The man behind the table spoke, "Name?"
James smiled confidently. On Earth he always managed to act liked he belonged. "My name is Yale Dusk." The man looked through the list and frowned, "You're not on the list… odd. You've clearly been accepted based on your magus robes though…" He turned to a woman standing behind him, "Lucy, go get old man Skeleton. He's in charge of recruitment. Yale, wait to the side while I continue processing the line."
James stood to the side obediently. The line continued to move along smoothly. Every student had a magic-core and high affinity in at least one element. As this was the foreign student line there were students of almost every skin color. Some had unusual hair colors, eye colors, and piercings. To James surprise there were no students with extremely unusual features such as horns, tails, or other body parts. "Are horns unique to just the descendants of the Elder Dragon? Lumi said the Elder Dragon was a deity? What is a deity anyways? An actual god or just a super strong person? I've been so busy since I've come to this world that I'm still lacking in basic knowledge. I'll have to do some research later."
After a while a man in black robes showed up. The professors of the academy wore robes identical to the students, except they were higher-quality and in the color of the elements they taught. James looked at the man. He was pale. Even paler than James. He was so skinny that his ribs could clearly be seen. He was completely bald. James tried to stifle his laughter, "I can see why they call him old-man Skeleton."
The man behind the table spoke in a deep voice, "Skeleton! We have a student that isn't on the list. Did you make a mistake? This is going to blemish your perfect record. You've never had a problem in any jobs you've taken in the past." The man sighed, "I suppose you're getting too old Skeleton. Alas, we'll have to find a replacement for you soon."
Skeleton smacked the table and yelled in a hoarse voice, "Nonsense! I don't make mistakes! Now tell me what's going on." The man smiled and pointed towards James, "His name is Yale Dusk. He isn't on the registration list."
Skeleton turned to look at James. Then he looked back at the man behind the table. "Did you test him yet? How is his affinity?" The man shook his head, "I didn't." He turned to look at James. "Go ahead and put your hand on the crystal. We might as well confirm your elemental affinity while we get this sorted."
James nodded nervously. He made a small fist pump and thought to himself, "Here we go! It all rides on this. Why else would I be brought to this world if I wasn't talented at the very least? Right! I bet I'll control the four basic elements and be like the avatar ha-ha! Or maybe I'll be an unprecedented talent of the light element and become the new head of the church in the Light Kingdom! My brilliant looks will shine for the world to see! I'll become the hero that works to destroy the darkness. Defeat the demon king and go home! Wait, does this world have a demon king? It must, right? What's the point of a magic world without a generic hero being summoned to kill a generic demon king?"
James snapped out of his thoughts and placed his hand on the crystal ball. A black energy filled most of the crystal ball. A dense core of energy could be seen in the center. The man behind the table laughed, "Middle-grade darkness elemental affinity! Magic-core present. Haha, Skeleton. How did you mess up so badly to let a middle-grade affinity join the academy? You even failed to register him properly? You'll definitely get demoted now. I'm next in line for becoming head of recruitment. Hahaha!"
James eyes widened in shock. He muttered to himself, "To think my elemental affinity is darkness?! Well, my previous plans are out the window! At least I have a magic-core! Tch, I bet the Light Church is full of bad people anyways. In books the light people always end up ironically being the bad guys. I'll just become a dark anti-hero. I'll fight in the shadows and strike fear into villains everywhere! Haha! Honestly, with my luck so far I was expecting worse results than I got!"
Skeleton turned to look at James and examined him for a minute. Then he cackled, "Yale! My boy! I told you to wait for me in Sea Salt City. I was going to pick you up after the official recruitment had ended! I haven't even added you to the register yet. You're causing me to lose face here! Follow me, I'll add you to the register and get you settled in."
The man behind the table had his face turn red in anger, "Oy! What the hell are you playing old man? You had no idea who he was when you came in and even asked me to test his affinity? You're just trying to cover your ass!"
Skeleton snorted, "This here is my 73rd personal disciple. It just took me a second to recognize him. My eyes are going bad due to my old age. I planned to register him after recruitment finished for the day! What does it matter to you Inferno?"
Inferno yelled, "You're just spewing bullshit! You expect me to believe you would take a middle-grade affinity as your disciple? Do you take me for a fool?"
Skeleton sighed and shook his head, "You just don't understand the key to a good disciple. Elemental affinity is secondary. I can say without a doubt this is the most talented disciple I've ever taken. A genius without equal. A dragon among men. A phoenix among chickens. Even the Elder Dragon would look upon him with great favor! I am truly blessed to have found such a hidden gem amongst the masses of shit that you call talent."
Inferno's face scrunched up in anger. It was now turning from red to purple! "You! You! You! SHAMELESS BASTARD! You!" Skeleton laughed, "You sure love that word! Now if you'll excuse me and my disciple. I've got important matters to discuss with him."
Skeleton grabbed James by the arm and led him outside. He saw Virgil waiting for him. Virgil yelled in confusion, "Yale! What's going on? I've been waiting forever." Skeleton turned to look at Virgil and spoke, "I've got business with him. You can meet later." James responded, "Master, can you make sure Virgil and I are dorm mates?" Skeleton mumbled in dissatisfaction, "Brat. Already asking for favors." He took a gold key out of his interdimensional ring and tossed it to Virgil. "Return the silver key they gave you and use that instead. This brat will go there later."
Skeleton dragged James towards the mountain. Black wings sprouted from his back and he flew up the mountain while carrying James. James felt the cold wind rushing against his face. He tried to open his mouth to scream only for him to feel choked by the air pressure. Two minutes later the old man landed at a large castle.
James slowly calmed down from the ride. He looked around him. They were near the top of the mountain. A large castle was in front of him. It was constructed of some type of black stone. A moat surrounded the castle and a large eastern dragon was lying outside. The dragon was long like a snake, had black scales, two wings, two horns, and four claws. It briefly glanced at James. He felt fear when the golden pupils concentrated on him. Then the dragon went back to sleep, disregarding him.
Skeleton dragged James into the castle. "Welcome back master!" Over 100 maids bowed respectfully towards Skeleton when he entered. He smiled lecherously and rose a bony hand in the air, "Little Red. Meet me in my chambers tonight. The rest of you may disperse."
The man led James into the main hall of the castle. A giant red carpet with gold trim led towards a large throne made of bone. The old man let go of James and sat on the throne. He leaned his head against one hand and spoke, "Why haven't you kowtowed to your master yet?"
James eyes widened in surprise. He questioned, "You were serious about that?" The old man smiled, "What, you're not willing?" James hurriedly threw himself to the floor and kowtowed three times, "Your disciple greets you master!" He chuckled to himself, "I didn't think he was serious! I don't know who this old bastard is, but he's obviously important. Today is my lucky day! I need to buy some lotto tickets later!"
The old man nodded, "You are my 73rd disciple. I take a new one around every 5 years and it was about time anyways. Every disciple I've had has been extremely talented. Most had high affinity for the dark element. Some had multiple elemental affinities. Five had peak dark element affinity. As of today, you are the worst student I have ever taken. You should feel proud of yourself!"
James smiled awkwardly, "Then why did you decide to accept me master?" The old man grinned, "You're lucky you have a magic-core and dark elemental affinity. Otherwise I would have killed you. Other than that, I accepted you for three reasons. First, because I needed to cover my ass. You missing on the register would blemish my record. Recruitment is the cushiest job available for the upper echelons of Sea Salt Academy. I was not about to lose that! Second, is because I wanted to piss off Inferno. That flaming bastard is always trying to pick a fight with me! Did you see the look on his face when I made you my disciple? Gahaha! It was priceless!"
James nodded. So far it would seem he was only accepted for the old man's personal reasons. "And what was the third reason master?"
Skeleton tapped the throne with his finger. *Tap, tap, tap.* "The third reason… Is because I have no idea how the hell you snuck into this school. I'm personally responsible for recruitment and I know for a fact we didn't accept you! If it was the first two reasons alone I would have at most killed you. Yet, somehow you were able to sneak into the academy. Something not even a 9th grade magus is capable of. So why don't you tell me?"
James spoke hesitantly, "Master, you should allow your disciple to have secrets, right? Maybe I just bribed someone to buy a uniform?"
Skeleton snorted. Eight black tentacles sprouted from the ground and swirled around James body. One wrapped around his neck and slowly lifted him up into the air. James desperately gasped for air. His legs flailed around trying to reach the ground. "To think my new disciple would die in a tragic accident while training. A pity, but it happens from time to time."
James croaked, "I'll talk. I'll talk master!" The tentacle released James and he fell to the ground. He grabbed his throat and gasped for air, "Hah… Hah…" The old man glared at him, "Speak!" He waved his hand in the air and a black stone appeared. He tossed it to James. "Swear a beholder oath that you're telling the truth while you're at it."
James took the stone and swore an oath. He spoke, "I have the ability to analyze uniforms. Once analyzed I can create one of them. I also receive a new appearance to go along with the uniform. I can only create one of each uniform. Each time I create a new uniform and appearance there is a large cost associated with it."
Skeleton nodded, "How many have you created so far? Show me them."
James rubbed his eyes and the system display appeared. He selected the common soldier uniform. "This is the first uniform I purchased. A Drake Kingdom common soldier uniform." James then changed back into his original appearance. "This is how I look originally." Then he returned to his Sea Salt Academy Uniform. "This is my newest uniform."
Skeleton watched with interest at first, but then his face turned dark. "Mm. You must be James Dawn. I've seen your wanted poster. You should be from another plane of existence, right?" James eyes widened in surprise, "Yes master. How did you know?"
Skeleton sighed and shook his head, "You have some type of weird system as well, right?" If before he was surprised, then now James was completely shocked. "Yes master! How did you know?"
Skeleton frowned, "It's hard to say if you're lucky or unlucky. You're a toy. An object of amusement for someone. It's unusual though. Usually toys have much higher talent than you."
James face twisted in confusion, "Master what is a toy? Do you know who made the system? Why was I brought to this world? Please tell me!"
Skeleton sighed, "I don't know much. Here's what I do know. Every few centuries or so, a person from another plane shows up with some kind of system. The system is always different for each person. These people are always tremendously talented and several have had huge impacts on history. Unfortunately, most get cocky and die young. There are a few records about them in the school library. As for who creates these systems and sends you here? I don't know. However, it has been confirmed that the power of the systems cannot be created by deities. That ability is far beyond their power. So, the common consensus among experts is that something even higher than a deity creates them. Therefore, your kind has earned the nickname of toys. We believe you to be nothing more than a hobby for something far beyond our understanding."
James questioned, "Wait so deities are real? Like the Elder Dragon? How strong are they? Even they can't create something like the system?"
Skeleton nodded, "Deities are far stronger than I am. The Elder Dragon does exist. I even saw him once. You can say that they're the next stage beyond the 9th level. Something I will likely never reach in my lifetime. However, even they are not capable of creating your system. It's best if you keep this a secret in the future."
Skeleton tossed a gold key towards James. "This is your dorm key. Attend your first week of lectures then return to me for further guidance. You are not to train in magus or knight techniques until I say so. If you do I will kill you myself. You may leave now."
James nodded and headed out of the castle to head towards his dorm.