The next day arrived completely uneventful for Sylvester and Artian as they spent this Sunday free and idle. While they both think this was a waste of precious time, they had no choice since Master Grom-ilk instructed them not to disturb him during the Sundays. They also felt a little bit of pressure since they know that the girls are making way more progress at this point. Soon Sunday came and went giving way to the most horrible day of the week, Monday. 

Their respective special classes went by without a hitch and as a bonus, it would seem that their therapy sessions had come to an end allowing the four of them to return to their old schedules. While they mostly just treat their classmates as acquaintances, all four missed the feeling of a full lecture hall during the mornings.

Lunchtime came by and soon, the afternoon class with Professor Paleo X was now looming overhead as Sylvester and Artian suddenly realized a very fatal detail that both seemed to have missed. 

“Dude, we don’t have the time to go visit Master Grom-ilk like this!” Artian suddenly blurted out in a sudden burst of untimely epiphany. He's very concerned and panicked voice somehow brought smug smiles coming from the two ladies sitting below the boys who quietly watched the two boys try to come to terms with their current predicament. 

“Ah damn it, I knew I was missing something. And that place is too far away. Even when we used magic to speed things up it still took a considerable amount of time.” Sylvester said as he leaned backward on his seat, slumping over like a deflated balloon.  “Well to be fair, when we ran with mana fortification, the trek got cut to an hour but still,” Artian interjected only to be interrupted by the confident boasting by the other half of their team.

“Oh, is this the woes of defeat I hear?” A proud female voice suddenly caught the two boy’s attention as they begrudgingly looked towards the source. Rossa was now facing towards them, a smile of victorious satisfaction plastered on her face with a little bit of a smug decadence. Beside her was Estelle who had her arms folded in front of her trying (and failing) to emulate Rossa’s condescending aura. 

“It’s okay if you admit your loss now.” Estelle chimed in, still smiling cheekily. “Maybe we can even go teach you two a thing or two since we are gracious even in victory.” “You just want to say I told you so don’t you,” Sylvester commented piercing through Estelle’s very flimsy air of superiority, popping it like a balloon. One could easily tell that she doesn’t have a knack for this overpowering noble presence jig that Rossa was teaching her. 

“N-no. You’re wrong!” Estelle fired back, her facade now breaking down as Rossa let out a sigh of disappointment and around this time, Artian finally decided to join in on the childish bickering. “Whatever!” He declared in his characteristic defiant tone. “The race has only begun, those who celebrate too early are the ones who lose in the end.” 

“But this isn’t a race tho-”

“Shut up, magic hobo.”

“Okay.”

Artian then faced Sylvester, his eyes begged for his friend to add anything to his declaration, even though Sylvester didn’t have as much investment in the competitive side of things. Fortunately, Sylvester did understand what Artian tried to tell him and had prepared an equally whimsical reply in his head. Unfortunately, this little episode of friendly banter would be cut short as the doors to the lecture room flung open along with a thunderous and familiar voice. 

“Alright, everyone settle down!” The newly arrived professor Paleo X exclaimed, his timing still impeccable always as he arrived on the scene at the exact time. Due to being distracted with their conversation Artian and Sylvester forgot to watch out for his arrival, something that had been a sort of a little game the two had between each other. 

Professor Paleo X then made his way towards the front of the lecture room and eyed everyone present for the class. The man never calls for attendance but seems to just be making a mental note of his students inside his head. 

“Alright, everyone seems to be here!” He exclaimed once again. “Thankfully no one decided to skip classes today because I will be making a huge announcement today!” 

“Huh? Announcement?” The main quartet all silently questioned inside their head. Though their internal words were the same, the feeling behind it cannot be any more different. “Oh god please no, not more schoolwork or tests please!” Artian and Sylvester prayed silently in their heads. This was the last thing they needed right now. The pair got too consumed by the idea of training with their new green teacher that they have completely forgotten they still had other responsibilities. 

On the other hand, Ross and Estelle didn’t seem all that bothered by whatever potential activity the Explorer attire wearing professor was going to announce. While it is indeed true that they were working themselves hard, cramming a lot of information as much as they could, their arrangement is much more flexible than the boys who had to walk out into the woods only to get themselves beaten up by a goblin. 

With the attention of the students fully on the professor, he smiled with satisfaction as he continued with his words. “I’m sure many of you realized that we didn’t have any sort of practical tests the same way your other magic courses did.” His words then suddenly brought low murmurs throughout the class as the anticipation started to mount, with the two boys sitting out back on the edge of their seat. 

“That is because in this class I only have one requirement for all of you to be able to pass.” He said, pausing just before the big reveal to give an air of suspense. “And that is to hand in a very detailed research paper on any sort of mage related history of your choosing!” Immediately a loud collective groan can be heard throughout the class. This was the last thing everyone wanted. 

“Oh god why!?” Artian and Sylvester planted their faces into their desks as they tried to make peace with what they just heard, but the suffering had only just begun. “Quiet down Apprentices! I have much more to say about this research paper.” He declared causing the disgruntled voices of everyone to quiet down. “I expect a 30-50 page paper, Arial, font size 11, and single spacing. To be submitted at the end of the semester which is approximately A little over a month from now.” He added causing an even louder collective groan to surface. 

“30-50 pages!? Is he insane!? Arial font 11? How many goddamn words does he want us to write!?” The boys said in unison as their world started to fall apart around them. Truly college is a menacing monster that will slowly eat away at your energy and desire to live, but amidst all of the despair was one confused soul. 

“Arial? Font 11?” Rossa curiously asked, causing Estelle to turn towards her direction. “It’s the style of writing you can use if you were using a computer.” Estelle clarified causing Rossa to suddenly have a quick moment of clarity. “Computer? Was that the very flat box thing that you open up and make those clicking noises whenever you tap on them?” Rossa asked, mimicking the actions Estelle often took whenever she sees her roommate use the curious device. 

“Yup, what I use is called a laptop. It still is a computer but more portable and can be taken anywhere and is quite compact.” Estelle explained as Rossa seemed to be lost in thought. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you how to use one. But let’s see if the school will provide one to you for free like how they gave you a smartphone before.” 

“Huh. You people in this world love your weird small devices, don’t you? I don’t see the point of having a smartphone and this laptop too. Can’t you just do the writing on the phone? It is much smaller after all compared to that flat box.” Rossa asked. “That’s a whole can of words I am not willing to open right now.” Estelle shrugged as their professor once again spoke. 

“Ahem, class I am not finished.” With those words, the increasingly unruly students once again quieted down. “This task will be done by a group of four so it would be best if you teamed up with people you are comfortable working with.” He instructed. Almost immediately Artian and Sylvester rose, while the two girls had an idea why. 

The four then made eye contact as the boys were silently begging the girls to team up with them. It felt like the two of them were simply on a losing streak due to this announcement alone. Rossa and Estelle had very evil-looking grins on their faces but suddenly retracted those smiles. 

“I would like to have some soda every day. Wouldn’t that be nice if it were free.” Estelle suddenly made remarks. “Oh soda, that does seem like a good idea. I really like that drink, it reminds me of a similar refreshment from back home only much lighter on the palette.” She chimed in with a very transparent and demanding tone. 

“Okay fine, we’re going to be shouldering your soda from today until the deadline.” The boys dejectedly replied, resigning themselves to a very unfortunate fate. As the lecture started, the girls’ attention was now directed towards the professor in front while the two boys at the back were not that much engrossed in today’s lesson.

“Looks like this is gonna be an uphill battle isn’t it, Artian.” Sylvester as he leaned back on his chair and looked up towards the ceiling, Artian then mirrored his actions before giving a reply. “I don’t care.”Sylvester looked to his side only to see a very determined smiling face radiating strange confidence. “I don’t care how steep this hill is, I am going to cross it. I don’t care if I have to crawl to get there.” 

“To be fair, half the fun is in the climb.” Sylvester then gave his two cents before he finally steered himself towards the front of the room.