The next morning Akashi woke up to the scent of blossoms... no, this was more of an artificial smell. Perfume. He opened his eyes a bit and he only saw the crystals of the chandelier hanging there. The windows were open and there he saw Namo, with her white hair flowing in the wind. He got up and stretched and that's when she turned her head to greet him in his awakening. She was drinking tea at the table as the morning was still young.
"Good morning Akashi"
"Good morning"
He returned the greeting and sat down with her at the coffee table. They sat there in silence as the time passed slowly, the first class starts at nine and the last class ends at four, giving them an hour to do whatever they wanted before and afterward. Akashi noticed something peculiar about the emblem on the bracelet she was wearing, so he broke the silence between the two.
"Namo, are you perhaps a royal?"
She gently turned her head and nodded
"How did you know?", she asked.
"Well, the emblem on your bracelet is signifying that you're a royal."
She quickly hid her bracelet with her sleeve and blushed a bit. Showing that you're a royal isn't all that uncommon. The only reason he pointed it out... was because he recognized it.
"What rank and branch family are you Namo?"
"I'm a daughter of a lord... the lowest kind of noble. My family is being ruled by a new baron named Luke Shinora."
"Shinora..."
"Do you know them by chance?"
Of course, he knew them. They were his family, and he despised the two head members. They set a high quota for the lords and that lead to some revolts and some unnecessary deaths, but the revolts were aimed at the lords, not the baron. Though he wished that the viscount would do something about it, it was just a pipe dream.
"How is the situation with the family Namo?"
She shook her head
"Our financial situation is terrible... and our people are being overtaxed and taken advantage of. The sad truth is... our people understand the situation we are placed in and we try to help our people as much as possible."
"Typical tree of royals taking advantage of each other... you're quite lucky to be one of the ones who don't get many revolts. I take it that their understanding comes with how you haven't gotten many revolts..."
They finished their tea and changed into their uniforms for the day. She had a high-end staff that should have cost at least eight gold royals and seven silvers. He, of course, had a regular double edge sword instead of his Night Blade as it would draw attention to him.
***
They arrived at the classroom, but it wasn't the same one that Akashi went to yesterday. This was a class especially for freelancers more known as healers, but since Akashi was a fellow freelancer, he had to move classes. The class ranged from the first year to the fourth year, structured differently to the other classrooms that are based on year and class. To Akashi's surprise, the same instructor from yesterday's classroom was there with a female instructor. They both took their seats.
"Today you all will be training with your partners. We will gauge your mana capacity. Of course, this will only apply to the first years. The later years will just have a free day, so spend it however you like. We will be conducting these tests shortly. After you have been tested, you will be sorted according to your mana capacity and train on your castings with your partner."
Even though healers get the worst treatment by the students and school alike, they get reasonable benefits from time to time. Akashi looked around the classroom and saw that people were having conversations about what they would be learning or forming teams.
"I see that the class already formed their cliques...", he had murmured to himself
He noticed something so common that he dismissed it. Everybody had a staff except himself, Namo also had a staff, but it was just an average staff. Discrimination doesn't just apply to the academy he guessed. The instructor walked in and placed a pile of what looks to be filed.
"We will now begin the test for the first years. All first years, please assemble at training grounds A."
Akashi saw the few people who got up and walked out of the room. Fourteen new students, he counted. From the looks of it, the test is the same concept as the crystal but it measures mana.
"At least I know what to do now..."
He looked to his left and realized that Namo was standing there waiting for him.
"Ah, sorry about that. I spaced out and I didn't realize that we were already going."
She giggled a bit and waved
"It's alright. At least I know that you think things through."
He got up and walked out with her. As they left, he could feel the stares directed at him as if they were daggers trying to pierce.
***
They made it outside to courtyard A and he looked at his pocket watch, it was lunch soon. That was all that was on his mind at the moment. More and more healers got scores ranging from 0-100. 0 was little to no mana capacity with 100 at a level of what they call a "genius" where they seem to have an endless amount of mana. Only a handful have gotten a 100 on this test, and they are at the top of society or a top-ranked adventurer. One after the other, healers got their scores with nobody falling below fifty.
"Wow! She got a ninety-two!"
"That's an S-ranked healer for you!"
"But is she paired with that talentless guy?"
"I heard that he got a zero on the physical crystal"
"Really?! I thought he was a high ranker or something-..."
The gossip kept going on and on. Even though Akashi could tolerate it, Namo looked as if she was annoyed at all of these remarks. She looked like she was about to scold the people gossiping until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"No need to give in to the gossip. It's just gossip."
She was startled a bit but she nodded
He walked up to the crystal and touched it. He was sweating the moment the test started, and it ended right when he thought he couldn't hold it anymore. His score? Twenty-five. The male instructor raised his eyebrow and snickered.
All he could hear is the laughter and remarks from the other students but he walked back as if everything was normal. Namo looked at him worryingly because of the number of people who would take advantage of him being so weak. Not only did he get a zero on the physical test, but he also got a low score on the mana test as well...
Next was the training. Everybody had been paired with somebody with similar mana levels. The only exception was Namo and Akashi as they were already partnered with consent from both of them. In the short term, they are going to be partners until next year unless they renew the partnership.
They were all assembled on the field for their group training. There were already others there from different classes. The female instructor stood in front of the whole group.
"Alright, this training is pretty self-explanatory. You all will go with your partners and train your spells on your partner until lunch. Now shoo~"
Akashi had no idea where to go for training but Namo pointed to a secluded shaded area of the field.
"Let's go over there."
They took that area and she looked at him.
"How are we going to train... You can't do much with that low mana capacity of yours..."
She was in a deep state of thinking until she felt a tapping on her shoulder. He was looking at her with the same stoic face.
"You don't need to worry about me, but from what I can tell, you may need improvement on your spell penetration, no?"
She was shocked. Not only did he not want to train, but he also figured out what she needed to work on.
"H-How did you know?..."
He shrugged
"I just did, you looked as if you needed some work on that area."
She sighed and looked at him with a straight face
"And how do you plan on accomplishing that? The only actual way for me to improve my spell penetration is to use it while somebody is blocked by a magic barrier... and judging by who you are and what skills you seem to possess, only a support class can do that."
He chuckled a bit and took out his sword from the shadows. He planted it onto the ground and held it in place.
"Try to heal me Namo"
"H-Huh?!"