Chapter 1: The Beginning of Second Year
LIGHT, fluffy clouds hung high overhead. But the skies over the Kingdom of Isea were the same unchanging gray hue.
Mia stretched, raising her hands high towards the sky.
Today marked the start of Mia’s time as a second-year student. She wasn’t a freshman anymore. And tomorrow was the entrance ceremony, which would welcome the new crop of first-year students.
Mia’s first year had been filled with thoughts of nothing but medicine, so everything else had passed by in a blur. She’d never really thought about becoming a second year. It’d seemed so intangible. But now she was one, and she finally had the breathing room available to start noticing the other second-year students.
Each of the four departments in every year group held forty students, making 160 second-year students in total. The academy ran for six years, so the entire student body comprised 960 students. Of course, there were dropouts, so Mia had heard that the current tally of students was around 900.
Mia looked around her, eyes widening with recognition as she spotted the slight-framed young man with the commanding aura about him. He had platinum-blond hair and verdure-green eyes. She’d always thought of him as naturally gifted, but his smarts were boosted by his efforts as a diligent student.
His name was Henrik Vigant, and he wore a blue tie neatly around his neck. The color of the tie signified his status as a medical student. His family operated a major medical clinic, and he was aiming to become a doctor to continue the family legacy. He was talented, yes, but he was also given to making sarcastic remarks. He had a very dry sense of humor when it came down to it.
As Mia’s feet kept propelling her forward, she was careful to avoid the steam-powered horseless carriages on the main road while making her way through the throngs of students. Off to the side, she spotted another familiar boy. This one had short, jet-black hair and bright red eyes.
But perhaps ‘boy’ wasn’t quite the right descriptor for him. He seemed more like a grown man with his tall stature and broad build than a young student. This was Mathias Weiss, wearing his trademark resting frown. No other student seemed willing to engage him in conversation while he was wearing it, and he wore it always. But Mia knew that Mathias had many different sides to him as well.
A figure crept up behind Mathias, giving him a hearty whack on the back. Mathias leaped into the air in shock, head whipping around.
“So we made it to second year! Good for us, right, Mathias?”
“It’s a miracle that you even made it at all.”
“Hahah! Did I scare you just then? Gosh, that was funny! You’re awfully jumpy for such a big lug of a fellow!”
The other boy’s smile was radiant, like sunshine.
Mia’s heart skipped a beat as she watched him laugh, utterly unconcerned about who might’ve been watching him.
His hair shone golden like sunshine, too. And he had eyes as blue as the ocean. This boy’s name was Felix—Felix Keyserling.
Mia found herself wincing ever so slightly as she gazed at him. He was almost too dazzling…
“Mia! It’s been too, too long!”
Felix suddenly noticed Mia then, catching her observing his and Mathias’s easy banter. Within seconds, he closed the distance between them. The expression on his face reminded Mia of a faithful dog rushing to its master’s heel.
Realizing that he was opening up his arms to enfold her in a hug, she took a hasty step backward.
Felix’s brows drooped down as he clocked her hesitance.
Henrik, the studious boy with the green eyes she’d spotted first, came over to join them.
“Long time no see…although, I suppose it hasn’t been long at all for us, right, Mia?”
“…Oh, I guess it hasn’t.”
Mia chuckled back.
“Hey! Hold on a minute, Henrik. That’s no fair, trying to sneak in an advantage with Mia!”
Felix was scowling. Henrik rolled his eyes and snorted air through his nose.
“Sneak in an advantage? I merely kept up with my studies at the library during the school break. Mia happened to frequent it daily, too.”
Henrik was correct. But more accurately, Mia had no home to return to during school break, so she had no other choice but to spend it on campus.
“Darn it…if I’d known, I would have come by as well…”
Mathias sighed with annoyance as Felix muttered to himself, chewing on his lower lip.
“Felix, listen. All this fawning is going to do your image zero favors, ya know?”
Mia nodded in quiet agreement with Mathias. Several of the nearby female students were watching Felix, their smiles twitching with confusion and disillusionment.
It’s a shame. He’s terribly handsome when he manages to keep his mouth shut…
Unfortunately, Felix was one of those super good-looking guys who ruin it for themselves with an overeager personality. In short, his looks suffered from his character.
Students gathered with their respective departments and years in the auditorium. They went through the various start-of-term formalities, followed by a few words from their respective department heads, and then the students dispersed.
Now it was time to prepare for the entrance ceremony that would be held the following day. There wasn’t a great deal to be done, though. The second-year students only had to assist with cleaning and decorating the auditorium and other random odd jobs like that.
After the work was done, Mia and the boys headed to the library for a meeting. They needed to discuss what their next step was going to be before classes got underway.
Felix cleared his throat before getting down to business.
“So, then. We’ve all made it through to the second year…”
“You made it, yes…by the skin of your teeth. Just don’t let your grades slip again. You’re done for if you have to repeat second year as well.”
Henrik interrupted Felix in a sobering tone of voice, which made Felix grimace.
“Don’t change the subject. Besides, I’m not going to repeat second year.”
But Felix didn’t sound completely confident about that. Henrik’s words seemed to have rattled him.
Ignoring Felix’s consternation, Henrik plowed on.
“Also, we’re not going to make much progress with you leading this meeting. Leave it to someone more suited for the job, in other words, me.”
Mathias nodded in agreement with Henrik. Felix turned to Mia, his big blue eyes seeking her opinion. She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile, but it was really just a tool to placate him with. Clearing her throat, she changed the subject back to the issue at hand.
“Erm, so then…last year we made it as far as discovering the source of the disease itself, right?”
Last year, Mia’s team had won the Special Award from the academy for the Grand Plan they’d spent the whole of first year researching.
Their thesis proposal, “Is Demon Claw Really Contagious?” had been accepted, and they’d even been awarded research funding.
Mia’s mom was currently sick with Demon Claw. Mia had studied like mad to enter the academy, all to try to find a cure for the disease. Now that there was a real chance that a cure could be found to save her mom, Mia was experiencing a rare oasis of relief. At least, for now.
The real fight still lay ahead, however. All Mia had really learned from a full year at the academy was the true nature of the disease itself.
Henrik nodded then, continuing where Mia trailed off.
“The root cause of the illness is the lack of magical energy in the body…”
Felix rubbed his chin, putting two and two together.
“So that means we’re looking to find a medicine that will cure this lack of magical energy in the body, right?”
“…”
Everyone fell silent for a moment. Mia was sure everyone was thinking the same thing she was—making a medicine which would supplement magical energy—how could such a thing even be done? She had no idea where to even start.
“But what is magical energy in the first place? How and where is it created?”
Felix tipped his head to one side, gazing at Mathias. Mathias was a mage student and had the strongest magical power of anyone present. Mia and the others had their own innate magical aptitude, or so it seemed, but none of them were on a level where they could actually use magic, like Mathias.
But even Mathias, with his great reserves of magical power, didn’t know the specifics of how such power worked. He, too, tipped his head to one side in confusion, mirroring Felix.