The man, seeing the students gathering around him instead of forming a line, rubbed his temples in annoyance.
"What are you? A bunch of animals who can't form a line."
He shouted, displeasure written on his weathered face.
The students, hearing the shout, immediately scrambled to form a line. But in their attempt for quick success, the line looked less organized and more like a herd of confused creatures standing on two legs.
The man snorted again, a sound of pure disdain. Without another word, he strode into the ragged formation. His rough hands grabbed one student after another and shoved them into proper places.
"Better," he grunted, pacing slowly. In front of them, "Follow me."
The crowd, now in a line, immediately followed as he turned and marched out of the Grand Hall's side entrance. He didn't head towards the gleaming towers. He led them down a cobbled path.
The air grew colder. There was no sound except for the echo of their shoes.
They arrived in front of a wide, dusty courtyard that looked like it hadn't been used for ages. The man entered first. Some students, after following, started coughing due to the dust.
The man waved his hand.
A flash of light filled the space. Alex closed his eyes against the sudden brilliance. He felt a brief static tickle over his skin.
When he opened his eyes, the dust was gone now. The courtyard was clean. The stone floor was smooth. The walls were as good as new.
The man, seeing the students standing there looking around like fools examining the change, scowled.
"What are you doing standing there? Go sit down!"
The students scrambled towards the rows of wooden chairs in a chaotic manner.
"Pathetic," the man snorted as the last of them stumbled into a seat.
He stood before them, his weathered face showing clear disdain for all of them.
"Failures!" He said as he shook his head, "A bunch of newborn babies will have more sense than you all, pathetic losers."
The students, except the commoners who were used to such insults, didn't react much. But the nobles, pampered all their lives, showed clear signs of anger.
Alex looked around, taking stock of his new setting. On his left was sitting someone who, despite being in a child's class, looked rather like a grown-up man.
As Alex was about to take his eyes off him, the student looking like a grown up smiled at him. It wasn't a friendly smile nor a cruel one, but a polite nod you would expect from a stranger.
Before Alex could react, the instructor's voice echoed through the room.
"I am Instructor Gordon," the instructor said, his gaze scanning every student in the class. "You will call me 'Sir.' You are H-class. The 'H' here does not stand for 'Honor' or 'Hope.' It stands for ''Hollow'—which you all are."
"In this class, you will study while awake and study while asleep. Is that clear?" Gordon said in a strict tone. "Any questions?"
A student with silver hair, his fine dressing sense marking him as a noble, raised his hand.
Gordon, seeing it, didn't even flinch and, without waiting for the student's question, said, "Nope. Good." He turned his back on the raised hand as if it were a mildly annoying insect.
The student, seeing the instructor's annoying behavior, had to retract his hand back embarrassedly.
"Now you have heard everything," Gordon said, facing the students again. "Remember it well. Today there will be no class. You will each check your element affinity."
A student with glasses, getting confused, stood up and asked, "But, sir... how will it be checked?"
Gordon, being interrupted, gave the student a furious look. The student immediately shut down and wisely lowered his body back on the chair.
Gordon waved his right hand. A crystal appeared in front of every student.
"This is an affinity crystal," Gordon said as he paced in the room. "Place your hand on the crystal. The color of the crystal will tell the element you have an affinity with."
The students, with a mix of excitement and nervousness, each placed their hands on the crystal. All around the room, colors began to bloom. A flash of red for fire. A swirl of blue for water.
Alex, seeing the scene, also showed extreme nervousness. He placed his hands on the crystal.
For a moment, nothing.