Evie stared at his dumb face, her smile quickly disappearing.
"Even when we are this close together, you won't pay attention to me? What are you even staring at?" She followed his gaze toward a blank wall.
"Is that wall more interested than the most appealing woman in your life?" She sighed and pushed him back, giving him one last look before leaving him alone.
'What the hell is that??'
A panel of ethereal light had begun floating three feet in front of Vicius.
[ Manic Codex: Version 👍︎□︎❒︎❒︎◆︎◻︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎ ]
[ Level 1: 0/100% Progress ]
[ Current Rank: D ]
[ Manic Corruption: 0% ]
[ Quests: Pending ]
'Right. Makes total sense. Of course.'
Vicius checked his surroundings to make sure no one was around and then slammed his head against a stone column.
'What part of this makes any sense?! There are no files about this in any historical documents available online!'
He rubbed his temples, flicking away the panel, which disappeared. At least he figured out how to make it disappear.
In reality, this didn't change his life very much; the only difference was the level counter. The smartwatches gifted at birth already displayed the Manic Meter that showed the purity of one's mana core. It also displayed their rank, but there were no such things as quests.
'Whatever, the spellcrafting club should be open by now.'
And he was correct. But to his dismay, Miss Luminary seemed to be interested in the club as well.
"Ah, little pup. Sorry, I mean Vicius. Are you here too? I guess you missed my aura already. I get it, its intoxicating!" She laughed to herself in an almost regal, annoying way.
'What is this girl's deal? How can someone be so prideful? Maybe I should just join the homebody club.'
But his body made no move to leave. Unlike his mind, his body stood solid at the uncomfortable encounter. It had gone through years of damage and training to reach this stage, so it wouldn't allow him to leave so easily.
"Sure, yeah. So you are a mage too?"
As if on cue to explain everything about herself, she puffed her chest out and summoned her wand out of thin air.
"Yes! The great Delilah- I mean, Luminary, am here to improve my light spells! The greatest magical element meant only for the greatest of mages."
She laughed with an abhorrent sense of pride that made bile rise into Vicius's mouth.
'The greatest my butt. I was the one who scored the highest on the physical and magic practical exams. Actually, where can I check the rankings?'
Vicius tampered with his watch and pulled up the rankings. It wouldn't be strange to see his name at the top. He had always been first in school. Theoretical, Physical and Magic had been his domain for as long as he could remember. So of course it wouldn't be strange-
"What the hell?!!?"
Delilah leaned over to look at his watch displaying the rankings.
"See, I am first. Number one!" She patted him on the back before turning toward the firing range.
Vicius struggled to stay standing, sweat leaking from every pore on his face.
'W-Well its fine…this is the top academy in the Empire. T-There is bound to be someone better than me, I guess….' He laughed to himself, making sure his soul didn't leave his body yet.
His eyes flicked to his second place, and he collapsed on the ground. Every facial muscle he had was fighting tooth and nail to not let any tears flow.
'I AM NOT EVEN SECOND PLACE?!? EVIE TOOK SECOND PLACE???'
His heart shattered. Metaphorically, he would be dead if his actual heart shattered.
Several minutes after and a dozen pokes of Delilah's wand finally got him to stand up. Trudging along to the target range, he aimed his wand forward.
Lethargically, he spoke his incantation. "Pierce, oh fire of the night lanterns." A blaze of heat whistled through the air before puncturing the dummy, lighting it ablaze like a puppet at a festival.
Delilah couldn't help but stare in surprise. She had not expected a commoner to know of the pierce incantation. It was one that consumed heavy amounts of mana, and it's practically only applied to duels.
"Hmm, interesting little pup." She swished her hair through the air and left the premises.
Vicius, however, was still bummed out, walking toward the cafeteria in hopes that food could quell his heartache.
It was not a matter of Evie being better than him. It was a matter of his not being the best. He swore to himself that he would be the strongest…after the incident.
"Hey man, what's up with the gloom-fest. If you want, I could share with you the girl ranking I made for this first year. I've caught a picture of all of them already." Rowan was giddy and easily excitable. Despite being a pervert, his heart was in the right place.
"I guess…but if Evie sees us, we are dead."
They both looked at each other and laughed.
"She is a scary one, haha." Rowan landed a weak punch against his shoulder.
'That's right. He is the reason I have to be strong. Along with Evie and my Aunt. Strong enough to protect them from everything. Everyone.' His smile melted into his face.
The cafeteria was quite full, but they managed to get a tray each and sit down in a corner. Looking over the files he built up, several figures stood out. An icy girl with white hair that could pierce the clouds with her gaze. One with ginger hair and cute freckles spread over her face. But the two centre pieces of the document.
Evie ranked second with her red underdye and cold exterior. They had known her the longest; they were inseparable.
And Delilah. The Luminary. The number one student of the first year. Brown hair with eyes that mimicked emerald gemstones.
"Why do I have a feeling this year will be full of hardships?" Vicius rubbed his temples, already in fear of what Evie might do if he talked to Delilah again.
"Just go along and enjoy the ride, buddy. We are blessed by the Empire's finest beauties." Rowan chuckled to himself.