The sun had not yet fully risen when I woke up, this long-awaited second arrived, nervousness and excitement keeping me alert. The voice told me that my uniform was at the door, so I put it on. Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw the complete uniform: black pants and a light shirt, with a high collar and long sleeves. Gold details adorned the shoulders and sides of the shirt, culminating in the academy emblem embroidered on the left chest.

Then, the voice instructed me to go to the main hall, showing a map to show the way.

Since it wasn’t that far, I thought about finding the others. Leaving my room, I saw some students relaxing in the leisure area, but I didn’t find Daisuke or Kenji, so I decided to go outside.

As soon as I left, I met Hana, Aiko, and Daisuke. “Good morning, now only Kenji is missing,” I greeted them, asking about the missing member.

“Actually, he’s already been here and didn’t want to wait, so let’s get going,” Aiko replied in a dissatisfied tone.

Then we headed to the main hall. As we walked, we talked about the challenges we would face and what we hoped to learn that day. We could see some older students arriving and watching us with curious eyes.

“I hope we can adapt quickly,” Hana said, with an encouraging smile. “And that the seniors are friendly.”

When we arrived, we were instructed to stand near the presentation stage, meeting Kenji in the same row. The conversations between us soon ceased.

After some time, all the students of the Yamato Arcane Institute gathered in the large main hall. The sound of excited voices filled the air, and when everyone seemed present, a respectful silence fell as an elderly-looking gentleman took the stage. He looked at us young mages with a serious but warm gaze. The freshmen, myself included, stood at the front, feeling pressured by the watchful eyes of the older students.

“Welcome, students,” he began, his voice echoing through the hall. “You have already begun to feel the weight of the responsibilities that this Institute imposes. For those who do not know me, I am Wei Zhang, the headmaster of this school. From now on, the challenges will be great, and the expectations even greater for all of you.”

The headmaster paused, stroking his long, white beard, allowing his words to sink in. “The Yamato Arcane Institute is not just a school. It is a training ground for the future protectors of our nation, where you will learn to master your skills.

ities and face unknown threats.” He looked directly at us, his eyes shining with determination. “You are not here by chance. Each of you was chosen because you possess the potential to become great. But that potential will only be realized if you dedicate yourselves completely to this kind of life.” “You are not alone on this journey. Look around you. These are your colleagues, your future allies. Learn from each other, support each other, and together, reach heights that would be impossible alone.” I felt a chill run down my spine as I listened to the director’s inspiring words. I looked at Hana, Aiko, Daisuke, and Kenji, seeing the same determination reflected in their faces. We knew we would need each other to overcome the challenges that lay ahead. Wei Zhang concluded with a powerful message. “You are the next generation of mages. The strength and security of our nation will be in your hands. Train hard, study diligently, and never lose sight of why you are here. Together, you will make history.” Our applause echoed throughout the hall, a unanimous display of enthusiasm and determination. The director’s words lit a fire within me, solidifying my resolve to achieve my goals and become a powerful and respected mage. When the sound of applause finally died down, Director Wei Zhang returned to the center of the stage and resumed speaking. “I have a few announcements for everyone. The dueling arena is undergoing improvements that should be completed in two months. I know how much you enjoy using it, but due to past accidents, we ask that you wait. In the end, it will be better for everyone.”

Murmurs ran through the hall; it seemed that the seniors enjoyed duels quite a bit. I can imagine why; any disagreements are easily resolved there, and it also helps with training.

“Then have a good day, a good coffee will do you good,” he said, pointing to where the cafeteria would be.

When we arrived at the cafeteria adjacent to the main hall, I noticed the curious and arrogant looks of the seniors who were already seated. The tension in the air was palpable, our every move being scrutinized by their superior gazes.

As I looked a little more closely, I was able to confirm that there were many more people in the second year than in the first, but my thoughts were interrupted.

“Just because they are older they think they are better.” It seems that Aiko did not have a good impression of them.

“Aiko, let’s take it easy. They might just be sizing us up. We don’t know the school as well as they do. Let’s take it easy.”

It was really uncomfortable to have all the attention on us, but this could be a test. Ever since Professor Takeda had shown us that this was a military school, I couldn’t underestimate these small actions.

With our trays of food in hand, we chose an empty table in the cafeteria. Under the constant scrutiny of the upperclassmen, the atmosphere was thick with tension, and we chose to eat in silence, our conversations reduced to mere whispers. Then, each of our first-year classmates began to sit at the same table. When the 19 of us were gathered, I could see a boy stand up, causing the silence to fall.

He was short, with white hair contrasting with his piercing golden eyes. Something about his presence exuded importance. His firm, confident steps alerted me; I needed to be careful not to cross paths with someone like that.

As he reached our table, he ordered in an authoritative tone, “Leaders, stand up.” Before Aiko could protest, I silenced her with a gesture. I was about to stand up when a shrill voice interrupted.

“Who are you...” Mei Ling, who had started to speak, was interrupted by Lee Min-jae, who stood up. “I apologize for my companion,” he said, bowing. Then Rei, Haruto, and I stood up. I wondered what he wanted with this.

With a sudden smile, the boy began to speak: “Don’t worry. I just wanted to meet you and show you how to act, but it seems that you’ve already noticed this. My name is Riku, I’m a second year.” And, as if nothing had happened, he turned around, heading towards his old seat.

After a while, all the first year students felt more at ease and the conversations returned to normal.

Suddenly, Lee Min began to quickly approach Hana.

“What a surprise, Hana. You being led by such a weakling?” he said, approaching her. But before he could get to her side, I stepped between the two of them.

“I was really hoping that, at least today, you could avoid getting into trouble. Why don’t you try to behave like a normal person, just for one day?” I was nervous, aware that this might attract negative attention from the seniors.

But as if I wasn’t in front of him, he stared at Hana and said, “See, besides being weak, you’re a coward.”

“Don’t say that, don’t you?”

my face.” With clenched fists and a rigid expression, his words filled me with anger.

“Oh, you got angry, I don’t want anything from someone like you” an arrogant smile on his mouth. “Get in your place and leave the top of the class alone”

“Since you’re the top of the class, why don’t we duel?” As soon as I said that, the cafeteria started to get more excited. “I want you to show me how superior you are to the others, besides, you’ll have two months to train, so we won’t have any doubts, since if we fought now, it wouldn’t even be funny.” The commotion in the cafeteria increased even more, the elders seemed to be enjoying this, some of their taunts could be heard, instigating Lee Min to accept the challenge.

Anger spread across Lee Min’s face “Since you want to be humiliated so much, as soon as the arena opens I’ll do you this favor, on the condition that when I beat you, Hana will duel with me.”

“In exchange, don’t get involved with my group until then.” He didn’t seem to mind this request. I looked at Hana, who nodded, accepting the proposal. As soon as Lee Min heard his confirmation, he called his group. “Come on, class starts in a little while.” Controlling my breathing, right after I sat down, I finally managed to calm down. “Good, Ryu, teach him who’s boss.” Aiko, as always, seemed to dislike people like Lee Min. Soon after, Daisuke said, “If you need help training, just say so. You have to stop being so arrogant.” But before I could answer the two, Hana interrupted me. “This is your first challenge, we’re here to support you, so just win.” “Thanks for the support, guys. I’ll do my best. Your leader will not lose.” I have never had this kind of support, it is so comforting that I cannot lose it at all.

After a few minutes, we made our way to the classroom, where we found Professor Takeda.

We sat in the same place as yesterday. I noticed that this time, the students were not so scattered; most of the groups remained together. Lee and Mei, however, were a row behind their other companions.

“Good morning everyone, from today on you are not just students, you are already military, everyone here is a recruit.” He pressed a button on his crystal table, causing our tables to open, revealing a device similar to a cell phone.

“From this moment on, your salaries will be deposited directly into this device. If you want to eat something better, have some leisure time or even send this money home, the decision is yours. For now, you will receive 2000 Gold.”

After this presentation, Takeda stopped talking, so the students were free to see how this device worked. In addition to a desk, there was a map of the school and the commercial area.

“As some of you may have noticed, you can also see your school schedule.” I noticed the tab right after the teacher spoke. I opened it and noticed that there was only one class per day, which were...

Monday: Mana Core Control.

Tuesday: Combat Simulation.

Wednesday: Study of Magical Beasts.

Thursday: Elemental Control.

Friday: History of Magic.

“As you can see, you only have one class per day, from 10 am to 1 pm. The rest of the day you decide how you will use it, whether you will train, study or just laze around. In the end, that choice is yours. However, relaxing a little can also be beneficial”

“Sir, looking at the map, there doesn’t seem to be any training grounds outside of classes, how could we train our skills” with the fight against Lee Min I needed to know this as soon as possible, losing is not an option.

“Just a moment” Takeda puts the image of a room and speaks again “All the rooms are the same in size and structure. Next to the entrance door, there is a panel where you register your mana. Before you enter the room, just press it and select training ground.

At that moment, the door will transform into a portal that will take you to either the individual or collective training camp, you just have to choose.”

This information was surprising. Having the right to an individual training camp would make all the difference to our development.

“Remember that if you want, you can let someone go to your camp, but remember that all of them are highly monitored by school staff to monitor their growth, remembering that fighting is also not allowed, only in the arena, and avoid indecent behavior.”

At that moment, the anxiety of testing this training camp would not leave my mind. The structure that was made available to all of us was something that must have been improved over the years, I felt that everything was designed so that as long as I wanted to, I could improve.

“Now I will teach you how to refine the color of your mana cores”

At that moment, anything that could make me win the duel caught my attention, without realizing it, in a short time I was consumed by the desire for victory, it was you than mattered.