Yuveria Blanc's morning routine goes like this. She wakes up as the sun's already high in the sky, eats a simple sandwich for breakfast, and takes a nice warm shower. It's great that she was able to keep her family house all to herself, but admittedly, it gets lonely sometimes. Yuveria's parents died a little over eight years ago in a dungeon, leaving her in the care of her aging grandparents. It wasn't long before their time also ran out, but by then, Yuveria had become self-sufficient.
Although she was still a student attending university, she was able to earn enough to live by herself without support. Not that there was anyone left to go to, anyway. When her grandparents passed away, Yuveria was the last of her bloodline still alive. No siblings, no aunts or uncles. Maybe there were distant cousins, but she's never met them.
So yes, she does get lonely sometimes. She doesn't have any friends to hang out with, nor does she have many hobbies. Though, perhaps dungeon diving could be considered a hobby these days. On days when she has no classes, Yuveria almost exclusively goes to the guild, searching for a commission to do, or just free diving into the dungeon as deep as she can go. Though, considering her latest exploit, she won't be able to keep her real deep dives a secret anymore.
After returning to the guild yesterday, after casually revealing that she'd cleared the 35th floor, Yuveria was interrogated. During that questioning period, she admitted to everything in exchange for crowd control from the guild and White Avenue, who was also present for the questioning. It was a slip-up on her part, but now that it's out of the bag, she felt free. While she can't secretly clear floors anymore without reporting it, it wasn't any major change for her.
If anything, like Qualia had said, since the guild gives a monetary reward to those that clear certain milestones, she was actually able to get a decent sum for sharing her information on floors all the way until the 44th. To be exact, a grand total of 2000 tes. That was enough to pay her bills for the next 10 years. She didn't like having such a large sum on her account, so she made Andrea hold it.
In any case, after getting Qualia to promise to forge her new custom equipment, they parted ways then and there. It didn't take too long for the crowd to dissipate after seeing Yuveria once, especially considering many adventurers already knew her, but only now finding out she was the White Dancer. Them being the same person even made more sense than before, when they thought of Yuveria as an inhuman irregularity. And that leads us to Monday, the dreaded start of the week.
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Yuveria's outfit for today was a simple brown cardigan over her old high school uniform. Edison's University of Magic didn't have a strict dress code, so students dressed however they wished. Yuveria didn't have any friends, so she didn't see the point in dressing up to look nice just for school.
As she left her house after making sure everything was in order, Yuveria made her way to university. Now, normal people would walk to the public transport station so they could ride a flying bus to their destination, but adventurers had a different way of travelling around. It also acted as their own exercise routine on days when they wouldn't be entering the dungeon.
Yuveria jumped unto the roof of her house, then she began leaping from one roof to another. She lived in a suburnan area, a ways away from the main city, so there weren't nearly as many tall infrastructure as there were in the city. But eventually, leap after leap, she would find herself in the main city. From there, the route became slightly more confusing.
Deahelor's infrastructure had varying degrees of height and depth. One block, you could have a magnificent tower reaching the skies, then the next lot would be a humble home. Offices, stores, apartments, malls, hospitals, schools, training centers, restaurants, cafés, Deahelor was such a large city that you could fit all of these facilities a hundred times over and there would still be so much land that even the union government wouldn't know what to do with it. Flying buses whirred as they went from stop to stop, at all levels of altitude. The thousands of people on the ground walking, the thousands within these buildings working, all the mana and steam power being circulated around, and the shining sun dousing everything with its golden light as the cherry on top.
"No matter how many times I see it, what a sight..."
Yuveria casually sat on the edge of a tall building, towering over everything else within her vision. Like this, she felt like she was at the top of the world, like she unstoppable. Every time she went to school, Yuveria would always take a few short minutes to admire this sight, as if looking at a painting from the ancient renaissance.
"...I should get going."
After those few minutes were up, though, Yuveria went back on her way to university. You may wonder why she goes to school when she has such a stable income, and the answer would be because it was her parents' final wish, to see her graduate. She would print a picture of her graduation and place it on her parents' graves... but that was still some time into the future.
After a few leaps from rooftops and balconies, Yuveria finally reached her college, Edison's University of Magic. Unlike Franklin or Archimedes, Edison was a fairly new college that exclusively studies magic and mana technology. She landed gracefully in front of the school gates despite jumping off a rooftop several hundred meters high, but no one found it unusual. After all, it was just Yuveria. When she first started doing this, it caused a huge reaction every time, but people eventually got used to it.
What was different today, however, was that people started flocking over her for the same reason as yesterday. They wanted to see the White Dancer in person, or even exchange greetings with her. Yuveria, fortunately, was quick to escape. She slithered out of the crowd with ease, making her way to her classroom.
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Yuveria usually sat at the middle layer of the classroom, by the window. Not at the forefront, but not too back. Though there's no designated seating arrangement, her and her classmates generally decide on a comfortable seat they'll stay in for the rest of the semester. That seat, for Yuveria, was right in the middle of the 4th floor classroom, by the window. She liked this seat because she could stare outside into the courtyard if she ever found herself bored, and because no one else sat nearby.
That changed today. Yuveria got into her usual seat, but the seat next to her, usually empty, soon became occupied. When she looked beside her, a familiar face entered her vision. Yuveria's eyes wandered to her seatmate's long black hair, then to her sly, somewhat smug purple eyes. They then wandered to her neck, which had a choker around it, then down to her exposed shoulders, and then a mature black blouse, with transparent sleeves. Yuveria then realized she'd been staring too intently, so she averted her eyes.
"Glad I got your attention. You're Yuveria, right?"
"Um... Yes."
"Hehe, nice to properly meet you. I'm Mana Xi, we're classmates."
That's right. Yuveria had seen her several times in the classroom, Mana Xi. She was a classmate who'd been sharing the same classroom with her for a little over a month now. Mana, unlike Yuveria, was a complete social butterfly, always having someone to talk to, a part of so many social circles. Frankly, her mere presence overwhelms Yuveria. She felt like she was looking at the sun that was too bright for her.
"So... did you need something?"
People talk to the aloof Yuveria for only theee reasons. One, they were asked to do so by a professor. Two, they needed help for something only Yuveria could do. Three, for group projects. See, Yuveria had a certain air around her that made her seem unapproachable. A passive effect of her ice princess class, which gave her the presence of royalty. Add to that her innate social awkwardness, and Yuveria became someone completely isolated. Yet, people still admired her from afar. Even without knowing about her second class, she was known as the Ice Princess of Edison.
"Hm? Oh, no, nothing in particular. I was just curious, is all."
Yuveria was puzzled at that response. Usually, when people are curious, they'd ask questions, or try to dig deeper. But Mana Xi just stared at her. Yuveria started to become uncomfortable at the intense staring as she shifted her position.
"So, how do you feel about Qualia?"
"Huh?"
"Do you think she has what it takes to be a second White Dancer? Tell me honestly, what's your perception of her?"
She has no idea why Qualia's name suddenly popped up, or why it came from Mana's mouth. No, in the first place, what kind of questions even are these?
"Ah, sorry. I'm a big fan of Qualia's. I've been her fan since her debut as a streamer. I know everything there is to know about my beloved Qualia! When she was just a child..."
Yuveria cautiously placed her hand on her MSW, ready to call Authority whenever. She was evidently weirded out by this grown adult woman claiming to know everything about a minor, and was one step away from reporting her. Mana panicked when she saw Yuveria about to call the police.
"Wait, wait, don't report me! We're just neighbours! Back when her parents used to work all the time, she was placed under my family's care, so I played a lot with her growing up. I'm not someone suspicious, so hands off the phone, please?!"
Yuveria didn't know what a phone was, but she most likely meant her MSW. She sighed at Mana's explanation, believing it quickly as lies wouldn't work on her. Yuveria then recalled Mana's first question. She must be curious what Yuveria's personal thoughts on Qualia was, as her fan. She was organizing her thoughts on what to tell her, but then the door swung open.
"Good morning. Everyone not enrolled in this class, I kindly ask you to take your leave."
A commandeering voice came from the man, despite his scrawny figure, who came through the door. This man was the figurehead of this fine educational establishment, the headmaster, founder, and this particular class' professor, Thomas Edison. His body was small, but his presence was large, silencing the rowdy room. Several students, who were inside the room just to chat with friends, left as they weren't part of the class.
"Miss Blanc, you and your protegé made quite the impression over the weekend."
"?! Y- yes, sir!"
Yuveria wasn't expecting to be called out by professor Edison, and she began sweating as she stood up, thinking she'd done something wrong. However, Edison chuckled at the sight of his nervous student, and laughed heartily.
"Relax yourself. I'm simply praising your achievements. Only in my fantasies have there been adventurers who've cleared the 30th floor's Levia the Sea Serpent. Yet here is my all too real student, who's cleared until the 44th. Believe me when I say I stayed up all night reading through every new entry in the database, and I'm still not done!"
Edison laughed like a child who'd found something he would undoubtedly brag about to his friends. Namely, Nikola Tesla and Alexander Bell, headmasters of Archimedes University and Franklin University respectively. Yuveria breathed a sigh of relief as she sat back down.
"Please don't give me a heart attack like that, sir..."
After a heavy laugh, the ringing bell signalled the start of class. Everyone returned to their preferred seats, but Mana stayed beside Yuveria. Professor Edison then began his lecture.
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"Hngh... As expected, a 3-hour lecture is tough to get through. How do you manage to not get distracted, Yuvie? Ah, is it alright if I call you Yuvie?"
For some reason, Mana had stuck to Yuveria for the entirety of the 3-hour class, and even after it, she walked with her to the cafeteria, where lunch was in session. Yuveria didn't feel inconvenienced by her, though. It felt pretty nice having someone talk to you while walking.
"I don't mind."
"Great, then you can just call me Xi. Mana's a pretty confusing name these days."
Although it's not a common name by any means, Yuveria's already met three girls with black hair and purple eyes named Mana. It's a shock to her that they aren't related at all. When they arrived at the cafeteria, Yuveria bought five sandwiches and two soda cans, all for herself. Adventurers have high metabolism, so they need more food intake than normal people. Xi was taken aback at how much she bought, before buying herself a regular set meal.
They sat together for lunch, where another girl joined them as well. She looked just like Mana, with black hair and purple eyes, but she was wearing a large pair of glasses. She wore yellow cardigan with the same design as Yuveria's, and even wore the same old school uniform as her's.
"Who...?"
This girl's name was Mana Omicron. She went to the same high school as Yuveria, and followed her to Edison University. She sat beside Yuveria as if it was the most obvious thing to do.
"I'm Mana Omicron. You could say I'm a childhood friend."
It's a stretch to say someone you've only known since high school was a childhood friend, but let her believe what she wants to believe. Omicron had a different schedule from Yuveria, much to her dismay, so she couldn't join her friend. Or rather, Yuveria doesn't even consider her a friend, more like an acquaintance... or maybe a follower was more fitting? She's one of the few people who knew about Yuveria's true strength, which is unsurprising considering she's her next-door neighbour... from a few blocks away. She really wants to stretch how close she supposedly is with Yuveria.
"She's not a bad girl, at least..."
But she's most definitely a strange one. The three continued their lunch break until the bell tolled, signalling break's end. Yuveria and Mana Xi separated from Mana Omicron, who had a different schedule from their's. When they got settled in inside the classroom, the afternoon lecture began.
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"My back hurts..."
After five hours, one room change, and two different lectures, Yuveria's school day had finally come to an end. Xi had joined her for the entire day, as their schedules completely matched. While complaining about her body, she asked Yuveria what her schedule was for tomorrow.
"I don't have classes tomorrow."
"Is that so... then, are you diving into the dungeon?"
Yuveria pondered for a short moment, trying to recall if she had any appointments. To her knowledge, she didn't have any, so she was indeed planning to dive.
"Then, will you be streaming again?"
That was a good question. Her return to streaming yesterday was something of an impulse, she hadn't planned it. But, seeing as she already came back to it, and since tomorrow is an off-day, she figured why not.
"Come watch it."
She was planning to dive into the 31st floor and deeper, so maybe it would be a good idea to give everyone a preview of what those floors were like. The 30's floors was where her power began exponentially increasing, after all. First, with the third class unlocking, the 35th floor boss coincidentally evolving her thief class into usurper, then when she reached the 41st floor, her mage class evolved into ice princess, and even finding clues of class merging... Such quick and powerful evolutions was not something she experienced during her time on the 1st to 30th floors. So she dubbed those floors the tutorial floors, with the 31st floor being the start of the real dungeon.
Yuveria and Xi parted ways, and using the same method of transportation she used to get there, she travelled back home. The setting sun painted everything in her view gold, with all the brass reflections making the city shine. Soon, when the sun fully sets, there was another beautiful sight of mystical colors, completely unlike the midday and sunset views, waiting to be seen... but Yuveria will come to observe it some other time. For now, she jumped from building to building, heading back to her home.
"I'm home."
Although there was no one to welcome her home, she didn't feel lonely. Her past few days have been nothing but activity, so coming back to her quiet home felt... nice. After taking a bath, cooking and eating dinner, and then preparing whatever was necessary for tomorrow, Yuveria found herself drifting to sleep, as a soft voice whispered in her head.
"I'll see you soon..."
As she entered her dreamland, that marked the end of Yuveria's Monday.
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Mana Xi - A student at Edison University and Yuveria's classmate. She's Qualia's number one fan and her neighbour who's been taking care of her since she was a young while her parents were away.
Mana Omicron - A student at Edison University and someone who wishes to be Yuveria's classmate. She graduated from the same high school as Yuveria and followed her to Edison, claiming to be a childhood friend and neighbour.
Thomas Alva Edison - An inventor and the founder of Edison University of Magic. He is a leading pioneer in the development of manasteam technology, responsible for creating the Manasteam Window alongside Nikola Tesla, as well as other manasteam inventions. The silver Edis was renamed after him for his exploits.
??? - A soft voice in Yuveria's head that whispers to her as she sleeps.