After the clock finally hit noon, Bryson Coldwater made his way over to his seat. One of the teachers guided him to the U class section. Looking around he saw that he was one of the first people to have arrived, what was more peculiar to him was that there was assigned seating with his name on it.

Bryson looked at his spot and saw that it was right in front of the others. Couldn't I be sat in one in the back and at a corner? He complained inwardly.

"Bryson Coldwater?" A female voice called from behind.

"Hmm?" Bryson grunted as he turned around and saw a woman standing in front of him. From her uniform he could tell that she was also a first-year student. She was a beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, but more importantly, Bryson recognized that face, if he didn't the dress would have.

"Oh, Princess Alvidor." He said to Mallory Alvidor, seventh child and third princess of the ruling Alvidor family.

"Bryson!" She said her face immediately brightening, "It is lovely to see you again. It will be wonderful for us to spend our school life together here."

"Right." Bryson said, he felt as though he needed shades with how vibrant Mallory was. When they met two years ago, she was a pretty girl, the past two years really caused her to change. Gone was that quieter version, replaced with this much more regal and confident look. There was this sharpness that she now carried with her.

"I don't see your name on any of the names here." Bryson said as he read the names of the seats.

"Oh, I'm not part of U class. I'm part of class N." She explained, "It's a shame but hopefully we'll still share some classes together."

"It's likely, there should be combined classes." Bryson said as he read a name, "Oh your brother is in my class."

"What." Mallory said tone completely changing from a bright and cheery one to one of anger, "Where?" She demanded.

"Uh… here." Bryson said taken aback by the change of attitude.

"He's sitting right behind you?" She practically growled when she saw the name.

"Uh… what's happening?" Bryson asked.

Mallory closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Nothing, sorry. All the excitement is getting to me, I'll see you later. It was fantastic meeting you again." She said giving him a polite curtsey as she seemed to storm off in search of someone.

"Ugh. I have no idea what's happening with my life anymore." Bryson grumbled to himself as he sat himself down and checked his Communicator as he waited.

About ten minutes later the seats began to fill up, Bryson was still head down focused on his Communicator when the girl from earlier, Anna Cherrywood, walked over. She paused for a moment seeing him sat right next to where her seat was.

As she carefully approached, she realized that Bryson was paying her no mind. Realizing that he wasn't going to cause her any problems she happily sat down next to him and looked up over to the stage. Standing at the front of the podium was an elf.

Blinking twice Anna had to make sure she wasn't seeing things wrong. But the pointed ears and lean body clearly indicated that he was in fact an elf. Elves were something that she had ever only read about and seen pictures of. Powerful beings they are classified as fairies and only a few areas in Strarth had any population of elves. Anna studied the elf with great interest as the elf was arranging his notes.

Bryson at this point also looked up and saw the elf. That explains the magic. Behind him Reynard Alvidor finally sat himself down and looked up at the podium.

"Oh cool an elf is Dean. They don't usually teach humans." He said observing the elf.

Bryson curiously turned towards Reynard, "Actually I've been meaning to ask you once I discovered that you were in this class Alvidor, U class is for students that are magic-centric. Last time I checked it was tradition for the royal family men to enroll in more warrior combat classes correct?"

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"Yeah it is, that's why I'm currently following the battle mage curriculum." Reynard answered.

"Battle mage? Those aren't common." Bryson said as he recalled what battle mages were.

Battle mage was a term given to those who attempt to train equally in both the arts of mana and physical training. Able to handle themselves just as well with a sword as they would a wand. It was a type of training that isn't often pursued for a few key reasons.

While in theory the use of magic would give an edge over pure warriors and make closing the distance towards casters far easier, reality often made things more complicated. While mana is used in both instances, they are usually applied in different ways.

A warrior uses their innate mana to make themselves faster and stronger. A spellcaster uses the mana within them to surround themselves with it to achieve the same feats. The two methods are not the same and can be a headache to try and balance.

Not to mention the main worry of trying to balance both aspects is the fear that a battle mage wouldn't be able to achieve their max potential for either. Leaving nothing more than a middling combatant. It is often seen as a halfway decent pursuit for the average fighter to pursue, not for those who want to make it to the elite level.

Still those who truly mastered the battle mage method make up the lack of depth with vastness. There are plenty of historical figures that became legends thanks to being a battle mage. It was also a key boon to adventurers and hunters, especially for those who run solo or in small parties where multiple roles need to be taken.

Besides the key concept of a battle mage being able to do anything was usually not lost on those who strived for greatness. Most nobles tended to have their training have some cross-training. Duke Coldwater made sure that all his kids had some knowledge of both martial and magical prowess, among other things.

Sable was a good example, even though she was going to be a swordsman, she still had a few purely magic-based classes. A few extra little tricks go a long way in the world of combat. Bryson while not taking any pure martial-based classes had plenty of teachings in other fields, mostly not by choice.

Bryson still has nightmares from having to survive up in the poles after being taught by the indigenous people. He also hates how to this day all those wrestling techniques are still ingrained into his head. If I have to do another backflip after duck walking, I will break someone's neck. He thought.

"Yeah, it's not going to be easy, but it was the only way that my parents would allow me to learn magic as a main focus." Reynard explained.

"Why did you choose to focus on magic?" Bryson asked.

"Let's say I was inspired." Reynard said looking at Bryson with a sparkle in his eye.

Bryson was about to ask for Reynard to expound further before something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. The crest over the jacket of another student, the Ducal Windblum family. The Windblums rule over land located in the east, evidently one of their sons was sent here as well.

Bryson had never met any of the main family in person, but he knew that his father had meetings in the past with other dukes. But why U class? Bryson wondered as the elf began his speech.

"Greetings everyone and welcome to The Academy of Strarth!" The elf announced, "I am the dean of this school, "I am Tranduil Levivian, as you can tell, I am an elf. You might know that elves rarely teach non-Faries, but your king made me truly believe in this school. He made me believe in your talent and potential and I look forward to spending the next few years with you all. May you do well here."

The crowd give some polite applauds and when they settled down Tranduil proceeded to continue his speech. He discussed a few things on school standards and a brief history of the school before he began to address a few students.

"This year we have many special students in the first year. Two of king's very own children, Prince and Princess Reynard and Mallory Alvidor!" He announced and gave time for some more applause, "Not to mention three of the duke's children are also here this year." More polite applause.

Three huh? Suppose the other one is sat elsewhere. Bryson thought curiously, he never really bothered to check who his peers would be. He knew that all three other Dukes of Strarth had children around his age, but he had always thought there was at least a year or two of difference.

The speech continued on as normal, the first-year student council was introduced and when Penny was introduced she gave a small, awkward wave. Bryson could hear a few whispers around him voicing displeasure of a commoner. It seemed that the girl next to him heard them as well as she looked around uneasily. Prestige means a lot here. Expected but talent-wise, it would be stupid to underestimate them. Bryson thought as he took a better look at the girl next to him.

She looked vaguely familiar, which was strange because he definitely hadn't seen her before today, maybe they passed by or something. But what was most interesting about her was the mana she had.

While Bryson had gotten better at sensing mana he still needed to concentrate in order to measure the mana levels of most people. For this girl however no focus was needed, she practically oozed out magic. It looked almost purposeful, like she was trying to brag how much power she had.

But Bryson doubted that, more likely it was due to her not knowing how to lower her presence. Any trained caster would know to suppress their mana a little as the excess mana can cause some problems. But she was here to learn, still speaking of potential she definitely fit it.

The minutes went on and as the speech eventually finished the dean told the students that they would have a meal provided by the school and some free time before meeting up for a quick tour. After the meal Bryson made his way to his room only to find that he was sharing it.

"You have got to be kidding me." Bryson grumbled seeing Reynard Alvidor move in with him.

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