Chapter 337

Leo walked down the hallway with Angel.

No matter how talented she was, Laura, a young mage who had dedicated her life to magic, was still from the lower class. There was no way she could conduct lessons that would satisfy the elite students of Seiren, an academy known for gathering only the best of the elves.

That was why, after initially burning with enthusiasm at seeing Leo, Laura had quickly lost interest and sent him off with Angel. She had judged that it would be better for the students to study on their own.

"Miss Laura is truly a wonderful person," Angel said as she walked ahead of Leo. "She takes such great care of everyone in our class. Her magic lessons are so fun and easy to understand."

She couldn't stop singing Laura's praises.

"You'll grow fond of Miss Laura soon enough," she added with a bright smile, though a shadow briefly crossed her face. "She does struggle with other subjects, though."

Her ears drooped slightly before she forced an awkward laugh. "Ah, sorry. You must already be feeling bad about being placed in the lower class. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Don't worry about it," Leo replied flatly.

Angel fidgeted with her fingers. "But, um… there's something I'm curious about. Since you came down from the intermediate class… that means… uh…"

She hesitated, glancing at Leo cautiously.

"I heard there's no one from the lower class who got promoted to intermediate this time."

"Ah," Angel sighed, then forced a smile.

The competition at Seiren, just like at Lumene, was brutal. If someone moved from intermediate to lower, then someone from lower should have been promoted. But Leo hadn't been sent down due to demotion, which meant no one had moved up.

"Sorry for bringing it up," Angel said awkwardly before quickening her pace.

Leo followed behind her, deep in thought. This problem seems worse than I thought.

It was one thing for someone of his level to be placed in the lower class. But the fact that the lower class itself was left so neglected? That was something else entirely.

Seiren has always been obsessed with Stellar Magic, but…

Even so, the academy had never completely ignored other disciplines before. Yet now, it seemed they weren't even offering opportunities to students excelling in other fields.

No matter how talented these first-years were, they were still just students. And yet, without proper instructors, they were forced to teach themselves.

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"We're here," Angel said, stopping in front of a worn-down lecture hall.

Inside the vast space, first-year students were sparring with weapons in hand.

Leo scanned the scene before asking, "What about theory lessons?"

Angel scratched her cheek. "We try to include theory too, but… for now, we're mainly focusing on practical training."

"I see." Leo gave a small nod.

Angel gripped her spear and turned to him. "So, Lyle, want to spar? Since you're already here?"

Leo smiled. "I'll just observe today."

"Really? Alright. You must have a lot on your mind."

Angel didn't press further and joined the other students in sparring.

A few students glanced at Leo and murmured among themselves.

"Who is he?" A male student asked, prompting Angel to chuckle wryly.

"He transferred from the intermediate class."

"For real? So he's just like us—a dropout." Clicking his tongue, the male student frowned. "Then why's he just watching?"

"He said he's just observing today."

"He hasn't realized he's in hell yet."

The boy sighed and moved to spar with Angel.

Leo watched from a distance, resting his chin on his hand.

They've got a lot of skilled students here.

Angel, in particular, was strong enough to contend for the first-year representative title. Even beyond her, the other students were highly proficient.

Their only flaw? Their Stellar Magic proficiency was low.

After observing for a while, Leo rose and left the hall. The lower-class students saw him go but didn't bother speaking to him.

They had little reason to be welcoming.

The lower class harbored deep resentment toward the intermediate and advanced classes. All the first-year instructors had been assigned to focus on advanced-class students, leaving the lower class to fend for themselves with only one teacher—Laura.

At least intermediate students had a chance to be promoted, so Seiren's administration still paid them some attention. But the lower class? They were abandoned. The academy had deemed them failures, and the advanced and intermediate students mocked them at every turn.

Stripped of opportunity, forced into isolation, it was no wonder they despised someone from the intermediate class like Leo.

As he stepped outside, Leo spoke. "Elsie."

At his call, a dark mass gathered and formed into Elsie.

"Yes, Leo."

"Find me a place where summoners are gathered."

"One moment."

Elsie closed her eyes, focusing. After a short pause, she opened them again. "This way."

Just as he expected, the lower-class summoning students weren't far.

Inside an empty classroom, a group of them was deep in their training, forming connections with elementals and spirit beasts. Leo clicked his tongue as he watched.

They're talented too.

There was no one as overwhelmingly skilled as Angel, but there were plenty whose placement in the lower class made no sense.

I see the issue now.

Leo walked the halls, rubbing his chin in thought before eventually returning to the lower-class classroom. There, he found Laura sitting at the teacher's desk, intently reading a book on aura studies.

"Oh! Lyle! What brings you here? Did you forget something?" Laura greeted him with a bright smile.

Leo sat down in front of her. "I want to attend your lessons."

"What?"

"I'd like to study under you, teacher. Would that be possible?"

"Of course!"

Laura beamed as she stood in front of the podium. Clearing her throat with an ahem!, she declared, "Starting now, I will be lecturing on aura studies!"

sep

Click, click—

Footsteps echoed through the second-year wing.

A girl with striking red hair walked down the hallway, drawing wary glances from the second-year students.

Lunia El Lunda, the second-year top student, had finally returned to the classroom halls.

Following a private curriculum under the teachers' direct supervision, Lunia had undergone intensive correction under the guidance of high-ranking elves. But that wasn't all. She had been isolated, ordered to take all her lessons alone.

Officially, it was a special privilege for the second-year top student. In truth, it was an effort to keep her from influencing others.

For the first time in a long while, Lunia stepped into a classroom.

Creak—

As the door opened, the second-year students of Advanced Class 1, preparing for their lesson, brightened at her return.

"Lunia, you're back! How was the special class?"

A student approached her, feigning familiarity, but Lunia barely spared him a glance before her expression turned frigid.

"Don't talk to me."

The boy flinched at her icy tone.

Lunia despised him. Because of him, her friend Luca,who had ranked third in their first year, had been demoted and excluded from class schedules simply for being a half-elf.

Not only had thks student taken his place, on top of that, he was a typical elven supremacist. She couldn't stand even speaking to him.

Sensing her rejection, the boy backed away awkwardly.

Lunia strode straight to her usual seat by the window and sank into it. A few students quickly gathered around her.

"How was the special class?"

"It felt so empty without you."

Seeing her close friends, Lunia let out a faint smile.

"It wasn't anything special. Just lessons on 'the elven way of thinking.'"

"Ah…"

Her friends sighed with bitter smiles. Having spent all of first year together, they knew Lunia was rougher around the edges than most elves. But none of them thought it was a problem.

It's Lunia.

She might be blunt and a little aggressive, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with her.

As the students quietly reflected on this, the classroom door creaked open.

Eiran entered, spotted Lunia, and rushed over, her eyes glistening.

"You've returned, Lunia!"

"Did you get by alright without me?"

Lunia patted her friend's head, smiling as she turned to the others.

"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"There was something huge yesterday. The whole school is in an uproar."

"What happened?"

"Lea Tingel, from the first-years."

"The first-year top student? That honor student caused trouble?"

"If you call it trouble, then yeah, she made a mess."

One of the girls made a big fuss.

"She spoke with the Fairy King Sylord yesterday."

"What?"

"The school's in chaos because of it."

"That's a major event."

"Perfect timing. We were actually planning to visit Lea Tingel after class today."

The students chattered excitedly when the door opened again, and their elf professor entered. The class quickly returned to their seats.

Looking over them, the professor spoke, "I have an announcement. As you all know, midterms are approaching."

Sweeping his gaze over the class, he continued.

"This will be the first midterm for the first-years, and for some of them, it will be crucial—especially those in the lower class."

The professor smirked.

"No matter how inferior they are, they'll have to put in some effort for midterms, right? To ensure they can focus on their studies, upper-year students are strictly prohibited from approaching the first-year lower class during this period."

The classroom broke into murmurs. A sudden restriction barring contact with only the lower class? Something was off.

Lunia raised her hand.

"Yes, Lunia El Lunda?"

"Wouldn't lower-class students need guidance from upper-year students even more? Why are you blocking that?"

"Even if gifted students like you gave them advice, their lower-class minds wouldn't be able to comprehend it. It would only confuse them further."

…So there's something going on with the first-year lower class.

Lunia had already sensed how much Seiren had changed this semester.

Whenever the higher-ups were up to something shady, they always tried to control the students with flimsy excuses like this.

Her eyes narrowed.

Now that you've told me not to, I want to see them even more.

sep

Lunchtime.

After attending Laura's lectures on aura studies, spiritual energy, and mana studies, Leo fell into thought.

She's a good teacher.

Just as Angel had said, Laura was a dedicated educator. Even in subjects outside her expertise, she did her best to help the students.

But her lessons aren't doing much to help the lower-class students.

Mulling it over, Leo headed to the cafeteria. The moment he stepped inside, he frowned.

Even the cafeteria was segregated by class.

Advanced students dined at a luxurious buffet. Intermediate students had fairly decent meals. But the lower-class students? They were given only bread and water.

And worse—there were no students at the lower-class tables.

Leo was the only one who had come to eat.

"Who's that? Never seen him before."

"Lower class?"

"It's been a while since a lower-class student actually showed up to eat here."

Mocking whispers from the first-year elves filled the air.

If my schoolmates saw this, they'd riot over food discrimination.

Lumene students were accustomed to delicious academy-provided meals, and they could even dine at top-tier restaurants within the school grounds. Every student was practically a gourmet. If anyone tried to separate food by class, they'd cause an uproar.

Ignoring the sneering elves, Leo took his seat at the lower-class table and quietly ate his bread and water. Intermediate and advanced students continued laughing at him, but to Leo, their jeers were nothing more than the barking of stray dogs.

"Huh? That's the guy from last night."

From the advanced section, Eclair tilted her head curiously.

"Who?"

A girl with ash-gray hair glanced up.

"You know, I told you about that weird lower-class kid earlier."

Eclair beamed at her friend. At her words, the first-year top student, Lea Tingel, sipped her drink and casually looked in the direction Eclair had pointed.

Then, her face froze.

She blinked.

And looked again.

The drink went down the wrong pipe.

"Hrk—! Cough! Cough!"

Eclair panicked and patted her back.

Lea caught her breath, then cautiously turned back to look again.

A Seiren uniform.

Pointed ears.

But everything else about him—his face, his presence—was far too familiar.

She had seen it before.

Not in Seiren.