Old Friend

To be accepted as a scholar mage, an incoming student only needs a basic foundation in magic, specifically mana gathering. While they have to take a written exam to test their mental acuity, the practical part of the exam is much simpler. Battle mages, however, face a much more rigorous practical test, having to actually perform basic spells or techniques depending on whether they are a Mage or a Knight. This might seem like a cakewalk for someone like Alex, Elisia, or Sophia, but I admit it could be a significant challenge for someone who has just awakened.

A female student, smiling with makeup that made her look like a clown, stepped forward next, silencing the crowd with a wave of her hand. Before she began her speech, she showcased a little magic trick, displaying her face on a large screen.

"My name is Mary Harington, and I am your Student Vice President. As the President mentioned, there are many changes this year. Along with the assimilation and freedom to switch between the two types of students, there will also be no time limit on how long a student can attend this academy. While in the past, professors here encouraged students to graduate after four years, it has become increasingly clear that many mages' capabilities post-graduation were less than satisfactory. Therefore, the Director has decreed that instead of a time limit, to graduate from Axeris Academy, one must meet a set of requirements and pass a graduation exam.

While the requirements to graduate have doubled, the time limit to graduate has increased to ten years. During this period, we hope to produce top-tier mages in both theoretical and combat fields. We welcome everyone here—humans, elves, dwarves, and vampires—to this Academy." Mary bowed, and the other student council members followed suit.

This last part of the announcement wasn't news to any of us. It was announced recently, making me think it had something to do with the new Continent. Was this Academy being used to produce higher-quality mages in case of future battles against Evil or to prepare for conflicts with the new continent we might encounter later?

"That's the eldest from the renowned Gabriel family! Make sure you don't get on his bad side," the boy next to me whispered loudly.

After the ceremony concluded, all the new students dispersed to their dorms. Leaving the auditorium, my eyes unconsciously searched for Sophia, but she was nowhere to be seen. Outside, trees arched over the marble pathway, showering us with a light rain of autumn-colored leaves. The students were all excitedly chatting with their peers, getting to know new people. As we walked deeper into the campus towards the dorms, I noticed a few female students passing by Alex and me, doing double takes before giggling with their friends.

Alex sighed. "I feel like I'm getting less handsome just by standing next to you." His shoulders slumped as we walked side by side.

"Well, even if most of them are after me, some girls will eventually settle for you, right?" I teased, giving him a playful wink.

"Jerk." He punched my gut as we both laughed.

Suddenly, a loud explosion startled both of us and the nearby students. Something was happening at the end of the marble path. After a quick exchange of glances, Alex and I dashed forward.

"I don't understand why vampires like you always discriminate against those weaker than you. Why don't you just settle in caves and be bats flying around at night?"

"What did you say? Who do you think you are?"

I stopped running far enough to shake my head when I realized what was happening. It was just a foolish stand-off between two students. The explosion was caused by the human, smashing his fist into a nearby tree with mana.

"Can't this be dangerous?" Alex looked around where some students had to deliberately walk around the two, just in case they started fighting. We were among the last to leave the auditorium, so most were already deeper into the campus or in their dorms, but if they started fighting, some students nearby might get caught in the chaos.

"They wouldn't dare do something like fight on the first day, right? Let's go." I tried to push my friend to take a detour around the two arguing students.

"Come on, we have nothing else to do but unpack! Let's see how good they are. Look, that human seems to be a level two augmenter." He pointed at the white-haired human.

Looking at them, both the vampire and human students had battle mage uniforms, but the human had two stripes on his tie while the vampire had only one.

"My name is Dreymond Malcom! Declare a duel, jerk, so we can start! Or are you all bark and no bite?" The vampire grinned, placing his right hand on the badge pinned to his left chest.

"Tch! You'll regret this." The human looked more confident wearing his blazer uniform, but the way he stood against the vampire without any weapon told me he was more than he seemed.

The metal badges on both the human and vampire shone brightly as the vampire placed his hand on his badge and began chanting a spell. "I declare a duel between me, Dreymond Malcom, and this human!"

"I accept the duel!" Both badges glowed different colors until they synced together, producing a loud 'ping' sound.

The badge on the battle mage uniform and the pocket watch on the scholar mage uniform acted as artifacts for the duel system, creating a barrier around the users that could take a certain amount of force. When the barrier broke, the duel was considered over, and the other party was the winner. It took about 24 hours for the artifact to recharge another barrier, during which time duels were forbidden. Higher-level mages weren't allowed to issue duels to lower-level mages to keep things fair, which is why the vampire had to provoke the human to start the duel.

The vampire mage drew dual swords from his dimensional ring and took a stance as those around began to back away to avoid getting caught in the fight.

"Go, vampire!" Alex started cheering for Dreymond, getting some dirty looks in the process.

I studied the two knights and saw that the level two human was an intermediate mage, while the vampire, being young, had already become an advanced mage, potentially surpassing humans his age. This should be interesting.

"Don't expect to see tomorrow, human jerk, HIYAH!" The vampire mage charged with both his swords.

Meanwhile, the human remained standing casually, his right hand in his pocket. "Hufft, stubborn as always. You should know our level difference is significant."

The human stepped forward just as Dreymond reached him.

As Dreymond was about to cross-slash his swords at the human's neck, a shockwave suddenly occurred as the human stomped his right foot. Dreymond seemed to hover as if time slowed due to the shockwave.

The human didn't waste the opportunity and delivered a vertical kick, sending Dreymond flying left into a large tree.

The impact was strong enough to fell the large tree instantly.

"Arghhh!" The vampire's body lay on the ground from the force of the human's kick, and his shield shattered with a loud crack, signaling the duel's end.

Cheers erupted from the gathered humans, while the vampires among the audience groaned in embarrassment.

Alex just sighed and started to walk away, but before I turned to follow him, I noticed a slight smirk on the human's face. His silver hair looked familiar.

"How long are you going to stand there frozen, Eizan?" The voice from the human sounded a bit gentle, reminding me of someone who lived with me during childhood.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? You look more mature than before in these past two years." The human turned around, and sure enough, when he did, I was surprised to see the familiar face I had known for so long.

I gave a slight smile as I met his gaze. "Your hair's gotten longer, Zayn!"