-Thursday Morning, 17th Of the 1st Month, Year 910-

"... That's all I have to say for now regarding the rules and expectations of the Academy. Now, your teachers for the year will briefly introduce themselves. They will give you a more in-depth explanation during their classes tomorrow, so for now, please hold on to any questions that you have for them regarding their class as they will be answered later." Finished with her speech, the Vice-Principal hands the mic to one of the teachers behind her.

He takes the mic from her and raises his right hand sharply, with all his fingers extended. He holds them close together with his palm facing down.

'His hand reminds me of a sword,' I don't really understand why it feels like that, but his hand scares me a little. It feels as though it could really cut through me, just like a sword.

He bends his arm above his elbow, inward a little, stopping once his hand is a little above his right eye, not touching it. His arm didn't even shake once during the process, his arm above his elbow, including his wrist and hand, are straight like the edge of a blade. Seeing this, the Vice-Principal nods, and he releases the stance. With the mic in hand, he walks to the front of the stage.

"My name is Weber. I used to be a Major in the Knight Corps of the Noriston Province. I retired a few years ago due to my age. Now I am in charge of teaching all of you, who are the future of The Great Regalia Continent the art of combat," His amber eyes start to shine, "As your teacher, I will make sure your combat abilities reach new heights by the end of the year!"

Clap! Clap!

We all clap as he walks back to his seat and hands the mic to another teacher. He walks up to the front with a smile on his face and a book in hand. Unlike Mr. Weber, he isn't very muscular. But he looks smarter.

"My name is Jaden Davis. I'll be your teacher for Qi Usage this year. I'll teach you about the history of Qi and help you all master the basics of Qi manipulation," Some students sigh hearing his words, I'm feeling a little disappointed too, 'I really wanted to learn how to use Ether, but it looks like that won't be happening this year.'

"I guess some of you don't know." He adjusts his glasses, "In order to use Ether and Mystic Arts, there are many requirements that need to be met beforehand. My goal as a teacher is to help you all fulfill some of those requirements because you can't hope to use Ether without meeting them, so you can see and use my class as a stepping stone. I'm helping you all set up a foundation so that you can successfully use Ether and practice Mystic Arts in the future."

The same students that sighed a moment ago gasp, probably surprised like I am, 'Mom and Dad never told me anything about that.'

"Now that I've told you this make sure to pay attention and work hard in my class so that you can all practice Mystic Arts in the future," He nods his head with a satisfied expression and hands the mic to Mrs. Janson, who steps up to the front of the stage.

"My name is Fenna Janson, for those of you who don't know me from the Entrance Exam. I will be your teacher for Physical Training for the next eight years. One of those requirements Mr. Davis was talking about is having a strong body. Without a strong body, you may be able to use Mystic Arts, but for those of you who plan to fight directly. You need to have a strong body, or else you won't be able to handle the physical strain that comes with using Ether in that way. I'll do my part to make you all stronger, but it's up to you to take what I give you and make the most of it," Saying that, she turns around and hands the mic to Mrs. Russo.

Mrs. Russo walks up to the front with a bright smile on her face, "Good morning everyone! My name is Aurora Russo, but you can all call me Mrs. Russo. I'm going to be teaching history to the members of the Eclipse Class for the next few years here at the Academy. I hope that I can spread my love of history to you all, and help you have a better understanding of the things of the past, and use that knowledge to work together and make a better future!"

Clap! Clap!

She bows and walks to the back, handing the mic to another teacher. Like that, the introductions go by, and soon it's a little past 10 am. The last teacher just finished introducing himself. He hands the mic back to the Vice-Principal, who stands up and comes to the front of the stage, "Thank you to all the teachers for your wonderful introductions, I hope you're all able to instruct this batch of students as well as those before them."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Of Course!" The teachers all shout out together.

"Good. Students, you have the rest of today to prepare for classes tomorrow. Whatever materials you need will be given to you by your teachers during class tomorrow. Outside of the auditorium, you'll find five posters hanging on the wall. Each poster represents a different testing group from the Entrance Exam. Find your group and your name. Next to it will be your room number, all of you will have to share your room with your assigned roommate. As you are all First-Years, you'll be staying with the Second, Third, and Fourth-year students in your respective dorms in Living Area A. There are maps around the Academy, but if you get lost, you can ask one of your seniors to give you directions. Your uniforms and schedule will be sent to your room later. Make sure to wear it properly tomorrow." She looks down at her watch, "Lunch will be served in the cafeteria from 11 am to 2 pm. I recommend that you go there early and not wait until the last minute. Dinner will be served from 6 pm to 10 pm. Breakfast is served from 6 am to 9 am. The cafeteria won't be open outside of those times, so if you miss them, you'll have to either wait or buy food somewhere else in the Academy. That is all I have to say today. You are all free to go, be sure to report to class on time tomorrow."

Hearing that, one by one, the other students start to get up. Jasmine tugs on my arm, leading me out with the rest of the crowd. Everyone is crowded in front of the wall next to the auditorium door, searching for their name.

"Our group is over there!" Jasmine says, pointing to the poster Rachel is standing in front of.

The three of us make our way through the crowd and greet her, she nods at us and walks away without saying a word, '... She's so distant.'

"What's her deal? She didn't say anything, even though we spoke to her!" Johnny complains with a frown on his face.

"It's-" before I can finish my sentence, Jun walks over and cuts me off, "It's because there's no need to pay attention to a weakling like you, isn't that right, Ryner?"

"Shut up!" Johnny clenches his fist, looking ready to fight.

"Stop it, Jun. Didn't you hear what the Vice-Principal just said? No fighting outside of a combat zone," I move my arm in front of Johnny, holding him back.

"Tch! You're no fun, you know that!" Jun shakes his head and looks at the poster for a few seconds, searching for his name.

"There it is," He nods before turning around and putting his hand up, "See ya around, Ryner! Let's fight again soon!"

I shake my head and turn back to the poster looking for my name, 'It's right here, under Jun's,' Seeing that annoys me, it feels like I'm being compared with him for some reason and he's on top right now.

'No,' I shake my head again, 'It doesn't matter, I'm not here to compete with him.'

I sigh and look at the room number next to my name, "Room 306."

"It looks like we're not roommates! I'm in room 302!" Johnny tells me, still frowning with his arms crossed.

"It's alright, I think that we're still on the same floor, so it won't be that hard for us to talk," I pat his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"That's right! We're still neighbors, so it's alright! Hahaha!" Johnny starts laughing with a big smile on his face as if he was never upset.

'That's Johnny for you, nothing can bring him down, can it?' I smile, forgetting about my bad mood from before.

●●●

We found our way to Living Area A and the dorms pretty fast, thanks to Jasmine leading the way. After taking just one look at the map she was able to lead us to our dorm without any trouble.

"That's good, the dorms aren't that far away from each other so it should be pretty easy for me to meet up with you guys in the morning," Saying that, Jasmine smiles.

"Mm, let's meet up in front of the boy's dorm at 12?" Jasmine nods at my suggestion and waves at us before going to the Girl's Dorm across the park.

"Let's go!" Johnny smacks me on the back, almost knocking me over.

'Ugh, can't you learn to control your strength a little,' I sigh to myself and follow after him.

●●●

After leaving Johnny at his room, I walk to mine. Just like every other room, the door is dark brown with a silver doorknob and plate that has the room number, '306' on it. There's a mailbox with the room number on the wall next to the door, too, meaning that it's part of my room.

I use the key that I got from the dorm manager a few minutes ago to open the door. Walking in, I close it behind me before twisting the lock to lock it. Turning around, I stop at the door, seeing a boy that I've never met before.

Standing in the back of one of the couches is a boy with long red hair, wearing a white button-up and black pants. Comparing our height, I realize that he's a little shorter than me.

"He-He-Hello-" The boy stutters while fiddling his fingers, "M-My-Na-Name is No-Noah…"

"Ryner." I nod and start walking up to him, but as I step forward, he keeps backing up. Not minding it, I keep moving as he runs out of space, and bumps into the couch. Even though he stops moving, I don't and keep moving forward, then for some reason, he falls to his knees with a pale face. Realizing something's wrong, I stop and ask him, "What are you doing?"

"Wh-what?" He looks up at me, nervously with tears in his eyes.

"I was just trying to sit my stuff down on the couch," I explain and walk around him and drop my bag on the couch, "What's wrong with you?"

"I-I'M SORRY!" He gets up in a hurry and bows.