Aptitude

Everyone in the room took their seats quickly, trying not to get on the bad side of our teacher.

"Good, I will be your homeroom teacher until all of you graduate. If you ever need my assistance, you can find me in the staff office room or out and about in the academy." Hausmi seemed like a very nice teacher, which came as a surprise to me since there was quite a cold tone in her voice when she entered.

"Now that my introduction is out of the way, I would like everyone to introduce themselves one by one, starting with you in the front row."

The feared introductions had begun, and it would only be a matter of time until it was my turn. I was already stuck in my own thoughts, so I ignored the first few students until there was one who went off track.

"Tch, why do I have to introduce myself? There is a damn commoner in the room." A male student with blonde hair who was sitting in front of me decided it would be a good idea to cause trouble already. I didn't have a clue as to who he was talking about, but to make a fuss over someone standing was a very stupid concept to me.

"Do not give me this crap; they got in here via their own merits. You should know this school does not care about status." Hasumi showed zero tolerance for the male student, which was a sign that discrimination isn't as prevalent.

"I don't care; if I have to be in the same room as this vixen behind me, then I am going to get my fath-." Before the boy in front of me could finish, his lips were sealed shut by some magic, followed by a sigh from Hasumi.

"To the council, you go." With a click of her fingers, Hasumi teleported the boy out of the classroom. I was left in shock seeing it unfold before me, as this was my first proper look at some magic.

"Now let me make this clear: I will not tolerate any of you making fun of, bullying, or discriminating against the commoners in this school. Your blood has nothing to do with why you are here, and you can easily be expelled like everyone else." The atmosphere in the room turned cold as her words echoed in everyone's mind.

For me, though, it was a sense of warmth since the guy was talking about me. It made sense now as to why I was getting weird looks when I first arrived, but I didn't think my status would have mattered that much…I guess this is the most prestigious school so I shouldn't be too surprised.

'Fuck, this is going to be tough.' It was sinking in that I will probably have to deal with students like the guy very soon, so I can only hope that it doesn't last long.

"Now, would our lovely-looking kitsune introduce yourself?" Hasumi pointed to me, which made my heart jump, but I quickly stood up.

"H-hi, my name is Saki Lingrove." I still managed to stutter, but at least I was able to get my name out clearly. I also heard some whispers after speaking my name, which I could oddly hear quite well. I figured this was because of my fox ears, finally confirming that they do enhance my hearing.

[I bet her mother did a few favours.]

[That guy was right; why is she here?]

[How did she even get in? There is no way she could pay the fees.]

[She might have joined her mother in those services, haha.]

I regretted instantly being able to hear them; it was literally the worst-case scenario, this world and school were baring more resemblance to how my high school went. I sat back down while looking down, trying to avoid all the eyes that were staring at me.

'It's almost the exact same rumours as before.' I wanted to cry then and there as my mind flashed back to when I started high school. Many students didn't accept my presence because somehow they found out I was poor, so they instantly assumed something nefarious was done behind the scenes to get me in. There were some obvious differences, but the amount of deja vu I was having was insane.

"Does everyone else want to be sent to the council?! I am an elf, so you bet I can hear all your whispers!" Hasumi, however, was also able to hear what the students were saying, and she slammed her desk upon hearing them.

Every student who said anything instantly turned pale and shut their mouth. Lyra who was sitting next to me slid her hand on my lap and grabbed my hand which was unexpected.

"It's okay; I'm here for you." Lyra whispered as quietly as she could, but it was evident by Hasumi's ear twitch that she heard it, but instead of a yell, it caused her to smile at Lyra.

"Now let's continue."

Introductions continued as normal, and finally class was able to begin properly. It wasn't really a class, as it gave an overview of what will happen during the year, and I found it rather cliche and structured just like a regular high school.

There were academy events and clubs that students could join, but all of those things didn't really interest me. The main thing that did was that the classes we take will be based on an aptitude test.

"Without wasting any more time on the boring stuff, I will be taking you all quickly to a training room for your tests." However, before we could stand up to leave, the door to the classroom opened, revealing the same male student that was sent away.

It was clear the conversation with the council wasn't in his favour since his eyes locked directly on me as if I were to blame.

"Oho~? Welcome back; I assume you won't misbehave." Hasumi clearly was a brat to the student, which was quite entertaining to watch as the student looked like he was about to burst.

"Tch." The student sat back in his seat, even though it would be pointless.

"Good, now get back up; we are heading to the training room." Hasumi smiled at the student, and the annoyance was visible on his face, but he still complied.

*

Walking back through the hub, we headed towards the combat section, which made sense since they probably had protective spells around them.

Entering one of the rooms revealed a massive open area with the ground being sand. Hasumi stood by the door and seemingly pressed a few buttons, causing the environment to suddenly change.

In front of everyone's eyes, the ground changed from sand to grass, which was much more comfortable. Even though it seemed simple, it still amazed me that magic had this capability.

[Look at her being amazed by a simple spell—pathetic.]

Once again, the comments didn't want to stop, despite the hefty warning from Hasumi. However, this time she didn't seem to hear it. Lyra, on the other hand, stayed close to me, which at this point was my only form of comfort.

"Now, for starters, I will be looking at your use of magic. Do not worry if you have never used it before; I will teach it right now as we all have an innate ability for it. So to make things go quickly, I want everyone that knows how to use magic to stand to the right of me, while the ones that don't to the left of me."

Explaining the plan, I instantly knew where I would stand and half expected to be the only one who didn't know.

Walking to the left side, surprisingly, I wasn't the only student that didn't know, so it put my heart at ease. Lyra though, knew how to use magic, so she stood opposite me, giving me a smile when I looked over, which gave me a bit of confidence.

"Great, now I want all the students that know how to use magic to show me a spell. Please shoot it off into the open space." At Hasumi's command, all of the students raised one of their hands and shot some form of an element.

Some fire, water, earth, wind, and variants like ice or lava. Lyra, whom I was watching closely, shot ice spikes, which I find rather fitting since she does have an ice-cold exterior.

"Great, you all have average capabilities except for some of you." Hasumi was rather blunt, but I guess she isn't afraid of shattering students' egos, making it not sound as bad.

"Now for the students that do not know how to use magic, I will go with you one by one. First up will be Saki." Calling my name, I instantly felt my anxiety peek, and not because of the magic part, but because of all the comments I might get if I can't use magic. I had seen it many times in manga or anime when being reborn, they are unable to use any magic.

Still, I hoped that wasn't the case and moved forwards to Hasumi's side.

"Alright, now it's really simple what you have to do. Don't worry about the element, as that will come naturally; all I need you to do is raise your hand and focus inside yourself." Following Hasumi's instructions, I raised my hand and closed my eyes. I tried to see myself, and at this point, I felt something odd.

Maybe because I have never felt magic before, but it was a very foreign feeling to me making it quite obvious. It was easy to feel this energy swishing around in the core of my body.

"Good, now I want you to move this energy to your hand, and once it is there, give it a push." For the next step, I concentrate hard on the energy within me.

Without any resistance, the energy flowed into my hand like a glass was being filled, and I gave it one last push tipping over that glass that held the energy within.

Suddenly, bright yellow flames burst out of my hand and created a fireball bigger than anyone else in the class. The fireball then shot out into the open field, and upon impact, it caused the grass to instantly burn up. The flames were quick to dissipate, but that was because as soon as any flames were detected, water spells appeared from above, extinguishing the flames.

"Well done!" Hasumi had a look of excitement, as I had done everything on my first try. All the other students looked in shock, as they wouldn't have thought a commoner had potential.

"Great things lie ahead of you; you can go stand next to your friend now." Hasumi gave me a wink before gesturing for me to walk over to the students that had already showcased their magic.

"That was amazing, Saki." As I walked over, Lyra gave her praise, which instantly made up for all the comments the students had been making.

"Tch." However, there was still a student who refused to accept it, and I could feel his glare from behind.

'This is going to be a long few years.'