As the first light of dawn kissed the horizon, dozens of students had already gathered in the central plaza. They moved from tent to tent, which were set up in a U-shape around the area.
"Care to join the Auror Council?"
"Looking for first-years to join our Magic Theory Club!"
"You! You'd be perfect for our Swordsmanship Council!"
The upperclassmen buzzed around like excited bees, each trying to lure the newcomers into their ranks. For them, it was more than just recruitment—it was a high-stakes competition to snag the best and brightest first-years. These new recruits would become the bedrock of their organizations, shaping their future successes and legacy.
"Most of them are just display," Kristan whispered at him, both of them searching for the Reconnaissance Corps booth.
"It's normal, everyone would be normally occupied with their own training and research, having joined these groups would only consume more of their time, unless it's something that falls in their interest," Ardiel said.
"I was actually planning to join the Fenrir Society, it's a club for those who are born in the North," Kristan said, "How about you? Any plans on joining the Avalon League?"
"Nope, Reno also won't be joining that, we don't like playing leaders or overlords, We knew they would be aiming for us since we're Dragonhearts but not a chance."
"You two seem to be good at running, want to join the Recon Corps?" his ears managed to catch a voice amongst the crowd. He quickly followed its direction and soon found the tent that they were both looking for.
"Hello first years! Would you like to join the Reconnaissance Corps? Here, we are specially permitted to go outside the campus to do short operations, such as clearing operations, hunting, and of course, surveillance missions," said the male upperclassman with so much enthusiasm.
"I would like to register."
"Me too!" Kristan followed.
"Great! Here's the form. Please fill it out with the necessary information," the upperclassman handed them each a sheet of paper.
Ardiel scanned the form. It asked for his name, age, birthday, his parents' names, and other personal details he hadn't expected. There was also a line for indicating whether they were an Auror or a Magister.
"Uh, how do I fill this out? I'm both a Magister and an Auror?" His question caused the upperclassman to frown in confusion, his expression clearly questioning, 'What are you talking about?'
"Oh! You're that first-year," the upperclassman said, his eyes widening as he recognized Ardiel. After all, Ardiel's results had stirred quite a buzz among the upperclassmen. They were in disbelief that a ten-year-old, two years younger than the usual admission age, had both a mana ring and a mana core.
"Just put both, I'll just make a note,"
"Thank you for the consideration!"
The upperclassman's face lit up with excitement. Capturing such a promising recruit was a big win, especially when other organizations had their eyes on Ardiel too, who wouldn't be? The Ace of First Years, just having him would put a spotlight on their organization.
"Thank you for your enthusiasm! Because of the high number of applicants, we'll be holding a trial on Saturday. Those who pass will officially join the Recon Corps. Please be at the oval by 7 AM sharp," he explained, hurriedly clipping Ardiel and Kristan's forms to his clipboard. He was determined not to let these promising recruits slip away to other groups, especially not someone as remarkable as Ardiel.
"Let's go, we'll be late for our classes," he said before leaving the central plaza and headed straight towards the Auror Building.
"Why do I feel so heavy today?" Kristan mumbled, his shoulders slumping as he felt an odd sense of unease.
Ardiel raised an eyebrow at Kristan's complaint, a smirk tugging at his lips. He'd been using Gravity Well subtly since their time at the plaza, adjusting its effects to make it nearly unnoticeable. His training with Gravity Well had paid off, pushing his proficiency to 52%. Additionally, his skill with Light Step had also improved, reaching 64%, thanks to his rigorous training methods over the past month.
'Sorry bud, consider it as training for you,' he thought to himself.
His mischievous side had been showing more lately, especially with how he'd been using the same trick on Reno for a week, sometimes even during classes. Although using magic outside of class was strictly prohibited, he was skirting the rule by using Gravity Magic, which was invisible to the eye. He was making the loophole work to his advantage.
Other students occasionally used Sound Magic, Psychic Magic, and other non-visible forms of magic, but it was rare. Ardiel, however, did it almost daily. Only someone with a high mana sensitivity—probably at least Rank 6—might notice, and even then, they'd have to be close to him.
He'd been practicing using Light Step and Gravity Well simultaneously. The thought of boosting his speed while increasing gravity around him was exhilarating. In melee combat, it would make him nearly unstoppable.
When they finally arrived at the classroom for their 'Introduction to Mana Core' class, the instructor was already there. They had made it just a few minutes before the session started.
"Alright, let's dive in," the instructor began, his voice commanding the attention of the room.
Three months into the course, they had already covered a lot of ground.
"Who can tell me why Aurors use mana differently than Magisters?"
"Magisters focus on innovation," Kiera answered confidently. "They'll summon dozens of ice spikes from a distance to attack their opponent. Aurors, on the other hand, imbue themselves with ice, freezing anything they touch."
Ardiel's mind flashed back to the last time he saw Erick in action. The way Erick had fought against the beasts was still vivid in his memory. He had covered himself in lightning, a brilliant example of combining offense and defense. With just a touch of his sword or hand, Erick could electrify his targets, all while deflecting incoming blows.
Ardiel couldn't help but imagine himself in that situation, his heart pounding with anticipation for what the future held. He knew the potential Gravity Magic has, and he can't wait for that time to come.
"Aurors are using mana's raw power, an Auror using fire attribute mana could burn someone with a touch, but he can't throw fireballs, we don't manipulate mana to a different form, we use it as it is.
"However, that difference can be ignored once you've reached Rank 7, by then, the auror can influence the fire mana in nature, hence, he would be able to create a fireball from that, but that is without using a magic spell, just pure affinity and control."
"Of course, A Rank 7 Auror and a Rank 7 Magister still has difference, The auror might use a fireball, but the magister could summon a sea of fire, but the auror will be unaffected, because he gains immunity against fire, so who do you think will win?" The professor asked.
"The auror, only if he managed to land a hit," Ardiel said, his voice coming out a bit louder due to the silence.
"That's right," the instructor smiled as she heard her most quiet student speak.
"Our core grants us complete immunity to the attribute we use, a high rank auror could dive in a sea of lava without being burnt to death, but a magister would need to use a barrier with fire attribute to do the same."
The discussion continued, dwelling between the disadvantages and advantages of being an auror.
Ardiel paid close attention, knowing that understanding both roles was crucial for someone like him who walked both paths. He needed to be the best at both, and that's why Wednesday was his favorite day—it was the day he took both mana core and mana ring classes, well aside from the fact that they added Skewers on the Wednesday Dinner Menu upon his request, Clara, the staff in the cafeteria, just couldn't resist his charm when he tried to request for it.
His day continued with the Mana Ring class, and when both his classes ended, the poster for the Annual Tournament was posted on the huge bulletin board outside the building.
"The tournament will be on December 15, that's a bit earlier than last year?" He heard someone say from the crowd.
"What was it last year? December 23? Well it's not much of a difference."
"That's your birthday!" Amidst the bustling crowd, Reno yelled just beside and then proceeded to shake his shoulders.
"Yeah, I get it, please stop shaking me, it's making me dizzy," he said as he tried to push Reno away from him, as much as he loved hanging out with Reno, it was really a lot trying to match his energy at times.
"That's your birthday?" Kristan asked.
"Yeah, you didn't know? You've been roommates for 3 months?" Reno gasped, making it sound like this was a big deal.
"I don't even know Kristan's birthday so shut up," Ardiel said.
"You guys are no fun, at least try to know more about each other,"
"I know Kristan snores every five seconds," Ardiel said with a straight face, leaving Kristan staring at him in disbelief. How could he even know that?
"That's impressive! What else do you know about him?" Reno prodded, but Ardiel ignored him as they headed toward the cafeteria. There was no way he would miss the beef skewers today.
As they walked, Ardiel's thoughts drifted back to the tournament date. Something about it didn't sit right with him. For some reason he can't explain, his birthdate might hold some meaning he can't explain yet.