Theo glanced around the library tables, relieved to find them empty and the atmosphere serene. It was a rare moment of tranquility amidst the chaos of their daily lives, and for Theo, who had also endured bullying like Lucius, this respite was truly priceless.
Lucius soon joined him, greeting him with a warm smile. "You actually came! Hello, Theo."
"Lucius!" Theo exclaimed, genuinely pleased. "This place really clears out at this hour."
"Of course! I work here all day, so I know the drill," Lucius replied with a chuckle.
Theo felt a twinge of guilt for intruding on Lucius's time. Surely, after a long day, Lucius wanted nothing more than to go home and rest, yet there he was, in the library.
"We can stay for about thirty minutes before I have to close up," Lucius assured him.
"No problem," Theo replied gratefully.
As Theo settled at the table, carefully placing his open book on the first page, Lucius returned with two cups of tea.
"Thank you," Theo said, appreciating the gesture.
The two young men sat down, enveloped in the quiet ambiance of the library. There was no one else around, as it was rare for anyone to visit the library at such a late hour.
Lucius, burdened by long hours and minimal rest, essentially toiled like a slave. Yet, he always kept a brave face, ignoring the hurtful comments and snide remarks from others.
"You don't study magic here at the school, right?" Theo inquired.
Lucius chuckled, replying, "Don't tell me you've never heard of the 'useless librarian'?"
Theo's expression revealed that he was indeed familiar with the reputation surrounding Lucius.
"Don't worry, I don't pay attention to what those people say," Lucius assured him, before adding, "Besides, I've discovered something that will make me the most talented mage here!"
"Oh?" Theo's interest was piqued, although he remained cautious. Lucius knew it would take a few days to win him over completely.
With a clear plan in mind, Lucius continued the conversation for another ten minutes before attending to his duties, leaving Theo immersed in his book.
The two seemed to get along effortlessly. Theo found a kindred spirit in Lucius, which was precisely the vulnerability Lucius intended to exploit.
The thirty minutes flew by, and Theo bid farewell to Lucius. "Thanks for inviting me. Can I come here more often?"
"Of course! You're always welcome here, and remember what I mentioned if you want to become stronger too," Lucius replied.
After closing the library, Lucius made his way to one of the many food stalls scattered throughout the school. The school and its campus were so vast that even non-students lived there, setting up their stalls and shops.
'From what I understand, students can only leave with permission, which is hard to come by. That's why they have everything inside the school,' Lucius recalled.
He decided to buy a skewer of meat.
"10 copper coins," the vendor said.
Lucius handed over the money, took the skewer, and began eating as he made his way back to his room.
The food stalls offered the most affordable meals. Most of the students came from wealthy families and dined at the many restaurants scattered throughout the school.
Clearly, Lucius wasn't keen on spending his hard-earned money on that. Unlike most people there, he had to work for his money and wasn't supported by wealthy parents.
Lucius wished for peace on his way back to his room, hoping to avoid any confrontations or insults from fellow students. Unfortunately, that seemed to be too much to ask for.
As he was about to enter a nondescript building, a group of three students intercepted him. Lucius recognized one of them as the first student he encountered after obtaining his new body, but he didn't know the other two.
"Remember me?" the familiar student said, tugging at the sleeves of his shirt.
It was evident that the three students wanted to cause trouble, and probably beat up Lucius, who had nowhere else to run. They stood right in front of the building where he lived.
"What do you want?" Lucius said, not backing down or showing any signs of fear.
The students were taken aback. Was this the same Lucius? Every time someone said something to him, he would never respond and simply put his head down and accept it.
But now, things were different. The student who had tried to provoke Lucius in the morning already knew that. It was as if he was dealing with a completely different person.
Either way, even if Lucius was acting differently than usual, that wouldn't prevent them from beating him up.
"What do I want? Weren't you the one being funny this morning?" the student said, moving closer to Lucius.
Lucius wasn't confident in winning with his frail body, so he said, "You know fights are prohibited here, right?"
It was a rule, but Lucius could see that the students didn't care about it, and all they wanted was to attack him.
The three students laughed, and one of them said, "They are, but there are only consequences if you use spells. Beating someone up is fine!"
Despite Lucius' weak body, he still had some knowledge of hand-to-hand combat. It wasn't that impressive—most of his memories were locked, waiting for him to collect souls to unlock them—but the little knowledge was more than enough to deal with them. Well, at least one of them.
One versus three? It wasn't a fair fight. Lucius was trying to find a way out of the situation, but then a voice came from behind.
"One versus three? This is not a fair fight at all!"
It was Theo! He had also left to buy something to eat after leaving the library and found Lucius clearly in trouble. He hesitated about whether to intervene and help him. Theo already had many enemies and didn't want three more.
But he remembered how cool Lucius was and couldn't let them beat him up!