Apparently, the original James had only gotten in through a special program that allowed promising youths from the outer regions a chance to study. He had no noble blood, no powerful family, and no mentor.
James shook away his thoughts and got ready. Even though he was still clueless about why and how he died in the first place, he still had to go to lessons. But before that he left a message on his communicator to the only contact. He didn't know whether the person who killed him, if it was a person, would be still watching him.
What would they do if they found out he was still alive?
He reached for the door with a heavy heart.
Outside the morning air was brisk. Students in uniforms bustled through the Academy's grand courtyard, most of them headed toward the tall white towers to the east—lecture halls. James fell into step, blending in.
As he neared the building, the favorability meter kicked in. Numbers began appearing subtly above people's heads—green for positive, red for negative.
Most hovered in the 0–10 range.
He knew that this meant they had no real impression of him. 0-10 meant that they were just strangers. A favorability between 10-30 meant they were just acquaintances, and after 30 it was the realm of friendship.
Well, strangers. He had expected as much. The original James had been at Ainsworth for two months already but as far as he could remember he never had any friends. Of course if it was enemies…
As he approached the entrance to his classroom, a name caught his eye:
Ryan Everheart [-10].
The bright red number glowed softly. The name struck a chord.
Everheart…That was the leader of the group that had tormented the original James. A scion of the Everheart family—one of the 13 founding houses of the human realm, directly tied to the Elder Council.
Of course, what could be the reason a popular and powerful noble student would bully a commoner like him? James laughed to himself. Just because I exist I am a stain in the eyes of these people.
Ryan stood confidently among a group of laughing students, his long blond hair tied neatly back. His robes were clearly customized and expensive. When James passed by him, he didn't even seem to notice him.
James chuckled under his breath. "-10, huh?"
You did all that to me just because of a bad impression?
He would have found it almost laughable if all those instances where the previous James had been tormented by Ryan and his cronies were not seared into his mind.
History of Magic was in the first period. James slipped into the lecture hall quietly and took a seat near the back. Rows of students filled the room. No one paid much attention to him. Even if Ryan Everheart had not targeted him no one would have been his friend anyway.
The only way a commoner like him could get any respect was if he was a genius, then many of these noble students would be vying to be his friend if only to win him over for their family. Afterall, the competition between noble families was always very brutal.
His eyes scanned the room, and more numbers popped up.
Lydia Clearwater [-5].
Lydia Clearwater, from the Clearwater noble family, another one of the 13 founding houses. She was a beautiful girl with light blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She had a slim figure and fair skin, and of course as a member of one the most powerful noble houses she was also very powerful.
But seeing the clear red colour of the favorability meter, James was stunned. From the original body's memories, he knew that even though James was an outcast in the whole school, Lydia was one of the few people who never treated him differently.
She was always polite and gentle to him but now the system is saying she had a negative impression of him?
James wasn't too heartbroken, even though he had the original body's memories. The original James had had a crush on Lydia Clearwater but not him.
He was just curious. Was it her noble heritage that made her polite when treating him even though she didn't like him, or was it something else?
He didn't know if he was being paranoid but without knowing how and why he died he couldn't feel safe. Even if he knew that Ainsworth Academy was probably the safest place he could be right now.
He glanced at her but didn't linger too long. He put his head down into his books looking like he was reading but actually James was focusing on the system.
As soon as he had opened the system he had noticed a flashing symbol on the panel showing the lucky draw. James focused on it:
[Newbie Gift: A free chance at the lucky draw!]
Seeing that the system guaranteed a prize as a special gift for the newbies, James was expectant.
"Hey, can I copy your homework? If Old Gerstein knows I didn't finish it he'll have me strung up! Please?" A boy next to James suddenly turned to him and asked.
But before he could reply another boy just nudged the first boy and whispered to him while pointing toward the front of the class.
James narrowed his eyes. Then he put on a nervous expression, "Sorry…"
"Nevermind, nevermind!"
The first boy was startled by what his friend told him so he didn't pay James any mind and quickly tried to distance himself from him.
James had his head down but he could hear the whispering around him. At this moment however, the teacher walked into the classroom.
Professor Gerstein. A stern middle-aged man with a long nose and sharp eyes. His favorability hovered at a solid [5].
"Open your textbooks to page 34," he said gruffly. "We begin today with the War of the Six Factions."
James obediently opened his book and began scanning the page.
Lessons went by in a blur. No one checked up on James. He sat quietly in the back of each class, his books open, quill in hand, eyes fixed forward. But it didn't matter. The teachers called on other students. The classmates partnered with their friends. When it came time to demonstrate spells or read aloud from textbooks, James was conveniently skipped.
He had become an invisible existence.
James leaned back in his chair and stared at the glowing magical text being displayed on the lecture hall's central crystal board, but his mind wandered elsewhere.
This world… it was vast.
A world suffused with magic and conflict.
The continent was immense with powerful races occupying different corners. The Demon tribe in the north, the elves in the south, and many other minor races scattered around the world.
The Human Realm occupied the central portion of the continent. It was the most populous region of the world, governed by the Elder Council made up of the Thirteen Noble Houses.
James tapped his fingers on the desk as the teacher droned on.
The human camp had expanded aggressively over the years. There were alot of conflicts hidden brewing beneath the surface.
There were also still many unexplored regions and secret realms where danger met opportunity. He recalled the tall figure in his mind. She's probably there right now…
Ainsworth was created to nurture the next generation of magic users to face that danger.
The academy primarily catered to the children of noble families, cultivating them into the elite mages of tomorrow. Only a few civilians—usually one or two per outer region—were ever accepted, thanks to reforms pushed in recent decades by the more progressive principal.
James was one such special case. He had barely passed the entrance exam, and his affinity score was good for a civilian but compared to nobles who had been fed magic potions their whole life and taught by the best tutors, he was not comparable.
He was still an Apprentice Mage—not even Level 1. That meant he couldn't yet wield active magic outside of carefully controlled conditions, and even his mana control was shaky.
James closed his eyes for a moment. Actually, that's not what's most important right now.
The last clear memory in his mind was from a week ago—he'd gone on training exercise with the rest of the first years and then…nothing.
This realisation was hanging over his head like a giant sword waiting to be released.
Soon it was the afternoon.
[Combat Practice]
Seeing the two words on his schedule, James steeled his eyes. It seemed today would not be easy.
He glanced at the lucky draw again, maybe he needs to finally try this out.