Chapter 106 - New Rivalries (1)

'I'm completely fucked. Sauron you got me into this mess, what the hell do I tell this guy?' questioned Arya, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead as Ronkor came closer.

"Well boy?" pressed Ronkor, just inches away from Arya, his immense magical pressure weighing down on him.

"M-my father t-told me about it," lied Arya, hoping that he could somehow make up a story on the wind.

"Your father? And who might your father be, for him to be so important that he knows a dwarven state secret?" asked Ronkor, only increasing his magical pressure as Arya tried to explain himself.

"H-he was a r-researcher. H-he might've gotten the information from a dwarf himself," struggled Arya,

'There's no way I can beat this guy,' realized Arya, as he rubbished the thought of trying to retaliate.

'The best I can do now is pray and hope he buys it,' thought Arya, giving the most genuine expression he could muster.

"A researcher huh? That still doesn't explain why he knows. There's no way that a dwarf would sell out the whole kingdom," replied Ronkor, however, there were hints of hesitation audible in his tone. Arya picked up on this and decided to take advantage.

"W-well that's what he told me, I think I remember him saying that the dwarf was an outcast, shunned from by the Dwarven Kingdom. But even still, apparently, he had to pay the dwarf quite the sum," lied Arya, as he struggled against the immense pressure suffocating him.

'I can't believe those bastards would actually spread a dwarven secret. I knew they should've been killed, I have to alert the king,' thought Ronkor, as he slowly rescinded his magical pressure.

"I'll have to interrogate you and your fath-" Ronkor was about to say before headmaster Frode barged into the room, disarming the air magic that had been blocking the door.

"What's going on in here?" questioned Frode, his eyes blazing with mana.

"H-headmaster," stuttered Ronkor, stepping away from Arya as he did.

"I felt an immense magical pressure being released from this room, I thought maybe there was some sort of disturbance," said Frode as he looked around the classroom, stopping on Arya with a confused expression on his face.

"And what's this? Why is this student the only one here with you?" asked Frode with a look of suspicion on his face.

"I was asking him to help me with my next class. Although he's new, his father taught him a great deal about smithing, and I was asking him if he would like to help the other students in the smithy tomorrow," lied Frode, giving Arya a sideways glance.

"Y-yes, he was just asking me for help," added Arya.

'It would be nice if I could just snitch out this old man, however, I don't have time to make an enemy out of an instructor so early in the year. If anything this dwarf man will owe me one, it's better to make friends, than unnecessary enemies,' thought Arya as Frode raised his eyebrow, still suspicious about what had been going on before he entered the room.

"And what about the magical pressure that I was alerted about earlier? My senses and the school's sensors couldn't both be wrong," 

'Fuck! I forgot about the school's magic sensors,' remembered Ronkor, as he realized that he wouldn't be able to keep this lie going.

"I asked him to show me just how powerful an Arcane blacksmith can be," replied Arya, his mind working at full throttle to come up with a believable lie.

"Y-yes, I was just showing the boy what to strive for," added Ronkor, 

'A pathological liar,' thought Ronkor as he looked at Arya with a mixture of expressions, he wasn't sure whether to be impressed or worried.

"Please refrain from doing such acts within the school premises. I know you don't aren't a stickler for the rules Ronkor, however, they're there for the safety of the students, especially the first years," said Frode, still not completely convinced.

"Now hurry along to your next class. You don't want to keep your instructor waiting," said Frode, staying back to make sure that Arya left the lecture hall before leaving.

***

"What took you so long?" asked Averos, as Arya joined Abby and Averos who had been waiting for him in the hallway.

"Uh, he was just telling me what books I should read for tomorrow's practical class," replied Arya, making sure to make eye contact to look more believable.

"By the way, I forgot to ask because the class was so busy, but what were you about to say before instructor Ronkor interrupted you. You were about to mention a fourth method of forging, one that isn't in our syllabus," asked Averos, as they walked at a brisk pace to make it to their next class in time.

"Uhm, well-" Arya was about to answer before he heard Trent's voice.

"Hey, it looks like we'll be having the same class next," shouted Trent, putting his arm around Arya in a friendly gesture.

'When did we become all buddy-buddy?' wondered Arya, as he peeled Trent off him.

"Hanging with Yuuki and Sheela all day has been so boring man. I wish we all had the exact same schedules," complained Trent moving on to Averos after Arya's rejection.

"Well moving around with you has been entertaining, to say the least. Believe it or not, Trent was already rejected by three girls today, and he didn't even have to ask them out," laughed Sheela, clearly enjoying himself.

"Anyway, I heard that both the A and B classes will be mixed for our next lecture," added Yuuki, acting like he had no idea what Sheela and Trent were talking about.

"Huh? We have elemental battle orientation next, what's that?" asked Arya, reading off of his class schedule.

"Based on the elements shown on the magic orb, we will be sorted into different elemental classes. Today's class is solely for that purpose. Anyways, since there isn't much of a gap between the A-class and B class, we're going to be having these classes together," answered Yuuki, already walking towards the lecture room.

"Oh, and Arya, have you decided whether you are going to make your ice magic public or not? It would be nice if we could be in the same elemental class. Although students from different elements will meet occasionally, for most classes we will be separated if you join the dark element class," said Yuuki, as he turned to wait for Arya's answer.

"I don't know. Perhaps later on, I can't really afford for people to pay too much attention to me," replied Arya, as he and the rest of the group began walking to the lecture hall as well.

"I understand, if news spread about a first-year like you, then the seniors will probably come looking for you,"

The group made it to the classroom and found that almost all the seats had been taken.

"Since we've only been in classes with a few students, I forgot just how many students there really are in Belgard," said Trent, his attention drawn to some of the girls sitting in the front row.

"And these are just the students from two classes," added Sheela, pulling Trent as the group walked to the back of the classroom to take their seats.

"Ehem," an old man at the front of the class cleared his throat, gesturing for all the students to quiet down.

"I haven't gotten the chance to introduce myself since I wasn't able to make it to your orientation due to... personal matters. Anyways my name is Getram Ferelo, and I'll be the convener for this class."

"All of you will have different instructor's based on what element you are going to be specializing in, but I am the one in charge of setting the examinations, and allocating points based on performance," said Getram as he grabbed a clipboard containing names and elements from the desk in front of him.

"Anyway, that's enough for introductions. I'm aware that many of you have taken the element test in class, and so I will hear none of that switching non-sense." 

"Every year we have students claiming to be dual-wielders, or being from a family of variants and wanting to be put in the variant class, only for them to waste time and resources and bear no fruit at the end of the year. However, I'll have none of that wish-wash," said Getram, waving his hands in the air to show his discontent on the matter.

"Anyway, when I read your name, raise your hand and proceed outside. An instructor will be waiting for you on the field,"

"Yuuki Tachibana, water, proceed to block A," announced Getram, prompting Yuuki to raise his hand and proceed to the mentioned area.

"Anclara Sivos, earth, proceed to block C,"

"Averos Ortrera, wind, proceed to block B"

"Ayaz Dragonaus, hmm a Dragonborn huh, Fire and Air, proceed to special class A" announced Getram, causing many of the students to start gossipping.

"It's a given that he is a dual wielder, all Dragonborns are,"

However, that was an incorrect assumption.. Even amongst Dragonborns, being a dual wielder was fairly uncommon and mostly restricted to those of royal heritage. However they still had a higher chance than most, especially for the Fire, Air, and light elements"