Ciara arrived at the orientation center sooner than she expected.
As she stepped into the large hall, the view amazed her.
The hall was incomparably larger and more exquisite compared to where the previous exams had been held.
There were countless numbers of chairs that spanned across the whole hall, leaving the stage at the bottom empty, with a pulpit and lights.
The rest of the hall was brightly lit, and the students there were chattering among themselves. The cliques and groups were evident, and they were all engaging in interesting conversations.
Ciara was relieved that she was not late, but it was barely. Just one more minute to go! The way she rushed into the hall, and how she panted and gasped for air gathered lots of attention, as most of the students who had been talking stopped their discussions and looked at her.
With all attention fixated on her, she felt the nervousness and fright she had tried to put away envelop her again. The young girl tried smiling, but her face was irresponsive and twitched.
'This is so uncomfortable...' Ciara thought, scanning the large hall for where to sit as she tried to avoid eye contact.
She could even hear hushed whispers from some of the students in the hall.
"Hey, Isn't that the Exception who skipped the Basic stage?" One said.
"I heard she's Tier 2" Another mentioned.
"Tier 2? At such a young age?" Yet another remarked.
'I can hear you all you know...' Ciara thought to herself awkwardly.
She walked slowly, descending the stairs and looking for a seat—any seat that would accommodate her.
Even though she managed not to be late for the orientation, most of the seats were already taken.
What was she to do?
"Pssst. Hey you..." Ciara heard a hushed voice from her right side.
One of the seated students was calling out to her, but—just to be sure—Ciara looked around her to see if the student could be referring to another person.
"M-me?" She pointed at herself uncertain if she was the intended recipient.
"Yes, you!" The student said, laughing a little.
"You're looking for a seat, right? There's one here, if you don't mind."
Ciara was relieved.
"Oh, thanks a lot," She sighed with gratitude, making her way to the student's location and finally seating down.
"No problem, I'm Mia, by the way. Foundation Class, Intermediate Stage." The girl told her.
"Uh, I'm Ciara... same here." Ciara managed to reply awkwardly.
There was a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, and then they both burst out in gentle laughter.
From that moment, Ciara knew she liked the girl beside her. She was happy, she already made her first school friend—hopefully.
"What do you—?" As Ciara was about to say something to Mia, there was a huge uproar.
"WOHOOOOOO!!!"
Ciara and Mia looked at themselves, and with their expressions, they passed a message to each other.
"To be continued." Laughing under their breaths, they decided to pay attention to what was generating the noise.
The uproar was due to someone finally appearing on stage.
The students all cheered—with only a few exceptions—seeing the man who was on stage.
Ciara was among those who didn't respond. She squinted her eyes to look at the man closely.
'Hey, I recognize that guy! Isn't he—?!'
"Trevor Netherlore. The Magic supervisor of the Foundations class." Mia said, smiling in admiration.
That was the identity of the man whom everyone was raving for. Ciara found herself stunned.
"Oh, yes... the strange man at the end of the hallway. Why is everyone making such a big fuss, though."
"You must not be from around here if you don't know who he is," Mia shouted in response, trying to make her voice audible to Ciara due to the noise around.
"He's the Magic supervisor of the Foundation class, yes. But he's even more famous than all the other supervisors. That's because... he's a Tier 8 Mage, one of the most powerful of all the lecturers in this Institute." Mia's eyes were filled with admiration for the man as she spoke.
"... And at such a young age too."
"T-Tier 8?" Ciara's eyes instantly widened, flustered.
"Yesss! And he's such an attractive man! I'm his biggest fan!" Mia squealed and blushed.
Ciara awkwardly looked at the strange man.
She never thought the man she had spoken to so casually and even shouted at was such a big deal.
'I wonder if he even remembers me.' Ciara looked at him again closely.
Trevor Netherlore, as though reading her mind, looked in her direction. A smile formed on his face as he winked at her.
'U-uh...?!' Ciara, flushed with embarrassment and even blushing a bit, looked away.
"Omg!!! He looked at me! He smiled and winked at me!!!" Many students around Ciara squealed in delight, including Mia.
Ciara sighed. Just who was she dealing with?
*
*
*
Trevor Netherlore's smile didn't fade.
He currently had the attention of his audience and had even managed to make Ciara flustered. As usual, he had this in the bag.
"Good evening students of the great United Southern Empire's Institute of Magic. My name is Trevor Netherlore, Supervisor of the Foundation class, and Lecturer of Contemporary Modern Magic Studies." He declared, causing even greater cheers from the crowd.
He raised his right index finger in the air, then placed them on his lips, indicating he wanted silence.
Immediately everyone kept quiet. The hall was so quiet, Ciara felt she could hear her heart beat.
"It is a great privilege given to me by the Archmage and Head of this Institute, Lord Denzel, that I should speak to you all this evening." Trevor began.
"As students of this great institute, I'm sure you are all aware of the great honor you've been given to seat here. The Institute boasts the birth of the greatest mages in the Empire, myself included." He said, triggering cheers and laughter from the crowd.
He once again beckoned on their silence, which they obediently gave him.
"I would keep this short and precise, as I know many of you would love to return to your various dorms and enjoy the rest of your evening." He said in humor.
"I welcome the new entrants who have been accepted into this Institute, I hope you have a wonderful experience here, and you work hard to develop yourselves and raise your prowess to their utmost limits.
For the students present, whether new or old, don't forget the purpose for which you enrolled here, and the purpose of this great citadel of Magic."
Everyone had glittering sparks in their eyes as they heard him.
"I won't promise you that it will be easy. In fact, many of you might drop out at one level or the other. But, if you persevere, if you persevere and thrive, then you will be among the greatest of Mages who have walked the earth!" Trevor declared.
The students cheered, and even Ciara felt inspired by this man as well as everything he said.
'I will not fall behind. I will thrive!'
Trevor went on to explain the basic school rules and the system of the school. As a merit-based institution, everything relied on skill and prowess.
He also mentioned the various facilities that could be used by students, some had restricted access, while some were open to all students. He carried everyone along, and by the end of the orientation, Ciara was refreshed and determined.
"Now... As for any questions pertaining to anything I said or didn't say, or anything you're curious about... I am not answering any." Trevor said, vanishing into thin air afterwards.
The students had a huge uproar. Some laughed, some cheered, some complained. But one thing was evident.
Everyone loved him!
*
*
*
Ciara exited the hall with Mia. They talked a bit, and Ciara realized they were in the same dorm. They had a very good time together before separating into their various rooms.
"See you in class tomorrow!" Ciara said, waving goodbye.
"Yeah! See you then!" Mia smiled back, waving her hands.
Ciara went to her room, fell on her bed with a huge 'Poof!'
Her soft bed welcomed her with its squishy feel, and she sighed with relief. It was a short orientation, but Ciara learned a lot. She also made her first friend.
Everything was going perfectly.
That night, Ciara slept peacefully on her bed, with a large satisfied smile on her face.
*
*
*
Trevor suddenly appeared in his dark office.
It was a short orientation, but that definitely took a lot out of him. He was a good spokesperson, many people had told him that. But doing things like these took a lot out of his social battery.
"I really don't like doing troublesome things like this."
He was grateful, however, to Denzel—or rather his assistant.
His request to lead the orientation for the evening was accepted.
He specifically wanted to speak in this one, unlike the rest which he avoided doing. There was only one reason for that.
"Looks like you're doing well, Ciara." He smiled.
"Though I didn't sense your tutor with you... what a shame."
A dark glow appeared in his eyes as he sat on his chair and relaxed his back.
"It's only a matter of time, though... you'll come running to me yourself, Sir Noir." Trevor's grin gave off an ominous feel
Darkness covered his entire room, as even he faded in the pitch-black setting. A dark foreboding lurked about, and the future remained...
... Uncertain.