Holding up

My name is Oder, I am 4 years old.

Or technically 18 years old, mentally at least, I'm supposed to be able to drink alcohol by now and do everything grown-ups are supposed to do.

"Oder stop drawing bottles on the floor." someone behind me said in a stern voice.

My teacher's name is María, she is the giant who took me into this orphanage, and yes, I know that she is not really a giant but the events of the first day in this world are still clearly etched in my memory, although I wish I could forget them, I am still traumatized.

"Come into the room and pay attention, I'm not going to repeat it again." I listened to her without complaining, Maria is a good person.

The classroom is simple, the tables and chairs are made of wood, we have an old blackboard. In the classroom we are all from the orphanage, we are lucky to receive a basic education, I understand that this is not normal for orphans in this world, it is a privilege.

Since I arrived I have been getting all the information that I could, but it is not much, I have learned to write and I can read the local language, but the books that I can access are only a few that were donated by a noble family.

Well the most important thing I have learned is that in this world there is something that only exists in fantasy on Earth, I am talking about magic. Maybe this is the reason why I was able to understand what people in this world said as soon as I was born, as if I had always known the language, it is strange. At first I was extremely excited by the fact that there was something so interesting, but learning magic is reserved only for the rich and the nobility, not because it is forbidden to others, but the barriers to obtaining education on magic are so many that it might as well be forbidden. My dream of being a great magician almost died the same day it was born because of being poor, but I decided not to give up, I have knowledge of a world much more advanced than this, at the moment I am trying to stand out in all fields of studies to be able to achieve better opportunities, but sadly they don't let me do much, just tidy rooms and clean, only children over eight are given more responsibilities.

I can't believe the day I would like to have a job would come, but I need funds to experiment and try to replicate things from Earth, even an office job would be good, I don't mind being a corporate slave for a while. The only other way to learn magic is if you join the Church to be a priest, but I'm not going to do it, in the previous world, since I was little, I constantly heard catholic priests and all the meaningless doctrine they vomited, in this world it is much worse. Many orphans aspire to become priests, but they do not know that unless you are a member of the nobility you will not be able to reach a high position when you are inside, I do not blame them, it is not like we have many options for our future, at best we can aim to learn some trade, like carpentry.

Anyway, we were in the middle of class (I was sleeping) when the teacher woke me up telling the class that "Today there is a special guest, he also grew up in this orphanage ..."

I've been a bit distracted (sleeping) these days, it seems to me that I mentioned that before, I think it was about someone important, a gentleman or something like that. I should focus more on what they say in class ... oh, she's done talking, I didn't hear what else she said.

I did not have time to ask anything, as a man dressed in fine clothing entered the classroom.

"Good morning, my name is Carl Sonoa." he told us in a polite way, not arrogant as some nobles are usually portrayed to be.

"Good morning." We all responded, Maria had taught us good manners since I can remember, but I still wonder, who Carl Sonoa is, I really should start paying more attention.

"Today I come with important news for all of you. In the capital of the kingdom the 500th anniversary of the founding of the kingdom is being celebrated. Due to this, various events are taking place, including the inauguration of a new school. This new school is not only for nobility and wealthy people, the new king is betting on the youth of today, so commoners will also be able to enter after passing a rigorous exam. This is a great opportunity and that is why I have come here" Carl talked for quite a long time, I got distracted and didn't hear everything, but he basically said that there would be a tournament in the capital where young people who wanted to enter the new school would compete. I guess it's kind of like a scholarship competition, it sounds interesting.

"Does anyone amongst you want to participate?" Carl asked.

I immediately raised my hand ... but I'm the only one, I look around and everyone is looking at me with strange expressions. The teacher is with one hand covering her face, the gentleman or whatever suddenly looks quite amused. I didn't listen to everything she said. Did I miss something important?