A month had passed since the entrance examinations. The once-bustling academy courtyard was now alive with students dressed in pristine white uniforms — the mark of those who had successfully enrolled into Elsgard Magic Academy.

Among them, one figure stood out.

As Leon Milford walked calmly through the corridor of the main academy building, heads turned. Whispers followed him wherever he went.

“Hey, look at his uniform…”
“Black? Isn’t that… the elite uniform?”
“No way, he’s one of them?”
“I heard only eleven people got those.”

Leon ignored the murmurs. The black uniform he wore was tailored with fine silver embroidery — subtle but distinct. Unlike the white ones, his uniform carried the crest of Elsgard in dark gold thread across the chest — a symbol of excellence, status, and expectation.

The Black Uniform was reserved only for the Elite Class — students recognized as the academy’s most promising talents.

Leon moved with quiet confidence through the hall until he stopped before a massive bulletin board pinned with fresh sheets of parchment. The board displayed the class assignments for all new students.

Names filled the list from top to bottom — dozens of sections labeled Class A-1, A-2, B-1, B-2, C-1, C-2, and so on.

But Leon’s eyes went straight to the top.
To the single list marked with a bold title:

Class S – Special Division (First-Year)

He traced the names listed beneath it one by one.
Elena Elsgard. Marcus Blaze. Serena Vale. Alric Dawnfield.
Familiar names of those who had passed the Gate of Trials.

And then, near the bottom—
Leon Milford.

A faint smile curved his lips. Class S… so it really happened this time.

For a moment, his vision blurred slightly — not from fatigue, but from memory.

In his past life, he had never worn the black uniform. He had failed the first trial, later taking the secondary exam and barely earning a spot in Class C-2 — one of the lowest divisions.

He could still remember it clearly: the worn-out classrooms, the second-hand wands, and the faint pity in the eyes of those who had entered the elite ranks.

Back then, he had told himself it didn’t matter — that effort alone could make up for status.
But now… standing before the same board ten years earlier, wearing the uniform he once envied, Leon felt a quiet surge of satisfaction.

“This time,” he whispered under his breath, “I’ll reach the top.”

He turned away from the board, heading toward the grand marble staircase that led to the upper floors — to the classrooms of the elite. The whispers of the white-uniformed students followed him once more, but this time, Leon didn’t mind.

He had earned this place.