13 Sea Salt Academy

Four weeks later.

James spent the previous four weeks relaxing and recovering from his injuries. Every few days Hood-Rat would bring him some uniforms. Now James had everything he needed. Today was the day of the academy opening ceremony.

James headed out of the Thieves Guild. He exited through a long tunnel that led towards a sewer manhole cover. He rushed out of the area. A black cloak that hid his face fluttered in the wind. He walked towards the academy on the outskirts of the city.

As James got near the academy he saw an academy student in uniform also walking towards the academy. James rubbed his eyes and the system display appeared. He chose the uniform option and it scanned the student standing a distance away from him.

[Scanning uniform. Analyzing. Sea Salt City Academy Uniform. 100 energy units. Would you like to create this uniform?]

James pressed his finger into the air to select the confirmation button.

[Uniform purchased. Adjusting appearance.]

James could feel his body shrink in size. Creaking and crunching sounds rang out during the process, but he felt no pain. He felt his hair grow slightly longer. The world now looked just slightly bigger to him.

[Adjustment complete.]

James looked at the 3D model displayed by the system. His new body was similar in build to his original appearance, except it was 6 inches shorter. His hair was now blond and perfectly straight. It went just past his shoulders. He still had the same pale skin as his original appearance. His eyes were an icy blue color. He looked like a boy around the age of 14.

James took off his guild cloak that hid his face. Then he pulled out a cheap mirror from his interdimensional pouch and took a close look at his new face. He scrutinized his new face. "Damn! I look even better than I usually do. This guy could totally be a model!" James admired himself for a couple more minutes. "Somehow it pisses me off!" He hurled the mirror onto the ground where it shattered into pieces. He muttered, "To think the system can make me better-looking than I already am. It's doing it on purpose. Oy! System, you're lowkey calling me ugly right?!"

[Yes. That was my intention.]

"Fuck! Were you programmed with artificial intelligence? Someday I'm going to find whoever made you and punch them in the face!"

James started walking off into the distance. His uniform he wore was a light shade of grey with dark blue trim. It was a magus robe. As James continued to walk he could see a towering mountain off in the distance. It was the tallest mountain he had ever seen. James eventually reached the city walls where a gate was located. "Eh? The academy is outside the city? It makes sense though. It takes up way too much space."

Sitting by the gate were several tables with youths lined up in front of them. James watched a youth walk up to a table. He put his hand on a crystal ball. A hint of red shone from the crystal. Then the old bearded man behind the table yelled, "Low-grade fire elemental affinity. No magic-core. Denied!" The youth looked upset but obediently headed back towards Sea Salt City.

James walked past the lines. They were all people who had yet to take the entrance exam. Since James was in uniform it wouldn't make sense for him to line up with them to get tested. He headed towards the gates. A rainbow-colored barrier could be seen right where the gates were. The various colors of the barrier swirled around in all directions. When looking up one could see that the massive barrier continued in all directions for miles. It obscured the view inside making it possible to see only an outline of a mountain.

James confidently stepped through the barrier. "As I thought, the uniform purchased through the system acts as a key just like the legit uniforms. It would have been impossible for me to get through otherwise." James looked up and could now see the mountain. He couldn't even begin to fathom how tall it was. "I wonder if it's taller than Mount Everest? I never saw many mountains on Earth, so I don't have a good reference." Snow slowly drifted down atop the mountain. Occasionally, dragons could be seen flying from one location on the mountain to another. As James got closer he saw buildings atop the mountain. There were various types of them. Homes, pagodas, huts, towers, and others. There seemed to be no consistency amongst most of them. They were constructed of wood, stone, metal, and other materials. He even spotted a hut that looked like it was made completely of mud!

James neared the base of the mountain. A large building was constructed at the end of the stone path he had followed thus far. Three lines of people were standing outside the building. Each was lined up in front of a different door. The left line was the shortest and consisted of youths dressed in ordinary clothes. "Those must be the newly accepted students that just passed the exam and haven't received their uniforms yet." The middle line was the longest, consisting of youths dressed in magus robes identical to the ones James wore. What was confusing for James was that the right line was also made up of those wearing the academy uniform.

James got closer and a middle-aged man with a long scroll approached him. "Name?" James answered him, "Yale Dusk." This time he had chosen a different first name and last name for his new uniform. He couldn't afford to keep going by James with the wanted poster explaining his powers.

The man looked over his scroll, "There isn't a Yale Dawn registered. Are you a foreign student?" James groaned to himself, "Damnit Boss! You said everything would be fine after I got past the barrier." James nodded, "Yes. I've come from very far away." The man nodded and pointed towards the right line, "That's the line for foreign students. They should be able to sort out your identity."

James lined up in the line on the right. It was slowly moving forward. The boy in front of James turned around, "Hey. Nice to meet you. Good chance we'll be roommates since we're lined up together. My names Virgil." James responded, "Likewise. I'm Yale Dusk." James shook Virgil's hand. Then a realization dawned over him. Without thinking he blurted out, "Ahh! You're black!?"

Virgil's face had a funny look on it. "Oy, what's that supposed to mean? Is there something wrong with my skin color?" James stuttered, "Ah. N-no. That isn't what I meant. I'm not racist. I have black friends. I'm for equal rights." James continued to babble on and on to try to convince Virgil he didn't mean anything by it.

"Hahahahaha!!! You're hilarious! I'm just messing with you. I'm probably the only black guy in the Drake Kingdom. It's normal to have not seen our people before. I love messing with you people when you react like that."

James face blushed in embarrassment. Then a sly grin appeared on his face. "Oy! What do you mean by 'you people'!? You think you can just group all white people in a box or something? You think you know me?!"

Virgil puffed up his chest and spoke righteously, "I do think that. What are you going to do about it whitey!" The two stared at each other with serious faces for a few seconds. "Bahahaha!" They both broke out laughing. Virgil slapped James on the back, "Yale. I think you and I are going to be good friends."

The line moved forward. James and Virgil continued to chat. "Come to think of it… I really haven't seen any black people in the Drake Kingdom. What the hell is up with that?" Virgil smiled, "They all left before the war started with the BlueWoods Kingdom. The tensions kept building and they fled to other countries."

"Eh? Why would they flee to other countries? Sorry, I never really paid much attention to politics." Virgil explained, "The BlueWoods Kingdom is mainly made up of black people. It's our roots so to speak. You can also find plenty of us in every other kingdom. There are only two places people would be surprised to see us. That is in certain areas of the Hellish Territories and the Drake Kingdom. I assume you're from the Hellish Territories?"

James nodded. He had already decided to claim he was from the Hellish Territories before coming here. The territories in the north-east corner of the continent consisted of various independent counties and duchies. They were always engulfed in war and had not been united for at least 3,000 years. Every few years new nations would arise, and old ones would fall. The names changed so quickly that the maps just listed the area as miscellaneous territories. However, the nickname most people referred to it as was the Hellish Territories. It would be hard for others to research James background since the territories were always changing. It would be nearly impossible for someone to prove that he didn't come from there!

Virgil continued, "It is rare to see us in the Hellish Territories. Once the war between the Drake Kingdom and the BlueWoods Kingdom began most of us returned to fight for the BlueWoods Kingdom. As the people were always engulfed in war they were considered elites. They managed to earn territory, nobility, and more fighting for the BlueWoods Kingdom. Land within the BlueWoods Kingdom is far more valuable than land in the Hellish Territories. Those that stayed behind in the Hellish Territories united together in a small area of land. So, I'm not surprised you've never seen black-skinned people before. We are a very small minority where you come from."

James nodded. He was from the United States on Earth. He was used to living amongst all types of people. He had just been surprised since he hadn't seen any black people since coming to this world. He muttered to himself, "Ah. Now that I think about it… I saw plenty of dead black soldiers at the battle where I first woke up. I just hadn't really given it a 2nd thought since then."

Virgil finished his explanation, "So, now you know how rare I am in this kingdom. I'm the most exotic man within thousands of miles. The women throw themselves at me. I don't even have to try!" James smirked and elbowed Virgil in the stomach, "Stop bragging playboy. So, why are you here then? Shouldn't you be in the BlueWoods Kingdom or some other kingdom?"

Virgil laughed and wrapped an arm around James neck. He pulled him closer and whispered, "Yale. I'll tell you a secret that isn't a secret. Only the upper echelons of the Drake Kingdom know about it. I'll tell you why the war between the two kingdoms started. You're looking at the reason! Hahaha!"

James looked at Virgil in confusion. He carefully examined him. Virgil was about 70 inches tall and looked to be around 14 years of age. He wore the magus academy uniform. "Ah! You have dragon horns?! You're a descendant of the Elder Dragon?!" James hadn't noticed earlier as he had been distracted by Virgil's skin color. On a 2nd look he realized that just like Lumi, Virgil had a pair of dragon horns on his head. They curved backwards with the sharp ends going past the back of his head. His eyes were a deep silver color. His silver hair was curly and hung down to his shoulders.

James questioned, "Are you related to Lumi? She also had dragon horns and silver eyes. Her hair was silver too, although it was straight."

Virgil laughed, "Haha! How can you compare me to the Sea Salt City lords daughter? All descendants of the Elder Dragon have horns, silver eyes, and silver hair. Allow me to introduce myself again. I am prince Virgil Drake of the Drake Kingdom."

James eyes widened in surprise. He already knew Lumi was the city lord's daughter. He learned this from Boss after joining the guild. He was shocked to hear that Virgil was a prince though. He questioned, "Why are you in the foreign exchange student line then?"

Virgil laughed, "You didn't let me finish! I am a prince in name only. I'm the bastard of the king! You asked for the reason for the war? My mother was the queen of BlueWoods Kingdom! My father cuckolded King BlueWoods and I was born as a result! When I was born, King BlueWoods found out about the affair and tried to kill my mother and me. We escaped and now she lives with my father as his concubine. Later, the BlueWoods Kingdom made multiple assassination attempts on our lives. King Drake declared war on the BlueWoods Kingdom and here we are. Due to the war and political pressure my father is keeping me at a distance. I'm treated as a foreign guest of the house and kingdom, hence I'm in this line. Long story short, shit is complicated."

James was shocked over all this information. To think the entire war that was still ongoing was because of Virgil. James spoke, "Damn. That's a lot to drop on a guy you just met you know? Maybe next time just tell somebody your favorite food instead or something?"

Virgil laughed, "You were the one that asked! Besides I've already decided we're going to be roommates!" He put a fist to his chest in confidence, "Just leave it to me! I may be a bastard prince, but I still have a lot of sway!" James and Virgil continued to chat. They were already viewing each other as close friends and brothers. Before they knew it, they reached the front of the line.

A man sat behind a table with a long scroll in front of him. Virgil walked towards him and let the man know his name. The man located Virgil on the list and nodded, "Place your hand on the crystal. We need to confirm the elemental affinity of each student is the same as what was reported to us." Virgil nodded and placed his hand on the crystal ball. It brightly lit up with a mixture of silver and red light. The two different colors swirled around each other as if competing for dominance. A dense core of energy could be seen in the center of the crystal. The man behind the table smiled, "High elemental affinity for both lightning and fire. Magic-core is present. Dual elemental affinities are extremely rare. Don't let your talent go to waste."

The man handed Virgil a silver key. "This is your dorm key. Three people are assigned to each dorm. You'll be the 2nd person in this dorm." Virgil accepted the key and walked towards the back of the building where there was another door that led towards the academy. Before exiting he yelled, "Yale! I'll be waiting outside! You should be the 3rd and final person in our dorm! Lucky us, haha!"

James had watched the whole process with Virgil. *gulp* He gulped in nervousness. His palms were sweaty. He closed his eyes and thought to himself, "Fuck me! What am I going to do? I'm not on the list. Will I get kicked out? No, wait. I might still be able to take the test. If I have a high elemental affinity and a magic-core then they'll probably let me join anyways. Wait. If that happens then couldn't I just have purchased an ordinary uniform of an ordinary school and taken the normal entrance exam? Ah, but the chances of having a magic-core to become a magus is extremely low! The chances to have a high elemental affinity is also low! Will I even have one? Fuck it! It's too late for regrets now. Plans are only perfect on paper! I need to adapt. I need to be nimble like a cucumber! Wait. Cucumbers aren't nimble. They don't move. Why do I always compare things to cucumbers? Ah, I'm getting off track again. Focus!"

"Next!" The man at the table yelled. James was awoken from his thoughts. He nervously walked towards the table…