"I'm useless." I let out a groan and lay my head on the stack of books.

The past week has left me emotionally and physically drained. Lua had told me that the House of Knowledge was a place to relax, enjoy your powers, and indulge in sexual activity. But Lua was very wrong. I can't imagine how others have the energy to have relationships or go out on the town or take extra courses. My entire week comprises non-stop studying. Despite my lack of sleep, I remain anxious about Vox entering my dreams, though he hasn't been successful thus far. Of course, I hope he's given up and backed off from trying to seduce me, but that's not true.

The 'golden trio' consistently bothers me by inviting me to hang out, help with homework, and help me relax. They circle around me like bloody demons, trying to suck me dry. Fima and Morrick quietly sympathize with me, mistakenly believing they lack interest in me, when in fact they are highly intrigued by my blood, or more accurately, my energy. Energy has the power to seduce all young individuals. They constantly feel a lack of it and exhibit greed. But I don't feel any special energy in me. Like other light beings, it's simply made of light. I'm not as strong as Stellare. He possesses exceptional mastery over plants, water, earth, alchemy, and healing, just like the other members of the light, including Ailes. He's just as good as Stellare, and their constant competition is childlike. During a magic class activity, their intense rivalry leads to chaos as they almost demolish the classroom, with objects flying back and forth. In contrast, Vox excels in fire elemental, air elemental, ancient languages, necromancy, dark powers, and battle magic. Fima's sword skills are superb, and her ability to tame magical creatures is extraordinary, just like her other magical talents. Morrick, with his unstoppable energy and constant desire to move, is skilled at creating portals, moving around, and casting defensive spells. Two elf brothers, who are the younger sons of the elf king's advisors, are also present in the class. While they usually show little interest in the lessons, their gaze towards Stellare is filled with intense longing. Furthermore, we possess a quiet and introverted dark mage named Flammarion, a healer named Ignisar, and a water dragon named Emberos. I can tell that Ignisar and Emberos are more than just friends. They're definitely up to something.

Piros' roar makes me jump. He's the last person I want to see here. I quickly grab my books and notebooks, stuff them in my bag, and hide behind a shelf as the dragon bursts into the student lounge, where everyone's doing their homework. I've been dodging him all week, and he's been staring at me like crazy. Sometimes I can totally tell when he's searching for me, so I bounce before he finds me, and my go-to spot is usually my room, where an entire family of gargoyles has set up shop.

"Have you seen Lua?" Piros asks in a hissy tone to someone. I'm squinting and cursing my tiredness. I would have seen him coming if I wasn't so drained from class.

"Been here... somewhere."

"Fucking asshole."

I'm screwed. Piros will kill me if he finds me.

Out of nowhere, wings start flapping, and gargoyles pop up in my face. They circle around me.

"Where can I hide?" I ask them in a whisper. "From Piros."

With a smile, the gargoyles tug on my hair, and I sneak behind them. I like them a lot. And I actually feed them without Seraphus knowing. They come to my room every night, and I give them some food. As they fill their bellies, they cuddle and I like to pet them. It calms me down. They usually crash in bed with me, like sneaking under my blanket or lounging on my pillow.

I sneak around shelves, crawl under tables, and students try not to laugh as Piros searches for me. Then I burst into the hallway and chase the gargoyles. They giggle and clap their hands. There's another place where I study and sometimes read, and that's the library. It's so huge that it's easy to get lost in it. The shelves are packed with ancient books that reach the ceiling, and I'm eager to read them all, but I haven't had time for a single one yet. I gaze at the shelves sadly, hoping I'll find time to read as well.

I have never seen any students in the library yet. Despite the fact that numerous students borrow books from this place, I haven't witnessed any. The library has a total of five tables concealed within the depths of the expansive hall. The space includes a small reading corner complete with plush dark chocolate velvet sofas. However, nobody is present there either. This puzzles me. Why is there no one here? The library is the most comfortable and pleasant room in the House of Knowledge. It's incredibly snug, peaceful, and has a scent of wax and aged books. The lighting is soft and enjoyable. It's not painful for my eyes. But I can't study here, there's a study hall for that. Fima and Morrick gave me a crazy look when I said I wanted to study here. That's when I discovered the library's tendency to expel lingering students due to its intolerance towards magic. The library is like a living being here. It can even swap shelves if you ask it for a book or topic. It will show itself where that information is located. But you can't stay here too long. That's why I rarely sit here, but I'd like to stay here forever.

"I'm sorry, but be patient with me for a bit, okay?" I whisper, unfolding my books. "I don't have anywhere else to study. Piros is looking for me for revenge. Stellare, Vox, and Ailes are always chasing me, waiting to seduce or cast spells on me near my room. I have nowhere else to go. So please let me stay here for a while."

As I sit down at the table, I open my books and the gargoyles settle who is on my lap, who is on the side of the books, who is on my shoulders, and one of them on the top of my head slightly grown out hair. I gently touch the gargoyles with one hand, hearing them sleep peacefully.

I passed tests on five subjects, then I'm going to practice them, and there are still fifteen subjects left. I can't figure out how to cram it all into my brain. If I have no problems with light magic, as well as with the elements, I have huge problems with fighting magic, dark magic, necromancy, illusion magic, temporal magic, eclipse magic. No, I can learn the theory, but what about the practice? I can't find any dark magic in me. It's like I don't even have any. And I've never been in a fight. I'm not familiar with different kinds of fighting, with or without magic. Without it, it's much more difficult than battle magic. I can use the elements there, but the test of physical strength is hard for me. I may pull firewood and work all the time, but I'm not a warrior.

Sleepy, tired, and barely able to move my legs, I head to my room. The House is asleep. No one is walking the hallways, no one is hiding in corners, no one is attacking anyone. No one is there.

I feel someone's presence behind me, and I turn around sharply, almost dropping my books. But the dark corridor is empty. Swallowing, I stare into the emptiness, feeling the distinct presence of someone, as if someone is standing a few meters away from me and staring, staring, staring. It's an unpleasant stare, heavy, repulsive. Or maybe I'm just over-learned.

Quickly reaching my room, I shut the door and run to my bed. Crawling under the covers, I pull the edge open just enough for the gargoyles to hide and fall asleep. My heart is pounding fast with fear. It's the kind of fear I've only experienced once in my life, and only recently. Maybe I just haven't gotten past it yet? Maybe the danger of being exposed still unsettles me? Maybe.

The next day, as well as the last of the days, goes the same way as the previous week. Breakfast, classes, lunch, classes, classes, dinner and classes again, and sometimes test taking. Fima and Morrick are constantly by my side, again offering their help with passing tails. 'The Golden Trio' chase me around every corner and try to convince me to go out on a date or just squeeze me in, but I'm so indifferent to it that I don't even react to their flirtations anymore. Piros chases me in his free time, and I slip away from him.

I'm tired. I'm exhausted and I seem to be losing my powers, but I don't know where I could get them. I tried to walk in the garden, but there were couples kissing and not just kissing. I tried sleeping in the library but it didn't like it and kicked me out of there. I kicked my ass. I tried to take a long look at Moon with Morrick, but it didn't work.

"You need to rest. You can't study so much, Lua," Fima strokes my hair while I lay my head on my desk in class.

"I need to pass everything so I don't get expelled. I have practice left and I'm going to fail it," I reply sadly.

"You won't. Fima and I will come and help you today. You keep refusing our help and this is the result. You're exhausted, Lua. If you keep this up, you'll lose all your powers and then you'll be kicked out of here for sure," Morrick says unhappily.

"I just don't feel comfortable asking for your help," I admit, sitting up and stretching. Oh, Mother of all, my whole body aches.

"Come on, we're friends." Fima pats my shoulder and winks at me.

"And where are you guys going?" I hear Ailes' cheerful voice coming from behind me. We all flinch and turn around. The 'golden trio' typically occupies the third row. Today they're sitting right behind us.

"None of your business," Morrick hisses. "Mind your own business."

"Anything that touches Lua touches us," Stellare squints.

"Since when?" Morrick doesn't calm down. "He won't be your toy. Your magic doesn't work on him. Accept it."

"Never," Vox jerks his head. "We don't give up. Confrontation only heightens our interest. Mine certainly has. Lua, so are you going to tell me how you put up a protection against me?"

But I didn't put up a protection against him. I don't even know how to do that, but Vox keeps asking about it.

I'm so tired now that I just turn away and ignore them.

"Your hair's grown back," Ailes touches my strands, and I jerk my head.

"It won't work," I say calmly, turning my head to him. "It didn't work last week, it won't work today. You're not getting inside my head. And I don't like your touch. I don't like anyone's touch except Fima and Morrick, because they're the only ones who aren't trying to get something from me or win a stupid bet. Once again, I'm not interested in any of you. If it's easier for you to take no for an answer, I'm not interested in anyone here. Have I made it clear to you that you can't divide me, fuck me, seduce me, fall in love with me, or control me? And by the way, I'm on top, for that matter. I'm dominant, not submissive. If I do submit to someone, I'll definitely be crazy about that being and it'll only be true feelings and my equal partner. So, are any of you ready to give your ass to me?"

Before I know it, I'm hovering over the three of them, glaring at them angrily. In their eyes I see surprise, a little fear, admiration, and damn horniness. They're sick. It's like they're getting turned on by my refusals and my words. It's all useless.

"No?" I smirk snidely. "That's fine. So don't bother with me anymore. I'm more than happy to be friends if you want. That's all you'll get from me, nothing more. You don't turn me on, and your insolence, arrogance, and demeaning of others only annoys me. Do you hear me?"

"If they didn't hear you, Luappo, I certainly heard your words."

Oh, please don't. My eyes open wider with shock, and I turn around sharply. Seated a little on the table, Seraphus sneers derisively. A blush of shame immediately covers my cheeks.

"Sorry," I mutter, returning to my seat. I lower my head, wary of looking at Seraphus.

"Now that you're finished dealing with your personal issues, let's turn to the lesson. So, today we begin our study of creating illusory images and shapes. We'll start off easy. In the first half of the lesson, I'll tell you about the varieties of illusions in dark magic, and then we'll try to create the simplest illusion using your dark magic."

"So embarrassing," I mutter.

"Come on, you're not the first and you won't be the last. The most embarrassing thing, I think, is when a teacher fucks with a student," Fima snorts.

"I wouldn't mind having sex with Seraphus," Morrick giggles.

I roll my eyes and tsk, shaking my head, displeased.

"Are you out of your mind? He's our teacher," I remind him.

"And so what? It's not a crime. Desire is forbidden to be suppressed," Morrick shrugs. "But Seraphus is out of reach. He's unattainable. Everyone seems to have tried flirting with him already."

"Really?" I cast a glance at Fima, and she nods.

"Well, Seraphus is handsome. He's also very powerful, and that attracts every magical entity. And he's a demon, and they like rough sex and lots of it. Vox is an example of that," Fima whispers.

"But Vox is an incubus."

"He's a demon first and foremost. All creatures feed on sexual energy. But for demons, it's the sweetest. They can fuck a lot and for a long time," Morrick breaks out into a smile, looking at Seraphus' broad back as he writes material on the board.

"Are you in love with him?" I ask my friend with a sense of fear.

"No, of course not, but I like sex like the rest of us. And there aren't many people here I can sleep with. I'm a werewolf. I need a creature that can withstand my claws and my force. Elves are too gentle, like fairies. And they're whores. They fuck with everyone."

"Hmm, I don't understand this. Then what's the difference between elves and demons? They're equally into sex," I frown.

"Elves are often the bottom, demons from the top. Elves feed on horniness, demons feed on orgasms and intensity. Elves cum quickly, demons need more time. After sex, Elves want to sleep and look tired. Demons are full of energy and active."

"I see. Okay, let's close the subject," I take a deep breath, directing my thoughts to new material. But my mind is devious. It snidely reminds me that I'm not an elf and I might be the perfect partner for a demon. For Seraphus.

"What is it? Did our dirty talk turn you on?" Morrick smirks.

"Get off him," Fima throws the werewolf an angry glare. "You better take notes or you'll be begging me for my notes again later."

Morrick rolls his eyes and tsks, taking up writing. I glance at Seraphus and hold my breath as he stares straight at me. He didn't hear what we were talking about, did he? He did... oh, I'm screwed.