"Don't worry too much about him, he's just talk," Marcus added, giving a quick reassuring look to Arnos. Stretching his neck slightly, Marcus started walking toward the target arena.

  "Wouldn't you like to compete with me, Arnos? Since we both have fire affinity, it looks as if our competition is destined," Marcus added, his eyes focused on the figure Emily had targeted.

  Competing with Marcus? Arnos questioned himself. Nope, no way. That would get too much attention, he quickly thought.

  "I don’t think it would be best for us to compete."

  "Eh, don’t tell me you’re chickening out, Arnos," Marcus scoffed, looking at Arnos with a hint of disappointment.

  "He’s probably too terrified to compete with Sir Marcus," a bystander girl remarked in a mocking tone.

  Yes, yes, exactly, Miss Whatever-Your-Name-Is. I am terrified of getting attention, Arnos mused.

  "So it was just luck after all," a boy standing next to Arnos whispered.

  Arnos then quietly turned toward the table where a lot of wooden wands were placed. He took one from the identical-looking stack and began walking away.

  Marcus, who had been watching Arnos until now, sighed and simply looked back at the stone target. Meanwhile, Arnos exited the building through the western exit, clutching the staff and wand in his right and left hand, respectively.

  Arnos began moving toward the eastern side of the ground. I’m not missing anything, now am I? Arnos questioned himself. He was reminded of the nonexistent daily wears in his wardrobe since he hadn't brought any with him.

  "I need to buy new clothes, don’t I?" he mentally noted. The 20,000 ron of savings is surely quite high. I might be able to get some modest clothing with it, Arnos added as he left Celera’s ground.

  In the Ares dorm library, Seras and Alisa sat in silence, though it was frequently interrupted by the noises Seras made. Alisa had already eaten a noodle dish for lunch, while Seras was enjoying the same meal right in front of her.

  "I really think it should work," Alisa said as she stared at the bracelet kept on the table.

  "That's amazin...?" Seras spoke as she slurped down the noodle dish in front of Alisa.

  "Eat before you speak, idiot. You should have atleast some basic decency," Alisa scolded Seras.

  Seras moved the bowl of noodles slightly away from her. "Not talking while eating is no fun, don't you know that? What are you, a granny?"

  "Yeah, yeah, now shut up and test it out,"

  Alisa added as she passed the black bracelet to Seras. This time, the bracelet was slightly different, instead of the transparent crystal from before, the crystal glowed with a dark purple aura.

  Seras took the bracelet in her hand as she gulped down the food in her mouth.

  "You haven't placed a scary curse on it, have you?" Seras asked, giving a skeptical look to Alisa.

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  "Maybe I did," Alisa replied in a nonchalant manner, smirking.

  "You wouldn’t do that…," Seras muttered, looking at the bracelet.

  She glanced back up at Alisa. "Did you really…?"

  "I didn’t! Just wear it idiot," Alisa said loudly.

  "Okay, okay, I’m wearing it," Seras said. She then grabbed the bracelet with her left hand, slipping it onto her right hand in a single motion.

  Alisa removed the hairpin from her hair, a five-petaled purple flower design hair pin with a sharp pointed end. She then stood from her chair and walked toward Seras.

  "I don’t feel weird. Guess it wasn’t something bad," Seras remarked in a surprised tone.

  "You really thought I would curse you?" Alisa asked as she took Seras’s left hand in hers.

  "I mean, I am a slow eater. I thought you might get jealous from me still eating noodles right in front of you and curse me to get back at me, ya know?"

  "Seriously?" Alisa rolled her eyes as she spoke. She glanced at Seras looking at the serious expression on her face, and smiled.

  "Look at the door," Alisa instructed.

  "Yes, ma’am."

  "Don’t look back, and just answer the questions I ask."

  "Okay."

  "Do you feel someone touching your left arm?" Alisa questioned as she gently moved her hand over Seras's arm.

  "I don’t, Is it supposed to take away the sense of touch too?"

  "I think you could say that, I mean that's how it should work," Alisa said as she moved toward the bookshelf’s corner, where a simple white candle and a matchbox were kept.

  Alisa grabbed the candle and matchbox, and walked back to stand in front of Seras, she placed the candle and Matchbox on the table.

  "Touch can be the cause of pain plenty of times, and since the curse is reducing the ability to sense any stimulus, it removes the wearer’s ability to feel any touch, change in temperature, or any other stimulus," She added as she lit the candle, carefully holding the pointed end of her hairpin over the flame.

  "Wait, you’re just reducing the pain? I thought you were removing the ability to feel it completely?" Seras asked in a surprised tone.

  "Sensory activity is necessary for coordinated movements. If Arnos doesn’t feel his limb, won’t it be problematic?" Alisa replied as she removed the pin from the flame.

  Seras moved her right arm as she heard Alisa’s answer.

  "I can still feel my arm."

  "You can? Isn’t that great?" Alisa said as she pressed the heated needle against the back of Seras’s hand. The needle pierced her skin, drawing a small drop of blood upon contact.

  She watched Seras closely, observing for any reaction to the pain as she gradually increased the pressure.

  "I can feel something," Seras muttered, still not looking at her hand.

  Alisa removed the pin from Seras’s hand. "You can look in this direction now, and if possible please heal yourself," she murmured in a slightly apologetic tone as she looked at the wound she had created.

  Seras nodded. "Light Affinity Intermediate Heal," she muttered as a bright light enveloped her hand, healing the wound in the next moment.

  Alisa let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry for making you test the bracelet," Alisa said in an apologetic tone as she took her seat.

  Seras shook her head dismissively. "You don’t need to be sorry for this. I mean, I was sitting here as the test subject, ya know?" she added with a wide grin and an amused expression.

  "You were?" Alisa questioned, raising her eyebrow in curiosity.

  "Yeah,” Seras said while nodding, “Stabbing yourself to check whether the bracelet is working or not would have given me a lot of anxiety, and I thought the same was true for you too. Aren’t I a nice and caring friend?" Seras added with a proud smile.

  "Well, that's rather thoughtful of you, I am impressed Seras," Alisa added.

  "I half expected a sarcastic response to it," Seras added, narrowing her eyes. "You didn't hide the real Alisa, did ya, doppelganger?"

  "I did no such thing! And it's not like I am always scolding you or anything."

  "Guess not," Seras replied with a chuckle.

  Seras slipped off the bracelet from her right wrist and stretched her right arm to pick up the black box where the bracelet had previously rested. She opened the box and placed the cursed bracelet inside.

  "I suppose I'll be taking my leave now," Seras added, standing up from her seat and letting out a yawn as she stretched both her arms.

  "Good night, I am going to sleep. I am kind of sleepy today since I didn't sleep much yesterday."

  "You were waiting for Erik, weren't you?" Alisa added with a cheeky smile.

  "Hmm… I was doing no such thing!" Seras retorted. "I was just not sleepy yesterday and am sleepy now. It makes perfect sense," she added in a stern tone as she stormed out.

  "Phew, she sure wasn't trying to hide anything," Alisa mumbled with a chuckle, as she looked at the door. Her attention quickly shifted to the library’s bookshelf.

  "Guess I'll learn some new spells then," she mumbled as she stood from her seat and walked towards the bookshelf.