New World - A New Beginning

"Hans Stil has been expelled from the Academy for physical assault," said Yu behind the door. Mia had been called up to give her final verdict, and it seems like she had chosen to finally let go of the family that mistreated her.

"Thank you, sir," said the girl, her voice slightly more projected than usual.

I recalled the events of the prior night. Hugo Liech's image had implanted itself within my mind, and I had been unable to hold myself back. If the boy in front of me had really been Hugo...

The door opened as Mia exited the room, her face appearing to be more colorful than yesterday. Was the relieved stress for finally moving on really impacting her physically to such an extent?

"Jay? What are you doing here?"

I had started walking in the direction of our next class as soon as I heard footsteps on the other side of the door, so it wasn't hard to make up an excuse that could cover my current whereabouts.

"On my way to History. We should get going or we'll probably be late," I said casually, Mia nodding affirmatively as she followed me down the hallway. Not a single word was said as we paced through the hallways filled with students.

I heard murmurs of excitement as students seemed to slow down around an entrance to a classroom. I stopped, looking over the shoulders of one of the kids.

"Wow, she's amazing, isn't she?" murmured one of the boys, his eyes shining in admiration and his cheeks flushed with color.

A brief flash of white hair fluttered in my vision, a familiar aura resonating with power.

Oh, it's Asthia, I thought, chuckling. I knew she would be popular amongst the boys at the Academy, but causing a widespread traffic jam was something even I hadn't anticipated. The dragon girl looked at the small crowd, her eyes searching for the familiar presence she was sensing.

Slight disappointment spread across her face as she continued down the path, being unable to locate the individual that she was able to sense through her link.

"Princess Darck is amazing," said Mia. I raised my eyebrows, surprised the girl had taken an interest in Asthia. Did she want to become friends with her?

"You should talk to her," I suggested, a reasonably simple task in my opinion. I had managed to become friends with Mia, if I could do it, then Mia definitely could too.

Wait. We were friends, right?

"I don't have any classes with her," responded Mia, attempting to back out of the task. I smirked, realizing what she was doing.

"She's in the advanced bind class, you know?"

"S-She is?"

I had expected Mia to be aware that Asthia was an infernal user, but there could've been complications that didn't allow her to spectate Asthia's match.

"Yea. An infernal binder. I saw her entrance match."

"Infernal? I heard it was almost as rare as lightning!" exclaimed Mia, excited about the discussion. I laughed, surprised that the girl was so engaged over such a subject.

We entered our designated classroom, taking our seats right before the teacher entered the room. Murmurs became silence as the teacher settled down at the front of the class, preparing his material.

"Ok class, we'll be continuing with the Battle of Veron," announced Mr. Robin. The rather slim beastman was an elegant man, his spectacles reinforcing his image of infinite wisdom.

According to Mr. Robin, the triple alliance had held a final front at the village of Veron. It was a battle that turned the tide of the war in the alliance's favor, ultimately leading to the crushing defeat of the Dragonkin.

"The Dragonkin engaged with full force, sending their main army straight into the village and trying to capture the checkpoint," continued the teacher, his students struggling to keep up as their hands swept across the notebooks at blinding speeds.

I had never found the need to take notes during lectures. Back on Earth, if something important came up and you happened to overhear, you either immediately memorized it or missed a golden opportunity. I had learned to filter information, my mind retaining what it found useful.

Mia was slouched on her desk, her eyes once again looking off into the distance. I was still unable to tell if she was paying attention or if she didn't care about history, but her behavior during classes wasn't very appreciated by the teachers.

"As you all know, the dragon militia were all equivalent to the power of a B-rank adventurer at the very least. Their soldiers, clad in ox metal, were completely impervious to anything that the alliance's army could muster," said Mr. Robin, double-checking his own notes as he looked up to check on how the class was doing.

"I'm guessing this didn't include Dwarves due to their superiority?" asked a student. I sighed at the question. It wasn't by any means a dumb question, but the smug tone that the student used was clearly to boast about the physical power of his people.

"Well, I do believe that a few dwarves were present at the front lines," said Mr. Robin, attempting to continue his lecture, "But you are correct Lik, the Dwarven army did arrive shortly after from the west. Do remember folks, the main fight happened in the south, meaning that when the Dwarves appeared from the West, the Dragons were suddenly surrounded."

Intensive scribbling echoed through the room, the rough texture of the parchment coming into contact with the branches grinding my ears.

"This is one of the main reasons why the dragons were defeated. That being said, Grand Emperor Wong, who was commanding the main force, still managed to overpower both armies with tactical engagements, and even though he was finally forced to retreat, managed to kill over 300,000 allied troops before withdrawing."

Some of the kids in the classroom clenched their fists in anger at the detail. The dragons had been portrayed as demons throughout the many years following the war, the atrocities and the casualties passed down from generation to generation, creating a never-ending cycle of rage and humiliation.

"And yet his descendant is attending this very academy," muttered the dwarf named Lik, his voice barely audible.

I knew this would happen at some point, but one week after the beginning of class was extremely soon. Uncertainty and suspicions were sure to grow amongst the students of the Academy, all of them linking Asthia's existence with the war that had ended centuries ago.

The Dwarves were especially prone to this kind of thinking due to their pride. The Dwarf I had faced on my entrance exam came to mind, his taunting screams echoing in my ears as I recalled the confidence that had ultimately led to his downfall.

I just hoped these guys were exceptions. If an entire race were to begin bearing ill-feelings towards the dragons, then another war was bound to start in the near future.