High rises of muted and pastel color schemes peppered with the occasional brilliant splash of electric color, smooth obsidian streets teeming with ethic diversity and canopied sidewalk stalls, the gong of heavy bells and clack-chip-pop of hustle and bustle, the smell of something musky, something fragrantly savory, delicious—all these visuals and sensations struck the trio as they roamed the city of Byar'non.

"Essairyn, how are we supposed to find the Knight-Mage Academy in these crowds? Should we just ask someone?" Darren rose up on the front soles of his boots in an attempt to survey the area above everyone's heads. Taller than Essairyn by five inches, he was able to see in front of them better. But even at five ten plus the boot heels, he saw nothing but people.

"Yeah, that's...probably best." Although she was amazed by the crowds and felt like they had truly entered civilization as they knew it, Essairyn was beginning to get annoyed by being pushed around and not really moving forward.

"It's not yet even noon, and the roads are this packed! Now I'm starting to appreciate the invention of cars. At least then we could walk around on the street lanes to get somewhere," muttered Essairyn loudly.

At her remark, Darren guffawed. She wasn't at all troubled by the possibility of being hit by a car in that kind of situation. Or even held accountable for jaywalking if that was prohibited here. He wondered what she was like on Earth with this kind of straightforward attitude.

"Hey, let's ask someone standing in line at one of the stalls. I don't think anyone is going to stop for us in this crowd..." Darren suggested and began elbowing a path for them toward the closest stand. Reaching the middle of the line, he asked an amiable-looking woman for directions. Since the Academy was widely known, he received an acceptable answer without having to ask anyone else.

"So apparently it's near the center of the city by the plaza." Darren bent down as he recited the information back to Essairyn due to the ambient noise. "If we go straight north for a hundred or so blocks we'll reach it."

"A hundred blocks?!" She exclaimed incredulously. Based on the size of blocks in Reisparte, it took about two minutes to walk one side unhindered. But with these droves of people, it would take at least twice as long.

"No way, it'll take us the whole day even when the crowds start dispersing! There has to be some quicker way..." Essairyn propped up her chin with a hand and carefully deliberated. The common means of transportation was mostly walking followed by animal-drawn vehicles. But the wagons on the narrow path weren't much faster than the pedestrians. So that left one option: the air instead of the ground.

However, flying would draw too much attention. Additionally, it was risky. They were still newcomers to this world and had to proceed with more caution. Lachlan had also warned them about some group targeting mages. Thus, this option was immediately erased.

"Darren..." Essairyn began as an idea began formulating in her head. "How comfortable are you with jumping over roofs?"

The boy blinked at her with wide eyes. "Over roofs? You're thinking about crossing over all these people by running on top of the buildings?" He peered up at the imposing edifices. They weren't skyscrapers, but it was still absurd considering some were ten stories or higher. And jumping from a tall to short building or vice versa was bound to be difficult even with improved physical abilities.

"Yup! I think we can do it!" Essairyn determinedly smacked her palm with a fist.

Darren draw back his head, aghast at her proposal. He was still getting used to his improved body, and as much as he was still perturbed about being in an unfamiliar world, he didn't want to die in it either. Although, to be fair, he was more likely to injure himself than die by engaging in rooftop parkour.

Akari too expressed her demurral. "I can just feel the nausea now..." She mocked-gagged and held her white belly. The fox was all to used to being thrown back and forth like a rag doll while clinging onto Essairyn's shoulder as she jumped through the trees. She expected the buildings to provide no less of an unpleasant experience.

"Ay, you guys...it'll be fun!" Essairyn hooked an arm around the retreating fox while dragging Darren with the other to the corner of a building in a dim alley. Releasing his arm, Essairyn sprinted a few paces to the end of the passage and sprung up onto the roof. Completely upright, she then spun around on her heel and looked encouragingly at Darren while Akari drooped over on the girl's shoulder in defeat.

Darren shook his head in reluctant amazement. Essairyn was casually standing on top of a three story building egging him on. With an amused sigh, he copied her movements and hoisted himself over the roof edge. He didn't quite make the leap as successfully as she did, but he managed to catch himself with his arms. How the hell did she jump up here so easily? I can't believe I'm actually doing this...

After he stood up, he rubbed his sore elbows that had taken the brunt of the impact. I need to get my act together. This is how it's going to be from now on whether I like it or not. He inhaled a sharp, deep breath. Instead of moping around, I should probably make the most out of this huh? He fixed his eyes upon the streets below with an equivocal gaze. After all, it's like you're reenacting your childhood for real..living in this fantasy world.

The stories, fantasies, and aspirations of his early youth, the magic was coming alive again. He truly missed his old life on Earth, but at the same time, a strange feeling crept into his heart as he stood above the people. Release? Anticipation? He wasn't sure exactly what it was. But Darren knew that something had unlocked in him—a burning desire to chase after the extraordinary. Perhaps this was what first explorers in a new land felt.

In leaving behind his loved ones, a part of him was forever lost. But the cavity was welling up into an unfathomable spring of exhilaration. Whether that spring would muddy, freeze, or congeal the wounds that were not fully realized was vastly yet to be seen. Darren closed his eyes briefly and then opened them with renewed resolve. Let's just take it by the day. He turned to Essairyn who had started calculating their route out loud.

"If we skirt around the especially tall buildings, we can conserve our energy. It should take us...no more than an hour." The distance was an easy feat considering they had ran most of the way from Reisparte. Their staminas would be able to last. Darren nodded his head, and they began their rooftop exploits.

By the middle of their trip, they had both fallen into a harmonious rhythm, matching each other pace for pace. The city scenery flew by, and in a little less than an hour, they finally arrived at the plaza. Kaleidoscope blossoms encircled the center mosaic of the enormous space, and artfully pruned shrubs and trees were scattered across the entire square. From their elevated vantage point, it was easy to appreciate the designer and artist of the plaza. The gorgeous mosaic depicted some story of a woman with flowing hair and garments above a castle tower. Lacking in time to decipher its meaning, they furtively descended to the ground.

"Thank gods we're finally here," grumbled Akari who looked completely wiped. "I think I need to feel the ground underneath my paws for a moment..." She lethargically shimmied down Essairyn and sunk to the tile floor with her legs spread out. Feeling the cool, steady ground beneath her, Akari smiled doltishly in satisfaction.

"You look like a pancake."

Essairyn's comment made Akari jerk her head up. "Wat?" The fox blurted out. What the heck is this girl talking about? Akari was confounded at what exited Essairyn's mouth sometimes.

"A pancake! Lying flat on your stomach like that with your coloring and fluffy fur...you look like a cute pancake." A mirthful grin sneaked freely onto the girl's face.

"..." .....Someone please take me away. Akari plopped her chin back down and closed her eyes. Essairyn's eyes winked a smile at the thoroughly done fox before she tilted her head up to scan the surroundings at Darren's words.

"The lady said it was on the left side of the plaza and that we should see an indigo spire." Sure enough, they spotted the blue tip of the Academy building on the left and began moving toward it. Seeing them leave, Akari scrambled up and chased after the duo.

Upon reaching the school, they immediately noticed various students milling about while guards were stationed at the front. It was in complete contrast to the quaintly quiet atmosphere of the Reisparte branch campus.

"Hello there! Are you here to see the Knight Mage Academy?" One of the guards promptly queried as they approached the entrance.

"Yes," Essairyn replied before adding as an afterthought, "Lachlan sent us here."

The shocked guard's eyes widened into saucers. "Lachlan?! Oh! I'm sorry! Yes, welcome to the Knight Mage Academy Regional Campus of Byar'non! I hope you find your stay here pleasant! Please let me us know if you need anything!" The guard saluted them with a crisp clack of his armor as his legs bunched together in a stiff, proper form.

Surprised by the guard's reaction, Essairyn mentally noted to refrain from mentioning Lachlan's name in the future. It seemed that the man was of high status. At the very least, it was a relief to know that he was respected at the Academy to draw this kind of formal, obsequious response.

"Thank you. We're actually new to this whole Academy thing. He said that we could train here for free?" Essairyn pushed Lachlan's authority a little. He had said that training would be free if they joined the Knight's Order, but it didn't hurt to test out their limits considering that the crash-course was completely free.

The guard bobbed his head at Essairyn. "Yes! All aspiring Knights receive free training before becoming official Knight cadets! Of course, they can continue their education after for free too. For especially excellent students, they can study at the main campus in Neu'arth!"

"Hmm..." No matter one's circumstances or relationships, one had to join the Knight's Order in order to receive the free training. "Then how do you join the Order?"

The guard proudly thumped his chest. "Anyone can become a Knight! You simply must swear to serve the people and help all those in need of your services! The Knight's Oath encourages furthering one's education, pushing their personal limits, and giving back to the community!"

"Errr..." One of Essairyn's eyebrow winced at the guard's passionate statements. Talk about a good spokesperson for the Knight's Order and Academy. He's almost overdoing it on the enthusiasm hah... A Knight's Oath and Order sounded cool, but the actual rules and obligation to assist others upon request felt restrictive. Essairyn applauded the integrity and mission of the Order, but the notion of helping everyone that asked anything of her was highly undesirable, even if it was for the good of the community.

On the other hand, Essairyn's concerns mostly flew over the head of Darren. The guard was almost comically impassioned in his eyes, but the idea of joining a Knight's Order and taking on an oath enticed him.

"What kind of training and education? Do we get to live in dorms or something?" He asked the guard with repressed anticipation. Darren didn't know whether dormitories existed in this world, but it was likely since it was an Academy.

"Yes, you get free board if you reach middle-upper D rank as a human after taking the entrance ranking exam! But we offer discounted rooms and food for trainees and official Knight cadets."

"Sweet!" Darren grinned. He was positive that was a doable feat for him. And the discounted board and room were tempting offers. With this he could live a life close to what he was used to while figuring out the world and his next course of action. He also wouldn't have to rely on Essairyn anymore.

At his enthusiastic response, Essairyn furrowed her brows in disappointment. Does he not want to adventure with us anymore? I thought we could stay together at least until Neu'arth... In the brief time that they were together, it made the journey more enjoyable. Even though she had Akari, a solitary journey without another human seemed daunting now. Additionally, he also had the same Earth experiences as her, so they could relate. Or at least, that's what she had presumed. She had gotten used to his presence, just like with Akari before him. But perhaps he wasn't so keen as she was on staying together.

Seeing the quiet girl, Darren prodded her gently with the back of his hand. "How about you? It sounds pretty cool right? And we won't have to be too worried about expenses or anything. It'll be like attending school, but even better probably." The arrangement was ideal. He would be safe from any demon disturbances like the wolf encounter back at the Welforts' farm. And he could live easily while improving himself. We were both college students, so we know the importance of preparing to live independently. In this strange world, we better off remaining as students and living at the Academy.

Despite his zealous resolution on the rooftops, he would still opt to live securely at a pace he could control rather than at the whims of the world or Essairyn. Between her and Akari, Darren felt like the oddball out. Disregarding his lacking abilities compared to Essairyn, he also wasn't certain how the fox felt about him. While she seemed innocuous enough, Lachlan had said she was dangerous. If even ghosts were hazardous through possession, then it wouldn't be far fetched for Akari to be a significant threat too.

So, coupled with this faint suspicion, he was starting to despise the feeling of losing control and not knowing what the day would bring. The known world had capsized into an unknown abyss. This sinking realization that had been partially hindered by Essairyn's calm presence was slinking into the recesses of his mind the more time he had to think.

Essairyn's eyes narrowed a bit at his encouragement and ambiguous expression. She did want to train and learn more about the world, but she didn't like being tied down again. Not after she finally gained her freedom. So, instead of responding to him, she turned to the guard. "What if I don't join the Order, how do I receive the training and education then?"

"You must pay the tuition in order to train and study at the Academy. The dormitories and food are also an added expense. In total, for one year, it's one hundred plus fifty eleuars." The guard was well-rehearsed in such questions. He was actually a Knight himself as the majority of the staff and teachers were at the Academy. Although he wasn't ranked much higher than cadets, he still took pride in welcoming newcomers.

"Hm, that's expensive...for now at least." Essairyn could only pay just a fraction of the cost, and even if she sold her demon beast drops, she still would be far from the necessary amount. Hunting beasts for their potential drops was also too inefficient. Although, with Akari around, they appeared directly in Essairyn's path like moths to a light. She felt a smidgen of gratitude toward the apparent danger which was actually advantageous in ways.

"You're not going to accept the offer?" Darren pursed his lips in a frown. He initially hadn't expected her to ignore his earlier suggestion, but Essairyn was just being herself again and doing what she pleased. His words were ineffectual.

"No, I'd rather not stay in one place," she replied curtly before continuing in a gentler tone. "If you want to join that's okay. I'll stay and wait for your results."

Darren's gut twisted slightly. He wasn't sure why, but her words had an accusing undertone that made him feel strangely guilty. Although he was dragged around in the process, she had helped him forge a new path. He was no longer clueless about the world and his circumstances because of her. So he could only force a smile in reply before heading inside the Academy. Essairyn and Akari trailed after since the school lobby was open to the public.

The vanilla marble floored lobby was spacious and fluctuated with indistinct wavelengths of light, of magical illumination. Essairyn had not yet seen electricity in action because the air was naturally lit by magic from the atmosphere. However, various lamps and lighting were scattered in the room. She assumed they were turned on during nighttime. With the Andelrins and Welforts, they had both used candlelight instead of electricity. So electricity appeared to be confined to towns.

Before she could ponder how electricity was created in a magical world not bound by Earth's natural laws, Darren was being escorted by a lightly armored man to the entrance exam location. She instinctively started after him but then halted in remembrance of their agreement. The escorting knight noticed Essairyn's actions, so he addressed her. "Do you want to come along? You can still watch even if you're not taking the exam." She instantly brightened up, nodded, and hurried after them both.

The ivory colored corridor led to a rotunda filled with aspiring young trainees, knight personnel, and curious spectators. An engraved ring painted in gold encircled the sparring area, and the examinees watched the matches on the sidelines while waiting for their names to be called. After Darren registered, they too joined the small crowd.

A trio of knights were the main examiners. They rotated the task of testing a trainee by fighting one-on-one with wooden weapons, and then together they would evaluate the trainee's skills. Afterwards, a magical device embedded into the wall would read each trainees' regular m'u amount when they placed their hand on its glassy surface. The knights' evaluation and the regular m'u reading were evenly weighed and comprised the final rank of the trainee.

"Which weapon are you going to chose?" Essairyn gestured toward the weapon piles outside of the ring. The majority were various types of swords and blades. Other weapons included spears, clubs, bats, axes, poles, and hammers. Long distance weapons like bow and arrows were not permitted as spars were strictly close combat.

"Longsword," he instantly answered. Darren was also the most confident in being able to maneuver it over any other weapon due to his familiarity of it from video games and movies.

Essairyn merely bobbed her head in acknowledgement. No scythes huh? The piles of bladed weapons all lacked anything reminiscent of a proper scythe. For a split second, she felt a tinge of disappointment. But ruminating it over a bit, she resolved it was better to be unique. She could create her own signature style of fighting. Already she had employed a hybrid battle style with magical and physical attacks against demons. While it was still crude and far from perfected, she enjoyed being able to utilize a variety of weapons. She didn't see why she had to limit herself to just one type.

After several trainees finished their spars, Darren was up next. He retrieved a longsword and stood up to the knight examiner. Seeing his determined gaze, the knight was pleased. He felt a slight pressure in the boy's aura that signaled underlying potential.

"So your name is Darren? A fine name. I hope you can live up to it," remarked the knight with ash-auburn hair as he readied his stance.

Darren momentarily was puzzled. What does he mean by a fine name? But he had no time to think as the knight struck first. Barely able to parry the immediate strike, Darren staggered back a few steps from the middle-aged man's unexpected force. A glint sparked from the corners of the older man's orbs as he stepped forward to close the distance. In a flurry of strikes that Darren increasingly struggled to defend, it dawned on the knight that perhaps his intuition was mistaken this time.

"Is this all that you've got, boy?" The knight goaded with a minute sneer.

"Wha—?" An expression of surprise at the knight's incitement filled Darren's face. None of the examiners had talked to the recruits like this in the previous evaluations.

Darren's brief moment of disconcertion cost him. In a swift chain of intricate swordsmanship, the knight disarmed Darren. His wooden sword flew sharply into the air toward the spectators. At the front of the crowd was Essairyn. Seeing the sword about to hit the girl, the knight reactively rushed forward to block the blow.

Inwardly, he cursed himself for going too harsh on the boy. Although he was able to effectively gauge the boy's skill level, Bodraig, the knight, effectively let the day's frustration agitate him. Upon seeing a promising trainee, he resolved to thoroughly test the boy with more power than usual. But to his disappointment, the boy was one of the least skilled trainees yet that day.

Just as the sword reached halfway through its descent, Essairyn reflexively deflected the sword straight downwards onto the floor. Since she was caught off guard, the deflection was more forceful than necessary. The wooden sword splintered as it plummeted to the ground. For a transitory moment, everyone froze. Then returning to their senses, all eyes flashed toward Essairyn.

"A mage...?" Bodraig began in excited astonishment. "Are you here for the entrance exam too?" The Knight's Order accepted both physical and magical fighters. Everyone who joined was called a "knight," including mages. But usually, the Order received mostly physical-based knights. This was due to both the rarity of human mages as well as the small percentage of which who joined the Order. Most human mages studied at the Academy on partial or full scholarship as per the school's mission to support the human race in Sol'h'meyr. The rest of the in-house mages were elementals.

Thus, if this girl was entering their ranks, then she would be a significant addition to the Knight's Order. Recently, mages were scarce due to their mysterious kidnappings and homicides across the southwestern region of As'pyze. Using only physical force to carry out missions against the perpetrators proved to be immensely more difficult than imagined in the last few months.

Essairyn opened her mouth to answer the knight's question, but before a single sound was uttered, Bodraig felt a sharp wind hurtling toward his side. His well-trained senses and reflexes enabled the man to dodge the incoming blow. It was Darren.

"Your eyes should be on me. This fight isn't over." A glare of humiliation layered with indignation and determination bore into the knight's eyes.

Yes, this is what I saw in you. Your hidden spirit. Bodraig's mouth quirked upwards in a provoking smile. The boy had retrieved another sword. Since Bodraig had never said that the evaluation was over, and the piles of weapons were directly outside of the sparring ring, Darren could reclaim another weapon as long as the majority of his body was still inside the circle.

With renewed vigor, they clashed swords once again. This time, Bodraig took more careful notice of the boy's swordsmanship, footwork, and overall physical capabilities. He reaffirmed that the boy was a rookie swordsman, but Darren was rather light and stable on his feet. The condition of his body was also well above-average compared to the typical examinee. Okay, this is enough. You still have a lot to work on, boy. But my intuition was right yet again. You have the potential to grow enormously. Bodraig smirked at his accurate ability to judge new trainees' talent before verbalizing the signal that the test was over. He easily disarmed Darren once again and then strolled over to the other knights to discuss the boy's score.

Darren immediately hunched over and supported himself with his hands on his thighs. It had only been a few minutes, but he already worked up a noticeable sweat. Thinking about the ending move, Darren grimaced. This man was playing with me the entire time. Yet again, even in this new body, I'm still weak. Why am I—?! Darren's forehead wrinkled in aggravation, and he straightened his body. With eyes like knives, he pierced the knight's back. Just you watch, one day, I'll beat you old man.

"Darren?" He turned toward the hesitant, concerned voice. Essairyn was walking over to him.

"Yes?" His voice was dull and insipid. His mind was turbulent with mixed emotions. No matter what he did, this girl always stole the spotlight. He couldn't win against her.

"Are you okay? I feel like he went harder on your than the other trainees." Unlike most of the spectators who couldn't follow the knight's swordsmanship, Essairyn's keen eyes traced every movement. But despite being able to see the sword's motions, she knew that her current weapon mastery was far from coming close to this knight's expertise.

In fights, Essairyn relied on her enhanced physical body's abilities and natural skill of imitating what she visualized in her mind. But mimicking moves from movies and games were nothing compared to Bodraig, a true swordsman in the flesh. Countless years of real life experience and practice trumped a beginner's talent. Bodraig was no young man, but his age didn't detract from his body's peak condition. Essairyn supposed it was another effect of magic in this world. Those who trained extensively had increased amount of regular m'u. Thus, older people with more experience could upstage the robust youths.

Darren merely nodded unemotionally in response and busied himself by continuing to stare at the trio of knights. Realizing that Darren was avoiding her gaze, Essairyn pursed her lips in confused disgruntlement. What's this sour mood again? He's more moody than a girl! Men, I never know what they're thinking! She turned her head away and started to leave the ring. But before she took another step, Bodraig called out to her.

"Excuse me! You there! I couldn't hear your answer before, so are you here for the exam too?" The girl had entered with Darren, so he was sure that she wasn't here to just spectate and support her friend. He felt that they weren't that close. Maybe they had just met up recently after both coming to the Academy to join the Knight's Order. Bodraig didn't know that his suspicions were correct, but to his arrant disappointment, Essairyn replied she wasn't joining.

"That's a shame...the Knight-Mage Academy could use a magical talent like you." Bodraig furrowed his forehead, trying to brainstorm a way to convince her otherwise. Suddenly, he was reminded of the Farinheld mission. A small village town on the outskirts of Byar'non was the target of the suspicious group ensnaring mages and random people alike. The scouting group which had been sent to uncover the group's identity returned with only one heavily wounded member. In order to prevent further disappearances of the villagers and better confront the group, the Academy formed a high-class, investigative team that could combat the perpetrators on the spot. Bodraig succinctly explained the situation to her and offered free knight's training if she joined the mission.

Intrigued and tempted by the proposition of both adventure and excitement, Essairyn instantly agreed. In a team, danger diminished. And in the worst case scenario, she could always flee. Essairyn was confident that she would be able to escape any entrapment if she was preemptive and cautious about her surroundings and attackers. Perhaps this was cowardly and shameful, but survival triumphed over pride. Not to mention, she would learn useful skills in the two week, intense training period for recruits.

Darren, on the other hand, was disturbed by the knight's proposal and Essairyn's quick consent. The whole mission screamed more danger than anything they had experienced or that Essairyn had told him about in the Spirit-Demon Forest. This was an intelligent group that had gotten away with murder and kidnapping on multiple occasions in various locations. No matter how strong Essairyn was, she was only putting herself directly at risk as a mage, the group's key target. But since he knew she wouldn't listen to him, he kept quiet.

After he received his upper-middle D rank score, they left the Academy. Tomorrow would begin their training, so they could explore the town before resting in their temporary dorms. The crowds had subsided, and as they meandered through the streets, Darren fiddled with the knight's badge in his fingers. A simple, but sturdy dark gray sword with a leather grip in a lightweight, silver scabbard hung on a new, brown belt. All these items were provided by the Academy to all accepted trainees.

"Essairyn..." Darren finally spoke. The girl perked her head up at the boy who hadn't spoken to her since their last exchange after his evaluation spar. "About this mission tomorrow, I think that—"

His words were abruptly cut off by a stranger who knocked into him. Darren stumbled backwards but was able to maintain his balance along with the stranger, a scarlet-haired, lanky man with fulvous, piercing eyes.

The stranger quickly apologized, and Darren waved it off saying, "It's okay, I wasn't watching where I was going."

The redhead inclined his head with a slight smile in acknowledgement. When his eyes turned toward Essairyn, they widened ever so vaguely. Noticing the man's gaze, she looked directly back at him. The man trembled inwardly a little at the latent intensity that eddied in the depths of her lavender orbs. Her aura, which was radiant yet darkly formidable, mystified the stranger. Who..? He quickly took in the girl's appearance and noticed that both she and the boy wore incongruous clothes. Visitors from Neu'arth all the way out here? That was the likely reason based on their attire, and yet the strong magical presence emanating off the girl threw him off.

"Excuse me, are you visiting here from Neu'arth?" He asked as politely and friendly as possible before they continued past him.

Darren and Essairyn glanced at one another in hesitation. They didn't expect the stranger to strike up a conversation."No," replied Essairyn tersely as she discreetly brushed the back of Darren's hands with her fingertips, indicating for them to leave. He got the message and bobbed his head at the stranger while walking away. Akari followed them at their heels. Due to her small frame, the redhead didn't notice the spirit fox until now. Astonishment shadowed his face when he realized that the spirit animal was actually their companion. His amber eyes narrowed as he watched them go. What a strange bunch...

Once they were out of earshot from the man, Essairyn furtively remarked to Darren, "Well that was weird. I wonder why that man spoke to us like that. He didn't steal anything when he bumped into you, right?" She felt something was off and wanted to verify her suspicions.

Darren checked his gear before lightly shaking his head. "No, I still have everything."

"That's good. But that still seems odd. Maybe I'm just being too cautious? He didn't seem like a bad sort of fellow." Essairyn pursed her lips in deliberation. Although the man stood out boldly with his long, red hair and striking orange-brown eyes, his mannerisms and tone of voice were courteous. He was also quite good-looking and wore rather fine apparel. Perhaps he's some rich guy? A nobleman? Would a town as large as this have one; even though, it's not the kingdom's capital city?

For a moment, she considered heading back toward the man to make his acquaintance. Essairyn was very curious about the royals of the kingdom. No one had specifically told her about royalty, so she was left to her own imaginations. The thought of kings, queens, princes, princesses, lords, dukes, barons and such excited her. Since knights exist here, and the lands are called kingdoms, then it's possible, right?

But Essairyn shook those notions aside. For now, she wanted to stay focused on the tasks at hand. She would receive the training she desired from the Academy, and then she would hopefully find out about the group abducting mages. And from there, they could travel a little safer and wiser to Neu'arth. That is, if they stayed together.

"So about what I was saying before, do you think that it's a good idea to join that mission? It sounds too dangerous to me. Why would you put yourself at risk like that when we just arrived in this world?" But to Darren's disappointment, Essairyn had answered as expected.

"Because I'm curious." She shrugged. "Lachlan had mentioned this group too, so I feel like as a mage I ought to be aware, and maybe I can possibly stop them too." She then paused and added as an after-thought, "Besides, I think it'll be an interesting experience working with others."

"Really? That's it?" Darren challenged with a bitter tone. "You just want to fight against something just like with the wolves? Why don't you just join the Knight Order if you're going to be helping people like this?" He really couldn't fathom her insatiable appetite for adventure and apparently danger too.

"Because I can choose who to help when I want to," responded Essairyn simply. "And it's not like you'll be any better off by joining the Order. You might be assigned to dangerous missions too."

"Yeah, but they won't give me anything I can't handle according to my rank," he countered.

"You don't know that for sure. They could have underestimated just like with the scouting team in this mission."

He curtly sighed. "Fine fine, it's just that I have a bad feeling about it. Anyway, I won't be sent on missions until after my second year." The knights had explained all about how the Academy education system worked. The founders strove to create both a safe environment for the common people as well as the knights.

"Yup, you'll be helping grannies in the meantime instead."

Darren snorted and elbowed the cheeky girl at her sarcastic joke. "I'm probably worrying about nothing. If human mages are as rare as they said, then I'm sure you'd blow anyone away in surprise with your magic."

Essairyn chortled. "Yes, it'll be fine. No worries!" She winked and gave a thumbs-up, making Darren shake his head with an wry, amused smile.

They soon returned back to the campus dorms and into their respective rooms next to one another. As Darren unlocked the door and entered, he immediately noticed another person standing inside. His new roommate, a boy around his age, swiveled around at the sound of the door clicking open.

"Hello, you must be the new knight in training. I'm Aispin." His new roommate firmly shook hands with an affable countenance.

"Darren." He returned with a smile.

"Nice to meet you." The young man had slightly messy bangs that parted flawlessly in three, framing his face and accentuating his sharp nose. The asymmetry of his hairstyle conferred him a charming character. He was a smidgen shorter than Darren by just a centimeter, and his sinewy build was evident under his fitted, black T-shirt and narrow-cut, black pants.

"Darren! These rooms are pretty nice!" Essairyn cheerfully chirped as she abruptly poked her head into his room. Since Essairyn was the only girl currently and wasn't technically part of the new recruits, she had a room all to herself.

However, she didn't know this and expected Darren's accommodations to be the same. Instantly, her keen eyes latched onto the unexpected, unfamiliar person in front of Darren. Dark chestnut brown hair, deep ocean blue eyes... Beautiful. That was the first word that came to her mind as she paused to take in Aispin's appearance.

"Hello~!" She flashed a brilliant smile and extended her hand in a greeting. "I'm Essairyn. Are you rooming with Darren here?" Based on the various items that laid about in the room, she immediately deduced that he had been living in here before Darren arrived. Wah, I was so happy that I got a room all to myself, but now I wish I had a roommate too. She felt a little forlorn and wished to meet a girl her age too. Lucky Darren. This guy looks so cool! She couldn't help feeling a little awed by Aispin.

But reflecting back to her arrival in this world, she realized that almost everyone she met was more eye-catching than those on Earth. That red-haired guy...even Lachlan... Hm, although Darren is pretty good-looking himself... Guh. Why do I feel like I'm a squid among all these men?! Is magic some kind of beauty tonic too?? She internally fretted in dismay at the perceived unfairness while acting like she didn't care on the exterior. Highly self-conscious and critical on the inside, nonchalant and cordial on the outside, she had always been like this. She could easily find the beauty in others, but she struggled to accept her own unique charm.

Aispin quickly collected himself and returned her handshake. "Aispin. Nice to meet you. Yes, I'm Darren's roommate. However, I'm not a new knight trainee, so I won't be joining you two in the training starting tomorrow."

Both Essairyn and Darren's were startled by this information. Seeing this, Aispin hastily continued. "I'm actually here on a mission. I've already been studying for several years now at the Knight-Mage Academy in Neu'arth."

"Ohh..." Essairyn's mouth opened a little in understanding. "Is this mission the one about the group after mages?"

Aispin raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Yes, how do you know about it?"

"Actually, I agreed to help the Knights in the mission in return for receiving free training."

"So you're not a knight? You didn't want to take the Oath?" Aispin hadn't ever heard of such a situation where someone refused to join the Order. Most people jumped at the opportunity to become a part of such a prestigious organization. Of course, most knights weren't that much different from the average citizen in terms of their daily life. Like many other young people, cadets went to school and learned. The only difference was in their uniform, designation, and main area of study.

"No, I didn't want to be bound by the Oath."

Aispin hummed in acknowledgement. "I guess I can see how you might think of it that way. But for them to offer you to join in this mission... Did they tell you how dangerous it is? The first reconnaissance failed terribly. Of course, they had sent in mere D and E ranked knights." His face darkened at the memory. He remembered the pitiful state of the only survivor who had dragged his shredded body to the borders of Byar'non. If only I had arrived sooner, he had told himself countless times since the incident. He had been trailing the nefarious group since catching wind of their activities while sojourning in the countryside on school break.

Students in their fifth year or later could schedule short breaks at allotted points in the school year. Besides the two largest breaks in-between the fall and spring semesters, the Academy instituted these smaller two week vacations as both reward and rest for older students. That's because after their fourth year of study, the education and training became much more strenuous. By this point, students were considered more than just amateurs with only two years of meager mission experience. They became apprentices of a specialized field in Knight operations.

"Yes, I'm aware. But I believe I can handle it," assured Essairyn.

Aispin calmly peered into her quietly determined orbs. He heightened his senses and directed them at the girl. As a C-ranked Knight, he could roughly perceive someone's magical power if he focused well enough. Higher ranks would be able to tell instantaneously. Feeling the sweeping surges of potent magic undulating tranquilly around her, Aispin nearly started back in shock. What is this aura? I've never encountered such a strange scorching yet cooling sensation before. It's both alarming and comforting... Is she as strong as me? No...possibly more? Internally shaking away these perplexing thoughts, Aispin resolutely nodded his head.

"I guess I'll be seeing you in two weeks then."

A small smile traced Essairyn's lips. "Yes, I'll see you then."

Aispin grinned at them both and then smacked Darren's shoulder in a friendly gesture as he moved to leave the room. "Anyway, I hope you two enjoy the training. I'll be heading off now." Before he exited, Essairyn quizzically remarked, "You're going now? But it's evening."

"Ah, there are a few things I need to do still. I'll be back after you guys probably finish dinner and head off to sleep." He vaguely clarified with a departing wave.

Essairyn inclined her head to the side as she watched him rush off. "Well," she began observantly, "he seems like a nice fellow, but I wonder why he left so quickly. Maybe he was in the middle of something and stopped in order to meet his new roommate and then he had to go back?"

Darren raised a sharp eyebrow at her conjecture. "I don't think so..."

She glanced up at him briefly. "Hmm... I guess maybe not... I just thought it was strange." Essairyn wasn't sure if it was just because she was in the habit of being overly cautious after everything that had happened, but an unsettling feeling softly churned in her gut. She looked at her hand that had touched Aispin and faintly narrowed her eyes. Why am I so tense all of a sudden? Her thoughts were broken by Darren's subtle sigh and shrug of the shoulders. He didn't read into the situation heavily and nonchalantly walked around to survey the room. After the day's events, he was ready to kick back and unwind.

"Oh, can I have the food?" Darren suddenly remembered that Essairyn was holding their dinners given by the Academy. Usually, the knight trainees would eat together, but they opted out of it today in order to settle down in their new lodgings. Essairyn comprehended his meaning and retrieved two containers of food and a set of eating utensils. She handed these along with a container to Darren and then headed back to her room to eat.

Inside, Akari was already half-asleep and curled up in the middle of the bed. Seeing the snoozing fox, Essairyn clicked her tongue in mock dissatisfaction. This girl, I already said I was taking this bed. But of course, she had to claim it behind my back instead of sleeping in the other one. She shook her wryly and gently sat on the edge of the bed with Akari. I guess it's been a long, past few days.

She quietly stretched out a hand and lightly began petting Akari. So soft... When you're like this, you remind me of... Essairyn squeezed her eyes shut as she halted the thought of her beloved dog back on Earth. A light, strained chuckle escaped her mouth. She gulped down the ball of rising emotion and tipped her head back in order to stop any tears from falling.

"Haah.." Her breath heaved shakily, and she blinked away the emerging droplets along her lower waterline. She dropped her gaze upon the warm container of food in her lap. Slowly, she grasped and pried the lid open. A soft rush of steam billowed out onto her face. Without looking, she lifted her right hand and took another set of utensils out from her inventory. Then, she stabbed the chunk of seasoned meat and brought it up to her mouth. It's... good. Tasting the succulent and flavorful beef, her eyes suddenly teared up again. She quickly forked more food into her mouth as salty drops fell soundlessly from her eyes. It's really good...

Akari squirmed uncomfortably in her sleep, catching Essairyn's attention. She softly laid a hand on the fox's back, and Akari then settled down with a satisfied exhale. The corners of Essairyn's mouth quirked up momentarily into a small smile. Tomorrow... tomorrow will be a good day. The girl solemnly finished the rest of her dinner and saved the empty containers and utensils in her magic cache. Even though she knew that laying down after eating wasn't recommended, Essairyn didn't care in this moment. She crept underneath the covers without disturbing Akari and closed her dry eyes.

The next morning, Essairyn was awoken by a fuzzy and scratchy sensation on her cheek. She furrowed her forehead in displeasure and somnolently cracked her eyes open. The white paws of Akari filled half of her vision. The fox had been prodding her awake.

"Geez, you finally woke up! Now get up, you're late!" Akari shouted.

The proximity of her loud voice jolted Essairyn up from bed. "Shoot!" The girl leapt out, raced to the door, and flung it open.

"HEY! Wait for me!" Akari screeched as she skittered across the wood floor after Essairyn who was already dashing madly through the corridors.

The two arrived, breathing heavily. Although, Akari was the only one actually exhausted from the morning sprint. Essairyn was merely panting in adrenaline at the news of being late.

"Where were you?" Darren asked as soon as they arrived. He was at the back of the group standing before the head trainer, the knight in command.

But before she could respond, the knight called her out. "You there who's late!" He stressed the last word while pointing at the girl. "Run twenty laps around this block!"

Essairyn's eyes popped out. "Wha—?" Twenty laps?! That's so—!! She grimaced at the stern face of the knight.

"Some might excuse this kind of behavior, but I, Hætherin, shall not. As a knight, it is important to be on time and build good habits lest you become distracted or miss the opportune timing in battle!" The brawny gray-haired man scanned the group with narrowed eyes. "All of you, make sure not to be late from now on! We have no time to waste." He flicked his sharp gaze toward Essairyn. "Why have you not started? Get going!"

She jolted at the dictatorial tone and darted off. What the heck?! What have I gotten myself into? Essairyn internally groused. Ugh, twenty laps... Hm. Wait. Actually, thinking about it now, it's not that much for me? Compared to the distance running to Byar'non and the Academy, twenty loops around the Academy block was trifling. In a matter of minutes, she breezed through them all.

Returning the previous location, Essairyn swept the area looking for the group. She huffed as she realized that they left without leaving a note to where they were going.

"You're back already? I should've guessed," said Akari, manifesting herself from behind rows of blossoming plants which lined the front of the flower shop nearby. "That knight made them run to the hills outside of town apparently in order to hike it and train at the peak."

"I see..." So that jerk ditched me after all! She huffed and decided to play a trick on the stringent knight. Or more precisely, she didn't feel like following his rules considering she wasn't even a trainee. Essairyn scooped up an eager Akari who had waited for her and ran in the direction told.

Soon enough, she spied the straggling members of the group running toward the outskirts of the city. Using the buildings as cover, she deftly maneuvered ahead of the whole group before flying toward the hills once she exited Byar'non. Rather than attracting attention by traveling through the air, she sat cross-legged on the magic circle and skirted directly above the grass. Essairyn couldn't see the group, but that meant they couldn't see her either.

She and Akari reached the so-called hills which looked more like small mountains due to their craggy, steep slopes. Together, they created what could be considered a miniature mountain range. Instead of flying up, Essairyn felt like hiking. While rocky, the hills boasted dense, luxurious forests. She was curious about what it was like compared to the Spirit-Demon Forest. She leisurely trekked, hopping over streams, bouncing up jutting rocks, strolling through the undergrowth. It was a quaint woodland in comparison to the colossal trees of the Spirit-Demon Forest. But by regular standards, it was still quite large.

About a third up, she discovered a rock ledge with an unobstructed view of the landscape below the hills. Essairyn stepped out and surveyed the grasslands for the knight's group. She pinpointed Hætherin at the front of the group and the lagging dots in the distance and snickered. They wouldn't be arriving here any time soon at the slackening pace the trainees were going.

"Is it that funny to you?" Akari chuckled while sitting beside her on the ground.

"Just a little." Essairyn winked. "I kind of feel bad for them actually. From the Academy to here, it's probably... ten? fifteen miles? That knight sure is harsh. Twenty laps around a city block were really nothing. Now I wonder if he was going easy on me because I'm a girl..." She noticed that she was the only girl in the group. It seemed that gender divisions still existed in this world, but it was a cultural or societal divide rather than physical or ability-wise. Magic didn't discriminate based on gender, so a girl was just as likely to have a high amount of regular m'u as a boy.

Thus, women theoretically could compete as equals to men in combat. It was a bit baffling to accept for those who were used to differences in physiology serving a deeper, straightforward purpose. However, men being built typically larger and therefore stronger still held true for non-magical humans.

Akari snorted at the speculation. "That is one old-fashioned knight. It sounded like he came from my era."

Essairyn perked up at the mention of Akari's past. "Your era?" She curiously yet carefully inquired.

The fox glanced at her from the side of her honey-hazel eyes. "Yeah, the knights were righteously stiff back then. That's probably how the virtuous image of knights was created." Her words dripped with sarcasm, making Essairyn snigger.

Akari smirked while adding, "But this one tops the cake. What a bore. Who makes knight trainees run a dozen some miles before hiking up a huge hill and then sparring? Tsk." She shook her head disapprovingly. "He's scaring the poor boys away. Oh well, they literally can't run away from being a knight at this point after taking the Oath."

"PFT." Essairyn stopped herself from laughing at the blatant pun.

"Aw, come on, that was pretty good." Akari smiled brightly with eyes that seemed to wink.

"Yeah, yeah." The ebony-haired girl waved it off while turning back to the woods.

As they climbed up the miniature mountain, various plants and flowers caught Essairyn's eyes. She inspected them before picking and placing them inside her magic cache for safekeeping. Like scrapbooking, most were kept because it tickled her fancy.

A few, however, were apparently useful, according to Akari. They were herbs that could be formulated into salves, potions, and other concoctions. Although the medicinal, almost alchemical, applications intrigued her, Essairyn wasn't currently keen on brewing anything. That could be saved for later in her slack time if she ever so desired.

Soon, she neared close enough to the peak to see the hilltop. It was at this point that the knights group reached the base of the hill range. Proceeding onward, Essairyn gathered an assortment of grasses and stalks and fiddled with them. When she reached the summit, she had a spool of fibrous rope coiled loosely around her arm. Then, she discovered two sturdy, neighboring trees with low lying branches. She looped the rope around a branch from each tree and knotted the ends together. Afterwards, she began weaving a mat within the rope loop, creating a hanging bed.

"Why're you making a hammock? Of all things, you're making a hammock in your free time before the bore gets here?"

Essairyn understood that the 'bore' referred to the knight trainer, and a corner of her lip curled up in amusement. "Might as well rest now before working later. Besides, wouldn't it be fun to greet the group by dozing away in a hammock?"

Akari squinted her eyes in partial incredulity. "Where the heck do you even get these weird ideas and notions?"

The girl shrugged at the fox's words. "I just start something on a whim and it turns into something else. I wondered how the plants here were different from the Spirit-Demon Forest, so I tried entwining them into a cord. When I saw the trees at the top, the idea just popped up."

"Huh." The fox gave her a side-look but said nothing else. She just observed Essairyn weave grass from one end of the rope to the other like a loom. In an hour, she finished.

"Akari." Essairyn gestured and patted the hollow of the hammock next to where she was sitting on it. The fox complied, curious to the durability of the girl's creation.

"Hm, not bad!" Akari commented as she pressed down on the material. "However, in a few days this hammock will wither and become useless."

Essairyn angled her head to the side to glare at Akari. "Tch, party pooper. It's biodegradable then! Good for the environment!"

"Not for the plants you pulled out."

"Peh." Essairyn could only retort with a cough-snort at the fox's comeback, making Akari's eyes wink into an entertained smile.

For a short spell, they snoozed in the serene shade of the forest. Since the knights group hadn't arrived yet by the time they aroused, Essairyn ventured to the skies to discern their location. Seeing that the group barely reached halfway up the slope, she frowned in disappointment. What do I do in the meantime? I still have an hour or two before they arrive. No wonder we had to get up so early this morning. It's already the late afternoon. While a sun didn't exist to approximate the time, the dimming of light intuitively signaled the passing of day into night.

With nothing else better to do than collect plants or sleep, Essairyn opted to train her magic weapon summoning. Each successive summon resulted in quicker retrieval times. She didn't expect to encounter dangerous beasts in the next two weeks, but it never hurt to raise one's efficacy ahead of time.

In the middle of target practice with her magic bow, Essairyn heard the crunches of leaves and twigs nearby. The group had finally reached the crest of the hill. Before anyone could see her, she absorbed the bow and arrows back into her magic flow and threw herself onto the hammock. Essairyn managed to scramble into a decent position of repose just as the knight trainer swept aside the foliage blocking his path.

Espying the leisurely girl on a random hammock seemingly made of grass, Hætherin halted his step, not quite knowing what to make of the scene before him. Recollecting himself, he strode promptly over to Essairyn.

"How did you get here before us? Didn't I tell you to run twenty laps?"

His sharp gaze almost unnerved Essairyn, but she calmly searched the frontrunners for Darren instead of responding. Seeing that the boy wasn't present, she returned her steady gaze to Hætherin. "I ran twenty laps and then ran here after I found out about the training location."

The girl didn't appear to be lying; however, her words were unconvincing. Unless she reinforced her speed and stamina with magic, or flew here, then she couldn't have possibly arrived here before them. With that consideration, Hætherin suddenly remembered a recent rumor about someone being allowed to join the knights training without accepting the Oath. Although it wouldn't explain how she made the hammock with this forest's plants, Hætherin asked if she were that rumored mage. Essairyn directly confirmed his supposition, making him mentally note to keep a close eye on her.

The sparring sessions immediately began after this unforeseen welcome at the summit. Not all of the trainees had arrived, but Hætherin wasted no time partnering those in attendance. Besides being a suitable exercise, the long run also naturally separated the trainees into groups of similar strength and stamina.

Thus, he could be moderately certain of their potentials and create comparatively equal match ups. To the trainees, though, their hell merely continued. But even this was necessary to engrain into their bodies the importance of perseverance. On the battlefield, they would be weary all the time, but they would still have to fight with the best of their abilities by continuously drawing out hidden stores of strength.

Even so, the trainees groused about the unwarranted arduousness of the day's activities whenever Hætherin was out of earshot. Of course, the middle-aged knight was quite aware of their complaints but paid them no heed. One day, they would be grateful for this experience. At least, that's what the old-fashioned knight always believed even after countless years of relative peace. Rather than war, his generation and the ones before only fought skirmishes with demons and miscreant humans and the rare elemental.

Recently, however, the clashes with malefactors had markedly increased in frequency. And the discontent of the civilians grew more manifest with time. In the past few years, the understaffed Order of the Knights was running on overtime. It was because of this that they had to employ increasingly more Academy students on missions.

Currently, the number of trainees were odd, so Hætherin opted to spar with Essairyn in order to ascertain the extent of her mysterious abilities before placing her with anyone else. Without an option to refuse, Essairyn agreed and accepted the blunt, wooden swords that Hætherin handed out to the group. Later on, if the trainees so chosed, they could fight with different types of weapons other than swords. But as a foundation, swords were the standard of the Knights.

Essairyn was quite confident in her budding swordsmanship when they began facing one another. But as the seconds ticked by, she grew more apprehensive. Equipped with magic, her movements became as fluid and quick as the billows of air itself. But coordination that mainly relied on superior speed only achieved so much in light of entrenched experience and technique. In just a minute's time, she was completely overwhelmed by Hætherin's skill.

"Not bad, young lady. You have successfully surprised me," praised Hætherin as he inspected the nicks that Essairyn served to his wooden blade. "If you were allowed to fully back your strikes with magic, then I certainly wouldn't stand a chance against your might as a non-magical knight. But even with magic supplementing just your body's motions, it is you who doesn't stand a chance against me. Now try once more with just your raw abilities devoid of magic amplification. Let me see the true scope of your skill." He pointed the tip of his weapon at Essairyn as if to egg her on.

She inwardly groaned at his candidly complacent remarks and glanced over at her sword which was lodged high up in the bark of a nearby tree. Just like how the Knight Bodraig tested Darren to discern his abilities in the entrance examination, this Knight Hætherin did the same. Both senior knights merely played with their challengers and didn't end the bout even when they could have from the start. Essairyn was certain of this from their spar. He countered her strikes far too easily, almost as if he anticipated the exact angle and direction.

As she leapt in a graceful arc and retrieved the sword embedded several meters from the ground, Essairyn resolved to readjust her thinking. Magic was a trump card, but it didn't guarantee invincibility. Once her magic was exhausted, she would be left almost defenseless. Starting from scratch, huh... I need to improve my basic techniques without relying on magic. She already had used various types of weapons since appearing in this world. But magic couldn't replace true skill and weapon mastery. Essairyn gripped the handle of her wooden weapon in renewed determination. I'll become a 'Knight' as well as a Mage.

Without magic, the spars with Hætherin lasted about one or two dozen seconds. It was due to her physically enhanced body that Essairyn was even able to keep up this much. If it had been her body from Earth, even a second would be a victory.

In between these fleeting spars, Hætherin would pair up the arriving stragglers. Darren reached the main group shortly after Essairyn's tenth magic-less spar. When he saw that she was training with the senior knight, a dash of rancor twisted his gut. Since he hadn't seen her after they departed for the hills, he could only surmise that she quite literally, magically arrived here before them all. Now, as expected, she was the only one capable of properly challenging the knight.

"Wow, that girl is pretty amazing," commented one of the trainees while taking a breather with his sparring partner. "That man is a top-tier, Class C Knight! Even Leœss here couldn't last more than three seconds against him!" He jabbed a thumb at the aforementioned trainee who was a few meters away with his partner. Leœss glared at the other boy, and his sparring partner whacked him teasingly in the side.

"Hey, don't pout, Ace. A girl beat you, but it's okay since Chaera is your idol, right?" His partner laughed and dodged a kick from the peeved Leœss.

The first boy who mentioned him added to Leœss's annoyance, saying, "But first, he needs to get past Classerth!" Everyone who understood the inside joke and was within earshot erupted in laughter. Only Darren stood blankly amidst the banter in confusion.

Leœss rolled his eyes and retorted, "That's a one-sided relationship anyway. Chaera has no interest in him."

"Haha, and what makes you think she'll be interested in you?"

"More than you, you—!" Leœss smacked the back calf of his partner with the blunt of his sword. The other boy instantly jumped up on one leg while holding the other.

"Okay, okay, you win! My bad. I guess we're all just frustrated."

At these words, everyone's teasing smiles faded. For sure, the training was more rigorous than presumed. They had all entered the Academy aspiring to become upper-echelon knights. But even for Leœss who had a regular m'u worthy of rank C but an overall score of top-tier rank D, the road to become an A class like Lieutenant Classerth Ajenak was inconceivable. For starters, Leœss was twenty-one, just one year younger than Classerth. The lieutenant was a genius child who was rank D before turning double digits in age. Most people rarely grew more than a class from birth to adulthood.

However, the apex of genius was none other than Chaera Ch'tahur, the lone "true" S-class human currently living in Sol'h'meyr. Many believed that she was the last of the true S-classes who were noted for having one million or more in regular m'u. The previous one who reached that peak of strength was nearly three generations ago. Usually, at least one S-class arose in every generation of humans, but the number had dwindled drastically over the years.

Thus, the top echelons of knights were regarded as real-life heroes of old. Commander Ch'tahur and Lieutenant Ajenak were some of the sole beacons of hope for a race that scraped by due to the goodwill of the neighboring kingdom of As'rien. The abundant magic existing among all peoples in the ancient days of Sol'h'meyr when elemental gods still prowled the world had trickled down into these remaining powerhouses. It was human nature to admire and crave such all-encompassing power. It was power that was bountifully bestowed upon elementals and sparingly on humans. Struggling like underdogs, humans wished to return to the top of the food chain in this world.

Leœss patted his partner's shoulder. "Yeah, I know. For the sake of your parents, you became a knight. I'm sure everyone here has a reason for putting through with this crap." He turned his head and looked stoically at the trainees before him. They all nodded one by one in accord. The accumulating demon attacks, escalating pressures from neighboring kingdoms, and vanishing magic from their race, everyone felt the silent weight of impending doom. The human kingdom of As'pyze had to fortify the last frontier of their existence. No one spoke of it, but they all knew that peace could never last. Whether it took a day, a year, a decade, no one knew. They merely felt it in their bones and in the air.

"Hey! All of you over there! What are you all doing just standing about? Get back to training! Or did you want to train with me instead?" Hætherin broke the strange, sudden silence, and the trainees jolted in full attention. They quickly began sparring with one another as none wanted to face the senior knight.

Darren too started exchanging blows with his partner, but he couldn't get the trainees' conversation out of his head. Since he hadn't fully exerted himself in the previous run and hike up the hill, he had been paired with a weaker trainee. Thus, he was free to think about the content of the conversation while fighting. His partner, who had previously pushed himself to his limits, was relieved for the break.

Darren sunk into his thoughts and ruminated the meaning of the bizarre silence. Did that guy's parents die? Why did it seem like everyone understood Leœss and shared that other guy's feelings? Just what is going on here? Going in circles, he frowned and halted his thoughts. He didn't know enough about this world to answer his questions. Other than being Knights of the Order, he didn't know who or how strong Classerth and Chaera were. All he was sure of was that the trainees idolized them. So, he struck up a conversation with his sparring partner. The slightly younger boy readily explained who they were in the backdrop of the Knights and society. But even with this information, it still didn't clarify everything.

"Do you know what happened to that guy?"

His partner followed where Darren was pointing. "Oh Leœss?"

Darren shook his head. "No, the guy sparring with him."

"Oh him." The younger boy paused in momentary hesitance. "Not really. But, apparently he's from Farinheld. His parents were murdered by that rotten group going around kidnapping mages."

Surprise mixed with sympathy spread over Darren's face. He almost wanted to apologize for asking about the whole matter, but his partner wasn't the one involved in such tragedy. "Why did they kill his parents if they're after mages? Were they mages or just regular people?"

"I'm not really sure either since they were just regular folks minding their own business. That group... they're a bad lot, all of them. Anyone who stands in their way gets torn down." The boy shook his head sadly.

"How do you know so much? Did you encounter them too?"

The boy's eyes quaked a little, but he shook his head again. "No, not personally. My best friend was visiting his relatives in Farinheld, and...." His lips trembled. "They were all slaughtered." Bleakness shadowed his eyes as he remembered seeing their sunken corpses. It was like the energy had been sucked out of them.

Realizing that Darren was speechless, the boy waved his hand in assurance that he was okay. "Actually, a lot of people have family from Farinheld since it's so close by. It's a small town in comparison to Byar'non, but because of its proximity, lots of families opted to live there since it's less expensive than the city. Most people think that Byar'non will expand to include it one day, but with everything that's happened there now... Well, people are afraid that something similar will happen in Byar'non." The boy sighed and cracked a smile to lighten the mood.

Darren pursed his lips, reduced to silence once more. The situation was more dangerous than he initially thought. He would have to talk to Essairyn about this again. But whether that would repel or attract her was uncertain. Considering her daredevil streak, he bet on the latter.

At this point, Hætherin announced to the trainees that it was break time. Relieved, everyone broke out in cheers. The senior knight grinned while adding, "Ten minutes. And then we start three versus one training." The trainees' overjoyed faces turned sour in a flash. Their survival instincts kicked in, and the ones who didn't prepare a water bottle retraced their steps down the mountain to locate the fresh spring of water they had passed.

Meanwhile, Essairyn whipped out her container of water from her magic cache. She observed that a few others also retrieved water bottles from their inventories. I guess the magic cache really is an ordinary facet of living in this world, she noted as she took a sip. Just as she capped the container, she spied Darren making his way over to her.

"Yo!" She greeted with a wide smile. She hadn't been able to talk to him since departing early in the morning from the Academy campus.

Darren gave a small wave and forced a convincing smile onto his face. "Hey." He greeted back before sitting down on a rock next to Essairyn's. He opened his mouth to talk but then closed it as he didn't know how to start. He searched her bright face for any signs of mental fatigue from training with Hætherin. But he was merely met back with an expectant, smiling expression. For a moment, he thought about ditching his planned conversation subject, but Darren withstood the urge.

"About that mission, I heard about what happened to some people in Farinheld. That group after mages kills anyone regardless of who they are. So, do you still want to go ahead joining the mission?"

Essairyn returned the container of water to her inventory and lowered her head while turning to face him. With narrowed eyes and forearms resting on her thighs, she asked, "Didn't we already discuss this? Why are you bringing it up again when I already decided to go?"

Darren's eyes twitched as he grimaced at her hostile tone. "I see. Never mind." Throw your life away for all I care. He shot up from his seat and stalked off.

As the boy strode away, Essairyn sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so harsh in my tone. He's probably just looking out for me... She pressed down on her upper legs and heaved herself up from the rock. Looking at Darren's backside, she ruffled her hair in discontent. Ugh, is it really too hard to understand? I guess it really is a dangerous mission, but how can I explain this feeling?

She clasped her hand over her thumping heart and breathed in deeply. ... I want to go. Something is telling me to go, that I'll discover something exciting, that it'll be the start of something new. Just thinking about it makes my heart race. I want to know; I want to continue being impulsive, acting on this gut feeling, this calling... For all her life on Earth, she had used her head and not her heart or gut. The feeling of release was still something she hadn't gotten used to, and she desired to grasp onto it more—to claim that freedom and mold it into something spectacular. That something she had always been missing.

"Hey!" A group of boys approached her. "How was sparring with Knight Hætherin? Do you think you can teach me some moves?" One of the boys punched several times into the air for accompanying effect. Then they all turned to Essairyn with expectant, eager expressions.

"Umm," murmured the girl who was at a loss. "I didn't really... get a handle on it to teach anyone anything.." She scratched her head sheepishly. If only that damned knight tried teaching me some moves rather than bombarding me round after round!! She furtively grit her teeth behind slightly pursed lips that curled up into a forced smile.

"Oh, that's okay!" The boys laughed. "It's only the first day. Besides, that you can even last against him is pretty amazing!"

Essairyn blushed a little inside without it showing on her face. "Haha, thanks. I have a lot to learn."

"By the way," interjected the boy in front closest to her, "where did you get that water container? It doesn't look like the bottles you get at the store!"

"Yeah, it almost looks like it was crafted!"

"Oh, now that you mention it, it does! Do you know how to craft things, Essairyn?"

Her eyes widened a bit as she gazed slowly at the boys. "Uh yeah. I made that container out of wood..."

"Wood?! And then you painted it over? That's pretty cool! How did you do that?"

"Stupid, she obviously carved it using magic." One boy elbowed his overly enthused friend.

"I meant the paint, stupid!" His friend made a face while accentuating his last word.

"That, I covered it with a waxy, colored paint," said Essairyn quickly before the friends could start bickering. She wouldn't go into the details of it of course. Even though she now learned that magic users could also be "crafters," she wasn't going to mention that the 'paint' was actually plant dye, wax, and oil mixed together. Merely staining the wood with plant or berry-based ink wouldn't be enough to really dye the container a color. Also, it wouldn't look good. In truth though, Essairyn just had fun experimenting with 'making paint' and decided on this particular blend.

On that note about crafting, she asked after a breath's hesitation, "Is crafting that uncommon?"

"Hm?" One boy raised his eyebrow. "Well sorta. It's hard to control your magic to that degree of dexterity. Why? Is it common where you come from?"

He was referring to her hometown as the trainees didn't know that she was a traveler. But put on the spot without knowing exactly what he meant, she hastily answered, "No, I was just curious why my water container was that eye-catching is all..."

With the focus reversed back onto him, the boy simply replied, "We just thought it looked pretty well made since we didn't believe at first that you were a rank B mage."

"Rank B? Since when was I that rank?" Essairyn's head tipped to the side.

"You're not?" The boys chorused in surprise.

"I didn't take any test."

"Huh, I guess it was just a rumor then," said the boy who first brought up ranks. "But you're definitely strong! So that rank is probably pretty close!"

"Ah, thanks," murmured Essairyn. Is it really that amazing though? I guess I still need to get used to how important magic is in this world. It's like if the importance of academics or skills came together with money, then that's how important magic is. The power of education and financial sufficiency rolled into one...

Her musings were broken by Hætherin's booming voice. "Everyone, regroup! It's time for three versus one training!"

The trainees collectively groaned while rushing to gather in front of the senior knight. For the next hour or so, they rotated fights so that everyone fought as the outnumbered one at least once. When it came time for Essairyn's turn, however, Hætherin increased the number to ten. At first, she felt overwhelmed for various reasons. One being it was an abrupt change that caught her off guard, and another being it made her embarrassed. She didn't deny that it was self-gratifying to receive special attention, but she wasn't used to being in the limelight.

After three versus one sparring, Hætherin immediately moved onto the next training session, garnering further hatred from the trainees. Their unanimous loathing was what fueled them to persist together. Unbeknownst to them, this was exactly the kind of situation that Hætherin was hoping to achieve. Hardship naturally could form bonds. But while it went according to plan, he wasn't so satisfied on Essairyn's end.

Peering at the girl who was currently sitting out of group combat for overall fairness, Hætherin pondered what the girl's future would hold. Everyone would face hardships, and knights training and missions would help cadets by exposing them to difficult situations. But Essairyn would have to face challenges with higher degrees of intensity in order to be instilled with that necessary sense of urgency, distress, and determination. This meant that those around her could be involved in unduly danger.

Will you choose to walk your path alone? Or will you have the power to protect those that accompany you on that path? Seeing her solitary figure propped up nonchalantly against a tree trunk, curiosity mixed with concern glimmered in the depths of the man's eyes. It might take something dire to open your eyes to this world. You can't stay relaxed like that forever. I only hope that nothing bad will happen in the process... Hætherin couldn't help poring over the possibility of a catastrophic mission happening like last time in Farinheld. As a senior knight, he knew about the deal she made with the Academy in order to receive free training. He was also briefed on her and Darren's status as travelers from Earth. Hætherin merely connected the information received yesterday to faces today.

His eyes flickered over to Darren within the clashing mob of trainees. His mind flashed back to when he eavesdropped on their conversation. Is it good or bad luck for you to have met this girl? Although Darren possessed no extraordinary abilities, he was still above average considering he was the most novice out of all natives present. He could live a successful and comfortable life without Essairyn. It was early enough for them to go their separate ways.

He shook away the rumination and issued the trainees to stop fighting. It was enough for today. They would return home for supper now. Jubilant cheers resounded in the forest, startling the birds out of the trees. The way home felt quicker than going to the hills.

Back in the dorms after dinner, Essairyn was currently standing resolutely in front of Darren's closed door. Since their conversation about the Farinheld mission, they hadn't spoken a word with one another again. She didn't want any bad blood or miscommunication between them, so Essairyn confidently rapped on the wood. A few seconds later of footsteps approaching, the door cracked open.

"Darren! I just wanted to talk about today in the forest! I—" She began quickly but then halted abruptly after seeing who opened the door.

It was Aispin. He leaned languidly on the doorframe and tipped his head to the opposite side. The middle section of his bangs drooped in the same direction, obscuring his right eye slightly. The leisurely pose was charged with charm and sent a strange tingle through Essairyn's center. Dang it, I can't handle this level of attractiveness so close to me—! ... On second thought, it's no big deal? It's not like you haven't seen handsome guys before....on television. She inwardly laughed and waved her nervousness away from being caught off guard.

"Hello, Aispin."

The boy straightened his pose slightly and faced his head forward. His ocean blue eyes glittered like sun-struck waves as he greeted, "Hello, Sairyn."

"Is Darren here?" Essairyn leaned her body to the left to look around Aispin's frame and into the room. He straightened his figure while opening the door wider.

"He's not back yet from dinner," informed Aispin as he turned and gestured for Essairyn to come in. After a fraction of a second's hesitation, she entered.

While she appeared to be surveying the room, inside, her mind was spinning frenetically with the belated realization that Aispin called her 'Sairyn' instead of Essairyn.

"So how was today? Rough, right?" Aispin joked with a sideways grin. He leaned against the post of his bed with his arms lazily crossed. A large broadsword sheathed in a decorated, multi-colored enamel and semi-precious stone-laid scabbard was propped up against the other bedpost. "The first day is always like that, especially if you have old man Hætherin."

Essairyn mentally snapped out of her daze and chuckled halfheartedly as she neared the table in the center of the room. "Yeah... You know him?"

"Knight Hætherin? Hah, he's a stickler for the rules but likes to push the trainees harder. He means well though. The kids in his classes always do better than average because of his harsh teaching methods. He's known as one of the 'Hell Knights' by all the cadets. You'll be able to find a lot of people willing to share a story or two about their experiences with that old man." His bangs quivered as he lightly laughed. Aispin remembered back to his grueling first days as a young knight cadet. He had the pleasure of being often assigned to Hætherin's classes.

"Anyway, you and the rest of the new trainees will be split based on your evaluation and first day results tomorrow morning. So you might not see Hætherin much again depending on what official rank you receive."

Essairyn's softly angled eyebrows arched up in curious surprise at this news. No one had told her about this, for she assumed that today's group of new trainees were her classmates for the rest of the two week training period.

Seeing the girl's questioning look, Aispin preemptively answered. "The Academy strictly judges according to merit, ability, and potential and places students in classes with people of the same rank. This classification helps students progress better because they're contending with those of the same strength. This makes sense and works well, but..." The boy scratched his head uncomfortably. "It creates a pretty clear divide between the students. Those at the top are definitely more respected and privileged."

Hearing this, Essairyn's eyes darkened somewhat. Although she liked the idea of a meritocracy, she hoped that this ranking structure didn't hinder those at the bottom from rising. Perhaps Aispin was good at picking up subtle changes in expressions because he immediately waved his hands, clarifying, "I didn't mean it in a bad way though! You haven't been to Neu'arth's main campus, so you won't know exactly what I mean. But high-ranked students are treated almost like idols or something, haha! Unless you're already a knight, in which you already get free board and tuition, unaffiliated, high-achieving students get full scholarships for however long they wish to study at the Academy. It's pretty nice, right?"

"True, but..." Essairyn trailed off. "It doesn't help those who are low-ranked. What if they're really passionate about school?"

Aispin nodded in acknowledgement before calmly countering, "If they're that passionate about school, then they should join the Knights. Since the Knight Mage Academy is about applying both magical and physical combat, then joining the Knight's Order is the best way to do that. They need to have that kind of dedication as a low rank in order to survive in this world anyway..." He sighed and smiled halfheartedly.

"Missions can be life-threatening after all. Otherwise, it would be better to live a quiet, normal life in Neu'arth. And if it's just basic education without combat, then the sister school of KMA for non-magical or non-combative humans inside the walls are the way to go. The tuition's also free by living in Neu'arth."

Aispin made a good point. The system was put in place while considering the future well-being of those less able to defend themselves. Essairyn wouldn't want to see lives lost because false hope and expectation inspired starry-eyed students. It reminded her of high school commencement urging graduates about the strengths of their dreams. What baloney. No one realized that if they hadn't already grasped onto the first corner of the fabric of their dreams, then by that point, they would never seize it in time at all. Those dreams and the life they hoped for would slip away with the passing of the hours breathing. Maybe the saying that it was never too late to chase one's dream was true, but that didn't mean it would be easy either. Every tick of the clock caused the dream to stray from the mind until it died in the heart.

Essairyn shook these bleak thoughts from her head. That reality didn't exist anymore. She looked directly into Aispin's blue eyes and communicated her agreement. "And what walls are you speaking of?" Essairyn's interest pricked at the mention of them. She wondered if this was how the magical system of Neu'arth was implemented in order to keep out and defend against intruders. Perhaps it was similar to the system she had placed onto the Welforts' fence.

"Oh, Neu'arth's magical wall. You can't see it unless it's activated. Usually, you can only see the segment of the walls around the official entrances when people are registering as a visitor or new citizen. That part of the wall lights up then." Aispin gestured with his hands on the last remark, making Essairyn smile faintly at his animated explanation. He clearly liked Neu'arth and approved of its setup to ensure the safety and welfare of its people.

"Mmm, that's great. Neu'arth sounds like a really cool place." Essairyn's smile grew, garnering a grin from Aispin who enthusiastically responded with a fist pump.

"Yes! And this way the country can expand easily without having to destroy or construct physical walls! I can't wait until Neu'arth spreads to the rest of As'pyze!" Realizing that he got ahead of himself by fully exhibiting his emotions, Aispin coughed lightly and smiled sheepishly.

"Anyway, Neu'arth is a great place to live, especially for non-magical humans. It saves people, you know? People who couldn't..." He trailed off and discontinued his words. He wasn't sure why he was about to open up to Essairyn about his past and current wish for the world. Not many knew about his past before becoming a knight, and none at all knew about the full details of how he survived until he arrived at Neu'arth. It was a difficult story to tell, but it was one that many people who struggled in As'pyze after the Great Elemental War shared. Nothing would change by his story being told. And he didn't want anyone's pity. As long as the fire burned within him, he would take it day by day to reach his ultimate goal. That was all that mattered.

Essairyn also read the changes in Aispin and didn't dig into it deeper. They had just met, so she didn't expect him to fully disclose his life's story. In two weeks and for however long the Farinheld mission was, they would spend plenty of time together getting to know one another better. Even if they didn't end up having much time to chat, simply being in dangerous situations would naturally bring people together. Trust and understanding was necessary to fight side by side.

Before Essairyn could say anything to restore the somewhat awkward mood and move onto another topic, Darren whipped the door open. They both spun their heads at the sudden, loud entrance and looked at the sandy-haired boy who peered back in flummox. What's with this strange mood? He wondered as he gathered his composure and approached them. And why is Essairyn here? She was talking to Aispin? About what?

Although he was full of questions, he didn't let it show on his face and proceeded nonchalantly as if he didn't find the situation questionable. Besides, it was good that Essairyn was here. He wanted to get something straight with her.

"Essair—"

"Darr—"

They began strongly and then faltered when they realized that they both wanted to say something to one another. "—en." They both ended upon the same sounding syllable.

"You go first—" They both started and then stopped.

"Darren," she repeated quickly, determined to rid of any misunderstandings between them. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about this afternoon. I know you were just concerned about me in the mission, and I'm really grateful for that. But I really want to go and—"

"It's okay."

Essairyn abruptly halted in her words at the sound of Darren's even-tempered voice. With wide eyes, she stared at the boy who continued, "It's okay. I understand. I can't stop you from going. I guess I should be used to that by now." He chuckled halfheartedly with a small smile. "So instead, I'm going with you."

"..." Essairyn blinked.

"Wait, WHAT?! You're not—! Why would you also go! You don't need to risk your life too!" She stumbled upon her words while drawing closer to Darren.

"Exactly. You're risking your life. So, I might as well be there in case anything happens and you get ahead of yourself." He side-grinned with a forced confident expression.

Essairyn's forehead creased in worry. "No, that's a bad idea. You can't—"

Aispin slapped a hand onto the girl's shoulder and chimed, "Hey, that sounds like a good idea to me. You never know what two weeks' training can do. Darren is fit, so I'm sure that he''ll be fine. It's better to have a trusted partner when fighting anyway."

"Huh?" She frowned while her eyebrows lifted in astonishment. "That's not what I mean. I trust him, but—"

"I'll be fine, Essairyn. Trust me." Darren staunchly peered into the girl's eyes.

Essairyn's mouth hung open and moved like a fish. She was rendered speechless. Since she was so set on joining the mission against his wishes, then what right did she have to go against his wishes to join as well?

Aispin chuckled at her helpless expression and thumped his other palm onto Darren's shoulder as well. "See?" He turned his head toward Essairyn and smiled assuringly. "He'll be fine. Don't worry. I'll be there along with everyone else, so no one will get hurt, all right?"

She sighed heavily in defeat. "All right, all right. I got it. I'll make sure not to let anything happen to you." Or I won't forgive myself. "Just don't slow me down, okay?" She winked teasingly at Darren who grunted to clear his throat.

"Yeah yeah. Just you watch, it'll be me at your back." He smirked playfully.

Essairyn giggled and bobbed her head once. "It's a deal." She stuck out her hand, and Darren took and shook it.

"It's a deal."