“Diven,” Belilamos said, shaking Div and En awake. “Get up, breakfast time.”
Breakfasts in Camboaci were simple: a large slice of bread toasted over the fire covered with a generous amount of butter and salt. The taste was mild but Div and En found themselves enjoying it.
As long as it didn’t involve fish, they were happy to eat anything.
“Today,” Belilamos said. “Want meet others your age?”
The question took Div and En by surprise. They had expected to spend more time training or talking with Theaphilia, or to be given a task to be useful to the village.
But the prospect of meeting other teenagers…
(This is making me more nervous than it should.)
[Let’s double-check that our name is hidden on our status. I don’t know how far the people we’re going to meet have progressed on Inspect, but I’d rather make a good first impression.]
While the village wasn’t nearly as large as Kheiron, it still housed a substantial population. Div and En estimated it was about half as high as the population of Kheiron’s acropolis.
That is to say, there should be a lot of people his age.
Still, Div and En pushed past their anxiety and accepted Belilamos’ offer. If they were to live in the village for some time, they couldn’t avoid meeting them.
“I take you there,” Belilamos said, a grin lighting up his face. “Just wait for Dubno. Almost ready.”
Just as he said that, Carmeta raised her voice from the next room, “Dubno! You will late! If late, no more play.”
As if on cue, the little boy raced into the living room and took his father by the hand, urging him to go.
Div and En followed Belilamos and Dubnonamos into the constant drizzle outside, wondering where they were taking them.
It didn’t take long for them to find out.
After circling around the massive tree marking the central point of Camboaci, they arrived in front of a complex made up of several large hall-shaped buildings.
The place was filled with kids and teenagers.
[A school… We should have known.]
(We’re going back to school? I guess that makes sense. If we’re living in the village.)
Had they still been living in Kheiron, they would have been attending school. It wasn't surprising that the villagers of Camboaci were providing education for their children.
“Go on, Dubno,” Belilamos shooed his son toward his class. “You know the way. I take Diven to see teacher.”
The hunter guided Diven inside the school. While it was larger than any building Div and En had seen in the village so far, it wasn’t to the point of being labyrinthic. After taking the right entrance and walking a few corridors, they made it to an office.
Belilamos knocked.
A woman’s voice answered, “Come in.”
Belilamos pushed the door open and signaled for Diven to follow him. They entered the office and came face to face with a middle-aged woman sitting at a desk. She looked at them, clearly wondering what they were doing there.
“Hi Vedovessa,” Belilamos said. “This Diven. He’s from Kheiron, lost. Can take class?”
“Good morning, Belilamos,” she said. “Of course, he can join a class. But does he speak Lienien?”
Belilamos turned to Diven, gesturing for him to answer.
“Hello, me Diven. Can speak little. Want to learn.”
“Good enough, I guess,” Vedovessa said. “What class should he be put in? I see he has a few high-level skills…”
“Theaphilia said first awakened class,” Belilamos said, revealing the old woman’s hand in Div and En’s return to school. “He awakened this year.”
“This year?” the teacher said. “I see. For him to be here, not easy. But I can take him in my class. Leave him to me Belilamos.”
With the teacher’s agreement, Belilamos told Diven to return to his house before nightfall and to focus in class. Then, he left, having other duties to perform.
Vedovessa spoke to Diven directly, “I teach the class for new ascended, it starts in a few minutes. I’ll introduce you to the other students.”
She led Div and En through the school corridors, ending up in a classroom where around twenty students were sitting on three rows of benches.
Vedovessa and Diven’s entrance silenced the room as everyone turned their attention to the newcomer.
(This is awkward.)
[We just need to get through it once.]
“Good morning everyone,” Vedovessa addressed the class. “This is Diven, a new student who will be joining our class from now on. Diven is from the southern Ameian city of Kheiron, so he doesn’t speak our language very well. I’ll ask you to be kind and patient with him.”
[Did you notice how easy it is to understand Vedovessa?]Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
(Yes, it’s almost as if she’s speaking Ameian. But she’s obviously not.)
It had to be a skill or some magic at play.
“Diven,” the teacher said. “Do you want to introduce yourself?”
(Oh no…)
[It’s fine, we can do it.]
“Hello! Me Diven. Happy to meet you. Sorry for bad language. I learning.”
A few students couldn’t contain a snicker as Div and En butchered their language.
[Not too bad, I think.]
(I want to hide and never come back.)
“Good,” Vedovessa continued. “You can sit down on the last row. There is a spot next to Gennarinna.”
Div and En followed their teacher’s gaze and landed on a girl with long, flowing light brown hair. There was something about her that exuded familiarity but they couldn’t put their finger on it.
They nodded and sat next to her.
As soon as they got closer, Div understood.
[It’s her mana. There is an element of rot in it.]
(Really? Is she like us?)
[No. I don’t think so. There are some similarities but it’s not rot mana.]
Sniffing a stranger’s mana was not a very polite thing to do, so Div and En refrained from examining Gennorina’s. Furthermore, Vedovessa had started the class.
The first lesson was a routine this class performed every morning. Inspect and Conceal training. Theaphilia hadn’t been lying when she said it was fundamental. Every one of Div and En’s classmates seemed to have a better understanding of the skills that he did. Some were already working on their facet.
Of course, the attention of every student was immediately focused on Div and En. They all wanted to know what the newcomer was capable of.
It soon turned into a series of exclamations as most of them broke through his concealment. Div and En were focusing all their attention on protecting their name, leaving his skills, bloodline, and titles exposed.
“Why so many skills?!” A boy shouted.
“Titles?” A girl wondered aloud.
“Rift?” a few others remarked.
“Enough!” Vedovessa said, putting a stop to the chaos. “If you want to ask Diven about his skills, do it during your free time. But don’t forget this is not a trivial thing to ask. If he does not want to tell you, respect his wishes.”
The teached brought order back, students returned to their normal practice.
Div and En were unsure what they should do. Their teacher’s sermon had made everyone stop trying to pierce their concealment, and they were not sure if they were allowed to inspect others.
As she saw him hesitate, his new neighbor talked to him, “Practice with me. Okay?”
Div and En met Gennarinna’s eyes; they were black and he could almost see his reflection shine within them. Their heart beat faster. Their real heart, not the Rot Heart.
“Yes,” They managed to say, averting their gaze.
“You start inspect,” Gennorina said. “I already see your status. Sorry.”
“No. Curious is normal,” Div and En said as they analysed the girl’s protections.
The mana around her was shaped in blocks. As Theaphilia said, it was obvious she was shaping it to hide her status. The old Kheironite was a lot more skilled, but it was to be expected as Gennorina was the same age as Diven.
Still, despite the rough assemblage her concealment was made of, Diven had difficulties piercing it. They quickly realized they wouldn’t be able to do it without her noticing.
Since the subtle option was not possible, Div suggested using their superior mana reserve to slowly erode Gennorina’s barrier. Of course, the girl wasn’t content letting it happen and she fought Div and En for control. Every progress they made was quickly patched up by her defenses.
Nonetheless, the repaired sections were put together in haste and not as solid as the original concealment barrier. Slowly, Div and En were able to unveil small parts of her status.
Name: Gennorina of Camboaci
Bloodline: ……
Current Facet: Facet of the Veil
Previous Facets: ……
Skills:

Conceal - Basic - Lv1
Identify - Basic - Lv1
……

Div and En stopped there.
“Not bad,” Gennorina said, smiling as she whipped sweat from her forehead. “You lot of mana.”
“You strong,” Div and En said. It was sincere. Her control of mana had been a level beyond what Div and En were capable of. If not for their superior reserves, they would have never broken through part of her barrier. She had the skills to help her, but it was still impressive.
“Of course, I best,” Gennorina said. “Your turn to defend.”
Without leaving Div and En time to prepare, she used Identify to try and peer into their status.
Div and En scrambled to bolster their defenses, with a special focus on their name. They couldn’t let her find out about that. Ideally, they would have liked to hide everything. But Gennorina was just too good for them.
At least, she wasn’t skilled enough to break their barrier without them noticing. They sensed her mana wrap around their mana construct and bypass it. Though they didn’t understand how she did it, it gave them hints of how they could improve. Training with someone at your level was sometimes more efficient than with a master.
Theaphilias’ actions were impossible to understand, thus they couldn’t get inspiration from that.
Still, Gennorina saw their entire profile bar their name. She still complimented them for managing to keep even that small piece of information hidden. She had the Inspect skill and for someone without Conceal, it was already an achievement.
Something Div and En mostly owed to their Rot Heart’s mana reserves. While En wasn’t too proud of relying on their bloodline, he had to admit it was effective.
After a few more bouts, Vedovessa called for a break. The teacher left the classroom and the students swarmed Diven.
“Hi! My name Segorix,” A charming blond boy introduced himself. “And this is Lugsellos.”
Lugesellos gave a light wave of his hand to Diven.
“And I’m Ambissena,” A girl said.
One by one, the twenty or so students introduced themselves or their friends.
(I don’t think we will remember all their names.)
[Yes, impossible.]
Still, everyone was welcoming of Diven. It was a great relief to Div and En as they all saw his skills and bloodline already. They were fine with his rot-attunement. They were even fine with his mind skill, although they probably didn’t understand what it did.
“You go into rift?” Segorix asked, prompting all the others to stop and listen.
“Yes,” Div and En said. “Accident. Almost dead.”
“But many levels,” Segorix added.
“And title,” Gennorina said.
“True,” Div and En said. “But not worth.”
“Which color?” Gennorina asked.
“Color?” Div and En didn’t know what she was referring to.
“Rift color,” She clarified. “Basic is blue, Evolved is purple, Ascended is red but I never see.”
“Purple.”
Div and En guessed she was talking about the portal’s color. It was purple, which according to his new friend meant that the rift was Evolved Rank. It matched what they had observed inside so they accepted this interpretation.
“Purple?!”
Everyone was shocked.
“You dumb,” Segorix said, with concern written on his face. The rest of the class agreed with him.
“Accident, I don’t want go in!”
But no matter how much Div and En defended himself, his classmates were adamant they were idiots.
[It’s not our fault if Diven was an idiot.]
(As much as we have diverged from him, we were Diven at the time.)