Wait what? Did he just say he's giving me 10 gold?

  “That is way too much! That’s years of a normal worker's salary, I can’t accept that!”

  “Sorry, but you have no choice in this matter, Valar,” Viktor smiled. “I’m giving you money because I trust that you are a profitable investment. If I paid you any less, I would feel bad. Even this much seems like I’m the winning party in our agreement.”

  Is research on my fire that valuable to him? I don’t understand what Viktor would even gain from it! He’s certainly not a fire mage… Valar truly didn’t understand, but he wasn’t about to question Viktor further. The mage was giving him money, and the orphan boy simply couldn’t say no to such a sum.

  “Besides, the academy tuition costs more than 10 gold anyway,” Viktor muttered. “This is a paltry sum…”

  “Of course… I’ll handle the necessary paperwork once you depart,” Gregory seemed to be out of his shocked state, though his eyes were still a bit wider than normal. “If that is all, we should be done here. Thank you for your patronage, Valar, Viktor.”

  The pair left the bank after that, with Valar’s account set up and soon 10 gold richer. In addition to the ridiculous sum, Viktor handed the boy a pouch, Valar counting almost 50 silver inside.

  “That’s a bit of spending money since the account funds often take some time to withdraw. With that pouch of silver you should be able to avoid going to the bank for some time.”

  “Thank you, really,” Valar said. “I still don’t fully get what you get out of this, but still, thank you.”

  He didn’t get a response, Viktor soon leading them to a small store meant for school equipment instead. The store wasn’t luxurious by any means, but the equipment they sold was the best in Viktor’s humble opinion. Valar didn’t know much about the notebooks and pens they were buying, so he couldn’t be sure if they were that much better than others. I guess I’ll have to trust Viktor’s judgement on this… Maybe I can compare with others when the semester starts.

  After that, they didn’t have much left to do. Valar’s backpack was full of equipment, his account was set up and a pouch of silver hung at his waist. It was time for goodbyes, even if for a short time.

  “You’ll have to head back to the academy by yourself. I have some matters I need to handle back home since I have been gone for a couple of weeks.”

  “Traveling with you has been really nice. Thank you, Viktor,” Valar bowed deeply, the wind mage cringing at the sight. “When will we meet next?”

  “I suspect I will send a letter for you later today, but I think the time for our first experiment will be next weekend. Don’t worry. You will hear from me soon enough.”

  Viktor left with a smile on his face, waving to Valar until he disappeared in the mass of people.

  Valar just stared at the mass of pedestrians for a while, thinking, This is the first time I’m actually alone for a week. It feels really nice, but also kind of hollow…

  He started wandering back in the direction of the academy, his thoughts not really on the people swarming around him. Valar’s pace was leisurely, not in any rush to get anywhere. He wanted lunch at some point but wasn’t feeling hungry just yet.

  The nice thing about the academy was that it was easy to spot even from far away. He could see the towers from the edge of the merchant district, but even if he hadn’t been able to, the royal palace was right there. Navigation in the city wasn’t really an issue when you were going to the biggest place in it.

  When he started nearing the academy, Valar saw a peculiar sight. If the academy entrance hall had been empty yesterday, today was the exact opposite. There was a line out of the door… Why is there a line? Even if there are a lot of people, the hall should have plenty of space-.

  The hall was full… Entirely full. The line to the front desk snaked along the whole room, each arrival’s entrance taking quite a bit of time from the clerks. Yesterday, only two women had been working at the desk—now there were ten. Valar even spotted Mary working with the others, the young woman’s eyes just as tired as yesterday. Apparently, she hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep.

  Initially, Valar had been hesitant to skip the line but as he found out, the line was only meant for newcomers that hadn’t gotten their rooms yet. Viktor’s decision to come one day earlier had paid off, as Valar had gotten to avoid hours and hours of useless waiting time.

  “I swear if this is the treatment my sweet boy will have to expect, I’m transferring him to Thornton first thing tomorrow!” A shrill voice echoed through the bustling hall, the noblewoman’s complaints falling on deaf ears. Everyone was tired of waiting, and the minor noble’s complaints did not matter when she wouldn’t transfer her kid anyways.

  Valar circled the hall slowly. Getting to the skybridge that led to the water tower wasn’t easy work, but he managed to snake between the noble families waiting in line. Why don’t they just come on earlier days… All of this could have been avoided and I could already be in my room!

  Just when he was about to leave the hall, Valar spotted a familiar face in the line. Elizabeth and her family were getting close to the desk, only twenty minutes or so from the clerks. He decided to go talk to her, as the girl was pretty much the only person he had met before in the whole line.

  “Elizabeth, nice to see you here!” Valar waved to the young fire mage. “How long have you all been waiting for?”

  The girl turned to look at Valar, the boy approaching with a smile on his face. She wasn’t the only one…

  Countless eyes followed the thirteen-year-old boy around the room, some of them eventually flashing with the color of their affinity. Gasps erupted across the room, Valar himself deaf to the ruckus he was causing.

  “Oh… Nice to see you Valar,” Elizabeth answered distractedly, looking around at the lightshow of eyes instead. “You should maybe look around…”

  Valar turned his head away from the girl’s family, his eyes going wide with confusion and fright.

  Countless flashing lights of all colors assaulted his vision, students and parents alike inspecting and reinspecting the anomaly in front of them. He felt exposed… Vulnerable… Like prey in front of a hunter.

  “Who in the abyss is that kid?” A loud voice rang out from the crowd. “Why didn’t I awaken that young, mom?”

  The room erupted with similar questions, the sheer amount of gazing eyes and loud voices overwhelming Valar. He defaulted to his chosen defence: Escape.

  Valar ran. He ran to the skybridge and through it to the tower where his dorm was. Finally, he ran to his door, opened it, dashed in and slammed the door behind his back.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The boy’s heartbeat was like a drum of war, blood rushing in his ears like a raging river. He sat against the locked door, unseeing and unfeeling. His eyes were bright orange, gazing sightlessly at his own room and the window beyond it.

  It wasn’t all bad though. Even though Valar’s eyes shone like blazing infernos, no fire erupted from his soul. He managed to control himself, most of the risk averted once he got out of the crowd. In his own room, he could calm down alone…

  “Poor kid,” Adrien grunted. “That kind of attention just isn’t good at that age. I hope he will manage to avoid the brunt of it during the coming days.”

  Elizabeth tended to agree. Valar had landed himself in the center of noble attention at only iron rank. It wasn’t even due to his own actions, just the fact that he had awakened so young. Now he was paying for it dearly.

  “How will he manage to do that? We have a big class where everyone is supposed to come tomorrow, remember?”

  “That is true,” Adrien muttered to himself. “I’ll try to contact the faculty about this today… Maybe they can situate him in a better spot during classes like that. Besides, he might not be totally doomed. One of the princes is starting his iron rank studies too.”

  “A prince of the kingdom is starting school at the same time as me?” Elizabeth had to admit that she was excited to hear the news. “Yeah, he’s probably getting a lot of attention too…”

  “Daughter, try to make friends with them both,” Elizabeth’s mother butted in the discussion.

  “I get the prince, as a friendship with royalty could bring a lot of favor, but why Valar?”

  “It’s because that boy is either going to ascend through the ranks or die trying,” Adrien laughed. “His eyes… That boy despises being weak, and he’ll do anything to rid himself of that weakness.”

  Valar felt himself calm down bit by bit, the fire leaving his eyes as his anxiety withdrew to the back of his mind. It was still there, but now he could actually think. That was stupid of me… No, I can’t blame myself for all that attention. I just have to somehow deal with it. It seemed like Valar’s iron rank semester wouldn’t be quite as pleasant as he thought. He hadn’t expected such attention, but should have done so in hindsight.

  Every single person he had met and actually got inspected by had reacted similarly. This time, it was just a room full of those same people—their reactions amplifying each other with their intensity. He had hoped to coast by as an unknown, maybe getting a few friends along the way, but that wasn’t clearly going to happen.

  The problem was… How was Valar going to deal with that attention? Viktor wasn’t there to protect him, and neither could Elaine. He guessed that the life magic classes would be easier anyways, as there were way less students to stare at him. In those amounts, he could even get to know some of them. The bigger classes for all of the iron rank students were a bigger problem. Valar didn’t really know any other options than to ignore the whispers and gazes, but he wasn’t entirely sure on if he could even do that. Only time will tell.

  Valar didn’t go to get lunch, lying on his bed instead. He didn’t want to go back there, the peoples’ gazes just too much for the boy. Instead, he took a nap.

  After a few hours of sleep, Valar woke up to a knock on his door. He got up hesitantly, eventually opening the door slightly to see who was on the other side.

  “So… The semester hasn't even started and you are famous already,” Elaine was standing there, her grin a bit crooked with worry. “Can I come in?”

  “Why are you here?”

  “I’m here to give some help and advice,” The woman’s smile was genuine this time. “The faculty got to know about your small incident fast, and I volunteered to go talk to you. So I ask again... Can I come in?”

  Valar opened the door further hesitantly, letting the life magic professor into his room. She walked in, removed her shoes and finally sat down on the edge of Valar’s bed. The woman patted the spot next to herself, a kind smile on her face as she waited for Valar to get up on the fortress of bedding.

  “I will start with some news that is sure to be good for you,” Elaine started. “You are going to receive some special treatment… Only if you want to, of course.”

  “What kind of special treatment?”

  “Believe me, we’ve had several similar issues in the past. High nobles, abstract affinities, early awakenings… The whole lot. Usually all of them have landed in a similar spot to you. That’s why we have a special back row of seats in every lecture hall, fitted with illusory enchantments. Essentially, you and a couple others will be able to follow the classes in peace.”

  “That sounds like a lifesaver!” Valar almost teared up, imagining the chance to actually learn without everyone staring at him. “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier though?”

  “That’s the thing… These things are usually only handled when attention like this falls on certain individuals. We don’t tend to give students these privileges if there’s a chance they don’t need it. I could’ve predicted that this would happen though… I’m sorry for not warning you.”

  Valar kind of wanted to blame the professor for the incident, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t have believed her words before the incident anyway, as he wasn’t used to that kind of attention. Hindsight once again… Blaming her would be childish, and I already acted childishly in front of her yesterday. I swore to be better, so I will.

  “It’s not your fault,” he sighed. “I wouldn’t have believed you anyway. Following the classes from the back row would be nice though… Are there others on that row this semester?”

  Elaine shrugged. “Usually the row populates during the first days of the semester, but there are two students there with you as of this moment. One is an abstract mage and the other is one of the crown princes.”

  “And I’m the third person in that group? I don’t feel like I fit in…”

  “You are a lowborn orphan who awakened to the life affinity at the age of thirteen,” The life professor sighed deeply. “Yes, you do belong in that group… In the eyes of others, you are a comparable oddity to the abstract mage, but not the royalty. His oddity is a question of status, you and the abstract boy are a question of sheer rarity.”

  Valar didn’t know what to feel. Am I an oddity? A freak? He knew one thing though—Valar didn’t like being the center of attention. He had been a freak for his whole life, the other kids of the orphanage avoiding the boy with strange pains and a bad attitude. Now, Valar was rapidly approaching a similar situation.

  “I have to say, there’s a reason why we don’t put a lot of people in the back row. I’ll give you this warning Valar: Being there for each and every class will not make you approachable to others. Your situation will not get better, the back row just easing the symptoms.”

  Deep down, he had known that fact already. As long as he got special treatment, others would think that he was special. But what choice did he have? I don’t think I can withstand that kind of attention in every class. I came here to learn, and Viktor is paying a hefty sum for me to get that knowledge… I can’t focus if people are gossiping about me.

  He was put in a tough position. Valar wanted friends, he truly did, but not accepting the opportunity for more focused learning felt like a kind of betrayal towards his sponsor. After some time, Valar made the decision that felt best to him.

  “I’ll go to the back row with the others,” He grunted. “I don’t like amplifying the attention pointed at me, but learning is more important than that.”

  Elaine looked at him critically, trying to find something in his expression. Eventually she nodded and got up, patting Valar on the shoulder in the process.

  “I understand that it is a hard choice, but I respect your decision,” She handed Valar a small sigil made out of stone. It was only a bit bigger than a coin, but the runes on its surface made it look and feel wildly different. “That sigil key gives you access to the back row in all of the bigger lecture halls and the private area in the cafeteria. I’m afraid the school can’t offer you more protection from prying eyes, but don’t hesitate to come talk in my office if you feel anxious. I’m the professor of healing after all.”

  The woman had a slightly sad look on her face. She knew that she wasn’t actually truly helping Valar with his issue. He would have a tough semester ahead of him…

  Elaine left with that, giving both her support and comforting words for Valar’s situation. Valar was left alone once more, laying on his bed sigil in hand.

  He didn’t go to dinner that night, the street food with Viktor his only meal of the day.

  Valar did not cry. Mostly, he felt numb inside. There was no great emotion—he was just exhausted. It had not been a good day at all.

  Last thing before falling asleep, Valar looked out of the window. The stars shone brightly in the night sky, giving him some level of comfort

  I wish upon a star… Please let tomorrow be better.

  The following night, Valar saw nightmares of countless eyes, all gazing at him. That night, the boy did not sleep well.