The Beginner Class

The old Dorm building was rumored to be haunted.

Having stood since the academy's inception, it was renovated long ago, but safety concerns and increasing student numbers led to its abandonment.

In reality, it was an old structure yet to be demolished.

There were strange tales circulating about the place – whispers of eerie voices, sightings of ghosts, and many more. But there was little concrete evidence to prove the veracity of these stories.

Putting that aside, the residence assigned to Alex was quite a distance from the main academic buildings.

"Do I have to walk this much every time?" Alex panted, catching his breath after a solid 30-minute walk.

He was soaked in sweat, resembling someone who'd just run a marathon.

Upon arrival, he was faced with a massive, vacant building that had seen the passage of time.

The architecture was distinctly archaic compared to the other structures.

As they entered, the manager began, "Given the surge in student enrollment this year, the management recently cleared out this place."

The dim interior of the dorm exuded an eerie atmosphere, but lights flickered on as they ventured further into the depths where the rooms lay.

Now that Alex could see clearly, it wasn't spotless, yet it wasn't as dusty as one would expect.

"There were a few boys living here, but they've all left." Alex could guess these boys likely came from the 'failure' class, like him.

Many in the failure class dropped out due to the competitive atmosphere.

'I feel sorry for those who left, but I won't be joining them.'

The manager ushered him into a room and informed, "You can use this room; the basic facilities are still functional."

By 'basic facilities,' he meant power and running water.

"You should be familiar with the basic rules. If you need anything, you can find me in my office."

With that, the manager departed, leaving Alex in a dusty, cluttered room.

It took him three hours to clean, change the bedding, sheets, and make the room somewhat habitable.

"Finally, I can get some peaceful sleep."

As he switched off the lights, a shadow moved by unnoticed.

This building was supposed to house just him, but it seemed he had an unexpected roommate.

◆　◇　◆　◇　◆　◇　◆　◇　◆

The morning sun filtered through the window, gently illuminating Alex's face.

He groggily opened his eyes, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. "I don't recognize this ceiling... This place still feels so strange."

"This is no dream; it's a whole new world for real!" he exclaimed, excitement bubbling within him.

He glanced at the wall clock to check the time. There was exactly one hour left before classes began.

Despite sleeping late after cleaning the room, he was still somewhat tired and tempted to stay in bed longer.

Time waits for no one, though. With that thought, he forced himself to get up and began dressing in his uniform.

The uniform resembled those he'd seen in his previous world – a white shirt, black trousers, and a black tie that marked him as a first-year student.

His tie displayed a logo with a sword, spear, and shield, a clear sign that he belonged to the Knight Faculty.

The uniform also included a blue blazer adorned with shining star patterns on the emblem.

This attire was the standard for all students of the Star Shine Academy, to be worn at all times.

They also had a training uniform – a simple sports jersey and pants – for practical sessions.

Today's schedule didn't involve any outdoor training, so he didn't need to carry it with him.

"I never thought I'd get a chance to go back to school again."

Back in his previous life, his deteriorating health made attending school a luxury.

Towards the end, he had been receiving homeschooling due to his health condition.

He grabbed his bag and left the room.

After walking for what felt like a considerable time, he finally reached the cafeteria.

The academy provided three meals a day for free, yet the cafeteria was sparsely populated.

The food here was often criticized for being bland and unappetizing.

The academy had several other cafeterias where students could buy better food according to their preferences.

The two faculties had separate dining establishments due to the tension between them, as magic wielders and non-magic users often clashed.

With his ID card, he obtained a food coupon and selected the same breakfast they served every morning – a bowl of porridge, a meat pudding of sorts, and a glass of fruit juice.

He quickly scanned for an available seat, although there wasn't much to choose from.

Most tables were empty, with only a handful of students scattered around.

He settled at an unoccupied table and began his breakfast.

He wasn't particularly hungry since he'd indulged in plenty of food in the city the previous night. So, this meal was primarily about filling his stomach for the day.

After eating, he made his way to his classroom, which fortunately wasn't far.

He arrived five minutes early, not wanting to be late for his first class – a seemingly small achievement but significant for him.

The classroom was spacious, easily accommodating over 50 students.

Currently, it was mostly empty, with a few students scattered around.

He chose a seat in the front row, unsurprisingly unoccupied.

As time passed, more students like him entered, gradually filling up the room.

Their expressions varied in their lack of enthusiasm, a shared sentiment among them.

'From my memories, initially the class had 47 students, a number that had dwindled over time to a mere 22.'

This group had lost hope, and most chose to leave early to avoid further humiliation in this class.

"I can't blame them.", he muttered as he realized the first class's subject teacher was also running late.

According to the timetable, the class should've started 15 minutes ago, but there was no sign of the teacher.

Both the students and the teacher here were demotivated, lacking any eagerness to excel.

'At least the previous Alex tried, even though he ultimately failed like everyone else here.'

Lost in his thoughts, he was snapped back to reality as a man in his mid-twenties with short red hair, a beard, and an above-average appearance entered the classroom.

His name was Sam, their class teacher who taught them the majority of their subjects.

He walked up to the podium and addressed the class, "Seems your first-period teacher won't be joining us, as he's preoccupied with..." He trailed off, his expression turning sour as he seemed to remember something unpleasant.

"Never mind that. Take out your books; we're starting with basic math today."

It was common knowledge that no one wanted to teach the Beginner class – it yielded no significant results and didn't look impressive on a resume.

Sam, being the youngest teacher in the academy, was assigned this class.

The senior teaching staff either avoided classes here or conveniently handed them off to Sam.

It might have seemed unfair, but fairness was a rare concept in this place.

Speaking of which, while this world resembled the fantasy realms they read about, it surprisingly retained many similarities to modern Earth.

And yes, mathematics was indeed a subject here, along with numerous other subjects that bore a striking resemblance to those on Earth.