1 The Royal Academy

"Fellow students of the Royal Academy..."

Leaves crushed under the weight of a running girl's black boots made a light crunching sound that resounded with the Royal Academy's tolling bells. The graduation ceremony of the seniors already began an hour ago. The lone student rushing through the academy's wide gardens was already extremely late.

"This institute was constructed in response to restoring the chaos caused by the previous war, where creatures summoned from the depths of darkness became a strategy in warfare."

She recognized the confident voice. It was Adrian Icarus, the graduate given the highest honor in the academy for his excellent performance. He was always called to do speeches, so almost every student could easily recognize his voice.

The speech continued, "Today, my fellow graduates and I will leave this campus to start our journey as professionals and one day you will too. We will fight for the defense of our homeland in hopes that one day... peace will reign."

When she finally entered the auditorium, everyone inside stood up and applauded. As their attention was fixed on Adrian stepping down from the stage, she quickly found an empty seat.

Once the ceremony was officially over, people began to exit. She moved through the sea of students to get to where the seniors were gathered. She found a familiar face in the crowd of graduates.

"Shina!" Her lively voice made the person turn around instinctively.

"Olivia," the tall boy with light blonde hair smiled when he said her name. He always had a kind smile, reflective of his gentle personality.

"Congratulations on graduating!" The wind blew Olivia's long chestnut brown hair lightly. Her hair matched her blood red eyes perfectly, but it was these features that often made other students wary of her.

"It will be your turn soon in two years."

"Two years is a long time." She sighed. "I'm gonna miss seeing you around the campus."

He chuckled. "I'm gonna miss sleeping during breaks."

"You better not slack off during missions! Have you decided on a union to join?"

"Not yet, but I've gotten a few invitations."

"That's great!"

"Shina," a voice called from afar.

It was Adrian Icarus. He was dressed elegantly in his black graduation robes, a perfect match with his tidy black hair. On his chest were pinned medals awarded by the academy for his excellent performance. Ever since he entered the academy, he had always attracted the attention of everyone around him because he came from the esteemed House Icarus. Generations before him, his relatives were among the first practitioners of the summoning arts and wrote books on the subject. Everyone always expected a person from House Icarus to perform well in the academy. Adrian fulfilled that expectation.

"I'll see you later, Olivia!" Shina did a little wave.

"See you around, Shina!" Olivia waved back.

Olivia watched as the two conversed before turning to leave.

Two more years and she would join them.

***

Two Years Later.

"Olivia Athema."

Olivia stood up quickly. She almost dozed off waiting for her turn. "Yes!" She hurriedly received her papers and left the room.

She smiled at the documents. She was approved for graduation. Finally, it was her time to become a professional summoner! The past two years had been a little lonely without Shina, who was the only noncompetitive person she met at the academy.

Olivia performed well during her first two years at the academy. She found herself being considered as a rival by her classmates. It was hard finding a friend who wouldn't get jealous. That was how she ended up hanging out with Shina, whose only concerns were sleeping and perfecting his homemade pumpkin pie.

Her third year, however, was different. That was when students began to attune themselves to a familiar, often spirits of either benevolent or neutral nature. Her performance could never match those with attuned spirits. By her last year, she was among the very few who still had no familiar.

Still, she was determined to follow Shina and join his union, Royal Red.

"Have you decided on a union to join, Olivia?" One of her classmates, Adalia, asked.

"I was thinking of joining Royal Red," replied Olivia.

The thought of getting to go out on missions with Shina made her smile.

Adalia scratched the back of her neck. "I hate to tell you, but you're never going to get into Royal Red without a familiar. That is one of the most prestigious unions."

"It is?" Olivia didn't really do any research about Royal Red. She didn't think Shina would join a union with a high rank that required rigorous work. It was unlike him.

One of the students nearby suddenly joined the conversation. "You? Joining Royal Red?" She laughed. "That's right, Olivia. With the way you are, you'll never get into that union. They only accept the top three graduates from our academy. You're too far below the chart at rank 64. Give it up."

Olivia was a bit discouraged hearing what they had to say. If it wasn't Royal Red, she had no idea what other union she would fit in. She wasn't exactly good at making new friends.

"I'll still try anyway," she replied.

"Save yourself the embarrassment. Everyone you ask will tell you that you have no chance without a familiar."

I wish it was that easy, thought Olivia.

Olivia had been trying to get a familiar, but nothing worked. Every attempt only made her frustrated. Is there no spirit that would take her? She wasn't expecting a strong benevolent spirit that the best summoners such as Adrian Icarus had. Even a simple animal spirit would have been enough. It was better than having no familiar anyway.

Without a familiar, there would be no point to her career. No union would take her in.

***

Olivia quietly slipped away to the back of the building and attempted the familiar summoning ritual. She wrote out the ancient words of power required to establish a connection with other realms.

She chanted, "O spirits of the other realms, heed my call and banish the wicked from this world. I implore you to lend your aid to cleanse the land and restore peace."

Nothing happened.

She tried again, but no spirit attempted to communicate with her.

"Don't give up." She heard a familiar voice.

"Shina!" Olivia was surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on my way to deliver an invitation. There will be a dinner party sponsored by house Icarus for the graduates." He held up an envelope.

"A dinner party?" Olivia's eyes widened and shone brightly. She could already imagine the wonderful food.

Shina was aware of her excitement for the cuisine. He chuckled. "Nothing big. Just a chance for union leaders to scout for potential members. This might be your chance to find a union."

"But will any union accept a summoner with no familiar?"

"It might be difficult, but I'm sure there are some who will take you in."

Olivia sighed. She knew the odds were low.

"I have to hurry and get this letter delivered. You can do it, Olivia," Shina said. "Best of luck to you."

If it was Shina's words, they were always encouraging. This gave her the motivation to keep trying.

Unfortunately, she just had no luck that day.