I walk to the medical station with an awkward smile still plastered on my face.

I won. Sure it was mostly dumb luck and the idiocy of Leon, but it's still a win. Not to mention, I get placed in the best class too. Despite my earlier worries, I might be on the right track here. If my current standard is allowed in class 1-A, I should be able to survive another four years.

I'm walking to the medical station when the White Wing over there flashes me a smile of her own. Feeling a little bit self-conscious, I resolve to just look at my feet.

Yes. My feet look especially interesting today. Damn, I must've looked foolish.

I hear giggling and take that as my cue to look up. The medical station isn't anything special. It's just a small rectangular tablet with an array of medical supplies.

"Let me take a look at your injuries" I hear. I look at the source of the soothing voice, and I'm face to face with the White Wing at the station. There was an older White Wing behind her, but the younger one in front of me caught my attention.

White Wings are Raekoft's magical healers. They have many medical centres around Raekoft, with a primary base of operations in Halsana. Mostly contrived of light magic users due to light magic's healing properties, they also take in fire magic users for procedures like cauterisation and mind magic users for patient sanity.

The White Wing I'm locking eyes with is undoubtedly a comforting sight. The right side of her head is shaved with most her short hair over on the left side. Her hair is a dull silver colour with black tips, and her pupils have a dark red hue which immediately tells me she's a light magic-user. Light magic users have very odd eyes colours. They range from red to blue or even purple. Nobody knows why, but it happens to some users.

Dark magic also can affect people's eyes but the black eyes of a dark magic user are rarely comforting.

"Are you just going to stare at me all day? Gimme your arms" the White Wing says with a smile. I feel my cheeks heat up at his comment but I keep my cool. This girl has a specific aura to her that was, comforting in a sense. It pulled me in close and kept me around. I mean, I stared into her eyes without hesitation just a few moments ago. I move my arms up onto the table but wince after feeling a sharp pain in my left arm.

There goes the 'looking cool' plan.

"Okay...let me get a closer look..." she mumbles. Her palms glow with light magic as she gently caresses my arm. I'm honestly just fascinated at this point. I know what she's doing is looking at the structure of my arms and trying to find anything wrong with them. How she registers all that information and comes up with solutions is beyond me. How she even manages to find anything wrong just by using her soft hands to slowly and methodically caress my arms as she presses down on injured areas with delicate fingers.

Ahem

She will do this to everyone.

I look up from my arms to...just to look at anything else when I spot the red band around her right arm. White Wings generally wear a cream coloured uniform with little pockets around at waist and shoulders to hold medical supplies. They sport a black belt and boots with the White Wing symbol of two angelic wings crisscrossed on the right shoulder. A red band over the logo means that she's a trainee White Wing. That also means she's probably around my age.

Maybe I should ask her about it. I turn to look at her, but she's still focused on my arms. Her face is a look of utter calmness. Her hair is covering a part of her face due to her leaning forward and a she seems to have applied a light purple eye shadow which compliments her long eyelashes very well.

I'm staring again.

Her eyes suddenly snap open which shocks me enough that the muscles in my arms tense up. I wince again.

"Oh, sorry! Did I do something wrong?" She exclaims while looking at me with eyes filled with worry.

"That's not something you should be asking me, Ms White Wing. I'm fine by the way." I reply with an awkward laugh.

"Okay, Ritz. Let me fix you up. I'm Emmi by the way. You can call me Em if Emmi is too long for you."

Emmi grips my arms and closes her eyes again. I feel the light energy flowing through my arms as a gentle warmth encompasses my entire body. I think all the small cuts and bruises around my body close and the burn in my arm feels less and less painful. I slowly close my own eyes to just live in the moment. To fully experience the comfort it was providing. It was like lying in a soft bed with cool temperatures and warm, dry clothing. You just never want to leave it. When Emmi opens her eyes, an audible "Woah" escapes my lips as I realise how much better and more relaxed I feel.

Light magic healing is rare and poorer townspeople barely ever get to experience it.

I open my eyes and is surprised to see a smiling Emmi with a little bit of colour in her cheeks.

"Thanks" she mumbles, just barely loud enough for me to hear, while fidgeting a tiny bit.

I must be hallucinating. I'm starting to blush a bit too.

"Umm...Thanks for the heal—" I start, but Emmi grabs a roll of bandage and wraps it around my left arm. I open my mouth again, but she just cuts off the bandage on my left arm, leans in closer and wraps more around my head.

"I think that headbutt did more damage to you than to him," she says.

Once Emmi was done, she leans back and gifts me with a wide smile.

"There! Expect your wounds to be fully healed in a few days."

"Yeah. Thanks." I awkwardly say with a smile while rubbing the back of my neck.

I look to my left and see Leon snap his head back from the White Wing trainee applying his bandages and immediately walk up the stairs to his seat.

He's still sulking too.

"I should probably go. Good luck Emmi" I say with a mustered up smile.

Emmi gives a curt nod and mouths the word "bye" while giving a small wave. I notice the older White Wing glaring at me, so I do the most civilised thing and give him a grin. A most civilised scoff was his reply. I walk back to my seat while being pierced by the gazes of the other First-Years. I give whoever's watching a small smirk before sitting where my bags had ended up

"Let's move on, shall we? Next up, Poen Joel and Kellen Armos" echoes Liken's voice throughout the arena. A number of the students jump in shock. He really didn't need to shout like that. I turn to look at him and-

Why is he looking at me?

His eyes narrow as I feel a splitting headache come from the back of my head. My limbs are frozen once again, forcing me to look at Mr Liken as he stares back at me. I...may have made a mistake. I'm sorry, Mr Liken

"Apology accepted. Lish, Kellen, you may begin"

Mind readers are- just the coolest.

A glance from Mr Liken is all I get to confirm my safety. His eyes go back to the two students now fighting. I should probably do the same. Poen Joel happens to be the same light magic user that harrassed me this morning. This will be interesting.

Poen looks to be a very built teen with big muscles and a fierce demeanour. It also helps that he's taller than his opponent.

Suddenly, Poen expertly manoeuvres his light ropes, twisting and turning a professional dancer. It confirms that he is indeed someone of adequate skill.

Kellen moves in to send a strong jet of wind, but Poen snaps his rope forward, forcing Kellen to retreat. Kellen is doing a sideways chopping movement now which sends a gust of wind that knocks Lish down. Kellen bends his knees and shouts "Long Jump!" which causes strong gusts of wind which launch him straight at Lish.

Poen expertly twirls to attention and thrusts his arms towards Kellen.

"Constrict!" he yells as the light ropes obey by wrapping around Kellen. Poen's muscles are bulging from under his uniform as he uses his strength to slam Kellen to the ground. With a flick of his long, lustrous red hair, Lish knows the fight is over. He had won.

"Wonderful fight boys" Arduan Liken exclaims.

It was a pretty good fight. Of course, looking at nobles beat the shit out of each other is always fun. Poen's strategy was relatively easy to pick out, using the ropes more to control Kellen's movements rather than his own.

"Alright, Poen Joel will be placed in class 1-C, and Kellen Armos will be placed in class 1-E."

Huh?

1-C? I though Lish was worth so much more than that. I thought he would be in 1-A with me but apparently not? Poen had both the strategy in battle and the skill in magic. How high is the skill level here? How the fuck am I near the top.

"Next up, let's do a fun one! Malik Yauler and Kris Tylas"

The students present roar in applause for the second prince. Now, I'm curious. The prince should objectively be the strongest First-Year. No doubt. The Yauler Family is the very epitome of powerful mages. The kind of skill they have in that castle is unmatched anywhere else in Raekoft. However, his opponent looks to be no slouch.

Kris is easily about 1.9 metres tall and had big, bulging muscles from head to toe. His uniform looked incredibly tight on him like it was about to rip apart just from his walking. He flashes a toothy grin which emphasises his tanned skin and jet black hair. I shift my eyes to look at the prince and he was already smirking. He's wearing a face that resembles nothing of fear and only exudes confidence and power. I shouldn't be surprised.

"Alright. You may begin"

Kris Tylas lifts his arms and shouts "Spike Arrows!" which causes small spikes of concrete to be torn off the arena floor. A small gesture from Kris and the spikes start levitating in front of him. Kris is an Earth-magic user who usually focuses mostly on defence and offence. Malik doesn't seem phased by the projectiles threatening to pierce him. Kris thrusts his arms forward, but the spikes shatter on Malik's air barrier.

Malik's air barrier?

Did he say anything? I don't remember him saying anything. He didn't give a command; he just...did it.

Leon was very skilled since he knew how to mould his magic into a precise shape. But, it still took a three-word command that had four syllables. In an actual combat situation, he would probably be dead before he finished the command, let alone if he could articulate it properly.

Malik is leagues ahead of Leon. He managed to create a strong air barrier that could shatter and repel concrete without any sort of command whatsoever. It was a basic spell but, it was a strong defensive move and had, to my knowledge, zero prep time—this level of control in magic nearly unheard of in someone this young. In an actual combat situation, not only will that save his life, but it would repel any enemies that are too close, and he could use its wide diameter to protect others. It's perfect.

Kris, now realising his predicament, starts sending more spikes towards Malik. His face twists into all the different types of fear and anguish as the spikes continue to shatter on the barrier.

The prince casually stuffs his left hand into his pants pocket and lift his right hand. He twists his right-hand shouts the word "Spiral". The air barrier changes shape, from a large sphere surrounding him to a spiral of strong wind, like a tornado with Malik in the centre.

Kris doesn't stop his bombardment of spikes, but the spikes keep getting redirected in the tornado. Malik slowly lifts his arms and the direction of the wind tunnel shifts and changes. At the flick of his wrist, Malik can completely control something on the level of a force of nature. Kris's spikes are getting redirected back to him, piercing him in his arms and legs.

Malik is now beginning to move towards Kris, his steps slow and steady. To everyone around him or at least to me, Malik no longer feels like a student or even a human and more like a force of nature—a being of raw power.

The fight should be over. Kris has no hope left. He has no way out.

Malik stands directly in front of Kris who is stubbornly still standing despite the winds threatening to, quite literally, blow him away. He gingerly places his palm on Kris's chest, and all the winds concentrate and congregate into the centre of his palm.

The arena is eerily silent.

"Push"

Malik sends him flying to the arena wall behind Kris, leaving a small dent where he broke. I merely watch as Emmi, and the other White Wings carry Kris to the medical station on a stretcher.

"That was an excellent show of power from the Second Prince. Malik Yauler, you'll be placed in 1-A while Kris Tylas, you'll be placed in 1-C. Poen, please tell him that when he wakes up."

The prince triumphantly walks up the stairs, back to his seat as the cheering and clapping from the other students got deafening. People were shaking his hands, asking questions, asking for tips, but he stayed his course. I am now in the same class as the prince of Raekoft. Fuck me, right?

The last couple of hours have been torturous. There were people around my skill or even people better than me being placed in 1-B or lower. It was two hours of "oh, he was pretty good. He might be in 1-A and...he's being placed in 1-D? Oh. okay."

The people who did get into 1-A were practically military-grade as First-Years.

There was an ice mage who could cover the battlefield in with an ice floor and summon giant ice spikes from her 'territory', a light mage that could summon a blinding flash of light at will, an earth mage who could create sculptures of dirt and stone that mimic her actions. Just how am I supposed to even survive in this class? I'm 1-D tier at best.

A sigh escapes my mouth—one more fight.

"Next up, Leyna Relqis and John Garner"

Leyna Relqis. Daughter of the legendary war general, Telen Relqis. What class is she going to be in? 1-C? 1-B? Well, this is the last fight. I might as well pay attention.

Leyna Relqis, like the other girls, was easily a knockout. Her face lacked any sort of heavy makeup, only small things that made her face look brighter. She had small scars on her cheek and toned muscles, paired with a fierce expression on her face that complimented her short but loud, bright red hair. She was evidently shorter than me and much shorter John Garner.

"Don't worry; I'll be sure to try my best for this" John taunts.

Leyna says nothing, and instead, a vicious expression forms on her face. She bares her teeth like a wild feline and gets down low. However, John still brims of confidence. If I learnt anything during this time, the size of the opponent usually doesn't matter. I don't even know anymore.

"Begin"

Leyna immediately breaks into a sprint. The smile on John's face widens, and he moves lower. Electricity starts crackling between his fingers.

A lightning mage?! Class 1-A it is.

Lightning, being an advanced form of fire magic, is rare, to say the least-

"AHH!" John screams as he clutches his left arm because...nothing. Nothing happened.

Leyna stops just inches away from John and sends a lightning-fast punch to John's throat. John seems disorientated but summons more electricity to his fingers. However, Leyna flexes her fingers, and John releases another blood-curdling scream. The arena goes silent as John's screams of pain continue to get worse.

John roars in rage and grabs Leyna by the shoulders, but Leyna uses this to her advantage and claws into John's arms. She knees John in a...painful place. She thrusts an arm upwards and palms John's face, burying her nails into John's scalp. Her fingers tense again as she says her command, "cripple". John's legs crumple underneath him, and Leyna uses pulls her arm back and slams John to the ground, her right hand still clutched around John's face. John's arms fall limp.

He's unconscious.

Leyna won.

She didn't win based on the pure strength of her magic. She won based on her physical strength and an incredible battle sense. There was no hesitation in her movements. She knew her plan from the start and executed it perfectly. Leyna snaps her head up, and her hazel eyes meet mine. I look around and realise that I'm standing up. My nails are digging into the arena's stone railing as I'm practically leaning over the edge. Then, she flashes that same vicious smile, winks, flicks her hair back and maintains a strut to the judge's stand. I feel a sharp pain in my legs that nearly knocks me down.

"Leyna Relqis and John Garner. You're both placed in 1-A. Now, with all the placement matches done, you will all have to make your way to your dorms. Your dorms are separated based on your classes, so don't get lost." Mr Liken announces as some of the academy staff start telling us to stand and move out of the arena.

I follow the rest of the students out, but my mind wanders far in record time. My small win doesn't feel very significant anymore. I don't stand a chance in this school.