"Today, I will be introducing you all to the great many clubs at our school." Mr. Julius announced. "The first two days were spent making you guys comfortable to the school, now that you are all well acquainted with the facilities, I will be showing you the community. Come, class, there is a meeting with all the other newcomers at the gymnasium."
Well, this was a nice surprise! Though he didn't want to admit it, Matthew was beginning to feel antsy. He loved the school, deeply, but couldn't imagine being hunched over a desk for ten years. That sounded like hell, there was no way anybody could do that! So, the news of clubs was a welcome one to him.
In a single file line, the entire class manuevered their way through the campus and into the gymnasium. To reduce confusion, the gym and the gymnasium were two different places. One was used for general assemblies and physical education, the second was a school owned facility filled with weightlifting equipment and battling equipment.
Demitri, Zayne and Lauren were at the back, where Matthew was too.
"Come on man! Join the combat club with me!" Zayne pleaded. "I thought you were all about being strong!"
Shoving him off of himself, Demitri scowled. "I do, but no stupid kids fight will teach me anything, so instead i'll join the student council."
"But you can't even join till your old enough!" Zayne pouted. "Just join me!"
"Oh my god, shut up!"
Lauren had her usual cool demeanor. Curious, Matthew asked her: "Is there a club you want to join?"
"Student council." She answered clearly and succinctly. "Brother..."
"Brother?" Matthew raised an eyebrow.
Demitri piped in to the conversation. "Her brother is in the student council, as is mine."
"Oh."
This was surprising news to Matthew. He knew that the eldest children of the major families went to luxurious academies, but he did not know that it was Kiertzche. 'Wow, this place is, oh by Gaiah I have not fully understood what it meant to even be here.'
Brain gushing with nervousness fluids, Matthew now suddenly felt extremely out of place. He looked around at his peers, saw their perfect hair, flawless skin, expensive accessories and sensed their developed mana system. He had thought that he was special, but really he was just a big fish in a small pond. Now, he was in an ocean of other fish just as big as him.
Arriving at the gymnasium, Matthew was welcomed by a parade of noise and activity.
"Join the Arts and Crafts club!"
"Forget that boring thing, join the Martial Arts Club!"
"Martial Arts? In this day and age? Join the Mage Combat Club!"
"Oi, you starting a fight, Troy?"
"Oh you wanna go, Jeff?"
A booming voice broke through the liturgy of noise. "That's enough!".
Matthew saw a familiar face. It was Mr. Sun.
Sun stood above the students atop a podium, overlooking all of them. He stood with militaristic discipline, utterly still and utterly vigilant.
"Get back to your stalls and be quiet!"
Wordlessly, Troy and Jeff obeyed.
Taking a seat, Julius got out a roll of newspaper and relaxed. "Alright kids, your free to roam. Make sure to come back to me before the bell for recess rings."
With that, they were given free reign over the domain of the gymnasium.
Demitri and Zayne immediately split off, Petri and some of his friends wandered in the direction of glowing tubes whilst Lauren headed straight for the most regal looking stall. Remembering what Harold had said, Matthew too ventured to the regal stall.
'You know, I have some talented earth mages in my academy already.' He recounted.
If that were true, then...
Looking around, Matthew could see no mages that matched the mana signature of earth mages, except for one directly located at the regal stall. That was why he headed there in the first place.
Arriving, Matthew was greeted by a kid of thirteen years of age that had dark brown hair, bronze skin and rich topaz eyes. He just stared at the person blankly for a while, not really blinking.
Eventually, the kid squinted his eyes a little at Matthew and cleared his throat.
"What."
Matthew recollected himself, he had just been lost by the fact that this kid was an earth mage...and was a member of the student council.
He pointed at the tag on his uniform, golden and shining with the characters "H.E.D.R.I.C.K".
Hedrick.
"Y-your an earth mage." Matthew's mouth gaped.
A little annoyed, Hedrick tilted his head a tad as his eyes hardened. "And?"
"S-sorry, I didn't mean to offend! I'm an earth mage too!" Matthew let go of his mana, revealing it from its previous hidden state. "Sorry, I should have revealed my mana earlier, its just...habit."
A layer of stone was shaved off of Hedrick's personal wall. What replaced it was an understanding gaze. "You with her?" He changed the subject, gesturing to Lauren, who was currently in a staring competition with another person who looked exactly like her, only taller, shorter hair and more boyish.
If Lauren was considered a cold child, then the person she called her older brother was arctic.
Without blinking, Lauren's brother turned away and went to continue with his previous duty (He was previously doing paperwork on the applications, sifting through the applicants and picking only the best ones). When he did that, Matthew saw the faintest hint of an emotion on Lauren's face...was it, sadness? Whatever it was, it was gone as soon as it had appeared.
"If you want to join, here, sign." Hedrick passed Matthew an application form to join the student council. "Fill it out."
Matthew fumbled a little bit with the paper and pen, still shocked that an earth mage was in the student council of Kiertzche Academy.
"C-can I ask how you became a student council member?" He stuttered.
Hedrick resumed his previous stance, utterly immovable and impassive. "No."
"Okay."
Matthew stepped to the side as he realized that a line had formed behind him. He used the tables that the stall used and filled out the boxes questioning his personal life and personal abilities as well as his characteristics. Then, he handed it to the boy who he assumed to be Lauren's older brother. Wordlessly, without even glancing at Matthew, he took the paper as well as the pen and threw it back at Hedrick, who also caught it without looking.
Honestly, he was just gobsmacked at how these two could work together without communicating a single bit. 'Must be a special power that student council members have, maybe they are linked telepathically.'
That was probably it.
For the rest of the hour he had, Matthew spent it just walking around. The academy had a LOT of clubs. There was the paranormal sightings club, the psychic club, the martial arts club, the sports club, the mage combat class and more. Honestly, it was overwhelming. The vast amount of options available, such vastness that one would not really be able to do anything in in front of it.
Bah, this wasn't some over powered white haired character's overpowered ability, something stupid like infinite, this was just a bunch of clubs.
Eventually, the club scouting periods ended. All the students went back to their classes, some having joined a club, others gaining an interest in more things and most feeling just as overwhelmed as Matthew did.
.
.
.
When the bell for lunch time rang, Matthew wordlessly headed off to the gym. Tottering his way to it, Matthew opened the large double doors to the spherical building and entered.
Polly sat where he was yesterday, behind a mahogany desk while Jahad was using the bench press.
Noticing his arrival, Polly called out for Jahad. "Hey Jahad, the kid's here."
Pushing one last rep out, the bench shook as Jahad placed the weight back onto it. He breathed out heavily, wiping off the sweat from his brow. "You're here early, you wanna use the equipment?"
Matthew shook his head. "No, I want to ask about how you become a Grand Mage."
Jahad laughed loudly until he saw the serious look Matthew had. "Oh, dang, Kid, you're serious?"
Matthew answered with a firm nod.
"Well, first take a seat. This will be a bit long." Jahad picked up chair that was close by the leg, bringing it next to him. He sighed, sifting his fingers through his black hair. "Kid, the journey to become a Grand Mage is an arduous one. In the entire history of Ezune, there has only been four. You already know who they are. The secret to becoming one has been lost from history. From the days of the Demonic Wars to the Great Reform, no Grand Mage has ever appeared in history since. That being said, you can still aim to be the strongest mage in this generation. All you need to do is apply professionally as pro fighter and be placed first! That, or join the G.M.A and climb the ranks. Really, there are multiple ways to be strong, politically, physically, financially or influentally. Don't think too hard about it, kid, it'll just give you a head ache."
Matthew's mind was working in overdrive, collecting each piece of information Jahad given him.
"You've got talent, so I'll help you with being a professional fighter. How about that? As a fighter, you get prestige, fame, influence and money! Its a good deal, the only drawback is the training you have to do and the threat of death. Its also the most straightforward path."
Considering it, Matthew rubbed his chin in deep thought. Wow, this really was a lot to think about.
"Or, you don't do anything that this muscle bound geezer suggests, and just join the Student Council." A boy with glimmering gold hair interrupted their conversation.
Jahad grinned with delighted surprise when he saw who had come to see him. "Constance! How's it going, kid?"
"Same old same old, just living life." the boy, Constance, shrugged. "Good to see you, Jahad."
The two shared a hand clasp that resounded throughout the gym.
"Muscle bound? Kid, you should know better than anybody that my muscles are bound by nothing but strength and might." Jahad kissed his two biceps. "See? Matthew, meet Strength and Might!"
Constance laughed, his cheery tone sent shivers down Matthew's spine. It was such a beautiful melody that Matthew felt the intense desire to hear more of it.
"Its always a pleasure talking to you, Sir." Constance turned his attention back to Matthew. "Anyways, my oh my, where are my manners. My name is Constance Iliad, member of the student council. I have read your application form and have come to interview you myself. As my seniors, Grace and Arthur aren't here right now, I will be serving as Captain of the student council, pleased to meet you, Mr. Matthew Herzia."