The first pieces of the board were set.
Now all I had to do was wait.
And by wait, I mean this…
'Where was the professor's meeting room again?' I thought, roaming in the corridors of the university.
I didn't know much about the academy, because by third year, which is apparently the second arc of the game, the relevance of the academy was…null. And I wasn't the one who modelled its structures either way.
'Ah- here,' Roaming around the academy, ignoring the countless greetings of students, I finally stumbled upon the professor's meeting room.
The meeting room was dull. Or maybe it's just me who's been visiting royalties a lot.
Lined with oak shelves, a long polished table at its centre, and high-backed chairs arranged around it.
Eight professors, including the headmaster, were already in the room.
'…' They all looked at me as I set a random file on the table, one I'd picked up on the way here. Doors behind me closed on their own.
'Is this my first time meeting everyone?' I thought and looked in front of me.
Across me sat a man in his fifties, lean, with dark red hair and black eyes. He wore a black suit with sharp red linings and had tattoos under his shirt that protruded to his neck.
Matthias Dane. Headmaster, and a clearance six mage.
This guy preferred Marcus over any other professor.
Despite having a rule that everyone in the academy is equal, no one is a noble or a commoner, Professors still favoured the children of noble families for obvious reasons.
Because the status of these children holds a significant influence outside the academy grounds.
Matthias preferred Marcus because Marcus had a habit of treating everyone as equal.
'Or that's what Ymir made them think, but he despised commoners,' I thought.
He'd see a child begging on the streets and think, 'What a fucking maggot,' instead of helping the little one.
"It's a fine morning, Professor Rile," Matthias spoke, leaning on his high-backed seat, as if to remind me that I might have forgotten something.
'Right…I didn't greet him, did I?' I thought.
"Good morning, Principal Dane,"
Matthias nodded and said, "So, I hear that there's a list of promising cadets who have enrolled this time."
"Yes, I did notice some extraordinary cadets…" The one who started speaking was a woman with dark red hair; she had eyes similar to Matthias's. Emma Dane, daughter of Matthias, who is not only working as his assistant but is also a professor of magic.
'This is boring…' I thought, playing with a pen that I picked up from the table.
They discussed about the enrolled cadets, and Darin's name popped up on their radar. Well, it was evident, he's a commoner, unique, and the main character of the game.
They kept on talking as I observed the rest of the professors.
Prof. Basil Thorne. History and the ways of war. He wore a velvet coat, a silver monocle, and perfectly gelled blonde hair. He smells expensive tea and books, believes war is an art.
Prof. Roxana Carrascal. Alchemy and Potions. Curly blue hair tied back with a leather strap. She gives off that 'Mad scientist and yapper' energy.
Prof. Jose. A commoner. Warrior. Square jaw, salt and pepper buzzcut, and a faded scar on his nose. A realist who survived countless life and death battles.
Prof. Jasper Mayhew. Beast and Demon Ecology & Behaviour. Lanky… has a spectacle that often keeps sliding down.
Prof. Harriet Schenkel. Language and Mathematics. Dark hair pulled up into a bun. Silver spectacles on a chain. A perfect definition of an ice queen, and Jose has a crush on her.
"What're your thoughts for the upcoming ranking matches, Marcus?" Matthias asked, suddenly.
I guess their conversation was over, and now the topic had taken a slight shift.
"Final Year Rankings? I thought they would be based on second year results…" I mumbled.
"Academy Rankings competition, not cadet rankings, the one that occurs every three years…" Emma replied to my mumbles, narrowing her eyes.
Well I'm trying my best to remember every single detail but these irrelevant events slip past my mind.
Like the detail of inter-academy matches to set the ranks clear. How am I supposed to remember that an event that occurs in later arcs of the game is repeated once every three years?
I thought for some while, tapping my finger on the table.
"I don't think we need to worry about anything, from what I've observed, third years are a decent lot," I spoke my mind.
And that was the truth. If I were to consider the levels of these children, I'd say they were doing impressive for their age.
The problem was with second year cadets, not third, fortunately they won't be participating in the matches.
"I guess, since it's Professor Marcus that's been observing them, there shouldn't be any problem," Basil Thorne spoke with a smile.
His words were honest but his smile had that mocking tone etched in it.
"Yes, I trust Professor Rile's judgement too, we should not be training our cadets because matches are scheduled to be in a month's time." Roxana chimed in.
"Instead, we should prepare them mentally," she added, swaying her bright blue hair.
Matthias sat quiet in the chair. Unlike the professors who already continued their meeting, him and I were having a staring contest.
It didn't feel intended. More like, both of us were lost in thoughts.
"Well, that concludes most of our open looped discussions, thank you for gathering here," Emma said as all the professors stood, while I still stared at Matthias.
'What am I doing?' I thought. 'He's not even beautiful,'
Sighing, I was about to stand up as Emma crossed past me and closed the door.
"May I have a moment with you, Professor Marcus?" Matthias asked. More like ordered, but his orders are mostly masked with questions.
"Why not," I replied.
"What's bothering you, Principal Matthias?" I asked.
"Marcus, do you have any idea of whose letter of invitation you had rejected?" Matthias said, standing up and walking towards me.
"What do you mean?" I asked. I knew what he meant. I did reject the invitation from fulcrum.
"Victoria Voss, heir of the Voss Dukedom, a clearance six mage, the queen of spirits and tower master of Fulcrum.", Matthias said.
"Well, I thought it was a scam, why would I be invi-"
"Scam!?" Matthias had that 'wtf' reaction. "No one in this world can dare to forge a fake invitation of Fulcrum,"
"You don't get it do you? Her summons are rare than royal decrees, and you just tossed it around as … SCAM invite?"
'Isn't he a clearance six mage himself?' I feel like he's overreacting now.
"Alright, I'll visit her, don't you worry about anything,"
"You won't need to…" Matthias muttered and looked towards his right, at the tall open window of the meeting room.
On the edge of the window was a woman with long white hair, golden eyes, two golden flowers tucked behind her right ear, a long white and golden dress that flowed to the floor.
"Nice to meet you, Professor," She waved slightly, greeting me, but the air moved around her with elegance in just a simple gesture.
Victoria Voss was already here.
'Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked…'