After the first Fundantals of Magic class, William and Lía left without much conversation. The atmosphere still felt heavy: the stares, the whispers, the subtle mockery of the nobles, and the silence. For William, this was nothing; as soone reincarnated, the nobles’ attitude, like children giving soone the silent treatnt, actually made him laugh. He was only slightly bothered by the professor’s stance; he naively expected teachers to be neutral, but they seed to strongly favor the nobles. But now that they were finally outside the classroom, the atmosphere was lighter. People on the street didn’t pay them too much attention since they didn’t know who they were.
They both walked together towards the dining hall. Their magical collars emitted a faint green light, a sign that they were authorized to move freely through the academy’s corridors during class hours.
"That was interesting..." Lía finally said, taking a piece of bread from the floating plate in front of her. "The explanation about the nature of mana was more technical than I thought."
"And colder," William added. "I wonder if everything will be like this. Empty phrases spoken loudly for those without lineage."
Lía let out a brief, bitter laugh. "I don’t think the nobles even understand half of it."
"It’s possible they don’t, but I’m sure they’ll get help from their families to pass, so I don’t think they’ll care too much," William replied.
They both continued eating without much hurry. When they finished, William checked his collar before saying, "We should go get the books for the next classes. I’m sure they’ll help us a lot. We can’t afford to fall behind."
Lía nodded, feeling that the difference between them was imnse. If William weren’t by her side, she truly would have nothing to do in this place; it was as if she were just a burden, which she found truly terrible.
Without another word, they both headed to the library. The building was vast, with high ceilings and endless corridors packed with books. Although they had already co with Neri, this place was still truly impressive.
As they searched for their books, they noticed that the entire library seed deserted. Despite its size, there were few students. "Perhaps they’re in the upper sections," William calmly suggested.
The sections were identified with signs that glowed as if made of neon light, looking incredibly magical. Each shelf shimred with a different color, indicating the type of content: Green for Herbalism, blue for Spells, gold for Magical History.
They found all the listed books. William collected them and placed his own on the loan terminal. The stone on the counter flickered and accepted the checkout without issue. When Lía tried to do the sa, the stone vibrated and rejected the book.
"Not authorized for loans," a faceless voice said from the librarian’s floating rune.
"What?" Lía looked at William, bewildered.
"To check out books, you need the corresponding permission level," the attendant’s voice said indifferently. "Lower-ranked students can study inside the library, but not take the material," he finished before continuing to organize so books.
William frowned.
"Then we’ll study here," he said, taking a seat beside her. "You should go study in your room; I’m sure it would be better than wasting ti here with ."
"I’m comfortable studying here with you, don’t worry," William replied in the softest tone he could manage.
Hours passed as they read. Every now and then, a group of nobles would pass by and whisper, casting charged glances, but without approaching. The tension was thick, but it didn’t faze them. They studied together until the sun went down and the magical lamps began to light up, indicating that the day was over.
"Let’s finish for today. Let’s rest, as tomorrow will be a big day."
The next morning began with cool weather. The sky, covered by a magical do over the academy, filtered a faint, turquoise light. It was ti for the next class: Herbalism I.
The class was held in a living greenhouse. Magical plants hung from the ceiling, moving as if breathing. The aroma was intense, a mix of damp earth, sap, and flowers. The professor, a tall woman with a sharp face nad Silga rn, quickly established order.
"Today you will learn about the basic interaction between enchanted vegetation and alchemical substances. We will mix simple extracts with stabilized solutions. Those who make a mistake... try not to touch the mixtures with your unprotected body, or you will suffer greatly."
The room filled with the sound of laughter, although so students took the teacher’s instructions seriously.
"Now I want you to take the glass with blue sunflower plant extracts and carefully pour in the black lily roots."
Upon hearing the instructions, the students began working on their experint. Everyone took the materials and started mixing them. William and Lía worked together, precisely noting and mixing. But in a corner, three nobles whispered, looking at them brazenly.
One of them approached, pretending to trip. From his vial, a drop of black liquid flew directly into Lía’s container, who was stirring the extract at that mont.
The effect was instantaneous: the potion began to react, releasing a cloud of spores. Without ti to react, the spores enveloped her face. Lía scread. Her skin began to swell grotesquely, as if expanding under pressure. Her face beca swollen, red and bruised. The itching made her scratch herself in desperation.
"Lía!" William shouted, jumping towards her.
She ran out of the greenhouse, screaming and crying. William went after her, leaving everything behind.
Lía bumped into all the shelves as she couldn’t see due to the inflammation. William quickly caught up to her and carried her like a princess, running at full speed, dodging all the apprentices in the hallways.
Upon arriving at the infirmary, he kicked the door open, startling the nurses inside. Seeing Lía’s condition, they stopped what they were doing and quickly approached to examine her.
"It was an aggressive reaction to shadow sap; if combined with blue sunflower, it explodes into a cloud of irritating dust. It’s an inflammatory toxin. It’s not lethal, but it leaves marks if not treated in ti, and it’s extrely painful."
William sat beside her, holding her hand tightly. Lía breathed heavily while the nurses used spells to reduce her inflammation.
"William..." she whispered hoarsely. "Don’t do it. Please. Don’t do anything crazy."
"I’m not going to do anything...."
But his jaw was clenched. Inside, he had already sentenced three idiots to death.
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