Seth arrived at the academy feeling both excited and nervous—Professor Reat had agreed to let him skip school this week, giving him two whole weeks without classes. That time away would certainly put Seth even further behind in terms of knowledge, but hopefully with a lot of hard work and late-night studying, it wouldn't be too disastrous. That gamble could allow him to catch up to the top students—he couldn't miss out on this opportunity.

A loud cacophony filled the courtyard as students poured out of the main entrance, classes likely finished for the day. The moment some of them noticed Seth, whispers began snaking through the crowd, and several students exchanged furtive glances.

Why are they staring? Is it the crest, or… Seth looked down at his leather jacket, ripped in numerous places and stained with a mix of his own and the Night Beetle's blood. But as he met one of student's eyes, he saw a hint of fear and… profound hate.

Finally, he realized.

They know about the Elementalist. Shit.

Avoiding eye contact, Seth hurried around the garden and headed to the dorm tower. Hopefully, by the time I get back, things will cool down, and some of them will forget about it.

Once in his room, he quickly grabbed his large leather bag and stuffed it with clothes, his vita, his encyclopedia and his Endless Pouch before putting back his academy's uniform—the extra Toughness could save his ass in the Rift, and if he had to pay for it later, so be it.

As Seth was about to leave, the door creaked open, and Devus appeared in its frame.

"You're leaving the academy?" the Guardian exclaimed, without any greeting.

Seth shook his head, frowning. "No, why would I?"

"Everyone's talking about you, mate," Devus answered, hesitant. "Did… did you really kill Roland Seralp?"

Seth took a deep breath, but before he could say anything, his stomach growled—he'd missed lunch because of Professor Reat, and was pretty close to missing dinner too. "How about we talk about what happened... over food?"

Devus briefly sucked in his lips, then nodded. "Alright. Let's go eat."

As they left the dorm room and walked through the academy's corridor, persistent whispers followed them; Seth felt dozens of gazes boring into his back. The moment they arrived at the cafeteria, he loaded up a plate and headed to his usual table in the corner, Devus sitting across from him.

Just as Seth was opening his mouth to speak, a familiar crimson mane caught his attention, and when he glanced up he saw Jenna and Elena walking past the entrance of the cafeteria. Oh, well.

Upon spotting him, Jenna's eyes narrowed and, without hesitation, she strode toward their table, Elena trailing closely behind. "What the hell, Seth?" the Warrior blurted out as she reached them, her voice carrying across the cafeteria. "Is it true?"

"Jenna, not so loud," Elena said beside her, glancing around nervously. To Seth's surprise, her expression held what seemed like genuine… concern.

Jenna ignored the noblewoman and kept glaring at Seth. "People are saying you killed a noble!"

Seth's golden eyes hardened, meeting Jenna's without flinching. Would she be acting like this if I killed a commoner? Of course not. Our lives aren't worth as much.

"Yes, it's true," Seth answered, refusing to look away or act ashamed. "They ambushed me. I had to defend myself."

"You 'had to defend yourself' ?" Jenna repeated, throwing her hands up in disbelief. "He's dead, Seth. Dead! Couldn't you have just, I don't know, freaking stopped before killing him? How can you be so dumb? Didn't you think about the consequen—"

Elena placed a hand on Jenna's arm. "Jenna, that's enough. Let's hear him out."

Jenna's chest rose and fell as she reluctantly sank into the seat next to Devus. Her posture was stiff and tense, as if every fiber of her being protested the act. Elena followed, quietly taking the seat beside Seth.

"I got ambushed by that Elementalist, as well as that Guardian Professor Reat expelled," Seth began before looking to Devus. "A Guardian from our class. A friend of Lucius," he clarified. "They both seriously tried to kill me. I fought back, and in the heat of the moment, I… I injured the Elementalist badly. It wasn't my intention to kill him. I even gave him a Healing Potion, but he still died."

Silence fell upon the table, and the cafeteria's usual noise faded into the background. Jenna's anger seemed to slowly cool down, though the tension in her face and shoulders remained. Devus and Elena exchanged uncertain glances, their expressions reflecting a shared inability to find the right words.

"What was I supposed to do?" Seth asked when none of them responded. "Let them kill me? Whether someone's a noble or not, I'm not going to apologize for defending myself."

"You make it sound trivial," Elena muttered. "But it's not. Many Houses won't let something like this slide."

"She's right, mate," Devus added. "You'll need to prep—" He stopped abruptly, his eyes widening as they landed onto Seth's chest's pocket. "Is it what I think it is?"

Jenna followed Devus' gaze. "Wait, that's the Champions of Chaos' emblem!"

Seth nodded, tugging slightly on the crest pinned to his uniform. "Professor Reat found a way to get me in. He then told me to wear this at all times, even on the academy grounds, in case anyone tried to attack me."

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Jenna scoffed, seemingly having forgotten she was upset seconds earlier. "Who would attack you here? With the professors around?"

"Pretty much anyone," Seth answered with a sigh. "The administration board nearly expelled me. Professor Reat talked them out of it, but they've made it clear they wouldn't lift a finger to protect me if a House were to make a move."

"What?" Jenna exclaimed, knuckles going white against the table's edge. "That's absurd!"

Seth shrugged. "Why would they risk offending a House for a commoner?"

"Because you're a student of the academy!" Jenna protested before turning to Elena. "Can't your father do something?"

The crimson-haired noble pursed her lips. "Maybe. I'll talk to him."

"You don't have to," Seth said, surprised by Elena's response—and it seemed like Devus was too. The Guardian shot her a strange glance, clearly caught off guard by her taking Seth's side. "I'll handle it on my own," Seth added, trying to downplay the situation. "Lucius has put a non-official bounty on my head and I've been doing just fine."

"This is different," Elena retorted as her perfect face twisted into an ugly frown. "We're talking about higher-ups of a Noble House. They could send people that can kill you before you'd be able to blink."

"Isn't that why I'm wearing this thing?" Seth answered, flicking the Champions of Chaos' crest. "To make sure they know there'll be consequences?"

Elena rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "But you'd still be dead. Chances are half of them won't believe it's real, and the other half will just… kill you before even seeing it."

"Then why did Professor Reat order me to wear it everywhere?"

"He probably thought it would work. But I don't."

"So, you've got a better plan, then?" Seth said with a sigh before taking a mouthful of stew with his fork.

Elena seemed to think for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on her lips. "I'll ask my father to send the Seralp House a condolence letter."

"And how's that supposed to help?" Devus asked as he turned toward the noblewoman, brows creased.

"My House and the Seralps aren't on good terms," she explained while Seth kept eating. "The letter will make them think Seth is somehow affiliated to my father, that he has our backing, so they won't—"

"Wait," Devus interrupted, holding up a hand. "So, basically, you're hoping they'll understand all that from a few words of sympathy? Damn, if that's our plan, I'll help him pick his tombstone."

"Hey!" Seth blurted out through a mouthful.

Devus threw his hands up. "Sorry, mate, but I don't see how that letter will protect your ass any more than this insignia will."

"That's because you don't understand noble politics," Elena retorted, pink spots popping up on her pale cheeks. "It's all about reading between the lines and picking up the subtleties."

The Guardian grinned and turned to Seth. "Damn, just imagine how troublesome it'd be to exchange letters with a girl from one of those—"

A shout sliced through the cafeteria's noise, silencing every conversation. "Why is that commoner still allowed here?"

All eyes swung toward the black-haired student standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed. He wore the luxurious scarlet uniform with the large, golden '2' of second-years above the owl on the chest pocket; a long silver sword hung from his belt—which was unusual for a noble, who'd typically keep weapons in their Endless Pouch.

"Because the administration board decided so," Seth answered. Within the teardrop necklace, Nightmare stood up and stretched his legs. "You can go complain to them."

"No, thanks," the noble spat, hand gripping his sword's hilt. "I'm sure they won't bat an eye if I kill you right here, right now."

Is he dumb? Seth thought. He will get himself expelled, just like that Guardian.

From this distance, it didn't seem like the noble had noticed the Champion of Chaos' emblem pinned to his uniform chest. The cold sensation of being Identified then washed over Seth, and he promptly activated his own spell.

Quill Seralp Class: Warrior Rank: 25 (Low-Iron) Subclass: - Strength: ??? Arcane Power: ??? Toughness: ??? Well Capacity: ??? Agility: ??? Regeneration: ???

Seralp. He must be related to the Elementalist.

Seth pushed himself up to stand, but before he could get around the table, Elena rose to her feet and stepped in front of him, her emerald eyes locked onto the noble. "You dare threaten a student here?"

Quill unsheathed his weapon, anger contorting his face. "He murdered my cousin! He doesn't deserve to be here. Or alive."

Seth clenched his fists and moved from behind Elena. "I—"

"He acted in self-defense," the noblewoman retorted, cutting him off. "Your cousin's own actions led to his death."

Aether crackled around the Warrior's forearm. "I don't care. Move aside."

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped as four jagged ice spears materialized above Elena, each pointed directly at the noble. Her eyes turned just as cold as her weapons, her glare remaining fixed on him. "Take one step closer, and you'll regret it."

Seth's eyes widened, glancing at her while Nightmare chuckled inside his necklace. 'She's protective. Maybe she likes you more than you think.'

The brown-haired Warrior's face tightened, and his gaze darted to the floating spears then back to Elena. "The Surani House," he hissed. "Always defending the commoners."

For a moment, the young man seemed to weigh his options, and the cafeteria fell into a tense silence, every student keenly watching. Then, Quill scoffed and began to sheathe his sword. "Fine, I'll let this trash live... for now."

Elena's ice spears vanished as she sighed in relief, turning toward Seth. "We should get go—"

Before she could finish, Quill charged forward with his sword, aether flaring around his legs and propelling him in a blur. Seth's core ignited and he grabbed his dagger, pouring half his Well into his arm to block the strike. The two blades clashed with a deafening clang as the impact pushed Seth back a few feet. The noble sneered and immediately lunged again.

But as the Warrior sword sliced through the air, Nightmare sprang out from the teardrop's necklace in a whirlwind of shadows, slamming the noble down and pinned him to the ground with his large paws.

Black smoke curled from Nightmare's maw, slowly dripping onto the scarlet uniform and burning tiny, sizzling holes into the fabric as the direwolf loomed over the Warrior, his fangs just inches away from his face.

Quill's eyes were wide with panic, the noble seemingly too terrified to even breathe. A profound hush had fell over the entire room, every student staring in shock at the direwolf. Before anyone could move, a commanding voice rang out.

"Enough."

Heads whipped toward the cafeteria's entrance, where a tall man with short, salt-and-pepper hair and a neatly trimmed beard stood. He wore a sleek black jacket distinct from all the professor and instructor uniforms. Director Ryehill.

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