The next morning started like any other.
I woke to the muffled hum of mana lights warming up across the dorm hall, followed by the usual footsteps — soft for the elites, rushed for the commoners, and silent for the ones who didn't want to be seen at all.
I belonged somewhere in between. Or nowhere at all.
I ran my hand over the faint scar still pressed beneath the mana bandage on my arm. Healed, but not forgotten. I dressed, pulled my cloak tight, and headed toward the main campus.
The buzz started before I reached the east wing.
"Did you check the board yet?"
"They're really doing it this early?"
"Group fights already? But most people haven't even stabilized their affinities!"
The crowd got thicker near the central courtyard, a wide marble circle wrapped with floating banners and glittering runes. And at the center, etched into a glowing board of shimmering crystal, were the words:
INTERCLASS FIELD TRIAL – TEAM FORMATIONS POSTED
Ah.
So that's what they were excited about.
I approached slowly, keeping to the edge. I didn't need to push forward. I just needed to listen.
"Tier threes are grouped together. Makes sense."
"Why are there four tier twos on a single team?"
"Wait—look here—Group 17... what kind of lineup is this?"
I leaned in.
Group 17.
Cael Astor
Nia Ferrel
Jorvan Lyle
Tobin Crake
I didn't recognize the names.
"That's the throwaway group," someone whispered near me.
"Crake's a drop-out repeater, Lyle's got no affinity at all, and Nia... isn't she the girl who fainted during her awakening?"
"And Cael..."
"The Logic weakling."
"Poor guy. Group 17's basically doomed."
Perfect.
I stepped back, careful not to let the smile rise too far.
They still didn't get it.
---
Later that morning, Professor Elian addressed the class in the high chamber, her voice ringing clear as crystal through the circular hall.
"The Interclass Trial will take place at dawn, three days from now," she announced. "Each team will enter a sealed wild zone. You will be tasked with securing an artifact, surviving wave attacks, and defeating a final-classified monster."
Gasps. Whispers.
I stayed quiet.
"Each team's success will impact your house credits, your ranking, and your evaluation for potential sponsorships."
Ah. So this wasn't just for show.
This was power placement.
"Only three teams will be named victors. The rest will receive partial credit… if they survive."
Elian turned her sharp eyes across the crowd.
"This is your first step into the real world. You'll either emerge as future knights, mages, or nobles… or you'll be forgotten before your second term."
A pause. Then:
"Dismissed."
---
As we filed out of the hall, I caught sight of Eran Vellhart laughing with his team — all polished uniforms, polished smiles, polished reputations.
His eyes met mine.
"Don't trip over your teammates, Logic-boy," he said. "Would be a shame if your first mission became your last."
I gave him a shallow nod.
"That would be tragic," I said. "But I don't plan on dying until I finish analyzing your spell formations."
His smirk twitched.
Small wins. Strategic ones.
---
Later that day, I met my team.
Tobin Crake — wide-shouldered, pale-eyed, wore an outdated uniform. Earth affinity. Level 11. Didn't talk much, but kept glancing at his feet.
Jorvan Lyle — lanky, jittery, no known affinity. Said his family bribed their way in. Level 10, maybe. Carried scrolls more than weapons.
And Nia Ferrel — red hair, quiet, looked like she was about to vanish if you blinked too fast. Illusion affinity. Level 12. Fragile aura. Unstable mana.
We stared at each other in silence for a full minute.
"We're Group 17," I said finally. "They think we'll fail."
Jorvan laughed nervously. "They're not wrong…"
"Then let's prove them wrong enough to confuse them."
Nia tilted her head. "What does that mean?"
"We don't need to win," I said. "We just need to survive better than expected."
They still looked uncertain.
That was fine.
Three days. That's all we had.
And in those three days, I'd take this broken formation… and turn it into a puzzle.
Because no one saw it coming — not the staff, not the nobles, not the monsters waiting outside the trial zone.
And definitely not me.
Because something about this Trial… felt off.