Aric made his way to the clinic, relying only on his memory at first from the time he was there once, and when that failed miserably he decided to ask around.
Every passing day, he found himself understanding the social environment in the academy more and more, he found that the white robes treated him mostly with an easy going attitude, many didn't know he was a new recruit and assumed he was a school guest meaning he possessed an important background, and this common mistake made most the people who he interacted with treat him with at least half a degree of caution.
Yet while the white robes treated him half decently, the blue robes were apparent with their disdain, and most didn't even give even him a glance, a guest disciple was usually a nicer way to say he got in through back hand doors because his talent wasn't up to par, but he possessed the background to sefise.
In the land of constant wars and intense struggle for resources, those who rely only on their background to climb higher on the echelons of life are most of the time looked down upon, especially by those experts of common background who have access to less resources, all just so the waste sons of some noble house can have a greater chance at making it higher in life, the jealousy and the hate they hold to these silver spoons was immeasurable.
Aric also had the chance to understand a bit about the different robes and they're meaning to the rank of each disciple.
The robes were an indication for individual talent, a decent talent in one of the elements was the border line for enrollment in the academy, it meant a 6 or a 7 mark on the cube , and these were the white robes and they represented the majority of students in the academy.
A good talent evaluation on the other hand, as in an 8 or a 9 in an element, would be a blue robe, and there was less than one of them for every hundred white robes there is.
As for the violet robes, those were the excellent talent marks, meaning a 10 evaluation on an element of name, and in the entire academy to this day, there were seven such disciples in this entire sector.
These ranks weren't for show, they played a major role in the resources you would receive every month and the arts and skills you had excess to and even private teaching and other services only provided to the higher talents and such.
This evaluation wasn't easy to change, but it could be done, either through raking up merit through missions and achievements, or through climbing into higher realms as a paladin.
A student spends 7 years before graduation in the ancestral school, and through this period, every breakthrough he makes gets him to a higher position.
Most new recruits are mortals, and they start at the lowest rank of an apprentice paladin.
The realm of an apprentice is split mainly into three realms, those being: essence control, integration and manifestation.
Anyone with a greater than low talent in the elements can train in arts and become a paladin, but climbing higher than the lowest realms was hard, especially in a short seven years period.
As for the reason for applying such a system at all, was that the elemental talent system was in no way perfect.
Although able to characterize most people, there was exceptions in the mix of those, someone could have a special bloodline or physical attribute that makes it easier for them to adapt to arts or digest medicine more efficiently, there was also those who had abnormal comprehensive abilities and those with extreme soul talent who can defy and surpass elemental talent.
Those would get the chance to shine in the ancestral school, but it wouldn't be as easy as those born with a high elemental evaluation, that's just how life is, quite unfair at times.
Aric, the white robe he is, spent quite a while to find the medical sector, and when he finally did, he was shocked at how big the place was.
He didn't pay much attention to it when he was first here because of the shocking view of the city, but this place was the size of a manor.
It was two stories high and wasn't anything fancy, it was neat and effective, after all people wouldn't come here sightseeing, it was a hospital.
Aric entered the medical sector and was greeted by a young lovely care taker at the entrance.
"Hi there! How can I help you Sir " the medic spoke profisionaly, but coming from a lovely woman, it sounded quite delightful.
" Oh yes, I would like to meet Leonard ... something? A white haired dude with blue eyes, you know where I can find him? " It just occurred to Aric that he didn't know the doctor's surname, which was quite embarrassing, but it couldn't be helped he only met the guy once.
" Blue eyes? You mean the sector chief ?! Leonard Castell? " The medic looked doubtful at Aric, what kind of white robe, would dare want to meet the chief doctor of the ancestral school.
" Yeah... probably" Aric replied with uncertainty, but chose to go with it, Leonard was an uncommon name in the south, he was most likely a fugitive from the northern lands, and what were the chances for there to be two such fugitives in the medical sector.
The medic looked even more sceptical hearing the doubt in Aric's voice, and she responded " I can't take you to master Leonard just like that, I can tell him he has a visitor and he'll choose whether to meet you or not, as whom do you want me to introduce you?"
"That'd be much appreciated, you can tell him Aric Damar is here" Aric didn't think that Leonard would really come meet him, but he was willing to try his luck out.
The medic trainee heard Aric's name and she was bewildered at first, this family name is that of the royal family, is he passing himself as a royal!
The medic was suddenly enlightened, and her glare suddenly turned into disdain, the way this kid announced his name outright like that , was he showing off? Or was he here to pick up chicks, this kid thinks that a royal of the Damar empire would be studying in their sector and no one would know about it ?! What a joke!
The woman snickered and replied " at once , sir Damar !" Her last words were sarcastic and full of mockery, she was ready to denounce and humility this brager low wits of a
man in front of everyone present, some might argue this hatred of hers stemmed from her own experience with men, and that she was overreacting on the actions of a child, but she would rather discipline the likes of this boy before they grow up and become a plague that'll harm the hearts of many.
The medic then turned around and walked heartedly toward Leonard's office, making ready a scripts of insults she would shower Aric with after the chief denounced his knowledge of Aric and she returned with his message, but all that planning was all for nothing, cause the moment she told the chief of the boy's name, he replied flatly, " oh, let him in "
These words were like a bucket of ice thrown on the lady's heart, and she felt dazed.
She returned to Aric and told him the chief was waiting for him, she escorted him to the room and watched him enter before he respectfully thanked her for her help.
She returned with shoulders dropped and thinking " ...maybe it was a different type of Damar ?"
When she thought back to it, it made total sense, she felt horrible and dumb, there wasn't only one Damar family in the entire continent, the kid wasn't trying to flirt or show off,. It was just a misunderstanding.
The medic named Alin felt bitter all of a sudden, she was blinded by the hate and frustration she was left with from her last break up, and that started clouding her view of the world and what was right.
She almost wronged a kid who came with the purest of intentions for someone faking being a royal, when he just had a similar last name.
" Maybe it's a sign from the goddess " Alin suddenly thought, and it came like an epiphany " she's showing me that there's no point in holding on to the past, and judging others by the actions of the people who did us wrong !"
Alin fell into an illusory world where she started fantasizing about the holiness and grace of the goddess, for her to send the holy Oracle to teach her such a valuable lesson.
This girl was so delusional she believed Aric was a sign sent by the goddess for her especially, to teach her of the importance of having faith and tightly holding on to it .
And this illusion right here, would be the reason for this woman to leave her position as a medic in the ancestral school and join the holy church of Alina and in a couple of years , through constant studying and hard work, she'll become an archbishop of the church.
She'll then spend years telling the story of when the goddess taught her of the meaning of life through a kid who had a similar name to the imperial house and how it was the mistake that made of her the kind of woman she was today .
And she'll live a lifetime , before realizing the boy really was part of the royal family.
….
As for Aric himself, he was sitting across Leonard, ignorant of the medic's inner fantasy, and wondering how he should initiate the conversation.
He opened his mouth multiple times without saying a thing, he wasn't really familiar with Leonard, but he was more comfortable asking him rather than finding some unknown guy and telling him of his attributes and what future road he should take.
" So kid, are you going to keep sitting there in silence or tell me what I can help you with ?" Leonard dropped the documents he was reading to the side, and looked at Aric with a smile.