Prologue

|Cynthia|

Xyrus Academy that I established after the war is now known as the best academy in the continent. However, not even my closest friend Virion knew the true reason I had established Xyrus Academy.

I had founded it to nurture talented individuals who could stand against the impending threat of Alacarya. According to my calculations, there was still a decade left before it arrived, but it was not enough time.

Excluding the Asuras, the Vritras had advanced Alacarya to an unparalleled level compared to Dicathen. But then, I found new hope in the form of a new generation of geniuses who were far greater than those who came before them: Arthur Leywin, Prince Alistair Eralith, Rachel Glidesburn, Lancelot Orbel, Gary Whiteborn, Princess Kathlyn, and Tessia.

They were all more talented than Virion and me and had the potential to reach the white stage in the future. Perhaps, they could even reach the level of the greatest Vritra-blooded lessers, known as the Scythes.

At first, it was just a pipe dream, but seeing how quickly four of these geniuses grew under my tutelage made me truly realise the extent of their talent. Particularly, Alistair was a monster, even Avier respected and held him in high esteem, which greatly shocked me.

I sighed and sank back into my comfortable chair, as I waited for the seven to arrive after being invited by me. I remembered smirking to myself before getting up from my seat, "They are here already."

|Arthur|

I stepped off the carriage sent by the Vincent family and gazed in awe at the magnificent academy. It was easy to see why it was known as the greatest in the continent and deserving of its reputation.

'Good thing I left Sylvie home,' I thought, 'I wouldn't want her running around here.'

As I turned around, I heard the sound of approaching horses and saw three more carriages arriving. I realized that I was not the only one called here.

Tessia and Alistair stepped out of the first carriage, which was easily recognizable as belonging to Elenoir. They both greeted me with bright smiles, but before we could start talking, another familiar carriage pulled up. This was the same carriage I had seen when Lilia's friend came to visit, meaning that Lancelot and Rachel were there.

Lancelot and Rachel stepped out of the carriage with their usual calm demeanour. However, Rachel immediately embraced Tessia in a hug as soon as she saw her. Alistair and Lancelot greeted each other with a handshake. I remembered that the four of them had spent several months training under Director Goodsky, which explained their familiarity.

Finally, the carriage belonging to the Glayder Royal family arrived, and Gary and Princess Kathyln stepped out with grace.

Kathyln was a sight to behold - her beauty had only grown since the last time I had seen her. Although still petite, her figure was now slightly curvaceous, and her face, while still chilly, seemed to have warmed with a hint of childhood innocence in her large, brown eyes.

Gary, on the other hand, was a commanding presence that immediately dominated the area. His eyes glinted arrogantly, and a confident smirk played at his lips as he approached us with Kathyln by his side.

As I looked at him, I couldn't help but think, 'What level has he reached? He's become even more monstrous than before.'

Even though I couldn't quite put my finger on it, I could tell that Gary was much stronger now.

"It's good to see you all again, fellow prodigies. My name is Gary Whiteborn, the winner of the Three Races Tournament," he said with a smirk.

Kathyln gracefully greeted everyone with a slight bow, her ice-blue and black dress's hem held up as she introduced herself, "Greetings, I am Princess Kathyln of the Sapin Kingdom."

With everyone already familiar with one another, introductions were brief and the conversation flowed easily.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of us out of the wind. I say suddenly, but I foresaw this through my higher attunement with mana.

I could tell that the four males including me were not surprised at all, though the same couldn't be said for the girls.

While they all expertly covered their surprise, their expressions did hold a bit of shock underneath.

"It's good that all of you are familiar with each other already," Director Goodsky said as she grinned. She looked the same as before, wearing a giant hat typical of conjurers. Her age was shown in the form of wrinkles on her skin, but her aura did not flow with that.

She was powerful, even more than Grandpa. However, I could beat her if I used Realmheart.

"You all have reached such a level already," she spoke softly and clearly as she scanned our cores. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she paused at Gary.

"W-what?" she muttered, "Mid silver stage already?"

Only Alistair and I were able to catch it, because of our superior senses and physical body from the others.

However, this news was beyond just shocking to me.

'Two whole stages above me? No wonder I get that feeling from him. ' I thought to myself while Alistair's expression remained unchanged.

However, he did glance a few times at Gary, and I could make out excitement inside of him to see the difference between the two of them.

"Ahem," she coughed into her fist, "Anyway, I invited all of you here for a special reason. Kindly join me in my meeting room."

The seven of us nodded simultaneously and followed the Director inside. Meanwhile, we explored a wing of Xyrus Academy and were told that we could explore the rest after the meeting if we so wished.

Opening a hard wooden door, we entered a large meeting room with a black oval desk and a dozen leather chairs.

We took our seats, with Alistair, Tessia, and I sitting on one side, and the other four on the other side.

"There are two main reason I called you here for," she started, "First is the Student Council and Disciplinary Committee."

"You may have already heard about the Student Council. I am adding two more positions to the Council. There are four current members as the President just graduated, so I want Gary, Lancelot and Princess Tessia to fill in. The seven positions in the Student Council are now: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, public relations and two student heads. Do you three wish to join?" she asked at the end.

The three of them reluctantly nodded in agreement, and I saw a dangerous light flash inside Gary's purple eyes, causing me to shiver.

"Gary will be the new Student Council president, Princess Tessia will be the Vice president and Lancelot will be secretary. I will leave it to you to shuffle the other positions." she said.

Suddenly, Tessia rose in protest, "Wait, why am I the vice president? Lancelot is far more deserving!"

"That may be the case," the Director calmly responded, "However, this is also the first time all three races are coming to Xyrus. Having a someone who is not human at the top level will be very helpful in the relationships between the three races."

Tessia had a defiant expression on her face but she obediently sat down after digesting the response.

"Good." a soft smile appeared on the Director's face, "For the Disciplinary Committee, it never existed before so all the spots are open. I am aiming for there to be ten students. The Disciplinary Committee's objectives are to resolve disputes, enforce rules, and uphold safety within the school. Thus, they must be made of the strongest students excluding the Student Council. Prince Alistair, I wish for you to be the Captain and for Arthur Leywin to be Vice Captain. I also want Princess Kathyln and Rachel to join as members."

I nodded alongside the other three in agreement. Being Vice Captain of the Disciplinary Committee didn't seem to be bad, and we were also going to get privileges.

"You can decide who all you wish to add to the team, however, I will be giving a recommended list to support you. Now, the second matter, which is also related to extra privileges you will be getting." she clapped her hands, snapping everyone's attention again before speaking.

"I want to form a group known as the Paladins, which will only have you seven, the greatest geniuses of Dicathen. This group will be bestowed upon many privileges, not just through me but also through the Whiteborn family, the Glayder family and the Eralith family. I will give you the full list of privileges later, and you will have access to your room when the year starts."

Everyone's, except for Gary's, eyes widened at the Director's proclamation.

'The support of two royal families and the most powerful noble family of Sapin?' I thought, 'This is definitely worth it.'

Just like that, the new Student Council and Disciplinary Committee were formed.

'This year is certainly going to be a lot of fun,' I thought, 'If I can survive through the paperwork first.'