Class Alpha

Kaito felt a cold shock, quickly followed by a wave of disbelief and pure, unadulterated annoyance.

"What the hell?! It's the most annoying character in the game! Why is he here? In my class?"

In Class D, no less! Eric was supposed to be the golden boy, the destined hero, always starting in the highest-ranked classes, surrounded by other powerful main characters and the best resources."

Seeing him here, amidst the "extras" in Class D, rank 838's homeroom, felt like a glitch in the Matrix, a fundamental break in the game's established rules.

Kaito's shock quickly morphed into suspicion.

"Am I in the wrong room?" The thought hit him with immediate force.

"Maybe I didn't check the watch right in my half-conscious state."

He felt a fresh wave of irritation, after enduring a mental assault, the last thing he needed was to misread a simple room number.

Without a second thought, he spun on his heel and quickly slipped back out the door he'd entered.

He ignored the curious glances from students near the back as he peered at the sign fixed beside the doorframe.

ROOM 1A-1

It was unequivocally correct. No mistake. He hadn't misread anything.

Kaito leaned against the wall, a new kind of bewilderment washing over him.

"Then what the hell is Eric Lionheart doing in here?" His mind raced, trying to reconcile this anomaly with everything he knew about SpellxEdge Online.

"Maybe it's a glitch? An error in the sent message?"

The idea seemed the most logical explanation.

"Class D student... with a Class A protagonist? That can't be right."

The very concept defied the game's strict hierarchical structure.

---

The chattering in the room suddenly stopped.

It wasn't a gradual fade, but an abrupt hush that swept through the students, making heads snap towards the front door.

Every conversation died mid-sentence, every laugh stifled, as if an invisible wave of compelling magic had washed over them.

A figure stepped inside, and Kaito's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

It was Professor Aurora Sinclair.

She walked with an innate grace, her long, flowing black hair around her shoulders, framing a perfectly sculpted face.

Her striking, expressive crimson eyes seemed to take in every student with a single, knowing glance, and the black and deep crimson robes of her academy uniform flowed around her, somehow making them look like haute couture.

The air around her subtly shifted, charged with a compelling, attracting aura that seemed to hum with the latent magical power Kaito knew was primarily rooted in charms and fire.

All eyes, including Eric Lionheart's, were now fixed on her.

"No way!" Kaito's mind reeled. He'd known her, of course.

Every SpellxEdge Online player knew Professor Aurora Sinclair.

She was the homeroom advisor for the main characters, always introduced in the highest-tier classes, guiding them through their early trials.

She was a crucial NPC, a mentor, and a plot device to push the protagonist forward.

"First Eric, now Professor Sinclair?"

"What in the absolute hell is going on?!"

Kaito's confusion escalated into a full-blown existential crisis.

This wasn't just a slight deviation, this was a complete rewriting of the game's fundamental structure.

"A protagonist in Class D was one thing, but to have his dedicated, high-tier homeroom professor here too?"

It defied all logic, all lore, everything he knew about the world of Arcensis.

"I'm truly in the main storyline now, aren't I? But why... why here? With me?"

His rank of 838 suddenly felt even more out of place.

Kaito's thoughts were abruptly stopped as Aurora Sinclair's voice, rich and melodious, effortlessly filled the silent room.

"Welcome, first-year students of Crimsonsteel Academy," she began, her crimson eyes sweeping over each face with an intensity that made it feel as though she was speaking directly to him.

"I am Professor Aurora Sinclair, and I will be your homeroom advisor for the upcoming year."

A faint, knowing smile played on her lips.

"I know many of you might have questions about your class setup, particularly why you find yourselves alongside students from various other classes or rankings."

"Rest assured, I am here to explain everything to all of you."

"Wow, so this is how the real Aurora is," Kaito thought, his mind captivated despite himself.

The aura she exuded, even without a specific charm spell, was incredibly tempting, a subtle pull on his very will.

"If my mind didn't survive the Grand Master's mental attack earlier, I doubt I could survive her charms and mental attacks right now."

He shivered slightly, a mix of awe and lingering apprehension.

"I might just become her dog if I were any weaker than I am right now." He let out a silent, weary sigh.

"I really am just an extra right now, aren't I?" he muttered to himself, a melancholic thought mixed with his growing determination.

Professor Aurora Sinclair continued, her voice gaining a more serious, yet still captivating, tone.

"The world is changing, and so must our approach to training the next generation of heroes."

"Because of the changing eras, and the enemies are also adapting, even the monsters are getting stronger or smarter."

"The academy decided to give everyone a chance. From this year forward, we will have mix classes."

Her gaze swept over the diverse group before her, from the nervous "nerds" to the boisterous nobles, even lingering briefly on Eric Lionheart and then, almost imperceptibly, on Kaito at the back.

"Every student will be taught with the same amount of attention and resources, with no regard to their previous class letters or ranks."

"Every one of you will be tested fairly, and every semester, the ranking will change to set new standards for strong individuals and those with exceptional potential."

She paused, allowing this significant shift to sink in.

"Actually, it was recently decided that the traditional class letters, A through E, are going to be changed to reflect this new unified approach."

"What you are here for right now is merely your initial grouping."

"Your new, unified class will now be called Class Alpha."

A ripple of murmurs, a mix of surprise and excitement, spread through the room.

The implications of this change were enormous, leveling the playing field in a way that SpellxEdge Online never would have.

But before the murmurs could truly take hold, the main door at the front of the classroom suddenly barged open.

All heads snapped around, the nascent discussions dying on lips, as a panting figure stumbled inside.

It was the girl with the shoulder-length, reddish-brown hair and the prominent green ribbon in her hair, Eric's childhood friend, Gwen Clover.

She looked disheveled, her chest heaving, clearly having run all the way there.

"Of course," Kaito thought, watching her frantic entrance.

"The clumsy, always-late childhood friend trope."

"Peak main story character material right there."

He noted the vivid green ribbon, a detail that was almost as iconic as Eric's red hair in the game's character designs.

A wave of relief washed over him. "Finally, she's here."

"I almost assumed she wouldn't be part of this class, and that could lead to dangerous unknown scenarios in the future."

He inwardly sighed. "She might be always late, but she still doesn't deserve to be just a childhood friend for him, though."

Professor Aurora Sinclair, though her expression remained serene, let out a faint, almost imperceptible sigh.

She gave a slight nod towards an empty seat.

Gwen, regaining her balance, immediately scanned the room, her eyes lighting up as she spotted Eric Lionheart.

She practically darted towards the chair Eric had evidently saved for her, slumping into it with a gasp.

"What happened to you?" Eric whispered, leaning in, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I... I got lost," Gwen panted back, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"Went to the restroom, and then couldn't find my way back."

Professor Aurora Sinclair waited patiently for the brief exchange to conclude, her crimson eyes holding a touch of amusement before they settled back on the class.

She seamlessly resumed her announcement, as if the interruption hadn't happened.

At that exact moment, just as the words "Class Alpha" fully registered in Kaito's mind, a familiar blue interface shimmered directly in his vision.

Quest Cleared!

Main Quest:

Attend the homeroom class meeting

Rewards:

Stat Point +1

Market Coins +50

Kaito stared at the System notification, then back at Professor Sinclair, his mind racing from a double whammy of revelations.

"Class Alpha? Mixed classes?"

"This wasn't in the game, but... this isn't so bad."

The initial shock of seeing Eric and Professor Sinclair in what should have been a bottom-tier class quickly gave way to a calculating excitement.

"Being a Class D, Rank 838 extra stuck in the background would've been a pain to get stronger," he thought.

"But right now, I'm in the thick of it."

"The main storyline characters, the crucial NPC advisor, they're all here, in my class!"

"This wasn't a glitch, it was an unexpected advantage."

If the world was truly mixing things up, putting him on the same playing field, then he could leverage all his game knowledge directly.

"This changes everything," he mused, a potent mix of excitement and strategic thinking bubbling inside him.

"If the gods or whatever sent me here want me to climb to the top, being intertwined with the main plot from day one is exactly how I'll do it."

"This new setup will definitely make it easier to get stronger, faster, with access to all the major quests and events that follow these guys."

"However," a cautious part of his mind quickly added, "Still, I need to observe more."

"Are other things still the same, or have fundamental elements of this real world diverged even further from the game's lore?"