Chapter 8: Luminare Academy of Arcane Arts

"I imagine you would look rather dashing, if not for the mask." Fiona murmured thoughtfully as she took in his appearance. A black button shirt under a black vest with intricate golden patterns adorning it, along with pants and dress shoes of the same color. His uniform, Luminare Academy seemed to like black. "Maybe I should not have made the mask so creepy."

"It's fine this way." Mikoto spoke as he tapped on the face of the mask. Was it creepy? Indeed, it served its purpose well enough though. Sure, he would draw attention for awhile, but eventually that would die down. In fact, he has heard the princess was going to Luminare Academy for her first year; compared to her, some masked guy would quickly be forgotten. Not to mention there was the other spawn of Octavia who went to that academy, but still he could not help but wonder...

"Say, is it really fine for me to be wearing this, though?" He felt as though he should have asked that much earlier, but oh well. They were already on their way to the academy via a fancy carriage.

"Well, of course it would be fine." She clarified. "It is an academy for magic, among a few other things; having a magical object on your person is fine as long as you wear your full uniform."

"I see." At least they were this lax; back in high school, the teachers' were always overly strict. But that's Japan for you.

"But I don't think that I need to tell you that it would be prudent for you to avoid drawing attention." Fiona started with a slight pause. "Using magic without glyphs and chants is achievable, but usually that would take years of practice. So I implore you to make use of glyphs and chants, even if you have no need for them."

"Noted." He was not one for attention, so naturally, that was always the plan. Hence, he studied some glyphs and chants, though it was not as if he was going to be staying in the academy for that long. He was only going there for two specific things, the first being that the other spawn of Octavia was there. Said spawn could apparently make use of Familial Arts if Fiona's words are to be believed. He was going to use her as a role model so he himself could use the Familial Arts, but that was more of a secondary objective than anything.

His main and second reason was for one simple thing: knowledge. Fiona herself was a student of the academy, and by her words, the library within the academy was a vast sea of knowledge, much larger than even her mansions. Maybe he could find some useful information there, maybe some way to travel between worlds, or maybe how to contact God's. Either one would help, and he was getting desperate now.

"But I have to ask, is it really this easy to get into Luminare Academy?" He could not help but ask. "I mean, I heard it was prestigious, but..."

"No, it's not *that* easy." She corrected. "The reason you got in was because of a recommendation from yours truly; see, I don't mean to boast, but I was quite a fine student." She said it with a smug look before continuing. "I even held my own against a number of spawns." Now she was just boasting. "But seeing as I'm to be an assistant in this academy this year, the faculty hold me in high regard; again, I'm not boasting." She quickly clarified.

"Uh-huh..." At least this way, there would be a familiar face in the academy for the duration of his stay there. For the past month, he has grown rather close to the girl, close enough to drop the honorifics. He could almost call her a friend, but he was not sure whether she would reciprocate that friendship. Not that it matters, though; it was not as if he was planning on staying in this world. Making friends would be good, but ultimately it would be for nothing. Some friends might be nice though.

"And we have arrived." Fiona announced that as the cart came to a halt, the girl was the first to exit, followed by him.

"Whoa..." That was the only word he could utter as he stared at the majestic sight.

It was an impressive structure that resembled an enormous dark castle, and it was a sight to behold. The castle was made of grayish blue stones that gave the building an aged and majestic look. The castle had a tall structure that towered high into the sky. It was a fortified building with walls that ran all around the perimeter of the school. The walls were made of thick stones and were intricate with geometric patterns.

The castle was surrounded by a beautiful green lawn that was trimmed and well-manicured. The extremely vast green grass was perfect for relaxing and enjoying a picnic under the sun. The grounds of the castle were dotted with tall, leafy trees, creating an aerial view that was breathtaking.

At the front, the castle had a vast entrance that was a few yards wide. Its entrance was tall; there were two large wooden doors that were studded with metal to prevent them from being broken during an attack. Carved into the door was a pattern that showed strange symbols.

"For now, this is where we part, Mikoto." Fiona revealed, and he could not help but blink in confusion. Did she not see how huge this academy was? How was he supposed to find his way around? "New first-year students are to make their way to the auditorium for the Headmaster's speech."

"Fiona, this place is huge; how am I supposed to find it?" He asked incredulously.

"You'll find your way." She just said with a smile. "Everyone in the academy does." She mysteriously stated this before she walked off without another word. Mikoto could just sigh to himself.

"Rotten luck."

____________________

The auditorium was grandiose and awe-inspiring, with intricate carvings and ornamentations adorning every surface. The seats seemed to be made of the finest exotic woods and lined with velvet cushions, while the floors were made of polished marble and gleaming stone. The walls were adorned with fantastical paintings and murals depicting mythical creatures, heroes, and battles. The ceiling was high and vaulted, with crystal chandeliers hanging from ornate gilded chains.

The lighting was soft and warm, creating a welcoming and cozy atmosphere. The stage was wide and spacious, with towering curtains featuring intricate embroidery and a gold trim. The decor was otherworldly, with magical crystals and glowing orbs lining the walls. Statues of mythical creatures stood guard at each corner of the auditorium, while banners and flags would hang from the rafters, displaying the colors and symbols of the kingdom.

("It took me a while, but I found it.") Mikoto mused as he settled into a seat on the far right and against the wall. Other students were entering and walking around already, so it was only a matter of following them. "But damn, there sure are a lot of people." He could not help but note as more and more would-be students filled their seats. The stage was still empty, so some kids were just chatting and whatnot. Of course, he seemed to be signaled out for obvious reasons.

But honestly, with the array of bright hair colors he was seeing, he could not help but wince as they clashed with the dark uniform of the academy. This was all still so surreal, even after a whole month had passed. But still, he did not think this situation absurd, at least not any more. All he could feel was this kind of anguish that would not go away.

Like a pit in his stomach—the kind of feeling you get when you know something is about to happen. But something had already happened—this little world travel journey of his. More than thirty days, a month later, he has not made an ounce of progress toward his true goal. He has looked through every avenue presented; teleportation was a dead end, and no progress has been made anymore.

The only solution was this academy; if Fiona's words were to be believed, then this place was a haven of knowledge and information waiting for him. There had to be something that could help him. But then again, what was he expecting to find—a nifty spell that could 'poof' him back home?

("What a pain!") Behind his mask, a nasty grimace sat.

"Excuse me?" A voice to his side cut off his thoughts.

"Hm?" He turned to see another boy; of course he was his age, as all in the auditorium were first-years. He had bright blonde hair with bright green eyes, along with a slightly pale complexion and a semi-sculpted face. He was dressed in the same male Luminare Academy uniform.

"Do you mind if I sit here? Most of the other seats are taken." The boy requested with a smile.

"Sure, go ahead." The boy gave him a grateful nod before taking a seat next to him. "William Gregory, a pleasure." The boy introduced himself as he outstretched his hand.

"Mikoto Yukio, a pleasure." Mikoto introduced himself as he shook the boy's hand.

"Oh, you're an Easterner?" The boy deduced as he smiled. "Well, I hope you enjoyed Galadriel."

"Thanks..." ("Didn't even mention my mask; eh, it must be too awkward.") Mikoto mentally shrugged while turning to the stage as the auditorium quieted down.

Silence was the only thing that followed as someone walked onto the stage. He was a tall, imposing man, looking to be in his late twenties or so. He had a head of spiky, long, dark blue hair with a sculpted face where two ocean blue eyes sat. He was dressed in what seemed like a blue military uniform. He took slow strides to the center stage as he came to a halt before turning to them. His sharp eyes seemed to scan each and every student like he was undressing their character.

"Headmaster Aleister, whoa..." Beside him, William looked at the apparent headmaster with no small amount of admiration, though many other students were following his example, and for good reason. The Headmaster was a formal general for the kingdom, and furthermore, he was a spawn of Aragorn, the same as the princess, not to mention he was an extremely powerful mage. Maybe one of the strongest person in the kingdom, the only other person being able to surpass his potential being the spawn of Octavia.

"I won't waste your time with a meaningless speech. As I have better things to do than talk to some brats." The man bluntly started, his voice traveling throughout the auditorium effortlessly. Of course magic was involved; when was it not? "Now, I'll only be saying a few things." The man started.

"If you're weak, then quit right now." Confusion and some level of anger were the extent of the expressions Mikoto saw. Some students must have been expecting some long winded speech from an academy this prestigious. Yet this man, this icon was only willing to offer a few words.

"No matter what you hear from others or what you might see, there's one truth in this world. Power is needed to succeed; whatever your plans are for the future, remember that you'll accomplish nothing while remaining weak. Power is everything." The man finished as he raised his right hand, snapping his fingers. A small radiating light appeared above each student before something took form and fell on their laps.

Mikoto picked up what he had identified as a piece of paper with something written on it.

("Wolf.") Mikoto could not help but tilt his head in confusion, an action that was noticed by William.

"Oh, right, you might not know how things function in Luminare Academy." He deduced.

"Yep, I've no clue about most things." He admitted sheepishly as the boy let out a slight chuckle.

"I suppose that is understandable, but I'd be happy to inform you." He offered, and Mikoto was grateful. Fiona only really told him a bit about the academy but never really went into detail about how things function in the academy.

"Thanks a bunch."

"No problem. Now you see these notes, we have separated us all into individual classes. Every class is named after an animal, or Astrothian. This is mostly so the professors have an easier time distinguishing each class." He explained as Mikoto hummed in interest. "See? We both got wolf, so we're classmates."

"I see. Is there any other purpose for this naming scheme?" It seemed too elaborate; would it not be easy to just number each class? In response, William sent him a sheepish smile as he spoke.

"Well, I don't personally know if it's true. But I heard that the Astrothian and animal names used were preferred by some of the faculty, and sometimes they put classes against each other." Mikoto could not see the purpose for that, but he supposed they had to have a way to keep students motivated. And what better way to have them beat the shit out of each other?

"It seems like something to look forward to in the future." William only chuckled at his words.

"With the kind of monsters that are in our year? I think not. But enough of that. Wanna go search for the class together?"

"Sure, let's."

And so his stay at the academy began.