How it all began

It was the first day of the second year at our Magi-Tech College.

Seeing so many unfamiliar faces felt strange. I honestly wished the classes had remained the same. I had finally gotten used to the people from first year.

In every Magi-Tech university, students are divided into seven divisions — A to G.

Each division contains students from different branches and specializations. Throughout the year, every student is constantly evaluated based on academic performance, magic execution, combat ability, and practical examinations.

At the end of the year, the remaining students are reorganized into three divisions: A, B, and C.

That alone showed how brutal the competition was, even in a third-tier college like ours.

Honestly, I still had no idea how I survived first year.

I had been convinced I would fail long before finals even started, yet somehow I had managed to enter the second year.

I looked around the classroom.

Everywhere I looked, there were famous students, talented students, people with terrifying reputations.

Some of them carried themselves with such confidence that it almost felt oppressive. Even from a distance, you could feel their presence.

Maybe I really had chosen the wrong field after all.

Perhaps I would have been better off studying economics or something normal.

Then my eyes stopped on a familiar group.

Wait…

Wasn’t that Tadano?

He had become famous during first year because of his offensive magic output. Rumor said his output level had crossed 1000 — something even average fourth-year students struggled to achieve.

And beside him…

Sorata.

The student who had scored perfect marks in every written examination during first year.

A perfect ten-pointer.

Only a handful of students in the academy’s history had ever achieved that score.

Every person in this classroom felt abnormal.

How was I supposed to compete with people like them for the next three years?

Then I noticed him.

A boy sitting quietly near the window.

Kuze.

Even though I had never spoken to him before, I had heard plenty of rumors.

He supposedly had the lowest magic output value in the entire academy. Some people even claimed he possessed no offensive magic at all.

Which made no sense.

How had someone like that survived first year when so many capable students had failed?

From my experience, students with low potential were usually treated like outcasts. Most people avoided them completely.

Though, to be fair, I wasn’t exactly far above average myself.

The first thing I noticed was how isolated he looked.

Students like Tadano and Sorata were surrounded by groups of people, but Kuze sat alone without anyone approaching him.

I also noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

Still, the fact that he had reached second year was impressive in its own way.

And unlike everyone else here, he looked approachable.

Maybe I should talk to him.

I walked over awkwardly.

“Uh… which division were you in during first year?”

It was a terrible conversation starter, but it was the only thing I could think of.

Kuze slowly looked up at me.

He didn’t smile.

“F Division.”

His voice was calm and emotionless.

An awkward silence followed.

I desperately searched for another topic.

“There are a lot of famous people in our class,” I said while glancing toward Tadano and Sorata.

“Doesn’t it make you nervous? Since we’ll be competing with them for the next three years.”

I forced out a nervous laugh.

Kuze looked at them for a brief moment before answering.

“It’s not like they’re any different from everyone else.”

His expression remained completely blank.

“They’re average.”

I stared at him in confusion.

Average?

How could anyone call monsters like them average?

After a short pause, Kuze spoke again.

“Though… there is one person I’d consider slightly above average.”

“He’s in B Division.”

I immediately knew who he meant.

Aoi Akiyama.

Even Tadano and Sorata were nowhere near his level.

Aoi was different.

During first year alone, he had secured first place in a national-level Battle Magi-Tech tournament against students from elite universities across the country.

His magic output, execution speed, and coding ability were considered abnormal even among prodigies. People said he could execute advanced spell codes in the middle of live combat without hesitation.

And on top of that, he belonged to the famous Akiyama family — one of the most influential families in modern magic engineering.

Honestly, I still didn’t understand why someone like him attended our college.

I turned back toward Kuze.

“Then why—”

Before I could finish speaking, the classroom suddenly became quiet.

I looked toward the entrance.

A tall figure stood there.

Aoi Akiyama.

For a moment, my brain stopped processing properly.

I had only seen him on television broadcasts, tournament recordings, and academy forums before.

But now he was standing right here.

Inside our classroom.

The strange part was that he wasn’t looking at anyone else.

He was looking directly at Kuze.

Kuze noticed him and quietly raised his eyes.

Aoi smiled lightly.

“So this is where you were.”

He walked closer.

“I’ll ask you again.”

“This is a formal invitation to join my team.”

“Will you accept?”

The entire classroom fell silent.

I could feel everyone staring.

My thoughts became a mess.

Why was Aoi inviting Kuze?

And what did he mean by “again”?

Being recruited by Aoi Akiyama was practically a guaranteed path to success. Any Magi-Tech student would dream of receiving an offer like that.

There was no reason to refuse.

Kuze looked at him with the same calm expression as before.

“I decline.”

For a few seconds, nobody spoke.

I just stood there, unable to process what I had heard