Valz stood in front of the small mirror in his apartment. The Riverside High School uniform, delivered a few days earlier, now fit neatly on his frame: a crisp white shirt, a dark blue blazer with the school emblem, black trousers, and clean sneakers.
He stared at his reflection for a moment and muttered flatly, "…Not bad."
Today was his first day as an official student of Riverside High School.
He boarded the shuttle bus—just one stop away from his apartment to the school. Within minutes, the bus pulled up in front of Riverside's tall front gates.
The school stood elegant and modern. Glass walls reflected the morning sun, tall pillars framed the main building, and wide courtyards were decorated with neatly kept gardens. Marble walkways stretched across the grounds, connecting the sports dome, high-tech science labs, soundproof music studios, and an extracurricular building covered with banners for robotics, art, and debate.
Valz walked through the gates, following the crowd of new students toward the main corridor. A giant announcement board was swarmed by students pushing to find their names.
Whispers quickly spread around him.
"Whoa, look at that guy… he's seriously handsome, like a model."
"He's totally my type. Please let me be in the same class with him."
Valz ignored the noise and scanned the list. His eyes stopped at his own name: Valz – Class I-II.
He gave a small nod, then noticed the instruction below: "All new elite-track students gather in the auditorium for orientation and ranking announcement."
Valz sighed softly. Auditorium? During the entrance exam, the opening was held outside, so he had no idea where that was.
He turned to the girl beside him. "Excuse me, can I ask where the auditorium is?"
The girl spun around, her face bright red. "D-don't flirt with me! I already have a boyfriend! But… if you want, I could break up with him right now so we can get closer!"
Valz blinked, deadpan. "…Weird."
The girl bolted away with her friend, both giggling and sneaking glances back at him.
Not long after, another girl stepped up to the board—her long brown hair tied back neatly. Ellice.
"Hey, weird girl!" Valz called casually.
Several students turned, some chuckled, while a few guys glared—jealous that he could just call a pretty girl like that.
Ellice's face burned red. "I-I'm not a weird girl!" she stammered.
Valz shrugged. "Sorry. I didn't know your name, so I just called that."
"Ellice…" she murmured, looking down.
"Alright, Ellice. Can you show me where the auditorium is?"
She glanced at him shyly. "At least tell me your name first. I told you mine."
"Valz."
"…That's a unique name," she whispered. Then she pointed toward the hallway. "This way, follow me."
They walked side by side toward the auditorium. Dozens of eyes followed them—girls glaring at Ellice with jealousy, boys shooting daggers at Valz out of envy.
Finally, they entered the grand auditorium. Rows of seats stretched out before a massive LED screen displaying the Riverside emblem. All new students were already gathering, filling the place with chatter.
The headmaster stepped up to the podium, gave a short welcome speech, and then the screen shifted to display the entrance exam rankings for the elite-track students.
1. Reval – Resonator
2. Claire – Manifestor
3. Alric – Conductor
4. Nerya – Binder
5. Luthan – Analyzer
6. Harven – Striker
7. Yurei – Manifestor
8. Tessa – Conductor
9. Valz – Buffer
10. Zayne – Binder
11. Ellice – Analyzer
12. Seraphine – Manifestor
13. Brans – Conductor
14. Kieran – Resonator
15. Lyra – Binder
The room buzzed with chatter.
"Reval at number one, no surprise… Resonators are so rare."
"Claire at two—she's beautiful and powerful."
"Wait… who's Valz? A Buffer in the top 10? That's gotta be a mistake."
Valz sat quietly, expressionless.
Across the room, Ruck pumped his fist when he spotted his name at rank 37. "YES! I made it in!" he shouted, earning weird looks from nearby students.
Once the ranking list finished, the announcer spoke again: "That concludes the ceremony. Please proceed to your assigned classes as posted on the announcement boards."
The auditorium filled with the sound of scraping chairs and footsteps as students poured out into the hallways.
Valz stood and walked toward the exit. Behind him, Ellice followed quietly, her face still flushed as she kept her head down.
The first official day had begun—and it was clear Riverside High would not be a peaceful place.