Chapter 17 Book 1 Grim Rot
They looked up and saw Lyra waving at them from a table a few rows away. Lyra was one of the older students from the orphanage, a fourth-year student with a mischievous grin. Sitting next to her were Rong, a quiet girl with a talent for drawing, and Iris, a bookish girl with a knack for memorizing complex spells. The three of them had been like older sisters to Xu Mei and Chu Xinxin at the orphanage.
With their plates in hand, they made their way over to the fourth-year table.
"I can't believe you're actually here!" Lyra said, her eyes shining with happiness as she hugged both of them.
"We can't believe it either," Chu Xinxin replied, a genuine smile on her face.
"These are my friends," Lyra said, gesturing to a few other students at the table. "This is Liam, he's in Fairy Bliss. This is Maya, she's in Rok's Head, and this is Kai, he's in Dragon Scale. Guys, this is Xu Mei and Chu Xinxin, they're new first-graders we met on the ship."
"It's nice to meet you," Liam said with a kind smile. He had gentle, gray eyes, and his robes were trimmed with silver thread.
"Welcome to Minx Jinx," Maya said, a tough but friendly look on her face. She had a faint scar over her eyebrow, and her robes seemed a little worn, as if she spent most of her time practicing outside.
"So, what do you guys think you'll be placed in?" Kai asked, his voice filled with an easy confidence. He had a strong build, and his robes seemed to fit him perfectly.
"I hope I get into Fairy Bliss," Chu Xinxin said, a hopeful look on her face. "I want to help people."
"And you, Mei?" Kai asked.
"I... I'm not sure," Xu Mei admitted. "I don't think I have a strong magical affinity."
Lyra put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Mei. The assessment is just a guide. What really matters is what you do with your magic."
"Exactly," Rong added, finally looking up from her plate. "You're smart, Mei. I'm sure you'll do great no matter what."
The conversation continued with laughter and chatter as the friends caught up. It was a comfort to be with familiar faces in this new, overwhelming place.
…
After everyone had finished their meal, Headmaster Qing Lumean once again stood at the podium, tapping his wand against the crystal ball.
"Attention, students!" he announced. The room quieted instantly. "I hope you all enjoyed your meal. It is now time for the main event of the evening. The results of the first-grade assessment will now be announced. Students, please stand and form your respective class groups!"
As if on cue, the older students at the tables stood up and moved, forming six distinct groups. To the far left, students wearing deep red robes with a dragon sigil gathered. This was The Dragon Scale, the combat class. Next to them, students in a light gray with a stone-like shield sigil formed The Rok's Head, the defensive class. In the center, a group of students wearing light green robes with a delicate fairy sigil gathered, forming The Fairy Bliss, the support class. To their right, students in dark brown robes with a cauldron sigil formed The Dusk Hollow, the alchemy class. Finally, on the far right, students in black robes with a hammer and an anvil sigil formed The Grim Rot, the crafting class. The first-graders, still at their tables, were the sixth and final group, waiting to be called.
Xu Mei's heart hammered against her ribs. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She looked at Chu Xinxin, who was holding her hands together tightly, her eyes wide with anticipation.
"Let's begin," the Headmaster said. He picked up a large, leather-bound book from the podium and opened it. His voice rang out, clear and steady, as he began to call out names.
"Rory Kincaid... The Dragon Scale!"
A boy with fiery red hair and freckles cheered loudly as he ran to join the group in the red robes.
"Anya Petrova... The Rok's Head!"
A girl with dark braids moved to join the gray-robed group, a look of grim determination on her face.
One by one, names were called, and students would cheer and move to their assigned groups. The crowd of first-graders at the tables slowly dwindled.
"Chu Xinxin!" the Headmaster's voice boomed.
Xu Mei squeezed Chu Xinxin's arm. "That's you!"
Chu Xinxin let out a small gasp. She slowly stood up, her gaze fixed on the Headmaster.
"Chu Xinxin, you have been assessed to belong to… The Fairy Bliss!"
A cheer erupted from the group of green-robed students as Chu Xinxin's face lit up with a brilliant smile. She looked at Xu Mei, a look of pure joy in her eyes, before she hurried over to join her new classmates. Xu Mei smiled, genuinely happy for her friend. She knew how much Chu Xinxin wanted to be in that class.
The Headmaster continued calling names. Xu Mei waited, her heart pounding with each name called. She saw a few more of her fellow first-graders from the orphanage get sorted.
"Kaelen Rhodes... The Dragon Scale!"
"Sara Jensen... The Dusk Hollow!"
The group of unsorted first-graders was now a fraction of its original size. The silence in the room seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Xu Mei's hopes of being in the same class as Chu Xinxin began to fade.
"Xu Mei!" the Headmaster's voice finally called out.
Xu Mei's heart leaped into her throat. She slowly stood up, her legs feeling a little wobbly. All eyes were on her. She looked at Chu Xinxin, who gave her a reassuring smile from the Fairy Bliss group.
"Xu Mei," the Headmaster repeated, his eyes scanning the book. "You have been assessed to belong to… The Grim Rot!"
A stunned silence filled the room. The cheers that had followed every announcement were absent. The Grim Rot students, in their dark robes, looked at her with a mix of curiosity and surprise. Xu Mei felt a wave of disappointment wash over her. She had been hoping to be with her friend, but instead, she had been placed in the crafting class, a group that seemed to be an afterthought to the rest of the school.
She took a deep breath, a lump forming in her throat. She looked at Chu Xinxin, her smile a little dimmer now. Chu Xinxin mouthed, "It's okay!"
With a forced smile, Xu Mei made her way to the group of black-robed students. They were a motley crew, some with hands stained with what looked like metal dust, others with goggles pushed up on their foreheads. As she neared the group, she saw a boy with a large hammer symbol stitched onto his sleeve. He gave her a small, welcoming nod.
"Welcome," he said quietly. "It's a good class to be in. We get to build things. Create things."
Xu Mei managed a small, hesitant smile. "Thanks."
The Headmaster continued to call out the remaining names until all the first-graders had been sorted. With the sorting complete, the hall once again erupted into chatter, but for Xu Mei, the noise seemed to fade into a dull roar. She looked across the hall at Chu Xinxin, who was talking animatedly with a few of the other Fairy Bliss students. She felt a pang of loneliness, but she quickly pushed it aside. She had been accepted into a Magii school, a feat in itself. She was a Grim Rot student now. She just had to figure out what that meant.
As the dinner and sorting ceremony concluded, Headmaster Qing Lumean stepped back to the podium for one final announcement. "My students," he said, his voice now softer, filled with a fatherly pride. "Tomorrow, you will all begin your journey. First-graders, you will receive your class schedules in the morning… and also a trip to Mist City's Magii district. For now, please head to your dormitories and get a good night's rest. The journey ahead of you is long and exciting."
The students, now a unified body, began to disperse. The various class groups started to make their way out of the hall, the black-robed Grim Rot students leaving from a separate side door.
"Mei Mei! Wait up!" Chu Xinxin called out, running towards her.
"Hey, Xinxin," Xu Mei said, a little glumly.
"Don't be sad," Chu Xinxin said, her voice filled with sympathy. "Just because we're in different classes doesn't mean we can't be friends."
"I know," Xu Mei said, but she couldn't help but feel a little deflated. "It's just... I was hoping we would be in the same class. Fairy Bliss seems so much more... you."
Chu Xinxin giggled. "And Grim Rot seems so much more... you! You're so smart with all the strange knowledge before you. You'll be the best crafter here, I just know it."
Xu Mei looked at her friend's earnest face and couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Xinxin. I hope so."
They walked together toward the dorms, the path once again filled with the soft glow of the ethereal trees. The moon was now high in the sky, a brilliant silver disc against the dark canvas of the night.
"I'll see you in the morning, Mei Mei," Chu Xinxin said, giving her a quick hug as they reached a split in the path. "Good luck with your new class."
"You too," Xu Mei said, her spirits lifted by her friend's optimism.
She watched as Chu Xinxin walked down the path toward the Fairy Bliss dormitory, her green robes a beacon of light in the darkness. Xu Mei turned and walked toward the Grim Rot dormitory. The building was different from the others, a little less grand and a little more functional, built with a sturdy, practical stone. The path to it was littered with discarded pieces of wood and metal, as if students were already tinkering with their crafts.
As she entered the common room, she was greeted by a boy with his face buried in a book on metallurgy. He didn't even look up as she walked by, completely engrossed in his reading. She felt a strange sense of belonging. This was her class. This was where she belonged. A place for the makers, the builders, the scientists, in a world of magic. She had her books, her status window, and her own special talent. Maybe she didn't need a magical affinity after all.
Xu Mei found her room, and for some reason, her bags were already inside it. She quickly unpacked her meager belongings, placing the three books her teacher had given her neatly on the small desk. She looked at 'The Principles of Alchemy' and 'The Unspoken Truths of Science'. A Magii-free future. A world where science reigned supreme. Was this the path she was meant to take?
She lay down on her bed, a sense of purpose settling over her. She might not have been chosen for a class of combat, or defense, or support, but she had been chosen for something else entirely. She had been chosen to be a Grim Rot. A creator. A builder. And she had a feeling that this class, more than any other, would be the one to prepare her for the path ahead. The one that would lead her to the truth about her parents. The truth about her own unique existence.
A faint, almost inaudible hum filled the air as she closed her eyes, a hum that seemed to be coming from the very walls of the room, a hum of mana, and something else... something that felt like a familiar, comforting, and very scientific frequency. The world of Minx Jinx Magii School was a new world for Xu Mei, a world she would have to navigate on her own terms, with her own unique gifts. Her journey had just begun.