Chapter 55: Ch55 – An Incident

The dining hall was chaos.

Ryan stepped through the wide double doors and stopped, momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer noise of it all. Hundreds of students packed the space, seated at long wooden tables that stretched from one end of the hall to the other. Conversations overlapped, laughter echoed off the stone walls, and the clatter of plates and cutlery created a constant background rhythm.

The air smelt of roasted meat, fresh bread, and something sweet Ryan couldn’t quite identify.

It was nothing like anything back on Earth.

Eleanor stepped up beside him, her eyes scanning the room with cautious assessment. James and Jared followed close behind, unbothered by the crowd.

“Come on,” James said, pointing towards the far end of the hall where a long counter stretched along the wall. “Looks like food’s over there.”

Ryan followed, weaving between tables and students. The dining hall was massive, easily three times the size of the training hall back at the hideout. Banners hung from the ceiling, each one displaying the grey mountain sigil of the Rupes Kingdom. Torches lined the walls, their flames casting flickering shadows across the stone.

They reached the counter, and Ryan’s eyes widened.

There was so much food.

Roasted chicken, thick slabs of beef, bowls of stew, fresh vegetables, loaves of bread still steaming from the ovens, cheese, fruit, pastries. It was more food than Ryan had seen in weeks.

A woman behind the counter, middle-aged and broad-shouldered, gestured impatiently. “Well? What do you want?”

Ryan blinked. “Uh… everything?”

She snorted. “Get a plate and move along.”

Ryan grabbed a wooden plate and started loading it. A bit of everything. Meat, bread, vegetables, some kind of roasted vegetable that looked like a potato. By the time he finished, his plate was piled high enough that he worried it might collapse under its own weight.

Eleanor’s plate was modest, but James and Jared had gone for quantity as well.

“Where do we sit?” Ryan asked, balancing his plate carefully.

James nodded towards the centre of the hall. “Anywhere with space. It seems that all the nobles stick to the far left, so let’s stay away from that side.”

Ryan glanced to the left. Sure enough, a section of tables near the windows was occupied by students dressed in fine clothing. Embroidered tunics, polished boots, jewellery that glinted in the torchlight. They sat with straight backs and spoke in lower, more controlled tones than the rest of the hall.

“Right, stay away from the Nobles,” Ryan muttered.

They found a table near the middle, not too close to the nobles, not too far from the exits. Ryan set his plate down and dropped onto the bench with a sigh of relief.

The food was good. Better than good. The meat was tender, the bread was fresh, and the vegetables were seasoned with something Ryan couldn’t identify but desperately wanted more of.

James and Jared were already deep in conversation, something about the training grounds and which techniques were best for sparring. Eleanor ate quietly, her attention occasionally drifting towards the other students around them.

Ryan half-listened, his focus more on the food than the conversation.

Then, from the table behind him, a voice cut through the noise.

“My brother sent a message yesterday.”

Ryan’s fork paused halfway to his mouth.

The voice belonged to another student, maybe twenty-five or twenty-six, seated with a small group of friends. His tone was tight and strained.

“He’s stationed at the first fortress,” the student continued. “He says that they’re losing men way faster than before. The elves have only been there for a few days now. They’ve lost hundreds of their garrison already.”

One of his friends muttered something Ryan couldn’t hear.

“No,” the older student said, shaking his head. “He said if the first fortress falls, the next two won’t last much longer. The elves will punch straight through the mountains. And after that…” He trailed off.

Ryan felt his stomach tighten.

If the fortresses fell, the elves would pour through the mountains. The kingdom would be overrun.

How much time do we have?

Ryan’s grip on his fork tightened.

James and Jared were still talking, oblivious to the conversation Ryan had overheard. Ryan forced himself to take another bite, though the food suddenly tasted like ash in his mouth.

Then, from across the hall, a voice raised above the rest.

“Watch where you’re walking, dog!”

The dining hall didn’t go silent, but the volume dropped noticeably. Heads turned towards the source of the commotion.

Ryan twisted in his seat to look.

Near the centre of the hall, two students stood facing each other. One was tall and well-dressed, his tunic embroidered with silver thread, a signet ring glinting on his finger. A noble, clearly. The other was shorter, stockier, dressed in plain clothes that had seen better days. A commoner.

The noble’s face was red with anger. “You spilt soup on my coat, you idiot!”

The other student stepped back, hands raised. “It was an accident. I didn’t see you—”

“An accident?” the noble spat. “Do you have any idea how much this coat costs? More than your family makes in a year, I’d wager.”

“I said I’m sorry—”

The noble shoved him.

The commoner stumbled backwards, catching himself on the edge of a table. His expression shifted from apologetic to angry.

“Don’t touch me,” the commoner said, his voice low.

“Or what?” the noble sneered. “You’ll cry to your peasant friends?”

The commoner lunged.

His fist connected with the noble’s jaw, snapping his head to the side. The noble staggered, then roared and tackled the commoner to the ground.

The fight erupted in earnest.

Fists flew. The noble landed a punch to the commoner’s ribs. The commoner responded with an elbow to the noble’s face. They rolled across the floor, knocking over benches and sending plates clattering.

Students around them scrambled back, some shouting encouragement, others just watching with wide eyes.

Ryan stood, instinctively moving towards the fight.

But before Ryan could intervene, something happened.

Two spheres of water materialised out of thin air, perfectly formed and shimmering in the torchlight. They shot forward with startling speed and engulfed both students’ heads completely.

The fighting stopped immediately.

Both students flailed, hands clawing at the water surrounding their heads, panic clear in their movements but the water held firm.

A woman stepped into the circle that had formed around the fight. She was tall, middle-aged, with greying hair tied back in a severe bun. She wore long blue robes that shimmered faintly in the torchlight, and her expression was one of calm, profound irritation.

She hadn’t said a word. No incantation. All she had to do was flick her fingers and then hold the spell in place with her hand.

The woman let the students struggle for another few seconds, just long enough for the lesson to sink in, then flicked her wrist dismissively.

The water spheres burst, splashing to the floor and leaving both students gasping and drenched.

“Up,” she said. “Both of you.”

The noble and the commoner scrambled to their feet, coughing, breathing hard, faces flushed and dripping.

The woman looked between them, her gaze cold. “Fighting in the dining hall. How spectacularly stupid.”

“He started it—” the noble began, water dripping from his hair.

“I don’t care,” the woman interrupted. “You will both report to the Administration Office tomorrow morning. They’ll assign you additional duties as punishment.” She paused. “If I see either of you fighting again, you’ll be expelled. Am I understood?”

Both students nodded quickly, still catching their breath.

“Good. Now sit down and finish your meals in silence.”

The noble and the commoner slunk away to opposite ends of the hall, leaving puddles in their wake.

The woman’s gaze swept across the room, and for a moment, her eyes landed on Ryan and Eleanor.

She frowned slightly, taking in their military uniforms.

Then she walked over.

Ryan’s stomach dropped.

The woman stopped in front of their table, her expression unreadable. “You two. What’s with the uniforms?”

Eleanor answered smoothly. “We just arrived from the Rupes Mountains. Haven’t had time to change yet.”

The woman studied them for a moment longer, then nodded. “I see. Make sure you both get proper academy clothing by tomorrow. Those will draw too much attention.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Eleanor said.

The woman turned to leave, then paused. “And welcome to Lithara Academy. Try not to start any fights. I won’t be as patient with you as I was with those two.”

She walked away, her blue robes trailing behind her, leaving small wet footprints from the dispersed water.

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