Kazuto pushed open the door of F-class. The room seemed normal, no different from other classes. Desks were lined up, students were chatting with each other. Some were already exciting. Kazuto felt much better after seeing it.
"Hmm... being an F-rank student doesn't feel that bad to me." he said.
"It always happens in academy isekai anime." he added.
Kazuto muttered, stepping inside.
Almost every seat seemed already taken. The students inside were chatting in small groups. He scanned the room until his eyes landed on the only empty seat in the back corner, next to a girl quietly flipping through a notebook.
Kazuto made his way over, adjusting his new academy uniform.
"Uh… hey. Is this seat taken?" he asked, pointing to the chair beside her.
The girl looked up, her amber eyes curious but calm. She shook her head.
"No. You can sit there if you want." she replied.
Kazuto exhaled dramatically, plopping down.
"Oh, thank God… I mean, thanks. I'll sit here." he thanked her.
Score! I didn't get rejected on day one.
The girl tilted her head at him, clearly confused by his muttering.
Before Kazuto could embarrass himself further, the classroom door opened again, and their homeroom teacher walked in.
The homeroom teacher, a tall man with short silver hair and a long coat, placed his hands behind his back and looked over the class. Then he began introduce himself.
"Welcome, F-class students. My name is Instructor Darius. Starting today, you will train here at Arcana Academy. Your survival depends on your effort. Now I wanna see what you all have been training before coming to this academy. Enough introductions—follow me. We're heading to the training grounds."
Kazuto's smile froze.
"Wait. Training? Isn't it too early? We're F rank students.. right? We should at least get to study some of magic?"
But the class was already filing out, and Kazuto had no choice but to follow.
At the training grounds, the wide outdoor field stretched across several acres, lined with practice dummies wearing enchanted equipment. Students gathered in a half-circle, buzzing with excitement.
Instructor Darius clapped his hand to get their attentions and explained about the rules.
"Each of you will show your magic. Attack the decoy with your spell. But just enough to damage the decoy."
One by one, students stepped up.
A boy with glasses, Theo, launched a small fireball.
A tall, nervous girl, cast a gust of wind that toppled her dummy.
A bulky guy, blasted his decoy with rock spikes.
The students cheered each other on, some laughs here and there, but overall supportive.
Then it was the turn of the girl sitting beside Kazuto earlier. She stepped forward at ready position, lifting her wand. Two blue magic circles appeared in front of her, creating two water spheres. Then she cast another spell on the spheres and released them at the dummy.
"Aqua Shot!"
Two spheres of water shot forward, striking her dummy's chest and exploded. The decoy's enchanted equipments were almost destroy. The class clapped.
The Instructor Darius also clapped.
"That was impressive! It would be actually useful in real battle!" , he said.
"Thanks.."
She smiled shyly and stepped back.
Kazuto blinked.
"Okay, that was actually cool… and she's sitting next to me? Maybe my luck isn't that bad."
Then, Darius' eyes fell on him.
"Kazuto Hoshin. Step forward."
Kazuto felt shaken all written on his face. He hesitated for a second.
"M-me? Right now? Uh… maybe we should… you know, skip straight to the written test?"
"Nope."
Kazuto dragged his feet forward, he felt nervous. Kazuto stood in front of the dummy. He raised his hand dramatically.
"Alright, let's do this. I am the chosen reincarnator! Witness my hidden power!"
Nothing happened.
He coughed.
"…Ahem. Must've been a warm-up. Let's try again."
He thrust his hand forward.
"Fireball! Lightning bolt!"
"How about this one?"
"Waterball?!"
Still nothing. Not even a magic circle appeared.
The crowd started whispering.
"Seriously?" "Is he that guy that the crystal said he had zero mana?" "Maybe he's just pretending to be weak… nah, he's actually failure."
Kazuto's shoulders slumped. He felt downhearted. He failed every attempt.
"…Hugh. So this is what failure tastes like. Thank to that forgettable god!"
Far above, in the heaven, the god who reincarnated Kazuto was slapping his forehead.
"How could I forget something so important?!
"Now he looks like a failure because of me..."
"I feel bad for him... But well all I can do now is watch."
Then, the girl from earlier stepped forward to him. She gave him a soft smile.
"Don't worry. At least you're trying. Keep trying."
It caught him off guard. Her voice was soft but steady, and Kazuto felt a little less nervous.
"H-Hey, thanks… umm.., what's your name again?"
"Arisa Hanamori."
"Hanamori, huh? Nice name. I'm Kazuto Hoshin."
She chuckled softly, and for some reason, he felt better now.
Finally my rom-com time has come!!!
At the lunch time, students gathered in groups across the courtyard.Kazuto sat alone on a bench, minding his own lunch. But whispers followed him everywhere.
"Why would the academy accepted a mage with no mana?!" "What kind of mage has zero mana? What a joke." "He's going to drop out before the week's over."
Kazuto clenched his fists.
"Yup. I'm suffering here thanks to that forgettable god."
Then, a shadow fell over his table. He looked up to Hanamori holding her lunch tray.
"Mind if I sit here?" she asked.
Kazuto blinked.
"You… wanna sit with me? Aren't you aware of my current social reputation?"
She chuckled softly.
"I don't mind."
"Let them talk. They will stop when they're tired."
Kazuto blinked, then grinned.
"Wow… a heroine sitting with the loser MC. This is an isekai after all!"
She sat down, and for the first time, Kazuto relaxed.
"So… uh, thanks for earlier. I mean, cheering me."
She blushed for a second.
"You looked like you needed it." she smiled.
"Well I can't do anything so yeah.." he replied.
They both laughed. Soon, the awkwardness melted, and they chatted about classes, the academy, and the city. Kazuto found himself actually enjoying lunch for once.
Back in the classroom, the next session was focused on magical theory. While the other students practiced basic spells, Kazuto sat buried in books, scribbling notes furiously.
"Okay, now I understand basic about magic."
"Hmm... So magic is not a power just imagination?"
"Huhh.. I don't understand this."
"Let me try...umm ohh yeah.. I don't have mana."
Hanamori glanced at him.
"You're really studying hard."
"Well, I don't have much choice, do I? If I can't cast magic, I'll just have to study whatever I can before I found a solution!"
When school ended, Kazuto wandered the academy's apartment halls, holding a slip of paper with his room number.
"Room 3-B… let's see who my unlucky roommate is. Please let it be someone quiet. Or a cute girl. Yeah, perfectly a cute girl."
I gotta stay with a cute girl ahh.. can't wait to see her.
He reached the door, turned the handle, and stepped inside.
There, unpacking her books on the desk, was Arisa Hanamori.
Kazuto froze.
"…No. Way."
Hanamori turned and blinked.
"Hoshin? You're my roommate?"
Kazuto pointed at the ceiling.
"God! Don't you tell me this was your plan..."
Silence.
Then he grinned sheepishly at Hanamori.
"Well… Let's get along!"
She smiled.
"I guess we'll be roommates from now on."
"I'll be counting on you!"
Kazuto jumped onto his bed, throwing his arms behind his head.
"God, I know you messed up with the mana thing, but… I'll forgive you for this one."
"Well guys my life is not bad at all right? I should be glad for having a cute girl and staying in a same room."
"I can't wait to see her in next chapter!!"