Dominic flinched at the sudden noise.
The door slammed open hard enough to rattle the frame and the shout that followed was sharp with clear anger.
His body reacted on instinct. His shoulders tensed and for a split second his mind reached for his Signatures, ready to draw on them if needed.
That's because the boy who had entered looked aggressive enough to justify it.
He was tall for someone their age, broad-shouldered and solidly built. His hair was cut short and uneven, as if he trimmed it himself without much care.
His skin was tanned dark by long days under the sun, similar to his skin, but his arms were thicker and corded with muscle earned through labor or training.
He stood there with scowling face and fists clenched, breathing hard.
Then he noticed Dominic.
The anger drained from his face almost instantly. His eyes widened and his posture stiffened. He cleared his throat and straightened up.
"Ah, ahem. Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't know someone was already here."
Dominic relaxed, forcing his body to ease. He let the instinct fade and stepped away from the edge of the bed.
"It's fine," he said.
The boy let out a short breath. "I just ran into some spoiled noble brat on the way here! He thought he owned the whole hallway, and we got into an argument."
"I understand," Dominic replied. "Nobles can be infuriating sometimes."
The boy snorted. "Sometimes? More like most of the time."
That earned a small smile from Dominic.
The boy glanced around the room, looking at the three beds, desks, and wardrobes, then nodded to himself. "Looks like we're sharing a room."
"Seems that way," Dominic said.
"Good," the boy went on. "They wouldn't put a noble and a commoner together. That'd be a mess. So I'm guessing you're a commoner too."
"I am."
"Then we should be fine," he said, offering a hand. "Hopefully."
Dominic took it. His grip was firm but not aggressive.
"I'm Dominic," he said.
"Name's Sevran," the boy replied. "I came from Rovenfield, a small farming town. Nothing special."
"Youre a farmer?" Dominic asked.
"Yeah," Marcus said with a shrug. "I've been worked the fields since I could walk. Me, and my old man figured if we were going to break our back anyway, we might as well do it somewhere that pays off and usefull to others."
Dominic nodded. He lowered his guard completely now. Somehow he felt like there was good things about Sevran. He looked rough around the edges but honest.
"I think we'll get along," Dominic said.
Sevran grinned. His earlier anger to the noble brat seems to have already gone.
"Yeah. I think so too," Sevran said. "So what's your Bloodmark do?"
Dominic hesitated. Sevran's question lingered in the air. It made his thoughts tighten.
Talking about his Bloodmark was always difficult, even for himself. As far as he knew, it did nothing. No obvious manifestation or clear function for now.
But he knew that his Bloodmark was not broken like he initially thought.
Whatever his Bloodmark was, it was not broken or cursed no matter what Arcanists or nobles or other people said.
It had given him two Signatures. That alone was proof that something was there. He simply did not understand it yet.
More importantly, it felt wiser not to let others know too much.
He met Sevran's eyes and chose a different path.
"What about you?" Dominic asked instead.
Sevran turned away to place his clothes into one of the wardrobes, setting them down with little care.
When he looked back, a smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth.
"So you've learned to be careful already, huh?" he said. "Not jumping straight to tell strangers about your ability."
Dominic said nothing.
Sevran chuckled softly. "Hehej. Don't worry. Sooner or later, everyone in this Academy will know what everyone else can do. No point hiding forever."
He shrugged. "Then, I'll go first. My Bloodmark lets me talk to animals."
Dominic blinked. He had expected something physical like enhancing strength, endurance, maybe something combat-focused to match Sevran's build.
"Oh," he said honestly. "That's… nice."
Sevran laughed. "Not the reaction most people expect."
"It's just," Dominic said, choosing his words, "I thought it'd be something more battle-oriented."
"Who says it can't be?" Sevran replied easily. "Animals see and hear a lot. They don't lie much either."
That made sense.
Dominic nodded slowly. Then, knowing it would look strange if he stayed silent, he spoke.
"My ability lets me move fast," he said.
It was vague. Intentionally so.
Sevran studied him for a moment, then hummed. "Hmm… Speed, huh. You'll do fine in combat, then."
Dominic shrugged. "Anything that makes money, I guess."
Sevran grinned.
"Thinking like a proper commoner, I see. Me too," he added. "I don't need much. Just enough to live comfortably back home. Fix the farm. Maybe expand it, then have a wife and two kids."
They talked for a few more minutes after that. About what they saw so far at the Academy grounds, about rumors they had heard on the way here or how strange everything still felt.
Eventually, Sevran glanced at the empty bed.
"Where's the third guy?" he muttered.
Dominic looked as well. The room remained quiet.
"I don't know," he said.
After waiting a bit longer, they decided to step outside.
The moment they entered the corridor, Dominic stopped.
It was crowded now.
Male students filled the long hallway, voices overlapping as groups formed and broke apart. What surprised him most was that nobles and commoners stood in the same corridors, brushing past one another, sharing the same space.
They just did not share rooms.
Dominic frowned. He did not like that.
Even now, he could already sense tension forming in the air. Pride and resentment pressed together with no real barrier between them.
Conflict felt inevitable even when they had barely arrived.
"You're lucky fighting is prohibited here," a sharp voice rang out down the corridor. "Otherwise you'd already be dead!"
The noise cut through the hallway loud enough to draw attention. Several students turned their heads. A small crowd was already forming farther down.
Dominic could not see the center of it yet but he did not need to. The tone alone told him enough.
Sevran clicked his tongue. "Ck. I knew that this was bound to happen sooner or later."
He folded his arms, watching with narrowed eyes. "I'll probably end up in something like that myself soon."
Dominic let out a quiet sigh.
"Yeah," he said. "Me too."
The Academy had rules. But rules did not erase the pride of nobles and the resentment from hundreds of years of segregation.
Dominic sighed. "This will be troublesome."
—