"That was a bit crazy right at the end, wasn't it?"

"...Yes"

​​

The long orientation was finally over and most of the students dispersed after they took a look at their assigned classroom.

Van could not help but chuckle as he remembered all the noise that the freshmen were making when it was revealed that Explorer Companies frequently come as guests in the academy. And that they were willing to give gifts or sponsor a student they have taken a liking to, of course, with the hopes that the student will sign a contract with them once they graduate from the academy.

Van was, of course, excited as well. It was a chance to fulfill his dream of being a millionaire and live in a huge mansion.

However, his expression could not be any more complicated as he looked at the huge board in front of him. Their names were listed under the classroom they are supposed to be in.

"Which class are you in?", Beatrice asked Van as she too was trying to find her name.

"Uhm…", Van squinted his eyes towards the board. Although there were only more or less 100 names on the board and 5 classrooms, Van was still having trouble finding his name.

He knew what his name looked like in written words, however, since the names and letters were too numerous and close to each other, it made him feel dizzy.

"...Can you help me find my name?", Van said meekly, "...It should be listed as Evans"

"Hmm…", Beatrice placed her hand on her chin as she focused on the board. Finally, after a few seconds of humming, she was able to find Van's name.

"Ah! There you are!", Beatrice's tone was full of excitement, "And we're in the same class!"

"T...thank you", Van slightly bowed towards Beatrice, "I… don't know how to read"

"I see", Beatrice just shrugged in response, "That's alright, you'll learn soon enough"

"Ha!?"

But as the two were having a conversation, a loud voice resounded from behind them. "Did I hear that right?"

The owner of the voice slowly approached Van and Beatrice, it was a male student.

"A squirt who can't read has no business in attending the academy!", the male student said as he raised his eyebrows and put up a huge grin.

"Shall we head to class?"

"Sure"

"..."

Van and Beatrice, however, completely ignored him as the two started to walk away.

"D...didn't you hear what I said!?", the male student shouted. But once again, he was ignored.

"..."

"W...wait! I am also in that class!", he tried to chase the two as his steps hastened, "Let's go together!"

Once again, he was ignored. Until finally, he couldn't take it anymore and he blocked their path.

"Wait! I need friends!", he said as he slightly bowed towards the two.

Seeing the male student's sincere expression, Van and Beatrice could not help but look at each other and sigh.

"Insulting someone in your first meeting is not the way to make friends", Beatrice fixed her glasses as she looked at the male student with inquisitive eyes.

"S...sorry", the male student scratched his chin as he looked at Van, "I just wanted to make a… strong impression"

"Pft…", Beatrice almost choked from the male student's statement.

"My name is Harvey. Harvey Lauder", the male student said.

"Beatrice Williams", Beatrice answered as she sighed.

"Van", Van muttered, "Just… Van"

"Lauder?", Beatrice placed her hand on her chin as she hummed, "Hmm, as in the Lauder family?"

"Y...yes", Harvey could not help but chuckle awkwardly as he heard his family name being repeated"

"...Oh?", Van raised his eyebrows in curiosity, "Are they a famous family?", he asked.

"Famous? They own Lauder Armaments!", Beatrice looked up in the air as she raised her hands, "They sell the largest collections of Portal equipme--"

"E...enough about that", before Beatrice could finish her words, Harvey walked closer and waved his hand, "You have no surname?", he then said as he looked at Van.

"No", Van shook his head, "I came from the Relic Graveyard".

"I… I see", Harvey scratched his chin as he looked awkwardly to the side. He should really work on his socializing skills, he thought.

The mood suddenly died down as the two looked at Van with eyes of pity. So that was why he was so small and skinny.

Noticing the two's downcasted gazes, Van could not help but chuckle, "Do the two of you already know your System type?", he asked in the hopes of changing the mood.

"Mine is--"

"I have an Enhancer type System!", before Beatrice could even speak, Harvey blocked her view as he raised his fists in the air. "I will henceforth be known as Harvey the Supreme Fist!", he then made punching gestures as if he was sparring with someone.

"Mine is a Mage-type System", Beatrice moved to the side, gently pushing Harvey away, "It's primarily element-based"

"Should you be telling us that?", Van raised his eyebrows. The Headmaster just said that they shouldn't reveal their skills to people so easily.

"Hm? Oh, It's just basic knowledge, you will know it soon enough since we're in the same class anyway", Beatrice was confused at first as to why Van said that, "What about you, have you figured out yours yet?"

Hearing this question, Van quickly shook his head. He hasn't been able to do it again, but he knows that he can move unusually fast since he ran from the academy to his home, so he was probably an Enhancer type.

But he also had to take into account his Active Skills, [Time Perception] and [Air Step], which seems more like a Mage-type skill.

"I might be--"

"Ah!"

Van was about to say that he might be a Unique-type System, but then a loud shout caught all of their attention.

"I knew it!", they all looked in the direction of the shout, only to see a female student aggressively pointing a finger towards Van, "You were a student here!"

It was Gemma-- the female student who saw him all bloodied and beaten up in the arena.