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And there are back in marvel
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For a moment, none of them spoke.
They seemed unsure how to begin the conversation.
Ash simply continued eating his dinner.
Eventually, Yurial cleared his throat.
"We wanted to talk."
"About what?" Ash asked without looking up from his food.
This time it was Friya who answered.
"About earlier."
"The hospital."
"And about you."
Ash finally raised an eyebrow and looked at the three of them.
He already had a rough idea where this conversation was heading.
"We were wondering if we could be friends," Yurial said.
Ash stopped eating and looked at the three of them.
"So, let me get this straight."
He pointed his fork at Yurial and Friya.
"Earlier this morning, you two wanted to gang up on me and beat me up."
Both Yurial and Friya lowered their heads awkwardly.
"Then a few hours later, you found out I'm apparently a talented student."
Ash took another bite of food before continuing.
"And now that you've learned I'm such a great guy, you suddenly want to be my friend?"
Neither Yurial nor Friya had a response to that.
The silence itself was answer enough.
Ash shook his head.
"So the answer is no."
Both Yurial and Friya winced.
Ash then pointed toward Quylla.
"Except for you, of course, short stuff."
Quylla blinked in surprise.
"M-Me?"
"Yes, you."
Ash shrugged.
"You didn't try to attack me."
"You didn't insult me."
"And unlike those two, you're actually honest."
Quylla looked both happy and embarrassed at the same time.
"Thank you..."
Then she lowered her head slightly.
Though she was pleased by being accepted, she seemed somewhat depressed by the nickname.
"Can you stop calling me short stuff?" she asked quietly.
Ash looked at her small frame and then at her face.
"No."
Quylla sighed.
Yurial and Friya almost laughed before remembering that they were currently the rejected ones.
Yurial cleared his throat.
"I know we didn't get off to a great start, but we can always become friends later. Hopefully, next time you won't be so angry."
Ash shrugged.
"We'll see."
Yurial nodded before standing up.
"Fair enough."
Friya also rose from her seat.
"Good night, Ash."
The two left together.
Quylla watched them leave before looking back at Ash, clearly unsure about what she should do.
Ash glanced at her.
"Don't let them win you over too easily."
Quylla blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"They think you're weak."
"They see talent in you, and people like them always like collecting talented people around them. Maybe they'll try to recruit you into their families or pull you into their circles."
Quylla shook her head.
"They aren't that bad."
Ash looked at her calmly.
"They aren't being nice to you because you're a commoner."
"They're being nice to you because you showed the potential to become a great mage."
He pointed around the canteen.
"Our class has plenty of commoners. Why didn't they go around trying to befriend them too?"
Quylla opened her mouth to answer.
Then she stopped.
No words came out.
After a few seconds, she lowered her gaze.
Ash wasn't trying to insult Yurial or Friya.
He was simply pointing out something she needed to understand.
"I suggest you buy a Ballot."
"A Guilty Ballot?" she asked.
Ash nodded.
"If you want to survive here with your current build, either get a Ballot or learn how to fight."
Quylla looked down at her thin arms.
She couldn't really argue with that.
Then Ash surprised her.
"If you want, I can teach you."
Quylla looked up.
"What?"
"I think you can become a great student."
He took another bite of food before adding casually,
"So, how about it? Do you want to take me as your master?"
Quylla stared at him blankly.
For several seconds her mind completely froze.
Her cheeks slowly turned red.
Ash looked at her expression and immediately realized what she was thinking.
He flicked her forehead.
"Ouch!"
"What's going on inside that tiny head of yours?"
Quylla rubbed her forehead while blushing even harder.
"I-I wasn't thinking anything!"
"Sure."
Ash rolled his eyes.
"That's not what I meant."
"...Forget it."
He shook his head.
"Before you answer, there's a condition."
Quylla immediately became serious.
"What condition?"
"I'll tell you privately later."
Then he pointed toward the exit.
"For now, go buy that Ballot."
"It's the first thing you should do."
Quylla hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Okay."
She stood up.
"Good night, Ash."
"Good night, short stuff."
Quylla's face immediately darkened.
"I still don't like that nickname."
"Not my problem."
With an annoyed huff, she turned around and walked away, leaving Ash alone with the rest of his dinner.
Ash finished his lunch and returned to his room to check the items he had purchased earlier.
The first thing he did was imprint the spell storage rings.
Once that was done, he turned his attention to the spell books.
The Tier Five spells were **Raging Sun** and **Earth Burial**.
The Tier Four spells were **Sandstorm** and **Frost Impaler**.
With Raphael's assistance, learning the spells was easy. He quickly memorized their structures and understood their casting principles.
Unfortunately, understanding a spell and practicing it were two different things.
There was no practice area inside the dormitory, and casting Tier Four or Tier Five spells in his room would probably destroy part of the building and earn him a visit from the academy staff.
So for now, he could only study them theoretically.
After finishing his review of the spell books, Ash took a moment to properly inspect his room.
The room was very similar to a one-bedroom apartment and measured roughly fifty square meters.
A large double bed occupied the top-right corner.
His storage chest was placed directly in front of it.
A few meters to the left stood a wooden wardrobe against the wall.
Along the left side of the room was a sturdy hardwood desk and chair intended for studying. Several empty bookshelves were mounted above the desk, waiting to be filled.
Aside from the furniture, the room was mostly empty, making it feel surprisingly spacious.
An inner door led to the bathroom.
It was easily the largest bathroom Ash had ever seen.
The bathroom alone occupied more than a third of the entire room.
There was a proper toilet and a sink positioned beneath a large mirror, both supplied with running water.
Most of the space, however, was taken up by an enormous bathtub.
It was so large that four adults could comfortably sit inside at the same time.
Seeing it, Ash couldn't help but wonder whether the academy expected students to study magic or spend their time relaxing in luxury.