Oran cleared his throat in a feigned cough, subtly nudging the person next to him, and cheerfully introduced Loewen and Felix to his friend. “This is my friend Irwin. He’s a freshman in the Stardust Class.”

Afterward, he repeated the same introduction to Irwin, pointing out the two people sitting across from him.

Irwin, completely uninterested, offered a half-hearted greeting before promptly turning his attention back to Oran. He began pestering him for his homework, humming and whining in a tone that was as lazy as it was annoying, almost as if he were preparing to throw himself on the ground in a fit.

“No way! You have to do the work on your own today. If you keep being this lazy, you’re not even going to pass the end-of-year test!” Oran replied sternly. His tone left no room for argument.

Irwin, however, argued back, “But! If you don’t let me copy, Mr. Krawn is going to kill me today!”

Oran shook his head with an expression of complete exasperation. “You need to learn responsibility,” he said as he stood up, preparing to leave. “I’m done eating, you can take your time.”

But Irwin wasn’t about to let him off that easily. With quick reflexes, he grabbed Oran’s arm, speaking in an indignant tone. “Hey! Oran! What’s wrong with you? You let me copy the other day, and yesterday I didn’t write a single word! You owe me, you have to take responsibility!”

Oran gave him a look that practically oozed “I’m not dealing with this.”

 “Not giving.” He bit out the words through gritted teeth, and tried to shake off Irwin’s hand that was still wrapped around his arm, before finally pulling away and walking off.

Irwin stared at his retreating figure, snorting in frustration.

“Irwin.” Loewen, who had been watching the spectacle from the sidelines, suddenly spoke up.

Irwin, who was about to leave, looked over at Loewen. He opened his mouth, but then realized he’d forgotten the girl’s name. He decided to skip the formalities and just gave “her” a questioning look instead.

Loewen smiled, with a glint of mischief in his eyes. He reached into the thick pile of study materials in front of him and casually pulled out a piece of homework, handing it over to him. “You want to copy this assignment, don’t you? I’ll lend it to you.”

Irwin eyed him curiously, scanning him up and down, and asked hesitantly, “Really?”

Though his words said one thing, his hand was already reaching for the assignment, grabbing it without hesitation.

“Yeah, go ahead and copy it,” Loewen encouraged with a smirk.

Irwin sat back down, flipped open Loewen’s homework and began hastily copying the answers.

Loewen observed him from across the table, utterly unbothered, as he scrawled down answers with the worst handwriting he had ever seen. Loewen finished his breakfast calmly. His gaze was fixed on Irwin the entire time.

Felix’s mood worsened once again.

So, this noble lady really does help anyone in trouble, doesn’t she?

As they left the cafeteria, Felix could no longer hold back his curiosity. “Why did you lend him your homework?”

Loewen smiled, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“…Miss Flenqi, why are you smiling like that?” Felix suddenly felt a chill down his spine, not knowing what to expect.

Loewen winked at him and said mysteriously, “That loser, Irwin, he’s probably going to be crying tomorrow.”

Felix rarely saw Loewen with such a lively expression, and for a moment, his heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened in shock, and he found himself too distracted to ask him the reason.

The next day, Irwin was indeed on the verge of tears.

The homework he had copied was flawless. Every answer was perfect, a stark contrast to the poor performance he showed in class. Mr. Krawn, the instructor who graded papers with meticulous attention to detail, called him to the office after class for a talk.

From that day on, whenever Irwin ran into Loewen, he would hurl curses at him.

Loewen, however, didn’t hold back either, firing back with his own sharp words. The two became entangled in a rivalry, and it was clear that the tension between them was here to stay.

Oran, with a helpless expression, would always force a polite smile toward Loewen, then would drag Irwin away by the neck, trying to prevent him from continuing his quarrels with a girl.

***

In the blink of an eye, half a semester had quietly passed.

Loewen, using the years of exam preparation experience he had accumulated before his reincarnation, easily claimed the top spot in the mid-year exam, which tested theoretical knowledge. His performance left many people’s jaws on the floor, while also delivering a loud slap to the faces of those who had looked down on him.

Looking at his name proudly written at the top of the score sheet, Loewen puffed out his chest in a proud pose, while the mixed sounds of disbelief, envy, jealousy, and dissatisfaction filled the air. His confidence swelled even more.

From that day on, the people who openly and secretly slandered and mocked him gradually disappeared.

Loewen felt good about himself, thinking that he was destined to be the protagonist. The future seemed bright, and even though he had started off as a weakling, he was certain that he would make a glorious comeback.

However, what he never expected was that just a few days later, he would quickly become the laughing stock once again.

This time, it was because the practical magic lessons had kicked off, and he had received his very first, and undoubtedly his last, utterly useless magic wand.

***

“Today, we’ll be learning about the water element, one of the four basic elements—wind, fire, water, and earth—that is the easiest to handle,” said the lead instructor of the Basic Elemental Manipulation class, Ms. Rossi, in her calm and composed manner.

She wore a form-fitting little black dress, her graceful figure leaning casually against the podium. She elegantly raised one hand to adjust a lock of curly hair that had fallen over her shoulder before casually lifting a walnut wood wand.

On the podium, two glass cups were placed about ten centimeters apart. One was filled with water, while the other was empty.

Ms. Rossi gently tapped the tip of her wand on the glass cup filled with water and clearly uttered a spell.

As soon as her voice trailed off, a bubble-like water sphere rose from the cup, slowly floating in mid-air.

The water sphere, freed from the constraints of gravity, rose higher and higher until it almost touched the ceiling. Then, it suddenly changed direction and dove down toward the students in the classroom, like a hunting falcon. Several timid girls screamed in surprise at the sight.

The students of the Crescent Class squinted their eyes, feeling a misty breeze sweep across their faces.

They watched as the water sphere flew to the back of the classroom, spun in a circle, and then leisurely returned to the podium, landing back into the previously empty glass cup, like a pigeon returning to its cage.

“Did everyone catch the spell I just said?” Ms. Rossi asked, smiling with narrowed eyes.

The students nodded, their faces filled with confusion.

“Good,” she said with a smile, “As you can see, each of you has two glass cups on your desks—one filled with water, and the other empty. Your task for today is to use the spell to move all the water, drop by drop, from one cup to the other. Understood?”

The students nodded again.

Ms. Rossi was quite pleased. “Now you may begin practicing. Don’t slack off! Before the class ends, I will ask a few of you to come up to the front and demonstrate what you’ve learned.”

With that, she casually twirled her wand between her fingers and tapped the empty cup on the podium. It produced two sharp, clear “ding” sounds.