Two days passed in a blur. Ryo mostly stayed at home, helping with the chores, and spent his time reading books.
And now, Ryo finds himself in his white uniform, standing in front of the school bulletin board. There, the list of sections was posted.
All the sections were decided by the performance in the entrance test and in the first aptitude test.
The first aptitude test.
This is where he stood in front of a metallic robot, and through magic embedded in its metal skin, It measured his overall magic abilities. Moreover, this test also came with several physical and mental exams.
He looked at the papers posted, and after looking for a while, he found his name.
"KYOSUKE RYO" "SECTION A"
"Section A... Huh?"
He mumbled in disbelief. He didn't expect to be this high.
"Whatever, I guess..." With low energy and zero motivation, he lazily walked up the stairs.
As he walked through the white halls, he noticed that the hallways were rather quiet and empty, something one wouldn't expect from a first-day scenario.
"Am I at the wrong building?" He thought to himself. However, as he continued on, he arrived in front of his classroom. CLASS-A.
He hesitantly opened the backdoor, and greeting him was the unexpected.
Inside was... Empty. Not exactly empty... There was only a single person inside.
A girl, sitting in the front.
The classroom was white, with a few red linings on the ceiling, with a long set of lights in the middle.
The chairs were red, the tables were white, and the air was cold.
"This isn't what I was expecting..." He mumbled to himself.
He proceeded to sit in the chair near the windows. He threw his bag on the chair, causing a thud noise to echo around.
This caught the attention of the girl.
She slowly turned around, and their eyes met each other.
Her hair is pink, tied up in two pigtails with purple highlights.
Her eyes eyes were of a dazzling mix of orange and purple.
She was timid and shy, her cheeks slightly flushed. She wore a white uniform and a pink jacket.
"H-Hello there!" She yelled out awkwardly.
Feeling a little awkward, and confused, Ryo stood motionless.
"D-Do you know where everyone went?" She yelled out again.
"Oh, uhm... I don't know... I also just arrived..." Ryo awkwardly replied.
"I-I see, thank you!" Yelled out again, before turning back to the front.
Ryo sat down and looked through the window.
"First day of school... Things are already weird."
Time passed, and Ryo remained staring out for what seemed like an hour.
Annoyance is beginning to get to him. He's starting to doubt whether there are classes.
The girl is still there in front.
"I should go home..." That thought crossed his mind.
Suddenly, the sound of students swarming the hallways echoed all throughout.
He turned his head towards the door, anticipating someone coming in.
Not long after, Hina opened the backdoor, where her friends followed behind her.
Then, our gaze met each other, and her eyes widened.
"Kyosuke-san!!! We thought you didn't go to school!" Exclaimed Hina, as she rushed up to him
"What do you mean? Where were you all?"
Ryo asked, confused.
"We were at the opening ceremony in the gymnasium." Airi, behind Hina, replied,
"Wait, what?"
"Oh, weren't you informed, Kyosuke-san? The mail was sent yesterday."
"Oh..."
I haven't checked my phone yet.
He thought to himself.
"Dude, you missed out. The council who spoke was beautiful!" Arata exclaimed excitedly, like again, a child telling a story.
"Calm down, Arata." Haruto beside him tried his best to calm him down, but the glistening beam in his eyes didn't disappear.
In an enthusiastic tone, he continued yapping about the council girl, until Kyouko, who was sitting behind them snapped, and decided to intervene.
"Takahashi-san, lower your voice." She coldly uttered sternly with her cold eyes.
"O-Oh, sorry," Arata replied, feeling a little embarrassed.
The others around were looking at them.
"L-Let's continue this later, okay?" Airi suggested. With her words, they all sat down.
Soon, silence reigned over them, not until the front door suddenly opened. Then, their former teacher, Asahi, entered the room, looking the same as when he first entered their former classroom, 1-B.
He yawned and threw the book he was holding on the table. From the looks of it, it looks like he just got out of bed. Messy hair, an unbuttoned shirt, black bags under his eyes, and unironed clothes.
"Now, good morning, 1-A was it?" He said as he looked each student in the eye.
"I hope you guys don't bring me trouble in the future, but for now, let's have a quick check. I'll say some names, and if you don't hear yours, raise your hand."
Candi Aeneias, Aikawa Yasu, Akamine Airi, Aoki Reina, Atsumasa Ayumi, Agatha Mijahlovich Zaitseva, Harutani Yui, Takahashi Arata, Haruto Sora, Ayane Hina, Tsubasa Rin, Kai Kuromi, Laura Cezina Castillo, Kazuo Shin, Fujimoto Kyouko, Hanemura Keina, Tokita Souta, Kyosuke Ryo, Gushiken Ryuko, Hayashi Silas.
"All new and unique names and faces. Is there anyone who hasn't been called yet?"
No responses.
"Alright. First, let's start with the seating arrangement."
After a series of exchanges, Ryo found himself at the back of the classroom, near the window. In front of him was an unfamiliar female face, while beside him was also an unfamiliar male face.
"All right, let's start our session. I'd like to discuss the power system here. Each time you win something, a tournament or whatever, pass an exam or test, or do something that's quite remarkable, you'll gain points. And those numbers of powers will be the basis of your ranks."
He grabbed a device from under his table, a ball, with several buttons around.
"First is, the rank of beginners, or the D level" He pressed on button of that ball, causing it to project a hologram shaped into a "D" shape.
"D-Level is where the ones with low-powered students are. In the system, it is said that students with 100-500 points are considered on the low side of the system or the D-Level. Usually, the school has their focus on making these students improve and the goal is that no student will be left on the D-Level, or else they will repeat a year."
He pressed another button and the previous D-shaped hologram turned into a C-shaped one.
"C-Level. Now, this is where those with 501-1,500 points reside. This is the rank that the students need to reach in order for them to pass the school year."
"B-Level. This is a slightly high level if you ask me. Starting from this class, you'd be seen as someone with skills, but not flawless. Those with 1,501 - 3,000 points are the ones that are at this level."
"A-Level. This is the level of the skillful and talented row of students. Usually, we only have less than a hundred students from all years reaching this level. If you reach this, you have my respect. You need at least 3,001 - 5,000 points to reach this level."
"Now, lastly, the S-Level. As some of you lads might have guessed, the council members all have reached this class. With their excellent performance over the years, they've each gained respect from others. If you reach 5,001 points onwards, you'll be placed on this rank."
Asahi then turned around and proceeded to press an invisible button, which caused a whiteboard to manifest in front of us suddenly. He grabbed an erasable pen from his pocket and began writing down all the rankings.
"Power points could be earned through your performance, whether in tests or tournaments. Now, we have this,"
He stopped writing and turned around again. He pulled out a technology wristband with a glass screen at the top. He pressed the glass screen and it projected a hologram above it. The hologram displayed some information about him.
"Asahi-Id: 182938-Aptitude: [source unknown]-Powerpoints ; 0"
"All of you lads will be given this thing. This will track down your progress for your whole year in this high school. All achievements will be recorded here in this small gadget right here."
He said with a smirk on his face.
"For now, each of you will get to know each other. I have some other important things to do, so I'll be leaving. Make sure you interact with each other."
With those words, he ran out of the room like someone running late for work.
Once the sliding door closed, silence reigned over them.
"Nice, a perfect time to sleep," Ryo mumbled satisfactorily.
He took a quick glance at everyone around.
Everyone had a certain aura around them, dignified and special.
They aren't the usual ones that you'll see, them all seem different.
As expected of the Class-A, everyone seems so different and so unique.
He turns back to the window.
Until a voice spoke out to him, it was a soft and angelic female voice.
"It seems like Asahi-Sensei left us again." She said.
Ryo turned in front and saw that the girl in front of him was turned towards him, sitting facing the side.
Her eyes were of a beautiful, shining, Sapphire blue, with thin, round glasses on. Her aura was demure, and mature.
Her hair was flowing, long, maroon, with her bangs hanging to her right, with a purple color underneath.
She smiles at Ryo.
"I apologize, I forgot my formalities. I am Tsubasa Rin, originally from 1-B, the same class as you."
Ryo pondered. "Was there someone like her?"
"I used to have pink hair." She added.
A person came to mind. Ryo remembered someone similar to this aura, having a pink hair.
"I remember." He replied,
"That's great. Hoping to make your acquaintance." She greeted cheerfully, offering a handshake with her gloved hand.
Ryo returned the offer and shook hands.
"Say, what's your name? I remember it, but it's at the back of my tongue."
"Kyosuke Ryo."
"Oh, I see. Kyosuke-san. Do you mind if I call you that?"
"I don't."
"Great!"
Ryo keeps his replies to a minimum, hoping that the conversation will soon die out.
That was the case until Tsubasa's words became deeper and deeper,
"I feel unlucky to land in Class A." She said,
"Why is that?"
"All the best in the first-year category are here. Look around. Their aura is terrifying. I've seen a few of them in action during the entrance test."
Ryo felt intrigued. The first step is always about having the necessary information.
"What about it?" He asked,
"They're strong. Most of them are. They held their ground against the fourth easily, one even pinned him (Ryujin), singlehandedly."
"Singlehandedly, you say?"
"Yes. I'm not exaggerating. And to land in this cage filled with beasts, I feel a little left out."
Ryo took a look around for the person who could have pinned Ryujin singlehandedly.
The idea itself is absurd to believe. Even Kyouko, the eighth seat, and he, not to mention their whole group, struggled against Ryujin. And to have someone singlehandedly pin Ryujin down means that someone here is stronger than most of the council members.
"That's interesting," Ryo replied.
In his current strength, he'll be an underdog. His strength isn't polished yet. He needs to train hard and to improve himself.
"Well, we'll see. I heard there's an upcoming test in three days." She says,
"Three days?"
"Yes, I've heard that from someone. I think it's a good way to get to know each other."
Regardless if it's true or not, Ryo needs to prepare.
Maybe, her statement was just an understatement, but, to be sure, is better than sorry.