CHAPTER 40— Joint class training(2)
As the final student drew their lottery slip, the pair selection finally came to an end.
The previously disciplined formation immediately dissolved into noise and movement as students began unfolding the papers in their hands.
Numbers were written across each slip in glowing black ink, and now everyone had to find the person carrying the matching number.
The rules were simple.
No matter which class someone belonged to—
If the numbers matched, then the pair was decided.
There were no exceptions.
Very quickly, voices started echoing all across the field.
"Number 32!"
"Who has 78?!"
"I'm 14!"
"Number 91 over here!"
The once orderly training ground transformed into complete chaos as students raised their slips high in the air while searching through the crowd.
Some pairs formed between students from
Class A and B.
Some between B and C.
Others between S and C.
Even students from Class S had been mixed together with lower classes.
Very few students actually ended up with someone from their own class.
It was obvious the academy had intentionally arranged the lottery that way.
"Number 9…"
Rowan lowered his gaze toward the paper in his hand and stared at the glowing number written across it.
Then he turned toward Ritvik, who was standing beside him with his usual expression.
"What's your number?"
"106," Ritvik replied flatly without even checking his paper again.
Rowan then looked toward Sarina, who was standing in front of them.
"What's your numbe—"
Before he could even finish speaking, Sarina had already turned around and calmly walked away into the crowd to search for her matching pair.
Rowan blinked once.
"…She didn't even let me finish."
Rowan stared blankly his gaze returning to his paper slip.
"This whole thing is confusing," he muttered while scratching the side of his cheek.
Suddenly—
"NUMBER 106!"
A loud female voice rang across the field.
Both Rowan and Ritvik turned toward the source of the voice at the same time.
A girl stood some distance away with a folded lottery slip in her hand.
Her crimson scarlet hair flowed all the way down to her waist like waves of burning flames dancing beneath sunlight, while her sharp crimson eyes glowed with an intensity resembling molten magma.
Even while standing still, she radiated a fierce pressure that naturally caused nearby students to avoid getting too close to her.
"Number 106!" she shouted again,
impatience already visible across her face.
"Hey." Rowan nudged Ritvik with his elbow.
"Isn't your number 106 too?"
Ritvik glanced at him through his glasses.
"What?" Rowan frowned.
Ritvik simply waved his hand dismissively as though explaining would be pointless.
"Hey, tell me what that means," Rowan insisted.
Ritvik let out a quiet sigh before subtly pointing toward the girl.
"That over there… is Seraphine Ignis."
"So?" Rowan shrugged carelessly.
"She's the daughter of House Ignis," Ritvik whispered under his breath.
Rowan stared blankly.
Clearly, none of that information registered in his head.
Instead, his attention shifted back toward the girl, who was now visibly growing more irritated while shouting her number repeatedly.
"Hey!" Rowan suddenly raised his arm high into the air.
"Hey! Hey, you!"
Seraphine stopped mid-step before slowly turning toward them with narrowed eyes.
Then she started walking over.
Each step she took carried confidence and authority, almost as if she naturally expected people to move aside for her.
"Are you Number 106?" she asked directly once she arrived before them.
Rowan immediately pointed toward Ritvik.
"This guy is Number 106."
Ritvik slowly turned his head toward Rowan.
Behind his glasses—
His eyes carried the pure glare of betrayal.
"What?" Rowan frowned innocently.
Ritvik's face remained completely expressionless, but somehow the disappointment in his gaze became even stronger.
"Hey." Seraphine waved her hand in front of him impatiently. "Are you Number 106 or not?"
Ritvik remained still, staring at Rowan. His gaze was now somehow making Rowan feel uncomfortable.
Seraphine shook his arm.
"Are you deaf? Can't you hear what I'm saying."
Ritvik slowly nodded.
But even while nodding—
His eyes never left Rowan.
The betrayal remained.
"Good." Seraphine grabbed his sleeve immediately. "Then come on already. We're wasting time."
And just like that—
She started dragging him away.
Even while being dragged across the field, Ritvik continued staring back at Rowan with the same silent betrayed gaze.
Rowan felt slightly nervous under that stare.
But after taking a deep breath, his conscience immediately calmed down.
'Well… it's not like I did anything wrong.'
Then he looked back toward the number in his own hand.
"Ah right," he muttered. "I still have to find my partner too."
Raising the slip high into the air, Rowan started shouting loudly.
"Number 6! Anyone Number 6?!"
Several students glanced his way before looking elsewhere again.
After some time—
A figure finally approached him.
The boy possessed black hair and dark eyes so deep they almost looked empty at first glance. His appearance itself was ordinary enough, yet there was something unsettling about his gaze.
When he looked at someone—
It never felt like he was merely looking at them.
It felt like he was staring through them.
Past flesh.
Past expressions.
As though his eyes were quietly observing something hidden deeper beneath the surface.
"Are you Number 6?" the boy asked calmly.
Rowan nodded.
"Yeah."
The boy extended his hand toward him.
"Then that means you're my partner. Hello."
Rowan stared at the hand for a second before casually grabbing it.
The moment their hands shook—
The boy spoke again.
"My name is Damon Voss."
"I'm Rowan."
Their handshake lasted only briefly before both released each other.
---
Meanwhile—
The instructors had once again gathered the students back into formation.
The field gradually quieted down as everyone stood beside their assigned partners.
Valeria stepped forward, her sharp amber eyes sweeping across the rows.
"So the pairing is done."
Her loud voice immediately silenced the remaining whispers.
"Everyone!"
The students straightened instinctively.
"Now, you will be entering the Tree Garden."
A brief pause followed as her gaze moved across all four classes.
"Remember your objective carefully. Your task is to retrieve a piece of wood from any mana tree you deem suitable."
She slowly raised one hand.
"That wood will later be used in the crafting of your new wand or staff."
The students listened quietly.
"And remember this well…"
Her tone deepened slightly.
"You will continue using that wand or staff until the day you graduate from Grand Aetherion."
A subtle tension spread across the field at those words.
This was not simply a lesson anymore.
The choice they made today would remain with them for years.
"There are monsters inside the forest,"
Valeria continued calmly. "The Tree Garden is, after all, a cultivated reserve."
Several students immediately brightened at those words.
Monster cores were valuable materials in wand crafting afterall.
But—
"You don't need to worry too much," Valeria added.
"All monsters inside the reserve are Coreless."
The students' reactions instantly dropped.
One boy awkwardly raised his hand.
"U-Umm… Instructor. Aren't monster cores an important ingredient in wand creation too? Then wouldn't Coreless mon—"
"Right now," Valeria cut him off sharply, "the lesson is about mana trees."
Her gaze alone silenced the poor student instantly.
"So focus only on that."
Then her eyes swept across the field one final time.
"Now—"
A brief pause.
"Go."
The moment the command left her mouth—
Students immediately began rushing toward the massive forest stretching beyond the academy grounds alongside their assigned partners.
---
CHAPTER ENDS