The **dining hall** was empty, except for the woman who brought a tray with what had been that morning's breakfast.
Seraphine did not spare even the crumbs left on her tray.
The turbulent registration of Worm would not be enough to ruin the girl's appetite.
Worm, however, did not eat.
_Do spirits eat?_ Seraphine thought.
Either way, she would not find out now. That meal was hers alone.
He remained there, seemingly entertained by every bite the girl took, wearing an expression of immense pleasure as she ate.
She would have called him a pervert, but her mouth was full after taking a bite of a particularly fine-looking apple.
Worm seemed to understand her intention and widened his smile even further.
The woman who had served Seraphine approached. She had a gentle smile that made the girl think of her mother.
Not only because of her appearance or her smile.
What reminded her most of her mother was the fact that the head cook cooked so well and always gave Seraphine a larger portion.
The girl's mother did the same during her father's business trips.
She cooked for the entire caravan, but always gave the largest portion to her.
Seraphine's eyes grew slightly moist. It had been six months since she had last visited her home during the winter holidays.
And she had so many things to tell.
Especially about Worm, and her excellent grades in everything except practical magic.
Which was not Seraphine's fault. She barely had enough magic to be considered a functional mage, even with the large donation her father had made.
Seraphine wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her uniform, stood up, and thanked the cook.
The woman blushed, but said nothing.
She seemed to have a special fondness for students with non-noble roots.
Seraphine left the dining hall and climbed the stairs toward the classrooms, with Worm always a few steps behind her.
When she reached Professor Thorne's classroom, where Magical Theory was taught, she placed her hand on the doorknob, but remembered the previous night, when she had to face so many stares in the dormitory without Ruby's help.
However, she did not wait long.
A man carrying several books—so many that they almost completely hid his face—bumped into the two of them standing by the door.
"Terribly sorry. You there, my boy, could you open the door for me before going in?" the man said from behind the pile of books,
clearly mistaking Worm for one of the students.
Seraphine hurriedly opened the door. After all, she doubted Worm would comply with the man's request.
He then entered the room and went straight to the desk at one end of the classroom.
He dropped the books onto the desk, revealing his face.
Short brown hair, with a few strands already turning gray.
He looked tired. Several wrinkles surrounded his dark green eyes.
It was Professor Thorne.
He looked toward the two still standing by the door.
"What are you waiting for? Come in. We have much to discuss today."
Seraphine entered quickly. Worm followed her with an uninterested look.
All the students turned to look at her, ending any side conversations.
It was a mix of curiosity and, perhaps, even anger.
The girls from **the 8 prodigies** of the fifth year, seated in the front row, clearly did not seem fond of Seraphine.
Their spirits, on the other hand—reduced forms positioned beside their masters—took on a protective stance when Worm drew closer to the front row.
The other spirits around the room, those that were neither humanoid nor powerful spiritual beasts, merely tried to hide near their masters, sometimes even attempting to slip inside their uniforms.
It was, indeed, a hostile environment.
But that hostility was broken by Ruby, who stood up from the last row at the top of the classroom.
"Over here, Sera! I saved you a seat!"
Ruby waved with her left hand and pointed with her right toward the empty seat.
Seraphine looked down and let out a silent laugh. She could always count on Ruby when it came to breaking hostile atmospheres.
She stopped paying attention to the rest of the class and climbed the small staircase toward the last row of seats.
There was Ruby, her flowing curls spread across the desk.
Red Death, the girl's dragon spirit, lay in one corner of the desk, its somewhat fluffy tail swaying freely with the light breeze coming in through a large window.
_Maybe fluffy tail wouldn't be such a bad name,_ Seraphine thought, looking at the red dragon in its miniature form.
The dragon, however, was the only one there that did not assume a protective or fearful stance in Worm's presence.
It lifted its head and turned its eyes toward Seraphine's spirit.
Worm looked back at it with an expression of extreme boredom.
The dragon returned the stare in the same way. Then it lowered its head between its wings and went back to sleep.
Worm did not look at it again.
He took his place behind Seraphine after the girl sat down beside Ruby.
"So, how was it?" Ruby asked in a low voice, trying not to draw attention from anyone in the room.
"A mess," Seraphine replied, lowering her face toward the surface of the desk.
"Nothing different from the summoning, then. And what are his abilities? How many seals did he break?"
"The evaluator said the assessment was inconclusive, but that it's possible he possesses a strong concealment ability."
"As for the seals… he broke fifteen."
"FIFTEEN?!" Some students looked back after Ruby failed to hide her shock. "Damn, Sera, most normal spirits barely get past two seals! And even among the so-called prodigies—the convinced ones—the maximum was six!"
"Even Red Death only managed five, and the evaluator said that's incredible for a newly summoned spirit."
"And there was that strange cube. Red Death tried to strike it with some kind of blade in the middle of his tail, but honestly, it barely moved."
"But that knight spirit who formed a pact with Lucien Dravorn managed to dent the cube a bit—and then it went back to normal."
"It's not that intact anymore," Seraphine interrupted. "Worm completely shattered the cube. And he left a huge hole in the wall behind it."
Ruby's face was filled with astonishment.
She stopped looking at Seraphine for a moment and fixed her eyes on Worm.
"What do you mean… a hole?"
"Literally a hole, Ruby. Part of the wall just doesn't exist anymore. And to top it all off, he threatened the nobility when they tried to break my pact to take Worm away."
"You're kidding! Our registration was just bureaucratic nonsense, and today you declared war on the nobility? Your Worm is going to end up becoming popular."
Ruby looked seriously at Seraphine.
Then the two burst into laughter.
"Miss Ruby, Miss Seraphine!" Professor Thorne had just finished organizing the many books on his desk when the girls' laughter reached his ears. "I know the first day after a pact tends to be the most intense, but let's keep order, shall we?"
Both girls bowed their heads in apology for the small disturbance, but laughed anyway as their faces were hidden by the desk.
The professor stood up and went to the board beside his desk.
He spent a few minutes drawing two magical circles: one similar to the one found on the palm of a spirit master's hand, and another similar to those found on spirits—each spirit's was different.
Worm had his on the back of his hand.
Red Death had his on one of his wings.
"The pact circles," the professor said, pointing at the board. "Can anyone tell me what the functions of the circle are?"
"Excuse me, sir," said one of the students in the second row. "What do you mean by 'functions'? Doesn't the circle exist only to keep the spirit under the master's control?"
"Yes, my dear, but that is only one of the circle's functions. Anyone else?" Professor Thorne asked.
The students looked at one another, unsure of the answer he was looking for.
"Well then, since no one is willing to take a risk…"
"**Sharing.**"
"The circles change as the bond between master and spirit grows," the man said, drawing runes around the master's circle on the board.
"And sharing is the key word here."
He drew more runes.
"Sharing of emotions."
More runes.
"Sharing of complex thoughts."
A few more.
"Sharing of sensations."
Then he moved his hand to the spirits' circle and drew different runes over it.
"And finally, sharing of… magic."
The mention of that last part made the entire room turn into a sea of raised hands.
"You, Miss Morwyn," the professor said, pointing to the exchange student, a member of **the 8 prodigies**.
"Do you mean that we'll be able to draw from our spirits' magic reserves?" she asked.
"Exactly, Miss Morwyn," the professor replied, visibly energized. "But not only that. When the bond becomes strong enough…"
He turned back to the board, interrupting himself, and drew an even more intricate circle around the one representing the spirits' circle.
When he finished, he turned back to the students.
"A bond strong enough with your spirits will not only grant you access to their mana reserves, but will also allow you to use their abilities—both magical and physical."
"And the fact that, unlike humans, spirits can acquire new abilities and increase their mana reserves makes the evolution of the bond one of the greatest objectives during your final two years at the institute."
"Up until now, you have been trained in magical theory, basic combat techniques, and basic spells of attack, defense, and healing."
"However, from now on, you will train both magic and combat in their advanced forms. You will be sent on dungeon expeditions and will face creatures that will place you and your spirits in life-or-death situations, all so that you may draw the greatest benefit from your pacts."
"Those who believe they have received weak spirits should keep this in mind: the evolution of spirits depends solely on the master's ability."
"If you apply yourselves enough in the evolution of your bonds, even a fragile cub—one that was only capable of breaking a single seal—may become a great wolf capable of crushing even dragon bones with its powerful jaws."
As the professor finished speaking, the shadow he cast on the floor began to move toward the board.
And from within it leapt the bestial spirit of a massive black wolf, with sharp fangs that gleamed in the light coming through the window.
It was hard to believe that such a creature could ever have been a weak spirit cub.
But the professor succeeded.
He was an excellent communicator.
Even the students who had seemed uninterested in their apparently weak spirits now looked at them with deep hope, almost as if trying to envision the beasts they might one day become.
Ruby looked at Red Death with the same hope.
The dragon spirit, however, seemed doubtful that the wolf could crush his bones.
The wolf did not share that doubt.
It stared fixedly at the dragon as it retreated back into the professor's shadows.
Obviously, the professor had used the dragon as an example because it was one of the most popular summons of the year, with the intent of instilling confidence in the students.
Seraphine, however, seemed somewhat lost.
She stared fixedly at the pact circle on her hand.
Then she looked at Worm.
And he looked back at her.
Clearly, the two of them already shared a bond greater than anyone else in that room—and in such a short time.
After all… why?
What made their pact different?
What made Worm different?
Why did he have so much power?
It was not something she would have an answer to today.
She decided to leave it at that.
At least for now, she would focus only on what she already knew about him.
Which was not much.
All she knew was the possible existence of a concealment ability, and that he possessed a vast amount of magic.
_And tremendous strength,_ Seraphine thought, seeing her own mental image of him destroying the black metal cube.
Seraphine decided she would work on that strange bond.
She would make everything about him become hers.
His magic.
His strength.
His hidden abilities.
His entire being would be hers.
Perhaps they already shared a bond far too deep.
He looked at her as the girl desired his power.
Worm smiled maliciously.
For some reason.
Seraphine blushed.