2-7: How the things work

“All right, let’s talk.”

A few hours have passed since our fight. The night was just beginning, but the teachers would probably scold us if they found out there were three of us in the same room.

“Your roommate doesn’t know about this?”

“She ignored me when I told her this.”

“How are you gonna go back to your room after finishing this?”

“I won’t. Today Kazu sleeps on the floor.”

“...Of course.”

We illuminated the place with a tiny lamp, so the whole situation had a weird atmosphere. It almost felt like we’re about to talk about horror movies.

“Please start the thing.”

“Right.”

Carefully, Cloe took out a big piece of paper and started drawing with one of my pencils.

“First of all, that fight you had the other day was really fun.”

“It was a good test…but now everyone avoids me.”

“That’s weird, you used that technique against me two times and it isn’t that painful…”

“You both really don’t understand the problem?”

Fran was looking at us like a couple of weirdos. I guess having someone like him is good in this kind of friend group.

“Going back to the point, it looks like you ruined your reputation in record time.”

“I can’t deny it.”

“Do you like that?”

“Not really. I’m not someone social, but if I wanna practice my performances at the time that I’m studying, it would be good having public.”

“That’s what I thought. Thankfully, I got a wonderful idea.”

“What is it?”

“Look at this.”

The thing Cloe was drawing was a pyramid divided by floors, like a hierarchy.

“In this academy, people have what I would call “Levels of importance”.”

“What do you mean?”

“You will understand it with an explanation of every level.”

Now she was using the pencil for pointing at the different levels, like a teacher explaining someone to a student.

“The lowest level is for the first year students from the regular class. Even when some of them are sons of nobles, they are considered trash destined to become something better, or abandon the academy with their money. You and Fran are at this level.”

“I see.”

“I’m that low…?”

“The second level is for the first year students from the advanced class. They are considered people who are already trying their best, so they usually have the chance to talk with people from second or third year. I’m at that level.”

“So this doesn’t necessarily indicate strength.”

“That offends me, but yeah, sometimes they notice that the wrong people were put in the normal class, so they offer to change to that class if it’s worth it.”

At first, the systems seem easy to understand for me and Fran. I was about to ask something, but Fran was faster.

“So, the rest of the pyramid would be just for the people from second and third year?”

“Not exactly. Level three is for second-year students. It includes the advanced and regular classes. They assume that the people from there would be making some effort by that point. The level four is for what we call “Great potential”.”

“Great potential?”

“People who have a speciality that could be considered impressive by their own capabilities or because their family is dedicated to that.”

“Teacher, we need an example.”

“The infirmary usually receives the help of a second year girl who is the daughter of the best doctor in the kingdom. Her father is one of the few people able to create his own formulas. He’s known for creating treatments for incurable diseases.”

“That’s crazy.”

“I know. An example of the first type would be a girl that refers to herself as “Assistant”. She can create illusions that some people can mistake for real things. Everyone describes her abilities as something impressive and scary.”

“So we could aspire to that!”

“That feels too optimistic for me…”

“Ahem. The level five is for the people from third year. They basically know everything they can and are preparing for the future depending on their plans.”

“Experience defeats talent.”

“Not exactly, the assistant is from third year, but for some reason she put herself one level below.”

“Maybe she’s modest.”

“Probably, and for the last level.”

The highest part of the pyramid was decorated with a lot of shiny colors and brilliantine, just like a child would do. I knew making some comment could end with me being punched in the face, so I tried to not say anything.

“Your cute decorations always surprise me.”

“Shut up!”

I tried.

“Just…The last level is for the one who invented this system.”

“Wait, I thought this was a thing of the place.”

“Nono, this thing was invented last year by a student called “Leonard”.”

“Teachers allow this?”

“No one tries to defy him. He’s considered the biggest prodigy of this century. One of the reasons why things like fights in Physical Education class are allowed is because he can easily fix any damage.”

“A healer?”

“More than a healer. His fight skills surpass most of the teachers and his comprehension of magic made him another of the few people that can create his own formulas. His vision is respected by teachers and even some people outside the academy, so he’s also the only student that is considered when a new rule is made.”

“I see…”

That description made me think of him as a student council president, but with more strength.

“That would be the full hierarchy.”

“That’s too much information for a single chapter.”

“Did you tell Thomas this so he could improve his reputation??”

“Kind of.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t go up in that hierarchy with my magic style. At least it doesn't feel like something realistic.”

“If even Thomas isn’t optimistic about that I feel worse…”

“You know? You could call me Kazu.”

“A-Are you sure?”

“Yeah, we have fun with music, I already consider you as someone I trust.”

“T-Thanks for that.”

“Ahem.”

Cloe interrupted us by punching the table she was using, that was her way of saying that the next part was the most important one.

“Yeah, you will probably die in that low hierarchy, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t improve your reputation.”

“What do you mean?”

“Leonard apparently is someone who approves any kind of progression of the students, he would love to see an academy full of people with his talent.”

“And?”

“He put to himself a simple rule: If someone challenges him to a fight, turning it down is not an option.”

“...What are you suggesting?”

“He usually wins every single challenge, but people who can endure a long fight are respected by people from upper years.”

“That means…”

“Exactly, maybe people in your year will ignore you, but you can get the attention of people who know him.”

Fran was totally surprised with that suggestion, it was basically fighting an arranged fight. But I was only able to smile.

“That could be an amazing performance.”

“Hehe, I knew you would see it like that. Then this last information will be like a blessing to you.”

Just for being dramatic, Cloe didn't say anything during exactly ten seconds, giving us even more expectation about what she was about to say.

“...”

“...”

“...In two days, he’s gonna visit the first year students during Physical Education. He wants to see if the academy has some interesting people this year.”