Elora blinked awake as sunlight streamed through the tall dormitory windows.
Since she felt too lazy to get up, she stayed under the blankets, listening to the sounds drifting through the dormitory halls.
Footsteps.
Distant conversations.
The soft ringing of mana bells somewhere deeper within the academy grounds.
Eventually, she dragged herself out of bed and walked toward the window.
Outside, the academy looked completely different in the morning light.
Massive white towers rose into the sky while silver bridges connected different sections of the campus far above the ground.
Mana lanterns still glowed faintly along the pathways below.
From this distance, the academy looked more like a city than a school.
Apparently, whoever built this place had decided normal buildings weren’t impressive enough.
She quickly got ready for her first day of classes.
When she opened her door, Lyra was already waiting outside.
Not long afterward, they left the dormitory together and joined the growing crowds moving through the main halls.
Students moved through the massive hallways while floating platforms carried people between different levels.
Ancient runes were etched into the stone floors beneath their feet.
Most first-year students wore the academy’s standard black uniform with blue trim along the collar and cuffs, making them easy to recognize among the crowd.
Elora noticed that not everyone wore the same trim.
Some had crimson trim, while others wore green or silver.
She wasn’t sure what the colors meant, but they clearly marked something beyond the standard first-year uniform.
Lyra stared upward openly as another floating platform drifted overhead, looking completely amazed.
“Whoa…
How is any of this even real?” “I was wondering the same thing,” Elora admitted quietly.
As they entered one of the larger courtyards, Elora finally got a clear look at the academy’s central tower.
It was huge.
The courtyard was already crowded with students.
Instructors stood near glowing notice boards, organizing schedules and directing people around.
As they walked, Elora noticed a few students glancing her way and whispering among themselves.
She already knew why.
Between the Nexus Orb incident and whatever rumors had spread after the entrance exam, she had attracted more attention than she wanted.
Some students quickly looked away when she caught them staring, but others didn’t even bother pretending.
Elora knew it was still too early to hope the rumors would die down.
She forced herself not to pay attention to them and looked the other way.
Near the far side of the grounds, groups of students practiced elemental magic inside reinforced training circles surrounded by protective barrier runes.
A sudden burst of fire exploded from one of the circles.
Several nearby students immediately ducked.
Lyra blinked.
“That seems unsafe.” An instructor shouted something in the distance while smoke drifted harmlessly into the sky.
“Yeah.
Very unsafe for first-years.” As they continued through the courtyard, Elora noticed several large schedule boards near the main pathways.
Students gathered around them while glowing letters shifted across the surface.
Lyra immediately stepped closer.
“Oh no, are you kidding me?
Look at these schedules.” Lyra looked horrified.
Honestly, she looked like someone had just informed her that sleeping was now illegal.
“This place is cruel.” Elora laughed quietly as she searched for their names among the glowing lists.
The academy’s class system was way more complicated than she had expected.
Core Magic Theory, Combat Training, Magical History, Rune Analysis…
the schedule was packed with subjects Elora had never imagined studying.
Just looking at it was enough to make her head spin.
Some classes were even restricted.
Elora noticed several subjects marked with silver seals beside their titles.
“Advanced Resonance Theory,” she read quietly.
“Forbidden Archive Studies…” That sounded way more interesting than it probably should have.
“That sounds concerning.” Lyra didn’t seem interested in the slightest.
Before Elora could respond, the loud ringing of mana bells echoed across the courtyard once again.
The crowd began dispersing toward different sections of the academy.
Elora grabbed Lyra’s sleeve before the crowd could separate them.
“If we get lost during the first week, I’m blaming the academy.” As they moved through one of the narrower hallways, the crowd became harder to navigate.
Students brushed past in every direction while floating mana lights drifted along the ceiling overhead.
Elora was still staring at the academy schedule in her hands with growing horror.
“There should not be this many classes in one day,” she complained.
“I think they’re trying to kill us academically.” “Now you’re being dramatic.
Just like me.” “Nah, I’m being realistic.” Before Lyra could respond, someone suddenly slammed into her shoulder hard enough to nearly knock the schedule from her hands.
Several books scattered across the floor.
“What the heck?” Lyra said automatically as she crouched to pick them up.
A tall student nearby glanced down at her and scoffed.
His black academy uniform was trimmed in silver, with matching embroidery on the sleeves.
The design was more refined than the standard first-year uniform.
He looked like someone who was used to looking down on other people.
“You should pay more attention to where you’re walking.” He didn’t look guilty at all.
As if that wasn’t enough, the friends beside him laughed and eagerly joined in.
“First-year problems.” That comment was enough to make Elora’s irritation spike.
“She wasn’t the one who bumped into someone,” she shot back before she could stop herself.
The taller student finally looked at her.
“Then maybe both of you should stop blocking the hallway.” Several nearby students slowed slightly.
Elora noticed more than a few of them watching the interaction before pretending not to notice.
Lyra stood and hugged the books against her chest.
“We blocked the hallway?
We were walking like normal people.
Maybe you’re the one who should watch where you’re going next time.” The student looked at her for a second before his attention shifted toward Elora.
He looked quite surprised by the resistance they gave him.
Then he stepped aside with a smug smile.
Clearly, he couldn’t care less.
“Just stay out of the way next time.” And just like that, the two upper-year students walked away and disappeared into the crowd moments later.
They didn’t even apologize.
Lyra watched them go and shook her head.
“What a jerk.
I already hate people here.” Elora could tell Lyra was annoyed.
She couldn’t exactly blame her.
“They already looked stupid.
The scary part is that they somehow survived long enough to become upper-years.” That was enough to make Lyra snort.
She linked arms with Elora as they walked together.
Surprisingly, the interaction with those upper-year students bothered Elora less than she had expected.
If anything, it reminded her that the academy wasn’t as perfect as it looked from the outside.
She and Lyra headed toward their next class, but halfway there, Elora realized she needed to use the restroom.
“Wait, I need to stop by the restroom.
You can go ahead.
I’ll catch up.” Without waiting for a response, she quickly headed down a nearby corridor toward the nearest restroom.
The moment she stepped inside, she regretted it.
She could feel several pairs of eyes turn toward her as soon as she entered, followed by whispers spreading throughout the room.
None of them made much effort to hide what they were talking about.
Curious glances followed her wherever she moved, and more than a few students openly stared without bothering to hide it.
It seemed the orb incident wasn’t going away anytime soon.
Elora ignored the attention as best she could and focused on why she had come there in the first place.
She finished as quickly as possible, avoiding eye contact and any opportunity for conversation.
By the time she left the restroom, she was already regretting the entire experience.
All she had wanted was a quiet restroom break, yet somehow people had managed to make a big deal out of it.
Shaking her head, Elora quickened her pace and headed back toward the classroom, hoping the rest of the morning would be less eventful.