The once quiet dorm had now been brought to life by its new inhabitants, who interacted with each other through board games, sharing the food Silva had prepared for them, and displaying magic tricks. Some students already knew each other from their former schools so getting along was easy, however for a few other students who had no previous relation to their new colleagues, it was a little more awkward, so they either stuck to themselves or went up into their rooms.

Ken and Hanako had joined a small group of 5 other students, who sat in a circle conducting icebreakers.

A girl with flowing pastel yellow hair and gentle blue eyes started off the icebreaker and introduced herself. “My name is Lydia Everfield. I might be a mage, but I specialize in swordplay.”

She had a broadsword equipped to her hip. “My reason for coming to this Academy is because of its high placement rate of 99.9% into any field, for any students who graduate with high marks. My goal is to join The Order of the Royal Mages of Vaevalon Queendom, so this Academy is a big stepping stone for me.”

Sitting on Lydia’s right, was another girl. She had long curly dark brown hair and a dark shade of green eyes. “My name is Elina Grover. I wish to work for the Magic Council and work my way up to maybe one day be a Council Member.”

The next person was also a girl. She was a rabbit Beast-Kin with light brown hair, rabbit ears, and tail. Her eyes were a pale blue. “My name is Koko Engot. My goal is to open up my very own magical artifact shop. If I graduate here, I won't have to get a loan from the bank, the Academy will provide the necessary funds for me to get started.”

Sitting next to Koko, was also a girl. Her hair was dark purple and cut short. She wore glasses over her violet eyes, and the tip of her ears pointed upwards. She had her face buried in a grimoire, not paying attention to the small group.

Nudging the half-elf, Koko said, "Introduce yourself, Kate."

The girl looked up from the book, and slowly looked around at everyone before letting out a deep sigh "...Katherine Locket.” She then returned to her book.

“Come on Kate, give us a little more than that.”

“I came to this Academy because…” She paused before looking at Ken for a second then looking away. “...I seek knowledge, for I will write a magic tome that'll be considered amongst the best of the best.”

After Katherine introduced herself, Koko began to clap, “Good job, Kate.”

“?” the rest were confused about why Koko was clapping.

“Kate is anti-social, so when she socializes I congratulate her.”

“Ohhh.” The group replied before they all began to collectively clap at the same time.

This only irritated Katherine but she held it in and just continued reading her book.

“Seeking knowledge? I plan to do the same, hopefully, we can help each other discover new things.” Ken spoke up, but Katherine ignored him.

“Sorry, she doesn't like talking much, but I'm sure she would love to help you discover new knowledge.” Koko apologized.

“I'll be looking forward to it.”

The next person in the group of 5 to introduce himself was a young man. He had burning orange hair and gradient orange eyes. “My name is Rufus Drolt, I'm simply here to get stronger.”

Rufus then turned to Ken, “Ken Granfold, judging from the speech you gave this afternoon, I can say confidently, that me and you will get along just well!"

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“I'm glad to hear that.”

The final person was a young man with a well-built body that could barely be contained by his shirt. His hair was short and black, and his eyes were a dark orange. “My name is Drew Oreom. My reason for coming to this Academy is to fully realize my magic.”

Looking at Ken, Drew continued to say, "Your speech and display of your mana release had me fired up! I'll be looking forward to seeing what you are capable of!"

“I'll try not to disappoint”

Ken and Hanako both introduced themselves and spoke about their goals, just like everyone else.

“With introductions out of the way, why don't we play some games?”

With that, they played several different board games, and card games and enjoyed the delicious food that had been prepared by Silva. Dorm 44’s Welcoming Party got louder and louder into the night, everyone building rapport with each other. A few hours passed and almost everyone had gone to their rooms to clock out, the dorm was once again returning to silence.

From the small group, only Ken and Lydia were still awake packing up the board games and card games they had been playing.

“If you don't mind me asking, What are your elemental releases?” Lydia asked.

"I'm able to use all five Primary Elements, but unfortunately, I have no natural secondary elemental releases, nor do I have any special releases."

"Primary elements are common, but to have all five releases? Now that's something."

“How about you?” Ken returned the question.

“I only have one primary element, which is Wind, but I do have one special element.”

“And what would be that special elemental release?”

“...How about I show you in a friendly sparring duel? I'd like to see what you're capable of?”

“Right now?”

“Yeah. When I first arrived here, I walked around the dorm, behind it was a small fighting stadium.”

“And what are the terms of this sparring duel?”

“Hmmm… how about just a 5-minute match?”

“That sounds fair. Let's do it!”

The two walked out back of the dorm, where a 60 by 60-meter wide fighting stage was built. Ken and Lydia walked onto the stage and stood at opposite ends of each other. Slowly the small handful of students who were still awake, stood outside to watch the two spar.

Katherine, who hadn't been sleeping but merely reading her book in the comfort of her room, heard the ruckus and looked outside, being witness to the sparring match. Sitting on the rooftop of the dorm, watching the two, was a young beastman, his fur was midnight black, and his eyes were a deep yellow, seemingly glowing in the dark.

Looking around, Ken said, “Looks like we've gathered quite the crowd.”

“With the speech you made at the Welcoming Assembly, I'm sure everyone wants to know what you are capable of.”

“Right, that makes sense.”

“Well then, shall we begin?”

“Ready when you are.”

The two looked at each other in silence. The on-lookers were also silent, awaiting one of them to make the first move.

Lydia unsheathed her broadsword, her blade glistening in the light of the full moon. Ken kept his gaze sharp, missing the tiniest detail would mean his defeat.

Lydia dashed at Ken, her blade positioned to land the first strike. Quickly coming into range, she swung her blade upwards in an arc, but such a simple and direct attack wasn't going to reach him. Using a swift side step, Ken avoided Lydia’s strike, before quickly returning the favor, by thrusting his palm into her waist, this caused Lydia to be pushed back a few meters by a fury of wind.

Such a low-level attack proved to only be a slight inconvenience. She quickly regained her footing, only to see Ken darting towards her.

“Burning Edge!”

From Ken’s right hand, he conjured a broadsword made from fire. Now within range, the two traded blows, their blades clashing fiercely, but slowly Lydia was pushing Ken back, with her superior swordplay.

“Your swordsmanship is impressive, but not good enough!”

While clashing swords, Lydia managed to change her battle stance allowing her to unleash a heavy blow, breaking Ken’s guard for a split second, which was all she needed to land a clean hit. She struck Ken, but to her surprise, Ken was able to protect himself, by focusing a thick layer of mana at where he was struck. Her blow only pushed Ken back a few meters.

Lydia let out a deep disappointing sigh, “This might be a sparring match, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.”

“I was merely testing the waters.”

Ken took a step forward, “Come, I'll show you my magic.”