Ryan simply smiled.They clearly knew that official records listed him as having no Talent.The blonde woman finally asked, “I heard Group Seven has someone with forty-six total attributes. Is that true?”“It is.”“Evelyn Ashcroft?”Ryan nodded.“And she doesn’t have a Talent either?”“Not according to the official records.”Several of the Acting Class Captains immediately looked slightly uncomfortable.They might have Talents, but Evelyn’s starting attributes were still far

“Don’t get full of yourselves just because you earned an S or an A in the Admission Trial.”Cassandra Voss swept her cold gaze across the training hall.Dozens of swords still lay scattered across the floor after the students failed to produce attacks that matched their Strength attributes.“The monsters in the entrance exam were deliberately weakened. Under normal conditions, the Blight Goblins you fought would have been far more dangerous.”The lingering pride on several students’ faces immediately disappeared.Many of them had felt fairly accomplished after surviving the Admission Trial. Even those who earned B or C evaluations could still take pride in making it through.<

“She really let you go.”The moment Cassandra Voss left the training hall, the tension that had been pressing down on everyone finally eased.Several students let out relieved breaths, while others immediately gathered around Ryan.Ryan had just finished checking that there was no lingering numbness in his hands when someone exclaimed, “You got lucky. I seriously thought Tutor Voss was going to kick you into the ceiling.”The student who had been Cassandra’s earlier victim immediately looked at Ryan with dissatisfaction. “What I want to know is why you got a free potion. I lost fifty Merit Marks just for complimenting her!”Ryan looked at him. “Maybe the compliment wasn’t

“Don’t misunderstand just because the explanation sounded simple.”Iris Bellamy stood at the front of the Meditation Hall, trying to keep a calm expression even though the corner of her mouth was still twitching after hearing Evelyn summarize an hour of her lecture in only a few sentences.She looked over the students before continuing, “What Evelyn said is correct as a basic overview. The four elements are the foundation, and spells can be understood as a sequence of commands. But understanding the analogy doesn’t mean you can suddenly use magic.”Several students who had looked enlightened a moment ago immediately became serious again.Iris picked up a training wand from the desk. “Some of you used a wand during the Admission T

“How did you enter the Meditation state?”Ryan didn’t even bother with small talk when Evelyn’s face appeared as an Arcane projection above his communicator.He had only returned to his room a few minutes earlier after dinner on the top floor of the dormitory.Blackthorn’s first official day of classes was finally over, and the entire building was far quieter than it had been the night before.Most of the freshmen were exhausted.Their morning had been spent in General History of Asterra, while the afternoon was filled with physical training, swordsmanship, archery, or Meditation.The excitement over magic and combat that had kept everyone awake the p