1 Beginning of a New Legend

The day was bright and cheery. The sky possessed just the right amount of sun and clouds.

Standing outside Halo Academy, there were many returning students and teachers. It was currently spring time, and people were coming back after the school break. Among the returnees was a 17 year old lad named Leo Ester. A person of average height, he had dark hair and brown eyes and was wearing a set of neat ordinary clothing. He looked up at the castle-like academy, eyes full of expectations.

Leo then let out a sigh, "Looks like it's going to be over for us soon."

Beside him stood his best friend, Austin Bridge, a boy of similar height wearing shabby clothing that seemed a bit too large for him. Despite that though, it did not hide his leaner physique. He had a matt of brown hair with matching brown eyes. He too was looking at Halo Academy with bright expectations.

"Why do I feel like you are not as happy as you should be? You should liven up! We will soon be faced with many glorious opportunities."

Hearing that, Leo could not help sigh again. Although his friend had a point, Leo wished that he could be given a little more time at the academy. Time flies by too fast when the mind is preoccupied with concerns. In a few months before summer starts, he will be nearing his completion at the school and will have to look for a career to settle in.

It was currently the year 1050, around 500 years after the Dawn of Magic. Although the commoners prefer to call it the Great Change for short. The lands of the world had since morphed into different shapes, along with the reintroduction of old miracles once thought to be myth. Nowadays, magic has become a new structure in society.

Citizens, such as Leo and Austin, are allowed opportunities to learn and develop their magic at certain schools in their country that were established to nurture potential talents.

Halo Academy is a part of the Bavalon Kingdom.

After waiting for a while, the gates to the school suddenly opened. An old man came out from the castle. He is the legendary mage, Lewin Brionne, the principal in charge of Halo Academy. Lewin was wearing a luxurious set of robes patterned in gold and blue. Although old with a long white beard, the mage stood upright without the slightest hunch. On his right shoulder was his pet spirit animal, a burning phoenix. In his right hand was a wooden staff engraved with strange patterns of the color green.

Lewin raised both his arms.

"Greetings fellow colleagues! I am your principal, Lewin Brionne, and I'm happy to once again reopen this school to those in need. May we further explore the secrets of this world together, not as masters and students but as equals!

"It brings me great pleasure to see some returning faces..."

Seeing their eccentric headmaster, many of the students grinned at one another. Every time they returned back to Halo Academy, the principal would always announce a grand welcome. Lewin was both well-known and well-liked for his grandiose and dramatic behavior, although it has lead to embarrassing situations in the past. On one occasion, the principal had accidentally hosted a ceremony intending to congratulate students finishing their final year, only to have encountered students who're just starting. How he got the time mixed up was still a mystery.

When Lewin began praising the staff for their "tireless dedication" and "sleepless nights" in the name of education, the teachers finally couldn't stop themselves from inwardly cringing.

'Just get this over with already!'

Finally, the principal ended his speech with a closing remark about a banquet set for the students and teachers to enjoy themselves before the night.

Just when some members of the crowd felt relieved, a sudden explosion occurred in the sky. Looking up, many people could see fireworks. Countless images were displayed, depicting the faces of the teachers and students who Lewin believed were the most hard-working.

Leo and Austin both shared an amused glance with one another. If they didn't know their headmaster so well, they would have believed that he was deliberately attempting to humiliate people for the sake of fun.

Momentarily forgetting his thoughts, Leo began to enjoy the mood and struggled to stifle his laughter.

"Hehe, to think he would go this far. Principal Lewin is so bad at presentation that it ironically becomes a good show."

His friend Austin couldn't agree more. Not even bothering to hide his laughter, he began to mock some of the familiar people he saw.

"Ahahahaha! Look at Mr. Jones up there, his nostrils are flared open. Oh! Even Arthur's face, he looks as if he's constipated..."

Austin's laughter soon faded into a choke when his own face appeared. Needless to say, it was just as funny as the rest.

The surrounding teachers and students turned to look at him, their eyes clearly showing mock sympathy.

'Hah, where's your amusement now?'

Austin's face was the last displayed and lingered a little longer than the rest before the spectacular show finally ended. Lewin swiftly teleported away in a flash of brilliant light as the gate to Halo Academy opened completely, announcing the cue for the crowd to get in.

----------

Situated in the grand hall of the school, Leo was enjoying the delicious food as he looked around at the interior of the castle. No matter how many times he returned to this place, he would never get tired of the things he saw.

Halo Academy was a large castle built of white bricks on the outside. On some days, when the sun would shine brightly in the sky, its light would make the exterior appear golden. It was currently located in a large healthy field with a wide clear lake resting beside it.

Although initially appearing not too large, the school possesses a special type of magic that allows it to be spacious enough to accommodate the size of a village on the inside.

As he was eating, Leo was also fulfilling his duty as a good attending friend to Austin who was cursing nonstop about his humiliation at the recent "spectacle".

"Ahhh! Damnit, why did my face have to appear the longest?! It was even the last one! I wish I could bury my head in the dirt right now. Everyone's looking at me!"

In all honesty, Leo felt that it was only karma that his friend would experience this kind of shame. But feeling that teasing his friend right now wasn't the best of times, he simply nodded and chuckled as quietly as he could.

"You should really have held back your voice," Leo decided to give his friend some advice, "So many people heard you... It's no wonder that they all want to keep staring at you."

"Urk!... Well it might have helped me a little, but the headmaster should really consider the feelings of others when he does his performances. At least he could have put up their names instead. Save them of the embarrassment..."

'Do you really have the right to say that after laughing so openly?'

Leo had the urge to retort but managed to hold himself back. Nevertheless, his smile was still a bit noticeable to his friend, who decided to grab a cup of wine at this moment to calm his emotions down.

Noticing his friend drinking, Leo turned to look at the table which held the wine. There were several wine cups and a few bottles standing on the white covering. Seeing one of the bottles, he couldn't help but be surprised that he recognized the brand.

'Isn't that one of dad's most expensive products? Damn, the principal really isn't holding back this time.'

----------

Seated on a chair that was so furbished and decorated it resembled more of a throne, Lewin Brionne stared down at the people eating and drinking in the grand hall of Halo Academy. His chair (throne) was placed on a pedestal at the end of the hall, allowing him to stare openly at everybody attending.

As he held his head high, attempting to demonstrate the regal bearing of a monarch, the people near him awkwardly attempted to set some distance from their headmaster.

At this moment, a spot of fire suddenly burst open above Lewin's right shoulder, where his phoenix soon appeared.

Perching on the shoulder, it looked around at the situation. If its head was human shaped, it would be rolling its eyes constantly right now.

"Haaahh, why do you have to sit like this? Do you have any idea how creepy you look? That dramatic opening was already bad enough, now this...."

Listening to the spirit animal complaining in his ear with the voice of a cranky old man, Lewin's facial composure changed slightly.

"I'm just trying to add a bit of fun to my life. Now that my lifespan is steadily running out, it's important for a senior like me to be more flamboyant."

The phoenix really wished it had a human head so it could roll its eyes.

"You serious? Talking about being a "senior" to me of all people? Brat, you make me reconsider everything I've taught you."

"Alright, alright. If you're here just to complain then please leave. I'm in an important moment right now."

"Hmph. Actually, I'm also here for something important. Well, it isn't on the same level as yours."

Lewin turned his head, surprised.

"You got a vision?"

"Yup. Though it is unclear, it has indicated to me that interesting things are about to sprout up again in the near future."

As the phoenix said so, it looked around at the chatting students and teachers. It heightened its senses to hear their conversations. Unfortunately, most of the feedback it got was related to the headmaster's terrible performance today.

Clicking its tongue, the spirit animal disappeared in the same burst of flame it used to appear.

----------

At the banquet, Leo was drinking and laughing with the rest of the students.

While teasing Austin, Leo's mind was once again preoccupied with thoughts of the future. He couldn't help thinking of the stories he heard in his life.