The day passed by. Sixteen students gathered back in the classroom after the conclusion of the assignment.
Isaac saw Magnus seated ahead yawning. Cassiopeia in a nearby seat had dark circles under her eyes. Many others were exhibiting exhaustion in their demeanor—an indication that the current schedule was tough to follow.
Leaning into his own seat, he turned his attention on Maren Solke, who walked in with a scrolled paper. Wordless, she walked up to the board at the front of the classroom.
As she pinned the paper on the board, its content was revealed to the class. It was the summary, the results of the assignment—the ranking board that listed the students from highest-earning to lowest-earning.
In the first rank was the name of Isaac—Isaac Nameless. Immediately, everyone's attention turned onto him. Magnus and Vesper, in particular, were looking at him in a clear confusion.
10 silver, 839 copper, 35 iron.
That was his total earning. The credit of 10 silver was clearly incorporated into the calculation.
Maren turned and faced the class.
"The money you earned is yours to keep. It constitutes the secondary reward of the assessment. Some of you may have already expected it."
She looked across the sixteen students.
"The primary reward—priority selection from the physical training arsenal—will be conducted this afternoon. What you select is what you carry into the combat-integrated practical sessions beginning next week. Depending on the circumstances… it may be difficult to swap weapons mid-training." A pause. "Choose carefully."
She opened her ledger.
"Isaac Nameless."
She then called Isaac. As he looked back, she picked up a pouch that was kept within her ledger.
"Take your load."
Isaac stood up and walked to where she stood. Silently, he received the pouch. It felt heavy. Based on the texture, there were ten coins inside. It was clear what was inside—ten silver.
As he returned to his seat, Maren declared, "This concludes the assignment. Class is dismissed until the afternoon bell." Without any further word, she then left, closing the door behind her.
There was a brief silence. Then, the room developed into murmurs as the students began to discuss about the posted results.
Sixteen names. Sixteen final totals.
Isaac Nameless in the first. Vane Abias in the second. Cassiopeia Terra in the third.
"…It looks like you had more going on than just the street performance," Remarked Cassiopeia as she read the board. She then yawned as she stretched, trying her best to keep her mind awake. "Going from ten copper to over ten silver in just a week is genuinely impressive. Around five silver was my limit."
"I didn't think you'd try this hard."
"Back to you." Cassiopeia smiled lightly, shaking her head. "But then again, I did see you perform once. It didn't appear that you were trying, but rather, enjoying the work."
Isaac reflected on his experience. Mirages, bubbles, cloud, children and adults—the memory was pleasant. "Perhaps I was." He returned to Cassiopeia, who was writing in her personal notebook. He returned his eyes on the board.
Lyra Aetherion in the fourth. Vesper Bardot in the fifth.
Vesper already explained his methodology. He assumed that Lyra sold "information" by leveraging her [Clairvoyance].
Randal Ursula—B-rank: [Monstrous Strength]—the man whom he exchanged a few words with, in the eighth. Magnus Ember in the eleventh.
Silas Fulgur in the sixteenth. It appeared that he faithfully followed his plan of gambling ten copper away, and ended up with none—indicated by the number zero written next to his name.
"ISAAC." He was then interrupted from a further observation of the board as Magnus then arrived, bewildered from the results. "What's that ten silver? First place? I thought you only earned…" Magnus then paused. Looked at the pouch that Maren handed to him. "Hold on a second. Is that the ten silver…"
"Yes."
"Care to explain?" Vesper, sitting on the edge of the table with his arms crossed, asked. Cassiopeia too turned to listen to their conversation, curious.
"Bounties." Isaac replied, taking Maren's hand-out of ten silver to him in public as an approval to share the information with others. "I recognized the exact faces that bounty posters depicted among my audience. Informed professors regarding the matter, and I was rewarded for it."
"…Huh." Magnus scratched his cheek. "Even the criminals took a liking to your performance."
"Bounties?" Vesper narrowed his eyes.
"Simply put, I got lucky. Should they showed up in your workplace instead, the first place would've been yours to take."
Vesper dropped his serious look, and shrugged lightly. However, such movement looked unnatural and rigid—as if forced. "It's not like I care much about the rank anyway."
"I don't know, Vesper. It surely looked like you did just a moment ago." Magnus nudged Vesper playfully, which he ignored with a sudden shyness.
Isaac and Magnus exchanged gazes. They realized that Vesper's behavior was related to Cassiopeia's presence just next to them.
"So," Magnus decided to change the subject, setting a new pace. "It's already the last week of the first month in this class. In a month's time, three among sixteen of us will be challenged by the top three of the elite class."
"What about it?" Asked Isaac.
"Eh… just saying."
"That was… rather random," Added Vesper.
"Isaac." Then, Cassiopeia spoke up. The three men all turned to her, although she was referring to only one. "I will be going first. Will you be at the fountain today for the lunch?"
"Cafeteria today."
Cassiopeia nodded, "I will see you there. With Marlene."
She closed her notebook, tidied up her space, and left at a leisurely pace, yawning on the way.
"Have you tried talking to her?" Magnus whispered at Vesper, whose entire body was rigid. "Hello?"
"I can hear you. No, I haven't yet." Vesper mumbled. "I mean, she is from House Terra. How can I—" He sighed. He then turned to Isaac. "How did you manage to get to know her again?"
"Same group for the class designation."
"Right." Vesper paused, "Lucky."
Seeing as there was nothing more to do in the classroom, Isaac stood up. As he did so, his eyes met Lyra's, who was seated some distance away—it appeared that she was observing him for a while.
She formed a smile. He nodded back.
"Will you two be having lunch?" He then asked Magnus and Vesper.
"Nope. I am going for a quick nap instead."
"Likewise."
"I will see you two on the afternoon then."
Having brought nothing into the room, the only thing to take as he was about to leave the classroom was the pouch of ten silver.
What to do with this…
He was nearing the door when a voice was heard from the back.
"First place. Great work." Silas spoke. He stopped his hand that was reaching for the door. Turned to face Silas who was seated next to the window. "Ten silver. In a pouch. How did you manage to bribe them?"
"Well, it certainly didn't involve any gambling," Isaac replied, which earned a chuckle from the other students who noticed this commotion—such as Magnus.
Silas snorted it off, unaffected. "Keep it up, Isaac. Keep being the professors' favorite lapdog. I am proud of you."
Isaac didn't blink, "Why, thanks for the advice. Did it come from your experience? Of being the lapdog of Fulgur Patriarch?"
Silas suddenly erupted from his seat. "What did you say?"
Seeing the escalation of the scene, Vane decided to step in, "Silas—"
Silas raised his hand up, which effectively shut Vane up.
"Silas Fulgur." Nonchalantly, Isaac continued, unbothered by the aggressive approach of the tall, muscular peer. Silas was someone whom he already beat once, after all. "Don't think everyone would accept your bickering. The world doesn't revolve around your egocentric ass."
"Bastard—"
"Wason."
Silas held his breath. His face went red, fuming in rage. Yet, Isaac stood calmly, playing with the pouch of ten silver in his hand.
"Are you seeking for a round two?"
The whole class was in silence, full of suffocating tension.
Silas glared at Isaac heatedly. The glare was returned with a casual stare.
Silas realized that the smaller man in front of him wasn't afraid of him at all—no, perhaps, Isaac wasn't afraid of him from the very start.
The memory of their duel resurfaced. Supercritical fluid. The shatter of glass heart.
If I were to fight Isaac Nameless again… will I win?
Silas clenched his hands. Gritted his teeth. His body trembled. In the end, he took a step back. He looked down, in frustration.
The class witnessed this. It meant much more than what it appeared.
Silas Fulgur, one of the five S-rank skill owners in the entire Aetherion Kingdom. Such a man backed off against Isaac Nameless.
What did this mean?
Isaac turned back and proceeded to walk out of the class.
As the door closed behind him, the class was still silent, processing.
"…Damn." Magnus whispered, exchanging looks with Vesper.
…
The lunch table had its established configuration by the time Isaac arrived.
Elara already present, two plates, the specific quality of someone who had been managing a week of combat class dynamics and had found the lunch table a reliable constant.
She looked up when Isaac sat. At his expression. At the iron charm visible as a slight weight against his pocket fabric.
"How was it?" she asked. "I heard about how the higher class had a week-long assignment."
"Eventful," Isaac said.
"You keep saying that."
"It's the word that summarizes the best."
She looked at him flatly, as if saying "Really?" with her expression. Eventually, she picked up her fork.
"The combat class ran a joint assessment this week. Simulated field triage conditions. Three days of it." She paused. "The A-rank students in combat class are genuinely exceptional. Whatever Silas did to their rankings, it didn't touch their capability. I assume that they will soon climb up to the elite class smoothly."
"That's plausible," Isaac said.
Elara then found the iron charm's outline against his pocket. She pointed it out, "You still have it."
"Yes."
"I gave that to you before the Rite." She said it the way she said things she still found slightly difficult to believe. "To be honest, I didn't think you'd still be carrying it with you... especially considering how you ended up with…"
"It's been handy," Isaac said.
Elara looked at him. "Handy," she repeated, with the register of someone who had received an answer and was trying to comprehend the meaning inside it.
Isaac returned to his food.
Elara looked at the charm's outline for another moment. Then at Isaac's expression, which gave her nothing further. She made the decision of someone who had known him long enough to understand that some answers would eventually surface on their own.
"Oh well, glad that you find it handy."
She picked up her fork again. Before she could resume eating, two more figures arrived.
"May we?"
Cassiopeia was with Marlene behind her. She settled across from Isaac with the ease of established habit.
"Hi again, you two. Feels like it's been a while."
Marlene followed—her tray placed with more confidence than it had carried at the beginning of term.
Magnus and Vesper arrived a moment later, having apparently also decided this was the table.
"I thought you two decided to take a nap." Isaac greeted them with a raised eyebrow.
"Afternoon involves physical training. Figured that eating matters more than sleeping at the moment," Replied Vesper. By his side, Magnus was trying to suppress his laugh as he looked back and forth between Vesper and Cassiopeia.
"Oh, you two!" Elara greeted them, "Long time no see."
"Elara! It's been a while."
"And this is?" Vesper referred to Marlene, who greeted formally.
"Marlene Raven of House Raven greets Vesper Bardot of House Bardot."
"Geez, that almost made me choke." Magnus said as he looked between Vesper and Marlene, "Don't you two already know each other though? You are both from High Noble households."
"Wow… noble stuff." Elara blinked, as if she just realized that she is eating with the very nobles of the Kingdom.
"Well… refer me to Marlene, if you're fine with me referring you as Vesper." Marlene finally said awkwardly, which Vesper nodded just as awkwardly.
Cassiopeia was busy writing in her notes. Isaac assumed that she filed the details regarding Magnus and Vesper.
Now, the new configuration of six people has been established. They ate in silence, awkward. Seeing this, Marlene decided to break the ice.
"By the way," Marlene said. "Did anyone hear about the Festival of Foundation?"
Elara looked up. "Oh, right. When is it again?"
"In three weeks. It's the annual celebration of the Kingdom's establishment under the First King." Marlene set down her fork. "It runs for an entire week, as you know. On the last day, a noble's banquet is held."
"They're still doing it?" Magnus tilted his head, munching as he asked. "I mean, a lot is going on right now."
"Of course they are," Cassiopeia said. She had closed the notebook. "The Kingdom holding the Festival of Foundation during wartime is a political statement. It tells the eastern front, the allied kingdoms, and Solari that Aetherion's institutional continuity is intact. Canceling it would signal more than the war already has."
"Exactly." Vesper expressed his agreement.
Magnus absorbed this. "I hadn't thought of it that way."
"Most people don't," Cassiopeia said. Not unkindly.
"Banquet?" Elara appeared curious of the last detail that Marlene mentioned.
"It's the additional custom reserved specifically for the young nobles from the age of fifteen to twenty-five." Marlene kindly explained, "It is the very royal family's banquet. Invitation only—Pillar houses, high nobles, select guests. It's considered the most significant social gathering of the year."
Isaac stopped eating as he heard the details.
The royal family's banquet. Invitation only.
He remembered the year before—the letter with the Valerius seal. The appropriate bell. The invitation letter in hand. The attendant at the door with the expression of someone encountering an anomaly in a checklist.
The reception requires attendance with a formal partner. Single attendance is not permitted for guests below Pillar rank.
The music audible through the closed doors. The other guests flowing around him.
The walk back… in solitude.
He had not told anyone. And he still hasn't.
"Isaac?"
Elara was looking at him.
"You went somewhere," she said.
"No," Isaac said. He picked up his fork. "I was thinking."
"About the banquet?"
"Yes," Isaac said. "Not a fan of drinking."
Elara chuckled at that, "Now that I think about it, I haven't seen you drink before."