*Erwin's P.O.V*

*Knock Knock*

Suddenly, in the middle of the night, i heard someone knock on the door; it was already 11 PM, and Brenin had been sleeping for a few hours now: I couldn't understand how he managed it, but as soon as he laid his head on the pillow, it was as if he immediately lost consciousness; I wanted to know a lot more about Brenin's past, but his character, coupled with his passion for the bed, didn't help me interact with him much, although I still considered him an interesting person.

On the contrary, despite the late hour, I couldn't sleep; I found it hard to believe that I had managed to get into the academy, and in a way, I was so happy about what had happened that, for the fear that it was all just a dream, I had a hard time falling asleep.

"Darn it… I wish I had Brenin's ability…" I said with a sigh, as I got out of bed and headed towards the front door.

As I approached, I immediately thought it must be the caretaker with our uniforms and books, as the Principal had told us earlier.

But when I opened the door, instead of the caretaker, I found myself facing a girl from the academy whom I didn't know: She wore the classic school colors of a red jacket – green pants, with the only exception that she, like the vast majority of girls, wore a short skirt, showing off her slender legs; she wore long socks that went past her knees and high-quality black leather shoes.

Her face was completely covered by the mountain of books and clothes that were dangerously swaying, so at first, I couldn't see her face.

"Um… do you need some help?" I asked, a bit surprised to see a girl in our dormitory, stepping back to give her some space.

"N-No! I-I got this...!"

It was obvious that the girl was having trouble balancing that stack of books and clothes, so it was better to help her.

But before I could intervene, the girl stumbled on the doormat outside the door; she completely lost her balance and crashed into me with her body and the pile of stuff, all of us ending up on the floor in a heap.

[Ahh... I knew something like this would happen…] I thought slightly annoyed, feeling a small twinge in my ribs, which still hurt a bit, although the pain was now tolerable. "Hey, are you okay….?"

At first, I didn't pay much attention, as I looked at the mess around me… but that girl was right on top of me! And now that I could finally see her face... She was quite cute!

Her fiery red hair was tied in a ponytail; she had large emerald green eyes and wore red glasses, with freckles scattered across the middle of her face; her face was small, but at the same time, it was also chubby.

[...Cute!] That was the first thing I thought, my face turning completely red, as having her so close, combined with her rare beauty, made me feel completely uncomfortable.

"Aww… I-I'm sorry!" said the girl, embarrassed and apologetic for what had happened, quickly getting up.

"O-Oh… don't worry…" I replied in a shocked tone, while in my mind I was completely lost in her beautiful eyes, which had mesmerized me.

When I saw her start to gather the items, my brain, which seemed to be under a spell, reactivated, and I quickly started to help her.

"Oh, thank you! You didn't have to help me, I made this mess myself!" said the girl with a smile, looking me straight in the eyes with a penetrating gaze.

"No problem at all!" I exclaimed happily; I felt a euphoria that I had never experienced before, because of that smile that melted my heart; [Darn it... Is this love?!]

After sorting out the mess, I made the girl sit on the chair, and she finally introduced herself;

"I'm… Claire Winchester and I'm in the third year! Nice to meet you!"

"Not only is she cute, but she also has a nice name…" I muttered, now completely infatuated with the girl in front of me: yes, this must be love!

"Huh? Did you say something?" Claire asked perplexed, clearly hearing me mutter something… darn it, what an embarrassment!

"N-Nothing, nothing" – I said in an agitated manner, feeling immensely embarrassed by what had just happened – "I-I'm Erwin Eda; nice to meet you!"

"Erwin Eda, huh?" Claire repeated, smiling and extending her hand – "Welcome to our Academy! I hope you'll enjoy your days here with all of us!"

I hesitated for a moment, then shook her hand, noticing how her hand, unlike mine, was very smooth and delicate. She noticed it too, as she flinched for a moment.

"Oh, sorry for my hand…" I said with a forced smile, trying to withdraw my hand.

But Claire didn't let go, and instead, she turned my hand, inspecting it closely; I don't think she realized that, besides making me very embarrassed, she was also making me start to daydream, already envisioning a future marriage between me and her.

"Your hands… they're small, but at the same time they're big, tough, and calloused… you can tell you work hard!"

No matter what, her smile was completely captivating me.

"Ahaha! I'm glad you noticed" – I said proudly, glad that a girl like her complimented me like that – "You know, training is very important to achieve my goals!"

"Right! If you keep working hard, you'll have no problem in this academy" - replied Claire, who seemed to appreciate the fact that I was a hard worker. - "Anyway, as you may have already guessed, I came to bring you your uniforms and books…" - Claire concluded, her face turning slightly red, perhaps still a bit embarrassed by what had happened.

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"Thank you!" I replied, starting to check the books in front of me; I immediately noticed that the books were divided into two colors: yellow and green, wondering if there was any particular reason.

I looked at our uniforms, which from the appearance alone, were made of excellent material; looking at every detail carefully, I realized that our names were sewn onto the jacket. Furthermore, above my name, there was a star, also sewn; did it have any meaning?

I looked at Claire, and at that moment, I saw 2 stars on her jacket, coming to the conclusion that they must have a special meaning.

"Claire, what do the stars in your jacket means?" I asked the girl, trying to clear my mind of doubts.

"Ah, the stars? They indicate your section!" - replied Claire, approaching me quickly – "You see, in your case, one star indicates that you're a student of section C, while in my and Brenin's case, since we have two, it indicates that we are part of section B. Even the books you see have their distinctions: green for section C, yellow for section B, and red for section A.." Claire concluded.

"So… I'm in section C…"

"Exactly!" - replied the girl, pulling out two neatly sealed letters from her purse, handing them to me – "Inside here, you should find all the answers you're looking for, along with the class schedules!"

A, B, C… Those seemed to be the sections present in this academy; Elaine had ended up in section A, Brenin in B, and me in C. I didn't know what significance one section could have over another, but it was clear that there must be some distinct differences.

"Well, that said, I have to go! Sorry for the disturbance!" said the girl with a smile, about to leave; however, I still had many questions, and before she could leave the room, I grabbed her arm, catching her a little by surprise.

"Oh...s-sorry!" I exclaimed embarrassed, letting go, starting to get hot flashes as my gaze met hers… but what the hell was happening to me?!

"Do you need something?" asked Claire, curious, not getting angry at my instinctive gesture;

"W-Well… I'm new here, and I don't know how things work in this academy, nor do I know what these sections are! Also, I-I'm not very bright… so I wanted to ask you if you'd mind explaining everything to me… just for a few minutes, okay?"

"I think that's a great idea…" Brenin intervened, who had just woken up;

"Oh, are you awake?"

"Well, with all this mess, even a daef can't sleep peacefully…" he said yawning, starting to stretch.

[T-This idiot… did he hear everything?!] I immediately thought, turning completely crimson; I wanted to ask him if he had heard anything, but the embarrassment was too much.

Meanwhile, Claire seemed undecided about what to do; she started to ponder; she looked at the clock, and after a few moments of silence, she finally gave us her answer.

"All right… If I explain everything to you, things will enter your heads easily, right?"

"Y-Yes! Thanks, Claire!" I replied completely happily; I didn't know if I was happier to spend more time with Claire, or if I was happier that someone could help me understand the more difficult things; the fact was that at that moment, I was content, and that I would enjoy the situation I had just created anyway.

So, we sat around a table, with Claire ready to answer our questions; at that moment, I was a bit dazed by Claire's beauty, which prevented me from reasoning intelligently; Brenin took the opportunity to speak, who, with his tired expression and red eyes, it was clear that he was still sleepy and wanted to go back to sleep as soon as possible.

"Let's start without wasting time then: I noticed that the boys are divided into three sections, namely A, B, and C, just like the books; what criteria do the professors have for placing a student in one section or another? What are the sections for?"

"Wow, this is a very specific question…" - said Claire – "The functioning of the sections is very simple, namely to separate the most "Talented" students from the less talented ones; obviously, the most talented students are in section A and B, while the least talented are in section C; "

I had a strong feeling that this was the main reason, but I tried to ignore it; if what Claire said was true, then the Principal, along with the other professors, didn't consider me talented compared to the other students. Sure, I understood the reason, but hearing it still had an effect.

"...Darn it." Brenin muttered, who seemed strangely annoyed by all this; In fact, I thought Brenin was among the most talented out there, putting him on a level similar to Elaine's; however, the fact that he had been placed in section B made everything very intriguing, because it meant that there were even more incredible students than him here.

"Besides that, there are also differences among the professors; although the level of the professors is really high and the teachings are almost the same, generally the best professors are found in sections B and A; do you remember the professors present at your exam? Well, they are the best professors of our academy, with a curriculum to envy many wizards and Gifters around the world!"

"I don't understand though; if the teachings are almost the same then why this difference?…." I thought aloud, not understanding the reason for creating such a complicated system.

"Well… I can't answer that, but I can say one thing: one of the differences between the various teachings is the experience of a professor. This not only changes the way we think, but it changes the way you interpret what you learn."

Neither I nor Brenin said anything, thinking that the students in section A must be really lucky to receive teachings from such "monsters". At the same time, I thought that my first goal, namely to become the best stdent in the academy, was becoming even more complicated, creating in me a strange sensation of haste and concern, but also a strange feeling of excitement, because my desire to compete with the other students was becoming stronger and stronger.

Brenin must have been thinking the same thing, as at that moment he had a very far from serene or happy expression.

"Tell me something…" - Brenin intervened, breaking the brief silence that had arisen – "I think I understood how this school works, but I have another question: Is it possible to move up to a higher section?"

Claire remained silent for a few seconds, starting to observe me; at first, I was embarrassed again, but then, looking closely at her, I realized that something was wrong: it was almost as if she was giving me a look of compassion, and that puzzled me enough.

"Is there a problem?" I asked, curious about why she was looking at me in such an almost melancholic way.

"...N-Nothing nothing! I was just thinking!" the girl replied with a bit of a delay, waving her hands and with a slightly squeaky voice; I was sure that something was wrong, given that strange behavior, but partly because I didn't want to insist and partly because I didn't know her well, I pretended not to notice;

"Anyway… yes, it is possible to be promoted to the next section; everything will depend on the results obtained during the written and practical exams, and once a certain score is reached, one can be promoted to the next section during the year."

"Perfect…" - Brenin replied, calming down, heading to his bed to sleep; - "All I have to do is simply outdo the competition…. Nothing easier"

"That boy… is a bit too sure of himself!" Claire pointed out, raising her eyebrows, annoyed that the boy didn't even thank her for her time before going back to sleep as if nothing had happened.

"Ahah, excuse him, it's been a tough day for everyone…" I replied, trying to justify Brenin's ambiguous and not very nice behavior. - "However, is there anything else---"

"I have to go!" replied the girl hurriedly, getting up from the chair as if she were in the grip of a panic attack.

"I forgot to do my homework...S-So...Bye!"

Claire didn't even give me time to say goodbye, as she hurriedly left, slamming the front door with force…

"...Bye." - I hissed, shocked by that sudden change in attitude; I still had many questions to ask her, but if she was really as busy as she said, then it meant that I would find out the rest on my own; I locked the door, and after changing, I headed to my bed, getting under the covers right away; tomorrow was an important day, and I wanted to be as fit as possible! So I closed my eyes, with my mind already projected to tomorrow.

TO BE CONTINUED....