him came with a personal kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom to sleep in. It wasn't much, but it was a lot better than the streets and bridges he used to sleep under after a long day of working for a few copper coins that could barely buy him a balanced meal.
'Damn…' he stretched, rubbing his eyes before yawning at the peak of his voice just to show how good he had spent his night. Then, he dragged his feet on the wooden floor as he approached the door.
On opening it, he was even more shocked to see Elizabeth Vermilion standing at the entrance, smartly dressed in uniform like she was yesterday.
"You…" Arthur stuttered as he watched her eyebrows narrow into a frown.
Elizabeth growled, seeing the clueless look he had on his face. Clearly, she had no words to express how disappointed she was right now.
"Wow, you look ready." He cackled nervously while rubbing the back of his neck…he was starting to sense hostility from her.
"Do you want to make it through this academy or not? Because what you look like right now is a clear sign to show that you don't!" She stared into his eyes, slightly lifting her head since she was a bit shorter than him. But he moved a few steps back like an animal ready to run after sensing some trouble.
"I get it. You passed the test and came out on top. But this academy will not care about that later-- in this place, you have to work hard if you are not a pure blood like everyone else. That means you don't have time to waste, especially when it's your first day…" she continued.
Her words made him realize that she was right. It was his first day of class…it would be bad for his record if he were late on his first day. "Shit…" he cursed.
"Sigh. Just go back inside and get ready. I'll be waiting here," said Elizabeth, holding back her words.
"Okay," he nodded. But he wondered why she was even here in the first place; she could have just let him get lost on his first day, but she chose to wake him up and help him.
'Maybe she feels pity for me since I'm weak. I am pathetic as a magic user, after all.' There was a hint of depression as he stared at his colleague before shutting the door and proceeding to change into his uniform, which was a perfect fit—the buttoned sky blue coat didn't feel like his style, but after looking in the mirror, he wouldn't have thought of a better choice.
When he was done, he rushed out of the room after a few minutes. Elizabeth mentioned nothing concerning his messy hair. And let it slide with a sigh before she started walking to the stairs that led to the ground floor.
"Why did you choose this Academy?" Elizabeth asked him as they walked through the hallway leading to the lecture rooms.
'I wish I could give a better answer, but I don't know why I chose this academy. Everything about me shows that I am not supposed to be here in the first place.' He thought.
"It's the best magic school in the kingdom, isn't it? I want to become a top-notch magic user someday," he lied. Honestly, he only wanted to keep this new life experience that had been given to him so suddenly. He had no plans of becoming a high-ranking magic user, but he had to improve his rank if he was going to keep this life.
She chuckled at his answer, "Without a skill…? I would've said that's impossible at first, but you cast a fire spell without using an incantation on your first day.…maybe that's why the professor is so interested in you."
"By 'The Professor' You mean Obsidian, right?"
"Of course I mean Obsidian. He does whatever he wants because he's one of the strongest knights in the kingdom," she snorted. Just saying his name ticked her off.
"Obsidian is one of the strongest knights in the kingdom? I thought he was a commoner like me."
"Yes, he is. But he's special in his own way. I also can't explain it because no one has ever seen his true potential; those who have seen even half of it call it 'godlike'….so that's all I know." She replied before making a stop in front of a double-door room.
"We're here." She coldly gazed at the doors as if bracing herself for battle.
"Beyond this door, we're strangers. A lot of people are not okay with what you are. Nobles despise lowblood humans with the talent of magic like you. I advise you to be careful when talking to them."
"I will," he nodded.
She softly exhaled before pressing one of the doors and made her way into the room first. And the moment she stepped in, her name was called out by many different voices—all asking her to sit with them.
It was a no brainier that Elizabeth was a popular figure in the academy. Her face was ravishing enough to look at all day. And for someone the same age as his, she had a perfectly balanced female body.
'I guess she gets the princess treatment.'
He sighed before stepping into the room. And instantly, an ocean of silence grew the moment the first person set their eyes on him followed by the rest of the classroom.
Arthur felt a tug in his stomach because of the silence. But someone actually called out, breaking him out of the awkwardness he had created.
"Hey Arthur, over here!" An energetic voice came from behind the class, and when he looked around, he noticed Bairon waving and pointing at a seat just next to him.
"Thank goodness." He muttered and rushed to his seat.
The classroom was huge, but it didn't have as many students as he had hoped to see on his first day. It was so spaced with seats organized in four rows to face the podium where the professor was supposed to stand. Bairon was seated in the fourth row, looking like he didn't have a single care in the world: he had his coat off and had the sleeves of his shirt pulled to the halfway point of his arms.
"Ready for your first day?" Bairon asked cheerfully.
"Maybe," Arthur replied in a gloomy tone as he took his seat.
Bairon then slammed his feet on the table and gazed at the roof with his hands locked behind his head.
Arthur opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted. "Don't worry about me, I don't give a shit about this school. I was just brought here because I am ranked A, and my parents want me to be as great as my brother. Sigh…but I honestly don't care."
'Damn, he's already an A-ranked student. I guess he hasn't heard about me being a commoner with almost no mana.' Arthur thought with a forced smile while he listened to Bairon rant about how much he didn't care about his school life.
But from within, he was jealous of Bairon because he was a genius who had everything. and yet he cared for nothing
After a few minutes, Professor Obsidian walked into the room through the same entrance they had used to get in; he was in a black robe with the school's badge printed on the right side of his chest.
'One of the strongest dark knights. How strong does one have to be to earn that title…?' Arthur asked himself as he watched Obsidian open a large brown-covered book.
"Good morning. I need you all to open your grimoires, and we begin the dark arts section," he mentioned after stopping on a specific page in the book.
And that's when it hit him. 'A grimoire…? Dark arts…?' He was green about everything magic related. This was what he had forgotten to care of…