The lounge was much quieter than usual.
Vitt and Robert were seated across from each other, playing Magical Chess.
This variant evolved from Capsule Monster Chess: each side had 21 pieces, and every piece possessed attack, defense, HP, skills, and a set number of movement steps per turn. You deployed pieces within your territory and advanced one per turn, eliminating enemies and ultimately capturing the opponent's fortress to plant your flag.
The brand-new set the two boys had jointly purchased—by borrowing 5 credits—featured miniature golems as pieces, intelligence level 0.5, capable of moving according to preset commands.
They could also sing, dance, and rap.
Vitt had ordered a mermaid piece to sing. He listened with a blissed-out expression.
Robert, meanwhile, had commanded a Medusa piece to dance, living his best life.
Not far away, Emma Metis watched them with a cold smile.
Two bottom-tier Saint Marian students.
Completely unaware that their good days were numbered.
Open-Air Duel Arena
A slender white dragon, so beautiful it seemed capable of breaking biological boundaries, coiled in the sky.
Its silver-white scales shimmered in the sun. Light gathered between its jade-like antlers.
On the duelist's platform stood Pandora Dragon.
Her languid posture blended so naturally with the dragon it felt like they were one being.
She leaned forward, elbows on the platform, chin resting in her palms, gazing lazily at the panicked opponent across from her.
Too easy.
Life lost its flavor when everything came too smoothly.
Only cute, shy little boys could still remind her what life was worth living for.
When she lifted her head again, her opponent had completely collapsed.
The stands erupted with cheers. Massive banners waved, bearing slogans too bold for polite society.
Pandora stepped off the platform and gave a casual wave toward the loudest section.
The crowd went wild.
She smiled, utterly charming.
Fourth-year Magister House student.
The Silver Dragon Maiden.
A duelist with an absurd number of fans.
Traveler's Street
Dragged around snack stalls all afternoon by Diana, Rose Flody slumped into a chair at an ice cream shop.
She rubbed her slightly rounded belly and sighed.
"Rose-chan… you really need to learn how to say no…"
But.
It was really sweet.
Youth moved forward in its own way.
And quietly, a little card game called Love Divination began spreading through the academy.
Diana shook a sakura-patterned card she'd gotten for free at a candy shop.
Cherry blossoms flew out of the card.
Literally.
Pink-white petals filled the air with fragrance. When they faded, the card would display the person most present in your heart.
"Did you get a result?" Rose asked.
Diana peeked through her fingers—
Her cheeks instantly flushed.
She quickly covered the card.
"Show me yours first!"
Rose sighed. "I don't have one. But I heard… if you channel strong emotions into the card after getting a result, it will show who that person likes. Want to try?"
"No!"
Diana shook her head—
While secretly feeding mana into the card.
She peeked.
Her face turned pale.
It wasn't herself.
Back at the library, Pandora gently touched the image of a blond little boy displayed on her own Love Divination card.
She began seriously considering whether the saying 'three years older is a treasure' might be true.
At a table nearby, Emma had a lily-patterned Love Divination card tucked inside a book as a bookmark.
She still hadn't used it.
On the next table over, a corner of a flower card poked out from Vitt's textbook.
Library Reading Room
Darc was deeply engrossed in Basic Magic Theory II.
The library didn't stock textbooks, but Madam Bella had lent him this second-year copy, supposedly left behind by a past student. It wasn't some priceless annotated treasure—just a regular book with class notes scribbled inside.
But those notes made the dry theory much easier to chew through.
From second year onward, Saint Marian's curriculum jumped in difficulty dramatically.
First year was introduction.
Second year was research.
Students who slacked off in first year would instantly fall behind and enter remedial hell.
Even Darc found it tough.
But his reading comprehension carried him through.
Soon, he reached a chapter titled:
Refined Production of Emotion Cards
First-year textbooks only covered simple emotion cards.
If he wanted to improve Pride-1, he needed something far more advanced.
He murmured to himself:
Array 7 → imprint emotionArray 13 → refine emotionArray 9 → amplify effectArray 18 → prevent energy leakageArrays 21, 33, 34 → enable repeated use
"So much depth… for a tiny emotion card."
Darc exhaled slowly.
Beyond arrays, refined emotion cards required support materials.
He glanced at his nearly empty credit balance.
Perhaps…
Asking Professor Kazel for temporary lab access
…would be smarter.
After all—
Who doesn't love free resources?
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
https://patreon.com/RogerTL