Chapter 17: First day

"H-How do I look?"

Arielle asked me after she came down the stairs. 

Today will be the opening ceremony for the first years at the Graponia Royal Academy. Arielle looked really cute in her school uniform.

Her silvery white hair which is usually braided is now loose and resting on her shoulders. The uniform shirt stuck tightly to her small chest while the skirt fluttered in the wind, revealing her pure white legs and stockings. Arthur and I showered Arielle with compliments. 

"Let's go, dear."

Arielle's mother smiled in amusement and guided us to the carriage.

I was given an early invitation to the Academy as well despite being 11. It's because of earl Mason's influence that I was able to get in. They made an exception ignoring the academy laws which states that a student must be 13. I told my parents over a letter which pleasantly surprised them. 

Their 11 year old son will be taking the mage course in one of the most prestigious academies in the world. It's obvious that I will be looked down upon by the older students since I'm far younger than the school allows. 

Francis reassured me that with the academy's backing, I'll be an elite mage by the time I'm 16 years old.

◇

Hey, look."

Arielle pointed outside the window of the carriage. 

The direction she pointed to was an object embedded into the academy grounds. It was fairly large rusty sword with intricate runes on its hilt.

"What is that?"

"That's the legendary sword that fell from the heavens thousands of years ago…" Arielle sat back down. "The academy was built around it since the first king was the one who wielded it. Since the kingdom was built around the sword, it naturally ended up as a landmark. I heard from Papa that the sword could split mountains in half from just a flick of a wrist."

'Dropped from the heavens, huh?'

"No successor to the sword has shown up from the millennia the kingdom and the surrounding nations have existed. No one from the Order could even lift it. There was a theory that it had to do with physical strength but that claim wasn't correct after the three leaders of the Order tried lifting it. Some claim that you have to be worthy of the sword."

"What do they call it?"

"'Heaven Piercer…" Arthur answered my question.

"Yes, that's right. Although the real name isn't known just yet. That's the name given by the first king after all."

Duke Luxembourg has been quiet for a while now. He had other matters to handle after all, so Sadith, Kimberley and their children along with Arthur and I moved to the capital. We are living in one of his mansions in the Kanzu noble district in Pira city.

"…"

I've been feeling a gaze on me this entire ride. 

Lithia, Arielle's personal maid was gazing at me with serious eyes. I mentioned something like this to senior Francis when he came to check on my progress. He said to me:

"The majority of Elves are originally spirit users while it's rare for a human. Elves can perceive the amount of spirit magic you can use and they are aware of how powerful a human can be if they were to inherit the love of spirits. In your case, if you manage to break through your chains, you might even become the Spirit King which is a divine entity that mated with Goddess Varian to conceive elves. "

The Spirit King was, in a way, a god to the elves. He had the power to control all life regardless of your origins and could shape the sky with a simple call to the spirits. Old man Francis said my spirit core was unusual though. Not only can I influence spirits of the elements but also the space around me. That's why I could stop time during my technique. Sol said I had partial control over space magic as well.

After a while of driving the carriage, we arrived. Lithia's gaze finally left me after we entered the academy grounds.

"I'll miss you." 

Arthur hugged me.

'I swear if we were older then we'd look like gay lovers.'

"Good luck impressing those stubborn old men at the Knight Division."

I flicked his forehead and went after Arielle. The two of us waved Arthur and Kimberly goodbye. 

The carriage then drove off passed the crowd of students. 

'Ah~ to be young~'

I thought to myself when I looked at the girls walking around. They looked so pure and innocent as they laughed while talking to each other. 

'My soulmate might be walking around here~'

"Come to me if anyone bothers you alright? Commoners don't exactly get good treatment since this was once a school for nobles."

Arielle said to me when we arrived at one of the halls. We'll be going at opposite directions and will only be able to see each other during lunch breaks. 

Arielle will be studying Economics, Business, accounting and swordsmanship while I'll be learning Magic theory and Apothecary. 

"And check your door mailbox alright? For some reason when I always send a maid to deliver you a note, it just disappears at home."

"Alright, Mom." I casually waved.

Arielle turned around to look back one last time, she smiled and then left.

I also took my staff and luggage up to my assigned room at the dorms.

◇

"Oh. You must be Clyde Astley."

A boy with flaming red hair was doing something in front of my door room.

He then got up and extended a hand. I noticed that he was scraping something off the door.

'He's being bullied huh.'

"Yes, um… you are?"

"Ah, you can call me Nate. I'm a first year and I specialize in flame magic. I come from the Alexander Family."

"Why does your clothes look like that? I thought you were a commoner…"

His shirt looked like it was stitched together.

"I'm the fifth son of the family so my standing is pretty low. I don't receive much money from father so that's why I look like this."

"I see."

Nobles in this world are ruthless to lower ranking children. Judging by the low amount of mana I sense from this guy, I'd guess he's not very talented in magic either.

'Well, at least I have a roommate and fellow mage.'

I settled in pretty quick since I didn't bring a lot with me. Nate seemed to be a hardcore nerd since there were so many books strewn on his bed.

"You know, I thought each student had a big room but looking at it now…" I sighed as I looked around the room. Our room was pretty small.

"Only the most exceptional of students of the first years and up are given special rooms. I apologize for not welcoming you properly."

"Ah, don't mind it."

"You should see the room that student who got a recommendation has."

"Huh? Who do you mean?"

"You probably don't know anyone, huh? Her name is Erica. She enrolled here at the start of the semester. She has an amazing memory so she aces Magical theory every time. Everyone is pissed that such a slum girl was recommended to our academy. Recommendations are only allowed if the individual who sponsors the student is from a wealthy house or has a high standing in the noble circle." 

Nate showed me a scroll. On it were the rankings for the first years in magic theory.

1 – Erica

2 – Charlotte 

..

"The princess was beaten? She must be pissed as well."  

"Believe me, she was. Even though she's groomed from her childhood to be a leader and capable person, she lost to a commoner in theory. I know I would've been pissed as well. Maybe the fact that the queen was still bedridden caused her performance to plummet."

"What were you scraping off the door earlier?" I asked, diverting from the previous topic. 

That girl Erica is already strange no matter how I think about it. She somehow managed to get into the academy despite being from the slums. That could only mean that she had a strong backer. The question remains who it is.

"Well, my siblings tend to mess with me. I always get bullied by the dogs that keep sucking up to them. I swore to mother that I'll become a successful mage and carry on our legacy of the Flame Mage arts. Ah, sorry. I speak too much sometimes."

"It's alright. Not the first time I've heard of something like this."

Arielle is going through the same as well. 

"Shit! Look at the time! We have to get to class now!"

Nate hurriedly grabbed his uniform and packed his things.

"Eh? I didn't notice the time."

I also grabbed all my stuff. My staff will have to stay here for the time being since all the mage students get their own little wands for class.

"We're class A." Nate spoke as we walked down the hallway. "You'll have to be careful around all those noble children. They act all high and mighty just because they were born with silver spoons in their mouths. They walk around so proudly as if we should lick their shoes."

"Right…"

A lot of students were glancing my way as we walked. I saw both curiosity and mockery in their eyes. 

We arrived at our class, which was located on the top floor of the biggest building. It seemed all of the class A's are on the same floor. 

At that moment…

"---!!!!"

I felt like I was choking on my breath.

"Err, Clyde? Are you alright?"

I couldn't reply to Nate as I felt a heavy aura behind me. I looked back and saw the source.

"Hahaha. Big brother is sorry~ the director is a slave driver, you know. I promise to take you next time, little sis."

"Humph!"

A tall handsome young man wearing a white military uniform was holding the hand of a little girl wearing the same mage uniform as us.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the logo on his exquisite white mantle. 

The Order.

'Wait a second… Doesn't that guy look familiar?'

"---!!!"

At that moment we made eye contact. He smiled at me with narrowed eyes but all I saw was observant eyes that were calculating everyone's level of strength.

They then passed by us and the girl entered our classroom.

The heavy aura that was choking me instantly disappeared when he left.

"You look pale. What's wrong?"

"W-Who was that?"

"Ah, him? That's Lord Clark. He's of the Order. His specialty is the spear. Some call him the Spear God. As for why he was here. Well, he always drops off his sister, to make sure she's not in any danger."

'Who would want to pick a fight with that guy.'

The spirits around me trembled and went into a frenzy when that guy came passed us. I couldn't even gauge his strength. Did future me really have the strength to kill guys like that when he destroyed the kingdom of Colchis?

"Come on. Homeroom is about to start." Nate said and pulled my hand.

'How was the captain of the Knight Order able to become member of the White Order? Is he that strong?'

I calmed down my breathing and prepared myself for my first day.