Rows upon rows of first-year students stood in straight lines, stretching across the ground zero.
Despite the warm light of the day, the students were busy talking with each other.
The murmuring of nervous students, the occasional cough, the quiet rustle of parchment as someone double-checked their notes or reviewed a last-minute plan—it all blended into a dull hum that buzzed just beneath the surface of silence.
Some tighten their fists in determination. Others glanced sideways at the stronger, more confident figures among them—people like Elysia, Jin, Cecelia, and Edwin—wondering whether they stood a chance in the upcoming midterm examination.
Professor Sylvia, who had just finished her long explanation of the exam structure, stepped away from the front of the gathering.
She didn't look back, trusting that what she had said would soon sink into the hearts of the students.
At the back of the formation, standing a little apart from the others, was Kael.
