Altair had been presented with a choice the moment Miss Prithiva had directed her question to the class and ultimately, he had opted to err on the side of excellence. His decision had factored in the unexpected interaction that Altair and Nocturne had shared before the Dungeon Town’s entrance gates; the very likely possibility that Mother was someone that was far more important than he had originally envisioned.

Not once had Isadora cast any obligations or expectations upon them, never hinting at their background or the standards they were expected to uphold. Perhaps to some, it may come across as lackadaisical parenting but Altair had seen how common it was for parents to instill and pass down their own unaccomplished desires and ambitions onto their children; how truly rare it was for infants to be born into the world without said anticipation awaiting them.

Altair did not know if Isadora had made her decision out of a desire to protect them or perhaps, herself but that was, to him, a meaningless distinction.

While he couldn’t speak for all children, Altair knew what it meant to grow up without parents. He knew what it felt like, to carry a lingering, festering hole in his chest that had accompanied him from the moment he gained consciousness; being denied the warmth of a family because those who were meant to care for him had found the burden of the responsibility far too great, choosing to abandon him to the whims of the world instead of facing its currents.

What children wanted, he did not know. But what he, Altair wanted, was to rise to the silent expectations that Isadora had buried deep in her heart, expectations that society would one day come to demand of him, if mother did not.

Altair wanted to rise to the expectations of his mother, regardless of if she wished to give voice to them.

That was why he had to excel— to be above scrutiny in every field he chose to perform in.

Though the resultant fallout of his dazzling performance had been a little beyond his expectations.

“Hey, hey, where are you two from?” A rambunctious boy asked, his distinctive burnished copper hair drawing Nocturne’s curious gaze.

“Your hair is so pretty, can I touch it?” The girl with distinctive emerald hair that Altair had noticed when he first stepped into the classroom gave voice to her curiosity.

“Can twins read each other's minds? I’ve never met twins before,” This time, it was another boy with mesmerizing topaz eyes that poised an… interesting question to both of them. Altair supposed that such a possibility was within the realm of imagination in a world where magic was very real.

“How did you know all those answers? I’ve never even heard of the last two plants Miss Prithiva mentioned!” A lively pink haired girl exclaimed, admiration written all over her face as she gazed at Altair.

“Alright, alright, everyone,” Vorina Elewyn-Asher finally made her move, her confident tone cutting through the chaos of the dissonant, overlapping questions. “Let’s give our new friends some space, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to get to know them.”

Altair noticed the change in the atmosphere, from excited to reluctant acceptance. The other children seemed to listen to her polite yet firmly spoken words, slowly clearing away in groups of twos and threes as they headed out of the classroom.

Vorina was the only one who stayed, besides the few children that were still seated in the room, either writing something in their notebooks or flipping through study material.

“Would you two like to head out to the mess together?” Vorina asked, a warm smile lighting her visage as she tucked back a lock of hair that was lightly obscuring her vision.

“Sure,” Altair politely replied for both of them.

Altair had assumed that it was Nereus Aquillion’s status as a Dungeon Town that had led to the elegant, if simplistic and a little workman-like approach to architecture. And for the most part, he had been correct.

As it turned out, a world where real magic was fairly prevalent had no need for ostentatious displays or grandiose constructions. Or, atleast, that was the conclusion Altair had come to, as he stepped into the mess hall on the school’s second floor and found himself in the middle of a verdant spread. The ground beneath his feet was carpeted with soft, azure-tipped grass, small fruit trees lining the opposing sides of the room that effused the space with a pleasant aroma. Though what really drew Nocturne’s attention was the wooden picnic tables that dotted the room, laden with three to four dishes that were guarded by metal cloches, at least on the unoccupied ones.

On the other hand, Altair’s attention was drawn to the unassuming arena placed in the middle of the room, weapon racks dotted along its flanks. There was no teacher in sight and currently, the raised arena was unoccupied. For Altair, that only served to confirm that the school’s administration had some other, most likely arcane method to silently observe them. Thankfully, all he saw on the wooden racks was blunted wooden swords that could inflict little than some light bruising, but it still spoke volumes of the type of social norms that were prevalent in the Vortera Veilands.

Seating themselves on one of the unoccupied picnic tables, Altair, Nocturne and the given name with which the purple haired girl had introduced herself, Vorina, had begun to eat after exchanging a few pleasantries; although Nocturne remained mostly silent.

Slicing away a small mouthful of meat from a tantalizing golden-brown steak, Altair couldn’t help but appreciate the explosion of juices in his mouth. While not quite reaching the standard of Mother’s cooking, Ryan Kimura would have loved to go to a school as luxurious and comfortable as this one.

Perhaps it was because Altair was too engrossed in his meal, he didn’t notice the fiery-citrine haired youth make his approach until he was standing before their table.

Curious, Altair angled his gaze towards him, only to be ignored as he stared at Vorina for a few uncomfortably long moments.

Then, he met Altair’s gaze.

“I challenge you to a duel.”