Chương 39: Chapter 37: Team Assignments (2)

"Team 18 will consist of Sikkar Rumiosi—" Teacher Daisor continued. Sikkar straightened immediately, one hand dropping onto Karro's head.

"—Sulia Rumiosi—" The twins turned toward each other.

"Hell yes!" They slapped their palms together in a loud high five. Teacher Daisor waited.

"And Yibleen Delacie." Yibleen's hopeful expression crumbled openly. Aloric looked at the three of them. All blond. The thought escaped before he considered keeping it to himself.

"That's a team of blondies." Arla laughed. Ralovit gave a short bark of amusement from a few desks away.

"No," someone else called from the side of the classroom.

"That's the rich-kids team." More laughter followed. Yibleen groaned and looked desperately toward Teacher Daisor.

"Why me? What did I do wrong to get assigned with these two idiots?" Sulia turned on her.

"How dare you? You should feel honoured to be on our team."

"Exactly," Sikkar said.

"Leave the team if you don't like it. Sulia and I are more than enough."

"Nothing I said was wrong," Yibleen snapped.

"You ungrateful—" Teacher Daisor struck one fist against the lectern. The bang silenced the room.

"Enough." The twins and Yibleen glared at one another but stopped speaking.

"These teams were not assembled by drawing names from a basket," Teacher Daisor said.

"The headteacher and senior instructors analyzed your exam results, academy records, strengths, weaknesses, and class-teacher recommendations. Every proposed team then went to the Vazaag for final approval." He looked directly at the three members of Team 18.

"Your squad was created with a scouting and tracking specialization in mind. Sikkar has Karro—" The dog barked once at the sound of his name.

"—and Sulia has her ash beetles. Yibleen possesses one of the strongest mana-sensing talents the academy has seen in years." Yibleen's annoyance faded slightly.

"Your abilities complement one another," Teacher Daisor continued.

"Your instructor will explain the details, but there is no mistake in this assignment." Nobody objected anymore, though Yibleen still looked a little disappointed.

"Your squad instructor will be Lishana Hagnaar, a Siurim-ranked manaweaver." The twins high-fived again.

"A Rumiosi instructor would have been much better," Sikkar said, "but a Hagnaar will do." Sulia grinned.

"Yeah, I can live with that." Yibleen looked less certain. At the front of the classroom, Teacher Daisor had returned his attention to the scroll. His brow furrowed as he read farther down the list, and he seemed too troubled by whatever he had found to continue the announcements. With the teacher still occupied, Arla leaned closer to her friend with a grin, trying to distract her from the thought of spending every mission with the twins.

"This really is a loaded team, you know? The Rumiosi have more gilens than they know what to do with, your mother represents the merchants on the Vazaag's advisory council, and now you have a Hagnaar instructor."

"I'm not saying my family is poor," Yibleen replied with a shrug, her ponytail shifting behind her.

"But outside Korsivir's two great clans—the Hagnaar and Rudox—no clan can match the Rumiosi for wealth. And my family isn't a clan at all." Arla nodded slowly, thinking about something.

"Wait. Lishana Hagnaar... isn't she the Vazaag's niece?" Yibleen turned sharply.

"Really?"

"I'm almost certain. I'm sure I saw her speaking with my father once."

"She must be extremely strong, then," Yibleen said excitedly.

"Even for a Siurim." Hovaru bit into another cookie.

"The twins must have pulled some strings. That's probably why they stopped complaining about not getting a Rumiosi instructor."

"Hey! We didn't pull any strings," Sulia countered.

"You probably wouldn't even know if your clan did something," Arla snorted.

"Your mother could change half the city's alliances without either of you ever realizing it." The twins looked pleased by that rather than offended. Hovaru glanced at Yibleen.

"Still, I'm glad you got a strong instructor. Even if you have to survive these two."

"Yeah, at least something useful will come from being trapped with them," Yibleen smiled.

"I'm not from a clan, so learning from a Siurim of the Hagnaar clan—who also happens to be the Vazaag's niece—is a huge opportunity." Aloric agreed with that. Yibleen might technically be clanless, but she had placed first in the mana-ability portion of the graduation exams. With talent like that, she had probably been guaranteed a good squad and a Siurim instructor regardless of her background. Even so, becoming the student of the Vazaag's niece was more than she could have expected.

Aloric felt a small ache of envy. If his own scores had been better, perhaps he could have earned a Siurim instructor too. Instead, he would be fortunate to receive a Tarim. And that was only if he avoided the Nourim reserve. Graduates sent there could still take missions, seek individual training from more experienced manaweavers, and join temporary teams for assignments, but most spent years waiting for a permanent squad position that never came. Their careers did not necessarily end there.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. They simply failed to begin. At the front of the classroom, Teacher Daisor finally looked up from the scroll, though the frown had not entirely left his face.

"Moving on. Team 19 will consist of Arla Farritz, Hovaru Yaboli—" Arla and Hovaru turned toward each other and slapped hands. Aloric leaned forward. His name could be next. Please. Please let his name be the next one... Arla and Hovaru were his friends. Being placed with them would make everything easier. They had trained together, studied together, and survived enough arguments to know how the others thought. Both were also clan-born and among the stronger graduates in the class.

They were almost certain to receive a Siurim instructor. Teacher Daisor glanced farther down the scroll.

"And Ralovit Vayot." Aloric's hope collapsed. From near the back of the classroom, Ralovit pumped a fist.

"Fuck yes." That was as close to open celebration as anyone was likely to get from him. Arla and Hovaru turned toward the Vayot boy. Ralovit pushed himself out of his seat and walked closer, adjusting the two swords strapped across his back. Hovaru grinned.

"Our team is going to be great."

"I'm just glad we didn't get either twin," Arla said. She looked Ralovit up and down.

"You are... difficult, but at least you're strong." Ralovit snorted. Arla frowned.

"That was a compliment."

"Sounded like shit." Arla ignored him.

"Hovaru and I aren't heavy attackers. I'm quick, and he's good at holding his ground. But having someone with strong offensive ability should make up for that."

"So it's the chubby-and-chibi squad," Sikkar called from his seat. Sulia smirked.

"And the curse-master completes the team. What a distinguished squad." Hovaru shot to his feet, fists clenched.

"Shut up, you bastards!"

"Sit down, Hovaru," Teacher Daisor said. Hovaru hesitated before lowering himself back into his chair. Teacher Daisor turned his glare toward the twins.

"And you two will remain silent unless you would like me to delay your graduation." Sikkar's smug expression vanished.

"Wait, what? You can't do that!"

"We already passed!" Sulia added quickly.

"Until you register as manaweavers at the central administrative compound, you remain under the academy's authority," Teacher Daisor said with a pleasant smile.

"That means I can still recommend that either of you be held back." The twins just stared at him.

"So unless you want to discover how much influence your mother has over the academy— none, because nobody does —stop provoking your classmates every time you two open your mouths." Sikkar sank lower in his seat. Sulia folded her arms and looked away. Neither spoke again. For the moment. Teacher Daisor returned to the list.

"Team 19 has been formed with counterattack and capture in mind. Your instructor will be Torvil Kralov, a Siurim-ranked manaweaver."

"Perfect," Arla and Hovaru said together. Ralovit pumped his fist again, then frowned.

"Who the fuck is that?" Arla stared at him.

"You just celebrated."

"I celebrated his rank."

"So did I," Arla admitted.

"I've never heard that surname before." She glanced toward Aloric. He shook his head.

"No idea, but as a Siurim, he must certainly be strong." Apart from academy gossip, nearly everything Aloric knew about Korsivir's manaweavers came from Perilia. She had mentioned dozens of names over the years, but Torvil Kralov was not one he remembered hearing. Someone seated near the front gave a quiet snort.

"As if three students from three major clans, all ranked near the top of the academy, were ever going to receive a Tarim instructor." Arla looked pleased by that observation. Hovaru opened another packet of chips and shrugged.

"Guess we'll find out who he is soon enough." He shoved several chips into his mouth at once. Probably his way of celebrating. A huge belch escaped him immediately, and a few chip crumbs fell from his mouth. Yibleen groaned. Arla stared at him.

"Disgusting..." Hovaru rubbed his stomach and grinned.

"I might have eaten too much today, I guess." Arla snorted.

"Just today?" Teacher Daisor cleared his throat before Hovaru could answer.

"All right. The next one is Team 20." The room quieted again. Teacher Daisor looked down at the scroll.

"Velron Rudox." The tall fighting specialist gave a low grunt from his seat at the back of the classroom but otherwise did not react.

"Nemirie Qanza." Nemirie lifted her chin slightly. There was no open celebration, but quiet satisfaction showed in the way she straightened. Being placed beside the academy's undefeated sparring champion probably seemed like the natural result for its top-ranked graduate. Arla glanced between them and grinned.

"I would like to see those two work together." Hovaru nodded, still chewing.

"Nemirie cares about grades and runes more than people. Velron only cares about fighting. Neither of them is good at cooperating with anyone." Nemirie turned her head slightly.

"I can hear you."

"I assumed you could," Hovaru shrugged. He looked toward Velron. The Rudox boy did not react.

"The third person of this squad is going to have a difficult time," Hovaru continued.

"Gonna be a strong team, though." Aloric looked between the two announced members. Nemirie had achieved the highest overall score in the entire academy, with a perfect score in the written test. Velron had placed second and remained undefeated in sparring throughout all four years of the academy. Their personalities might make any cooperation with them miserable, but their ability was undeniable.

"Yeah," Aloric said quietly.

"I wouldn't want to deal with both their egos. I'm glad I didn't score high enough to end up with them." Arla snorted. The room remained quiet as they waited for Teacher Daisor to speak. Aloric looked toward the front, wondering why he still hadn't announced the third member of Team 20. Their teacher's eyes remained fixed on the scroll. His earlier smile had disappeared. His gaze moved back over the same part of the list, and a faint crease formed between his eyebrows.

The room grew quieter as more students noticed. Teacher Daisor adjusted the parchment and scanned the surrounding part of the list. Then his gaze flicked briefly toward the broken wax seal beside the lectern. Then he rolled the scroll closed.

"Wait here." Nobody spoke.

"I need to confirm something with the headteacher." He stepped away from the lectern and walked out of the classroom, carrying the scroll with him. The door closed. For one breath, the room remained silent. Then everyone began talking at once.

"What was that?"

"Was there a mistake?"

"Maybe Team 20 only has two members."

"That makes no sense."

"Maybe their instructor refused the third student." Arla turned around in her chair to face Aloric and Hovaru.

"He definitely saw something unexpected."

"Maybe the third name was copied incorrectly," Yibleen said. Sikkar leaned back with a smug expression.

"Whoever it is probably wasn't good enough to be placed with those two." Nemirie glanced toward the closed classroom door, her expression composed but curious. Velron remained facing the front wall, looking as though he did not care whether Team 20 received a third member at all.

"What if it's someone from a lower class?" Hovaru wondered aloud.

"Then Teacher Daisor wouldn't need the headteacher," Arla said.

"He would just announce it."

"Maybe he saw Sikkar's name a second time," Yibleen suggested. Sikkar looked horrified.

"One squad is already lucky enough to have me."" More than enough," Arla muttered. The speculation continued. Minutes passed. The longer Teacher Daisor remained away, the more uncomfortable the room became. Even the students who had already received their assignments stopped speaking about their own squads and turned toward the door. Aloric listened to the speculation, but his own worry had not changed. Team 20 obviously belonged to the academy's best graduates, but that had nothing to do with him.

He just wanted Teacher Daisor to return and finish the list so he could finally learn whether he had been assigned to a squad or sent to the reserve force. At last, footsteps approached from the corridor. The classroom fell silent before the door opened.