"Huff…"

Cæ heaved a deep breath, gazing out the window of his bed.

The orange light of the setting Sun was smudged across the dark blue of the evening sky. He had slept for several hours straight in a dream that merely felt ten minutes long. The air in his room has a chill to it; signs that winter had already arrived in all its cold.

Despite sleeping for several hours, he was a little groggy, although he felt quite physically recuperated. He quickly got up, taking his clothes off as he headed into the toilet to take a shower and get rid of the icky sensation of sticky, dry sweat across his entire body.

FSSS…

The warm water of the shower washed across his body, spreading relief as he rubbed the soapy liquid across his entire body. His stormy, gray eyes grew hazy as he fell into thought about what Lilia had said to him in his dream.

He couldn't stop an uncharacteristic bittersweet smile from appearing on his face.

"…It sounds exactly like something she would say."

She was often ruthlessly pragmatic and almost materialistically cynical when it came to personal relationships for reasons he never entirely understood, but found refreshing and even entertaining nonetheless.

'Love is an illusion, you know?' she would tell him, 'it's just an evolution of lust and compassion through our growing intelligence, if you ask me. But if you ask me if I love you, I would say I am deeply bought into the illusion.'

It was ruthless.

Yet, Cæ would often smile with amusement at those words. 'I suppose I, too, am deeply bought into the illusion, then.'

Steam emerged from his body as he simply found himself immersed in memories of old in the time that he had spent with her. From the first day they had met in Selvig's Ristorante, to their very final day together.

He had much to remember.

He had much that he didn't want to forget.

He heaved a deep breath, shaking his head as he turned off the shower before wiping himself dry with a towel, pondering the words that she had said to him in his dream.

He knew that what he was doing was probably not healthy by any means. To be so obsessed with someone he loved who had died, only to find refuge in a recreation of her in his dreams.

And yet, he found himself eerily comfortable exactly where he was.

The thought of trying to forget and move on was painful.

Even reminding himself that she was gone was painful.

He had simply drowned himself in things to do so that he wouldn't be confronted with this reality on a day-to-day basis. He drowned himself in the two agendas that he had dedicated himself to with a determination born from anger and hatred that he buried deep inside him, while his rage.

It helped him cope.

It helped him fill the void in his heart with a fearsome fire.

And no matter what he thought she would say to him for this, he grit his teeth and continued about what he had to do.

He heaved a deep breath as he put on some casual clothes.

A simple white shirt with a light blue overshirt and some pants, along with the only pair of shoes he had cared to buy before moving into the Elendir Institute of Magic more than a year ago.

CLACK

He opened the door of his dormitory room, stepping out before locking it closed.

"Look, it's him…!"

"I can't believe he won the selection process!"

"He even beat Virlyd…"

Murmurs from students hanging about their dormitory rooms drew his attention. He didn't even need to hear what they were saying to know what they were saying, for it was evidently obvious by the glances that everybody stole from him.

Many looked like they wanted to approach him, but were too nervous and intimidated by him to actually do so. His solemn demeanor, his intense dichromatic, gray eyes, and the scars across his face and neck simply gave him a chilling air.

His performance and victory in the selection process also simply added to the weight of his presence. He had always been quite unapproachable, but in recent times the problem had gotten much, much worse, making students hold their breaths every time he approached them.

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STEP

STEP

STEP

The hall grew silent as Cæ walked past the students who parted ways to accommodate him.

He simply ignored them as he made his way out of the dormitory block, enjoying the chilly breeze brushing past his warm body as he gazed at the darkening sky of dusk.

"Did you see that?!"

"She beat him up without magic! That's crazy! People from the slums are built different!"

"She wasn't able to get past the second round, though. I'll say she's got courage for even participating."

"True, the girls in our school hate her guts, but even the girl that she faced was terrified of her."

"Did you see Delilah trying to pick on her before the game even started…?"

A crowd of younger students walked back to the Apprentice Dormitory Block as they loudly chattered.

"Ah…" Cæ's tone was one of realization. "Right, the Apprentice Vertir Combat Selection finals were also today."

All competitions of the Magic Contest were divided between the Apprentice Division and the Senior Division, and while the Senior Division was regarded as the most relevant, as it consisted of students who were much closer to graduation and entering the magic labor market.

"Hey."

Cæ's calm voice caused them to freeze, slowly turning around while their expressions grew pale with recognition.

"Who won the selection process of the Apprentice Division?"

The students gulped. "A girl called Norn Milyle, sir."

Cæ's eyebrows knit as he pondered the name. "Ah… I remember fighting her last academic year in the final combat exam."

He had beaten her, of course. She had been among the strongest students that he had fought among the apprentice students.

His attention returned to the group of boys returning to their dormitory with inquisitive eyes.

"The girl you mentioned," he continued. "The one who fought without any magic. Was that… Vloria?"

They nodded as their expression lit up with amazement. "She participated in the selection process even though she couldn't even use magic yet!"

Cæ huffed lightly, shaking his head.

While Vloria was the most talented student among the freshmen, she had just begun learning magic less than two weeks ago. It was nowhere near enough time to possibly learn magic in time to use it in the selection tournament.

And yet, she had participated anyway, just to partake in a legal fight.

'She must have been itching to throw hands.'

"She actually managed to win the first round, you know?" The boys laughed out loud, shaking their heads. "She just rushed in so fast and furiously that the boy fighting her froze where he stood, casting his magic circle too late."

The apprentice students were still very new to magic and had not overcome the fight or flight response in combat. Seeing a furious Vloria charge forward like a frenzied bull was probably enough of a shock for some of the more inexperienced and nervous students into momentary inaction.

It was more than enough for someone like her to get her hands on them and beat them up ruthlessly. In fact, knowing how weak the apprentice students were, Cæ was surprised that she didn't go further, but perhaps that was asking too much without magic.

"Thanks."

Cæ left the boys to their own devices as he headed towards the magicademy cafeteria.

He was starving.

He hadn't eaten anything since a light amount of food more than an hour before the fight began.

The cafeteria was filled with students who had just come back from the apprentice final round, occupying the large tables across the spacious cafeteria. Their boisterous noise filled the entire air, filling it with excitement. The students had gotten to experience thrilling battles between the best at both programs in the magicademy.

The cafeteria itself was able to accommodate all of them at once, allowing every student to partake in it simultaneously, if need be. Its extravagance was also on par with premium restaurants, courtesy of the insistence of the thirteen great families of Elendir, so as to ensure that their children would not have to compromise their living standards.

STEP

From the very moment he set foot in the cafeteria, he drew attention from all the students, who immediately turned towards him with pointed gazes. The entirety of the cafeteria grew silent as they simply gazed at him with various expressions.

Some gazed at him with admiration, while others gazed at him with resentment, having lost money betting on Virlyd.

"Cæ!" Kelton boldly called out to him from across the cafeteria, standing and waving at him to draw his attention. "Come here, we saved you a seat!"

At a table of four, there were Kelton, Natana, and Melia, seated at the table with food before them. They were pleasantly surprised to see him, having expected him to be asleep the entire day.

Cæ simply walked over to them, ignoring all the attention on him as he took a seat at their table.

"You missed the apprentice selection process!" Kelton exclaimed.

"I'm sure he was tired," Natana chided Kelton, before turning to Cæ with an affectionate smile. "How do you feel, Cæ?"

"Better." He replied with a lukewarm tone.

"You seem really out of it," Melia murmured, turning to him beside as she gazed at his face properly. "You should have gotten more rest if you're not feeling that good."

"I'm alright, just a little tired, not to mention hungry," he replied absentmindedly.

It wasn't long before he was gorging on plates of food all at once while the three of them simply watched him with a hint of surprise.

Cæ made it clear that he wasn't in the mood to talk.

Their questions also affirmed that he really was feeling drained in a way that he just wasn't in normal circumstances. Usually, sleep was nourishing, especially if he dreamed a pleasant dream, but this time it had drained his spirit, making him feel lethargic and unmotivated.

It was perhaps the first time since he had resolved to achieve his ultimate ambition that he had felt this sapped and unmotivated.

"Are you really ok?" Natana raised an eyebrow.

Cæ heaved a sigh. "Just… tired. Tired in a way that I haven't been in a while, I suppose."

He had a lot of things on his to-do list.

He needed to do research for the heart-healing surgery business idea that he had recently gotten and figure out more about how healthcare infrastructure and architecture worked. He also needed to continue training on his magic while also making sure that he was updated on Trinity Housings, making sure to stop by the office every alternate day.

On top of that, there was Professor Zymshire's martial magic training each day.

Each of these was taxing and required him to truly exert himself continuously each day for… well, the entire year. And he was sure that even after the year was over, he would likely fill the empty slots of time with something productive.

He heaved a deep breath, trying to steel his will and prepare himself for the inevitable burdens that he would be subjecting himself to from that day forth, regardless of whether he got accepted as the combat representative of the Elendir Institute of Magic.

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