If you thought school got easier after your first successful mission and a css rank above F, you’re adorable.
Because what really happens is that the teachers stop pretending you’re not a threat.
The Staff Meeting (a.k.a. “What Do We Do With These Four?”)In a dimly lit meeting room, surrounded by books that whispered and a chalkboard that scratched itself, the instructors of Year One sat in grim silence.
Not because of failure.No—failure was predictable. Manageable.
But Squad 7?They were not.
Miss Elira was smiling, of course. She always did when chaos blossomed like a magical fungus.
“They’ve adapted quite... energetically,” she said. “Rielle and Eli in sword drills are outperforming second-years. Lucien’s starting to show second-stage refinement signs in core compression, and Gram has stopped breathing fire... for now.”
Drask, the sword instructor, grunted. “I watched Rielle disarm a Rank 5 in three moves. And then ask if she was ‘holding back too much.’”
Mistress Helsha sipped her tea, which now smelled like sulfur. “Gram’s potion use has dropped by 20%... possibly because he ran out of legal ingredients.”
Tolwin adjusted his gsses. “And Lucien? A sarcastic, reluctant battle mage with four elements and a summon with enough mana compression to ignite a small fort. He's learning faster than he wants to. That makes him... unpredictable.”
There was a long pause.Then Vael’s voice echoed into the room from the central crystal.
“...Tailor their curriculum.”
Back to the Students – We Are Not OkayThat morning, the four of us received sealed envelopes. Red wax. Silver rune stamp. My summon hissed at it.
“Looks like homework’s evolving,” I muttered.
Inside was a new css schedule.Personalized.Like a prescription for insanity.
Lucien Wyrhart – Magic Division: Custom CurriculumAdvanced Elemental Theory – Independent Study
Spell Control: Efficiency over Power (Mandatory Sessions w/ Miss Elira)
Tactical Combat Simution – Mage Positioning
History of Magical Law and Court Mage Duties
Joint Css: Sword-Mage Physical Enhancement Training
Notes: Student resists traditional ambition pathways. Curriculum refocused to push field application and tactical awareness. Required to attend quarterly etiquette seminars for “Public Mage Representation.”
Transtion: We know you’re zy, but you’re too smart to waste, so suck it up and look pretty for politics.
Rielle Eltan – Sword Division: Custom CurriculumSword Rank Elevation Course: 6 to 5 Target Path
Mana-Body Integration Training (w/ Combat Mages)
Emotional Regution Workshop (why???)
Royal Combat Observation Squad (Candidate)
Notes: Student shows elite trajectory but reckless aggression. Will be assigned moderation partner (Lucien Wyrhart) for team bancing.
“I don’t need moderation!” Rielle shouted after reading it.
“You elbowed a training dummy in the crotch and yelled ‘take that, noble scum,’” I reminded her.
“That dummy looked smug.”
Eli Marren – Sword Division: Custom CurriculumSpeed-Centric Duel Methods
Hyper-Mobility Conditioning (Tier 2 License)
Alchemy Tolerance Testing (thanks Gram)
Tactical Team Roles and Positioning
Notes: Recommended for short-term field missions. Psychological profile tagged as “feral positive.”
Eli simply flexed her arm and said, “Neat. Time to break more knees.”
Gram Whitlow – Magic Division (Potion Specialization): Custom CurriculumRestricted Alchemy Protocol
Potion Ethics Css (mandatory, again)
Field Brewing & Rapid Recovery Studies
Controlled Environment Explosive Mixing Lab
Notes: Student requires magical containment observer. Current assigned partner: Eli (God help her). Potential for high innovation, medium destruction, and total disregard for beling standards.
Group Assignment: Social Integration and Public Perception ManagementAs if that wasn’t enough, the back of the scrolls had a new program titled:
"Societal World Training – Adaptation Program"
Apparently, some high council was “concerned” that the next generation of powerful mages and sword prodigies weren’t “blending well” with the real world.
Transtion: we needed to stop terrifying people.
Weekly assignments now included:
Etiquette brunches with nobles
Civics csses on magical w
Exposure missions to “civilian culture” like markets, festivals, and charity work
And worst of all: guest lectures on how not to blow up political allies
“Rielle in a tea ceremony with nobles?” I said. “That’s not training. That’s bait.”
“Lucien being told to ‘smile more for public events’ is war crime,” Rielle shot back.
“Gram is the reason ‘potion ethics’ is now a thing,” Eli added helpfully.
Css Reactions – Because We’re Now Spectacle TierBy the next day, the rest of the academy knew. Of course.
We couldn’t walk across campus without hearing:
“Hey, that’s Squad 7, right?”“Didn’t they take down twelve Ironbacks and have a picnic on the corpses?”“I heard the mage one talks like a noble and roasts teachers with words.”“The alchemist drank a strength potion and hugged a golem!”“The sword girl threw a noble into a fountain!”“No, the other sword girl threw a professor into a hedge!”
There were now rumors we were an experimental squad for prepping anti-apocalypse heroes.Gram started selling “Squad 7 Survival Kits” from our dorm.
They include:
1 minor healing potion
1 notebook of my quotes (unauthorized)
1 sticker that says “I'm with Chaos”
We sold 40 by lunch.
End of Week Reflection: I’m Still Here. Unfortunately.That night, I sat by the window of our dorm lounge. My summon was napping on my shoulder. Outside, Rielle and Eli sparred like it was war. Gram tested a new potion with goggles made from bottle caps.
The stars shimmered above the spires of the academy, and I thought:
I didn’t ask to be important.I didn’t ask to be ranked, trained, or prepared for society.
But they’re watching us now.Teachers. Nobles. Maybe something more.
And all I want… is to pass my courses, survive sparring practice, and not get forced into some ancient prophecy nonsense.
Because if they try that?
I’ll sarcasm my way through it until the end of the world itself.
