I woke up with a bit of a headache.

My voice let out a groan as I struggled to rise from my far from comfortable bed. It wasn’t as grand as the one at home, neither was it half as preferable, but after spending three months with it, I was somehow used to my place of rest.

The reason for my discomfort lay in the fact that my body itself was tired, no, it slightly ached. The reason wasn’t far-fetched, though. After all… I had been training for a great deal of time far into the night.

“Today’s the big day, after all…” I whisper escaped my lips and I hopped out of bed.

With a somewhat tired look on my face, bit a bright spark hidden within my eyes, I made my way to the bathroom. It was time to freshen up and prepare for an eventful day.

‘I still feel very tired and drowsy… my body aches too…’

It was no wonder; I had pushed myself a little far last night, after all.

“I’ll just use a Mana Restorative Potion, then…”

My casual statement would have alarmed anyone if they were in the room with me, but since I was alone, it was no problem. After all, a Lower Class Student like me would have no way of gaining access to something of such quality.

Mana was very essential to society and could be considered the lifeline of any Magic User. It was to be expected that they would be quite costly; though this depended on quality.

Still, for someone like me, even potions of the lowest quality would be a luxury… at least, that was the general assumption.

Unknown to everyone, I had cultivated my own Potions, managing to create so many solutions that would be considered very useful on my part. These innovations would draw some really helpful attention to myself, but there was a reason I hadn’t made a move to reveal them.

‘Not enough… not yet…’

They weren’t groundbreaking enough to distinguish me entirely!

While I used various new ingredients, and my Potions were unique, they only offered slight to middle effects, and none were of the high grade. So far, the highest of my concoctions could only attain 60 percent of restorative effects.

While that would be considered extremely valuable, and the formula would be coveted by a lot of people, my goal lay beyond that. Of course, I had my plans for my path in alchemy and potion-making, but they were only a means to an end. I had to make myself as distinguished as possible in my attempt to gather prestige in that area.

Sixty percent wasn’t enough!

‘Well, it should suffice for me…’

The reason for my tiredness stemmed from my deficiency in Mana, after all. I had expended so much last night on my ‘Project’ and was nearly running on empty. In my current condition, I couldn’t achieve the objectives set out for me today.

As a result, even if they were valuable, I would be using my Potions. More could always be made, after all.

********

After I was done freshening up, I put on a casual outfit and stepped out of my room wearing a clear blue top and plain black trousers. Sandals replaced the usual flip-flops I would have preferred wearing.

While I had every right to be casual, being too simple would be a downright insult to the person I was going to see. Hopefully, my current appearances were satisfying enough…

‘If I remember correctly, I enchanted some of my clothes recently… I should wear some of those tomorrow!’

Permanent enchantments to prevent stains and slack were placed on the outfits, as well strengthening effects. For my favorite flip flops, speed enhancements were added, giving me advanced mobility. I used those outfits for an experiment and it was a good thing they paid of well.

‘Welp, time to begin my day!’

Stepping out of my room, and now walking down the hallway, I encountered a few students in my dorm.

The moment they saw me, all of them seemed to freeze. While I wasn’t particularly paying any real attention to them, I could sense awe, fear, and unease hanging in the air. I shrugged and walking while ignoring the strong emotion pervading the area.

After all, their sentiments were understandable.

After my performance in the Elite Tournament yesterday, everyone was partially aware of my capabilities and had come to somewhat revere me. Of course, that meant a mix of fear and awe would be given, but that meant a slight discomfort and shift in their emotions whenever I made my presence known to them.

‘Welp, it’s fine by me…’

I descended the stairs, exited my dorm, and made my way to the destination mapped out for myself.

This week was a free one for everyone; that meant the students were meant to use it as they wished. Some would dedicate it to training hard in an attempt to meet up to the strong display of power they witnessed in the Exchange; some would use this chance to recuperate from the mental and emotional fatigue that had been built up from their participations in the Exchange, even though any physical consequence had been settled; some would simply have fun and spend their time in leisure.

It was a matter of choice for everyone, and they would all be right.

For my close companions, Edward and Ana, they told me of how they would love to improve on their lacking skills which was made evident after the exchange. Though I wouldn’t be joining them in their diligent endeavors, appropriate measures were put in place to ensure that they would improve drastically within a week.

The others; Stefan, Ivan, Sofia, and Kuzon; all had their respective plans, most of which centered on getting stronger. Apparently, my surprising display riled them up and increased their competitive drive.

To be honest, none other than Kuzon made me feel even the slightest bit competitive among the first years, but even that one boy was enough. Since I had no intentions to be left behind in any aspect; be it Magic, Martial Arts, or Scholarship; I was going to work my butt off as well.

‘This should be interesting!’