Aslan was walking.
Since the second semester began, the nobles have always ranked last… with the commoners just one step above them.
After all, nobles were used to having servants do everything for them.
And now? They have to handle things themselves — tasks they've probably never even seen before, let alone done.
As for first place?
It's always a fierce battle between the Knights Circle and the Beastman Circle.
and This project is the perfect opportunity for me to be hated. Aslan smirked.
A golden chance for everyone to hate me even more.
What a blessing. Truly living the dream.
As for first place?
At Night.
Aslan's group had quietly slipped into the deep forest.
They had been searching for ingredients for quite a while now.
So far, they had only managed to find two.
Suddenly, they heard movement behind the bushes. Everyone lowered themselves quietly.
From between the shrubs, Kiade's group appeared.
"Knights Circle."
They all thought it at the same time… in mutual disgust.
Both sides looked surprised to see each other — caught off guard, exchanging cold glances like rivals meeting in a duel.
"Why are you here?" Kiade asked.
"Well, for stargazing… just like you guys," Aslan replied with a mocking smile.
Kiade clenched his teeth, irritated.
But then his gaze shifted — spotting a glowing white flower peeking from the base of a tree.
Aslan's gaze followed.
He saw it too.
The moment Kiade lunged forward to grab it, Aslan moved faster — snatching it right before him.
Kiade stumbled and fell to the ground, glaring at Aslan in anger.
"Bastard! Give me that flower — I saw it first!"
"But I picked it first," Aslan answered, completely unbothered.
Kiade stood up, brushing twigs off his cloak. His eyes shifted to Alice, who was holding their gathered ingredients.
He smirked in a taunting tone.
"So far you've only got Dew of the First Drop and Flameleaf Herb? How sad."
"If you want, I might be generous and give you Stardrop Resin… in exchange for that flower."
Aslan thought for a moment. "Hmm…"
From behind, George whispered,
"Don't do it, Aslan. That flower you're holding? It's Lunaris Bloom. It only blooms once a year — and only under moonlight."
Kiade's eye twitched.
And just then—
Crunch. Rustle. Footsteps.
Dozens of footsteps echoed through the forest behind them.
The two groups froze again — then peeked through the bushes.
Glowing bones. Hooded robes. Cold blue flames inside hollow skulls.
They had come to catch rule-breakers in the forest.
Both groups glanced at each other.
Silence.
Then — panic.
They all turned and bolted to the left side of the forest like their lives depended on it.
(Because, to be honest… it kind of did.)
Aslan's group quickly switched paths and darted straight ahead — running for their lives.
Their hurried footsteps echoed loud enough to catch the attention of the skeleton knights.
The knights turned and started heading in their direction.
They didn't see us… they're just chasing the sound, Aslan realized.
An idea popped into his head.
"Alice," he said while running, "can you make a small explosion? Something loud?"
"Yep."
"Great. Aim it toward Kiade's group."
Alice looked confused but didn't question him. He flung a quick blast toward the left — in the direction Kiade's group was running.
BOOM.
"ASLAN, YOU BASTARD—!!" Kiade's angry yell echoed.
But before he could finish yelling, the skeleton knights heard the blast and instantly turned, charging toward him instead.
Aslan sighed dramatically.
"Phew. They took the bait."
He grinned.
They slowed down near a giant rock to catch their breath — panting and watching Kiade's group run for their lives in the distance, enjoying every second of it.
Man, why are they struggling so much? Just get caught already.
Aslan was laughing, clearly enjoying their suffering.
Hmm… they're too fast. If the knights lose track again, they might head back… to us. That can't happen.
Aslan stared ahead, thinking deeply.
Then he smiled.
From my previous school life, I learned one thing — if you want to win a group project, you can defeat your opponents by any means necessary.
Aslan raised his hand, aimed ahead of Kiade's group — and fired a small blast of magic into the ground.
Boom.
The earth cracked, forming a hole right in their path.
Kiade, too focused on running, didn't notice a thing.
His foot hit a rock — and the next second, he was airborne.
"ASLAAAN! I'LL KILL Y—"
Thud.
His head slammed into the side of the pit, and he disappeared inside with a dull groan.
Silence.
Aslan's friends watched in stunned disbelief.
Then — two more of Kiade's team members fell into the hole.
Thud. Thud.
Everyone stood there for a second, confused…
…then burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, the remaining members were scooped up by the skeleton knights and dragged out one by one.
Kiade was unconscious when they pulled him out. It looked like his soul had left his body. He was literally seeing stars.
All of them were being dragged away in an unconscious state by the skeletons.
Aslan burst out laughing — he nearly fell off the rock.
"I love this school."
"That's cheating," George said, trying not to laugh.
Aslan gave him the fakest innocent smile ever.
"In war and rivalry… all is fair."
Eiren raised an eyebrow.
"Pretty sure it's love and war."
"Shut up," Aslan grumbled.
Aslan walked up to the hole and casually picked up the pouch of herbs Kiade's group had dropped.
"Well... looks like we don't need to go ingredient-hunting anymore. Hehe."
Grinning, they quietly slipped back to their dorms like nothing ever happened.
The Next Day…
Everyone was busy brewing potions.
Alice was stirring a thick purple liquid in a large bowl, watching it swirl like some evil soup.
George sat beside him, carefully removing the poisonous parts of the flower and handing the clean pieces over.
Nyelle walked into the room, arms full of papers covered in chemical reactions and alchemy circles.
"Guys, here are all the formulas," she said seriously. "We need to follow them exactly. One tiny mistake, and the whole reaction could go wrong."
She pointed at a page.
"This herb here — we need to grind less than a pound of it. And do it like this…"
She began explaining in full alchemist mode.
Four Days Later
"Thanks, Nyelle. Because of you, our potion is almost complete," Aslan said with a smile.
"No… I didn't really do much," Nyelle replied, slightly embarrassed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Cael was mixing the potion steadily, glancing between Aslan and Nyelle, visibly excited.
Alice came over and leaned toward Cael.
"Turn off the flame after 15 minutes," she reminded him softly.
Then, she carefully added some black flower powder to the bowl placed near it and looked at Aslan and Nyelle.
"It's actually your work, Nyelle. You made the formula. It's the most important part of this potion," Aslan said.
Nyelle looked pleased and proud… for exactly five seconds.
That's when it happened.
Alice's elbow accidentally hit the pouch —
and the entire black powder spilled into the bowl.
BOOM!
The bowl exploded in a puff of smoke.
Thick mist filled the room, purple potion splashed on the walls, and everyone's clothes were instantly ruined.
Nyelle stood frozen, confused and panicked.
The rest of the group looked at each other... and then burst out laughing.
Even Nyelle, after a beat, exhaled and smiled.
"…Okay, that was unexpected."
An hour later, after cleaning up and wiping down the mess —
Aslan looked at the cauldron and asked,
"So... what just happened?"
Cael shrugged, confused.
"I was just stirring it normally, and suddenly — boom."
Nyelle furrowed her brows, clearly unsettled.
"No… This can't be. I checked the formulas again and again. I must've made a mistake somewhere."
Alice and Cael exchanged guilty glances. Finally, Alice stepped forward.
"Actually… it's kind of our fault."
"Yeah," Cael admitted sheepishly.
"The black powder... accidentally fell in because of Alice's elbow."
Nyelle's eyes widened for a moment. Then she sighed.
"Still… it's my responsibility. I should've double-checked everything."
Eiren walked over and said gently,
"Nyelle, it's not your fault. Accidents happen."
Nyelle gave a small, grateful nod, relaxing slightly.
"You're right. What matters now is… what do we do next?"
"It usually takes at least four days to finish a proper potion," Eiren said, rubbing his temples.
"And we only have one day left."
"And we're completely out of ingredients now," George added, slumping against the table.
"What are we supposed to do?"
Everyone fell silent, lost in thought.
Then Nyelle spoke up, a little hesitant at first.
"Wait… What if we try making a new potion? Using whatever ingredients we still have left?"
All eyes turned to her.
They listened carefully, considering the idea.
Aslan stretched and leaned back with a tired sigh.
"We'll figure it out tomorrow. For now, everyone — go rest."
The group slowly packed up and left the room, dragging their tired bodies back to their dorms.
Aslan stayed behind for a moment. He quietly picked up the bowl with the small amount of leftover potion and carried it with him.
Back in his room
Aslan quietly closed the door behind him.
Under the soft glow of the desk lamp, he pulled out a thick magic book — one he had found in the palace library.
All night, he sat at his table, flipping through its ancient pages, carefully marking down formulas and notes.
Beside the book was the leftover potion — just a small amount that hadn't spilled… and the delicate Lunaris Bloom flower, quietly resting.
At 5 a.m., Aslan finally leaned back in his chair, exhausted.
He sighed, resting his head against the backrest.
He turned to glance at the beds.
George was already asleep, snoring softly.
Aslan checked the time.
"Ugh. It's late. I should sleep too…" he mumbled, eyes barely open.
He finally stood, stretched, and made his way to bed.
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