My Servant System

The old man gestured into the large lecture hall, similar to the many college classrooms I had been in in my previous life.

Multiple long rows of desks and seats were on the left, each row below another, creating a total of four rows. Each desk seated two, and evenly spaced out. Imbedded in the desks was a small white magic crystal.

The left wall was comprised entirely of a black chalkboard, completely clean. In front of the chalkboard was a small desk and podium, likely meant for the Vice-Headmaster to speak from.

Across from us were windows, creating a very familiar scene from many shows and novels.

"Alright, pick your own seats, and infuse some of your mana into the crystal lodged in the desk you sit at please; it will let me know who sits where."

Vice-Headmaster Bijilo nodded at us before turning, walking over to his podium as he watched us filter into the room.

Jahi and Draka led us inside, the others students stepping aside as they saw them get close.

The two women led us over to the close side of the room, occupying the desks along the walls.

Draka and her group took the front, while Jahi and our group took the back.

Leone and I sat all the way in the top corner, Jahi and Anput in front of us. Draka and Rialo sat in front of them, and Poshka and Fresca sat in the very front, fixing their gazes on the desk before them.

The vampiric girl turned to look at me, a smile on her rosy lips as she said "Well, I guess we shall be partners for the year then."

I nodded, saying "Indeed we shall."

Turning my gaze to the rest of the room, I pursed my lips as I watched the two hundred some odd students situate themselves, forming groups already as they got to know their desk mates and those sitting around them.

Of course, I kept my eyes focused on that ONE seat, the one anyone who has ever watched or read a modern set show knows about; the fabled Protagonist seat, all the way in the back left of the room, looking out the window.

It seemed to almost have a natural repellent, as people refused to even approach that desk.

Of course, that's likely because the seat is the worst in the room; far from the professor and beside a window that provides distractions in visual and auditorial noise.

However, it was just something of a... novelty to me, wondering if the person that took that seat would actually be some kind of 'character'.

[Eh, yeah, it will... Remember, I told you that there were many people who were eligible to be your 'master' when you chose 'evil'? Well, that list was almost doubled for the neutral candidates, and had the same amount for the 'good' ones as well...]

I almost jumped when I heard the system, making Leone look at me in worry.

"Are you okay Kat?"

I nodded, giving her a small smile as I replied "Just a stray breeze..."

Leone narrowed her eyes at me, before nodding, returning her gaze to the flirting demoness in front of us.

'Wait, you still exist?! It's been like forever since you last spoke!'

[I was... napping? Yeah, we'll go with that. Besides, every time I 'woke' up I was greeted with the sight of you and your Mistress getting it on... and I am not a voyeur.]

I held back a chuckle, before asking 'Napping? How was I getting quests then? And Experience?'

[How do you know how to walk without thinking about it? Or breathe? It's just... what I do. Besides, you really weren't doing anything over the top that needed my direct attention, so I've been enjoying the... calm before the storm, in a sense.]

'Calm before the storm?'

[You are at an Academy. Where there are now over a thousand snobby, arrogant, talented people butting heads together. You think this'll be a joyride? No, not at all.]

'Rude. I don't plan on doing anything that would draw attention to me!'

Placing my hand on the small white crystal in front of me, I channeled a little mana into it, watching as it glowed a greenish blue, my mana still separate, much to my chagrin.

[Sure, YOU may not ask for trouble, but Jahi Asmodia is an entirely different story. You already have some 'enemies' in the Duchess Sariel and Duke Gragori, not to mention the ones that dislike you for being a talented commoner, or the ones who want to marry Jahi/Anput/Leone for political gain... Life from here on out gets much, much more intense.]

Sighing mentally, I could only agree with the little voice in my head... wait that makes me sound crazy...

Hah, whatever.

"Kat, are you sure you're okay?"

Leone placed her hand onto my own, and this time Jahi turned around, her head tilted as she asked "Something happen?"

Shaking my head, I gave both of them a small smile, saying "No, just thinking about how much trouble you'll be..."

Jahi pursed her lips, about to say something when she stopped, before nodding.

"Yeah... I would say sorry, but..."

Leone chuckled "But you wouldn't be, would you?"

The demoness gave us a wry smile, scratching her cheek before shaking her head.

"Nah, not really..."

Hearing someone cough, we looked towards the front of the room, where Vice-Headmaster Bijilo was placing a tome on his podium, looking over the now quiet students.

"Everyone is present, so no need for roll. The seats you are sitting in are yours for the year; no changing them."

That made a few people blanch, likely realizing that should their desk mates be an idiot or someone they just couldn't stand, they were stuck.

"Now, let's just go over some basic rules. No eating in this hall, no talking while I am talking, don't play with the magic crystals, if something explodes, please don't go near it, and of course, pay attention in class. This may be things you already know, but you can never go wrong with strengthening the basics."

Raking his green eyes over us, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo grinned, tapping his staff against the chalkboard.

"As I said in Orientation, my name is Bijilo, the Vice-Headmaster of this Academy. My 'title', Of the Winds, is because..."

Tapping his staff again, I watched in wonder as his mana poured out of the wooden staff, seeping into the chalkboard.

Green mana writhed around the board, forming runes as it spelt out his name and title.

"I am an Aeolus, someone with ancestry to Wind-Spirits. As such, my magic is, naturally, of the wind element. However, unlike those present, my wind has an... extra flavor. I can control different types of wind."

A girl in the crowd raised her hand, and Bijilo looked at her, nodding.

"Miss Grangeri."

"What do you mean, different types of wind? Is wind magic not all the same element?"

Smiling at her, he shook his head.

"No, no it is not. Just like how in the world around you, it is different. Now, for most people, they tend to just have a 'general' wind; no extra flair or uniqueness to it. However, a few in this class have either Combination Magic, or they have a special connection to wind. One such student is just a commoner; Miss Zara, if you would please stand up."

Gulping, I rose to my feet, all the eyes in the room turning towards me.

"Now, Miss Zara has both; she is an Ice Magician, however her wind magic is already much harsher than the norm. In fact, I imagine that she likely has troubles controlling it sometimes..."

I widened my eyes at that, nodding slightly as his green eyes locked onto my own.

He was right; whenever I used my wind, I tended to need much more control then I did with my water magic, and when trying to fuse the two it was always the wind that acted up, not the water.

"So, Miss Zara, might I asked you to create an orb of wind magic?"

Nodding again, I held out my palm, the required sequence glowing green above my open hand.

Flaring slightly, a spinning ball of pure wind hovered above my hand, and Vice-Headmaster Bijilo smiled.

"Keep it activated, please. Mister Yuas, please create an orb of wind magic as well."

Turning my gaze over, I watched as a thin boy with short brown hair stood up, nervously looking around before tracing the necessary runes in the air.

Like me, he now held a sphere of wind, however...

"Notice the difference; Miss Zara's is sharper, deadlier. Mister Yuas' is gentle, like a breeze. This is due to the kind of mana inside of them. Miss Zara has Ice Magic, so her wind must be like a blizzards, while Mister Yuas has just Wind Magic; he possesses the most normal kind of wind, which is fine. You may sit."

Yuas and I nodded, releasing our spells before sitting down.

Tapping his staff again, we watched as the mana on the board dissipated, and Vice-Headmaster Bijilo coughed into his hand.

"I'm getting ahead of myself... anyways, that will be something we go over first in this class; how different mana can be. As you could guess, this class in on the foundations of magic; we will be discussing mana itself, how to better control it, and what it can be used for. It may be basic, but like I said prior..."

Holding up his hand, everyone watched in an awed silence as a large, whirling orb of wind appeared above his palm.

"A mastery over just the basics can be the difference between being good, and being a master."

Dispelling the orb, he smiled at us, making us shiver as his eyes flared green.

"Well, we have a few more minutes, so why not get to know the people around you, hmm? Classes truly begin tomorrow, and after this I'll lead you to your History class."

We all nodded, watching as the Vice-Headmaster sat behind his deck, opening the tome as he started reading.

"That was..."

Hearing Leone's voice, I turned to see her eyes gleaming as she stared at the old man.

"Incredible! I can't wait to see what we do tomorrow!"

I nodded, smiling when I saw Jahi and Anput looking back at us with conflicted eyes.

"What, realizing how amazing magic can be?"

Jahi stiffly nodded, before looking down at Anput, who pursed her lips.

"Still prefer my swords..."

Chuckling at her grumbling, we fell into a small discussion, all three of us smiling gently as Leone spoke animatedly about how excited she was.

---

I'm back...

Hah~ I took a break yesterday, then wanted to get a chapter out at noon my time (EST) only to have my ma say "Oh, you know you needed to help me transport an entire Vans worth of items from here to a place a half hour away yeah?"

Boom, my afternoon was now gone...

Anyways, yeah, here we go; Academy start, and the system isn't dead; they were just asleep~!

---