Intergration

Today the official classes had started.

With them came something far worse than orientation—dorm changes.

And something called the "DUO Project."

Apparently, first-years were to be paired off and treated like functioning teams. Every exam, every task, every field trip—done together. Partners in crime.

How were the duos selected?

Based on some vague stat matrix combining aptitude, compatibility, and that one test from Professor Javatte.

...That test I'd intentionally bombed by leaving answers blank.

So why was I standing in front of a dorm room I didn't recognize, holding two bags and a canned energy drink?

More importantly, why was Candice Midas standing there too?

She looked at me. I looked at her. Neither of us spoke.

Confusion.

It was one of those classic 'romcom' moments. Except instead of butterflies, I felt indigestion.

"Don't tell me," she muttered.

"Room 302?" I asked back.

Her eye twitched. I could already hear the theme song from a Korean drama playing in the background.

---

The room wasn't big. Two beds. A small kitchen. One shared bathroom. Two desks.

Our gazes locked again.

"…I call left side."

"…Fine."

We got to unpacking.

She had neat little boxes labeled by category. A magic kettle. Hairbrushes that probably cost more than my old gaming setup. She stacked her books with ruler precision.

Meanwhile, I dumped my duffle bag and sat on the bed. Ruby rolled out, bumped into the wall, and started rebooting.

> "Ouch…Master, you could've warned me…"

"Sorry Ruby. Emergency deployment."

Candice paused when she saw Ruby transform into a small cannon. Then blinked and just…continued folding her bedsheets.

Either she'd seen weirder or was just too depressed to care.

She probably wanted to share a dorm with the top rankers. I'm so sorry Candice.

---

Our First Class started at 08:00.

We walked to Basic Mana Theory together. Technically. I kept distance.

Candice walked like she was late to save the world. I walked like I was headed to detention.

We took our seats. Class A's auditorium was filled with students. Kaleb sat in the front, soaking in attention. Alice sat like a queen. Keesha twirled her hair while chatting. Everyone had their role.

Me? Background mob.

Professor Zic appeared with all the flair of a B-tier fantasy villain.

"Today's lecture is on the natural states of mana and how it circulates within living organisms—"

I was already zoning out.

Meanwhile, Candice answered half the questions, took notes and nodded along. The class praised her. She smiled at them. She really loves attention doesn't she?

I drew stick figures in my notebook with wierd amounts of detail. One was falling off a cliff.

---

After Class

We split off to our own designated towers.

She went to the combat tower.

I headed to Engineering class, in the support tower.

That was when I got my test score.

Rank 16.

…Ah. That explained a lot.

So I did score high on that placement test. But how dammit?

I scratched my head and let out a sigh. What's done was done. No point fixing the past. I yawned and walked back to the dorm, hands in my pockets.

---

Elsewhere, Candice scrolled through the test rankings while sipping a latte with her friends.

Her gaze locked onto a name.

"Axel Calford…?"

Top 20.

She had watched him all day. Slouched posture. Barely wrote notes. Didn't speak. Didn't seem to care.

'What the hell…?'

She shook her head and put the tablet away.

"I don't get him," she muttered under her breath. "He's hiding something..."

He had felt off to her from the start. Wierd at times. Unnerving and Annoying at the same time.

One of her friends asked if she was thinking about her new dormmate.

She denied it.

---

While she was out enjoying coffee and gossip, I was training alone in the underground gym.

[Poetic Sword] felt smoother today. Like the darkness whispered just a little less, and the silence cut a little sharper.

I returned home sweaty and tired. Cooked myself some dinner—spicy stir-fried noodles. I made extra, out of habit.

Then, shirt off, I dropped to the floor, tools in hand. The [Twin Moon] pistols were dismantled, parts scattered around me. Blueprints pinned to the floor. My glasses slid down my nose. I grinned.

I was in the zone. I had spent the last few days simulating how I would be able to unlock these guys' ego's.

Engraving cores. Planning custom firing modes. Thinking of resonance syncing to create counter-balanced recoil cycles.

One day these guns would match Ruby in personality and power.

I worked for about two hours. The sun was already setting outside.

I didn't notice the door click open.

Didn't notice the footsteps either.

Until—

"What… are you doing?"

Candice stood in the doorway.

Frozen.

I turned my head. Still smiling.

Shirtless. Surrounded by magical notes and gun parts. Ruby was sleeping in the corner like a dead cube. I was sweaty.

"…Hi?" I said.

---

She blinked.

Her eyes moved from my torso to my notes.

Then back to my torso.

Then back to the guns.

A pause.

"…Pervert" she muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"…Put a damn shirt on!"

She closed the door. Hard.

---

Later that night, we drafted a contract.

The Co-Habitation Contract™.

Rules included:

1. No meddling in each other's personal lives.

2. This is strictly a work relationship.

3. No entering each other's bedroom without permission. (Because apparently, I was the type to sneak into girls' bedrooms.)

It was signed, sealed, and Ruby-notarized.

And so began the most cursed roommate dynamic in the Academy.

One that would become infamous within weeks.

But that's a story for another day.

For now, Day One was over.

And it was already… exhausting.