I followed Kaeya to the back end of the library, where the lit sconces barely reached some of the dustier shelves. He stopped suddenly, standing in the corner where two large bookshelves met. Placing his hands on his hips, he turned to the side to look at me, "Here we are. Hold this book for a moment, will you?"

"The secret passageway?" I took the Vision Studies textbook from Kaeya. "These are just shelves."

"True," he nodded before turning forward and grasping the wooden frame. "But if you give it a little push."

With a slight grunt, he shoved forward and the shelf moved into the wall. My eyebrows lifted a fraction as I watched the slow process that revealed a small, dark room. Kaeya took a step back from the shelf and made a gesture as if to say ta-da.

Hesitantly, I took a step inside and gave my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the low lighting. In one corner, an abandoned desk sat with aged paper scattered about, and a simple wooden chair was knocked off-kilter. Besides that and a few cobwebs, a door stood at the other end of the room, illuminated by a single flickering sconce.

"I wouldn't call this a passageway." I spared him an unimpressed look.

"Sure is a secret, though." He straightened out the chair and moved the bookshelf back in place. "You wouldn't have thought a place like this would be here, am I right?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on going around, shoving bookshelves into walls." I rolled my eyes. "Let me guess, that door leads to the lecture building?"

"Naturally," he stepped up and jiggled the doorknob. After a few tries, it swung open with a slight creak and crumbles of dust. "After you."

"How'd you come across that place, anyway?" I ducked under the low frame and found myself in the lecture building, just as promised.

"I happened to come into possession of old blueprints of the school's original layout." He closed the door behind him. Except, instead of a door, the other side was wall paneling identical to the rest of the hallway. "Celestia is thousands of years old, so of course, renovations have gone underway."

"Okay, but why a tiny room?"

"It could have been a study room."

"I feel like it shouldn't be easy for a student to just find old blueprints." I frowned and began to walk down the hall to class. "Shouldn't that be classified?"

Kaeya shrugged. "I never said it was easy."

"We could have taken the outside route. What made you decide to show me this secret?"

"If I'm to have a treasure hunting partner, I'll need her to know the lay of the land."

"That again?" I side-eyed him. "I thought you were joking earlier."

"I don't joke about treasure." Kaeya leveled his gaze. "Especially mine."

"You haven't even found it—if it even exists. How could it be yours?"

"Oh, it will be."

I stopped. "Why me? Say I do believe you about this whole treasure mystery. Why would you want a—how did you put it—green first-year as your partner in all this? You don't even know me all that much."

Just then, a growing clamor of conversation rose as lecture doors swung open and students began to spill into the hall.

"Oh, would you look at that?" Kaeya plucked the Vision Studies textbook out of my hands and picked up his pace. "Class just ended."

"Kaeya," I said in a warning tone. "Answer my question."

"You speak as though I've done something wrong." He held a hand to his chest. "Must we quarrel in front of our peers?"

I look over to the bustling students, busy getting to their next class. I sighed. "Whatever, it probably doesn't even exist."

He hummed in response, saying nothing.

"I still want to know why you're paying so much interest in me." I stopped outside the Vision Studies lecture room and stared him down. "It's highly suspicious."

He smiled slowly, returning my stare. "Call it a certain feeling. Intuition."

"We'll see about that." I narrowed my eyes and stepped closer to him so that no one could overhear. "Don't think that just because I'm a first-year, I'll let you trick me into something."

"Noted," Kaeya nodded and lifted the book in his hands. "Will you hand this to Professor Minci for me? My next class is quite far and I must get going."

"Sure," I grabbed it from him and quickly pulled away after our hands grazed. "Are you sure fingerless gloves are the best option for warmth?"

"It's all about style, Lumine." he walked away, disappearing into the crowd. "Have fun in class."

Entering the lecture hall, I continued to wonder what Kaeya could be up to. I remember Childe mentioning to not trust anyone with an eyepatch, and it's clear now that he was talking about Kaeya. Knowing that Childe was held back a year, it makes sense that those two would have had time to get to know each other. Maybe I'll ask Childe about Kaeya's antics.

"Hello, sweetie," Professor Minci called out, pulling me from my thoughts. "Have you brought a gift for me?"

"Oh right," I stepped to the front of the class and handed her the textbook. "This is from Kaeya. He said you sent him to grab it from the library."

"That was quite a while ago," she mused. "He must have gotten distracted. Though, I can see why." Professor Minci's eyes darted across my face before traveling down my body and coming back up again. "What a particular face."

"Sorry?" I lifted a hand to my cheek. "Is there something on my face?"

"Oh no," she dismissed the notion with a giggle. "That's not what I meant. Please, take a seat. Our class will begin soon."

"Yes, Professor." I quickly moved away from the woman's lingering look.

Stepping up the shallow stairs, I debated where I should sit for my very first academic class. My eyes skipped to the very back rows before deciding against that. It would be hard to focus, and I needed to pay as much attention as possible.

"Move it, blondie," a voice snapped and I turned to find none other than the Twin Mages frowning at me. "You're in the way."

"You'd better not be thinking of sitting back there," the white-haired one—Cicin—glowered. "That's our spot. We claimed it last year."

"What are you even doing in this class?" Cici's violet eyes narrowed. "You don't have a Vision."

"That's none of your business." I brushed past them and went for one of the front rows. "Don't bother me and we won't have an issue."

"What did she just say?" one of them hissed behind me, but I ignored them and continued on.

Finally sitting down and trying to ignore the daggers being glared into the back of my skull, I set my bag down and pulled out a notebook. What were Cici and Cicin doing in a beginner's Vision Studies class? Since they were second-years, I would have assumed that they'd be in a different level. Hold on, now that I think about it, they didn't have Visions either. Hypocrites.

"Hey, Lumine!" A student slid into the seat on my right, and I smiled to greet Xiangling's familiar face. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Me too!" Amber plopped down on my left.

Bennett also showed up, sporting a bandage on his leg that hadn't been there during Physical Combat. "Is there room for one more?"

"Sure, the whole row's empty." I gestured to the seats.

"So," Xiangling leaned in. "What did Instructor Xiao say to you?"

"Oh, right! Your Physical Combat class." Amber nudged my arm. "Feeling sore yet?"

"Actually, it was—"

"Welcome to your first day of Vision Studies." Professor Minci's voice cut through the lecture hall. She stood from her desk and moved to the podium at the center of the floor. "We have plenty of material to get through today, so please do not waste my energy with side conversations."

"Tell me about it later," Amber whispered with a wink.

"My name is Lisa Minci, and I will be your professor for this course. Vision Studies will be split into two sections: the first will focus on learning, and the second will focus on practice. Using your Vision is like using a muscle—your power will only grow as you actively use it with proper knowledge." She moved away from the podium and began to leisurely pace across the floor.

"While this is the first day of Vision Studies, not everyone here is a novice to the course. This year, we have decided to combine classes of first-years and second-years. The board has decided that first-years would benefit from having a peer guide, and this is a wonderful opportunity for second-years to gain mentorship skills."

So that's why the Twin Mages were here. I scoffed lightly at the thought of either of them being good human beings, let alone mentors.

"As indicated in the syllabus, second-years will have supplementary readings and advanced assessments to match with their prior knowledge. Now," she stopped at the podium and lifted a sheet of paper. "On here I have a list of randomized pairings that will remain for the rest of the semester. Please find your partner and take a seat together."

"This sounds exciting," Xiangling beamed.

Bennett looked around. "I hope I get another Pyro. They might be able to help me control my flames."

Similar murmurs and whispers broke out across the room.

"I know who I wouldn't want to be partnered with," I sighed and looked to the back of the room. "That would be unfortunate."

"Everyone, keep the inside volume down," Professor Minci said. "Now, please raise your hand when your name is called. The first pair is Amber and Rosaria."

Amber's hand shot into the air with surprising speed, and I glanced around the room, curious to see who Rosaria might be. At first, I couldn't pick out any other hands from the students, but then I noticed the slow, almost reluctant hand of a dead-tired student sitting by herself.

"I see her!" Amber whisper-yelled and began collecting her things. "Wish me luck!"

"Bennett and Chongyun."

"Oh boy," Bennett stood straight up as his name was called and swiveled around. "I see him. Coming!"

I watched as he clambered over to the reserved student, his frosty eyes took in Bennett warily.

"Xiangling and Xingqiu."

"See ya!" Xiangling left after spotting her partner, sitting by Chongyun and Bennett.

"Ellin and Cici."

I blinked in surprise, not realizing Ellin was in this class as well. It was comforting to know that another person without a Vision was eager to still learn about the elements, but now I was worried for her. I spotted Ellin from across the room, her eyes widened enough that I could clearly see the whites of them. From the back, Cici's sputtering was audible.

"You can't put me with her." The mage stood up. "She's Visionless!"

"All pairings are final." Professor Minci shook her head. "You must find a way to work together."

"You have got to be kidding me." Cici sat back down and glared at Ellin. "Well, are you just going to sit there with that stupid look on your face? Get back here already, Ella."

"My name is Ellin."

"It might be a good time for me to mention that a peer evaluation will be administered at the end of the semester," Professor Minci stated. "This will be based on performance and contribution to work. Your grade in this course is contingent upon this evaluation."

There were no more outbursts to the partner assignments after that, not that I'd expect anyone else to be as disrespectful as Cici and Cicin.

"And for our final pairing," Professor Minci looked at me, and I sat up taller. "Lumine and Thoma."