"How about today's class?"
"So unfair!"
"The tallest students are in class A and the lowest are in class E."
"It looks discriminatory."
The noise of disapproval over today's class division enveloped the academy entrance hall. Almost all students crowded around the academy bulletin board. Many of them did not like the class division for the second grade this year.
"I'm quite satisfied right now. The lower classes should be at the bottom."
"You're right. They're not on the same level as us."
However, there were also those who liked it. Taking advantage of it to form their own groups. And, there were also those who were neutral because they deserved to be at the top, or they felt they were the tallest.
"I'm in class A, what about you, Liam?" the short-haired boy looked at the bulletin board towering in front of him. His name was in 21st place, out of a total of 29 students, Devan Atmaja.
"Same as you." The friend next to him answered briefly. The man with the piercing on his left ear, stared at the row of names below his attendance. The name embedded on his left chest was Liam Chloe.
"Then we're in the same class again, huh," replied Devan.
"I thought class A would be full of great kids, but there are also ordinary kids huh."
"Aha. You're right. The others might be great, but Ruby is nothing great at all."
"You're right!"
Devan furrowed his eyebrows in displeasure. He clearly heard their taunts.
"Stupid. How do the ones with names hear?"
Liam, who was still looking up, looked for Ruby's name on the class A list.
Ruby Floryan, her full name. And, the person was currently standing right behind Liam.
Liam and Devan were surprised by her. The girl with blonde hair mixed with blue at the ends stood with her head tilted up looking at the tall board in front of her. She even ignored the gazes of the students who were directed at her.
Since when was she there?
Feeling stared at by Liam, Ruby just nodded her head then left.
"She's quite cute though," whispered Devan, still looking at Ruby who was getting further away.
Liam only answered him with a soft cough. Ruby's face looked familiar to him, but he couldn't remember it.
First class. All the students of class A sat in the stands, waiting for the teacher to come to teach the first lesson.
The main door moved to the side, and a female teacher stepped into the classroom. In her arms, she carried an iPad containing second-grade teaching materials. Her long hair was neatly tied up, she also wore glasses, even so, her sharp gaze made the entire class feel suffocated.
The name embedded in her chest was Perrene, a killer teacher who did not tolerate fights between students.
Her eyes stopped for a moment when she looked at Ruby, before she finally headed to the classroom podium.
"Good morning, students."
"Morning, ma'am!"
"I won't ask you to introduce yourselves, so let's get straight to today's lesson."
The projector machine embedded in the ceiling of the room started to turn on, displaying a chart on the black screen of the blackboard. A triangle with five levels was clearly reflected on the blackboard.
"We all know that magic is still grouped into ranks. Until now, there are at least five ranks in the capital. Specialist, prime, grandmaster, royal, and peak. Currently in the capital there are only five people who occupy specialist and until now there is still no sixth person. Then, all of you currently occupy the Peak rank. As long as you go to school here, you yourself will determine your rank. Next week there will be a rank examination. And all of you are required to follow it."
Many students whispered to each other, discussing the bloodline they had that would greatly determine their rank.
"What do I think I'll get?" Devan laughed softly while looking at the blackboard showing the rank triangle.
"We'll find out next week." Liam answered briefly, occasionally looking around. When all the students were in groups, only Ruby was not spoken to. She sat alone at the very edge of the lower stands, without any students accompanying her.
She was truly alone.
As if realizing who was staring at her, Ruby turned her head slightly, looking at Liam with the corner of her eye.
Liam who did not expect to be noticed by Ruby immediately got goosebumps. The gaze was very different from the gaze she saw in front of the bulletin board this morning. A gaze that should not belong to someone who is considered the weakest.
What was that?
-o0o-
[Break time]
"Let's go pretty!"
"Want to eat ramen today?"
"Hurry up before it gets crowded!"
One by one the students left the classroom. Break time would last for an hour. Then, the next class would be held in the same classroom as before. Not many stayed in the classroom, only a handful of students left.
Just like before, no one invited Ruby to talk. They just glanced at each other then left. Even Ruby seemed not to care about them, remaining silent in her seat while playing with her cellphone.
The next minute she stood up, leaving the classroom. Walking down the classroom corridor towards the teacher's room. Here, each teacher had their own room. At least one class had twelve teachers who taught different subjects. So, there were a total of twelve different rooms on the third floor.
Perrene, the name displayed in front of the door. Ruby stood in front of it then knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Ruby reached for the doorknob and turned it. The person she was looking for was sitting on a single sofa with a snack on the table.
"Close the door, please."
Carefully, Ruby closed the door behind her and then stepped closer.
"What's calling me, teacher?"
Perrene stood up and took something from the refrigerator. "Sit down. Change your way of speaking, I don't feel comfortable hearing it."
"We don't know, maybe someone is eavesdropping," Ruby laughed softly as she lowered her body onto the sofa.
Perrene took a cold drink and brought it to the guest table. "It's just the two of us right now, so relax. We can only talk freely in a closed place like this."
Ruby lifted her face to look at Perrene who was still standing across from her. "So, do you have any new information?"
"Yes, as you asked. They're starting to move."
While hearing what Perrene wanted to talk about, Ruby casually grabbed the cookies in front of her and devoured them. "What about Macletic? Have they replied to the letter I sent?"
Perrene shook her head weakly. "Not yet. Instead, they want to meet you in person as Airy Novarea." Ruby was silent for a moment before finally sighing.
"Really troublesome, huh."