41 The Grand hall

The next morning Lucas woke up. It was a strange experience. For the first time, he had woken up in a bed and a roof over his head. But it was also his first time waking up alone... Usually, he would be braaing last night's kill. And then he and Layla would eat it before they went to go and train. Now he just needed to go downstairs have them make breakfast for him.

Lucas got out of bed and then made his bed. It was done perfectly like he was in the army. Another skill he had learnt while staying at the orphanage ( Children's home). After making his bed he looked at the trays of sweet and fruits. But he didn't want anything now. So he just put all the fruit that looked tasty in Thea's storage. After that, he left the room and locked it. Lucas then walked downstairs to the restaurant area and saw that it was almost full already. When Lucas got downstairs the owner greeted him energetically and said, " Oh, you are awake. Did you have a good sleep?"

Lucas smiled at her and said, " Yes, I did thank you very much."

The owner smiled in response to Lucas's smile and said, " You must be hungry. Take a seat at a table and order breakfast."

Lucas nodded and gave her the keys to the room he was staying in. He then found an empty table and sat down. After 5 minutes a waiter came up to him and gave him the menu and said, " Do you want anything to drink?"

Lucas said, " Just a glass of water would be great, thank you."

The waiter nodded his head and then walked away. Lucas scanned the breakfast menu. But nothing caught his fancy. It was all different types of porridges. Like oatmeal and even ones made from rice. Lucas wanted to eat something with meat because that's what his body was used to. He was looking for something similar to an English breakfast. But there was nothing on the menu. Lucas sighed and in the end choose oatmeal. Lucas ate his breakfast. Afterwards, he walked to the owner and said, " Do you know how to get to the Mage Academy from here?"

The owner looked at Lucas quizzically and said, " The Mage Academy?"

Lucas returned the same look and said, "Yes, the Mage Academy."

" You aren't planning on taking the entrance exam, are you?"

" I am, is there a problem with that...?"

" It's extremely tough to be a Mage. There is a reason that only 3% of all adventures are Mages. I'd advise you to rather not waste a year and apply to the Warrior Academy."

" Thank you very much for your consideration. But I'd still like to know, thank you. "

" You still want to go... Okay, don't say I didn't warn you. Just continue up the road. When you see the Three Cosmos Galaxy inn Turn right. There is the Warriors Academy. And closer to the centre is the Mage Academy. That place is saturated with Royalty and nobility so just be careful not to offend anyone. Lest you lose your head."

Lucas thanked her for the information and then he left. Lucas didn't waste any time and immediately went up the path that he was instructed to. He walked up the road and closer to the centre until he saw the Three Cosmos Galaxy inn. It was impossible to miss, to be honest. It had big signs and people advertising the inn in the streets. Lucas walked past it and then took a right turn. Up ahead he saw the entrance to the Warrior Academy. The security was tight here and there was a lot of people. All of different backgrounds. Some rich some poor. Some female some male. 65% of the people were red or white skinned people. The other 35% was made of blue or green-skinned people.

Lucas walked past them and continued down the road. Until he saw the Mage Academy's sign from afar. So he knew he was going in the right direction. When he got there the line was extremely long. So he would be waiting a while before he could get his ticket stamped. While waiting in line Lucas observed that this place was a lot more luxurious than the Warrior Academy. Even the sign of the Mage Academy was made out of pure gold. There were more guards here and the general power level was a lot stronger here. The least surprising thing was that the racial divide was skewed even further here. Approximately 80% of all examinees were either white or red. The remainder of 20% was made of green or blue-skinned people. And these were just the examinees. Once all tests were done this would skew further.

Lucas waited in the line until it was his turn. He got to the reception desk and gave them his ticket. The person behind the desk stamped the ticket. Once it was stamped a small red cloud came out of the ticket signalling that the tracking spell is no longer active. The receptionist then asked for the 5 gold pieces required to take the entrance exam, so Lucas gave it to her. Once he did the receptionist pointed to the Academy's Grand hall and told him to go there.

When Lucas left the receptionist said, to her colleague, " I feel so sorry for that boy..."

Lucas walked to the Grand Hall and it was massive. It looked similar to an opera hall. With three stories and lots of seats. Royalty sat at the top so they could look down on everyone. Next was the nobles sitting beneath them and the last one was free for all. Everyone ran and fought for a place to sit above ground level. They too wanted to look down on the ones below too. Lucas saw the fight that broke out but he wasn't going to take part in that. He just looked for a seat in the middle row and sat down. The real hierarchy isn't determined by where you sit.

Once everything was settled and everyone was seated. The principal came forward to the podium on the stage. She then said, " All rise," and everyone stood up. She then gestured with her hands that everyone could sit so they did. Lucas sat down too.

Then the Principle said, " My name is Ivys Vinay, I am the Principle of this Academy as well as the head examiner of this year's Exams. I'm sure you all have many questions and they will be answered in due time. But first things first. As you all know that our territory is divided into four parts. Ruled by the four Kings of different colours. The White King and the Red King have always been allies. And the Blue and Green King have always been allies. Last month the Green King sent his army to attack the White King. Things were looking very bad for the White Kingdom until an unknown entity appeared changing the tides and he drove the Green King's army away. In fear of a full-out war breaking out, all the Kingdoms signed a peace treaty. And the Green Kingdom was punished for their actions.

And because of that treaty for the first time in centuries, our Academy welcomes the green and blue-skinned people. Please note that here at our Academy everyone will be judged solely on their skill level. You will not receive special treatment because you are a native."

Once she said that all the green and blue-skinned people cheered loudly while clapping there hands. Ivys Vinay continued and said, " But the same goes for the blue and green-skinned people. You will not receive any special attention just because you are a minority." When she said this all the white and red-skinned people started cheering.

" Calm down, calm down. Now this year's exams will have three tests. If your results for test 1 and 2 are far above average you will not be taking part in test 3. However, if you do want to take part in test 3 you will be competing with everyone else that had the option to skip test 3. Not with those that have to take part in test 3 to be accepted. So without further ado, test 1 is a mana test. Test 2 tests whether you have an affinity for other magic other than your natural element. I'm sure you all know that white skinned people are naturally gifted with wind-related spells. Red with fire, blue with water and green with earth. So please follow the guides to the site for test 1, Thank you."

The whole hall was filled with applause as she walked off the stage.