Academy of Aurelia

It had been a surprising turn off event when he was all but ripped away from Aethelstan and Dawn. The ride from the outer garden of the castle till now had been silent, brisk and with no other sudden intrusions.

Even now as he was high in a tree, lounging, Adrian couldn't see even one person around. Ofcourse it wouldn't be weird to imagine that the whole street towards the academy was cut off and forbidden for all to enter, he was without a doubt one in a billion.

And if the royal family was anything like Avery then that would make even more sense.

Besides the drama after his existence was found to be true should have been immense, Adrian almost felt the urge to explore, skipping the most likely tedious first day at the academy.

But of course he couldn't do that.

One, he should appear as quiet and as peaceful as could be for a certain period of time. It was the best attitude for gaining information, adding to that, there was always the possibility that Avery might get sent to ask the teacher how he was doing.

Seeing that he already faked that personality ,beside a closer snarky one, it would be best if he just continued with that.

As the only vampire child there would also be no doubt of a high number of eyes on him.

Which brings him to the other reason, there was in fact already a number of eyes on him.

And sadly enough there wasn't even one that he could pinpoint. Even the system could only find the underlying emotion for one of them and that was apparently because he didn't hide.

Probably thinking that he wouldn't even know, sadly enough that person was right.

Throwing his head back on the tree, he wallowed in his sadness and melancholy. Questioning in a whisper what he was doing here.

He should practice his acting and what better way to start fooling as soon as he could?

{Tear please!}

{You're so dramatic.}

Grinning internally he felt the lonely tear appear and slowly drop down his pale cheek before opening his eyes in horror, wiping it away and jumping down from the tree in one smooth motion.

''God damn it!'' Gritting his teeth, he punched the tree with just enough mana to 'accidentally' break it in an anger burst.

His sigh of relief was quickly replaced with shock as he heard the cracks and not even seconds later saw the top begin to fall down.

"Woah woah wait!"

Opening his hands fully in concentration a purple seal appeared, reversing the process and returning the tree to it's state before he pushed it.

Crashing down in relief, he lamented the start of his school year while staring at the sky.

''I haven't even started yet and I almost fucked up.

I even cursed, "Dad's going to kill me."

{You're working so hard.} Ignoring the twirl of eyes he envisioned his system to be doing he continued.

"Luckily no one saw that! If they did-''Shuddering at the exaggerated thought, Adrian rapidly lost his cheerful moment.''They would make things even worse. As if it isn't going to be like that.''

Stepping slowly towards the academy, he added a few more sentences for good measure.

"How does one even act around people with the same age?

Well it's not like anyone would be my friend.''

{Cherry on top, master?}

{Hmm, nothing but the best after all.

Do you think they will fall for it?}

{Highly likely.}

{Search for the auras and if you find one let me know.}

{Yes, master.}

It was weird, not having Aethelstan here. The empty spot inside his core and soul seemed like a part of him was missing.

However the other would be fine, it was Dawn that he wondered more about.

A little while after they had left, the mission concerning Dawn had ticked itself off, the chest still closed, probably for his birthday just days in the future.

Once he got the important things from the academy he would visit Dawn and even go back to that labyrinth the other's talked about.

Aethelstan only said what he needed to know most likely and Dawn...well Dawn was Dawn.

Just like him Aethel was restricted in his movements, evident in the way the murderous aura had closely followed his carriage with piercing eyes.

While he had been inside the carriage Adrian could see right through it, showcasing the bloody red colour of the woman's core, thick and vast.

An assassin and a good one.

It hadn't looked like she was actively planning on killing him so he let her be.

It wasn't difficult to realise the reason, Aethel was dangerous, even with his limited mana and well Avery had wanted to be the upper hand no doubt.

Adrian couldn't overlook the other possibilities yet if people would send an assassin for those then they would have just killed them so they where unlikely.

It was quite a nuisance too, assassins were sensitive, wich was why he didn't train his mana and he also wasn't allowed to look outside.

Wich is why he just went over some plans, even planning some escapees, right until they reached the academy. With a small bow she and the red coach with the royal family sigil faded away.

And here he was, standing in front of the hundreds steps of the academy, no one in sight...again left in total silence.

Huffing slightly he would almost could regret coming because of the annoyingly huge, pearly white stairs.

Yet grinning in a childish way he created a small gleamy white footstep and let him get raised up after a check of no seeing no one around.

{Master, you're doing it again.}

{Naive as a child should be. Considering I was sheltered it would make perfect sense.}

{If you say so.}

A three tall story building soon gleamed in front of him, walls the same huge white stones and two pillars of fire lazily burning before big metal doors. As magnificent it's height was it's width was even bigger, he wasn't certain but it stretched at least two whole football fields.

Curious, Adrian approached the huge metal door, hand raising to knock yet it was unneeded as the door opened on it's own accord. The large hall opening before him was tiled with same pearly white, in fact everything was pearly white.

A chandelier as huge as half of the academy floated in the middle of the hall, around it, pieces of stairs twisting and turning, useless alone but together they fitted. Whoever walking across could without a doubt go in whatever direction they wished.

An instantaneous smile brimmed, accompanied with the feeling of happiness that surged wildly inside of him. Gosh, it looked so cool!

While the two hallways beside him looked big, it was only half of the hall itself and with everything concerning magic he ventured farther in the hall.

Just as he crossed an invisible barrier, the farther off wall in front of him shimmered golden before vanishing in it's entirety, leaving fields and fields of equipment to be found.

Swords attached to seemingly nothing, rows after rows of different variations. Same with spears, bow and arrows. Even maces, good mornings, Adrian could continue for ages.

Stunned he ventured further, breathing heavily his core lightened albeit only a little. The air was rich and plentiful, considering it was in the middle of a very, very crowded.

Still, just staying in this place would do wonders for ones core and magic, not only that you could even leisurely train in whatever you wanted.

A big pool, full of wonders inside and even on the opposite side a parkour...high above ground. So it could pose some risks, Adrian was almost sure there would be some sport about it.

Such thing were almost always the case. Shaking his head, he cursed himself for almost cursing himself.

If he hasn't wrong, he could see in the distance a bunch of students running while avoiding numerous objects. Flying objects, underground obstacles and even objects that teleported back and forth.

Other objects appeared from nowhere with no trajectory at all, ranging from full fledged desks to sharpened, glistening swords.

Swords that pointed right to their hearts, even the training partners just miles away didn't go easy on the students. Beside being made of metal, they where even capable of using magic!

Adrian could be wrong but the scoring fire that left one of their mouth's told him he wasn't.

Aftereffects just adding to the realness of the situation as the student was now left with scalding hair.

Despite his growing unease Adrian turned with excitement, the prospect of magic even more enchanting then he imagined.

Waltzing back inside, still high from the beauty of everything, he barely noticed two small, engraved flowers in the hall activating the concealment magic again.

Keeping what he saw in his memories, he decided to roam the halls of the academy.

It was tempting to go upstairs but ultimately he decided against it. It wouldn't do if he where found wandering in places where he shouldn't be.

On his first day no less.

Deciding to go left, he reminisced about his old schools. To sya they lacked immensely was an understatement. Even something as normal as lockers where enchanted!

It wouldn't open for anyone, except the owner. He only noticed as he accidentally graced one and the locker in question just vanished. It was even color coded, probably in the color that suited the owner's soul or just their favourite colour.

Either way it probably prevented a lot of bullying!

Even the roof was magical, reflection staring right back at him with blush red eyes.

Dad had told him that in their world there hadn't been a need for mirrors and while the mortals had believed they didn't have a reflection when looking into mirrors that hadn't been the case.

It was merely the silver used as a thin layer behind the mirror that would cause them to be unable to see their reflections, wich was rapidly resolved as humans stopped using them after a while. In fact they stopped using them long before the different races had stepped on the earth's soil.

But that wasn't important right now, his eyes made him remember that he hadn't eaten in quite a while and as he was now in the human world he could finally try some human food.

He would have to be cautious about the fact that he could eat human but if it's just as magical as this place then it would be worth it!

Adrian would still be careful with it, it was an ace on his sleeve that could come in handy in the future.

So caught up with his future plans mixed with mischief, Adrian didn't even notice the person crossing his path until said person coughed and not only that as Adrian actually bumped into the other.

{This is the aura that was filled with emotion.}

It didn't take long before he acted, eyes blinking as he looked up, gulping visible as his eyes flashed, taking in the crossed arms and mismatched eyes staring back at him.

An imposing character at a 190, blank pants combined with a black sleeveless shirt, muscles flexing in their crossing position, making the scars even more visible as they went from his upper arm to the underarm. His rough cut features and messy black hair sticking out of a bun wasn't the person he had imagined as the owner of the emotional aura.

''You took your time. Enter.'' Even his voice was rough around the edges, a low gravy sound. His own failing in comparisons ''What d-do you...ohh''

The hallway, wich up until that point had just been filled with lockers, had a wall transforming into a door as quickly as sound.

Golden lines had appeared, turning and twisting over one another before flashing and taddaa there was the full fledged foor. He was getting ahead of himself, not even hours in and he couldn't be bothered to hide his amazement. Nothing was normal in this school, even the knob was shaped in a golden flower.

The hand placed on his shoulder made him flinch, even while struck with amazement he didn't forget to do what he needed.

Door swung open the moment they were centimetres from it, still being led Adrian entered. Voices that had been speaking loudly and laughing wildly diminished completely as they full entered.

Some faces stared blankly, others with anger and another few with obvious curiosity or even hidden cruelty. Now he was truly surround with teenagers, maybe the only downside of this place.

Tensing slightly Adrian moved his back to the door, intent obvious by who he assumed to be the teacher as said person moved in front of his gaze and nudged him to stand in front of the other students properly.

That was step one, now he just needed to further cement his facade for...fourty, his quick head counting left him with fourty students. A lot of students for just one adult.

''Attention please!

As you all have heard we will have a new student joining.

Not only does he start the school year late, he also managed to miss his first period because he decided exploring was more important!"

Just for a second Adrian let his eyebrows rise in surprise before moving his head down, just enough so that his shoulder length hair obscured the view of his face.

The teacher was actually trying to help him, he only said that with the intent of showing the other teenager that he was just like them. Truly the emotional aura it seems yet the teacher sighed at his reaction, recognising his attempt as a failure and avoiding his quest for later.

"Introduce yourself.''

Licking his lips, he let unsure eyes look between his silver curtain of hair to the fire burning in the student's eyes.

''We don't have all day, get your hair out of your face and start.

With shaky hands he quickly wipped his hair back, voice speaking upon within the silence.

''I uh I'm Adrian Amdis Acheron and I will be sixteen in a few days. Nice to...meet you.''

"Is that all?"

The words of the teacher unlocked a storm of outrage as student upon student began voicing their thoughts.

"How can that be all?"

"Aren't you a vampire?''

''Obviously, look at his eyes.''

''Will he suck blood?"

"Blood?! What he tries to take ours?''

''Why is he even here? He's not even sixteen yet!''

''Good point.''

''This is outrageous. This shool is going to the dogs.

Even allowing a monster to attend!''

"For once I agree with the stuck up."

''That's enough, sit down!''

The energetic voices died down quickly when the teacher spoke.

''Well then Adrian, if that's all you can take that free chair over there. Stay after class, you have some catching up to do.''

Chuckles went around as a low ''yes sir'' left Adrian's mouth before silently passing between two rows of eight students each. In total there where five rows, his own row now with nine students.

As soon as he sat on the last chair, next to the window a black backpack appeared with his own name swirled in red on the fabric.

How very fitting!

Cautiously taking it, he looked inside, listening to his teacher's voice as he admonished some students for their earlier comments.

''Now, while Adrian maybe younger then you, it was out school leader who decided to place him in our class. I trust all of you are mature enough to accept that fact.''

''Teacher he's two years younger!''

''He will turn sixteen soon.'' The teacher pointed out but that was just rapidly dismissed by another student.

''That still makes him 2 years younger, there are even some turning nineteen soon!''

"Well that makes it so that there's even more reason for all of you to take care of him.'' With a whisper he added ''He will definitely need it."

Flushing at his teacher comment, he buried himself in his new backpack.

{You look so small from the outside but you're grinning like a madman.}

{The teacher is doing a fine job isn't he?}

Focusing back on his surroundings he picked up the small whispers.

"He...is a little small isn't he?"

"A little adorable too.''

''My brother is just like that when he's shy."

''Hasn't he been ripped from all he has ever known?" Flinching at the timely mention, he buried himself even deeper.

{Tears again, master?}

{You know me so well, brimming only please.}

Getting rid of the grin, he conjured some memories that even made his pale vampire face look normal.

Hastily wiping his eyes, he shielded his face with the bag while silently sniffling as he looked outside.

"Look now he's crying.''

''What a child!''

''Peyton, that's enough!

For that comment and the previous one you shall clean the stalls for a month."

"Hah, you deserve it stuck up!"

"And you shall join him,Daniel. I didn't forget how you agreed so readily before.''

The hissed curse was overshadowed by the brimming laughter of the rest of the class, a few of them were looking in his directions and even the teacher's eyes lingered on him for a while before he continued speaking of the previous discussed laws of magic and the consequences of breaching them.

Adrian groaned in silence, he really did have to catch up on a lot. The only reason why he was allowed to slack like this was because it was his first day and the comments of the student.

It was also the only reason why he managed the catch a figure appearing out of nowhere.

Squinting his eyes he tried to make sense of the person's features yet he got disturbed by a appearing message.

{DING

Congratulations

You have gazed upon a protagonist

Resulting in the opening of a new option in the system database.

Within fifty seconds you shall be transported!}

Truly surprised by the sudden turn of the events Adrian could do nothing but gape.

Not even the system counting down inside his hed could knock him out of his stupor.

It's in this way that before he knew it the countdown reached five.

{FOUR}

{Wait what!}

{THREE}

{Wait wait}

{TWO}

{What's the meaning...}

{ONE}

{OFFFF THISSSSS?!?!?!}

{ZERO

good luck}

No sooner had the system, had the ground started rumbling underneath him.

A frantic expression took over his face as none of the other students noticed something wrong, even the teacher kept talking.

Only he could see the thick, black veins appearing and surrounding him. Just when things finally stilled he suddenly felt the black gloey, seemingly living substance turn into hands that clawed it's way up his leg. Tugging him piece by piece of his chair and no matter how he hold on, fought against he still felt himself ebbing away.

Legs totally invisible, gone from beneath, he couldn't even feel them. He couldn't further try and understand the situation as with a last shriek of surprise he pulled into the puddle of gloey.