“So, what do you think is gonna happen tomorrow?” asked Shiki while walking back to the hotel.

“I’m guessing we’ll be assigned to our rooms and classes. Speaking of rooms, Haru, do you want to be my roommate?” queried Ari.

Haru’s eyes lit up, “Yeah, for sure!”

Kazuki laughed, “Well, Shiki, I guess I’m with you then.”

He grinned, “I guess so.”

“The only problem is there’s always the chance that we won’t be in any of each other’s classes,” Ari stated.

Kazuki shrugged, “We'll cross that bridge when we get there.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Haru, “there’s no use wasting time on something we can’t change.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine for tomorrow,” Shiki reassured. “I’m telling you, only a hundred and fifty people passed so the chances of us getting in the same class are pretty high.”

Kazuki pulled out one of the kunai blades he got from the bandit camp and spun it around his finger. “Now what about the other people who finished the race? I don’t understand how they finished so much faster than Haru and I,”

“Other people? What other people?” asked Shiki.

“There were these two boys and a girl who finished way before we did. It was really surprising considering we weren’t slow at all,” explained Haru.

Kazuki put his hands on his head. “Yeah, I still have no idea on how they finished the race so fast. Maybe they had some kind of crazy transportation abilities.”

Shiki’s stomach started to rumble. “Well, crazy powers or not, I’m hungry. Let’s go get some lunch!”

O O O

Shiki got into the hotel lobby and collapsed onto one of the couches. “Ugh… I think I’m falling into a food coma.”

“Well at least you’re not the one paying for fifteen bologna sandwiches,” Ari scowled.

Kazuki laughed, “Yeah, I’m pretty full too.”

Haru sluggishly walking into the building and sat down in one of the chairs. “I don’t feel too good either.”

Ari put her hand in her face and sighed. “You two…. You aren’t even paying for the food.”

Shiki clapped his hands together while laying on the couch. “Thanks for the food,” he groaned.

“Thanks, Ari,” Kazuki said. “Sorry, we don’t have the coins to pay you back. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

She lifted her head and smiled, “Well, at least there’s one respectable person here.”

Haru put her hand up and mumbled, “Me too.”

O O O

The next morning, everyone went to the school to drop their items off in their dorms. “I still can’t get over how big this school is,” said Shiki, looking around the building.

“The dorms are in a different building on the school campus, so we aren’t actually going into the school yet.”

At the front desk, they were greeted with the Kaori, the woman who gave them their exam ids. “Welcome new students, I assume that you are here to sign in and get your rooms,” said Kaori. “May I get your names, please?”

“Kazuki,” he responded enthusiastically. I can’t believe that I’ve finally made it to Noryoku High!

“Here you are,” she said, passing Kazuki a room card with the number six hundred and twenty. “The meeting that decides what classes you will be in will take place at one P.M., so you guys have time to do whatever you want around the building.”

“Kazuki, c’mon, let’s go check out our room!” Shiki said, running towards an elevator.

They both stepped in and saw that there were seven buttons indicating the floors. A “G” button for ground level, buttons numbered one through five used for student’s dorms, and an “R” button at the top, probably meaning roof access.

“Oh hey wait for us,” said Ari, signaling Haru to the elevator.

A wicked grin grew across Shiki’s face. “Oh, we’ll wait. Wait a few seconds that is!” He started spamming the close button.

“Why you little,” Both girls started to run to the now closing doors. “You’d better open up or else I’ll-”

The doors shut. Kazuki turned to Shiki and leaned back against the wall. “I won’t lie. That was a good one,” he grinned.

Shiki raised his head triumphantly, “I know.”

They got to the sixth floor and the doors opened. They both walked to their room. “Come on, let’s check this room out,” said Kazuki. He swiped the card and the scanner became illuminated, turning green, signifying the card went through. They both walked in and their jaws dropped. The room was massive. There was a small lounge area with a sofa and a flat-screen TV in the middle of the room, big enough for a party. Across from that was a kitchen and in the other room were two king-sized beds. Kazuki dropped his bag onto one of the beds and started walking around. “I can’t believe how nice this place is!”

Shiki was still in the doorway, looking around in shock. “Yeah, I know. I never thought I’d be somewhere like here. The best I’ve had is an old hovel for a home.” He jumped on the bed and then collapsed into it. “This is seriously awesome.”

“You’ve got that right.” Kazuki sat on the sofa and grabbed the remote from the table in front of him. “We’ve never had cable so I have no idea how this works.”

Shiki hopped over the couch and sat next to Kazuki. “Don’t ask me, man, I didn’t even have a TV. All I did was roam around the forest.”

They both spent a couple of hours looking around the room and trying to get the TV to work. They both groaned and slouched back into the couch. “It may have taken a while, but we finally got the TV to work,” said Kazuki.

“Yeah,” Shiki responded. “I just hope it was worth it.”

Kazuki turned around and glanced at the clock. “Well, it’s about time we head down. Don’t want to be too late.”

They took the elevator down to the ground floor, then walked to the meeting room. Two other kids had already got there and Kazuki recognized them as the second and third-place finishers of his race.

Standing in front of the two boys who had already gotten there was a guard strapped with firearms and a tactical vest. “Name?” he queried.

“What’s the deal with all these guys asking my name, shouldn’t you know who I am by now?” said the kid with the guitar impatiently.

“Just give the guard your name,” said the other student with glasses. “He probably just needs it for security measures and identification.”

The boy groaned. “Fine, it’s Sivle. Can we go now?”

The guard wrote something down on a piece of paper he was holding and signaled Sivle into the auditorium. “Next.”

“Brian,” said the other student. The guard wrote on the piece of paper again, before he signaled Brian into the auditorium.

“Next,” he repeated.

“It’s Shiki,” he responded, walking into the auditorium. “I’ll get some seats, but Haru and Ari might already be there.”

“All right.” He glanced at the guard, “It’s Kazuki.”

He nodded his head while presumably writing down Kazuki’s name and pointed for him to go in.

Kazuki walked into the room realizing that there were only around twenty people including him in the room. The room was fairly large, having enough seats to fit a few hundred people. He spotted Shiki sitting next to Haru and Ari waved.

“How do you think the classes are going to be decided,” said Kazuki sitting down next to Shiki.

“I think it has to be based on how well you did during the race,” Haru responded.

Shiki reclined in his chair, “I guess we’ll see.”

A few minutes passed and more students filed in. The guards closed the door and out of a portal, Akari appeared on stage. “It’s good to see you all again How is it going so far at Noryoku?” asked Akari. The room went silent. She laughed, “Well it’s expected that you’re shocked by this, after all, it takes a while to get used to it here. Even upperclassmen get lost in the hallways.” This brought about a few giggles. “Anyway, the way classes are going to be chosen is based on how well you all did during the race. We can’t give you any official statistics on how they’re decided, but I can tell you that it’s based on how you performed.”

“How many people passed in total?” asked a girl from the other side of the room. Kazuki noticed that she was sitting with the girl who finished the race first in his race.

“In total, let’s see,” said Akari as she grabbed a clipboard from her assistant. “One hundred and fifty students passed, which is a lot more than a normal year. The acceptance rate was fairly high this year considering how many talented students there were.”

“Are you able to explain how the classes are structured?” asked Brian.

“You will learn basic subjects like math, science, and literature for two hours every morning. However, for the rest of the day you will all be learning how to use your abilities to their fullest,” said Akari. “Also, every last Friday of the month there will be a special event where you can improve your ranks and collect rewards provided by the school. Any other questions?”

Kazuki raised his hand, “Why are we seeing you so often, weren’t you just a proctor for the exam?”

Akari laughed. “You’ve been seeing me around because this is my school. I am the principal after all.” She stood up from her desk and walked up to the wall creating a portal in front of her. She stepped off of the stage and came back a few seconds later with a man in a white and gold robe and another man in a plain white robe. They both stood to the side while Akari spoke again, “You’ve all probably heard how we allow you to check your stats free of charge, not having to pay a single gold coin. This is exactly right, however, we do things a bit different here.” She stepped back and the two men came forward.

The man in the gold started to speak, his voice stern and unwavering, “My subordinate and I will be granting you a type of ability called 'status.'”

There was whispering in the crowd. A given ability? Was that even possible?

He put his hand up, saying the word again, “『Status』” This time what looked to be a metal plate suddenly appeared. He displayed the plate to the students, “As you can see, by saying status I was able to conjure this item into reality. It displays a lot of information about you but the most important are your stats, rank, and ability rating.”

There were cheers coming from the students. They couldn't believe something like this existed.

“This is too cool,” said Shiki, waiting in line to get the ability. “You get to see all of your stuff whenever you want!” There were two lines with both of them having one of the white-robed mages at the front.

“Stuff is an understatement. I haven’t seen my stats for a long time,” responded Kazuki.

“Same for me,” Haru chimed in. “The last time I saw them was before...,” Haru went quiet for a few seconds.

Shiki broke the silence, “Well, my village wasn’t the most wealthy, so I only got to check mine a few times. The last time I saw em’ was a couple of years ago.”

“Same for me,” responded Kazuki. “Last time I checked it was, maybe twenty strength?”

Everyone looked flustered. “T-Twenty?” said Shiki. “Is your ability some A-class strength-enhancing type of thing then?”

“Oh, no way,” he said. “My ability is really bad, F class in fact.” The line started to move without them.

You’re kidding! they all thought.

How is he so strong with an F class ability?! Shiki put his hand on Kazuki’s shoulder and laughed, realizing what he was getting at, “You got me! Nice joke, but seriously, what’s your ability?”

Kazuki looked confused, “It’s an F class. I can show you my stats once we get the card.”

Shiki’s jaw dropped. He’s not kidding, is he?

It was finally their turn. Shiki walked up to the man in the gold and white robe and he put his hand on his forehead. A light started to glow from the point of contact, then at the peak of its radiance, it faded away. I feel… different. Shiki put his hand out and closed his eyes, “『Status』” Just like before, a metal plate seeming phased into reality. His name was there plain as day, along with a hand full of other things. Shiki grinned, “I’ve gotten way stronger.”

The card read as so, Shiki, Race: Raccoon Demi-Human, Age 14, Male. Special Ability: Light Magic, S-Class. Rank: Gold. Below this section was a list of his stats. HP: 600, STR: 320, DEF: 75, INT: 60, and MANA: 350.

“What?” Ari cried, “How is your intelligence so high! It only goes up to one hundred and you’re already at sixty?!”

Shiki put his hands up and shrugged, “I’ve just got a big brain.” He looked at the card again and smirked. Gold rank, huh? Last time I checked I was bronze. I can’t believe how much I’ve improved.

Haru stepped up next. “Here I go, 『Status』” Similarly to Shiki, the plate appeared in front of her. Haru, Age 14, Female. HP: 400 STR: 140, DEF: 30, INT: 40, and MANA: 270. Everyone was shocked when they saw the ability portion. Inherited Ability: Silver Wolf’s Blessing, Unusual Class. Special Ability: Dark Magic, S-Class. Uncommon Ability: Fire Magic, C-Class. Rank: Bronze.

“Haru, you can use dark magic?!” queried Ari, in shock after reading the card.

Haru was just as surprised as her, “I-I had no idea. I thought I was only able to use fire magic.”

Shiki laughed to himself, “I did not see that coming.”

“I’m guessing it’s because of the ‘Silver Wolf’s Blessing’ ability.” Kazuki grinned, “Either way this is awesome.”

“There’s no way I’m topping that,” said Ari. “『Status』” Ari, Age 14, Female. HP: 500, STR: 150, DEF: 30, INT: 45, and MANA: 400. Unique Ability: Wind Magic, A-Class. Rank: Gold. “Ah, well it’s not bad and I have gotten stronger since the last time I checked.”

Shiki looked at her slyly, “Oh? Only forty-five intelligence, huh?”

Ari swung at Shiki and missed. “Shut your face,” she said irritably.

Kazuki exhaled nervously, “Alright, I guess it’s my turn.” He walked up to the man and the golden robe, and before he gave him the spell, his face turned to shock and his mouth opened, as if he was going to say something. He quickly covered it up and acted as if nothing happened. Kazuki ignored it and turned back to his friends. “『Status』” Everyone’s heads leaned in to see the card, and they couldn’t believe it.

“Y-You’re kidding,” stuttered Shiki.

Ari couldn’t believe it, “This is insane.”

Haru kept wiping her eyes to make sure the numbers were clear.

It’s over one thousand?! They all thought.