Chapter 13: School Life

Karina rushed back to continue struggling with her hair while Aresia surveyed the dormitory.

The layout of the double rooms was similar to that of the single rooms, with one side divided into two. The configuration on both sides was the same. The single rooms had a combined washroom and toilet, while the double rooms had a separate toilet and bathing area, one on each side of the door.

As Aresia entered, she saw the other occupant of the room still struggling with her hair at the dressing table.

Noble children rarely bothered with styling their hair with their own hands, partly due to their status. But these two seemed to have mediocre skills, especially when it came to complex hairstyles.

Aresia saw how flustered Karina was and decided to help. She grabbed a comb and quickly braided a fishtail braid – a simple hairstyle that she knew.

Karina was stunned by how Aresia knew how to style hair.

Aresia put down the comb and looked at Karina, who was still in a daze. She pushed her softly and said, “Let’s go. We should have breakfast now.”

She nodded to the other side of the room, and they quickly left the dormitory. Karina hastily caught up.

As they walked, Karina couldn’t help but blurt out, “Aresia, something feels different about you today.”

Aresia casually replied, “What feels different? I didn’t bother with a complicated hairstyle. It’s inconvenient at school.”

Since Aresia says so, Karina didn’t bother with it anymore.

After quickly finishing breakfast, they went to find their classroom.

The classrooms of each department were located in the main Palace of the school, with different building for each department. The Magic Department, with its smaller student population and specialized curriculum, was assigned to classrooms on the top floor. The freshmen was divided into two classes, each with around thirty students.

Perhaps by special arrangement, Aresia and Karina happened to be in the same class for Magic I. When they arrived, there were already quite a few students in the classroom, sitting sparsely and not very familiar with each other.

This was normal, as there were few students at the Royal Academy from Holy Lotean City. Only the Royal families, Noble families and wealthy individuals of the Holy Lotean Empire sent their children to the Imperial Academy to gain honor and connections. The faculty’s teaching abilities were top-notch, and the students were a means to cultivate connections.

The desks and chairs in the classroom were single seats, with six rows in total.

While waiting for others to receive their timetables, Aresia’s classroom professor, Mr. Alvin Wilson, introduced himself. He was a fourth-level mage and responsible for teaching their class Basic Magic and Necromancy.

After a brief introduction, it was Aresia’s turn to introduce herself. She stood up, reported her name, and said nothing more.

The introductions continued, and before long, it was time for them to go to the auditorium for the opening ceremony. Mr. Wilson reminded them to maintain silence during the ceremony, which would begin shortly.

“We won’t have classes this morning. Once the ceremony is over, we’ll be dismissed. Remember, don’t be late for your classes.”

Aresia received her timetable and carefully examined it.

The Royal Academy had classes from Monday to Friday, with five periods in per day. There are two in the morning and three in the afternoon. The first class started at 8 o’clock in the morning, with each period lasting one hour. There was a half-hour break between classes, and from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. was the lunch break. After that, they would have three more classes until 5 p.m.

The Magic Department had ten required courses for the new students, including Basic Magic, Necromancy, Potion Making, Alchemy, Basic Array Formation, Basic Rune Magic, Herbology, Magical Beasts, Magical Language, and History of Magic.

Aresia’s timetable showed that the first two periods in the morning were Basic Magic and Necromancy, both taught by Mr. Alvin Wilson.

Once someone received their timetable, Mr. Wilson led them to the auditorium for attendance.

Aresia noticed that the room had been divided into three sections: General Department, Warrior Department, and Magic Department. Aresia’s class, Magic I, had already finished attendance by the time they arrived. The room was sparsely filled, and Aresia quickly chose a seat by the window in the fifth row. From there, she had a clear view of the field, and Karina, being shorter than Aresia, chose a seat in the front row.

As more students trickled in, they waited until the room was full. The teacher then entered the room.

Aresia quickly found her seat and settled in. Her seat was next to a vacant seat for the Warrior Department, and she vaguely remembered that it was meant for someone from the Knight Department.

As more students entered and took their seats, Aresia noticed that someone had taken the seat next to her. She was taken aback because it wasn’t the person she remembered occupying that seat.

Aresia realized it was Jurgos. He not only noticed her presence but also nodded in her direction.

Not wanting to dwell on it for too long, Aresia redirected her attention to the opening ceremony, listening attentively to the Headmaster’s speech.

Headmaster Albert Smith was an amiable elderly person in Aresia’s impression. However, this didn’t stop him from delivering long speeches like a typical leader. Aresia appeared focused throughout, but in reality, she hardly remembered a single word.

With that, Aresia’s campus life began once again.

The school activities followed a predictable routine. The new students in the Magic Department mostly shuttled between the dormitory, cafeteria, classrooms, and library. The first week of classes was mainly for the students to adapt. Aside from the Necromancy class, most courses consisted of introductory theory. Even the Alchemy class, which had two back-to-back sessions each week, was about familiarizing themselves with materials rather than actual instruction.

Although the conditions for the nobles were affluent enough to hire private tutors for magic, the basic courses were already covered. The troublesome aspect was the assignments given by the Professors.

They ranged from copying and memorizing several pages to writing essays. The tedious assignments dampened the new students’ enthusiasm for magic and shattered the filter they had on their perception of magic.

While others struggled with assignments, Aresia was the only exception. Thanks to the magic pen, she could effortlessly complete any assignment without the need for textbooks or studying.

The handwriting of the magic pen perfectly imitated Aresia’s own, specifically the handwriting of the previous Aresia.

Aresia’s magical talent had already been recognized, and with her newfound status and resources, she received sponsorship. She even mastered other skills of the previous Aresia. Essentially, everything she possessed belonged to the previous one.

“Aresia, don’t you want to attend the tea party today? I heard that high-ranking nobles will be there. Who knows, maybe even Prince Osweid will attend,” Karina tried to convince Aresia to attend the tea party.

Since there were no classes on the weekends, students often stayed on campus and found things to do. Sometimes, there were gatherings organized by other students.

Aresia, with her status, received invitations to such gatherings. However, she rarely accepted them, as they didn’t interest her. Instead, she preferred spending her time in the library.

Karina knew that Aresia’s reluctance to attend was due to her high-status identity. However, she persisted, “Aresia, is it true that you don’t want to attend the tea party? I heard that even Prince Osweid might be there.”

After completing their class on Friday, Karina attempted to persuade Aresia once again to attend the tea party.

Since there were no classes over the weekend, students were allowed to leave the school premises. However, Karina noticed that Aresia often stayed on campus, rarely joining any social gatherings.

Aresia knew why Karina was asking, but she replied, “I have other plans. The school administration has assigned someone to handle my affairs. I don’t need to attend social events.”

Karina heard the mention of the school administration handling Aresia’s affairs and realized that it must be true. She let the matter drop.

For Aresia, this was the first time she lived independently. Although she was staying in the dormitory, she didn’t have any servants. The Duke’s household didn’t want to attract attention, so they provided limited support. Aresia didn’t have a way to find a teacher to teach her handwriting. In reality, her handwriting was quite ordinary, even considered ugly.

However, after recovering her memories, Aresia had a clear image of the handwriting of the previous Aresia. She spent a long time practicing the handwriting, as it helped her complete assignments. The similarities in their handwriting were not just coincidental; it was almost an exact match.

Currently, there was no need to worry about anyone suspecting her identity based on her handwriting. No one knew about the handwriting of the previous.