Admission Day

  Vladimir Crow is the epitome of eye-candy, while also being generally forgettable. This is who I am now. I woke up inhabiting a body that wasn't mind, and in a room I could never afford. 

I was standing in front of a mirror in a luxurious bathroom, looking at my waist length silver hair, and golden brown eyes. My eyes particularly drew my attention as they glowed slightly, looking extremely alluring. I also had a sharp face, and shrewd eyes. 

I definitely gave off a very intimidating image with my cold and handsome looks. I was also happy about my family life as well, as the Crow family was one of the big families in the kingdom I lived in, the Kingdom of Sarran. They were a duchy, and the patriarch held the title of Duke. One of my ancestors were a pillar in the creation of the kingdom, and my family has stood by the side of the royal family for centuries. 

This was all nice, but I had something that has been stressing me out so I couldn't enjoy being rich and powerful yet.

I had an exam I had to take today, for an admission to an exam to the Academy of Pride, the top Academy that was in the Royal Capital of Athys. The purpose of the Academy was to nurture Heroes. Heroes were a type of superhuman existence in this world. 

The world had mana, and other mystical energy types, allowing for people to perform incredible feats that were not possible in my previous life. Such as people having super strength, capable of splitting mountains and moving at incredible speeds. Others used mystical arts such as voodoo magic, or holy magic. Then there was the standard forms of magic, fire magic and other arcane trees. 

That's incredible, but my problem was that I didn't have any of that. I was just a normal person, while from my memories the original Vladimir was indeed a gifted knight, who was able to use Aura to enhance his physical body. Also apparently a prodigy at swordsmanship. 

While I was feeling a little hopeless, a translucent blue screen appeared before my eyes.

----

[System Activated.]

[Name: Vladimir Crow]

[Gift: 10x EXP Booster]

[Level: 1 - 0/100]

[Stats-

Strength: 10

Constitution: 5

Agility: 5

Dexterity: 5

Intelligence: 5

Wisdom: 5

Charm: 10 (Max)

Luck: 10 (Max)

]

[Traits: None]

[Arts: None]

----

"Is 10 Strength good? What is the average stat normal people have?" I thought aloud.

[Dear Host, 5 is the average stat an adult would have.]

"Oh? I can talk to you? Are you an AI or are you a sentient being?"

[Dear Host, I am simply a figment of your imagination that has access to information that you do not have access to yet.]

"You mean I know everything you do, but I can't access it? Why? Who made you follow those parameters, and does that mean a foreign power put you inside me?"

[You cannot access that information.]

'Sigh, I guess I just have to accept it. I should go see how this Gift can help me.'

I headed towards the family training grounds with hurried steps. This Gift seemed really simple, at first glance, but I had a feeling it had more to it than what one would think. 

It said 10x EXP Booster, but I didn't think that simply applied to my literal experience. I had the feeling it included all experiences.

"System, what are Arts?"

[Simply put, they are similar to what you know as 'skills' from video games. They can be something broad such as a school of magic or fighting forms, to things as linear as one off skills that will only do a single thing i.e. a skill such as Aimed Shot which allows the user to hit their target with 100% accuracy.]

"Can I learn Arts? Or are they obtained through different ways?"

[Arts are mystical, sometimes defying the laws of the universe, and other times they can be learned or inherited. Similarly is the way to learn them, sometimes they can be sometimes they can't.] 

"That's good enough I guess, although it did make me a little less confident."

At that moment I finally reached the training grounds, which was located at the North side of the manor, which was easily reached by walking along the archways that circled the house.

The training grounds were mostly empty, however I was able to spot a few squires being trained, hitting training dummies while following the swordsmanship of the imperial knights. The Crow's were a mage family so the previous host of this body was a bit of a disappointment for them. 

Shaking off these distracting thoughts, I focused on my original objective, which I had to do quickly before heading to the testing site. 

I walked to a training dummy that was by itself, and closed my eyes. I was trying to sense my mana, which only took me a few moments before I was able to sense it. It was a foreign source of energy, it felt hot and cold to my nerves at the same time. I could feel it but not in the physical sense. That's how I knew it must be mana, because it felt like nothing I had ever felt before.

As I felt the energy surge through my body, I then began to try to manipulate it in a unique way, trying to discover a specific magic type, Blood magic. Yeah, I was a bit of an edge lord, I thought Blood magic was cool. Hemo-mancy was always a cool concept to me.

So I cut my finger and began to pull it with mana. To my surprise, it worked after only a few minutes of testing. This was my theory I wanted to try out.

"System, does my 10x EXP Booster affect my learning speed and acquisition of skillsets?"

[Yes it does.]

'That's what I was hoping for. This means I learn things at 10 times the speed as I normally would, making me something of a prodigy.'

I wasn't so much interested in swordsmanship or traditional magic casting. I wanted something more unique, something more stimulating:

Hand to Hand combat enhanced by my special magic. I immediately used my mana to begin to circulate the blood going through my body, I stimulated my adrenal gland to begin pumping adrenaline into my body faster, and I began to use mana to not only strengthen my legs but also the muscles within them.

[Host has learned Blood Arts (F-Rank).]

[Blood Rush (F-Rank) has been learned.]

[Blood Rush activated.]

[Strength, Constitution and Agility are all increased by 50%]

I felt a surge of strength fill me. I clenched my fist, and performed a simple 1-2 combo on the training dummy. The first hit, a jab, pushed the dummy's head back as if it were hit by a bat. The second punch, the cross, bent the dummy's neck completely back. 

The loud crack drew the attention of the knights nearby, who's eyes went wide when they saw the training dummy's state. It had to be said, the training dummy had a defense similar to an actual human, so what I just performed was definitely in the realm of superhumans. 

I simply ignored them and performed my final test. I willed my mana to close the wound on my finger, however this test proved inefficient simply because I didn't feel like I had a clear image of how I could accomplish this feat with what I knew. I think a higher understanding of magic would be needed, and perhaps I would take some time to learn about holy magic. Their knowledge of healing spells might be beneficial for me. 

I left the training grounds, since I had to head to my exam, but I felt confident now of my admission. I had a magic that was uncommon and potentially powerful. I would make a decent hero, if nurtured. I headed to a carriage that was prepared for me, by the front gates of the estate, and met my father waiting for me.

"Hey Dad, what are you doing here?" I asked. I knew his father was not strict on manners when we were at home, so I could speak informally to him. 

"Haha, I should at least see my son off shouldn't I? It is a big day. While I am a little disappointed about you pursuing the path of a Knight, I will always be proud of you and support you in whatever you want to do." He said, rubbing his head slightly as if he had a headache. 

"Oh, I'm not interested in being a Knight anymore. I'll be in the Magic Department in the academy, when I finish my test today I will be announcing the change to the faculty."

"WHAT?!" My father exclaimed. I covered my ears because he was standing next to me, but I could still see his obviously excited face.

Instead of explaining, I simply activated [Blood Rush]. Being an A-Rank hero, he could easily sense the mana moving and enhancing my body. 

"Incredible... Are you... Manipulating your blood inside your body?" he walked around me, inspecting me up and down. He surely was able to see something the naked eye couldn't, however he was making me feel as though I were naked before him. 

"Yes father, it's Blood magic, I know it isn't our usual Earth magic but this is what I awakened a talent for yesterday night." I made a flimsy excuse for my sudden change in skills, but my father was just so happy to have me become a mage that he didn't question the type of magic I used. 

After urging my father that I was running late, I clambered into the carriage and headed to the admission exam that was taking place in the lower city.