I walked into the classroom with my head held high, trying to act like I wasn’t the same guy who used to clean toilets and scrape the bottom of the sect’s metaphorical barrel. The air was thick with the scent of incense, and the wooden floor creaked under my feet as I stepped inside. The disciples sitting at their desks paused whatever they were doing and turned to stare, as if I’d wandered in by mistake.

I coughed. “Greetings, peasants! I’m Amon, the overpowered main character of this novel.”

The room went deathly silent. Somewhere in the back, a muffled snicker broke the tension. My bravado faltered slightly, but I pushed forward, marching to the back of the room and flopping into the last seat, determined to act like I belonged here.

Then, I saw her.

At the front of the room, radiating grace and an air of untouchable beauty, sat a jade-skinned beauty with flowing black hair and eyes like emeralds. She looked like a goddess who had somehow wandered into the wrong world, and it was immediately clear she didn’t belong among a bunch of misfit disciples like me.

Wait, isn’t this how they introduce the main love interest of the story? Then does that mean I’ll end up with her in the future?

I elbowed the guy next to me, a lanky kid with messy brown hair and a look that screamed, “I’ve been here too long and know too much.” “Who’s she?” I asked, nodding toward the beauty at the front.

He sighed like he’d answered this question a hundred times already. “Li Mei. Forget it. She’s way out of your league.”

I smirked, unbothered. “We’ll see.”

And just like that, I decided: she was my future wife. I didn’t care that I was probably delusional; I had a plan now. All I needed was a little time. And maybe a miracle or two.

The lesson began shortly after, with Elder Kai stepping forward in his usual, no-nonsense manner. “Today, we’ll discuss mana pool harmonization,” he began, his voice echoing in the silent classroom. “It is the foundational concept that separates us mages from mere trash.”

I tuned out his words. What harmonization? Didn’t know, but it sounded really important, yet incredibly boring. I leaned over to the guy next to me, who was named Astel, but I was now mentally referring to him as "the guy I’d annoy for the next few weeks."

“What’s this harmonization thing?” I whispered, trying to get some context.

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He let out a long, drawn-out sigh like he’d been asked the same question a hundred times. “It’s the thing that keeps you from being trash.”

I nodded, absorbing the information like a sponge. Sounds good. Definitely need that, I thought. If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that I didn’t want to be trash.

Elder Kai cleared his throat. “Now, we need a volunteer to demonstrate. Who among you feels ready to show us your mana harmonization skills?”

Before I could even duck under the table, Li Mei stood up, her movements elegant and fluid. She didn’t just walk to the front of the room she glided. As if she were the embodiment of grace itself, every step seemed to leave a trail of light in her wake. She raised her hands in the air, and began to weave a series of intricate magical hand gestures. The room watched in awe, as if she had just performed the greatest feat ever.

The demonstration ended, and everyone clapped like she’d just single-handedly saved the entire sect from an invasion of demon lords. I looked around, thoroughly impressed. “Wow,” I whispered to myself. “She’s amazing.”

Astel, the guy sitting next to me, snorted. “Focus on not embarrassing yourself first. That’s all you need to worry about.”

Right, no big deal. Just a room full of people who’d probably been at this longer than I had, with their expert-level skills in mana pool harmonization. Nothing to worry about.

Then, out of nowhere, Elder Kai’s gaze shifted to me, his sharp eyes locking onto mine. “Amon,” he said, his voice cutting through the room like a blade. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Great. I was about to become a classroom legend, but not in the way I’d hoped. I tried to steady my nerves as all eyes turned to me, and for a moment, it felt like the walls were closing in.

A few awkward seconds passed, and then I stood up, suddenly realizing how ill-prepared I was for this. I wasn’t sure what mana pool harmonization even looked like in practice. Sure, I knew it was supposed to help me connect with my inner energy or something, but beyond that? It was anyone’s guess.

I walked to the front, my palms sweaty. There was no way I could back out now. I could already feel the sweat building on the back of my neck. I took a deep breath, raised my hands, and tried to mimic the elegant gestures Li Mei had made earlier, but with none of the grace or confidence.

The room remained eerily quiet. I tried to concentrate, but all I could think about was how embarrassing this was going to be if I messed it up.

“Come on, Amon,” Elder Kai said, his voice dripping with impatience. “We don’t have all day.”

I forced myself to focus and attempted to harmonize my mana. To my surprise, I could feel a faint pulse of energy flow through me weak, but present. It wasn’t much, but it was something. With a small, almost imperceptible gesture, I channeled the energy, trying to guide it the way I thought it should go. But instead of gracefully flowing into me, the mana shot out in a wild burst, scattering and flickering like a tiny lightning storm in the air.

It looked like an explosion of fireworks in front of everyone’s eyes.

“Uh, not exactly what I was going for,” I muttered under my breath, feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

Elder Kai stared at me for a long moment, his face unreadable. The class? Dead silent.

“...Well,” Elder Kai said slowly, “at least you’re not completely hopeless.”

I was about to respond when I noticed Li Mei’s gaze on me from across the room. It seemed to mocking my entire bloodline. My heart skipped a beat.

Well who wanted arrogant girl anyway.

Sigh...maybe I should stop with the coping.