Morena woke before dawn, at least that is what she was informed by the AI. The room actually had no windows; in fact, every section of the tower she had walked so far lacked any. That made it hard to tell what was going on outside.

The mental exhaustion from the previous day still lingered faintly, but she pushed it aside. According to the book, the first free class of the day was called Wizarding Basics. If the name wasn't a big hint as to what it was about, it covered the core concepts of what made a Wizard a Wizard.

The basics, the foundation, knowledge that all Wizards should have, and it started in just over an hour.

She had no intention of being late; she actually wanted to be early so she could find a good seat and meet some of the other people.

She cleaned up quickly, tied her hair back, straightened her clothes, and grabbed her badge before heading out. The corridors were still dim, only sparsely lit by the crystals placed along the hallway.

Most doors remained shut, and most people hadn't even woken up yet to get ready.

Morena moved quietly up the staircase, following the map she had memorized earlier.

The classroom was located on the fifth floor, and while the Tower allowed free access only between certain floors, this one was thankfully open to all new apprentices.

When she arrived, the door was open. The room inside was large, set up like a lecture hall with rows of desks carved from stone, platforms going upward like steps, and floating crystals suspended high above to illuminate the entire space.

There were already a few students inside; some who had reached even before her. She thought she was eager to be early, but it seemed like others were even more eager to learn than she was.

Morena walked in, taking a seat near the front but not directly in the first row. Close enough to see and hear everything clearly, but not close enough to seem desperate.

As she settled, she took a moment to observe the others who had been in the room before her, and those entering after.

It did not take long before the seat beside her was taken.

A boy, who seemed a bit younger than her, sat down, eyes wide with excitement and nerves. His hair was messy, and his clothes were plain; his appearance wasn't much cared for.

Morena could only assume he was a commoner, as no nobleborn would care for themselves so half-hazardly.

He looked at her and froze.

"O-oh... hi. I'm Ren. Just Ren."

Morena nodded slightly; it seemed like she was right. Most commoners didn't have last names; it wasn't like they couldn't have one, most simply never saw the need to use a last name because of their position.

A last name was the 'family name' and most commoners didn't care about such things.

"Morena."

His face lit up more than it should have.

"I didn't see you before. Are you new?"

Morena only nodded to the question, and as if taking it as a sign to go off, the boy started speaking nonstop.

"I never thought I'd get into a place like this. I mean, Wizards, real ones. I didn't even know anything about magic before coming here. Not even a little. They say we will actually get to use Mana one day. Can you believe it?"

He leaned forward slightly, almost bouncing in his seat.

Morena gave a small hum.

"That is why we are here."

His cheeks went pink; he was looking at her too much.

Morena could already tell he was young and naive, and completely unaware of how obvious he was being.

Before he could say anything else, another voice chimed in from behind them.

"You two seem very chummy."

Morena turned her head.

A girl, neatly dressed, with her dark hair tied up in a braid and a silver pin on her collar. She carried herself like someone raised with certain expectations.

"I am Elara Falkner."

Morena could tell immediately she was noble-born. She had the tone, the posture, the subtle flair of superiority. But since the girl hadn't done anything to annoy her just yet, she decided to indulge her a little.

Morena nodded in greeting.

"Morena."

Elara took the seat behind her, raising her chin slightly.

"I already knew quite a lot about Wizards before coming here. My father paid for my entry test before I traveled all this way. They said I am at talent level 3. Not common at all."

It seemed she had overheard the conversation before and decided to chime in with some information of her own.

The pride in her voice made Ren shrink a little.

Morena listened along but wasn't really bothered by her boasting; after all, she was a talent level 2, a mere one below. Maybe that one was a massive gap, but she had ways to make up for it.

"That is good for you."

Elara smiled in a pleased way, as though she took the comment as validation.

Beside her, another figure hovered awkwardly. A girl, close to Morena's age, dressed plainly, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve.

"Hello... I'm Liri."

Her voice was so soft Morena almost missed it.

Elara patted the shy girl's arm.

"She is from my city. But don't let her shy attitude fool you. She tested at talent level 5."

Ren's jaw dropped, and even Morena was surprised at the shocking number.

"Five? That's the highest I've heard of."

Liri's cheeks burned red, and she looked down at her lap.

"I... it was just luck..."

Morena studied her for a moment.

She could feel the nervous energy rolling off the girl. She couldn't tell if perhaps she was pretending or just truly didn't understand how much potential she had, how dangerous it could be.

If being a talent level 2 was enough to reach a second-grade apprentice, then just imagine what a talent level 5 could achieve? A true Wizard? Perhaps it was only a matter of time for her as long as she survived and worked hard.

She has such an advantage above all of them that she just needed to try a little, and she would pass them.

Morena would have to pay attention to her, just enough to make sure she doesn't get in her way.

"You were born with that luck; you're quite lucky."

Morena commented, which made the girl sit down with her face downward.

Before the conversation could continue, the classroom grew louder.

A boy strutted in with far too much noise.

He was dressed in embroidered clothes, rings on his fingers, and a smug expression that made Morena's eye twitch immediately. Behind him followed another boy, thinner, his posture hunched as he trailed the first like a shadow.

The flashy boy ran his hand through his hair as he scanned the room.

"Move, peasants. A prince needs a place fitting of his stature."

Morena looked ahead, refusing to acknowledge him.

He took a seat in the row to her right, a few desks away, and the lackey sat beside him immediately.

The prince leaned back, kicking his feet up on the desk as his eyes scanned the room for potential targets.

"Hey. You. The pretty one."

He pointed at her, and Morena could already tell that he was going to be an annoyance to her morning.

"Yes, you. I saw you walk in earlier. You can sit with me if you want. I do not mind gracing someone like you with my company."

Morena didn't turn her head; she didn't even bother to indulge the boy's conversation with her attention.

She said nothing.

His smile faltered seeing that he was ignored, and he decided speaking louder might work out for him.

"Hey, I'm speaking to you."

She still didn't look at him.

Elara covered her mouth to hide a smile.

Ren stared between them nervously.

Liri shrank into her seat, not wanting to get involved.

The lackey leaned forward and whispered loudly enough for all to hear.

"His Highness is showing you favor. You should respond."

Seeing that they were going to press until she bothered to give him some attention, she had to finally speak.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm not interested. I am quite satisfied with this seat."

The prince scoffed in disbelief.

"No? Do you even know who I am?"

"I do not."

"You should address him properly. He's the third Prince of the Gortien Kingdom."

The lackey said quickly, as if shocked that someone didn't know who the boy was, but truth be told, most of the people in the class didn't know who the boy was.

After all, the Tower recruited people from various small Kingdoms around the area, not all of them interacted with each other.

Morena only shook her head and turned.

"I appreciate the offer; however, I'm here to learn, not socialize. I'm sure you're the same."

The prince opened his mouth, ready to continue, but the classroom suddenly filled with a faint hum as rows of crystals brightened.

Everyone fell silent.

Morena looked forward again.

The free class was about to begin.

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