The next day, Nox entered the cafeteria with a long yawn.

  His shoulders sagged as if the weight of yesterday still clung to him, and his eyelids fought to stay open.

  “Cover your mouth with your hand!”, Lina scolded him. Her tone was sharp, but her eyes betrayed concern rather than annoyance.

  “Yeah, sorry. You look tired too though,” Nox answered, sliding a piece cheese onto her plate.

  He avoided her gaze, pretending to be busy with his food.

  When they ate breakfast, the mood slowly turned tense. More students came pouring in until the room was filled to the brim.

  The once casual chatter became layered with nervous energy, chairs scraping and footsteps echoing like drumbeats.

  The clatter of trays and hushed whispers created a sense of anticipation, almost vibrating through the air. It felt like the entire cafeteria was holding its breath.

  “Listen to me students. Today is the day you all worked toward,” the principal said, stepping into the cafeteria.

  His presence alone silenced several tables at once.

  “As I already said, there will be a class ranking and an overall ranking. The lowest-ranked group moves down one class, and the highest-ranked group moves up one class.”

  “The overall ranking includes every single group across all years. You can get Yom points and spend them in the Yom store for items,” he added.

  “There will be cheap options for the first-year students, of course.”

  The principal’s words barely registered. Everyone was waiting for the ranking.

  “Now, let’s reveal the class rankings first,” Albrecht clapped in his hands and dozens of screens appeared.

  Light flooded the wall as symbols began to form.

  1st year, class A:

  1: Bunnies (8550 points)

  2: Group of the strongest (6183 points)..

  Nox felt a surge of pride as the screen lit up with their group’s name. It was real. They were there. They mattered.

  “Let’s go, we’re in first place!”, Beatrice said. Her voice cracked with excitement.

  “It’s all thanks to Nox’s efforts in the tournament,” Regea replied, looking at Nox with rare sincerity and pride.

  “No, that’s n-“

  “I agree,” Lina said, striving through his silver hair. Her fingers brushed his scalp gently, and her touch lingered a second longer than necessary, sending a small warm feeling down his spine.

  “T- thanks, but we wouldn’t have come this far without you guys either.” His voice wavered, but his smile was genuine.

  “You will also get Yom points for simply staying in your class. The higher your class, the better of course,” Albrecht shouted.

  A message appeared before them.

  -You have stayed in class A

  -You have received 400 Yom coins

  He didn’t know how much that would be, but it sounded like a lot.

  “I should go check out the Yom store afterwards,” Nox thought.

  “Let’s move on to the school ranking. For the first and second years, please bear in mind that the older students have many more opportunities to earn points, so don’t be discouraged.”

  Nox gulped heavily, not knowing what was about to come.

  An even bigger screen appeared with over 100 groups listed on it. Rows upon rows of names scrolled downward.

  Overall ranking:

  1: Unstoppable (182100 points) Reward: 25’000 Yom coins

  2: Pros (155250 points) Reward: 20’000 Yom coins

  3: Sunrise (136367 points) Reward: 16’600 Yom coins

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  4: Swifties (119250 points) Reward: 13’700 Yom coins

  5: Bombaclats (101300 points) Reward: 11’200 Yom coins

  17: Bunnies (8550 points) Reward: 1’600 Yom coins...

  32: Group of the strongest (6183 points) Reward: 950 Yom coins

  A wave of murmurs swept through the cafeteria.

  “What? We got so many coins for that?” Beatrice said, “well, no idea if 1’600 is a lot, but 17th sounds great!”

  “Let’s check out what we can buy with that,” Regea replied, clapping in his hands like an excited child.

  But for the others it was understandable. For him, this wasn’t just money. It was proof.

  He’s finally able to buy an item with his own money,” Beatrice thought. Her fingers absently brushed over his muscular forearms, before she snapped back in shock.

  They left the cafeteria, as the principal began talking about useless school rules and that the students shouldn’t get ahead of themselves, his voice fading behind them.

  They left the castle and descended the walked into a big wooden building just across the street.

  “Welcome to Yom store,” the workers said, when they saw the first students entering.

  The air was filled with a pleasant scent, and the sun illuminated the various items and clothes. Shelves shimmered with enchanted gear.

  “The common ones cost around 100 coins. The price ten folds with each grade, so around 1000 for a rare one. That’s such a scam,” Lina complained.

  “It makes sense, though. Just one grade can make an item so much better,” Nox answered.

  She bent down a bit and whispered in his ear, “shhh, let me complain. Maybe they’ll lower the prices.”

  “Yeah… maybe.”

  When he continued to stroll around, an item caught his gaze.

  Name: Special elemental necklace

  Grade: Rare

  Type: Necklace

  Description: You can only equip one necklace at once. -20% mana usage on special elements.

  Special elements are elements that can only be used by the respective stigma, meaning everything except for fire, water, earth and wind.

  “1400 Yom coins? I’d have nothing left to buy complementary items. However, it’s perfect for me, since I don’t really use basic elements,” Nox thought, grabbing the item from the shelf.

  He held it close, sneaking a glance at Lina’s approving nod.

  After everyone chose their things, they went forward to pay for them.

  “Wow, your clothes look so good,” Beatrice said to Lina.

  “Thanks, they boost my skills’ effectiveness by 20%,” she bragged.

  “But for what is that?” Nox asked, pointing at a thick, golden rope in her arms.

  “It’s almost indestructible. I think you know exactly what I’ll be using this for,” she answered. Her expression mirrored her usual calmness, but everyone knew what she meant. His cheek turned red.

  “You look adorable when your embarrassed,” Lina whispered, which made Nox’s face heat up even more.

  The four left the store and entered a nearby restaurant.

  “Which items did you two buy?” Lina asked.

  “I bought an agility ring. I want to switch to a weapon, but I’m not sure which one yet,” Beatrice replied. The ring radiated greenish mana, its structure was the same as Nox’s mana ring.

  “I- I bought this…” Regea said, holding up a small book.

  Name: First book of Crea

  Grade: Rare (Divine creation)

  Type: Stigma book

  Description: One of the 100 first books written by the goddess of creation, Crea. Includes every possible spell for Stigma stage 1-3 of the Stigma of creation.

  “A stigma book! I’ve been searching for the one of the Stigma of flames, but couldn’t find it,” Beatrice shouted with a mixture of jealousy and bitterness.

  Stigma books are special books written by the respective god 200 years ago, explaining the mastery of their powers. They’re divided into a first, second and third book, explaining more complicated skills with each one.

  “I have the first book of Luraika, the goddess of light,” Lina said, “but the second and third books are really rare. The third one wasn’t even discovered yet.”

  “Yeah, almost as rare as dragons,” Beatrice sighed.

  Lina froze mid bite, her eyes turning dark.

  “Are you okay?” Nox whispered.

  “Yeah, of course,” she replied. Her expression was completely blank again, no hesitation remaining.

  “Anyway, these Yom coins pretty good. We should go on more missions next time,” Nox suggested.

  “Then, let’s meet in the mission hall tomorrow,” Regea said, excitedly.

  When night fell, Nox and Lina strolled around in the hallways. Their footsteps echoed softly against the stone.

  Time seemed to slow, the distant sounds of the cafeteria faded, leaving only the quiet rhythm of their breaths.

  “Aren’t you afraid of the missions?” Nox asked.

  “Why would I be afraid? I’m strong you know,” she replied in a calm voice.

  Nox sighed and dragged her in his room. Before she could react, the two fell on the bed.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Regea isn’t here right now, so relax. You can tell me the truth,” he said.

  “What? You’re weird.” She let out a soft, nervous laugh. Her hand wandered to the window handle, opening it.

  “You hate liars, don’t you?” Nox pulled her closer, the night’s breeze ruffling through his hair.

  Lina’s face suddenly turned dark, and her body started to tremble slightly. Her vulnerability was new to him, making his chest tighten.

  “How did you know?”, she questioned.

  “We spend so much time together. I could see your eyes turn dark sometimes. And through the light’s rune… I could feel it,” Nox replied, moving her head to his chest.

  “My own rune exposed me, huh?”

  “You see? My heart is pounding like crazy. It’s not fair if I tell you about my problems, but you don’t do the same thing,” he added.

  Lina stayed silent for a while before she started talking.

  “My two older brothers died one year ago. They were the most promising mages and the top contestants for the position of one of the six lions.”

  “To secure that spot they went on an SSS rank mission to kill the black dragon. However, they were betrayed by their own men and left to die in the dragon’s lair,” she said.

  Something new started to dwell in her. Rage.

  “I swore myself to avenge them… but what do I get? The stigma of light. A power which requires you to rely on others,” her voice turned aggressive.

  “These basta-“

  Before Lina could continue, Nox gently laid his finger on her trembling lips.

  “Don’t worry, I will be on your side, but I’ll need your help too,” he whispered, embracing her softly.

  “I didn’t want to show you my weak side,” she replied, tears streaming down her face.

  “You shouldn’t try to lift everything on your own,” he said, striving through her blonde hair.

  “It will be heavy though.”

  Nox pulled her closer, making it impossible to escape his grasp.

  “W- What are you doing?” Lina squirmed, unable to move.

  “See? I’m pretty strong.”

  Without a word, she made herself comfortable on Nox’s chest. He felt the weight of her trust settling softly against him, steadying his heart as much as hers.

  Her eyes gradually closed, as she clung to him with trembling hands.