"Ah!" the young man gasped for air, sweating from head to toe.

He wiped the sweat drops off his forehead and sat, feeling his body heavy and numb not only by sleepiness but also by the horrible nightmare he had just watched in his sleep. The sun had already paid a visit on the bed, heating his bare feet and the comfortable sheets, plus a black cat that stretched the moment his legs moved.

“Morning… slept well?” He chuckled, taking the cat in his arms. She purred the moment the man caressed her ears. “I'm ok… and you're very comfortable, aren't you?”

The man placed the lazy cat on the pillow and stretched before looking at himself in the mirror. His face was terrible: dark circles that insisted on staying, a pale and slightly greasy skin, and a short beard pleading for a razor.

Meanwhile, the cat stretched on the bed, nuzzling on the pillow and leaving traces of her fur everywhere.

After washing up and wearing new clothes, the man sat on the backyard chair with a book in one hand and the cat on his lap.

"What a weird dream...," he voiced, taking a sip of his freshly brewed coffee. "Umbra, can you move to the floor? I need to eat," he chuckled at the cat on his lap that purred and nuzzled on her owner.

Umbra softly meowed and jumped on her owner's neck, making him dearly hug the purring cat. The man whistled, and soon the pet turned into some sort of dust, incorporating into the man's shadow.

"It's my first day, Umbra. I know you want to tag along so... stay very quiet," he chuckled.

As usual, after coffee he calmly picked up his cell phone to check the time and...

...he was already very late!

Ah~ the University of Magic!

It was such an astonishing construction, made of stones and marble to give it a touch of elegance, with a wide entrance surrounded by charming small trees and bushes that were soon-to-be blooming, and a fountain right in front of the main building. The spot was perfect for gatherings and viewers, where people could meet up with friends and colleagues or have (or not) an ice cream, enjoying the view at its finest.

Carpe Diem, for the ones who enjoy it.

Simple yet charming.

Some might say the principal wasn't creative, but he did place a few new flowers here and there and new devices and services using mana.

We ought to know more about it sooner or later because, at the horizon of a wide brown marbled corridor, a young boy rushed his way and seemed in a horrible hurry, which was true. His ashy green medium hair danced in the wind and so did his robes. Beside him, a tall, blond girl joined the boy's run, holding a box full of giggling plants that had much fun on that bumpy run.

"LYDIA, IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT WE ARE LATE!" the boy shouted, and the woman laughed nervously.

“It’s our fault, Mine!!! You turned off the alarm, and I… kind of did the same later," Lydia sighed and almost stumbled on a rock, which made the little plants throw a loud 'Weeee!'

"Be careful!!!" The boy avoided the worst with a spell. "Today the administration will tell us about our new classrooms. We cannot afford to make any mistakes."

Lydia's robes were dark green-colored, a fabric made of a rare (and vicious) plant she extracted from its cotton. The sleeves and length of the garment were full of hand-sewn floral details and a few more modifications were made here and there. Her brown boots were already dirty with mud, as was her backpack on her back, but the culprits were giggling joyfully in the pot she was holding with all her might!

"THERE! AARUSH!! HELP US!!" Lydia cried at someone who calmly gazed at the hasty duo.

The boy wore a traditional teacher's clothes with much less modification than Lydia's robes. Its fabric was made of a dark purple shade and had golden arabesque details on its sleeves. The only thing he added were the charming beetle-like buttons. His slightly hooked nose contrasted with his thin olive eyes, which seemed to be always smiling.

"I knew you two would be late~" Aarush clapped his hands in congratulations as the duo gasped for air. "You two are in shape, at least. Earlier, a black-haired young man arrived as panicked as you two, and he barely caught his breath."

"Did they start the meeting?" Mine asked, wiping the sweat off his forehead while Lydia couldn't even talk.

"Don't worry, director Soleil is also late," Aarush chuckled.

A new course was about to start that semester and, therefore, the meeting was scheduled. Part of the Dark Mana and Miasma Departments, the new Exorcism degree only needed one more step to start the classes: sorting the teachers and introducing them to the freshmen.

All the teachers were gathered in the meeting room, ranging from those who taught basic subjects like magic writing to those who specialized in more complex topics such as purification and equalizing.

The meeting was brief (since the teachers had more to do), yet charming and heart-warming.

Soleil Silva, the Principal, was right beside a gloomy Abannak Moreau, the Vice Director, who had a face that wanted to die in his spot. The Director wore a white tuxedo with flower dots on the sleeves and a fresh Lily on the lapel.

A red-colored robe teacher almost took a fast nap, but Aarush poked her cheeks many times. Fani Fen was her name, and she struggled with her sleep schedule while Aarush was perfectly wide awake and avoiding her napping. Lydia, on the other hand, shamelessly slept for a few minutes because those little buds gave her a hard time last night. 

Mine paid attention to everything the administration presented, from the new systems to his new classrooms and workload. He was the University's bright and gold teacher, their youngest prodigy who quickly reached high status due to his performance and mastery. 

In addition to being in the administration's sights, the Magic Council was also watching him closely. However, a new teacher caught their attention.

"Now, we're announcing the new member to the University of Magic's family: Addai Lee-hobb! He's the new dark mana teacher, and will be taking the discipline's side B, while Shire Metsu will still teach side A," Soleil happily informed, waving his wand. "Come Addai, present yourself!"

The boy stood up from the crowd and, in a blink of an eye, was standing still on the stage in front of the public. He had an impressive posture and was quite striking to look at. His fluffy dark hair created a remarkable contrast with his thin heterochromatic eyes - one yellow and the other deep blue. His glasses were held elegantly by golden strands, adding to his charming appearance.

A true gentleman.

“Hm,” Mine huffed, with a mixture of curiosity and skepticism.

"It's a pleasure to be part of this institution," Addai bowed. "I aim to be welcoming to the new students and ensure that we have an enjoyable time together.”

"Hey," Lydia poked Mine's cheek. "He's hot, isn't he?"

"It's not time for this!" Mine quietly scolded, then pinched her nose, making her whimper.

"You two better behave. Abannak is staring at you two" Aarush broke out in a cold sweat as the Vice Director rose, fixing his gaze on the people beyond the gathered crowd.

The Vice Director wore a long dark robe with silver details on the collar and black gloves. Simple yet elegant - like his long silver hair tied up with a blue ornament. He looked directly at Mine's soul, and the boy could feel something spicy coming up.

"Addai, since you are new, we have sorted an experienced teacher named Mine Karawaga to guide you through your first months. He will be your tutor," Abannak explained, and Addai nodded. "Can you please present yourself, Mine?"

Mine approached the stage, putting on the simple light, teal-colored teacher robe he had washed the previous night. When he stepped on the first step, Addai could see that, although that teacher's name seemed to have great importance – even from the amount of murmurs from the students – he seemed... too small and too young.

His round, pink-colored eyes stared at the other teacher, welcoming him with a smile and a handshake. His smile was as lively as his flushed cheeks, eyes almost closed, and the eyelashes the center of attention.

All that gave a little more innocence to his appearance...

... until he opened his mouth.

"It's a pleasure to meet and greet you all here" Mine smiled and a thin, delicate wand, just like its owner, materialized in his hand. 

He had a firm and precise stance. His voice was also pleasant and not too shrill or high-pitched, as Addai thought it would be. He didn't seem to be very annoying. But what Addai didn't expect was to see that his tutor's hair would… change color?!

"I hope everyone enjoys Addai's classes and don't fail mine… it's well-known that some students work hard on dark mana and forget the light…" he walked on stage, making a sad face as the wand followed him floating. “Don’t forget about me, okay?” he chuckled and picked up his wand.

As Mine made the patterns with his wand, the ends of his hair changed from the usual ashy green to yellow, blue, and then ashy green to yellow, blue, and then ashy blue. A limited (and odd) palette.

A chameleon? Addai thought.

Soon, several rabbits with pure mana jumped from head to head in the audience, causing laughter and gasps – some from fright and others from excitement. Addai watched him attentively, especially regarding the rabbit that seemed to be attracted to the chains on his glasses.

"What a show-off," Lydia teased, and Aarush chuckled.

“Enjoy your first year at the Uni!” Mine bowed again, cheerfully smiling.

What a show! Soleil then took the stage's lead with the farewell vibe, ending the meeting. Mine guided Addai to the first chair she found in the audience to finish watching the meeting, as his own seat was too far away.

"I'm hoping to learn a lot from you," Addai bowed respectfully.

"Thank you," Mine smiled. "Ah, I need to give you directions. Meet me at the teacher's common room after class" he grinned, storing his wand into his pockets.

"Sure," Addai smiled.

A handshake, and it seemed like the room had gone silent for a few seconds. A pair of eyes stared at Mine, and, as straight-faced as a good Karawaga, he stared back. 

It all lasted just a few seconds, but long enough to realize that the smile on the new teacher's face had discreetly slipped into another expression that didn't appear on his face.

"You good?" Mine asked, still holding Addai's handshake.

"Huh? Yeah, why?"

"Nothing at all," Mine chuckled, releasing Addai's hand.

The new students weren't quite interested in Mine's classes because he seemed too young to teach. However, when Mine made a corpse stand and started showing the remaining mana record, all their doubts faded almost instantly, replaced by amusement and fear of what he could do to that corpse.

Morning and Afternoon classes ended, so... meeting time!

An acute screech filled the corridors, and it didn't take long, and more screeches were heard. No mistake they were... mandragoras! 

Lydia would be giving her first-year students mandragora buds for them to work on it that semester. The Pure Mana Building was perfect, because the little buds were too fussy under the sun and didn't want to share space with other plants so... that place would be enough.

The mandrakes didn't say a peep to Lydia while she was taking care of them, but when the teacher gave them to each student... they started to revolt!!!

Poor students.

Well, going back to Mine, who was already starting to look at his cell phone every second, was late for the meeting with Addai. He left the Pure Mana Building and ran to the main building to the teachers' common room. It was clean and wide. There were the teachers' lockers, a huge table, and a private exclusive book session.

When Mine touched the doorknob, he heard a few whispers coming from inside. So, he knocked on the door before entering.

“Hello? May I come in?”

No replies.

"I'm opening," Mine turned the doorknob and received a rude yank backward.

“How rude,” a voice whispered near his right ear, close enough to feel the speaker’s breath.

"WHAT THE F-?" he faced the speaker angrily, clenching his fists, ready for a counterattack. He felt a beautiful anger flow and blurred his vision. What’s with that harshness and petulance?!

"Ops, sorry," the person apologized and released his collar. "Let's pretend nothing happened."

"Shit… Fine, just because I'm too tired," Mine huffed and walked into the room, placing his backpack on the sofa. "Only this time I'll turn a blind eye on it, Addai," he sterned.

"Thank you," Addai bowed.

"Sit down. I wrote a few things for you. It's about the University system and procedures," Mine handed him a few papers meticulously written. "Any doubts you have my number."

God knows how much an anger flow fades slowly, and Mine was doing his best to not hit that soul. So, he took some of his books and placed them on the table to tidy up the locker he used as book storage since his main one – the one from the Light Mana Department – was full enough. It looked like the locker was begging for mercy, crammed to the ceiling with books and notebooks, but its owner believed that it was a mother's heart: always had room for one more book.

As Addai did not have access to all departments – as he was still in the probationary phase –, Mine decided to stay there with him, even though it was not his usual place of study/work.

"What is this?" Addai asked, with dots of curiosity in his voice.

"What?"

“This,” Addai pointed to a rainbow bracelet on Mine's wrist that looked like it had seen better and brighter days.

"Ah, it's a common bracelet. An old friend gave it to me a long time ago. Stop procrastinating and focus on your document there."

“Ok, ok… Your Wisdom," Addai mocked. 

"Come again?" Mine stared at him in disbelief.

"What? Did you think I would be your friend? I’m still not convinced you’re that good as... ah! As legend says, right Mr. Karawaga?" Addai leaned on the chair and crossed his arms.

"I'm as capable as you are," Mine looked at him even more incredulous with such petulance.

“Ah, yeah, yeah. That's what everybody says," Addai waved his right hand in disdain, "Your face even resembles as a child's one."

If God allowed - and so the University Ethic's code - Mine would surely punch the newbie's face… but he needed to act chill. "Look, I've been polite so far," Mine said, already losing his composure. "And, with that, I leave and politely tell you to fuck off,” he put his belongings in the backpack.

"Wow~" Addai whistled while Mine got out of there, trying not to shove his hand in that person's face.