The students at First Year – Class 2 had at least gained 2 or even 4 strands increase in their Spirit.
This is specially for Lisa Grayback who had somehow increased her strand from 9 to 13! This is such an incredible achievement in the first three months in the academy considering that she's a commoner who knows nothing about mysticism until she entered the academy.
Vale's other friends also had a decent increase so his same result made the others feel worried about him.
After all, their current young age should be the best time to increase their Spirit. Once they grow older, increasing their Spirit would be more difficult or even close to impossible at some point. This is similar to how the Spell Lights are formed after all.
After Professor Stella Harwin left the classroom, Vale's friends immediately went up to him and comforted him.