Elias didn't know, so he decided to start slow.
"Why did your family send you here anyway? With their influence, you can easily enter the Academy without the need to participate in the trials."
Dorian's eyes seemed to glint with light before it dimmed as a sigh escaped his lips.
"Hah... what other reason but training? The Concordia Labs has very good teachers, most of whom are renowned around the world. But I bet my old man just wants to find a suitable reason to get rid of me. Tch."
Elias tapped his chin. It was just as he had expected.
He turned to the rest of the large hall, watching as everyone sat and dined, forks and spoons clicking over ceramics.
He hadn't noticed it before, but there seemed to be an invisible divide, subtle but present among the teenagers.
The nobles, easily recognized by the coldness in their eyes and the elegance they exuded, along with the grace in each of their movements, made cliques among themselves, and the commoners also did the same.
Well, that was mostly how it seemed.
It seemed as though there was an invisible tug-of-war between both parties, like a boiling tension underneath that only needed a tap to explode.
Elias allowed himself to smile.
'Should we call this a civil war?'
Taking a pull of his juice, Elias turned to Cherry, asking curiously.
"Which Wing were you assigned to?"
She giggled. "Hehe, I am in Wing B. So you two suckers better show me some respect or I will beat you up."
Elias shook his head at her theatrics. "I am curious, though. Who are those assigned to Wing A? How many are there, and just how powerful are they compared to the rest?"
The two of them kept silent for a moment, Dorian speaking soon after.
"Well... to be in Wing A, one must first be in the Advanced Apprentice Stage (E+). And the number... there are seven of them."
He leaned against his chair. "There is Kael Everhart, the head of the Support Unit. He's a proud bitch convinced his fart smells like roses when it's just fart. Then we have Lucien Sterling, qualified enough to take a spot as the head of the Assault Unit but gave up on it for Aurora, the girl he keeps simping over."
He clicked his tongue.
"I hope he doesn't end up like me. Pretty sure that girl is no different from Belle–"
Cherry rolled her eyes at him.
"Oh, shut up!"
He coughed, talking again.
"Zayden Redgrave is the head of the Offense Unit and is a mentally unstable idiot. Then there is Alicia Stormbringer, part of his unit and a totally proud bitch convinced the world should be licking the soles of her boots."
He sighed wistfully. "Although she is also an advanced apprentice, most of the reason why people fear her is because of her ring, the Emperor's Kiss. It is a runic artifact, you see. Even rankers of the same stage will be suppressed because of that thing on her finger."
Elias narrowed his eyes, remembering the girl from moments ago who had been fighting the burly guy while eating. The presence of the ring ticked off all the boxes.
He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "A Runic Artifact?"
Cherry was the one who replied, stretching out her arms with a yawn.
"Oh, you haven't started forging class with Professor Hawthorne, so you are probably not used to this kind of stuff. Artifacts are graded based on the technicality of the circuit used to create them."
She clicked her tongue, talking in the same breath.
"Dormant Artifacts made from a lesser circuit are only capable of affecting awakeners at the Novice Rank. Awakened Artifacts come next, their blueprints drawn using a common circuit. They have a pronounced effect on those at the Beginner and Intermediate Apprentice Stages, but not much at the Advanced Apprentice Stage. A Runic Artifact, however–"
She grinned, almost as if the thought of what she was about to say excited her.
"It's enough to have anyone at the E+ Rank running for their lives."
Suddenly, Elias was overcome with the overwhelming compulsion to go steal that ring. It wasn't exactly impossible. He could use the Dark Cloak and go invisible, then snatch it from her finger and—
'Calm down, me.'
He couldn't do that yet. After all, if he wanted to use the enchantment, he should have done so already against the battle with Leona rather than spend so much time battling her when it could be ended in seconds.
But it had a cooldown of twenty-four hours, and he was planning to enter a Mirrorth tonight.
Or rather, he was planning to enter a lot of Mirrorths tonight.
Ever since he had arrived at the Concordia Labs, Elias had felt a lot of pressure settle on his shoulders. To defeat Leona, he had been forced to manifest his weaves, which wouldn't have happened if he had been strong enough to keep them hidden.
After all, even Damon had not forced his hand that much.
He already knew that something like that would come with its own problems, but if he was being honest, it was far better to show his weaves and find a way to bullshit about it being a unique manifestation of his class than not to show it at all and be stuck fighting handicapped for the rest of his life.
While Elias had no idea what benefits crossing over to the next stage would bring him since he seemed to walk a path different from most, he had a feeling that he would be in for a surprise.
All he had to do was level up.
Dorian was already talking from where he left off the moment Cherry finished, his pinky lazily prodding his right ear.
"Henry Darkwell, the leader of the scouting squad, is another advanced apprentice. I heard that one has an addiction to betting games."
He subtly pointed to the part of the cafeteria where Ethan, Chloe, and Sophia sat leisurely, eating and talking as if the rest of the cafeteria were background noise.
"Then there is the trio, all best friends that are ridiculously talented at that! Well, not as talented as me, but still..."
Cherry scoffed beside him, but he ignored her and kept talking.
"Ethan leads the defense squad and can lose to a rock when it comes to showing his emotions. I have never seen such a bland, punchable face."
Elias silently agreed.
"Chloe, well, she is the only one among them who is an intermediate apprentice. I have no idea why that is so, but I guess she must have some kind of secret? But she is a very sweet girl, though. Gave me some cookies when I thought I was having a heart attack."
Cherry seemed to tremble from withheld rage.
"That was you overreacting because she stepped on your toes."
Dorian's mouth hung open. "Oh? How come I didn't notice?"
"You insufferable–"
Right then, the alarm bells rang loudly, signifying the end of lunch. People began to file out of the cafeteria in droves, already heading in the direction of the next class for the day.
Looking at the bickering friends, Elias stood on his feet too, already satisfied with the information he had gotten for the day.
There were simply some things that even an advanced AI like Nova couldn't explain just as perfectly as one relatable human being.
Elias felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to find Dorian walking by his side with Cherry a few meters behind, selfie stick already back in hand as she yelled into her phone.
"Guess who's back, Cherries! It's the most admirable, most fabulous person of your dreams–"
Elias sighed. 'I wonder which bunch of dimwits actually signed up to be her fans.'
But the line of thought was cut off when he heard a grim voice whisper in his ear, as if afraid someone would pick it up.
"I haven't told you about Sophia."
Dorian spoke into his ear in a whisper, his voice weary.
Elias furrowed his eyebrows. It was strange for this playful guy to suddenly start sounding so serious.
"Sophia? Well, she seems mostly cold and doesn't talk much, but what about her, though?"
Elias already knew that Sophia was the leader of the Faction in general, and while he had close to no idea just how powerful she truly was, he had a hunch she was already at the Beginner Adept Stage (D-).
But even that shouldn't be enough to make him sound so grim–
"The two sides of a coin are often polar opposites. One side can be as clear as the sky, and the other far, far darker than the blackest shadows."
Then he stopped, his voice taking on a playful edge.
"Hey, how about after class is over we go play some games at the Fiva Arcade a few miles away? Hehehehehe... you should come over and witness my legendary skills for yourself."
Elias tapped his chin, half wondering if he had just imagined his words about Sophia.
He shook his head, deciding to pay it no attention for now.
'Now that I think about it, this guy is a greater narcissist than myself. How is that even possible?'
He clicked his tongue, taking in a deep breath.
"Of course, but on one condition, though."
Dorian coughed, straightening his back. They had already stepped out of the cafeteria into the familiar hallway.
"Ugh! What do you want, though? And don't dare ask me for money. I am not bribing you to enjoy yourself!"
Elias clicked his tongue. "My sister Lizzy," he said, remembering the disheartening image of the little girl who had last been crying against his shoulders.
"She's coming along."