Three days later…
A loud knock jolted Rin from sleep.
He groaned, sitting up in bed and running a hand through his hair. "Alright, alright… I'm coming. No need to punch the door down."
He shuffled across the room and cracked it open. Taro stood on the other side, arms crossed, already dressed in full uniform.
"You're seriously still in bed?" Taro said, stepping in. "Class starts today. You planning to show up in your dreams?"
Rin blinked, groggy. "What time is it?"
Taro glanced around the room and wrinkled his nose. "You smoking again? You know that's banned, right?"
Rin waved it off like smoke itself. "Feels like I've lived this morning before…"
"Yeah? Maybe in your last life you were also a chronic rulebreaker."
Taro tossed a folded uniform at his chest. Rin caught it, sighing.
"Do I have to wear this?"
"It's a school, not a nightclub."
Five minutes later, Rin stepped out, still buttoning the top of his shirt.
"You even know where our classroom is?" he asked.
Taro shrugged. "Nope. Let's wander until we find it."
As they walked through the quiet halls, Taro snapped his fingers, remembering something. "Hey—back when we were talking to that teacher. Why'd you shut me up about your trait?"
"I didn't awaken one," Rin said simply. "The sparks I use—they're not a trait. I've been doing that since we were kids. Remember?"
Taro paused. "Oh… yeah. Guess I forgot."
Rin looked over. "What about you? When'd you awaken your fire trait?"
Taro scratched his head. "That day. I was trying to control the flames—make them spiral, not roast me alive. Guess I pushed too far."
"Did it hurt?"
"Stung a little," Taro muttered, shrugging.
Eventually, they found the classroom.
The door creaked open into silence. Rin and Taro stepped in—and immediately noticed how quiet it was.
"Why is it so quiet?" Taro whispered.
Rin just lifted his hands in a shrug and headed for the back row. As they sat, a few familiar faces caught their eye—Elira and Hana sitting together near the window, Kaela alone a few seats over, and even Jin, the one who'd fought Toma.
Then the door opened again.
A bald man with ghost-pale skin strode in. The lights overhead caught the gleam of his scalp like a polished mirror.
"Ahem," he said, clearing his throat. "Name's Alric Veil. I'll be your instructor. Now get changed—PE uniforms. We're heading outside."
Rin leaned over. "They made us wear this fancy uniform just to change out of it?"
"Just stick with it," Taro muttered.
Outside, the training field was already set. Veil stood at the center like a statue of apathy.
"Today's simple. Endurance test. Twenty laps around the field. When you're done—don't sit. Sit down and you run thirty more. Got it?"
Then he shouted, "Start!"
Taro groaned as they began jogging. "This place is a prison."
By the fourth lap, Rin was breathing heavily. Taro glanced sideways at him.
"I've told you to stop smoking, like, twenty times."
Rin laughed between breaths. "Give me a break—I was half-dead three days ago."
Taro sighed. "You're gonna regret it when you're coughing up lightning."
Thirty minutes later, students stood trembling, panting, or flat-out collapsed on the ground.
"Nice," Veil said with a slow clap. "Now—one hundred push-ups. Let's go."
Groans rippled across the field.
By the end, Rin and Taro dragged themselves toward the exit, arms limp, legs jelly.
"If this keeps up for three years," Taro mumbled, "we're gonna go bald."
Rin smirked, too tired to laugh. "Can't wait to see it happen."