The Institute's Orientation [Pt 1]

The sun rose, indicating the start of a brand new day.

The birds chirped, the early morning breeze filled the air, and the chattering of people dominated everywhere.

The crowd was unbelievable, countless people from various and diverse walks of life and regions gathered in a single location. From the budding youth to the elderly. There could only be one reason for this happening...

... The Magic Institute had finally resumed.

Naturally, the day the school resumes would be when the doors to the facilities are open and students would be allowed to enter.

However, their properties and belongings would have already been taken to their hall of residence before resumption. They would also be given their specific halls, as well as the rooms they would be staying in.

Ciara had been given the necessary information, along with the brochure and her school uniform.

She read the brochure and handbook many times, in case she missed anything. It was finally time for her to say goodbye to Noir for the time being, and she would only be seeing Galand and Lorna for a limited and restricted time frame during her stay on the Academic grounds.

She had already firmed her resolve, and decided that she would do her very best.

Having woken up earlier than everyone else in the apartment procured for her and her entourage, the young girl began drilling the basics of what she had learned for the past three months.

She was anxious, scared... but still determined.

Eventually, one after the other, the rest woke up and began their duties.

Lorna went to take care of Ciara and freshen her up for the last time since she would need to do it on her own soon.

Galand packed up all the remaining properties they had in the house. Though not much, they were quite sensitive and could not be entrusted to be delivered to their various residences without their presence.

Noir left the house for his usual patrol. By the time he returned, they would all be ready for departure. Everything was in place.

*

*

*

[Hours Later]

"Bye everyone!!!"

Ciara bid Lorna and Galand farewell, waving quickly and roughly, despite her usually poised behavior in public.

They were already on Academic grounds, but this was where they had to part ways. She was going to her room, Galand was headed to the Lecturers private facility, and Lorna was going to the Institute's Management office in order to report for duty.

Ciara had already said her farewells to Noir, who could not be allowed beyond the gates since he had no credentials.

She had waved him goodbye with a confident smile she managed to muster up.

"Take care, Noir." Was what she said to him. "See you soon."

"Yeah" He had responded in his usual tone.

That was all they said, but the emotions in that farewell—for Ciara, at least—was too much.

She couldn't wait to get to her room.

*

*

*

Ciara settled down and unpacked all her belongings, which were fewer than she realized. It didn't take her as long as she thought it would. It was probably due to the increase in her physical stats.

After she was done with unpacking, she took a long shower, then took a long nap as well.

And then after some time of drifting in sleep...

... She finally woke up.

*

*

*

"Uhhh..."

The young lady turned her head to look at the time, and when she did, her groggy and sleepy eyes shot out in surprise.

"W-wha—?! F-fifty Four minutes past Five?" Ciara screamed, quickly realizing she had wrongly structured the way she expressed the time.

"Six more minutes before 6 PM!" Her voice echoed in panic.

She rose from her bed quickly and hurried out of her pajamas.

Sharply rushing into the shower, the young girl strived to beat the time.

As quickly as she went in, she came out!

Hurriedly put on her School uniform and accessories and dashed out of the house. The door automatically locked as it shut, so she diverted all her attention to speeding off. There was only one reason for her to panic in such a way in the evening.

*

*

*

"Haa... haa..."

Amid the wide school grounds and beneath the evening sun, a girl raced with all her strength.

"Damn! Our Orientation is by 6 PM! Can I make it?" She murmured to herself, still running as fast as she reasonably could.

As the young lady was running, her shoulder managed to accidentally bump someone. The stranger lost balance a bit and held his shoulder.

"A-ah!" Ciara, who immediately realized what she did, turned around to apologize.

"Uh... s-sorry, late...I'm... sorry!!!"

She bowed her head to the flustered stranger, turned away, and then sped off again.

She couldn't afford to be tardy on her first day. She had been promoted ahead of the other newcomers and was in the Intermediate stage of the Foundation class. Everyone else who took the entrance exams with her was at the Beginner stage.

Even though she felt happy about her achievement, she also felt nervous.

"I'm sure to stick out like a sore thumb..." Ciara groaned to herself.

If she were to be tardy on her first day, it would create a bad impression of her. People would be like;

"Just 'cus she managed to get promoted ahead of the others, she thinks she's something huh?"

Maybe even...

"Hmmph! Exceptions are always such a pain!"

Or more like...

"Does she think she can just waltz in here as she pleases? Just cus she has a bit of power!"

Ciara could imagine their expressions, and she shuddered at the thought.

She was alone, whether she admitted it or not.

Yes, Lorna and Galand were nearby, and she was sure Noir was also looking out for her, wherever he was. Still...

'I have to face the upcoming challenges alone!'

Her classmates were going to be older than her, and more experienced. She skipped an entire stage for crying out loud! She was beginning to regret that choice.

"What if they all know things that I haven't been taught yet... I'd look so dumb!" She imagined.

Everyone would look at her and sneer.

"So this is the Exception? She doesn't even know something so basic?"

She shook her head to throw off the thoughts and fear that plagued her mind. She had to be confident. Noir and Galand had taught her many things for the past three months, and she had also grown to Tier 3.

"I've got this!" She spoke to herself as she dashed, regaining confidence.