Shortly after the man's announcement, the floor beneath the students began to fill up with a series of glowing symbols.
Most of the new students were amazed by the display of magic; however, a select few, including Kedra, immediately recognized the purpose of the symbols.
The ground they were standing on had just revealed itself to be a tremendous magic circuit.
Kedra looked around the room and saw the relaxed faces of the returning students; it was obvious to her that this was a recurring event, which reassured her.
Once the circuit had fully developed and each symbol was glowing at full intensity, the students all found themselves transported to their respective classrooms, with the exception of Kedra and a handful of other students, who remained in the room.
Before she could begin to wonder why she had been excluded from the spell, a woman walked over to her and introduced herself.
"Hello Kedra, I am Beatrix Valnora; I'll be your head teacher for this year."
She was tall and well built, with harmonious facial features and long, curly, dark red hair. Dark ridged horns protruded from her head, curving down and ending at mouth level.
She had red scales along the back of her neck and shoulders, as well as piercing slit red eyes. Her Adam's apple was far more pronounced than other women's, with a warm glow emanating from her neck with every exhale.
She wore the teachers' uniform, which was similar to the students' garb but featured purple details instead of the students's blue highlights, along with rose gold metalwork in place of the golden buttons and chains.
"Ah, uh yes, pleased to meet you, Ms. Valnora." Kedra shakily responded.
'Ah, I've read about this; she's a dragonkin, and by the look of those ears, she had an elven parent.'
"You must be confused as to why you weren't transported with the other students. For the short explanation, it's because you've skipped a year, so I'd like to introduce you personally to the class to eliminate confusion." Beatrix explained.
"I understand. What about the other students here?" Kedra asked.
"I'm not sure; perhaps they are in similar situations to you, or perhaps their head teachers want to discuss something with them. I wouldn't know though."
"Anyway, let's head to the classroom, shall we? I'll lead the way." Beatrix said.
Beatrix led Kedra into one of the many hallways connected to the main hall.
As Kedra stepped through the arch into the hall, she noticed a plaque on the path's entrance with a single word written upon it: "Wisdom.".
"Wisdom?" Kedra subconsciously asked aloud.
"Indeed, this is the 'Hall of Wisdom' where most of the second years' classes are held. Along with this one, there are four other halls in this academy, each bearing a name derived from the tenets of Aswal." Beatrix explained.
"In order of each year, there is the 'Hall of Peace', 'Wisdom', 'Trust', 'Power' and finally the 'Hall of Pride' for the fifth years." She continued.
"I've read that Aswal has six tenets; what happened to 'Royalty'?" Kedra asked.
"'Royalty' is the name reserved for the tower atop the main building. It is where our graduate students spend their final year here at the academy."
"Interesting, oh, by the way, what are the academy rules on personal weapo—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Kedra was interrupted by Beatrix suddenly stopping in front of a door.
"Alright, we've arrived. Wait here, alright? I'll call out your name when I need you to come in." She said, quickly entering the room.
'At least answer my question first damn it.'
Inside the classroom, the students were agitated; they were all socializing and reuniting with their past acquaintances, forming groups, and discussing the upcoming year.
Suddenly the door flew open, and Beatrix Valnora entered the room and stepped up to the podium.
"Greetings students, my name is Beatrix Valnora, and I will be your head teacher for this year."
The room instantly fell silent; the students were all of noble background; they each knew that openly disrespecting an academy teacher while surrounded by their peers would lead to severe repercussions from their families.
"Before we begin, however, I'd like to introduce a classmate to all of you. This is her first year in this academy, and though she is one year younger than all of you, she has displayed capabilities on par with a second year; for that reason, she will be placed in the same year as you all."
"You may come in, Kedra!"
Upon hearing this, Kedra stepped into the classroom and stood next to Beatrix.
The students still didn't speak, yet their awkward glances betrayed their surprise.
Though the teacher had said that she would be a year younger than them, Kedra stood at an impressive height for an eleven-year-old; she was almost a full head taller than most of her peers.
"Could you introduce yourself, please?" Beatrix asked.
"Ah, very well. It's a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Kedra Deslandes, and as Ms. Valnora said, I am a year younger than all of you. Despite this, I look forward to working with all of you."
"Thank you, Kedra; I'll let you find a seat while I begin my class."
Kedra walked towards the seats and looked around at the students in her class; though none particularly stood out to her, it was a good thing that she did not recognize anyone.
'Thank god, it looks like those twins are in another class.'
Her eyes continued to wander around the classroom until she eventually spotted an empty seat near the back of the class.
She walked up to it and sat down, then turned to greet her deskmate.
To her surprise, she saw the same strawberry blonde girl that she had met at the academy's entrance.
Not wanting to risk interrupting the teacher by speaking, Kedra simply smiled at the girl before giving her full attention to Beatrix.
'Why did I have to end up sitting next to a Deslandes? I feel like this year's going to be difficult for me.' The girl thought, cursing her misfortune.
Beatrix began a long monologue where she informed the students of what challenges awaited them in the upcoming year. She also opted to remind everyone of the school's rules before finally concluding.
"As for the classes this year, you will all take a series of tests to determine where your aptitude lies; once the testing is concluded, we will offer you a list of all of the classes available to you."
"You will choose a minimum of five classes from the list up to a maximum of twelve. Note that if you fail to produce at least five classes that you may attend during the testing, you will immediately be expelled."
"To conclude, I'd like to remind you all that though you are all nobles, your ranks hardly matter within academy grounds; whether you are a viscount or a duke, remember that here you are nothing but students, and thus you must act like students."
"With that, I wish you all the best for the upcoming year."