The next morning, Rook woke before dawn and made his way across the academy grounds. The dormitory had been cramped and cold, but he had slept well enough, his body too tired from the exam to care about comfort.
He found the classroom at the end of a long hallway on the third floor. It was smaller than the others he had passed, and the door was plain wood instead of the polished oak the other classes had. The paint was chipped in places, and someone had scratched something into the frame that had been poorly sanded over.
Jace was already waiting outside, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"This is it?" he asked, squinting at the door. "There's no sign or anything. The other classrooms had plaques with the class name and the instructor."
"This is the room number they gave me."
"Great. Even the classroom looks like nobody wants it." Jace pushed off the wall and stretched his arms. "Class D, huh? The examiner didn't even hesitate when she said it. Like she already knew where I belonged."
Rook thought about Cault watching from the sidelines during the exam, the way his eyes had lingered on both of them. "Maybe someone did."
"What do you mean?"
"The professor who vouched for me. He teaches this class." Rook pushed the door open. "Could be a coincidence that we both ended up here."
Jace's eyes widened slightly. "You think he had something to do with it?"
"I think he sees things other people miss."
He stepped inside.
The room was small and plain, with a handful of desks arranged in uneven rows and a single window on the far wall. There were maybe a dozen students scattered around, most of them sitting alone, not talking to each other.
A half-elf girl sat by the window, staring out at nothing in particular. She had pale silver hair that fell past her shoulders and sharp features that made her look older than she probably was. Pointed ears poked through her hair. She didn't look up when they entered, but Rook noticed her posture shift slightly, like she was aware of them without needing to see.
Near the back, a massive beastkin took up two seats. He had wolf ears that twitched occasionally and grey fur along his arms and neck. His eyes were closed like he was sleeping, but his breathing was too steady and controlled. The desk in front of him looked comically small, and Rook wondered how he was supposed to write anything on it.
There were others too: a boy with dark circles under his eyes who looked like he hadn't slept in days, a girl with burn scars along one arm who kept her gaze fixed on her desk, and a pair of twins sitting in the corner, whispering to each other in a language Rook didn't recognize. They were the rejects, all of them.
Rook picked a seat near the middle of the room and sat down. The chair wobbled slightly, one leg shorter than the others. Jace hesitated, then took the desk next to him.
"Friendly bunch," Jace muttered, keeping his voice low. "You'd think someone would at least say hello."
The half-elf turned her head slightly. Her eyes were a pale green, almost colorless. "So you're the coreless one. I've been hearing about you since yesterday."
Rook met her gaze. "Good things, I hope."
"Mostly confusion. Some anger." She shrugged. "The nobles don't know what to do with you. You showed them up at the exam, and they're not used to that."
"I just did what they asked me to do."
"That's the problem. You did it better than them, and you don't even have a core." She went back to staring out the window. "I'm Suri by the way."
"Rook."
"I know." A beat. "Everyone knows."
Jace leaned forward, trying to insert himself into the conversation. "Hey, I'm Jace. New here, commoner and absolutely terrified. Nice to meet you."
Suri glanced at him. "Why are you so nervous?"
"Is it that obvious?" Jace scratched the back of his neck. "So, uh, you're a half-elf, right? I've never met one before. Can you actually see in the dark, or is that just something people say?"
"We can. Better than humans, anyway."
"That's actually really useful. I can barely see in the light most of the time." He laughed weakly, but Suri just stared at him.
Rook could tell Jace was floundering, so he stepped in. "How long have you been here?"
"This is my second year. I failed the first one."
"That rough, huh?" Jace said.
"Rough is one word for it." Suri didn't look at him. "Class D has the highest casualty rate in the academy. We lost three students on a training mission last year."
Jace went pale. "Wait, what? Died?"
"One got killed by a beast in the forest. Two got caught in a cave collapse." She finally turned to look at them properly. "I'm telling you this because you should know what you're getting into. Nobody else is going to warn you."
Jace looked at Rook, clearly hoping for some kind of reassurance. Rook didn't have any to give.
"Thanks for the warning," Rook said.
Suri nodded and went back to the window.
Jace slumped in his seat. "Great. This just keeps getting better and better."
"You wanted to come here. This is what it costs."
"I know, I know. I just didn't think the cost would be my actual life." He drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment, then sat up straighter. "Alright, new plan. I'm going to make friends with everyone in this room. That way, when we go on those dangerous training missions, someone will watch my back."
He stood up and walked over toward the beastkin in the back. Rook watched, already knowing how this was going to go.
"Hey, I'm Jace. Nice to meet you, I'm also new here and I thought I'd introduce myself since we're going to be classmates and—"
The beastkin opened one eye. It was yellow, with a vertical pupil that contracted in the light. He didn't say anything, just stared.
Jace's mouth kept moving for another second before his brain caught up. "...I'll just sit over here."
He retreated back to his seat next to Rook, face slightly pale.
"How did that go?" Rook asked.
"He looked at me like I was food."
"Maybe he's just tired."
"Rook, he has fangs. Big ones." Jace held his fingers apart. "I'm pretty sure he could bite my head off."
"Then don't give him a reason to want to."
"Helpful. Really helpful."
The door opened again, and the room went quiet. Even the twins stopped whispering. Professor Cault walked in and set a stack of papers on the desk at the front.
He turned to face the class.
"For those who don't know me, I'm Professor Dern Cault. I teach this class." He looked around the room slowly, making eye contact with each of them in turn. When his gaze reached Rook, it lingered for just a moment before moving on. "You're here because nobody else wanted you. That's fine. I don't want the ones everyone else wants."
Nobody said anything. Rook noticed that the beastkin had opened both eyes now, watching the professor closely.
Cault picked up the stack of papers and started walking between the rows, setting one on each desk as he passed.
"By the end of this year, half of you will be gone. Expelled, dropped out, or dead on a training mission. The ones who remain will wish they'd left."
He set a paper on Rook's desk. It was a schedule of classes and training sessions, along with a list of rules and expectations. Rook scanned it quickly. The regimen was brutal, detailing combat training every morning, mana theory in the afternoons, and survival exercises once a week.
"Any questions?"
The boy with the dark circles raised his hand. He looked nervous, like he was already regretting it. "Why do they call this the reject class?"
Cault stopped walking and looked at him. The boy flinched slightly under his gaze.
"Because we don't reject anyone. We take what others throw away." He glanced at Rook, just for a second. "Sometimes that's where you find the best material."
He walked back to the front of the room and sat on the edge of his desk, his single hand resting on his thigh.
"You're not here because you're the best. You're here because you're different—difficult, or even broken." His eyes swept the room. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll either be dead or you'll be the most dangerous students this academy has ever produced."
He stood up and walked toward the door.
"Class starts properly tomorrow, so for today, get settled in, move into your permanent quarters, and learn where things are. The schedule on your desk tells you everything you need to know, and if you have questions, ask someone who isn't me." He paused at the door, hand on the frame. "One more thing: in this class, we don't fight each other, we fight together. Anyone who breaks that rule answers to me."
He walked out without another word.
The students started getting up and filing out. Suri was one of the first to leave, slipping out the door without looking back. The beastkin stood up slowly, and Rook realized just how big he actually was, at least a head taller than anyone else in the room and twice as wide. He ducked slightly to get through the door.
Jace grabbed his schedule and studied it. "Combat training at dawn, mana theory until lunch, and survival exercises on Fridays." He looked up at Rook. "This is insane. When are we supposed to sleep?"
"When we're dead, apparently."
"Not funny."
Rook folded his schedule and put it in his pocket. He thought about what Cault had said at the arena, about how Class D was not a kind place. He was starting to understand what that meant now.
"So that's our teacher," Jace said as they walked toward the door. "The guy who got you back in."
"That's him."
"Why did he vouch for you anyway? You never said."
"I helped him with something in the city."
Jace was quiet for a moment. "If he really did pick us... why me? I'm nothing special. You're the one with the crazy physical abilities. I'm just a commoner who got lucky on the entrance exam."
Rook shrugged. "Maybe he saw something in you."
"Like what? My charming personality? My incredible ability to run away from danger?"
"Survival instinct is a skill."
Jace considered that for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll take it. Survival instinct is a skill, and I have it in spades." He grinned, some of his usual energy returning. "Well, at least we're in the same class now. That's something."
Rook nodded. It was something. He wasn't sure yet if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but it was something.
They walked out of the classroom together, following the signs toward the dormitories. The hallway was mostly empty now, the other students having already dispersed.
"Hey, Rook?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for not leaving me behind. When I got moved to Class D, I thought I was going to be alone in the scary reject class with the giant wolf guy and the creepy half-elf." He paused. "No offense to Suri. She seems nice. In a terrifying kind of way."
"She told us three people died last year."
"Yeah, that was... that was a lot. I'm trying not to think about it." Jace took a deep breath. "Okay, new plan. We stick together, we watch each other's backs, and we don't die. Sound good?"
"Sounds good."
"Great. Team Survive is officially formed." Jace held out his hand.
Rook looked at it for a moment, then shook it.
'Maybe this won't be so bad.'
They continued toward the dormitories.