A university, place of new experiences, and old problems. If one were to ask me, what I think of it, I would probably say, that I don’t really have an opinion. It would be true to some degree, but there are many thoughts that my older “me” has regarding to this subject.

This place sucks.

Yeah, as much as my new “intelligence” helps me understand the things happening around me, it also makes some of the things needlessly complicated. One of those things is fighting, and defending myself. As much as I try to control myself, and the thoughts that I have, it’s hard to do while you swing your fists, and try to stay alive. For that reason I avoid danger.

Of course, it is normal to avoid it, and its normal to want to stay alive, but sometimes it’s better to just take a punch. One of situations, that proves it’s better to take a hit, is when a nobleman challenges you to a duel. It doesn’t matter if you are right or wrong, the one thing that matters is that you are a commoner.

Why I think about those things, while standing before the gate leading to the university grounds? The reason for that is a boy, standing before me with a confident gaze, and clenched fists.

A little taller than me, with short blonde hair, and beautiful green eyes. Popular among the girls, and respected by men, he is someone that anyone learning in this place aspires to be, a true nobleman.

“Hey, commoner. It seems that we have a score to set.” Lucas said, and looked at me with anger.

Quite a language for a “true nobleman” but I can understand him. From his point of view I am nothing. As for my point of view, I’m a student taking classes in this university. Yeah, I’m a student in this place, and I simply don’t care…

“Do you want to hit me? How many times? Can you hit my stomach? I don’t want it to be visible.” I said, and he looked even more angry than before, as if I said something wrong “Don’t tell me that you came here for a fight? Do you want us to throw fists at each other near the entrance to the school? What was the next step in your plan? Getting suspended, and then thrown out of here?”

“Shut up, or you will regret this! You don’t even understand what you have done, you idiot!”

It really takes me back. I used to read books that had characters just like him, stupid, oblivious, and somewhat likeable when you get to know them. Well, I don’t intend on getting to know him, but I do think that he is stupid, and oblivious.

“Then tell me, what have I done. And do it fast if you can, my classes will start soon.” I responded, as if I was the part of the same fairytale as him.

To think that it all happened because of some tests that I aced. Is everything going to be such a pain, only because I am not a nobleman?

“You stupid… Didn’t you hear the rumors about you and Emily? I’m sure you did, and I’m sure that they are but a lie, but still... “ as he said those words, he smiled a little “You deserve a beating.”

“I just asked you, if you want to hit me, but you…” I wanted to repeat my offer, but I was quickly interrupted by Lucas.

“Shut up you mongrel! Who do you think I am?! I fight with honor! A commoner wouldn’t understand!”

You are right, I don’t understand. We are standing before the entrance to the university grounds. One wrong move, and the consequences will be bigger than you can imagine. Well, maybe for me, as for him, he is a nobleman, so maybe he is used to situations like those. Now he will throw a punch, and the next day his father will come to apologise for him.

I’m sorry, but my father is blacksmith, and the other one was a civil servant. I don’t think they hold as much power, as your parents do.

“I don’t want to do this.” I just said, and he looked at me like at an idiot.

“What? Are you stupid, or something?! What are you talking about? There is nothing you can do!”

“Well, I can run past you, and tell the teacher that you wanted to beat me.” as I said those words, Lucas smiled.

Oh, so you are planning to use your high-birth once again?

“And who do you think they are going to believe? A lowly commoner, or me, the oldest son of the head of Bowborne family.”

You sure a proud one Lucas, can’t take it away from you.

“Is your whole life devoted to using your family name?”

A weird thing… I think that I might be irritated right now. It’s not like I was never irritated before, but I thought that I would be the smarter one in situation like this. Is it because there are only two of us, and I don’t need to play my role as a good student?

Well anyway, it seemed that I struck a nerve, because he looked at me with a very angry expression.

“You commoner… You really don’t understand anything?! Those rumors, I’m sure that you like them! Maybe you even think that Emily likes you, but you are nothing. I like to use my name? Well, I do have a name worth using! And what about you, Redsteel?”

It’s getting boring. I don’t have time for this.

“I understand Lucas. It seems that talking to you won’t do me any good.” I said, and raised my index finger, pointing it at my head “You see, this guy really hates losing. If it was only about me, I would just let you hit me once or twice, and then that would be it, but he won’t let me.”

“What are you talking about? Are you not only dumb, but crazy?” Lucas replied to my words, with a smile on his face, but I wasn’t crazy.

Far from it. The thing I was pointing at, was probably the most logical thing in this world. This thing hates everything that is illogical, and what can be more devoid of logic, than risking your health, or life.

Every fight is to death. Every punch can kill you. Everything that scares you, can end your life.

I can take care of my own thoughts, as long as I’m not blinded by adrenalin, but when I am…

“Well, I don’t care about your stupid ideas, as long as I can beat you up. You have only yourself to blame… Those stupid rumors are only your fault.” Lucas said, and started running towards me.

He wasn’t that far away, and yet it seemed as if he wasn’t moving at all. The moment he jumped to attack me, was the moment he stopped moving. And it’s not like he was the only thing that stopped in its tracks either.

The leaves, grass, and the clock situated on top of the door to the university. They all stopped moving, as if someone casted a magical spell, that could manipulate time, but no one did.

Yeah, it wasn’t because of the spell, but because of me…

I’m not in danger. I’m not in danger. I’m not in danger.

I tried to calm myself down, but there wasn’t much I could do, when I was in a state like this. It would take some time for me to calm myself down, and in this time I would gather as much information as I could.

It was the true power of my brain, and the thing I would rather avoid.

I looked at the boy, that was now frozen in time. His uniform, hair, hands, and a bag. There was a slight trace of ink, on the left side of his thumb. How old is it?

I tried to remember every stain of ink I have ever had, and how it looked afterwards. How it looked, and how much of dry skin was under it.

Ten hours… It’s fresh. What did he write? Classes… We share some of our classes… Homework… Essay… On the defensive magic I think.

Eyes. Big, and green, but a little red. Did he rub them with his hands? Allergy? Nose… Not running… Not allergy? Tired? Homework… Ten hours ago was writing… Didn’t sleep well?

Hair. Has a bed hair… Didn’t have time to comb his hair… Was sleeping? Didn’t sleep well?

Some dirt on the trousers… Was sitting on the ground? Waiting for me? Didn’t go to his classes, but waited for me? I am important. Emily is important. More important than learning, even if he is an aspiring mage from a noble family.

Shoes. A little bit of dirt. Seems normal.

Uniform. A little creased up near the right shoulder… Did he lean his head on it while waiting? Tired… Didn’t sleep.

Right hand. Fist clenched. Muscles are tense, and body a little rotated… Will use this hand to attack me. Is looking at my face… Will go for it?

Nails… Played with dirt while waiting? Was bored.

Bag… Looks rather full… Is ready for classes.

As I looked at Lucas, I noticed that he was slowly getting near me. The time that once seemed to stop, now was flowing very slowly, and I needed to find something, or I was going to defend myself, and I would rather avoid that.

Danger… I’m not in danger. I’m not in…

Building… Window… Long, dark hair… Disturbed face… Looking at us… Class president, and a teacher…

Defending myself is dangerous. Can get thrown out from the school. Conclusion - I need to avoid taking the hit, and then get away from him. Reason - I will avoid the danger, and I won’t suffer the consequences of fighting with him. Method - start running away.

The time that once was slow, now was flowing normally, and Lucas was quickly getting near me. As much as I would enjoy hitting him in the face with a powerful spell, it wasn’t the way I was doing things in here, and with him going after me, I had a perfect excuse for me being late.

As I turned around, I pondered if it was luck, that made the class president look at us from that window. My brain is hard to appease, and it’s highest priority is to defend me. Normally, I would just beat him really hard, but that couldn’t be the way out from this situation.

Yeah, the logic of this brain is hard to appease, but this time I succeeded.

One of the reasons for that, is that he was sleepy. Yeah, he didn’t sleep, and he was weak. Normally, I don’t run away, because I’m weaker and slower than most of the people. Instead I fight because it gives me higher chance of winning, and because of my intelligence, every spell I cast will probably get the work done, but now he was weaker. Didn’t sleep for almost whole night, and that gave me the advantage.

“Hey! Wait! Are you just going to run!? You coward!” Lucas started shouting, as he ran after me.

That was a stupid thing to do Lucas. Couldn’t you just make a trap near the trees, and take some guys with you? That’s how I would do it, if I wanted to beat someone up. Don’t tell me that it’s because of your honor.

“Hey! Stop! I’m going to beat you up! Stop, or you will regret this!” the shouts were starting to get quieter, as he got more tired from running after me.

“H-Hey… J-Just wait!” he finally stopped as we approached the place where the lake was, and I did the same thing “J-Just give me some time… A m-moment…”

I turned around, and looked at Lucas. He looked pretty tired, and regaining his energy would take him a few minutes. Amount of time, that can be used for many things, but one of them would be flying to this place from the university, with the help of a spell. A spell that is very popular with adventurers, because it gives them a lot of speed, and a spell that would be good to use, if you wanted to catch up to a student, that seemed to want to fight with someone.

“J-Just a moment… And I will…”

“Hey! You there! Stop, and stay where you are!” man’s voice came from the above, and when I looked into its direction, I saw a familiar teacher. The one with a long beard, and pointy hat - a person that made those weird, flying fireworks on our lecture.

He was flying above the ground in a standing position, and beside him was a girl, that was now grabbing her skirt, to cover anything that could have been seen under it.

What is she doing here? Why did he even take her?

“T-Teacher?!” Lucas shouted, when he looked into his direction.

“Silence! I didn’t permit you to speak!” the response was cold, and the person that said this, didn’t look too pleased. There was a big wrinkle on his forehead, as if he tried to look angry at all costs. As for the girl beside him, even if she was still grabbing her skirt, her face had the same, blank expression as always.

Shouldn’t she be red by now?

After quickly getting on the ground, the teacher looked at both of us with anger, and then approached Lucas.

“Well, what happened here boy. Could you tell us?”

“I w-was… I m-mean we… we were… going… but… I mean… There was a problem… but I…” with every new word from Lucas, the expression on teacher’s face looked darker, and darker.

“Can’t speak, I presume. Well, then can your friend tell us, what was happening here?” this time he looked at me.

“Yeah. He wanted to beat me.” I responded quickly, without thinking too much. It surprised not only the teacher, but also Lucas, that was now looking at me as if I betrayed him for some reason.

“You say, that he wanted to beat you. Do you know the reason?”

“Yeah, he is jealous because of this girl. I think he likes her, and…”

“Shut up! Shut up! What are you talking about! You are but a commoner! I should just beat you into a...!” Lucas tried to threaten me, but he quickly realised that he made a big mistake. The old man, that was talking to me a moment ago, was now grabbing his ear, as he cried from pain.

“Beat him?! Beat him?! You are but a commoner?! And look at yourself now! Who are you?! Who are you?!”

“I-I am t-the son, of the head…”

“Wrong! You are a student! A student! Do you understand!” the teacher grabbed his ear even stronger, and Lucas cried once again.

I smiled a little, but I didn’t enjoy looking at it that much. It was a waste of time, and probably another reason for people to bully me. It could only mean another troubles.

As I looked away from them, I noticed that the girl that also got here, was now staring at me. She looked at me with her usual, blank expression, and yet for some reason she made me feel uncomfortable.

There was some mud on her shoes, but it was mostly wiped, probably using this grass near the hut.

“Why are you looking at my shoes?” a weak voice echoed in my ears, as I heard her, asking me this question.

Those two were still “playing” with each other, making a lot of noise, and yet, I still heard her clearly. I slowly lifted my gaze, and after that I met her big, blue eyes.

She was beautiful. Her small nose, and cute lips. Her long black hair, and even her unfazed face.

She was beautiful, but she was also dangerous.

“For the same reason, I am now looking at your face.” I responded, and my voice was similar to her - cold, without emotions, and hard to read.

“And that is?”

“I can.”

Well, aren’t I a cool one? This must be the part of my new personality, because I can’t really imagine my old self, looking a girl into her eyes, and saying something so cringy as that. Anyway, it doesn’t really matter right now, as I should probably take care of matters at hand.

“Well, well! Aren’t you a stupid one! You will have some big problems, once we return! Hey, you! You are going too! I can imagine, that he was the one being stupid, but I will need the testimony from both of…”

“There is no need for that.” Emily interrupted the teacher, and he looked at her surprised.

“Well, I can understand why you would say that, but I still need…”

“Lucas will confess everything. He will describe will utmost details, just how stupid he is, and how much he deserves punishment, so there is no need for him to go with you.” as she said those words, she pointed at me.

What does she want? What do you truly want from me?

The teacher looked at her, and he started thinking. It took him some time, but he finally nodded, and smiled. I don’t know if she persuaded him, or he did it only because she was the daughter of the principal.

“Well you are probably right, this one rascal may be everything I need.”

“W-Wait! Can’t I say anything! I don’t…” Lucas tried to defend himself, or he just tried to take me down with him, but he stopped when he saw the look on Emily’s face.

It’s weird, how her usual, blank expression may seem so different all the time.

“Well, I should get going for now. The classes will start soon, and I’m sure I’m not the only one, that has something to say to this scoundrel. Want a lft? My spells are strong, and they can take many people.” the teacher said, and looked at me.

“Oh, there is no need. I might be a little late, but I still don’t want to ride with someone who wanted to beat me. I would rather walk.” I said those words, and this weird wizard in pointy hat just nodded.

Well, that was my excuse. The real reason was this girl beside me, that was probably going to fly with him. If I can avoid her, then I should do it at all cost.

“Well, then young lady… Jump on, and we will…”

“I’ll walk too.”

Wait… You flew here, and now you are going to walk? Do you even understand how this looks?

“Oh? Say no more, I understand everything now! Why you wanted to fly here with me. Well now, I’ll take this rascal alone, and you should enjoy your stroll!” a disgusting response, combined with a disgusting smile.

“H-Hey! W-Wait! I won’t let you…”

“Now, now! Will you shut up!? Fly!” the teacher shouted the name of the spell, and at the same time grabbed the ear of the boy stronger, making him cry from pain once again.

Was this the equality that I was seeking for so long, because it did put a smile on my face.

But now I had bigger problems. Well, a problem to be exact, and it was standing next to me. For a moment, I stood up in place, hoping that she would just start walking to the university on her own, but she didn’t. She didn’t move, and in addition, she was staring at me for the whole time.

I returned her gaze, but it didn’t seem to matter for her, because she looked at me all the same.

“Is something the matter?” I asked, and she tilted her head a little.

“No, why do you ask?”

“You seemed to be looking at me for some time now, and to tell you the truth, it makes me uncomfortable.” I said those words, while still looking at her.

I don’t know, what she has learned about me, but it should remind her, that her behavior is abnormal.

“I see.” she just responded quickly, while still staring at me.

She’s not normal. You don’t need to be a genius, to deduce that she isn’t normal. Well, I knew it from the beginning, but she really seems different than others.

“You see? Well… Could you stop staring at me?”

“No.”

She’s not normal. She’s far away from normal.

“Why?”

“Because I’m interested in you.”

“Didn’t we speak about it before? There is nothing great about me, nor there ever was.”

“Oh, I remember.” she said, and tilted her head in the other direction “I remember how you fooled me.”

How I fooled her?

“I don’t really understand, but I should get going now. The classes have already started, and I don’t want to waste any more time, than I have already did.” as I said those words, I started walking towards the university.

If she didn’t want to move first, then I should be the one to do it. Of course, running away from her would be a little suspicious, but walking shouldn’t be a problem. Our talk will be shorter, if we talk while walking, and if she won’t go after me, then it’s all the better.

“Why didn’t you beat him?” she said those words, and started following me.

“Why didn’t I beat him? What is this question? It’s not like he is weak, and I don’t think that I would stand a chance against him. And even if I did, do you truly think, that I would fight him near the entrance to the school?”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful that you didn’t do anything to him…”

“Still speaking about things like this. Can you tell me, why you think I was capable of beating him?”

“I saw it in your eyes.” as she said those words, I stopped for a moment to take a look at her. She was staring at the ground, and she stopped moving at the same moment that I did.

“Are you joking right now?”

She’s a dangerous one. A really dangerous one. Her talent must be massive. For a person to have a talent like this…

“I’m not joking…”

“Yeah, yeah… Whatever you want. I could beat him in a second, but I didn’t. Was it what you wanted to hear? Can we move on now?” as I said those words, I once again turned towards the university and started walking.

I could hear her footsteps, so she was still following me, but she wasn’t saying anything. Not like it made me sad or anything. On the contrary, her silence was my blessing. This new world... I had a lot of knowledge about it, but I still didn’t even know half the things I wanted to.

It’s still too early. Too early to...

“Hey, look out!”

Wait, what?

I turned around, when I heard her shouting, and when I did, I saw a small rock now flying towards my face. As for the reason it was there, she threw it. Her stance, and the look in her eyes told me that it was her.

As I watched the rock coming towards my face, I felt the danger, and the danger meant only one thing…

World once again slowed down before me, and the informations started pouring into my brain. Informations about the little fly, that was now suspended in the air before my face, or about the plants, that were planted in this garden.

Informations about the rock, it’s velocity, size, and acceleration. Finally, informations about the girl, now standing before me motionless, in a stupid pose.

Slow down.

I thought about those words, and then I put mana into them. When my brain made sure, that the rock has been affected by the spell, it started to calm down, and the time once again started flowing in its normal speed.

After that I looked at the girl, and she looked at me, with her usual, blank expression.

“Why did you do that?” I asked, and she approached me a little.

“You know what?” she asked, while walking towards me “You are pretty smart. If someone were to ask me, then I would say that you are probably one of the smartest people I have ever known. And yet…” she made a small pause, and when she was nearly touching me, she continued speaking “You really suck, at the art of deception, Matthew.”

That was the first time, when I saw her smiling.