*Morning*
Of all the ways to start her morning, sitting at the bar area of Kirsche's Cafe and Inn while drinking coffee with one of her teachers was not something Morgan would typically include in her list of possibilities.
It had been a rather uneventful morning up until that point. Morgan had woken up, gotten dressed, packed her school supplies, and was strolling to Kirsche's for a morning cup of joe before the school day began. The usual daily routine. So when she opened the cafe door to find that her usual spot at the bar counter already occupied, it certainly threw her for a little loop. Then she blinked a couple times and recognized the seat's current occupant as Makarov, the orbal science instructor. He was wearing his usual attire, a white lab coat and brown sweater over a yellow polo and slacks, and he was reading a small magazine.
Morgan sat down in the seat two spaces away from him. "Good morning, Instructor," she greeted him.
The orbal science instructor lazily looked up, saw Morgan, gave a brief "Morning", and went back to reading.
Of the Thors faculty, Makarov was probably the only one who could compete with Sara in the "teacher who doesn't normally act like a teacher" category. He was a smoker, he always treated things with a laid-back attitude, he complained about paperwork, his hair was unkempt, and he never bothered to shave, with a permanent stubble along his chin. With all of these traits combined, a normal person would be forgiven for thinking that he was a slacker. However, not only was he very knowledgeable about orbal technology, he was very capable and could do a surprising amount of work for someone who complained about it all the time. If anything, the fact that nothing ever seemed to faze him only made it more difficult for students to tell if they attained his approval or not. Morgan remembered something her father said once. "Nothing is more frightening than nothing." It certainly explained why she felt slightly uneasy around his company. At least Sara was vocal about her opinions, however straightforward or vulgar she may be.
Regardless, now she was trying to find some way to ease the tension on her part as Fred was preparing her drink.
"So...whatcha reading?" she finally asked.
"The newspaper," the instructor replied.
"I thought that was a magazine, not a newspaper."
"Meh, they're basically the same." Instructor Makarov flashed his magazine to Morgan. The cover read Topical Science. "Still talking about current events; just about different stuff."
'Well, he isn't wrong…' Morgan thought. "I guess it makes sense that you'd be reading a science magazine," she then remarked. "Any recent developments?"
"Well, this is last month's issue, so it's not exactly recent anymore," Instructor Makarov clarified. "It's got some things about computers, though, so I figured a little refresher wouldn't hurt."
"Oh, that's right. You said we were going to start learning about the orbal network soon," she recalled. The orbal network project was one of the more recent additions to orbal technology, first introduced in the neighboring state of Crossbell for several years of testing before the technology made its way to Erebonia. Through the use of computers that were hooked to the accessible network, it was now possible to exchange substantial amounts of information in a short amount of time, faster than any letter or messenger bird. The thought of being able to pass along information near instantaneously was something Morgan couldn't believe when she first heard about it. In a way, it felt like magic to her.
Fred came with her coffee at that moment, so Morgan thanked him and took a moment to sip her drink. "You know, that reminds me…" she said. "An acquaintance of mine from Heimdallr mentioned something about it a long while back. I didn't really get it myself, though, so...mind if I ask for an expert's opinion on this?"
Her instructor, meanwhile, was pouring coffee from his pot into his cup. Once he set the pot down, he took a big sip of the black liquid. After he swallowed, he said, "Let's hear it then."
Morgan took that as the cue to start talking. "A user interface for the orbal network is like a joke," she recited. "If you have to explain it, it probably isn't very good."
At first, there was no reaction. Then, ever so slightly, the corners of Instructor Makarov's lips started to curve upwards as he gave a low chuckle. It was the biggest reaction she got out of him that whole morning. "Your acquaintance is pretty funny."
Morgan was confused by his answer, so he spoke again. "It was a joke. Your acquaintance was telling you an inside joke between network programmers."
'Guess that explains why Omar was grinning when he said that…' Morgan thought.
*First Period - Political Economics*
"...And so, when you total up all of the goods and services provided in a country, you arrive at what is called the Gross Domestic Product, otherwise known as GDP," lectured Vice Principal Heinrich. "When it comes to measuring the productivity of a nation, the Gross Domestic Product is one of the most important ones. However, it should also be noted that...yes, do you have a question, Miss Daraen?"
"Just a quick one," she said informally, paying no attention to the slight twitch in the vice principal's eyebrow. "If a company outsources development of a product to an outside province or another country and then ships it back to Erebonia to sell, would that good count towards the GDP?"
"Hmm…" the vice principal mulled over the question. "Schwarzer!"
Rean jerked up, surprised to hear his name. "Y-Yes, Instructor?"
"Would you care to give an explanation as to why the situation in Miss Daraen's question would NOT count towards the Gross Domestic Product?"
'Well, at least he answered my question,' Morgan snarked in her mind.
"Oh, um…" After taking a moment to think about the question, Rean stood up and gave his answer. "Even though the ownership of the goods and services would be the empire's, it wouldn't count towards the Gross Domestic Product due to it being produced outside of the country's borders. On the other hand, it would still be considered part of the country's Gross National Product, or GNP."
"That is correct!" Vice Principal Heinrich applauded him. "An excellent answer, Schwarzer! I should have expected no less!"
Since Class VII had returned from their field studies, word had gotten out that Rean was a noble, which caused a sudden change in the behavior directed towards him. Whereas commoners had begun to act nervously around him, nobles were now either trying to apologize for dismissing him or trying to get friendly with him. Vice Principal Heinrich, being a noble himself, was no exception and was delighted to know that someone else of his social class was in, as he called them, "that class filled with misfits".
Naturally, the revealing of Rean's social class hadn't been exempt from changes within Class VII as well. Though Rean insisted that everyone treat him as they always had, there was without a doubt a change in the dynamic of the class, as whenever Rean was spending time with Laura or Jusis, the only other nobles in the class, it wasn't hard to believe that they were interacting due to their social class. Of course, this wasn't the case, as Laura simply had a reignited urge to spar with him following his performance during last month's field study while Jusis seemed to feel guilty about the trouble his family's soldiers had caused him in Celdic. On an aside note, Jusis as a whole seemed to have mellowed out a bit after hearing about what happened to Group A, though he insisted that it was to ensure that "his family's name wouldn't be tarnished among his classmates".
As Rean sat down, Morgan saw in the corner of her eye that Machias had a scowl on his face. To no one's surprise, he had taken the news the worst. Having to deal with an additional noble in the class was not something he was mentally prepared for, especially when it was someone he had acted cordially with before. Though Rean technically wasn't lying about not having a drop of noble blood in his veins, the fact that he still deliberately withheld the truth of his lineage soured the class vice president greatly.
It looked like Rean noticed that Machias glaring at him as well, but when he tried to look over to him, the bespectacled boy simply went back to taking notes. Rean let out a sigh. Morgan secretly empathized with him.
*Third Period - Medical Science*
Morgan held her breath as she wrapped the last bandage around the dummy's arm. Today's class was a practical exam for treating wounds, with the academy nurse presiding over each student's individual assessment. Instructor Beatrix was a kind old lady who always offered words of encouragement, though she could also be very stern when she needed to be, especially when it came healing and treating the wounded.
At last, Morgan was finished. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face her proctor.
"There's no need to be so tense, Morgan," Instructor Beatrix said calmly.
"Y-Yeah, I know. It's just…" She nervously looked to the dummy. "Sometimes I just can't help but feel it like I'm doing the real thing, and when that happens, well…"
"It's not something you should be ashamed of," the nurse reassured her. "If this were a real life situation with a real person in danger, there would definitely need to be a cause for concern. However, keep in mind that a patient is only willing to be patient if the doctor is someone they can put their faith in. If the doctor is nervous, it will start rubbing off on the patient as well. Fortunately, this is simply a test, so it's fine if you make a few mistakes here and there. If there is ever a time to fail, it is now."
"That's a good point." Morgan nodded her head. "So...how did I do? Fail? Not fail?"
Instructor Beatrix adjusted her glasses and looked to her clipboard. "Well, seeing as how you followed my instructions clearly and fulfilled all of the criteria listed, I can say without a doubt that you've passed this exam." She looked up, beaming. "Congratulations, Morgan."
Hearing those words lifted a weight from Morgan's shoulders. "Thank you, Instructor…"
"Now if only you could do this well in the written parts…" Instructor Beatrix added with a slight nagging tone, causing a bead of sweat to form on Morgan's forehead. "I know it doesn't involve any practical areas," the elderly woman continued, "but as I've always said: the better you can understand the body…"
"The better you can understand how to treat it," Morgan finished. "Believe me, I'm trying to fix that…"
A small chuckle came from Instructor Beatrix's lips. "You have less than two months before midterms begin; it's best if you start fixing that now."
*Fifth Period - Gender Divided Lessons*
"Aaah...ah, ah, ah, aaaaah…"
"Very good, Emma!" Instructor Mary applauded. "Your intonation on the higher notes was near flawless! You'd make a lovely soprano!"
"Th-Thank you, Instructor…" With her turn up, she bowed her head and sat back down in her seat.
"You really do have a nice singing voice, Emma," Morgan complimented her. "Did you ever take music lessons?"
"Oh, nothing that serious," Emma denied. "I just...used to know someone who liked to sing a lot back in my hometown. I must have learned a thing or two from watching her sing."
"Heeeh…"
"Next up is...Morgan!" the instructor announced. "Could you please stand?"
Hearing her name, Morgan stood up straight from her seat. "Yes, Instructor!"
Instructor Mary was the newest instructor at Thors, with this year being her first year of teaching. Despite this, the way she treated everyone with equal amounts of respect regardless of social class instantly made her a favorite among the student body. Everything from her came so naturally that one would believe she had been teaching for at least several years. "We'll start off low, then we'll work our way up," she explained. "Let me know if it gets too high for you, okay?"
"Okay!"
The blonde-haired teacher played an A Major chord on the piano. Morgan took in a deep breath. 'Okay...feet apart...knees slightly bent...back straight...shoulders back. Here we go!'
She opened her mouth to sing.
…
"And...that's about as far as I can go," Morgan said. She had gotten as far as a high E.
"That's still very impressive, Morgan," Instructor Mary remarked. "You struggled a bit as you went higher, but every note you did sing was pitch perfect! Your voice would sit comfortably around alto one to second soprano."
Her assessment finished, Morgan bowed slightly, lowering her posture with her arm making a small curtsy motion, and sat back down.
"You're not half bad yourself, Morgan." Emma was smiling. "Did YOU ever take music lessons?"
Morgan laughed. "I did have a friend whose mom used to sing for us way back when. She even gave us some pointers for fun. I guess we're a bit alike in that sense."
"Was your friend's mother a singer, by any chance?" Emma inquired.
"Well...yes and no," Morgan replied. "She was definitely a good singer, but she was an even better dancer."
"A singer AND a dancer?" Her classmate looked impressed. "She must have been quite the performist."
"That she was…" Morgan's voice grew quiet. "That she was…"
*Seventh Period - Combat Studies*
"ARCUS, activate!" An orbal aura surrounded Morgan as she began to cast an art.
"Not a chance!" Gaius immediately approached her, ready to thrust forward with his spear.
Morgan, however, had anticipated this. Right as Gaius followed through, Morgan let her orbment fall from her hands and sidestepped his attack. As she spun to the side, she used her sideways momentum hook the back part of her axe's blade onto the body of Gaius's spear, pulling it out of his hands. Before he could do anything else, Morgan had already tapped him lightly with the end knob of her weapon.
"Looks like I got you this time," she said.
"That you have." Gaius calmly accepted his loss. "It was almost like you had predicted my every movement. I should have expected that you would use your ARCUS as a bait."
"You've definitely got good instincts," Morgan commended him. "You were able to fend off my attacks pretty well. I think you've already got a good grasp of controlling the close to mid-range areas; all you need to do is find out how to use that to approach long-range fighters. Going in for the attack usually works against most monsters, but a human opponent can easily catch you off guard."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Gaius retrieved his spear. "As for you...well, I'm sure it's no surprise, but you tend to leave yourself open quite a bit. Granted, you're able to use that to your advantage, but I tend to agree that it should be done sparingly."
As Morgan and the other students grew accustomed to each other's fighting styles, it soon became readily apparent to everyone that Morgan usually wasn't one to defend herself in one-on-one fights. Now, that wasn't to say that she couldn't; in fact, she was perfectly capable of blocking and giving the occasional counter especially when she used her weapon's two-handed form. Rather, she simply preferred to use her weapon's one-handed form to free up her movements so she can evade and better understand her opponents' attacks until she found an opening. It was certainly an unorthodox means of fighting, but it was also risky and seemed to worry her classmates a fair amount.
But then again, if you had a weapon that was sorely lacking in defensive options like a one-handed axe, you'd probably think twice about blocking an attack as well.
"All right, everyone!" Instructor Sara announced. "It's that time again, so...switch partners!"
Morgan picked up her ARCUS and bid farewell to Gaius before moving clockwise in an inner circle along with four of her other classmates to meet her next opponent.
'Oh boy…' Morgan thought. 'Speaking of how to deal with long-range fighters…'
"Looks like we're paired up next." Alisa waved her hand. "Ready to go?"
"Whenever you are," Morgan replied. "Say, how are actual arrows treating you?"
Alisa looked to her side, where a brand new quiver with physical bolts inside hung by her waist. According to her, the fight against the ruler of the forest made her realize the limitations of the orbal bow on larger enemies, which was why within a few days of returning to Trista after their field study, Alisa had ordered and shipped an arrow set from Roer. The set came with tipped arrows for practical use and non-tipped ones for recreational use.
"It took a while to get used to," the archer admitted, "but a little practice goes a long way." She took out a headless arrow from her quiver and notched it in her bow. "That's why I'll keep getting better...so I can go all the way to victory!"
Morgan smirked. "Nice one-liner." She twirled her weapon in her right hand and gripped her ARCUS in her left. "Did you borrow that from somewhere?"
Alisa gave a playful sneer as Instructor Sara gave the signal to begin the next set of peer evaluations.
*After School*
"Hey, I'm back!" Morgan said as she entered the Engineering Building.
"Welcome back!" George responded. "Sorry to have you take care of that errand for me."
"No big deal." Morgan waved her hand. "It's what I'm here for, right? So where's my…"
"Your compensation's right in there." George pointed to her ARCUS sitting on the desk.
Morgan retrieved her orbment and flipped open the cover. A new brown-colored quartz was now inserted into one of the smaller slots, freshly synthesized from the sepith crystals she had collected from her field study.
"By the way, I also took the liberty of looking at your master quartz, and I've got some good news for you," George added. "Your master quartz grew quite a bit since the last time we saw each other. I'm sure you know what that means."
"It means I can use more arts now, right?" Morgan guessed.
"Got it in one." George nodded. "Now you can use the orbal art 'Frost Edge'. Add in your new quartz, and now you have a total of four arts at your disposal."
"Four?" Morgan was confused. "I thought I only had three."
"You didn't know?" George scratched his head. "Your master quartz can use the arts 'Tear' and 'Aqua Bleed' by default. That's a healing art and an offensive art. Then you have 'Crest' from the new quartz and the newly learned 'Frost Edge'." He held up four fingers. "That makes four."
Morgan let the revelation sink in for a moment before groaning and giving herself a facepalm. "Why didn't I know that before? That could've been so useful during my field study!"
The second year student smirked. "Well, better to know now than never, right?"
Just then, the door to the building opened behind Morgan and a male voice hollered, "Yo, George! I'm here to hang out again!"
'Huh?' Morgan perked up. 'I think I recognize that voice…'
"Hey, Crow!" George greeted the newest arrival. "Perfect timing! Morgan, this is Crow. He's one of my friends in my year."
Morgan turned to face George's friend. It was as she suspected; it was the badanaed second year she encountered last month with Rean. Nothing about him had changed since they last met, except for the fact that he wasn't carrying his drawstring bag. It looked he had recognized her as well, because his eyes widened as soon as he saw her face. "Waaait…" He bent over slightly to get a better look at her. "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
"Last month, in front of the Student Union," Morgan stated. "You gave me and my classmate directions to the student council room. You also tricked him into giving you money."
George raised an eyebrow when he heard the last part. "Crooooow? Care to explain?"
"H-Hey, I wasn't trying to hustle anyone, honest!" Crow attempted to defend himself. "I was just showing them a trick and sort of...forgot to give it back."
"You...forgot."
Crow was immediately met with two pairs of unconvinced eyes boring holes into him. Hastily trying to find some way to change the subject, he turned to Morgan. "S-So, you're George's new delivery girl, huh? Never would've guessed. Like he said, my name's Crow. Crow Armbrust." He pointed to himself with his thumb.
"Morgan Daraen," Morgan introduced herself. "And before you ask, I don't have any money on me."
"Lay that off already…" The second-year's shoulders slumped forward slightly.
"First impressions are important, you know," Morgan chastised him. "Based off of yours, you seem to be quite the trickster, and if there's one thing I've learned about tricksters, it's that you never trust them when it comes to matters pertaining to money."
Crow's shoulder slumped even further. George let out a whistle. "Daaang. Shot down AND burned by a girl you just met! Wonder how Angie would react if she heard about this…"
"Don't you effing dare!" He glared at his chubby friend.
George laughed, unfazed by the other second year. "Anyways, Crow hangs around here pretty often, so get used to seeing him around," he said to Morgan. "The two of us go back to last year. Formed a little group with Towa and another girl named Angelica. Have you met Angelica, by any chance?"
Morgan shook her head. The name was unfamiliar to her. "Don't think I have."
"Good." Crow immediately cut in. "The longer you stay away from that she-devil, the better."
"Come on, Crow," George reprimanded his friend. "That's no way to talk about someone you know."
"Is she really that bad of a person?" Morgan inquired.
"Well, it's less that she's 'bad' and more like…" Crow snapped his fingers. "What's the word I'm looking for…libodinous?"
"Libidinous." George corrected.
"Yeah, that!"
"Uh...huh?" Morgan tilted her head in confusion.
"Just look that up later," Crow said. "Anyways, she has short purple hair and wears a biker outfit; if you see anyone matching that description, run. Trust me, this goes doubly for you since you're a girl."
Morgan was about to say something about how it would be difficult to trust someone who left with her classmate's money without thinking twice, but before she could comment ,her ARCUS started ringing. Morgan turned around, flipped open the orbment, and spoke into it. "Hello?"
"Hello, Morgan." Emma's voice spoke through the orbment. "Am I interrupting you?"
"Nope," she affirmed. "I'm completely free right now. Did you need something?"
"Well, you see, I promised Fie that I would help her go over some of the material we learned today," Emma explained. "We arranged to meet at the library, but she hasn't shown up yet. Have you seen her around the campus by any chance?"
"Hmmm…" Morgan tried to recall if she saw the silver-haired girl after classes ended for the day. "Can't say I have. Have you tried calling her?"
"I did," the class president said. "At any rate, I was just curious. If you do happen to spot Fie for me, tell her I'm waiting in the library, okay?"
"Will do. See you later." With that, Morgan hung up. Not wanting to leave Emma hanging and seeing how she didn't have anything else better to do, she decided to look for Fie. She turned around and gestured at George and Crow, who were talking amongst themselves behind the counter.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but I think I need to be heading out now!" Morgan called out to her upperclassmen. "Thanks again for today, George!"
George grinned. "That should be my line!" Nonetheless, he raised his hand to wave goodbye.
Morgan started walking towards the exit. Before she opened it, she turned one last time. "Oh, and it's been nice meeting you, Crow! Try to get by classmate's mira back or else he'll start charging interest!"
Crow's eyes squinted. "You're just pulling my leg, aren't you?"
Morgan winked. "Who wants to know?" With that, she left the Engineering Building to look for a stray classmate.
After a bit of searching, Morgan found Fie napping on a bench outside the old schoolhouse.
'I suppose that explains why she wasn't picking up her ARCUS,' Morgan thought. 'I'm surprised she can even sleep on a hard surface like this.'
Deciding not to wait any longer, Morgan gently nudged the sleeping girl's shoulder. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead."
Fie's eyes blinked open. "Ugh…" she groaned.
"You know, there are better places to take a nap than on a bench," Morgan quipped.
The silver-haired girl sat up and yawned. "Beats sleeping the ground."
Morgan snorted. "Okay, fair enough. Anyways, Emma was asking for you, so I figured I'd look for you. Aren't you supposed to be studying at the library with her?"
Fie thought for a moment. "Guess I forgot."
With that, she stood up from the bench and dusted her skirt. She started to leave, but then she stopped herself and turned around. "By the way," Fie addressed to Morgan. "Can you sense it?"
Morgan tilted her head in confusion. "Sense what?"
Fie's eyes drifted towards the old schoolhouse. "This building," she said cryptically. "It's changed again. A lot."
"Wha…?" Morgan looked to the building in disbelief.
The silver-haired girl sighed. "I figured if anyone could sense it, it was you. Guess I was wrong."
Morgan turned back to her classmate. "What do you…" However, Fie had already broke off into a sprint, leaving Morgan by herself.
She looked to the old schoolhouse. "It's...changed…?" For some reason, Morgan started to feel herself being drawn to the building and started to walk towards it. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the entrance. After a moment of hesitation, she stretched out her hand to touch the door handle, bracing herself for anything.
Her fingers made contact with the metal surface. It felt cold.
And nothing else happened.
"Heh." Morgan grunted to herself. "What am I so afraid of? It's just a door."
She pulled her hand back and walked away from the building. 'Still, has Fie been exploring this place by herself?' she wondered, looking at the spot where the silver-haired teen had stood. 'Did Principal Vandyck ask her? Does Rean know about this? Wait, Rean has the key to this place; how did she even get in? Did she pick the lock or something? How does she even know lockpicking?'
All these questions started to storm in her, but eventually Morgan shook her head. "Never mind. No use in worrying about it now." She turned around and made an "I see you" gesture with her fingers towards the old schoolhouse. "I'm watching you. Don't even think about starting anything suspicious."
The old schoolhouse, naturally, didn't respond. Then again, it would've been a huge problem if it did. With that, Morgan left the area for the time being. Maybe some studying with Emma and Fie could help clear her mind...
Author's note: Okay, the reason why this is another short intermission chapter is because Smash Bros. Ultimate came out and I've been playing it nonstop for two whole weeks without doing much else. Whenever I did try to do something else, it would only be for a little while and then I'd go right back to playing Smash again (seriously, it's that addicting). As such, the most I could write was short snippets rather than a full chapter, but I felt bad trying to throw what I wrote away; thus, this "chapter", if you could even call it that, was the result. Fret not, for the framework for the next main segment is practically complete; I've just been...preoccupied dealing with a really big detour as of late.
(P.S. I'm a Dark Pit/Ganon main)