Summer passed quietly.
The days after the results changed nothing.
Kael still sat at the same desk. The same pages filled, one after another—structures refined, errors reduced, ideas rewritten until they made sense in the simplest form possible. Outside, the world moved on.
Inside, he worked.
---
September arrived without ceremony.
And with it—
the beginning.
---
The academy was different now.
Not distant. Not untouchable.
Real.
Students filled the entrance grounds, all wearing the same uniform—dark fabric lined with faint silver threading that reacted subtly to ambient mana. Groups had already formed. Conversations overlapped, confident and familiar, as if some had already found their place before even stepping inside.
Kael stood apart.
Watching.
---
The main hall was vast.
Rows upon rows of students gathered beneath a high, open ceiling where faint currents of energy moved like controlled streams of air. At the front stood a raised platform.
Instructors.
Silent.
Observing.
---
A man stepped forward.
His presence alone quieted the room.
"Welcome to Eidolon Arcane Academy."
His voice carried without force.
Clear.
Measured.
"You have passed the entrance examination."
A pause.
"But understand this—"
His gaze moved across the crowd.
"This academy does not treat you equally."
The air shifted slightly.
"You will be placed where your results say you belong."
No one spoke.
"If you cannot rise…"
A brief pause.
"You will be left behind."
---
A projection formed above the platform.
Seven divisions.
Clear. Structured.
---
S Class
A Class
B Class
C Class
D Class
E Class
F Class
---
"Each class contains thirty students."
"Each class receives different levels of instruction, resources, and opportunity."
A quiet tension spread through the hall.
"Your class determines your starting value."
---
Names began.
---
"S Class."
---
"Auren Valcrest."
No reaction.
Expected.
---
"Seris Kaelthorn."
Stillness. Respect.
---
"Draxen Volmir."
A shift in energy.
---
"Caelan Strade."
No visible response.
He simply stepped forward, expression unchanged.
---
More names followed.
Thirty in total.
Then—
"A Class."
---
Kael watched.
Listened.
---
"Elias Veyron."
---
A small pause in his thoughts.
Not surprise.
Just… recognition.
---
Different class.
Higher.
---
The names continued.
B. C. D. E.
Each step downward, the atmosphere changed slightly.
Less confidence.
More tension.
---
Then—
"F Class."
---
The lowest.
---
A few students shifted.
Some looked irritated.
Some looked resigned.
---
Names began.
---
Kael stood still.
Waiting.
---
One name.
Another.
More.
---
Then—
---
"Kael Virex."
---
A brief silence.
Then—
a few quiet laughs.
---
"Of course."
"Last place type—"
"That theory guy, right?"
---
Kael stepped forward.
No reaction.
No hesitation.
---
F Class gathered separately.
A smaller section of the hall.
Less organised.
Less composed.
---
The difference was immediate.
Voices louder.
Postures rougher.
Some students didn't even try to hide their frustration.
---
"This is a joke…"
"I should be in D Class at least—"
"They messed up the rankings—"
---
Kael took a seat.
Back row.
Out of the way.
---
It didn't matter.
---
"You."
---
The voice came from the side.
Sharp.
---
Kael didn't move at first.
Then glanced slightly.
---
A student leaned back in his chair, staring directly at him.
Others nearby were already watching.
---
"You're the one who passed with theory, right?"
---
No answer.
---
A smirk.
"Thought so."
---
Another voice joined.
"So what can you actually do?"
---
Silence.
---
"Nothing?"
A short laugh.
---
"Then what's the point of you being here?"
---
Kael looked forward again.
---
He didn't respond.
Because there was nothing to say.
---
They weren't wrong.
---
The noise continued around him.
Voices overlapping.
Complaints. Mockery. Dismissal.
---
At the front of the room, an instructor stood.
Uninterested.
Unengaged.
As if none of it mattered.
---
Kael's gaze lowered slightly.
---
> This is the result of weakness.
---
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Just fact.
---
He understood everything.
The system.
The structure.
The difference between them.
---
Understanding had been enough to get him inside.
---
But here—
---
It meant nothing.
---
His hand tightened slightly against the desk.
Not visibly.
Just enough.
---
Around him, voices continued.
Unchanged.
---
Kael sat still.
---
If this was the bottom—
---
Then this was where he would begin.
---
His eyes steadied.
---
"…then I'll start here."