♫ (STRUAN – Can we be Friends) play this while reading if you want to ♫
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Grian woke up to a loud noise. He heard girls screaming in excitement and gasps filled with wonder and amazement. He looked around and saw outlines of castles, buildings, and towers in a concentric arrangement with the castle in the middle. The area around it is an endless field of grasslands that ends in the sea.
'Are we on a different island?' He thought to himself. Grian was not amazed at all because he couldn't see how beautiful the place is.
The grass is dyed in pink, it was like an endless cotton candy. The dark blue sky is filled with purple. indigo and blue clouds. There are also two suns visible and 3 moons. The castles and structures are made of white smooth bricks and the whole island is covered in a transparent bubble-like film. The sea surrounding the island produces bubbles of different colors that fill the sky.
Everyone is also already dressed in a uniform. Some kids that went through the gate were wearing tattered and raggedy clothes and Grian was one of them. Although Acastus bought him a shirt, you can still distinguish that Grian's one of the Arleiths that aren't well off.
The Academy does not discriminate, as long as you're 14 and have an affinity you can pass through the gate, studying is free, and they also provide the allowance, food, and lodging. Even if some Arleiths aren't capable, it wouldn't hinder their children to get an education at the Academy.
Some of the families are at the bottom of the food chain inside the capital, one wrong move or if they couldn't pay the tax, they will be thrown in the Bocht and be used for EV absorption. They were desperate to have a better life and not be sent into the Bocht. Their parents are pressuring their kids to do well at the academy hoping for them to be a Letter if lucky and if not, then a Sealgaire or a Rogaire.
Although the Academy's system supports even the lesser capable Arleiths, they also especially cater to the Meiths that pose a huge problem inside the Academy. Some Meiths are corrupt and evil, abusing their power. And as the saying said, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, if the parents are evil, then their children are as well. While the Academy itself doesn't discriminate, students are a different matter. And like in all academies, bullies exist. The strong always rule the weak.
All the boys are now wearing an opened black jacket with a collar and white buttons, underneath was a black turtleneck, their trousers were changed to black military pants with a leather belt, and they were also wearing brown ankle-length boots. The girls were wearing a cropped jacket until their collar bones, underneath was a sleeveless black A-line long dress with slits on both sides. They were also wearing black military shorts underneath, a leather belt, and the same brown boots.
While everyone was gawking at the new environment, Grian noticed that he has a tattoo on his left palm, it was an outline of a rectangle. The black bandage in his eye that Acastus gave is also still on his eyes. 'Huh? I guess they only changed the clothes and accessories are kept.'
He looked around and noticed a purple orb in the crowd of different auras, he saw a faint snake-like tattoo on the kid's neck so Grian assumed and thought 'this must be Acastus, I should go there.' Grian then went towards Acastus and said, "It's nice to see you here, oops I forgot I can't see hahaha." Grian awkwardly joked. He didn't know how to socialize nor talk to people the same age as him. He just tried to copy how the adults before at the Bocht talked to each other.
'What the fucking fuck! This blind kid is, here again, I thought I lost him when I went through the portal? How the shit fuck did he fucking found me here when he's blind as fuck?! Damn it!' Acastus thought to himself as he faked a smile, that Grian wouldn't see anyway. Acastus was just used to pretending to fake his emotions and facial expressions.
"Hi, there! How did you find me?" Acastus asked while gritting his teeth, Grian noticed the change of glow in Acastus' aura and was about to answer when they hear a loud voice speak. He was a tall man with blonde hair and the biggest nose. He was wearing a white uniform and a crest with the letter S on it. 'He's similar to the Rogaires that attack the Bocht but his uniform is a bit different.' Grian thought to himself.
"Listen up! I'm only going to explain once. My name is S and I am part of the Letters. I will be your instructor and guide for today. Your clothes were tailored by the same tailors who make the royal family's clothes. It will adjust and protect you from different weathers and terrains. When you learn how to control your EVs at the academy, you can put a bit of it on your clothes so it can also protect you from pressure. And the best part about your clothes is that it is self-cleaning!"
"Some of you might have noticed a tattoo located on your palms. It is a branding that you are a student of Mor Academy. It can be used to access different areas of this island and pay for your necessities. It cannot be removed, it is imbued with EV so even if you get your hands cut off, a new tattoo will appear on your skin as long as you're alive."
"The blank space inside the square tattoo is where your ranking will be put. It cannot be hidden. You must let everyone know how weak or powerful you are. Remember, in this world the strong rule the weak. If you're weak, then you don't deserve to be in this academy, you will be thrown to the Bocht to guard it for the rest of your lives. The strong will live on as Letters, Sealgaires, and Rogaires that serve and protect the world from Noctis." S said as some of the kids screamed in agreement. While the weaker ones from a poor family looked down in shame.
"We will now commence the academy testing to see your ranks. The way of life on this island will be affected by your rank. Your money, lodging, and the resources you will receive will be affected by it. But do not fret, even if you have a low-level affinity, you can still make it if you have high combat ability, same as the other way around. If you excel at both, then that's great! You'll get to have a lavish lifestyle here at the academy. If not and you don't excel at anything then you should not have come here, for you will regret it. If your name is called, come up here!"
**
Affinities are divided into 5 groups, flame, water, wind, lightning, and earth. The flame affinity is then decided into 5 classes. Red, orange, yellow, white, blue. A thousand years ago, if you were strong enough to explore the world, you are already considered a Sealgaire. But ever since, Ales and his group disappeared, the Meiths have no way to gauge a person's strength. Death of Sealgaires was prevalent from exploring different islands and it was weakening an island's power.
That was then they decided to establish a ranking system, which classified how much EV you can control and gather. For example, if you're an Arleith with the affinity of flame, but can only gather an EV that can let you conjure 2 fireballs, then you will be ranked the lowest. What an Arleith can do with their affinities depends solely on their EV, that's why they still train Arleiths with weapons and hand-to-hand combat. Because even if you have weak control of EV, you can still coat your weapon with it, thus powering up your skill.
Since then, the tattoo from the academy indicates an Arleith rank, even when a student finishes the academy, the tattoo and ranking will remain on them. It might change the initial ranking overtime when an Arleith gains more control of EV. The ranking system was always 1 to 9, with 1 being the lowest. Whether you're a Letter, Sealgaire, Rogaire, Meith, student, or an instructor, it was always 1 to 9. The highest ever recorded rank of a student that finished the academy was 5, then further along their careers did they ranked up.
The students were scattered on the ground made of the same white bricks, some were already making friends, and some were keeping distance. S was standing at the podium calling names one by one, for the testing. "Caleb Madden! Get up here!" The instructor yelled.
"Ugh! Get away from me! Make way!" A boy with buzz-cut hair with tan skin and an athletic build was pushing other students so he could go to the podium up front. Grian was standing in the middle of the students and was pushed aside by a boy named Caleb. When Caleb was already up front Grian whispered to himself, "He has an orange flame affinity."
Unbeknownst to Grian, a girl standing behind him heard his remark. That girl has long jet-black hair and short bangs above her arched eyebrows. She has the most beautiful green doe-eyes, has the palest skin, and a few inches smaller than Grian. "I thought you're blind, how did you know?" the girl asked Grian. Acastus also heard and looked at Grian waiting for an answer. Ever since Acastus met Grian, he found it weird that Grian was not acting like he was blind. It was like he could see through the cover of his eyes.
Grian turned around and saw an outline of a girl, with tiny pointy ears. "Are you talking to me?" Grian asked the girl while pointing his finger at his chest.
"Who else is blind around here? The name's Aria, by the way." The girl answered with a neutral face. When the students went inside the gate, some kids that aren't used to using the portal fell to sleep, some that were left awake tried to make friends immediately. Aria was already noticed and approached by a few students because her beauty was breathtaking plus she was built with perfect proportions that are easily noticeable; but Grian couldn't even see her face, she was just an outline of white lines with a glowing green orb. He then thought,
[Inspect]
'She's much stronger than Acastus. That explains why she has pointy ears, It's the first time I saw one, too bad I couldn't see her face. What if elves half a big nose or sharp teeth? I wonder what the elves look like. What's that symbol? Does she have two affinities? Is that possible?' He thought to himself and answered, "I'm Grian." He then offered a handshake with a smile. Aria just stared at Grian's hand and continued asking, "No, thank you. How did you know what affinity he has?"
"Uh I have strong senses, I was just guessing," Grian stated, embarrassed.
'Hahahaha! This fucker got rejected! I'll show you how you do it.' Acastus thought to himself while grinning from ear to ear. "My name's Acastus Hale, nice to meet you Aria." He tried to do the same as Grian and extended his hand, but he added a little bow to show more respect. Aria did not even look at him and continued watching the test on the podium.
"Nice try! Hahaha." Grian scoffed as he tried to copy the bow Acastus made earlier, making fun of him.
'This blind fucker fucking made fun of me! How did this fucker fuck my life! If it weren't for my family, I would've toasted this blind fucker.' He thought to himself while clenching his teeth and just laughed at Grian's statement. Grian saw the changes in their auras. Aria's aura moved slightly when he offered his hand, so Grian deduced that she doesn't like touching hands. In Acastus' case, Grian now knows that Acastus is easily angered by his jests while pretending to be unbothered, which entertains him deeply.
S scanned Caleb's tattoo at the podium, with a rectangular tool that releases a red beam of light. "Hmm, orange flame, not bad! You're becoming more and more like your brother," S said to Caleb. He then launched an attack testing Caleb's combat ability.
"You're just a 2 but since but since I know your brother, I'll make it a 3." S, whispered to Caleb before he went down. Caleb nodded and grinned.
"Next! Aria Callisto! Upfront!" The instructor, S yelled. Aria then walked forward with a stern face. Prepared for whatever she might hear.
"Aria Callisto? Hmm, the name sounds familiar." A student said.
"I know right! I feel like I know her from somewhere, but I can't point my finger on it."
"I remember! She's the slave who killed a Meith!" Another student said.
Gasps and shocked expressions filled the area then the next second it was filled with hate and disdain.
"Boo! Get out of here murderer!"
"Slut, halfling scum! Go back to the marshlands and suck some dicks!"
Aria just continued walking towards the podium while students are talking about her. When she passed by Caleb, he spits on the ground and said, "Want to suck mine? In exchange for my protection." He winked too but Aria just ignored him and continued walking.
"You dare ignore me?! You're just a slut! No one wants you here!" Caleb screamed and threw an orange fireball at her. A wall made of earth was made by Aria and blocked the fireball. The wall then morphed into a slanted spike and quickly went towards Caleb, stopping only when the tip of the spike was a few millimeters from Caleb's face.
Other students were laughing at what happened. S was just watching, disgusted by Aria's existence,
Grian was just silently observing everything that has happened. It was like he was watching drawings move.
"Why are they doing that to her?" a girl asked another and Grian overhead them talking with his sharp senses.
"Don't you know her? She's a wanted Arleith."
"Why? What happened to her?"
"Well, her mother was raped by an Elf and went crazy after she gave birth to Aria. Then, when Aria was 11, her mother killed herself. It was said that she was taken and sold as a slave to a Meith. Rumour has it that to escape, she bit off the Meith's dick and fled using her affinity, she was on the run ever since. Everyone in the flatlands knows her because there is a huge bounty on her put up by the Meiths."
"Well, if it's her I don't mind getting my dick bit off." a boy replied while laughing.
"You're disgusting! Anyway, we can't do anything about it, as long as she's here at the academy, all violations are nulled. The academy doesn't discriminate but I'm sure her life will be hard here in the academy," another girl added.
"But what happened to the Meith's dick though?" the boy asked. "That's one of the mysteries of the planet."
S proceeded to the same thing he did with Caleb. He scanned her hand then launched a slighter stronger attack than he did with Caleb. S' hand lit up with yellow flames and punched Aria on the stomach. Aria then blocked the punch with a wall made of earth, but the flames were too strong, and it burnt a hole through. Aria was hit on the stomach and coughed a bit of blood. She gritted her teeth and stood up planning on attacking again.
But the instructor already said her ranking and called the next student. "4! Next! Acastus Hale!"
"That's me!" He yelled and Grian said, "Good luck up there!" Acastus hurriedly went up to the instructor and S started testing him.
"Are you okay?" Grian asked Aria when she passed by him. He's a bit concerned because, from an orb the size of a fist, he saw that it was now 3x bigger and the green glow was overwhelming.
"Why do you care?!" Aria responded with an emotionless face, but Grian knew by the way her aura behaves, she was trying to control her anger.
'I wonder what would happen if the instructor continued the test? Even if he's a Letter, I think she'll wipe the floor with him.' Grian thought. He assumed this outcome because of the difference in the aura, although the instructor has a yellow flame, it was only the size of an eyeball. This means that he just recently learned it and he used to have an orange flame too like Caleb. His thought was suspended when S called his name,
"Grian Ignis! Next!"
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