12 Letter from the Academy

A few days later, my letter of acceptance arrives in the mail. Mother was the one to receive the mail since I was training with Father.

Father was quite surprised with my physical abilities and use of weaponry. He was even more shocked when I showed him the shadow walking skill. I wished both my brothers were around to see father's reactions. Actually, it might be more hilarious to see both my brothers' expressions. They left for school the next day after, seeing how I am doing fine. It could also be the fact that Mother is not pleased that they were missing school for a while.

Mother, on the other hand, did not seem too shocked. She came to the realization that I might be hiding a lot of my abilities. I think this is what they call a mother's intuition.

I skim through the letter welcoming me to the Academy. I applied for both the normal and special class portions for the Academy. The Academy is based on abilities rather than status. It is a school for the nobility, but they have scholarships for gifted commoners.

The normal part is those that are academically smart or have talents that stand out. Nobles that wish to specialize in running a business or running their province would also take the normal classes.

Special class is for the nobles that specifically cultivate and/or have elemental abilities. The students have access to the Divine scrolls, which contain cultivation skills. I heard they are located in the massive library next to the university, but I don't have enough information. The special class is shrouded in mystery and only the students and staff knows.

Both my parents were in the special class when they went to the Academy. After graduating, they signed a contract that states that they cannot provide any information to anyone. They had to swear secrecy to the deity of this world or face the consequences.

I was never a religious person, but there is a deity that this world pays homage to. The god is known to be a "he," but there are some cultures where it is a "she." A promise sworn to the deity is eternal and soul bound. If you break a promise, the consequence is generally death. Some even worse than death depending the enormity of the promise. Therefore, swearing upon the deity is not to be taken lightly.

The departments for both normal and special classes are separate. Most of the students would enter the normal class since cultivators are limited. Students that enter the special class and normal class can choose either one or the other. However, the students that decides to remain in the normal class cannot enter the special class again because they will be missing a lot of information and connections (at least that is what rumors claim).

The special class, on the other hand, can take a couple of classes as electives as long as their schedules allow them to. It's rare but a few students were able to do so, like my brother Aerik. He is in the special class but taking extra classes in the sciences. My other brother decided to stick with the special class.

I got accepted to both classes and was scheduled to meet with an advisor that would explain both options after the orientation tests. I flip open another paper that list the orientation tests I was to take. The Academy is unique that each test is catered to each individual. I suppose they can afford to since the entering class is limited to a maximum of 25.

Day 1

Cultivation Rank

Day 2

Element

Day 3

Mental Strength

Day 4

Martial Arts Competition

I hear a knock outside my door as I finish reading the letter. "Come in," I reply distractedly.

"Freya, I heard you got accepted to the Academy," Aerik's voice filtered through my thoughts.

"I did. I got accepted to both the normal and special classes." Aerik walks over and looks over the paper that lists my orientation tests.

"I got the same schedule when I received my acceptance too."

I suddenly wondered why Aerik was home. "How come you're back? I thought you would stay at the dorms since mama was displeased with the absences."

Aerik shrugs his shoulders. "Although I missed school, I was doing my classes remotely. Kaon didn't think his absences thoroughly since he was worried about you a lot. He also missed a lot of training sessions."

"Ah I see," I say a bit guiltily. Aerik pats my head. "It's alright Freya. He will make up those classes easily." He seem amused with Kaon's predicament.

I decide to ignore Aerik's devious thoughts and change the topic back to the orientation exams.

"Is the tests for both normal and special class?"

Aerik nods. "Except for the cultivation and element tests, the normal class also checks in for mental strength and the martial arts competition." He pauses for a moment before asking, "I don't see any specialty test." He stares at me, confused.

I chuckle at his reaction. "I didn't specify the specialty section of the application. I just chose the option where I could be flexible." There was an option where students in normal classes didn't have to specialize in one specific thing. They can test out a variety of different specialties, but eventually have to choose 1 or 2 after 3 months.

"I heard from Mother that you enjoy music. How come you didn't decide on it?" Aerik asks curiously.

"I wanted to see what other specialties there are in the Academy. Who knows if I remain in music or not."

Aerik nods at my reasoning. He gives me some advice and wishes me good luck before Il'wara calls us down for dinner.

After dinner, I check through the letter once more to memorize the locations of the tests. Mother and Father will be taking me the exam site in 2 weeks where potential students will be tested. I cultivate the energy in my dantian before going to sleep.