This was supposedly the finest restaurant downtown. Based off the environment, I'd say it lives up to the tittle. The floors were sparkling clean, and the tables were polished wood. Above me was a nice lantern, gently glowing orange. There were even fish-tanks built into a few of the walls. I gotta say, it was calming to see the fish swim through the water.

Here, I sat in a booth, waiting for my order of food. But I wasn’t alone. Amy had tagged along as well, after all, this was her idea. And, she invited a few other people as well. Right next to me was Yuji, sitting with a slight smile.

“Thanks for inviting me, guys. I wasn’t expecting this. Usually, people only use me for information and that’s it. Nobody cares to take me anywhere.”

“Aww, don’t worry about it. After all, we’re friends, aren’t we?” Amy asked.

Yuji raised his eyebrow, like he wasn’t expecting to hear that.

“We’re...friends?”

“Of course, we are. Friendly friends.” Amy replied, joyfully.

I could see why Yuji was confused. We’ve only known for a little more than a week. Although, I guess that could be considered enough time to be consider someone an acquaintance. Still, Amy thew the word ‘friend’ around way to freely.

Also next to us, was Airi, sitting quietly. This was another person that Amy considered a friend, despite the fact we rarely ever spoke to her. Airi always had her full attention on a book. Even now, she was reading a novel, titled {Louis’s Tactics For Spells} From just the top of my head, I could think of one great trait that Airi had. She was hardcore when it came to studying. The times the professor called on her to answer a question, she knew the answer almost every time. And though she had a quiet personality, she’d open up like a book if you asked her anything magic related.

I turned my gaze in her direction.

“That book. It’s one of five written. Louis is a well-spoken mage. I enjoyed his work.”

“Oh. you read his work too?? He’s pretty amazing. Isn’t he.” Airi’s focus shifted away from the book, then over to my direction.

“Amazing? Huh, that might be putting it lightly.” I replied.

Louis was a phenomenal mage when it came to spellcasting tactics. His life took place at least a hundred years ago, but his name was still a big deal. He had at least 24 books in his name. Each one of them, I studied down to a science.

“Have you read on his deception tactic?” I asked.

“Deception tactic? Nope. I never heard of that. But I have read all the maneuver tactics he mentions.”

“The deception tactic is called ‘Weak Mage’ the purpose of it is to trick your opponent into thinking you’re a below-average mage. Then when they least expect it, turn the tables by showing your true potential.”

It was a simple but deadly tactic. Human are perceptive creatures, if they see something, they’re likely to believe it. Example: If a person sees a rock, they’ll know it’s a rock. Same thing applies if you make yourself seem weak, your enemy will think you’re weak. As a result, they won’t expect much until it’s too late.

Back and forth, me and Airi found ourselves deep in conversation, until the waiter came back with our food, placing it on the table. After we all said our grace, everyone started stuffing their mouths.

“Lately, I was wondering: What are the benefits for ranking up?” I asked.

“I was actually wondering the same thing.” Amy replied.

Luckily, Yuji had the answer to this.

“Oh that. Well, the higher your student ranking, the less harsh penalties will be for breaking rules.”

Yeah, that was kind of unfair. Judging by the sound of it, the highest rankers could break serious rules and get a slap on the wrist. But that wasn’t all.

“And there’s more. If you’re ranking is in the top twenty, you gain access to bonus information, regarding other students.”

That was a major advantage. It was also a dirty way to design the academy's system. It’s easy to picture people using this to prepare for duels.

“This academy sounds like it might be a little unfair...” Amy breathed, “If the rankings benefit the people at only the top, what’s the point?”

I could make an assumption. Likely, it was the weed out the weaker mages and keep the stronger ones in power. This way, when graduation comes, the best of the best will have their career of choosing. Meanwhile, the weaker ones might not have that good of a chance.

Yuji nodded.

“Yes. I admit, the academy has some darkness to it. But, it’s not as bad as it seems, you just need strong allies to rank up.” For a second, the look on his face dimmed and he murmured. It wasn't clear if he meant to say this or not, but a sentence slipped form his lips, “...It only gets darker from here.”

I had to ask about it.

“Darker? What do you mean?”

Both Amy and Airi caught this as well. The two of them pursued an answer alongside me.

“Yeah, that was weird. Can you explain?” Amy asked.

“I’d like to know as well.” Airi squinted.

All of us waited for an answer. Yuji was son the spot, his hands started fidgeting with the silverware.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Umm..w-well” He stuttered, “It’s nothing.”

That wasn’t a response that Amy was going to settle for. She pursued further.

“It’s obviously something. Why else would you have mentioned it?” Amy stared intimidatingly.

All the while, Yuji grew more and more nervous. Seeing this, Amy put on a friendly smile and changed her tone.

“Aww, come on. We’re friends. You can tell us.”

In the end, it all paid off.

“...Okay.” Yuji gave in with a sigh, “You can’t tell anyone that I told you guys this. Us upperclassmen aren’t allowed to tell the first-years.”

We all promised to keep quiet. Afterward, Yuji continued with an expression as if we were forcing him to speak.

“Every year, there’s a test that falls on the second month of the semester. All students will be trapped on campus for some time, until the testing is complete. And each time it happens...” he stopped himself mid-sentence.

Rather, Yuji seemed hesitant to continue onward with the explanation. Like he was afraid of what might happen. That was my assumption.

Yuji lowered his gaze, apologizing.

“That’s all I should say. It’s risky to say anything else. I’m sorry, guys. I refuse to go deeper in detail.”

“That’s fine, I guess.” Amy smiled, “That’s fine, you shared enough. Thank you, Yuji.”

It was honestly better that Yuji didn’t say anything else. If I had to make a guess based on how he was acting, I'd say the academy threatened the upperclassmen about this matter. If that was true, the threat might’ve ranged from simple punishment to expulsion. There wasn’t any evidence supporting my thoughts, so I kept quiet about it. Right now, this topic was distracting us from the real reason for meeting at this restaurant.

I gave Amy a nod and she cut to the chase.

“So, anyways, there’s a reason I invited all of you.”

“And that is?” Airi asked, tilting her head.

Firmly, Amy stood from her seat, placing her palms on the table.

“In this academy, there’s no doubt that strong allies are needed to rank up.” A bold expression was worn across her face, all as she looked each of us in the eye, one by one, “That’s why, I wanted to make a suggestion. We should all team up.”

Both Airi and Yuji took some time to think on this, all while Amy waited in suspense for their reply.

The idea of us all teaming up was a good one. We all had traits that could benefit each other. Yuji was easy to get along with and had valuable connections to get information.

And Airi, she had a mind was thriving with magical knowledge, not to mention how well she paid attention to things.

Then there was Amy.... It was honestly hard to point out anything in particular about her. Her mana capacity was average, and her knowledge was slightly above average. As far as her actual magic ability went, it was too early on to judge. She hadn’t yet displayed what she could do. However, it was safe to say that her strong suit was her determination. When she had her mind set on something, she wasn’t going to be convinced otherwise. That much I could see.

Last but not least, there was me. In terms of magic capacity, I was defective. There wasn’t much in particular that my presence could bring to this group. Though, if I had to think of one thing, I'd say it was the ability to strategize. This was something my brainpower could manage, if nothing else.

If all of us formed a group, we’d be a force to be reckoned with. Altogether, our traits could potentially deal with any opponents.

Well, that was my guess. Who’s to say that it’ll play out like that?

Airi was the first to answer Amy’s question.

“I suppose it can’t really be helped.” eyes closed, Airi crossed her arms, “We would make a great team, after all.” The exact second her eyes opened, her gaze was set in my direction, “It wouldn’t be smart to refuse a request like this. You were the one who came up with a winning strategy in the entrance exams. Somone like you would be an annoying foe.”

In a summary, her answer was ‘Yes’

Not to long after, Yuji gave his answer as well. His eyes were also set on me.

“I agree as well. Kuro, could prove to be a great ally. I haven’t seen much of your abilities, but you were able to get that ‘Fudo’ guy to leave me alone. That’s a great feat all on its own, if you ask me.”

This wasn’t unexpected. I became the center of attention at the table. Regarding my feats, they weren’t anything special. Certainty not anything worth praising. Yet, everyone was already thinking highly of me.

Come on, guys. I’m not anything phenomenal.

In fact, I’m just a human at the end of the day. A human that can be stopped just as easily as anyone else. One well-formed plan can stop me in my tracks. And one well-placed attack and put me down.

I haven't done anything worthy of praise.

Why do you already think so highly of me?

It was settled. We were officially teamed. Me, Amy, Airi and Yuji. The four of us vowed to increase our ranks together. From here on, there was only one thing we swore to do: Act with the groups best interest in mind.

“We’re official!” Amy shouted with Joy, throwing her arms in the air.

Now, there was just one more thing to ponder.

“What will we call ourselves?” Airi asked, drifting into thought.

“Good question.” Yuji also tried to come up with something.

When thinking about it, we didn’t really need to name our group anything in particular. It was unnecessary.

“We could just come up with a name later.” I said.

My response was completely reacted by Amy. She shook her head, insisting that we had to come up with a name right now.

“But that’s so boring. Why wait when we could just come up with it now.”

“Well, I’m at a loss of ideas as far as the name goes.” I said, “And the others seem to be out of ideas as well.”

Meaning, the responsibility of choosing the group’s name was all hers.

During the next few minutes, Amy threw out numerous names’, but none sounded right to her ears.

Group 1#? “Boring.”

Team Blizzard? “No... maybe not.”

That name sounded purely random.

Thunder? “Yeah, no.”

There were many other attempted names, but I stopped trying to remember them after the first three.

Amy squeezed her eyes shut, aggressively brainstorming. Then suddenly, it was like a light-bulb appeared over her head.

“Oh! I got it!” she smiled and held her finger in the air, “How about ‘Group Pheonix’?”

Sounded cool. But I didn’t see how the name related to us. Still, it wasn’t worth debating, I wanted to leave already.

“Sounds good. I have no complaints.”

Amy turned her gaze to the other’s, looking forward to what they had to say.

Yuji was the first one to open his mouth.

“I think Group Pheonix sound awesome.” he smiled.

Airi was supportive as well, just in a lesser way.

“I suppose the name is alright.”

“Yessss.” Happily, Amy jammed her fist into the air above, “I knew you guys would like it.”

Officially, we were now a group. More specifically, we were group Pheonix.

I look forward to working them.

Hopefully they can all be useful in some way or another.

If not....

Things will be much more default. And as a result, I’ll have to change my methods of ranking up.

Hopefully, I can stick to doing thing the tame way.

It will be better. For everyone.