Rin and Nezha arrive last to the first-year orientation in Sinegard’s main hall. Grand Master Jima Lain introduces the Academy’s masters and explains that Sinegard trains generals, not ordinary soldiers. Students will be judged in Combat, Strategy, History, Weaponry, Linguistics, Medicine, and Lore, and any first-year who fails to win a master’s approval after the Trials will be expelled.

Jima’s warning destroys Rin’s assumption that admission guarantees safety or a future. Jima also threatens prison for any student caught near opium or illegal substances. Raban then escorts the first-years to their dormitories, where Rin learns that only three girls are in the year: Rin, the friendly Niang, and the aristocratic Venka, who immediately insults Rin’s southern appearance.

The next morning, Combat begins under Master Jun. Jun warns the students not to fight irresponsibly, and Nezha’s black eye draws attention to Rin’s earlier attack. Rin realizes most classmates have trained for years, especially Venka, who demonstrates a devastating kick. Jun rejects mystical explanations of martial skill and teaches that combat depends on force, angles, timing, and disciplined technique.

In History, Master Yim dismantles patriotic myths about Nikan’s past. Yim explains the Empire’s decline, the Poppy Wars, Mugen’s ambitions, Hesperia’s decisive intervention, and the genocide of Speer. Rin learns that Nikan’s supposed victory was not truly its own, and that the country remains vulnerable without reliable allies, the full Trifecta, or Speerly soldiers.

At lunch, Rin meets Kitay, a brilliant, talkative student from Sinegard who knows Nezha and Venka from childhood. Kitay explains Nezha’s powerful Dragon Province background and admits Nezha resents anyone who outshines him. Rin and Kitay bond when Rin reveals she gave Nezha his black eye.

After lunch, the first-years go to Lore, but the white-haired Lore Master never appears. The class waits in a strange garden and panics when Nezha and Rin identify a poppy plant, recalling Jima’s warning. Nezha decides the class is a prank and leads most students away, but Rin and Kitay stay behind, intrigued by the garden’s drug plants and the mystery of what Lore might really teach.