It was the second week of school and their second swordsmanship class. Just like last week, today was another martial arts day, but this time they were allowed to use magic.
Everyone possessed mana. The mana flowing freely inside one's body allows for a particular element to take shape. The more mana that one possessed, the more elements one could control. Demian was able to use water, wind, and ice magic.
Demian coated his fist with a thin layer of water. He punched the wooden dummy, and at the same time, he allowed a few beads of water to morph into ice and injected them into the training dummy. Or at least tried to.
The ice shards splintered off but before they could pierce the dummy, a light sheen covered the wooden surface, protecting it from damage. Just as they could use magic, so could the dummies. Each training dummy was imbued with runes that allowed the dummies to use basic spells from two different elements. Demian's dummy was imbued with light and fire magic, the complete opposite of his magic, making it a difficult opponent. And what was worse, the dummy's light magic was directly related to protection instead of healing. Demian guessed that healing wouldn't do the dummy any good anyway.
The dummy raised one wooden fist and cast off a level one fireball. Demian dodged instead of using his magic. Water and ice magic would just create steam when they come into contact with the fireball which would lower his visibility and not the dummy's. Wind magic, on the other hand, could increase the effects of the fireball while randomly hurling it towards an unsuspecting student. Which is why he chose to dodge.
Demian moved in close and brought a low kick to the dummy's middle section. Right when his shoe made contact, the small bit of water on the bottom of it turned into ice and impaled itself into the dummy's side. This could only be done because the bead of water on his shoe was small enough to go unnoticed by the dummy's mana sensor, which every single training dummy possessed to the annoyance of all the students.
The whistle signaling the end of class sounded. Demian bent over with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.
"God, I hate this class!" Remi whined behind him, sweat dripping down his face.
Demian had noticed that Remi seemed to possess less stamina and strength than most of the students here and had been struggling with the class. However, the struggle was minimal since he could still keep up.
"I think I agree," Demian admitted, drawing a few agreements from other students who were close enough to hear their conversation.
"If the two of you spent less time studying and more time on physical exercise then your opinions would be different," Dane spoke in a clucking tone.
Demian was rather envious at the moment. This was the second time they had this class and not once had he seen Dane break out into a sweat. If he didn't know for sure that Dane was a beta, he would mistake him for an alpha. Dane had way too much stamina.
"Monster," Remi mumbled darkly. Demian silently agreed with the sentiment.
Dane shook his head before falling into line in front of the professor.
After their professor finished publicly going over their mistakes, Demian swore the man got a kick out of embarrassing them, he sent them off to the showers. He was once again the first one to get there. He made his way to his locker to grab everything before snagging a shower.
The warm water rained down over him, washing away the sweat and grime while relaxing his sore muscles. It's been a while since he fought like that. The months before entering the academy had been spent attending council meetings with his father, going on dates, and working on an endless stack of paperwork.
Demian turned the water off and quickly dried himself off. He exited the curtained-off room after he was fully dressed. An impatient Remi greeted him.
Remi was standing on the other side tapping his foot impatiently. Dane was standing beside him as still as a statue. It appeared that Remi hadn't been fast enough to snag a shower this time.
"Finally!" His grumpy expression lightened and he flashed Demian a smile. Before Demian was fully through the curtained doorway, Remi shot past him. A faint whiff of roses tingled his senses. Demian shook his head and left the shower room.
He knew that everyone possessed pheromones with unique scents. It was just that most betas' pheromones were so faint that one could barely smell them so it surprised Demian that he had been close enough to smell Remi.
Demian headed across the training grounds and towards the practical building where his next class was. He was almost to the stone steps that led up to the deck of the building when raised voices reached his ears.
"How dare you!" A very familiar female voice screamed in rage. "How dare a hussy approach an engaged man!"
Demian rounded the corner of the building and found three girls standing in front of a familiar blonde behind the pillars that held up the roof of the building where practical application classes were held.
The girl in the middle, the one leading the argument, was none other than Shana Bourgeois, Laxel's fiance. Shana was the beta daughter of Count Bourgeois.
Shana's long black hair shimmered with a green light as it cascaded over her shoulders. Her hooded eyes were narrowed and piercing as she glared at Ophelia.
"I hate to interrupt, but may I ask what is going on here?" Demian asked, finally revealing himself.
Lady Shana's gaze widened and her angry features relaxed when she saw him. She curtsied in greeting, her two friends doing the same. "Greetings, Your Highness. I'm sorry if I disturbed you."
"It's fine," Demian brushed off her apology, used to the girl's rash behavior and sharp tongue. "Did something happen, Young Lady Bourgeois?"
Lady Shana's green eyes showed an unsureness in them that Demian wasn't used to seeing. "I received word from Lord Laxel Rowenberg that he would like to break off our engagement." She glanced at Ophelia hesitantly. "He stated that he fell in love with Lady Ophelia Rosewood and would like to pursue her hand in marriage."
Demian sighed inwardly. This was why he didn't like Laxel. The idiot was more brawn than brain.
Ophelia turned wide eyes onto Demian and she stole frantic glances between him and the gathered girls. "I had no idea," her voice was thick with unshed tears. "Laxel and I are friends. I had no idea he would do something like that." She turned her gaze onto Shana as she pleaded with her. "You have to believe me. I have no interest in your fiance. I am only here to study and I would never do something so horrid as taking away someone else's intended."
Demian felt his shoulders relax at the earnestness in her voice. It seemed this misunderstanding was entirely Laxel's fault. Though it did unsettle him with the familiarity she used to address Laxel with.
Lady Bourgeois hesitated, the fight draining out of her shoulders. "I understand. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused," she apologized to both Demian and Ophelia before taking her leave. Her two friends scurried close behind her.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that," Ophelia said, unshed tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.
"That is alright Lady Ophelia," Demian spoke slowly, feeling strange as his chest tightened at seeing her crying. Demian was never good at comforting people. "This seems to be Laxel's fault, not yours," he tried to reassure her. It must have worked because she flashed him a small smile, though it looked kind of watery, if that was even possible.
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