Lucius watched the sun slowly peaking through the horizon absently as he ran. He thought of Maritess's invitation and weighed his options carefully. She said the party would be held tonight, leaving him only half a day's worth of time to make his decision.

Advantages. I meet new people and widen my sphere of connections. Hmm. If I could get around to talking normally, that is. Going will also give me the chance to know what exactly Maritess's game is. They say alcohol loosens the tongue. The disadvantage? I run the risk of pissing Dario off even more, which could be bad now that we're already so close to the day of the Labyrinth Dive. I even bought the spellbook already. All I have to--

"Falling a bit behind there, Lucius! Better pick it up or else!"

Lucius's eyes widened before sprinting through his classmates as soon as he heard Katherine's voice reverberating throughout the training grounds. He had no trouble weaving through most of them as he had improved his Corpus quite a bit ever since his first PCC class. He was limber, faster, and more energetic than ever before. Surely his outing with Tissette more than helped out, as not only did he allocate a few points to his Corpus, he also discovered then that he could move his body in ways he never would have thought of while just training by himself.

The threat of death and severe injuries had their ways of teaching you some things, I guess.

...

"Good! We're done for today! Next week we will conduct some sparring sessions to prepare for the Labyrinth Dive so you slackers better be warmed up by the time I arrive! Dismissed! " Katherine said among the heap of students panting on their knees, exhausted half to death. Lucius was no exception. His ears drooped down lazily at the top of his head and he was barely able to catch his breath, but on the bright side, the exhaustion wasn't as bad as any that had come before.

He would've been less tired if he took it easy and opted to receive the additional 'punishment' training Katherine usually gave out to those who finished the training program last, but Katherine's threat of quadrupling the amount of training for their one-to-one sessions if he ever finished among the slower students again was enough for him to cut it out. She once said to him that her pride couldn't take it if someone she was training herself performed that badly, regardless of who it was.

"There he is!"

Speaking of students Katherine trained herself, Tissette appeared out of nowhere with her friends in tow. He was amazed. Not one of them looked half as winded as he was.

"Hey, new guy. You look...less bad than before," Mort said with a teasing grin. "Seriously though, I heard you've been doing Student Agent work. Was it really enough to improve your Corpus this much? I mean, I can still remember you barely finishing the class just months ago."

Ardred nodded. "Hmm. I agree. How much EXP did you really gain from doing all that work? I actually thought of joining before since the name sounds kinda cool, but the kinds of work though...not really for me."

Stretching his legs, Lucius replied, "Not much, Ardred. I wouldn't advise you to join even now. I've just been training my Corpus in my free time. Oh, and--"

"Guess who got his first huntin' quest yesterday?" Tissette blurted out loud, surprising the others. They looked at Lucius with mixed curiosity and disbelief before finally smiling altogether. Even Althea who was just listening to them talk behind Tissette nodded at him with a small grin, which he had to admit, made his heart jump a little. He was rendered speechless for a moment. He didn't know what that was about.

"Woah, your first time? This is great! Perfect timing for our little surprise!" Mort said before approaching him and rubbing his shoulders.

Lucius looked at the others with a raised brow, and it was only then that Mort realized his blunder.

"Good job, Mort," Orlen said with a sigh, throwing his hands up along with Tissette and Ardred.

"S-Sorry guys," Mort said with a dejected smirk. "But hey, aren't we giving it to him today anyway? So me accidentally revealing it doesn't really change anything, right? Uh...right?"

Still puzzled, Lucius looked at Tissette and asked, "What is it?"

Tissette then looked at him with a wry smile. "Yeah, about that..."

...

Lucius had never seen something that made him feel as elated as he was ever before. He looked at the lightbox before him--the marvelous fusion of Outworlder technology and Elyssian magic formations. However, this one was different. Despite it being one of the lower-end models, there was something about it that stood out more than any other lightboxes he had ever seen before him, and even the latest, more premium ones he could only see in catalogs.

After all, this one was his.

"A gift, you say?" Lucius said in a low tone as his sight drifted between his friends and the lightbox. "H-How do I-- How could I--"

The others chuckled as they each patted him on the back, all warm smiles and friendly gestures that made him feel strange. He wasn't sure if he liked feeling that way, or if truly such an emotion could only be a detriment just like Castarossa said, but there was one thing he was sure of. This very moment was one of those very few he would remember for the rest of his life.

"It's a welcomin' gift from all of us, Lucy. Kinda like the one we got for Althea when she first came here too. Took us a while to get it since findin' a store where it isn't sold out in this city was a bit hard, but here it is--your very own lightbox!" Tissette said, her ecstatic voice filling Ardred's dorm room with the same energy she always brought along with her. "We noticed that you've been spendin' a lot of your time in the library lately. We just don't want you hanging out there too much, y'know? We already know you might be getting too smart for your own good," she teased with a fanged grin.

Lucius didn't know what to say. What was customary? What would be the appropriate response? He strained himself for answers but came up with barely anything. It was the first time he was truly rendered helpless in the face of social interaction. In hindsight, perhaps he should have read up more on the traditions of gift-giving in Alavaria. He questioned such a book's existence, but still...

"B-But I didn't get anything for you all. Besides, a lightbox is extremely expensive, isn't it? H-How could I receive such--"

"You don't have to. It's a gift, new guy," Mort said, catching himself with a smile. "Nah. I like you, actually. Now you're Lucius to me. Welcome to the gang, Lucius!"

Ardred didn't miss a beat in hitting Mort lightly on the shoulder. "Dude, you like him? That explains why--"

"Hey! Not like that alright?" Mort leaned away from Ardred. "Stop it, you're making this weird!"

Lucius grinned as he looked at the two, bickering away with each other again, then to Tissette and the others who seemed to enjoy the big, dumb grin on his face he could barely hold back.

"Oh hey, you're smiling again, Lucy!"

Usually, this would be the moment he would catch himself and stop smiling, but for some reason, he just didn't feel like it. "I...guess I am. Thank you, guys. Really, I...my gratitude is yours."

"Daww, you're so cute when you're flustered, Lucy!" Tissette said before wrapping him in a hug--the first one from her that he didn't put up much resistance to. "You know what? I think we should celebrate. What do you guys say?"

"I agree." That was all Althea said, but it was enough to get everyone completely on board.

Lucius was about to nod his head as well when he remembered something very important. He might not be able to join Tissette's party, but who said they couldn't join hers? "Oh, I'm sorry Tissette, but I have already promised my night to another student's party. She's currently a Secundus here in Parabellum."

"Wait, what? You got invited to a party before us? A Secundus approached you, at that?" Mort replied before anyone could. "Wow. We've been here, like, for almost a year now, you know.

"Actually, would you guys like to come?" Lucius said, tilting his head. "She did say I could invite everyone I want as long as I come."

"Oh, do we!" Tissette said in a surprisingly much higher level of pep he didn't even know was possible. "What time is it?"

"Ten at noon. Upper Secundus dorms, at Maritess Darrokhail's room," Lucius said, recalling the location he'd been going to so many times for the past few months it was basically engraved in his mind by now.

Ardred whistled. "You netted a bigshot right there. Strange. I've heard these parties of hers are pretty exclusive. She into you or what?"

Lucius sighed, all eyes on him. Even Althea who he had seen visibly stir as soon as he mentioned Maritess was staring at him with a look on her face that he couldn't quite place. Was it a pout? No, a frown?

"I actually hope it was that simple," Lucius said, not going into it further. He didn't want to tangle his friends in his problems, especially when it concerned Dario.

"Well then. I'll be there anyway. It's been some time since I went to some other party besides the ones in my dorm," Ardred said with a dry laugh.

"Oh, me too!" Tissette said excitedly while bouncing up and down. She looked more animated than usual, and it made Lucius smile. Considering her current position in the academy, he doubted if she ever got opportunities to hang out with other people. Allagorians, especially the Arachnossi aren't exactly popular in the academy despite them being in Alavaria--the most racially diverse place in Elyssia.

"Me three!" Mort added, a bit more reserved than the first two but still visibly excited.

"I...I too will be there," Althea mustered, all while looking at him with the same, cute smile on her face. He didn't know why but he needed to avert his eyes from her for a while, but before he did so, he swore he saw her lips curve a little bit more into a full smile.

"I guess I'll go to since you guys are going. Gotta have someone who doesn't drink watching our backs, right?" Orlen said before looking at him. "Though I would like to talk to you for a bit later before we go, Lucius. You know, just to give you some advice on what to wear."

Despite being a little distracted, Lucius caught the meaning behind Orlen's words immediately. He nodded, acknowledging that Orlen was just about as restless as he was when it came to executing his plan once and for all. Elves were a proud race, after all, even amongst the Ancients. He could only imagine how long Orlen had been waiting for Dario's comeuppance.

"Well, that's decided then! Tonight we're partyin' till we drop!" Tissette shouted, followed by a collective 'yeah' from the others.

Lucius smiled as he too was touched by Tissette's enthusiasm, but nothing really changed. His priority was far from hers going into the party, after all, as he would be a fool to waste the opportunity that had just presented itself.

This would be the best time to make my first move. Now, the result of me reading countless books about socializing tips and techniques will finally show itself. Hopefully.