The morning air was crisp over the still-dark city. David waited at the entrance between the academy and the noble district. Ualani arrived soon after.

  She looked unsettlingly normal.

  “You’re early,” she said.

  “Usually am. Glad to see that you are too.”

  She gave a thin smile. “If this is an elaborate trap, I will stab you.”

  “You’re welcome to try.”

  They walked the rest of the way in silence, the cobblestones still damp with morning dew.

  When they reached the meeting point, they found Diana sitting with Lia.

  The energetic girl leaned forward. “Who’s that?” she asked, far too loudly. “Marco’s got a girlfriend?”

  Diana placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t even need to say anything, and Lia still bit her tongue.

  David cleared his throat. “This is Ualani. She wanted to join us.”

  “Does she have combat experience?” Diana tilted her head. “Any special talents?”

  David opened his mouth, then hesitated. He didn’t know. He hadn’t asked. He stared at Ualani, waiting.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Diana.” Ualani curtsied, before the silence could become awkward. “I have some experience and I’ve been at the academy for three years.

  Before Diana could fully assess the situation, Nestor and Olen made their way over, clearly surprised to see a new face.

  “Great timing. Nestor, this girl here is in her third year and wants to join us. Your opinion?”

  “Nestor Asteria,” He quickly bowed. “If I may ask, what’s your specialization—” He trailed off.

  “Ualani,” She introduced herself again. “Grand battlefield mage.”

  His eyes widened slightly, while the rest of their team looked around a bit confused.

  Diana’s expression softened just enough to count as a smile. “That settles it. You’re welcome to train with us today. Afterward, we’ll decide how well you mesh with our team.”

  Ualani nodded once, seemingly composed, though her fingers trembled slightly.

  Once general exercises were done with, Ualani was still awkwardly holding the spear Zerik had eventually forced into her hands after giving up on the sword.

  That whole time, she looked like she had never seen a weapon, much less used one.

  “Come here and form up.” Zerik called out, grabbing his training sword. “We’ll spar now. There’s six of you now, so I’ll start using my gear in full. Don’t try to hold back, Goddess knows I won’t.”

  As usual, David, Olen and Lia took the front. Diana, wearing the barrier-casting bracelet, positioned herself next to Nestor. Ualani immediately positioned herself in the far back.

  The moment the signal was given, Lia lunged, hatchet poised to strike. Zerik did as well, aiming straight for her exposed stomach.

  Nestor’s barrier managed to block his attack, while Olen and David came to her support.

  Zerik dodged their attacks, but his head snapped toward Ualani. Surprised, even David turned around briefly, his mana sight showing him a complex magic circle already formed and being filled with mana.

  Whatever she was casting, Zerik recognized it and immediately switched his plans up. He dashed around, so fast his legs blurred, catching the confused frontliners off guard.

  Nestor and Diana desperately tried to limit his charge with barriers, but it was for naught.

  In seconds, he reached Ualani, slamming his armored shoulder into her.

  The magic circle popped, its mana uselessly absorbed by the dampening runes, and Ualani hit the ground with a loud groan.

  By the time she hit the ground, the rest of the group was already scrambling to turn their formation around.

  It still wasn’t even close.

  Zerik was moving faster and hitting even harder than usual. He crashed through them, barriers and all.

  In the end, they all ended up where they usually did: sprawled out on the ground, coddling the areas struck with his gauntlets.

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  Ualani was the first to sit up, rubbing her head. Her voice was small but sharp. “I didn’t even get a chance to prove myself.”

  “On the contrary,“ Zerik shook his head, standing over them. “You proved yourself to be the highest priority target.”

  Lia bristled. “So what, I’m not dangerous?”

  “You’re fierce.” Zerik didn’t soften the tone. “But you pose no danger until you learn restraint. If I let her cast freely, I might have even broken a sweat.”

  “Broken a sweat?” Ualani perked up. “I almost turned you into minced meat.”

  “Ice javelin is a formidable spell for a student, I’ll admit, but I’ve blocked worse.” He shrugged. “And your concentration breaks far too easily. Once you can create a firestorm while dodging my attacks, perhaps you’ll be a challenge.”

  “That's—” Ualani trailed off, her shoulders sagging, but David knew exactly what she wanted to say.

  “Then, there’s your abhorrent physique and complete inability to wield a weapon.” Zerik listed out as Ualani deflated further and further.

  “Don’t be so stern, Zerik.” Diana said as she got up to approach the girl. She helped her up. “As for you, I think I saw enough—Welcome to the team.”

  “Thank you, Lady Diana.” Ualani blinked once, then nodded.

  “You’ll figure it out later.” Zerik interrupted. “You have a minute until we go again.”

  They sparred a few more times, before their whole team was exhausted. During all the attempts, Ualani had managed to cast only a single spell.

  It took the combined effort of everyone else occupying Zerik to buy her time, but it was well worth it, to see a massive icicle fly through the air at astonishing speed.

  Only for Zerik to promptly shatter it with his shield.

  Soon, the training was over and everyone started leaving, but David was still sitting there, staring at the wall. The image of Ualani’s spell lodged deep in his mind.

  Back in the laboratory if I hadn’t cut her off by instinct… I would have died, wouldn’t I?

  “What’s got you all solemn, Marco?” Diana sat on the floor next to him. “How’s your sister?”

  “Of course you’ve heard about the attack.” David whined. “She’s a little confused, but mostly fine.”

  “And you?” She tilted her head. “You had the time to befriend an upper year student, so it’s probably not too bad.”

  “She has a laboratory next to me.” David admited. “We started talking after that assault.”

  “What made you bring her here?”

  “She wanted me to.”

  “That’s it?” She asks, in mild disbelief. “You surely didn’t need much time to think things through.”

  “I’m not nearly as cautious as I should be.” He shrugged.

  “And not as courteous. Next time, maybe let me know before you waltz up with someone I don’t know?”

  “Sorry. You liked her, though.”

  “True.” Diana fell silent for a moment. “I don’t want to stress you just after you had such a hard few days…”

  “It’s fine.”

  “I have some bad news.” She sighs deeply. “For one, someone’s been digging for information about you again. Normally, I wouldn’t pay that much attention, but we all saw how it ended the last time.”

  “I’m this popular?” David smiled awkwardly. “For one… So there’s more?”

  “It’s about the references you need.” She starts, a little apprehensive. “The only bits matching it are part of a private collection. Even just getting them copied will be costly. Are you sure whatever you’re doing is worth it?”

  “It is. I’m sure the artifact will still cover it, won’t it?”

  “If it’s useful.” She rolled her eyes. “I wonder how many years I will be waiting for it, though.”

  “Weeks.” David corrects her, before he could even think it over. “I’ll have it for you soon.”

  “Oh?” Diana chuckles, with slight disbelief. “In that case, I’ll be waiting with bated breath.”

  From that point, they chatted some more, before David had to leave. Walking home, he wondered.

  Was I always this prideful? Or is it Diana, somehow always getting a rise out of me.

  When David returned home, Aura was standing over the table, with a small cauldron placed right in the middle.

  Surprisingly, Sophie was also there, cooking. The smell of crushed herbs mixed with intense aromas of cooked meat.

  “Marco, welcome back!” Aura said, pulling a small mortar toward her. “I was about to make more sleeping potions, want to join in?”

  “Sure, but didn’t you just make more of it?” He wondered.

  “That’s my fault, actually.” Sophie chimed in, turning away from the pot. “I gave a sip to a troubled refugee and now everyone wants some.”

  “Can’t they just buy it in a shop?” David asked, “Surely there’s more alchemists making them.”

  “Well…” Aura scratched her neck. “They’re not illegal, but they’re questionable enough that establishments avoid them.”

  “Wait, it’s a drug?” David’s eyes went wide. “But you just gave me some!”

  “Used carefully, it helps.” Aura nodded, caressing his head. “And you haven’t slept properly in weeks. Only when you rely on it for years can it become problematic.”

  He wondered, briefly, if he should tell them what he had been practicing with Ualani. Surely they would understand, considering they ran what amounted to a non-profit drug operation.

  Maybe later. Once I have some results.

  The evening went by with Aura and Marco brewing the potion, as Sophie prepared the meal.

  Sophie wanted to wait with the dinner for Bert, but Aura stopped her.

  “He’s still at work. I don’t even know if he’ll come back today or just sleep in his workshop.”

  “Did you have a fight?” Sophie asked, her voice tense.

  “You could say so.” Aura rolled her eyes. “He can be really stubborn when he wants to.”

  “Mom, we might get the texts for our project soon.” David said, trying to change the unpleasant topic.

  Sophie turned to him, annoyed, but didn’t interrupt.

  “That’s great, sweetie.” Aura smiled. “I can’t wait to see what we will uncover. But for now, the food is getting cold. Let’s dig in.”

  They ate, talking about how their days went, then went to sleep immediately after. After a sip of the sleeping potion, of course.

  Before the night fully claimed him, he had made a decision:

  Tomorrow, he’d skip the morning lessons and finally talk to Bert. He owed at least this much to Sophie.