Mage Academy.

A century ago, after the end of a legendary war, one of the strongest guardians turned on the whole world. He could control and tame beasts—the strongest among all. He was named the Beast King. His goal was to rule over the entire world at any cost. The other guardians managed to free themselves from his control. Three guardians existed, and they built the Kingdom of Tara, erecting walls around it that rose to a height of 60 feet (18 meters) to protect the citizens from the Beast King's terrors beyond.

Humans had long possessed superhuman abilities. They were called Mages, capable of controlling plants, water, energy, lightning, fire, earth, ice, and many other abilities. The mage seed existed inside every individual, but it took strength, dedication, and time to awaken it. Kyle had none of this.

An academy was established where young teenagers who had awakened their mage seeds were taken for further development of their abilities and how to control them. If the Beast King ever infiltrated the Kingdom, they would be ready for him and his army of beasts. The Kingdom harbored over 200,000 citizens—a small Kingdom.

The rulers were called the Board of Leaders, divided into two sets: the High and the Low. The High comprised three members who were the major rulers of the Kingdom, while the Low consisted of five members who took orders from the High.

Kyle sat in a chair, holding his tablet. He was busy playing games. Kyle loved games and comics, and he was a big fan of the most popular female model in the Kingdom, Sofia Burton. She was the beauty of the Kingdom, every man's dream. She had more male fans than female fans. The reason was simple: the model was beautiful and had a nice figure. Her mid-sized breasts were the biggest reason Kyle became her fan.

After playing games for a straight five hours, Kyle remembered that the system had given him a quest with a time limit. The problem was where he would find one. He mostly snuck out of the Kingdom to collect the crystals of beasts killed by other Mages. It was a serious crime to pass beyond the Kingdom walls without permission from the Kingdom Walls Department. The punishment was death, regardless of age. Kyle had managed to escape this punishment.Kyle waved off the thoughts and looked outside through his window.

It was now late. Everyone was retreating back into their homes. He turned on the room light and went to sleep, awaiting the upcoming test.The day of the test had arrived.

Kyle woke up to check the time on the clock screen beside his table. "5:30 AM. The test is at 9 AM. I'm going back to sleep." He went back to sleep. After a few minutes, he woke up again. "It's just 5:45." He slept again, then when he woke up, "What?! 9:15! I'm freakin' late!" Kyle jumped up from the bed, quickly took a bath, and ran outside of his room toward the mage academy while dressing on the way.

He finally arrived at the mage academy. The security stopped him at the gate and asked for his ID. Kyle tapped a button on his wristwatch, and a holographic interface popped out showing his face and name. The security allowed him inside. Kyle saw numerous students standing on a wide open field—about a hundred students—exchanging names and making friends. Knowing he had no chance of making friends, he joined a group of introverts sitting around a table. They welcomed him in. One of the boys started a conversation, making a joke that wasn't funny at all. It had no meaning. Suddenly, all of them started laughing weirdly, except for Kyle, who stared at them with disbelief. He wondered what was funny about the joke. "Okay. I think I have a better place to be. It would be best if I stood alone," Kyle thought as he stood up and walked away from them, joining the line.

A large crystal was visible at the front, with a big white crystal. A man walked up to the altar. The man appeared to be around his mid-forties. He had short, dark brown hair that was slightly graying at the temples. His eyes were a warm hazel color, with flecks of green. His face had a few lines and wrinkles, giving him a distinguished, mature look. He wore a crisp white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Over that, he had on a navy blue blazer that fit him well, accentuating his broad shoulders. His pants were classic charcoal gray, pressed and tailored to his slim, athletic build. On his feet, he wore polished brown leather dress shoes. Overall, his appearance was put-together and professional, with a touch of casual sophistication.

Kyle stared at the man with complete adoration. The man began to speak in a low tone without a mic. Surprisingly, everyone could hear him. The man seemed to be using an ability to speak with them.

"Hello, new mages. My name's James. Feel free to call me James. As you can see, over here is a large white crystal." James said, placing his hands on the crystal. Suddenly, the crystal started to glow bright red. The screen above it displayed "Rank A?" Kyle thought.

The most powerful mages ranged from Rank B to O. Kyle realized that the man could defeat two Rank B beasts all by himself. James continued to speak after removing his hand from the crystal,

"This is called a Mage Ranking crystal. It displays your power rank by colors. As you can see, it displayed a bright red when I placed my hands on it. The screen above displayed Rank A. Each of you is to come forward and place your hands on it."

A girl came forward and placed her hands on the crystal. The color changed to blue. The screen displayed "Rank C." She left the altar with a smile on her face. A Rank C was good but not as powerful as Rank B, A, or O. They started to come forward, placing their hands on the crystal one after the other. About fifty students ranked D, thirty ranked B, and fifteen ranked A.

Another girl came forward with a smile on her face, holding a soul weapon. The soul weapon refers to a weapon imbued with the essence, spirit, or consciousness of a sentient being. She held a sword made from the fang of a Zyrax, a black dragon. In the case of the Fang of Zyrax, the soul weapon was specifically carved from the fang of a legendary dragon called Zyrax. This allowed the weapon to form a powerful psychic connection with its wielder, granting them great power but also posing the risk of corrupting their very soul. Not only was Kyle amazed by this weapon, but so was everyone.

It was hard and rare to kill a dragon, especially a strong type, Rank O. Most of the other students held low-rank soul weapons. Only a rich and powerful mage family could get their hands on the kind of soul weapon she held. She was around the same age as Kyle, standing at just 5'2" tall with a slender, delicate frame. Her features were soft and youthful, with large doe-like eyes that sparkled with curiosity and innocence. Her skin was flawless and glowing, with a healthy rosy complexion. Her hair was long and silky, cascading down her back in gentle waves or curls, framing her face beautifully. The color was brown. The young girl's attire was clearly expensive and high-quality, signifying her privileged upbringing. She wore a white jacket with furs around the neck, made of the finest silk or satin, perhaps in a regal color like deep purple or emerald green.

When she placed her hands on the crystal, it glowed crimson red just like when the man had placed his hand on it. "Nice. Rank A," James announced with a smile. Everyone's jaws dropped as their eyes widened. She was a Rank A. It was unbelievable.

Kyle was trembling. He wondered that if he ever got into a spar with her—which would never occur—he would be instantly killed.It was finally Kyle's turn. He stepped forward and placed his hands on the crystal. James was shocked when he saw the color of the crystal.