Ashfield Academy [1]

Orbis city.

The second human city left in the continent of Antevea after the Elf Invasion fifteen years ago.

It now stands as a symbol of endurance and progress.

Towering skyscrapers glistened under the morning sun, and the faint sound of people and vehicles buzzed from below.

Between the buildings, massive blimps were floating lazily and glowing neon like advertisements could be seen on their sides.

One blimp displayed a sparkling soda commercial, while another showcased a countdown for some kind of upcoming event.

Kiel was on the third floor of an apartment complex, and for a moment, he froze, taking it all in.

"Okay," he whispered as he gulped. "yup this is definitely a different world."

Shaking off his amazement, Kiel then made a beeline for the stairs.

As he reached the second floor, he rounded a corner too fast and nearly collided with someone.

A bag of groceries wobbled in her arms.

"Whoa! Sorry about that!" he blurted, stepping back.

The woman steadied herself, giving him a warm smile. "It's okay. Hm? Off to school, Kiel?"

"Uh, yeah. Running late already," he said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

He was already starting to get into this 'Kiel' guys role.

"Don't push yourself too hard, okay?" she said with a gentle voice.

"Yes, ma'am!"

He then dashed down the stairs.

The woman tilted her head, watching him go.

"Ma'am, huh? That's new… something feels... different about that boy today."

Kiel didn't hear her, because he was way too focused on not tripping as he descended the final flight of stairs.

Reaching the street, he took a deep breath, adjusted his bag, and flagged a taxi.

◇◇◇

"What do you mean you don't have any money?!"

The cab driver barked, his face red with frustration.

Kiel froze.

He had completely forgotten to grab the allowance his sister had left him.

Now he was stuck in the cab, with no way to pay.

Fantastic.

'Just... kill me now,' he thought, mentally preparing for the worst.

"Really sorry, sir, could you maybe... put it on my tab?"

The driver rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sure, kid. What's your name?"

"Uh... Selfort. Kiel Selfort."

He tapped his tech bracelet on the scanner the man provided for him.

"Alright, word of advice, kid— don't go anywhere without cash next time. Not every driver's gonna be as nice as me,"

The man grumbled, he was clearly unimpressed.

"I'll keep that in mind,"

Kiel was already regretting this entire situation.

The driver waved him off.

"Hmph, get going."

Kiel scrambled out of the cab, already picturing himself being banned from the local transportation system for life.

He then turned his gaze towards it.

Ashfield Academy stood proudly, a mix of classic stone walls and modern glass accents.

Its well-kept campus had wide paths, trimmed lawns, and trees lining the walkways.

Students were arriving in cars, while others walked—the people coming with car's looked like they were in the upper class of society.

Most of them were chatting as they made their was towards the school's overly grand gate.

He hurried toward the front gate, his mind racing.

Showing his student ID got him in without any issues.

Now, the fun part.

He pulled out his bracelet and used it to pull up the map of the school.

His class was... Class 1-C.

Kiel stared at the screen in disbelief.

"1-C? Seriously? I at least thought I'd be in the same class as the main characters."

He felt so disappointment he could cry.

The class did seem familiar to him for some reason but he decided not to dwell on it.

The time on the hologram coming from the bracelet flickered—8:25 AM.

He was already running late, the cab drive to the school took a little over 20 minutes.

He knew he was about to make an unforgettable first impression— but not the good kind.

He finally arrived at Class 1-C

Surprisingly enough, the teacher was running late today and Kiel was grateful for that small mercy.

The classroom was already buzzing with noise when Kiel finally stumbled in, his bag slung awkwardly over one shoulder.

His rushed steps caught the edge of someone's stray backpack, and before he could steady himself, gravity took over.

THUD.

His loud fall silenced the noise.

Then a wave of laughter rippled through the room.

"Nice entrance dude!" someone said from the back seats.

Kiel groaned, cheeks burning red as he pressed himself up on his elbows.

'So much for not embarrassing myself, way to go Kiel.'

Before he could fully recover, a hand shot into view—a pale, slender hand with chipped nail polish in mismatched colors.

"You're supposed to land on your feet, y'know," came a bright and cheery voice.

Kiel glanced up to see the wide grin of a girl with pink and purple streaks in her blonde hair.

She had beautiful pink eyes and she wore mismatched earrings—a crescent moon on one side and a dangling star on the other which jiggled as she tilted her head at him.

She wore the uniform— with a black skirt for the females, but her neck ribbon was undone, and she was wearing a hoodie underneath her blazer.

"Harlett Nikks," she announced dramatically as she grabbed his arm and hoisted him up.

"But you can call me best friend!"

"Uh… thanks?" Kiel spoke beneath his breath, brushing off his blazer.

She leaned in conspiratorially, her grin widening.

"Rule one of survival at Ashfield Academy: don't give the hyenas any more ammo than they already have. You trip, you laugh it off, like—ha! Classic me, right?"

Kiel blinked. "Hyenas?"

She gestured vaguely to the class, where the laughter had already faded as the noise resumed almost casually.

"They'll eat you alive if you let them. But don't worry, newbie. Stick with me, and you'll be fine."

'Aren't you a newbie too?' Kiel thought,

But before he could protest, Harlett looped her arm around his shoulders and started steering him toward an empty desk.

"So, what's your deal? Mysterious transfer student? Secret prodigy? Oh, wait, don't tell me—you're a runaway prince in disguise."

The transfer student bit probably had something to do with the fact that most of the students at Ashfield were either transfer students.

Took the notoriously difficult entrance exam (with an acceptance rate of just 1% for people outside the academy).

Or had made it in through the school's middle school division, where they'd spent years prepping for the high school entrance exam.

It wasn't exactly normal for a student to just show up without any of those labels.

"None of the above," Kiel said, shrugging her arm off.

Harlett gasped, clutching her chest in mock horror. "Say it ain't so!"

"I'm joking, I'm a transfer student" he just went with the most obvious answer.

"Hey you're pretty funny."

"Heh."

"Oh!" Harlett exclaimed, digging into her bag.

She pulled out a small, colorful box and shoved it into Kiel's hands.

"Here. Welcome gift. Take one."

"Candy?"

He asked, eyeing the box of... mackerel flavored candy?

"Not just candy. It's the best mackerel candy you'll ever have in your life."

She said, popping one into her mouth and talking around it.

"Trust me, newbie. Life's better with sugar. Also, I'm bribing you to sit with me."

Kiel raised an eyebrow, he wanted to say something but he just went with it.

"Fine, fine," he muttered, taking the candy and reluctantly popping it into his mouth, fully expecting something mildly unpleasant.

What he got instead was an immediate clash of flavors—fishy, sweet, and... unholy.

His body rejected it, but his mouth refused to spit it out, as if it were an unwelcome guest refusing to leave.

"What is this?!"

His eyes went wide as he fought the urge to throw up.

"How can something taste so much like betrayal and bad decisions?"

He glanced at Harlett, who was looking at him with a wide grin.

"You know, this could be the kind of candy that, after you eat it, you start questioning every choice you've made in your life. Like—who am I? Why did I do this? Why do I exist?"

Harlett just shrugged. "I told you. Life's better with sugar."

"Ugh" Kiel groaned.

Harlett grinned, clearly amused by his reaction.

She stood and motioned him to follow.

"Come on, newbie. We're sitting together."

Kiel didn't have the energy to refuse.

"Oh yeah, I never asked your name did I?"

"It's Kiel... Kiel Selfort."

"Oh... well nice to officially make your acquaintance Kale!"

"It's Kiel..."

He followed her as she led him to the back seats, sliding into the last seat of the middle row.

He sat down at the left-most seat, the one right next to the window.

As Kiel sank deeper into his seat, still coming to terms with the mackerel aftertaste, the door to the classroom swung open.

Kiel's heart sank as the door opened.

In walked the most stunning woman he'd ever seen—and that was an understatement.

Her long black hair seemed to flow with every step, her brown eyes glinted behind a pair of glasses, and a small mole on her right cheek only added to the allure.

She had an air of nobility about her, the kind that made everyone around her hold their breath.

The class? Dead silent.

Captivated by her beauty as she approached the front of the class.

'No way. This can't be her.' Kiel thought.

"My name is Reina Felt,"

Her voice was crisp and clear.

"And I'll be your homeroom teacher starting today. I will not tolerate any stupid behavior in my class."

His stomach dropped as she introduced herself.

That name. Reina Felt. It sounded all too familiar.

"She's..."

The demon teacher of Ashfield Academy.

The rival to Miss Trina Nel, the teacher of class 1-D–The main casts class.

The one who made Miss Trina seem like a cuddly kitten by comparison.

He remembered that the rivalry between 1-C and 1-D had been legendary.

And out of the two teachers, Reina was the one students feared most.

The whispers among the students of class 1-C had been endless in the novel with them saying things like—she's wicked, unforgiving, ruthless.

They said even the slightest mistake could land you in her crosshairs.

But that was around the beginning of the novel's story if he remembers correctly, along the course of the story she started to soften up.

But that didn't change the fact that Kiel was still terrified.

Miss Reina cleared her throat loudly before starting,

"As you all know, the school likes to hold tests for new students starting the high school curriculum, regardless of whether or not you graduated from the middle school division."

Reina's voice cut through his state of shock.

She tapped on her bracelet, and the holographic whiteboard flickered to life, displaying the words "Physical Assessment" in bold letters.

"I know its your first day but it was decided that all the first years will be taking a test today,"

There were loud murmurs in the class and they sounded like they didn't take the news very well.

She continued, her tone as cool as ever, "the Physical Assessment test and the Written test."

She turned to the class, her glasses gleaming in the light as she adjusted them with a slow, deliberate motion.

"As you can see, today you'll be taking the Physical test, and tomorrow you'll take the Written one."

She paused, letting the words hang in the air like a threat. The room was already eerily silent.

Reina finally broke the silence.

"Are there any questions?"

"Miss why are we having assessment tests? Didn't we already take the entrance exams?"

Came a student.

"That's correct, but the school board decided to issue a test today to test your comeptence. I had no say in the matter."

"Oh okay then." the girl sat down looking defeated.

The silence in the room stretched for a few seconds before she continued.

"Okay since there are no more questions. You all have 30 minutes to prepare. After that, please move to the gym's simulation room. That'll be all."

Reina's voice was firm, and with that, she turned and walked out of the classroom without another word.

The door swung shut behind her, and the classroom erupted into noise once again.