Ash then looked at his dorm number, '1.' Then he found it shortly. The outside appearance was largely different from the house he stayed in the day before. This one looked more polished, and its walls were made of stone, not wood. He then entered. It had all polished facilities, like wind magic to keep it cold, a living room, three rooms, although not very big, each had its own bed and table. Then Ash remembered Eve and went to fetch her back. After briefing her, Ash decided to go to the canteen to eat.
At the canteen,
"Ash! I finally found you!" Ezra excitedly waved his hand as he approached him.
"Ezra." Ash greeted him as he picked out his meal. As he was in first place in the rankings, he could get all the meals he wanted for free, so he took as many as he could.
Ash and Ezra then sat down at a table.
"Ezra, do you want to be my roommate?" Ash initiated the conversation, something Ezra had not expected him to do.
"Me? A roommate of the first-place student? Of course I want to! Hehe, thanks." Ezra was so excited and immediately accepted his invitation.
"Alright. After this, ask for your dorm leader's permission then."
"Sure."
After they finished eating, Ash went back to his dorm while Ezra went to his. Soon after, Ezra caught up with him. At first, he was obviously surprised by the luxury of Ash's dorm, which was completely different from his old one, but he quickly adapted, making himself at home.
In the living room,
"Ash, have you filled out your form?" Ezra asked as he took out his.
"Oh, I forgot." Taking it out, Ash read it carefully.
'Name:
Department (Yes/No):
◇ Magic:
• Divisions:
• Combat magic:
• Support magic:
• Lifestyle magic:
• Magic research:
◇ Weapon:
Divisions:
• Close-combat weapons:
• Ranged-combat weapons:
• Martial arts:
◇ Strategy:
Divisions:
• Tactical strategy:
• Logistics:
• Diplomacy:
◇ Craft:
Divisions:
• Alchemy:
• Artificing:
• Runeforging:
Please choose wisely, as this choice cannot be changed for your whole time in the academy.'
"I think we should just wait for next week to fill it out."
"I agree." Ezra also didn't want to decide on something he would have to be in for the next ten years without deciding carefully.
Without having anything to do, they decided to use the day's time to learn more about the academy and its systems in the library. And the two did just that, they went to the library and gathered information through it. The notable information they gathered was this: First, the year system. How were the academies able to make the year system work? It turns out that this city was only one part of the Elwing Academy; they had multiple other cities for this one academy alone. This shows that this world is much bigger than he had initially thought. Second, there was more information on the special mid-year advancement exam. It was infamous for its extreme difficulty, often being much harder than the usual advancement exams. Then they read about everything they could on any other general information till they felt bored.
Yawn, "Ash, it's already getting late, we should get dinner and head back." Ezra was already feeling so bored and was surprised by how much Ash could be a bookworm when he wanted to.
"Alright, let's do that." Ash had read most of the topics he was curious about and also wanted to head back.
So they went to the canteen and ate before finally heading back to the dorm and slept. The next day was calling for them early.
In the morning,
Ash knocked on Ezra's door, "Hey, wake up." He was already wearing his uniform. It was a classic blue shirt with a black bottom, and there was a brooch in the style of the academy's logo, which was a golden griffin with a circle around it; each circle represents the year the student is in.
"Yeah, yeah, okay." Ezra's lazy voice arrived, indicating he had obviously just awoken.
"I'll get going first then."
After leaving his dorm, he visited the canteen to grab a short meal, then headed to the academy teaching halls. He went to the magic department hall, as he didn't need introductions to weapons. As for the strategy department hall, he thought to just go there another time.
As Ash entered the hall, a lot of students started talking about him. After all, he was already famous for being in first place out of the 2,000 students who passed. In the room alone were several hundred students; after all, the magic department was one of the most famous divisions.
He sat down in a random empty seat before seeing who was beside him.
"It's you!" A young girl's voice sounded beside him. He turned to take a look to see who it was.
"Alice Rothton." He greeted her as politely as he could; she was the direct line from a duchy after all.
"So you know me." She was annoyed by him because she got second place, and by a deficit of one point by that! However, her mood lightened up a bit after seeing Ash being polite.
"Of course, you got second place after all." Ash couldn't help but tease her after seeing her attitude.
"…I'll be in first place next month." Annoyed, she turned to her other side and continued chatting with her friend.
After a while, a young teacher, seemingly in his twenties, entered the hall.