The Beginning Of School Life

     As a gentle morning breeze drifted through my bedroom window, I heard the rustle of curtains drawing open, followed by delicate footsteps soft-stepping around my bed.

     “Good morning, Chelsea.”

     Waking up to Henrietta’s perfect face waiting for me was truly a blessing granted by the gods above.

     “I think I’ve fallen for you.”

     “W-W-What’s with that first thing in the morning?!” Her blushing face was way too cute.

     Wait! What on earth am I saying so casually?!

     “Uwah! ...Good morning, Henrietta.”

     “Were you daydreaming again?”

     “Yeah...”

     There was definitely something wrong with me. Henrietta had become my very first friend at the academy—and honestly, my first friend in a really long time. Before enrolling, my only human interactions were with my family and the livestock back on the farm. Even so, I couldn't recall ever having these intrusive thoughts about my childhood friends.

     Maybe I'm just not used to being around someone this pretty.

     Yeah, that had to be it.

     My daily routine with Henrietta was pleasant, to say the least. She was a bit of a stickler for the rules, but she never hesitated to help when asked, and she was always respectful of my personal space.

     She was the one who woke me up every morning, which did wonders for my punctuality. She was also the one who guided me through the academy’s maze-like hallways until I finally got my bearings.

     Honestly, I was becoming so dependent on her that I had started to feel like a nuisance.

     On the flip side, I felt like I was beginning to understand her a little better. She reminded me of the squirrels I used to watch jumping between the trees near my home—always bursting with energy, running around with relentless enthusiasm. Her brown hair tied into a bouncy ponytail only added to the mental image.

     “Hurry up and get ready before we’re late. Today’s the day our practical classes finally start!”

     I had been eagerly awaiting this day. Ever since my first week at the academy, I had been suffering through the theoretical lectures. Ye Xian-sensei was definitely not taking easy with me. Every single day, I was flooded with endless information, abstract magical concepts, and historical mages whose names were an absolute nightmare to memorize.

     At its core, magic was nothing more than an advanced form of meditation. Any human could meditate to feel the mana flowing through their body, but learning how to control it—that was the hard part.

     Once you mastered mana control, all you needed was a grimoire to channel that energy outward.

     "Read with your body and soul." It wasn't as if simply chanting magical words would trigger a spell. You needed intent, imagination, and focus.

     Even if you stumbled over a word in the middle of an incantation, the magic could still activate; it just wouldn't perform at its maximum potential. Magic wasn't a system of rigid gears that had to fit perfectly together. It was more like a complex machine—even if a screw was loose, as long as it kept running, it worked.

     When I accidentally cast Thunderbolt, my core intention had still been to launch an attack. That was why the magic manifested as an even stronger spell.

     According to Ozwald-sensei, who had been watching the duel from afar, my breakdown was that I had essentially "bypassed" the grimoire's rules. The spell I had attempted to read was a simple lightning attack, but the sheer volume of mana I poured into it was far beyond what was required. That combination of overflowing mana coupled with reading the word Thunderbolt forced the magic to take the form of the actual Thunderbolt spell itself.

     I tried replicating that magic later at the academy training grounds, but with zero success. It seemed to have been a one-time phenomenon born entirely from the heat of the moment.

     At the very least, I had managed to master Thunderball.

     I was also getting used to my grimoire. Everything written inside read like a long, fantastical story told through rhyming verses. Despite its length, the story only took up half the grimoire, leaving the remaining half as blank pages.

     During class, Ye Xian-sensei had been reviewing what they called "essential spells"—short verses containing utility magic, like the one she used on the battlefield during my grimoire duel. There were others too, like "Kindle Firewood," "Teleport Back to Academy," and "Reduce Runny Nose During a Cold."

     Once you learned a spell, you could write its incantation onto the blank pages, making the magic officially yours. Grimoires contained spells unique to each individual, but generic utility magic could be learned by anyone.

     Despite my reading struggles, I hadn't caused any accidental explosions with those yet.

     I remembered the day I was taken to claim my grimoire like it was yesterday. A few days after my acceptance into the Academy, Ozwald-sensei had brought me straight to the library.

     “It's time for you to find your lifelong best friend as a mage.”

     “Best friend?”

     “A mage's grimoire is always their best friend. It will accompany you throughout your entire journey. You can't just swap grimoires whenever the mood strikes.”

     “And what happens if I lose track of it? Or worse, if it gets destroyed somehow?”

     “Oh, don't worry about that. You can trust these little guys. If you ever lose it, it will always find a way back to your hand. And despite looking fragile, they're built to withstand physical trauma and are immune to most elemental damage. They're practically indestructible.”

     Ozwald-sensei guided me through an arched doorway etched with sacred runic script.

     “Welcome to Alexandria.”

     Stepping through the threshold, I finally laid eyes on the real library. Towering, endless bookshelves stretched out before me, packed with grimoires of every imaginable color. The concentration of mana in the air was so dense it made the atmosphere feel physically heavy.

     “Feel free to explore as much as you like. Every grimoire here is waiting for a master. Take your time and choose whichever one speaks to you.”

     It wasn't as if I had anything specific in mind.

     “What happens if I can't find one?”

     “Don't worry. Even if you don't, it will find you sooner or later.”

     For minutes, I simply aimlessly wandered through the aisles, admiring the grimoires, picking up a few that caught my eye, but feeling nothing special from any of them.

     That was when a sharp chill ran down my spine. My immediate reaction was to assume it was just the draft coming from a high window. Grabbing a nearby rolling ladder, I decided to climb up and shut it.

     As I balanced myself to reach the window handle, I rested my hand against the top shelf for support.

     Another shiver shot up my spine... and then I lost my footing and fell off the ladder.

     Flipping my body mid-air like a cat, I managed to land clean on my feet. Down with me came something else—a grimoire. It had simply tipped right off the shelf when I lost my balance.

     It was almost stupid. When Ozwald-sensei said "it will find you sooner or later," I hadn't expected it to be so literal.

     There it lay on the floor: a simple leather cover dyed a faded crimson that had dulled with time, completely lacking any flashy decorations or ornate details.

     Its unpretentious appearance matched me perfectly.

     *****************************************************************************

     “Alright, organize yourselves into groups of four,” the professor ordered.

     Normally, this would be the exact moment I’d be agonizing in some quiet corner, praying someone would have the courage to invite me. Fortunately, that was no longer an issue.

     With a single exchange of glances, our group was already set.

     “I expect that after two weeks of classes, you are all ready for the basics of actual combat,” Ye Xian offered our class a faint smile. “Though in truth, I know you're all just itching to test out your magic.”

     Looking at my classmates' eyes, I could see the sheer restlessness to try out what was "unique" to their respective grimoires. It was more than just a school assignment—it was a chance to show off without being judged.

     “Your objective for today's practical lesson is very simple: assist in culling the slime infestation in the fields west of the city.”

     “Slimes?” someone chimed in.

     “Do not underestimate them. They may be harmless individually, but an outbreak is still a trouble.”

     I had never witnessed a full-blown "infestation" before, but they would occasionally pop up around the farm back home. My grandmother used to set out scented bait to keep them away.

     “We are currently in the rainy season. This time of year, the lakes and rivers to the west absorb a massive influx of elemental energy, resulting in a spike in slime spawns. Slimes are excellent targets for your training—they aren't aggressive, acting essentially as little damage sponges.”

     “Isn't dealing with infestations someone else's job?”

     “Sayoko, handling the people's problems is a mage's job,” Ye Xian replied smoothly. “Whether it's slaying high monsters or clearing low-grade slimes, someone has to do it.”

     So in the end, this really is community service.

     “You are not required to exterminate them entirely. Each of you must bring back ten slime cores. There is no need to go beyond that number just to show off—and bringing back anything less is strictly out of the question.”

     Ten... seems like a reasonable number.

     “More importantly than running wild testing your spells, you need to learn teamwork. This is a group effort, not a solo mission. Take this time to get to know your teammates and learn how to combine your abilities effectively.”

     My teammates...

     Now that I thought about it, everything I had talked about with them so far was limited to daily pleasantries and personal preferences—things like "What's your favorite food?" or "What kind of clothes do you like to wear?" Most of our free time had been spent listening to Sayoko’s stories about what life was like back in Azuma.

     Henrietta was practically bouncing out of her seat. “Chelsea, Sayoko, Jane! Let’s do our best! This is gonna be our very first victory together!”

     A joint mission, huh? I like how it sounds.