—Asher Frostblade's point of view.
After the ballots, each cadet was assigned a room in the dormitory section, spread over two large buildings, as each cadet has their own room.
"Clik!"
Using the key, Asher finally entered room number 100, the last room and located at the top of the building.
Looking around, Asher observed the furniture, shelves of books on magic, a desk with everything he needed, a spacious bed, a large closet with the academy uniform and also normal clothes, a ceiling adorned with a not very large glass chandelier, a brown carpeted floor, and in the center of the room, a circle, next to a balcony that offered a spectacular view.
Looking at the circle on the floor, Asher thought:
"Looks like a meditation area."
And indeed, it was, located in the center of the room, where there was a large clear space.
"Classes start tomorrow."
"Haa..."
Sighing, Asher lay down on the bed, with two pillows and a large white quilt, just like the bed.
Then he got up and looked at the door next to the closet; it was the bathroom door.
Entering, Asher looked at it for a few seconds.
A large space, a bathtub with a shower head, a sink with a mirror, and of course, the toilet.
Taking off his black academy uniform, the tub filled with water, and then Asher stepped into it.
After a few minutes, Asher emerged from the bathroom, changed into casual pants and a white shirt. Looking in the mirror, he brushed his hair and, reaching up to his face, said:
"Perfect."
Stepping out onto the balcony, he surveyed the view that encompassed much of the academy: the campus, the shopping area, and, of course, the four-story Laosa Academy itself, surrounded by a huge forest.
"Whistling."
As night fell and the moon hung in the sky, with the fresh air and the great view, taking a deep breath, all Asher could say was:
"Beautiful."
It was a moment when anyone could say those words as they gazed at what was before them.
It was the perfect time to watch a sunset as the sun dipped below the horizon, and on the other side the moon emerged, slowly presenting the night.
"I guess I'll be here for a long time."
Indeed, Asher will be spending five years at the academy, quite a long time, but he doesn't see the academy in a negative light. Everything before his eyes is something he always wanted to see in his past life, and he is slowly achieving that goal.
A world where Asher can live the life he always wanted to have. That dream is slowly coming true, but there is still a long way to go. First he must take care of several things; the first thing is to become strong enough, and one of his goals is to be a tenth-circle mage.
"I think I'll stop holding back today and advance to the second circle."
"That's a good choice. I suggest you make it to the third circle as well."
Then Encrid suddenly spoke up.
"No, I'll go slowly for the time being."
"Haa... Alright, but don't get too confident. It's better to be as strong as possible as soon as possible."
"I know, and I'm keeping that in mind, because that's one of my goals."
"If you say so, and I'd like to get out, I'd like to stretch a little."
Sighing, Asher let the mana flow to the tattoo. Not just one, but both: the one in the shape of a moon, which is Encrid, and the one in the shape of a sickle.
Then a curtain of dark mana appeared behind Asher, and from it emerged two figures: a woman and a man, both with black hair, one with dark eyes and the other with purple eyes.
Looking around, Isabella spoke:
"Not bad."
"Yes, it's spacious. It's not the same seeing it with your own eyes."
Encrid and Isabella spoke at the same time, giving their opinion on Asher's room. After all, it has everything a wizard needs: space, books, desk, and so on.
Then Asher went back inside, leaving the balcony. He quickly sat down on the floor, right in the marked circle in the center of the room, and gathering his legs, placed them in a more comfortable position.
"Are you going to start?" asked Encrid as he saw Asher sit down on the floor.
"Yes."
"Remember to stay focused and don't let anything disturb you. Channel your mana into the circle on your wrist and let your magic circuit allow the mana to flow freely."
"I understand."
"Don't forget to let your mana move naturally and flow freely, like water running down a river."
"Hey, but he shouldn't forget the important part either, which is to absorb mana while doing all that," Isabella interjected, speaking again.
"Do everything Encrid told you and also absorb the mana around you like you usually do, without interruptions in your consciousness. Keep your eyes closed and concentrate."
"Okay."
***
—Scene change.
"Whistling."
The sound of the air hitting the glass door of the balcony made Asher open his eyes at that moment.
He spent the whole night moving to the second circle, and sure enough, he made it in less than half an hour. At that moment he looked at his wrist: two dark-colored circles and ten stars in the center of the circle, dark gray. Both circles started at the wrist and went down to the forearm, but since Asher only has two circles, they are just two centimeters below the first circle on his wrist.
"Huam..."
Yawning, he noticed that it was getting light. Today was the day he would receive his first classes and subjects. First, however, it would be announced who would be in class one and who would be in classes four and five; the announcement would be posted in the announcement section.
A broad place where things like reports, announcements about what is going on around the academy, and also announcements of events or the like are reported. It is simply a place for information both from the outside as well as from the academy itself.
"It's barely 4:47 AM," Asher muttered. Then he looked out onto the balcony, where Isabella had been, apparently since the night before. Encrid had returned to his tattoo form, but Isabella wanted to stay longer in her human form, saying she wanted to see the outside.
Quickly, Asher showered, put on his black uniform, combed his hair, and within minutes stepped out onto the balcony. He looked at Isabella beside him as the breeze stirred his black hair.
"Were you out all night?"
"Yes, I was bored. I wanted to get some fresh air and watch the night."
"..."
"Well, who am I to judge these things?" thought Asher.
"Asher."
"What?"
"What exactly is it that you want to accomplish?"
"..."
"Now why are you talking about these things?" Asher looked at Isabella, confused. If she was going to ask those questions, she could have asked them at any time, and in fact, much earlier. So why now?
Isabella's voice echoed again.
"Encrid and I achieved our goal by killing the seven gods, but after a short time, we died. Though I died long before the war with the gods."
"..."
This is clearly valuable information for Asher.
"A ninth circle mage can live much longer than normal, the same goes for a tenth circle mage."
"..."
"Then I wonder what you're looking for. I sense that you are looking for a goal, I sense it very clearly."
Indeed, Asher has a goal: his dreams, the ones he always longed for. That's why he has been pursuing them ever since he got a new chance and reincarnated in this world.
"Well, it's something simple and maybe silly, but I just want to live quietly. I want to live like families do."
"I see."
"But if I want that, I need to be strong and I need to eliminate whoever gets in the way. It's a simple thing, but also hard for me to achieve."
At those last words, Isabella said nothing and simply looked up at the sun appearing in the distance, indicating that it was already past five in the morning. Of course, classes were starting at six.
Leaving the balcony, Asher headed for the door, but at that moment, Isabella's voice came again.
"I hope you make it. Encrid and I didn't make it, even though we freed this world from the gods."
After that, Isabella's entire body began to vanish in a curtain of dark mana that drifted to Asher's arm. The tattoo in the shape of a sickle reappeared on his arm. At that moment, Asher walked out of the room with a smile on his face.
***
-Scene change.
-Gloriana Mengral's point of view.
After bathing and getting ready, combing her hair and putting on her black academy uniform, Gloriana left her room. She went down to the second floor, exited the building and, walking through the campus, headed for the advertisement section.
Of course, she knew very well that she was in class one and it was not necessary to go to the announcement section to see the board where the list of those who would be in their respective classes was posted.
But still, Gloriana decided to go.
That morning she felt full of energy. Every part of her body was revitalized; after all, that was what Gloriana's mornings were like ever since she started absorbing mana every night. The mana inside her body filled her with vibrant energy every morning, allowing her to wake up peacefully every day.
"Classes start today. I wonder how my sister will teach," she thought, remembering that Oriana mentioned earlier that she would be teaching magic classes. Gloriana was curious how she would do it.
"She never taught me anything though, so I'd like to know what her class will be like."
"Hehe, that could be funny."
When they reached the announcement section, the place was full of cadets. In front of everyone was a wall where a large white paper had several names written on it in order, with classes one through five.
Gloriana read the names on the list of "class one cadets" and recognized the first name that appeared.
"Asher Frostblade."
Exactly, it was Asher at the front of the line, followed by the names of his friends.
"I already knew they'd be on the list, though," Gloriana thought.
There were a total of thirty cadets in class one, three hundred in class two, two hundred and seventy in classes three, and in classes four and five, only two hundred cadets each, totaling one thousand cadets in the five classes.
Of course, that large number of cadets in the other classes does not mean that they are in one room. There are more classrooms to accommodate all those cadets, and it's the same for the other years.
"Hello, Gloriana."
Luna's voice reached Gloriana's ears. Turning around, she saw Luna approaching.
"Hi. I thought you weren't coming here. Anyway, you already knew we'd be in class one."
"Mmm, that's the same thing I can say about you. Why are you here, or is it something else?"
Before Gloriana could answer, a silver-haired, red-eyed cadet, matching Gloriana's, appeared. Seeing her, he walked straight toward her.
"So what are you guys doing here?"
Luna looked at Asher, then quickly at Gloriana. Her lips curved into a smirk before she said:
"Hehe, so that's why you were here."
"I-it's not that... I-I just came here..."
"Yeah, yeah."
Luna interrupted Gloriana's words, and at that moment, Asher spoke up.
"Why am I first on the list?"
"Maybe because you were first in the test and you're the chairman of the disciplinary committee."
"..."
At Luna's words, Asher did not immediately respond. In fact, what she said left him momentarily speechless.
"W-well... I guess it's like this."
"Pfft..."
"..."
"..."
Asher and Gloriana looked at Luna, who was covering her mouth with her hand to contain her laughter. After a few seconds, she pulled herself together.
"Ahem... Well, how about we go?" suggested Luna.
"Yeah." Asher nodded.
"I think the same, she's definitely weird." Added Gloriana as she looked at Luna.
Asher and Gloriana exchanged glances and smiles as they started walking, leaving Luna behind with a puzzled expression.
"Hey... Wait, you two!" Luna exclaimed, hurrying to follow them as Asher and Gloriana walked away with a complicit smile....