Three days had gone by since Lucius went aberrant-hunting with Tissette. Much to his surprise, the days had been quite uneventful ever since he got back. Dario, more often than not, would just glare at him from afar but would never even say a word to him, much less approach him. It was strange to see this kind of behavior for someone so violent and spontaneous indeed, but he wasn't about to complain. The gods know he needed a break from the buffoon's antics, although he didn't allow himself to be completely complacent just yet. He would be a fool to not think that Dario was not up to something behind all this facade of passiveness.

For now, though, only time will tell whether the dimwit truly had some brilliant scheme worthy of worry inside that big, horned head of his.

Speaking of schemes, I probably should talk to Orlen about the plan soon. Better to lay my cards down first before Dario lays down whatever is in his hand. Ah, gambling analogies. Perhaps I used that one correctly this time?

"Now that we're done discussing gravity, can someone tell me who was it that discovered such concept?"

Despite his head being occupied by several thoughts at once, Lucius's hands shot up from his seat. He looked around the classroom, expecting to see no one but him raising his hands only to find someone else had the same idea as him. To his surprise, it was Aiden, Dario's superior and the leader of the Shining Collective, and also, Tissette's self-proclaimed 'soulmate'.

"Ah, a new one! Glad to see that you're back, Aidan," the master in charge of Spell Theory, Glaucus Littlefig, said as his wings buzzed behind his back, pleasantly surprised that other than him finally raised their hand.

"It was an elf named Falnir Dandelion, Master Glaucus. He called the phenomenon 'The Shattering' after seeing another man run out of aether and fall to his death during the first war in the Age of Dawn. A bit macabre way to discover something, no?"

"Ah yes. Very good, very good." The master nodded with a curious smile. "Although that may be true in our realm, what about in the realm of the Outworlders?"

Lucius was about to put his hand up again when Aidan continued, "It was Sir Isaac Newton who discovered 'The Shattering' in their realm and called it gravity, master. He also put out several formulas in addition to his discovery, thus it is his terminologies we use to study gravity to this day even here in Elyssia."

"Well said, Aidan. You may take a seat," said Glaucus before clapping all four of his hands, garnering the attention of many in the classroom. "Now, some of you may be wondering why didn't our ancestors pursue the study and development of concepts such as this one as much as the Outworlders did back in their original world. Does anyone want to share their opinion?"

Once again, Lucius's hands shot up, and this time, it was only his hand that was on the air.

Left without any other choice but to call him, the master said, "Alright Lucius, you may speak."

"It is because our realms are vastly different when it comes to many different aspects of how our world work, master."

"Interesting take. Elaborate."

"Well firstly, while Outworlders developed science and technology to an outstanding degree, we instead focused on something they did not have in their realm," Lucius explained as he lifted a finger before casting Illuminate for added effect. "In Elyssia, we have the creator's Providences that allows us to perform feats beyond Outworlders could ever accomplish in their world without the help of science. For example, why bother inventing and creating something like a lightbulb out of raw materials when the majority of the population could light a fire anytime and anywhere even way back then?"

"Alright Lucius, that should be--"

He wasn't quite done yet, however, "Moreover, I also support the hypothesis that our lack of technological development could also be attributed to how short our time as a collective species is in this realm still. Humans, for example, are the only sentient beings on Earth and spent the majority of their time evolving and adapting to their surroundings. On the other hand, the oldest texts here in Elyssia seem to suggest that we had only been created several millennia ago, and all of the subsequent races that followed the original two races, namely the Ancients and the Allagorians, have all been suspected to be at the peak of their evolutionary tree when they arrived in Elyssia ."

"G-Good. Those are some fantastic points, if I do say so myself," Glaucus said with a wry smile. "A-Are you finished, Lucius?"

Lucius smiled. "I suppose I am, Master Glaucus. Although, I could also tell you about my position in whether or not our Providences unique only to our realm as opposed to--"

"M-Maybe for another time, Lucius. Thank you, you may take a seat," Glaucus immediately replied before once again asking, "Now, that's a little too advanced for our subject, Lucius. Where did you get all this information again?"

Lucius raised a brow. "In the library, master. Might as well take advantage of knowledge if it is being handed out so freely, right?"

"Well well, it seems that I finally found someone as outstanding as you, Aidan," Glaucus said, laughing before turning his attention to the rest of the class. "Now, all of you could stand to learn from these two. Not often are there students who understand the true value of reading books in the library, I'll tell you that."

Countless groans and jeers echoed in the classroom, but none stood out particularly. Lucius was used to it anyway, but what he wasn't used to, however, was mentioned with someone else by the master along with his name. He looked at Aidan absently who then caught him looking, and, much to his surprise, the latter actually waved and smiled back at him.

Seeing such a friendly gesture, Lucius couldn't help but feel awkward and only gave a polite nod back to the boy before minding his own business for the rest of the class. While still focused on the lecture in its entirety, he couldn't help but note at the back of his mind the warmth and authenticity on the boy's face.

It was as if Aidan was unaffected by Dario's affairs with him, much less hate him for what he 'did' to a member of his group. Tissette often bragged about her 'soulmate's' kind heart despite being associated with Dario. He didn't believe it then and he still doesn't, but what are the chances that she might be telling the truth?"

Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are. I wonder if that saying applies to him too.

...

"Hey there."

Now out of the classroom, Lucius turned to look at Aidan and nodded. "Hello."

"Not much of a talker, are you? I liked your opinion on the matter presented by Master though. You seemed more into it then," Aidan said, smile still as bright as ever despite him maintaining a blank look on his face.

Not breaking his poker face, Lucius asked, "May I ask why you're approaching me now?"

Aidan's smile faltered for a little bit before sighing. "Hey, no need to be so guarded, alright? I know what happened--what's happening between you and Dario. For that, I apologize. He's always been such a... 'free spirit' even before I took over our group. I can assure you that neither I nor the rest of the Collective has any interest in backing Dario on his personal vendetta against you. We aren't bullies, despite what Dario must've made you think."

Though somewhat impressed by Aidan's maturity, Lucius maintained his neutral stance. "Still, that doesn't answer why you're here."

"Well, for one, I haven't met that many students that can derive their own conclusions after reading such a technically advanced book. A Study in Evolution, I assume? Even I am kinda stumped when reading that one."

Lucius tilted his head. He had to admit, Aiden was seeming less and less of a douchebag and more unlike Dario by the second. "Correct. Perhaps I could give you some books you could read prior to--"

He caught himself and paused, then, the awkward silence came.

I still don't understand why he would just approach me like this. Better play it safe for now.

After seeing that he wasn't willing to talk any further, Aidan looked disappointed but carried on with the same smile nonetheless and said, "Ah, it's alright. I understand if you don't want to talk right now. Just remember that if Dario ever bothers you again, don't hesitate to come to me."

Lucius narrowed his eyes. Those words were too good to be true and he had reason not to believe otherwise, but still, he asked, "Why?"

"Because I believe you and I are the same, in some ways," said Aidan with a mysterious smile before turning around and leaving with a wave. "I'll be seeing you soon, Lucius. Hopefully, you won't be as wary of me that time."

Lucius watched the boy walk away with a sunny demeanor just like the one he always seemed to have, even back then when he was having an altercation with the thieves inside the ruins of his castle. He had to admit that it was refreshing seeing the thousands of affirmations he had heard about Aidan's character from Tissette might just be true.

"Making friends with your worst enemy's friend, are you? I like it!"

Startled, Lucius turned around and found Maritess standing right by the classroom door, staring him down uncomfortably just like she always did.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with a tired voice.

"Well I did tell you I had your back, didn't I?" Maritess said with a playful wink that sent all the wrong kinds of shivers down his spine. From that look on her face alone, he knew that it wasn't only Dario and him who was up to something. "Besides, I had something I wanted to run by you so I figured I should visit you today."

Lucius sighed. "What do you want from me now?"

"What do I want from you? How mean! Do you think I only talk to people if I need them for something?" Maritess said with a 'hurt' expression.

"I don't know, you tell me." Lucius resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Well, you're wrong, actually. Very wrong. Why?" Maritess said with a giggle before pointing at him. "Because I'm inviting you, my uptight friend, to a party in my dorm tomorrow."

Lucius remained silent for a while, not knowing what to say. After all, he didn't expect Maritess to actually invite him to one of her social functions despite her asking him playfully every time he went to clean her dorm for several weeks now. With him being a lowly Student Agent, and a Primus at that.

This is what she was up to? She's inviting me to a party? Strange. Surely there must be more to this. No. Correction. There is more to this.

Maritess looked on as he struggled to make his decision. "Well? You in?"