Sam, Alice, Bryce and Chloe all returned to the classroom with five minutes to spare after having had a late lunch in the cafeteria. The opening ceremony had gone on longer than anticipated and they were expecting to have to stay a little longer to finish the first day of school. They had been told that their class schedules would be provided to them this afternoon and Sam was looking forward to seeing what class he would get first.

  Sam had returned to his seat and was waiting for the start of class. All of the students had returned to class, but the professor hadn’t arrived yet. It was after another 15 minutes had passed before Professor Deveer returned to class. “Sorry I’m late everyone; there was a bit of an incident after the opening ceremony and all of the staff were doing a debrief. Now that I’m here we shall start by handing out your class schedules for the year. Please note that these are your weekly schedules and any classes that require longer periods occasionally may result in changes. When that occurs, you will be provided with a revised schedule for the week in question. Now when I call your name please come down and collect your schedule” Professor Deveer said.

  When Sam’s name was called he walked down to the lectern and collected his class schedule before returning to his seat. Sam gave it a look over to see what classes he had tomorrow. As today was the first day of the week and classes weren’t running he would miss the classes for today however he was mostly just looking forward to seeing what he had.

  As Sam looked over his class schedule he saw that Magic Combat was his first class tomorrow. Sam was suddenly filled with excitement. His first class at the academy would be magic combat. Hopefully that meant that he would be taught some Magic natural skills that he could use, especially for dungeon diving.

  Sam looked at the rest of the day’s schedule. After magic combat class he had a weapons combat class. He was a bit nervous about this one as his ability with weapons was likely lower than a lot of the other students taking the class.

  After weapons combat there was the first break of the day. It was only a half hour break, however, so there wasn’t too much time between the second and third classes of the day. After the first break he then had advanced equestrian class followed by dungeon diving. This was the class he was most excited for. He was eager to learn about dungeons as well as begin diving into them although he knew that one would take a bit longer to get to. The thought of slaying the monsters inside and leaving victorious with treasure hidden within had excited him and he couldn’t wait to get started.

  After the dungeon diving class there was another break. This one was longer and went for forty-five minutes allowing for a bit more time to eat and have a break. After that it was followed by the last two lessons of the day with the first being Alchemy, Enchanting and Potion Craft and finishing off with Mathematics and Finance, which seemed like it might be a challenge at the end of a busy day but alas that was how the schedule was set for tomorrow.

  “So, Sam, what classes are you taking?” Alice asked as she leaned over to look at his schedule. “Well, out of the mandatory classes I’m taking Weapons and Magic Combat” replied Sam. “I’m taking Healing and Magic Combat. My Blood Skill is Magic related, so those ones are most suitable for me” she said. “What about your electives?”. “I’m taking Dungeon Diving, the magical arts class Alchemy, enchanting and potion craft, Advanced Combat and Advanced Equestrian” Sam said. “Oh, looks like we have some more shared classes. I’m also taking the alchemy, enchanting and potion craft class as well as dungeon diving. Chloe is also taking dungeon diving so maybe we should party up” she suggested. “Oh, I see that would be good. How many people are normally in a party?” Sam asked. “Well, normally five or six but there can be more or less although I think the academy enforces a minimum of five members to a party for the dungeon diving class” she said. “Good to know, what other classes are you taking?” Sam asked. “Domain Management and Dancing. I’ve had plenty of etiquette classes so I don’t need that, and I’m not overly interested in the others however I will likely need domain management in the further and it’s only normally taught to the first and second prince and first princess in the palace, so I decided to take it in the academy. And I like dancing, so I took that as well” she explained.

  “Alright everyone, now that you all have your schedules I have a few things I would like to explain to you all about classes going forward so please pay close attention to what I have to say” Professor Deveer said. Sam turned back towards the professor to give him his full attention. He didn’t want to miss anything he might need to know for tomorrow.

  “Now we need to nominate some class representatives. One male and on female from the class. They will occasionally be required to do some work with the student council involving events and other multi-class activities. Now please raise your hands if you are willing to be a class representative” the Professor said. Sam waited for a moment to see if any hands were raised. After a few brief moments no one had raised their hand. Sam through about it and decided he wouldn’t mind being a class representative. He still wasn’t really sure what one did but hey, it seemed interesting.

  Sam finally raised his hand nominating himself for the position. A few moments later Alice also raised her hand. “Well, it doesn’t look like there is anyone else so Alice and Sam it is. There won’t be anything to do this week but starting next Monday, I want you here 15 minutes before the start of homeroom, alright?” Professor Deveer asked. “Yes, sir” both Alice and Sam said simultaneously.

  Once class had finished for the day Sam, Alice, Bryce and Chloe had dinner in the dining hall before going their separate ways. Alice was commuting to the academy while renovations to the female dorms were being made to better accommodate a member of the royal family. Sam didn’t understand how the dorm rooms currently provided weren’t suitable but assumed it was because there wasn’t enough gold or something. He supposed he couldn’t blame them as if he was rich he’d probably want things to be gold as well.

  Sam made a quick stop by the administration building before it closed for the day and dropped off the letter he had written to his family. After dropping off the letter Sam returned to his dorm room and did an internal debrief of the day. It has been quite tiring and there was a lot of information to take in but he knew that today would be easy in comparison to the rest of the year. There was a lot to learn, and he was excited to do so but knew it would be tough. He was still processing the fact that his scholarship was given to him for saving a princess.

  There was too much to think about and Sam was too tired to think about it. He went over his books again making sure he had everything he needed in his bag and went to bed early. It took Sam a while to fall asleep despite how tired he was. The thoughts of all that had happened and all that would happen floated in his mind keeping him awake. Eventually, however, he fell asleep.

  The next morning Sam got up early and went down to the dining room to get some breakfast. On his way there he ran into a couple of his classmates. He was just about to say good morning to them when they suddenly surrounded him. He was taken off guard and surprised at the sudden situation.

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  “How do you know the Princess commoner” one of his classmates asked aggressively. “I, um… what do you mean?” Sam asked confused at the situation he suddenly found himself in. “You know what we mean, how are you so close to the Princess?” another of the boys said. Sam was stunned and struggled to get out an answer. “You’d better stay away from her if you know what’s best” the first boy threatened. Finally catching himself Sam replied, “I’ll do what I want”. “Then so will we” the first boy said again as he drew back a fist.

  Sam quickly brought up his arms to guard his face when a shout came in from behind them. “What do you think you’re doing. Leave him alone Fritz” the voice shouted from behind the group. The group parted to reveal another boy a bit taller than the rest of them approach. “What do you think you’re doing? You want to get expelled on your second day?” the unknown boy said. “I um, no I was just” Fritz stuttered. “You were just what, attacking a fellow student? That’s unacceptable. I hope I don’t have to tell my father about this” the newcomer said. “I’m sorry, but I was just trying to put this commoner in his place” Fritz said defensively. “He isn’t even a commoner and who are you to decided who her highness interacts with?” he said. “I …I… I’m sorry” Fritz fearfully replied. “And the rest of you as well, be gone” the boy commanded. The group dispersed and fled elsewhere Fritz looking back at them like a wounded dog before skulking away.

  “I hope you’re alright” the boy said to Sam once everyone else had left. “Yeah, I’m okay” he replied relieved that he didn’t have to try to fight them considering he wasn’t exactly a skilled fighter yet and he had been heavily outnumbered. “My name is Albert Sallimar the first son of Duke Sallimar” he introduced himself. “I’m Samuel Holdridge, nice to meet you” Sam replied. “Sorry about those lot. They view themselves as inferior, so they try to cause trouble for others to make themselves feel better” Albert explained. “I see” Sam replied.

  “So, your also in class 1-A I see” Albert said. “Yes, apparently all scholarship students end up in class A according to the administration staff I spoke to” Sam replied. “Are you on your way to get breakfast? Mind if I join you?” Albert asked. “Feel free, I was going to be eating by myself anyway” Sam admitted.

  Sam and Albert headed to the dining room for breakfast before parting ways and heading back to their individual dorm rooms to get ready for class. Sam once again checked to make sure all of his textbooks had been returned to his bag and that he had everything he needed for class. He felt like he was acting overly paranoid but wanted to make sure he didn’t leave a negative first impression on his teachers. Once he was sure he had everything he needed Sam made his way towards homeroom.

  When Sam arrived for homeroom he found Bryce sitting in the same seat as he had yesterday and decided he may as well sit in the same seat. “Morning Bryce, how are you this morning?” Sam asked. “Morning Sam I’m good. Slept well last night that’s for sure” he replied. “Yeah, so did I. Despite the fact that it was mostly sitting down all day I felt exhausted. What class do you have first up today?” Sam asked. “Magic Combat. I’ve been riding pretty much since I could sit in a saddle, so I don’t need that class. Not overly interested in combat magic since I’m planning to take over my father’s business, but I’d rather take a class on a subject I’m unfamiliar with and can learn from than one I don’t need” Bryce said. “Yeah, I’m in the same boat there although I probably would have taken magic combat either way. I worked for the village stables for one year during summer break and was taught to ride and care for horses during that time. I have taken the advanced equestrian elective though” Sam replied. “Yeah, so have I. The electives aren’t overly suited for a merchant, but the mathematics and finance class is worth it in and of itself” Bryce explained.

  As Bryce finished his explanation Alice and Chloe entered the room with Alice sitting beside Sam with Chloe sitting on her left. “Morning Sam, ready for our first lessons of the day?” Alice asked him. “I sure am” Sam replied. “Magic Combat is the first class up. As far as I know all four of us are in that class” she said. “Yeah, that’s right” Sam said as he leaned back in his chair trying to calm his excitement as it was making him feel a bit restless.

  Not long after Alice had arrived, the professor also entered the classroom and took up his position behind the lectern. Sam watched as the group of boys who had hassled him earlier entered the room and he caught some of them glaring in his direction. Fritz on the other hand seemed to pay him no mind. Sam was hopeful that Albert’s threats were paying off and that they wouldn’t continue to hassle him. Just as he was thinking that Albert entered the classroom and headed towards him sitting in the seat in front on him.

  “Long time no see” Albert said as he gave him a smile. “Are you doing magic combat or Equestrian?” Albert asked. “The four of us are all doing magic combat” Sam said. “Yeah same here. I was given a lot of riding lessons, so I don’t need to take the equestrian classes” Albert said. “Most higher-ranking nobles are given riding lessons when younger. Chloe is the only one other than you that’s taking advanced equestrian out of the five of us” Alice said. “I was given the basics when I was being trained to serve Princess Alice but only standard stuff. I want to learn more about riding and to get better as it, so I took the advanced equestrian class as well” Chloe said. Just as she had finished the Professor cleared his throat and began their second day homeroom.

  “Good morning all. I’m glad to see everyone made it on time for their second day” the Professor said as he scanned the classroom. “Now there are a few things I want to go over during this homeroom. The first of these is in regard to your first classes. Now this week you will be attending each of your classes for the first time. This means that you will be given equipment and stationery and other things you will need for the class. Since you will be going to classes one after another please ensure that if you need to drop anything you cannot carry off to your dormitory be sure to first attend your next class to inform the teacher. They will understand as most of the class will likely be having to do the same but please make sure you tell the teacher of your next class first” he explained.

  “Now, the next thing is in relation to the incident that occurred yesterday. There was an incident where a student who had been expelled the previous year attempted to reenter the academy grounds. During the opening ceremony the academy guards were able to detain them. This is just a reminder to always be on guard, even though the academy is well guarded it doesn’t mean those who wish to do wrong won’t be able to make it onto the campus. In some cases, they may be another student. We have had cases like that here in the past so please pay attention to your surroundings at all times” he cautioned. What a coincidence Sam thought as the Professor continued on.

  “The final thing I will say before letting you out a bit early is in regard to the Mathematics and Finance class later today. I will be doing a competency test to assess each student’s current level. This is to not only act as a competency test but also as a bit of a reminder and to get you into the correct frame of mind. Those of you who are ahead of some of the others may receive alternate work to complete while those less experienced are brought up to speed” the Professor explained. “Now I will leave it there for today. I looked forward to hearing from you all about your first day of classes in tomorrow’s homeroom” he said as he dismissed the class.

  Bryce quickly made his way out of the classroom as they were dismissed while Sam, Alice, Albert and Chloe slowly made way to their new classroom. The magic combat class was located in the magically protected arena. Sam assumed there would be a classroom of sorts within the building that they would use for their first lesson. As they left the academic building and walked towards the magic arena Sam felt like someone was starting at him. He stopped and turned around to see who it was but couldn’t see anyone around that appeared to be paying any attention to either him or the other members of his group. “You forget something Sam?” Alice called from in front of him where everyone else had also come to a stop and was looking back at him. “No, sorry” Sam quickly replied as he jogged to catch up. Must have been my imagination Sam through as he continued on to the magic arena with his new group of friends.