Half a year passed- the green landscape turned white from the barrage of cottony snowfalls, the students and teachers alike began to wear coats made of icefox fur and they would have to wear those for one whole year.

The residents of Fredrick House turned 17 somewhere along those six months. The young man, the master was basking in the darkness of the cold night at the veranda and the girl, the maid finished her work for the day.

“Young master.” She approached him. Her call was met with silence.

“Why don’t you want to participate in the annual tournament?” She asked nevertheless.

“Why would I do something so cliche? Everyone knows I am going to win.” His eyes were still closed as he was lying on the hammock tied between two pillars.

“Spill it out.” He continued.

“Can we go and watch the tournament together?” She asked in a low voice.

“Nope, you can go alone. I would rather practice.” He said as he waved his hand.

A few seconds passed, but he did not hear any reply despite sensing her presence on that very spot. He opened his eyes and looked at her. She was looking at him with puppy eyes and a face that was barely holding itself back from crying.

“Okay, fine. But you have to increase your practice time for the week.” He sighed.

“YES!” She shouted and jumped. This uncontrolled jump of hers almost had her head hit the roof. But she managed to land safely and run away with a grin on her face.

He could only shake his head. He closed his eyes again and continued the plan he was making for the next year.

******

Isabella woke up early. Even though she wanted to get up earlier, she had no choice since she was not strong enough to move her young master’s arm. The smile he put on her face last night had yet to disappear, even through the night.

The day was of utmost importance to her. Even though she had the chance to be ‘intimate’ with him that fateful day, she did not get any sort of signs henceforth; until the day when she reached level 4, when her young master permitted her to ‘play’ during the bath. But that was it. Since then, there was nothing more.

During the past six months, she made some friends- all of them girls of course. They gossiped together about topics like love, dates, sex and other ‘girly’ stuffs. Though it was a gossip, she was always on the listening side.

Now, that the two of them would be going to an event, that comes once every year, together- how could she not be happy? It was a date, right?

“Isabella!” His call woke her up from her fantasies.

She run towards his room with a reddened face. He was standing there with his hands wide open. She knew what to do. She was not the newbie she had been during their first day of class.

******

The arena- the largest facility of the Academy after the main building.

It was crowded to the brim with students from all batches. Even the seniors needed to know which juniors could be messed with and the ones they should avoid at all cost. It was not rare for a junior to surpass a senior, especially if there was a tier difference.

Today was the day of annual tournament to decide the combat rankings amongst the first years. It was also a form of test; it was obligatory for all the first years to participate. But for the first time in many years, there was an exception- two to be precise.

Adrian and Isabella entered the arena through the large door, attracting the attention of everyone present. Both of them were wearing a fur coat over their uniforms, just like everyone else.

At the front was Adrian, who looked as if he were the incarnation of perfection itself. Rumours had it that this potioneering prodigy was caught up in an accident during an experiment. Hence, he was not able to attend classes for three whole months. Thus, he was ‘exempted’ from participating in the tournament.

Beside Adrian, half a step behind him was Isabella. Though she looked average and was a commoner, none dared to look down on her; rather she was the target of admiration and envy of many, men and women alike. This combat genius not only mastered the difficult art of twin daggers, she was also an expert marksman. And rumours had it that she had already reached the 3rd level- which was terrifying for a first year. Hence, she was ‘banned’ from participating in the tournament.

“Greetings, Sir Adrian.” Instructor Hastings had rushed towards them the moment he sensed them. He did not give a damn about what others might think- life comes before reputation. He was one of the few who had been told of instructor Astler’s tragic death.

Adrian just nodded in response.

“Please follow me, the principal has left two seats for you in the VIP lounge.” The timid instructor gestured.

The duo followed him to the top of audience stands. There was a corridor- one side of which was blocked by a solid wall and the other side had doors at regular intervals. They walked past three doors and stood before the fourth. Instructor Hastings pushed open the door and gestured them to go in.

“Oh. By the way, there is instructor Bell already stationed in the room. Do you want a completely empty one?” He asked.

“Instructor Abegail? No need. We students and class teachers can ‘bond’ better during these situations, can’t we?” Adrian smiled. Isabella looked down and bit her lip.

“If only everyone had your mindset.” Instructor Hastings flattered and left- hastily.

Both of them entered the room. It was not that large, but more than large enough to just sit and watch shows. The three solid walls on the three sides gave a golden hue. There was a fireplace set up to keep the room warm. The most brilliant part of the room was the glassed wall through which the battles were to be seen.

Though the room was a bit far away from the ring, the prismic glass magnified everything- it was as if the room was a front row seat but with a better and higher angle. The room was a part of VIP lounge for a reason.

There were three luxurious foldable chairs- two of them were unoccupied. Abegail sat on the other.

“Isn’t that the slutty instructor who exhibits her naked body to a student?” Adrian smiled.

“YOU!” She was enraged.

For the past six months, he would beckon her once in a while. If the things he had her do those days were to be leaked, she could be ousted from society itself, let alone the instructor community. Even though he kept his promise and kept her virginity, but did that stop him? She clenched her butt whenever she remembered ‘that’.

And three months ago, he was ‘deemed’ fit enough to attend classes again. And since then, he would ‘play’ her every single day after the classes inside the classroom, These three months were hell. Worse, she was beginning to like this hell as if she were addicted.

“Don’t worry, I am not in the mood today. So, I won’t play with you.” He sat down on the central chair.

Abegail sighed. And so did Isabella- but silently.

“But there is a condition?”

“What condition?” She panicked.

“Relax, it’s not what you think. I will tell you later.”

“Okay, I agree.” If it was anything not related to ‘playing’, she was fine.

Isabella sat on his right.

“It’s about to begin.” Abegail declared.

A young but curvaceous pretty lady walked up on the platform. The small skirt revealed her smooth white legs and her dress was designed to show her deep cleavage. All male students cheered.

“Instructor Serene! Instructor Serene! Instructor Serene!” They shouted her name.

Abegail snorted.

“Welcome, students and fellow instructors. This year’s first year tournament is a bit special because not only we have two students not participating, we are also having SIX tier 4 participants despite that. The competition is going to be so exciting.” Apparently, her second property was .

“As there are only 98 participants this year and 6 of them are going to be seeded, we will have a change of format. There will be four battle royale- each match having 23 participants. 3 will be selected per match, yes- SELECTED, by a board of instructors depending on performance; so, don’t even think about teaming up against others. The 12 selected participants will be trimmed down to 6 through a one on one battle, the matches will be decided by the panel depending on your attributes and skills. Then, the 6 will be matched again against the seeded 6. Finally, only 6 will remain. And the ranking of top 6 will be dependent on the final battle royale.”

“You know why we don’t have duels for the final matches. It’s because circler’s have certain weakness against other attributes. That would be unfair for the circler with disadvantaged attribute. That’s why, we rank students based on their performance. Once, a fire circler had to fight three water circlers in the final battle, even though he was the first to be defeated, he was deemed the winner for surviving more than 5 minutes. So, give out your all and have trust on the judges. Let the tournament begin.” She finished.

“Mhmm, interesting. Though it is not the fairest of formats, it is way better than only duels. Besides, who cares about fairness in tournaments?” Adrian remarked.

“The format is really good in judging the performance and potential of a student. For example, that fire circler is now a general of the Royal Army.” Abegail commented.

“The first match begins. Students selected for group A, please get on the platform.” Instructor Serene invited.

23 students got up on the platform and formed a circle.

“The battle will last for 10 minutes. Begin!” Her declaration marked the beginning of the battle.

The platform became a mess. The archers and mages, stayed back while the warriors rushed in. They had all done their research. They knew who to target first.

Adrian could see everyone’s performance clearly through his demonic eyes. Three minutes in, one of the participants caught his attention.

“Who is that?” He asked as he pointed his finger.

Abegail followed his finger to the elegant black-eyed boy who was using only his bare fists to battle.

“I remember him, he is Sirius Blue. I remember him because he scored 4 on all the 4 tests during the examination. Some of us instructors doubted that it was intentional. But we did not take the risk and thus, put him in Eagle class instead. Later we found out that he is indeed a genius.” She answered.

He looked into her eyes. Abegail’s eyelids trembled. He turned back to the battle.

“Interesting. It was supposed to be your job, Darling. But maybe I will give you a hand.” He muttered and smiled malevolently.