Qi Long and Qi Di frowned. They came with a good intention but seemed like the opposite party did not welcome them. Elsa, Lisa, and Linda were also baffled. It was not like Erza at all to provoke others without any reason.
However, when everyone saw how complicated and serious Erza expression was, they were truly puzzled. Was it true? There was such a coincidence in this world? Wait a second, how could someone name her dog, Qi Long? Qi Long was by no means a pet name.
"Well then, see you later in class." Qi Di decided to leave. The situation was rather awkward, so it was better to find a later time to talk.
"Maybe the dog was never meant to be yours until the very end. What's yours will still be yours at the end. Let him go and you will find a better friend in the future." Qi Long spoke his thought before following Qi Di to leave.
Erza was taken back and she started to feel a bit guilty. This Qi Long in front of her was not the same person with the one in her samsara life. He seemed like a friendly and gentle 12 years old boy.
In addition, the one who schemed against her in that life was the young mistress, not Qi Long himself. It's true that Qi Long left her at the end, betrayed her trust and love. However, it was due to him being led and brainwashed by the young mistress. She looked at the departed Qi Long and sighed.
"Are you really okay?" Lisa asked full of concern.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just recalled an unpleasant memory and it affected my mood." Erza tried to explain herself.
"You meant that dog story was real?" Linda expressed her doubt.
Erza did not answer that question and directly went toward the cafeteria. The rest of the group did not push her again and followed along. The opening ceremony took the whole morning to finish and now was the lunch break.
Due to the fact that the place needed to accommodate both genders, the cafeteria was much bigger than the dining hall at the girl dormitory. The group then ordered their foods and managed to find an empty table without any issue. After they finished their lunch, the girls went separate ways.
Erza and Elsa arrived in the classroom few minutes before the class started. As the current rank 1 and 2, their arrival attracted everyone attentions. Erza ignored everyone gazes and chose her seat in the middle of the classroom. Elsa followed along and sat beside her.
Qi Long and Qi Di saw them from the back seats but decided not to greet or talk with the two girls again today. Soon, the classroom teacher arrived.
"Good afternoon Teacher!" The students greeted.
"Good afternoon everyone. I'm glad to see everyone attend today class. I hope all of you can maintain your attendance as we go on."
"My name is Ariel Low, and you can just call me Mr. Ariel. I will be your classroom teacher for the next one year. Today, we will not be having any lesson. Instead, I want to talk about the upcoming New Students Championship, this academy's rules and policies, and selective classes."
"Firstly, the New Students Championship will be held on this Sunday, so all of you have will two days to prepare yourselves. Since this championship will be purely based on combat, it will not affect your current rankings."
"However, it doesn't mean you could relax. Your performance will be taken into account for the end of semester assessment. In addition, there will be rewards and special privileges for those who perform exceptionally well. Some senior students and academy guests will also attend to watch the championship."
"This year, we have in total 368 new students. From that number, you all will be divided into 32 group fights with each consisting of 11-12 students. From each group, there could only be one winner. Next, those 32 winners will have 1 on 1 fights to determine the TOP 16, then TOP 8, TOP 4, and so on until we have the final winner."
"The TOP 8 will be given a special pin to put on their uniforms. They will have access to the higher floors in the library. The TOP 4 students can make a request to enter several restricted areas in the academy, for example the highest floor in the library or the underworld dungeon. Lastly, the winner will be given a chance to enter the treasury room to choose an artifact."
"In short, do your best in the upcoming championship. Even if you are not qualified to become TOP 8, the championship will still give you valuable opportunities to compare notes and prove yourself. Who knows, you may attract some seniors or elders' interests."
"So far, do you have any question?" Mr. Ariel paused. No one asked a question.
"Okay, good. Now let me go through with you some rules and policies of this academy that you should keep in mind." The teacher then talked about the rules and policies in details.
It was so boring which caused Erza almost fell asleep. Added with the fact that the class was after lunch time, Erza was fighting hard to keep her eyes opened. Elsa, Qi Long, and other students were also trying their best to stay awake. They did not want to leave bad impressions on their first day in class.
After a while, Mr. Ariel finally finished his talk about the rules and policies. He understood that the topic was boring, but he still needed to mention them because they were important.
"Next, I will distribute books containing the list of selective classes for this year, one for each of you. I will give you a maximum of one hour to review it. In the meantime, I will be here if you want to ask any questions or advises. Once you have made up your mind, I will give you a form to fill in your choice."
"I strongly suggest that you consider this issue seriously. For those who could not find a selective class which interest them, they still need to fill the form explaining what they are looking for."
Mr. Ariel then started to distribute the books. Erza received the book and begun to read through it carefully. The information it contained was quite plenty.
Erza saw Madam Olivia's Summoning Magic class and Sir Adam's Thunder Magic class were on the top of the list. She took her time reading whichever classes that she found interesting. As expected, there was no Time Magic class. Twenty minutes later, she already finished skimming through the book.
In the end, she was interested in two classes. One was Fire Magic class and the other was Dark Magic class. Since she was still unsure which one to choose, Erza decided to ask for Mr. Ariel's advise.
Erza stood up and walked toward the teacher desk. She explained the causes of her dilemma to Mr. Ariel. Since Erza was one of the top students in this year, Mr. Ariel already researched and knew about Erza background and story. Therefore, he did not feel surprised when he heard that the girl in front of him had a divine artifact, the Heavenly Flame Sword.
"I would suggest that you choose Elder Black's Dark Magic class. As you said, you are using the sword as the medium. I don't think typical Fire Magic class would be much helpful to you. In addition, inside a divine artifact, there is usually a divine spirit. You should try to improve your relationship with him and ask him to teach you directly."
Mr. Ariel words caused Erza to smile wryly. She had been unconsciously avoiding the sword spirit since the incident. The pain she had to endure six years ago left a big trauma on her. Yes, she and the sword spirit still talked to one another once in a while, but their relationship was not close.
"In addition, we often need to trust our feeling and instinct. Some people even said that it was the whisper of fate. If you have any interest in Dark Magic, then go ahead. Keep in mind that Dark Magic is not evil, it's the heart of the people. Moreover, Elder Black took a liking to you. Hence, I believe that he will definitely treat you well." Mr Ariel concluded his reasoning.
Erza had to admit that what Mr. Ariel said was making sense. Therefore, she asked for the form and filled in her choice. She chose Elder Black's Dark Magic class.
Erza and Elsa handed in their forms and left the classroom together. It was still around 3:30 PM in the afternoon. Both girls felt it was too early to go back to dorm. Hence, they decided to visit the training hall first. They invited Lisa and Linda to come as well but both girls had other plans.
Linda said she wanted to collect more information about the strengths and specialties from the current TOP 100 students. She was planning to sell the information for money. She believed it would sell well due to the upcoming championship. As for Lisa, she was going to practice with her grandma.
When Erza and Elsa arrived in the training hall, they saw half of the rooms were occupied. It seemed like quite a number of students were thinking of the same thing.
As they walked in, Elsa suddenly turned and asked "Hey, do you want to spar with me?"