The next morning, I woke to the sound of the morning bell. Rubbing my eyes, I stumbled into the bathroom. When I came back out, Tasib was still snoring on his bed. "Oi, Tasib, get up." No response. "Tasib!" "Just five more minutes, Mom!" he mumbled. I burst out ughing and decided to let him be. As I stepped outside and headed downstairs, I noticed the common room was buzzing. There was a strange excitement in the air, though I didn’t know why. I ignored it for the time being, pulled the door open, and headed out for a walk. The dorms were all pretty close together. From here, you could clearly see South Hall and Stoneward—each just a minute's walk away. I headed toward the shore. The gentle ocean breeze was refreshing, and the quiet of the early morning felt peaceful.

  As I wandered, something caught my eye—a girl dancing. Or at least, that’s what I thought at first. But as I got closer, my eyes widened. She was practicing Torrent—and she was good. I had only seen Nahid use Torrent once, and he could barely lift a spsh of water, maybe the size of a tennis ball. But this girl? She was controlling a massive volume of water—floating, coiling, and whirling around her in elegant movements. It looked like a dance, yes, but it was also art. Great magicians often say Magic is an art—and for the first time, I believed it. When she was done, she noticed me. Like I mentioned before, the seniors here are surprisingly friendly. “I haven’t seen you before,” she said. “You’re a first-year, right?” I nodded. “It’s a good spot for fresh air.” I blinked, suddenly aware I’d been staring. “Sorry for the intrusion. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” She waved it off. “Don’t worry. I’m done anyway. No hard feelings.”

  As she walked away, I couldn’t stop watching. I want to try something like that. I checked my pockets—no knife. Left it in the room. So I did something stupid. I bit my finger. “Agh!” It hurt, but it worked. A small drop of blood welled up. That would be enough. I focused. The blood started to thread out like a thin string and slowly formed into a tiny ball. Sigh. That’s my limit. “I had high hopes for you, but this? Don’t make me ugh!” I jumped. Behind me stood our captain, staring at my tiny blood sphere. “I thought it’d at least be the size of a dagger,” he said. I gave him a hopeless look. “Don’t give me that face. When students find out you’ve got a rare power and then see you pying with a pebble of blood—what do you think they’ll say?” He burst out ughing.

  We walked back to the dorm together. Along the way, he gave me silly advice: Eat healthy food, meditate, sleep properly... As if that would help my power. I doubted it. When we reached the dining hall, Tasib was already stuffing his face. “Hey!” he said with his mouth full. I was starving too, so I joined in.

  The rest of the morning we spent in the gigantic library. I’d never seen so many books in one pce. No wonder it’s ranked the 9th biggest library in the world.

  I searched for anything about Crimson. After a while, I found a book that caught my eye and started reading:

  Crimson is a magnificent power that allows the user to manipute blood according to their will. Not only can the user control their own blood, but also the blood of others within range. Throughout the history of magic, Crimson has been paired with many types of powers to create unimaginable results. One famous example is Mirai, a great female warrior who combined Crimson with Bze to create the legendary technique ‘Boiling Bde’—a move said to cut through any shield.

  Boiling Bde, huh? That sounds... awesome.

  In the afternoon, I headed to South Hall to find Nahid. As I reached the entrance, he was just coming out. “Hey! I was on my way to see you,” he said. I ughed. “Well, I got here first.” Nahid practically jumped. “You heard the news?” I frowned. “What news?” He looked at me like I was an idiot. “You haven’t heard? There’s going to be a duel between the hall captains—your dorm and ours!” So that’s why everyone was so hyped this morning.

  We gathered in the field in front of Stoneward, the dorm for Vanguardis students. Nearly every student was there to watch the duel. Nahid whispered, “It’s a yearly program organized by the students. Every year, the dorm captains duel to show the new students why they were chosen.” Tasib leaned in. “What about vice-captains?” “Don’t know. Maybe because they’ll be captains next year,” Nahid replied. I nodded. It made sense. Each year, a second-year is chosen as vice-captain, and when the current captain graduates, the vice takes over and picks a new one.

  Suddenly, a loud voice echoed across the field. “Dear students!” It was Reis, captain of Stoneward. “Welcome to our annual tradition—The Grand Duel! Today’s match is between the captains of North and South Hall!” The crowd roared. “Representing North Hall—Captain Noman! And from South Hall—Captain Jubayer!” Both of them waved and smiled at the cheering crowd. “There are only two rules! Rule number one: You can only use two powers. Noman will use Gust and Bze. Jubayer will use Torrent and Crag.” Air and fire versus water and stone. This was going to be good. “Rule number two: Don’t kill your opponent!” Wait, what?! I turned to Nahid. “You can go all out? Isn’t that dangerous?” He grinned. “Don’t worry. They’re captains. They won’t die.” I wasn't so sure.

  Back in the arena, both captains stepped in from opposite ends, waving and smiling like celebrities. Reis raised his hand. “Captains ready?” Both gave a thumbs up.

  “Then let’s begin! In 3… 2… 1… FIGHT!!”