Soul of the Warrior

Reivyn stepped forward to the table. There were sheaves of forms stacked neatly in several different piles, waiting to be used, and the mostly clear crystal ball that was the inspection magic tool sitting in the center. There was a young man seated behind the table. He was too old to be a student, so Reivyn assumed he was an administrative worker.

He might be a teacher, or teacher's assistant of some type, but he seems a bit young for that. Also, it wouldn't make as much sense for one of the esteemed teachers to be given such a duty.

"Name?" The man asked, holding out his hand. Reivyn had seen others hand the admissions token over for the man to inspect, so he did the same.

"Reivyn," he answered as the man verified the authenticity of the token, setting it aside once it was confirmed. The admissions tokens weren't the actual student identification. It was just a means to indicate they were already accepted. Now that it had served its purpose, the school would reclaim it.

"Place your hand on the ball," the man said. His tone was almost bored.

I can't imagine why. Saying the same thing over and over again for hours, Reivyn internally chuckled.

He placed his hand on the ball, and the young man stared off into space for a moment, looking at the information the ball was feeding him.

One moment became several long seconds, much longer than he had taken for any of the other students before Reivyn. Reivyn frowned slightly, and he leaned forward and waved to the man to get his attention.

"Excuse me," Reivyn said. The man startled out of his stunned state and looked at Reivyn with wide eyes. "Is there a problem?"

"Umm, no," the man stammered. "No problem. Give me one second while I write the relevant information down on your student record."

The man hastily wielded his pen and scribbled some information down. Reivyn wasn't used to reading things upside down, but he could make out that his student record included his name, Level, Class, and his Stats. The form didn't have a spot for Skills, but there was one for Affinities below the information gleaned from the orb.

The man called one of the older students that were assisting over and handed the page to her. He had placed it in a manila envelope to protect Reivyn's privacy from the other students who weren't staff.

"Please follow me," the young lady said. There were about six different older students leading the new admissions from the first table to the Affinities Test, just enough to constantly have one available when needed. The building where the Affinities test was being held wasn't too far away, and Reivyn didn't see any kind of line or anything he would have to wait in when they approached the building.

"Just inside here," the girl held her hand out, palm up, to the door. Reivyn walked through, the girl following behind him. There was a small reception area in the front of this building. An obvious staff member, he was the oldest person Reivyn had seen so far at close to middle age, was standing in the center of the room.

The girl handed the manila envelope to the older man. The man took a glance at the sheet, and his head snapped up in astonishment as he looked at Reivyn. After a moment of surprise, the man put the sheet back in the envelope and handed it back to the girl.

"Room three," he instructed. The girl received the envelope hesitantly, clearly curious as to why two staff members had had such a reaction. Even though she was curious, she knew it was inappropriate to spy on another student's record, so she simply nodded her head as she indicated for Reivyn to follow her down the hall again.

"Inside the room, there will be another crystal ball," she said as they arrived at a room with a clear number three next to the door. "Your task is to simply infuse the ball with each of your Affinities, and the information will be recorded for another staff member on the other side. Once you're done, you will go through the door on the other side and someone else will take you to the dorm supervisor to get your room key."

"That's it?" Reivyn asked, surprised. Tom made it seem like it was going to be something more mysterious than another simple inspection tool. He's probably laughing to himself right now.

"That's it," the girl smiled. She opened the door and led Reivyn into the room. "The inspection tool out front is designed to get the bare information about your Class and Stats, and it's at the Expert Level. The Affinities Orb is solely used to gauge Affinities, and it's at the Grandmaster Level. You can't fake this one."

Makes sense. Mom did mention that there are people who want to keep certain things private, but the basis of the school is built around Affinities - probably because that's one of the main factors for Caster Class availability and an indication of one's mastery of a Spell type - so it would make sense to be strict on those.

The room was obviously used for something else other than an Affinities Test at other times, as it was much larger than was necessary for the function. Probably a classroom or something. The girl walked to the other side and exited the door on the far side. Must be handing off my record to the staff member. That explains why we didn't run into the other students leading the admissions around. They go through and around.

Once the door was closed, Reivyn walked up to the ball and placed his hand on the crystal ball. He didn't hesitate and he infused his Affinities into the ball. Once he injected his first Affinity, he noticed that he wasn't able to control the intensity of it. The Affinities Orb seemed to wrestle control from him, and he automatically infused it to the maximum of his ability.

He wasn't too surprised by this, as they had made it pretty clear that they wanted accurate information on everyone's Affinities. What's the point of isolating the information to get the true numbers if you're going to allow someone to flub the test and deliberately hold back?

It took several minutes for Reivyn to cycle through all of his Affinities. He contemplated whether or not to infuse his Tier 4 Eternal Affinity or not, but he ultimately decided to do so. I want to get the maximum benefits out of the Academy, and mom and dad have both repeatedly stressed not to worry about showing off. He still kept his Veridical and Abyss Affinities to himself, though.

Reivyn had a large mana pool. The Affinities Orb only drained 1 Mana Point per Affinity Level multiplied by the Tier, so he ended up spending 853 Mana. Whew, I feel a bit drained after that. I spent close to 40% of my mana on the Affinities Test. Reivyn shook his head and mustered up his energy as he walked to the exit. I wonder what would happen if someone didn't have enough Mana to cycle through all of their Affinities?

He walked through the door and ended up in another, smaller room, but this time there was something different.

The student tasked with assisting in guiding the admissions around was standing off to the side, and there were several much older men and women looking at some sort of display. They were dressed in robes like everyone else, but they had a sense of dignity about the way they carried themselves.

These aren't just your average staff members, Reivyn thought.

They were in quiet conversation as they pointed out different things, and even with his Eavesdropping Skill, Reivyn wasn't able to make out any of the words they were saying.

They must be masking their voices somehow to keep their conversation private. They're obviously talking about my Status and Affinities, so I'm gratified to see that they're taking proper precautions against others snooping, Reivyn thought. He wasn't too concerned about others knowing about his information - that was the entire reason he didn't alter anything other than his Skills - but it was nice to see others taking it seriously. It instilled confidence in the staff.

As Reivyn stepped through the door, one of the older Mages looked up at Reivyn and broke off from the others still in conversation. He snagged the manila envelope, already containing the recorded information, from the regular staff member and walked up to Reivyn with a smile.

"Reivyn, I presume?" the man asked in a friendly manner.

"Yes, sir," Reivyn nodded his head.

"I'm Headmaster Wilsin," the Headmaster said, holding his hand out and guiding Reivyn by the shoulder as he led him to the exit. He turned his head to the side to address the student, "Just stay here, Derrik, you won't be needed to guide this new student."

Derrik nodded his head, his eyes as wide as they could possibly go as he took in the scene before him. Apparently, nobody else has brought the bigwigs down to look at a new student's Status and Affinities before, Reivyn thought wryly.

Reivyn felt a bubble of mana encompass the two of them as the Headmaster led him out of the other side of the room once again. They entered a hallway that led to the outside on either end, and the older man steered him in the direction that would lead to the exit closest to the administrative building.

"I must say, young man, that your Status and Affinities have caused quite an uproar," Wilsin chuckled. "There's obviously a story behind this. I will say, though, that you basically meet the minimum requirements, in Affinities, for basic graduation upon admission."

Reivyn wasn't actually that surprised at the statement. I figured it would be something like that after Tom revealed the conditions for acceptance into the Academy.

"That being said, this isn't the first time someone has entered the Academy meeting those requirements," the Headmaster continued as they stepped back out into the sunlight. The bubble of mana that Reivyn sensed protected their speech from extending to others. Based on the other people walking about not sparing us a second glance, I assume it also has some sort of function to either conceal who we are or make others subconsciously ignore us, too.

"There's more to graduating than just the Affinities. You'll have to display your mastery of Mana Skills and weaves, and there will be a general knowledge test to ensure you actually absorb the education." The Headmaster led them toward the end of the administrative building where Reivyn could see a line of students waiting to get their room assignments from an office just inside the end of the building. He spotted Tom waiting with two other boys off to the side.

Headmaster Wilsin stopped short of the crowd and turned to face Reivyn.

"Your Status startled a few of us older dogs out of hibernation," the man chuckled. "I decided to bring you along in place of the student to assure you that there are still many things the Academy can teach you. Magic, and life, for that matter, aren't just numbers on a Status screen. Having a high starting point tells me that you're a hard worker, especially considering your age, and I want you to know that our staff will work just as hard.

"You'll have to tell me the story behind your phenomenal Stats and Affinities one day," the man held his hands up to placate Reivyn before he could make any kind of prevarication or objection. "I'm not going to ask you to reveal any secrets, mind you. But someone your age doesn't get Stats and Affinities like that from something so simple as a Bloodline. Especially not one who shows up with a recommendation letter from the Knight-Captain.

"And your Class, Light Magus, has a story behind it as well. I've heard stories and legends of people with the Magus designation to their Class, but you're the first I've met. You've made the right decision to attend the Magic Academy. We can provide you with the necessary instruction and opportunities to ensure a bright future for you, whether it's to accept an Appointment or to further your study by moving up to a higher Region.

"Keep working hard, and enjoy your time here," the man shook Reivyn's hand. "Welcome to the Magic Academy."

The bubble formed around the two didn't dissipate, but it contracted until it only covered the Headmaster. Reivyn immediately lost interest in the vague man who strode away.

Reivyn startled back abruptly. Huh, that's pretty powerful. If I weren't just walking with the man and knew what was going on, I would have never noticed him at all. Reivyn shook his head and chuckled to himself. Despite saying he was interested in hearing my story someday, I never even got a word in edgewise. Let's just hope he doesn't give a speech to all the new students later.

It seemed a little unnecessary for the Headmaster himself to guide me here, but I guess he just really wanted to stress the points he was making.

As soon as Reivyn was out of the protection from the bubble, several other students made note of his presence, including Tom and his friends. Tom perked up and waved Reivyn over to join them as they got in line. Makes more sense for me to go to them than for them to come to me, Reivyn thought as he walked over.

Tom smiled brightly at Reivyn as he joined them.

"Guys, this is that Reivyn fellow I've been telling you about," the two others nodded their heads. "Reivyn, this is Patrick - we call him Trick - and this is Vane." The two boys nodded their heads and shook Reivyn's hand in turn.

Reivyn took in the appearance of the three boys. Their robes were of high quality, and they obviously weren't from poor families. The others weren't nearly as fit as Reivyn was after his years of physical exercise, but he could tell that they hadn't skimped on their Stats training when they were pre-Class.

So first impressions are they have the means and the will. As long as Trick and Vane are as friendly and easygoing as Tom is, then this could work out great.

"Nice to meet you," Reivyn said as they made their greetings.

"Likewise," Vane said.

"So," Trick said, a twinkle in his eye, "I hear you can introduce us to Melissa and Larissa Bluefayre?" He wiggled his eyebrows. Reivyn quirked an eyebrow at the other teenager.

"May~be..." Reivyn said as he looked at his new acquaintance. "I'm not a matchmaker, though, so if all you want to do is drool over them, we'll consider it as finished."

"Woah, calm down, bud," Trick said, throwing his arm around Reivyn's shoulder. "I'm just playing. There's no way I would act inappropriately toward either of them. Melissa would be sure to burn my face off, or Larissa would freeze me in place." Reivyn glanced at Tom from the side of his eyes.

"I thought you said they were famous?" Reivyn teased. "Your boy here has them backward. Melissa is the Ice Mage and Larissa is Fire - well, more like a raging inferno, but you get the point." Trick pulled his arm off of Reivyn's shoulders and the three boys shared a quick look between themselves.

"Right, right," Trick said with a smile. "How could I get them mixed up like that?"

"I guess it doesn't matter all that much, really," Tom said. "They're both working together to advance to the Dual Fire-Ice Tier 3 Class that their family is known for."

"Oh, so they are famous," Reivyn said. "If you guys know that much, then they obviously have a reputation more than just from their exploits in the Dungeon."

"Well, that depends on who you ask," Vane spoke up. "They've always been pretty well known for how pretty they are, but their adventure to the new Dungeon is what really made a name for themselves. People are attracted to attractive things, obviously, but they're impressed by competence more."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Reivyn said. "What do you guys know about their friend group: Alisia, Erin, and Haylen?" The three boys shared another look between themselves, and Reivyn could sense that they relaxed in some sort of way. I wonder what that's all about?

"Alisia is even more famous than Melissa and Larissa," Tom said. "I mean, she's the daughter of a Duke, how could she not be? Erin and Haylen are less so. They're from prominent families, so other kids from affluent houses know who they are. Their families aren't quite as influential as the Bluefayres, though, and they're not quite as good-looking."

Reivyn was slightly surprised at the mention of Alisia being the daughter of a Duke. Melissa just mentioned that she was from a noble family. Being the daughter of a Duke is a pretty big deal.

"Yeah, they're not on the List, though they're probably pretty close, honestly," Trick said. "I would say that they haven't been able to get their Charisma as high as the other three girls, and their natural beauty is a step down as well. That's not to say they're not pretty, but you know how things are."

"I guess?" Reivyn said. "But what's this List that you mentioned?"

"Oh, the List of Angels," Trick said enthusiastically. "Alisia is higher than Melissa and Larissa at the third spot - probably because of her status more so than her looks. Melissa is sixth, and Larissa is ninth. The List of Angels is the top 10 beauties who attend the school, and it gets updated each semester. The Knight Academy has a similar List, and there's also an equivalent one for the males."

"Yeah, but the girls don't share it as readily as the boys talk about the List of Angels," Vane said. "We have to kind of guess who the guys are on that List from who the girls pay attention to and whisper about. They like to keep their secrets, and it becomes a sort of a game for the boys to ferret out who the girls consider being on the List each semester."

"You guys sure take these Lists seriously," Reivyn laughed. "You're pretty well informed for new students." Reivyn pointed out, more a question than a statement.

"Of course," Tom said. "We have friends who are already students here. You'll see, in time. There are only so many circles, and they extend throughout The Capital. The people from out of town, depending on which cities they come from, are either already marginally part of one circle or another, or they'll soon be roped into one. Those that aren't, are also de facto part of a circle: the outsiders."

"So is politics involved in everything around here?" Reivyn asked with a frown. The three other boys looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Of course," Trick said. "Families have interests, after all. The relationships of the older generation are going to affect the younger, and sometimes vice versa. It's fairly muted in the Academy, but there are still obvious cliques and factions. You can't escape politics when most of the populace is involved in it in their everyday lives."

"Don't let it scare you, though," Vane said. "Even though there are conflicts of interest and fights for benefits, the families are harmonious for the most part. I've heard that fights for benefits in Eldiar and other, higher Tier kingdoms, can be deadly. We don't have to worry about that here. Nobody has died over these conflicts for centuries."

"The Royal family is pretty popular, actually," Trick said. "Some kingdoms you get different overall factions like the Royals versus the Nobles versus the Commoners, or some such arrangement. But here, the Royal family is popular among the nobles and commoners alike, and after years of steady, even-handed rule, the nobles have adopted a pretty good form of governance where the nobles actually take their responsibilities to their subjects seriously."

"Yeah, I've seen it first hand," Reivyn said. "Count Ilpir fought on the walls next to all his men during the Dungeon Break, and he bent over backward to see that all of the families of those that died were taken care of."

"Exactly," Vane said. "You'll have to tell us about your adventures in the Dungeon and the fight in Magron, later. Tom already told us what you said about the Adventurer calling forth a tornado. It's a shame the rumor of descending angels wasn't true, but it still sounds amazing."

"Yeah," Trick said. "We're pretty lucky to be in the kingdom we are." He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "I've heard that the main antagonistic faction to the Tier 3 Kingdom, Pernius, that Eldiar is sworn to, is a kingdom that brands their subjects with the Tier they're from. If anyone from a lower Tier goes to a higher Tier, they're treated like second-class citizens, and they can never advance above the mark on their forehead their entire lives."

"I've heard that, too," Tom said. "But why are you whispering?" He frowned at his friend. Trick shrugged.

"Eh, makes it sound more interesting that way. Like it's a secret," Tom rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty terrible," Reivyn said.

I'm glad my parents didn't end up in a place like that while chasing the mastermind behind the Dungeon Break in our empire. I'm sure it would have gone over real well when some official in a Tier 1 kingdom tried to force a brand on my parents, Reivyn chuckled to himself.

The four boys finally arrived at the office where the room assignments were handled. The room had a window next to the door, and there was another older student taking down the information and handing out keys.

"Next," the young man called out. Tom stepped forward, the other three just behind him together in a group.

"Tom, Vane, Patrick, and Reivyn, requesting to share a living space," Tom said. The student behind the window flipped through some records and cross-referenced the names with the information he had.

"All four of you are part of the Elite Class, so there's no conflict on the level of accommodation," the student nodded. Reivyn was slightly surprised. They already have that information here? The student records were written down on paper. Maybe the inspection orbs had a similar function to what the Adventurer Guild uses, and they made magical records at the same time. That makes sense, actually.

"Ok, you'll be in suite 17 of the Novice Hall," the man handed out four keys and student tokens, which Tom took and distributed to the group. "Don't lose your key or token. If you misplace either of them, you'll have to pay a fee to get a new copy." The four boys nodded their heads in unison. The student behind the window craned his neck to look around them and yelled, "Next."

The four boys quickly walked out of the administrative building and headed in the direction they saw other students walking. Both the males and females walked in the same direction, but Reivyn saw that the girls separated from the boys up ahead. The two sexes were clearly housed in different locations.

"That's it?" Reivyn asked as they walked. "We don't need to get bedding or anything else?"

"Nope," Tom replied. "The rooms are fully furnished. As new students, we have to take care of our own washing and everything, but the older students in the more advanced Elite Classes get maids to do that for them. We haven't earned that level of service, yet."

"And the Novice Hall?" Reivyn questioned.

"All new students, regardless of ability, or whether or not they're in the Elite Class, are called Novices," Vane explained. "The girls' dormitory is also called the Novice Hall, but everyone knows which one is being talked about when referring to one based on the person involved, so there's hardly any confusion. The second years are called Apprentices, and the third years are called Journeymen."

"What about Masters?" Reivyn asked.

"The teachers are the Masters," Trick answered. "There are only three years of students at the Academy, and it would be hardly appropriate to refer to a student as a Master. Graduates are just referred to as Graduates, and staff members are referred to by their job title."

"Does one have to spend the entire three years in order to graduate, or can one do so early?" Reivyn continued his line of questioning.

"Depends on what you want to do," Tom said. "There are a few options: one can be selected to advance to the Tier 2 Academy, and they would technically be considered a graduate; one can accept some form of appointment early, and they would also technically be considered a graduate; or one can spend the full three years here and take the graduation test."

Hmm... that doesn't really answer my question on how to force a Tier 3 Class transition. I guess I'll have to wait and ask one of the teachers.

"Alright, let's go look at our room and decide who gets which spot," Trick said.

"They're all going to be the same," Vane pointed out.

"Yeah, but some rooms have a better atmosphere," Trick retorted. Vane rolled his eyes.

"Eh, I'm fine with whatever," Reivyn said.

The four boys entered the Novice Hall. Reivyn looked around, but the halls were pretty bare outside of the living spaces.

This is my new home for the next month, at least, Reivyn thought. So far, this new group of friends seems to have been the right choice. Reivyn was optimistic about this new phase of his life.