"Death element..." Professor Xena spoke and the room grew quiet as soon as her words left her mouth.
"Isn't death element quite rare between humans? I don't remember the last time a student had that affinity." Some students began gossiping.
"It is rare for a human to have the best affinity with the death element. I guess you have seen the abyss early in your life." Professor Xena looked quite serious while talking to Jack.
"I don't know anything about this called abyss." Jack lied without battling an eye.
Professor Xena eyed Jack suspiciously but didn't ask anything more. "For now, you will be staying with the students of the darkness department. I will need to make some arrangements to see how we fit your death element."
"Thank you, professor Xena." Jack bowed and went back to his seat next to Klaus.
"So you wield the death element. Now I don't know if I am lucky or not being your partner. I don't think I will be able to team with you." Klaus had an apologetic smile while talking to Jack.
"Why is that?" Jack turned to Klaus hearing what he said.
"Firstly, my light element and your death element are not compatible at all. In fact, they are natural enemies, so we wouldn't be able to work together even if we tried."
"Secondly, your death element is not well viewed between humans. The Golden Order has great influence across all of Gaya. Their members all wield the light element and their mission is to hunt all evil mages. Most evil mages wield the darkness element. That's why the Shadow Cult is their natural nemesis. The Golden Order has been trying to eradicate the Shadow Cult for a long time. But no one knows where they hide, or what their plans are." Klaus explained everything in one breath.
"But it's not the element that makes a person evil right? It depends on the user who wields it. Any element can be used for good or evil. Light can be evil and darkness can be good. Life is not either black or white after all. Life is a million shades of grey." Jack protested hearing Klaus' words.
"I understand what you say, and I don't think you are wrong. But be careful saying that kind of things in front of a member of the Golden Order. They might declare you a heretic and sentence you to death." Klaus tried advising Jack but to no avail.
"What? They would kill me just because I think different? Just because I think that the element you wield doesn't define how you are as a person?" Jack was completely outraged.
"That's how they work. For them light is good, and darkness is bad. They will allow students to learn darkness related magic, but they pay attention to all darkness element students since they don't want any of them to join the Shadow Cult. There have been many students that have joined the Shadow Cult once they graduated. So you can guess, that both the Golden Order and the Shadow Cult have insiders. The Golden Order wants to keep an eye on the students of the darkness department, so they don't join the Shadow Cult, and the Shadow Cult wants to recruit them."
"Are you telling me I will be monitored constantly? But my element is death, not darkness." Jack protested.
"That is even worse. Death element is almost nonexistent between humans. But it is a very powerful branch of the darkness element. No one wants to fight an undead army. An enemy that can't die and will keep fighting for all eternity is scary as fuck. In the past there was a member of the Shadow Cult that wielded the death element. The Golden Order paid a great price to kill that person. It gives me chills just remembering all the stories... That's why the Shadow Cult will surely try to recruit you and the Golden Order will keep two eyes on you." Klaus was being as honest as he could with Jack.
Seeing Jack's annoyed expression he tried cheering him up a bit. "Don't think too much about it. No one will bother you as long as you just attend your classes and don't do anything weird. You can live a normal student life."
"I hope so. In this life I just wish to be free." Jack simply said.
"That's what we all want my friend. Even though we might not be a team anymore in future special events, we can hang out together and talk normally. I already consider you a friend Jack." Klaus said with an honest smile.
"Thank you, Klaus. Maybe I'll also consider you as a friend in the future." Jack didn't want to trust people so quickly.
"Ouch! That hurt! But it's okay. I'm sure we will get along." Klaus was happy when Jack didn't immediately turn him down.
"Ok everyone. Remember that classes start in a week. I would recommend using this week to get used to the academy grounds and getting to know other students. Having friends is always good after all. Now I will guide you to your respective rooms. So all of you, please follow me." Professor Xena spoke before exiting the classroom with all the students walking behind her.
They went through all the departments. On each department a group of old students would warmly greet the freshmen and take them to their respective rooms.
It could be considered a coincidence, but the darkness department was the last one they went through.
All students went to their respective rooms and Jack was going to do the same. But not before professor Xena talked to him. "Mister Immortal, I will most likely visit you tomorrow. You will most likely be assigned a room in another place, so I would recommend not getting too comfortable with your actual room."
Jack was starting to feel really annoyed with all this monitoring, but he still answered humbly. "I will keep that in mind professor."
Jack went directly to his room without speaking to any student. Some people wanted to strike a conversation with him along the way, but he just dismissed them saying that he was tired and just wanted to sleep.
"I will practice the Bloody Tyrant technique a bit and just go to sleep. Starting tomorrow I will try to familiarize myself with the academy grounds." Jack was already planning his bright future.
Meanwhile, on a small corner in the academy, professor Xena arrived in front of an ordinary and normal looking wood door. She had a pensive look on his face while staring at the door. A mocking voice came from behind the door that brought her back to reality. "Are you gonna stay there all day staring at my door? Or are you going to knock?"
"Would you let me enter if I knocked?" Professor Xena sneered hearing the voice.
"That depends on what brings you here." The voice answered with a hint of arrogance.
"I need to talk to you about something important." Professor Xena answered with an annoyed tone.
"Important to me?" The voice sounded lazy when it heard her answer.
"I'm sure you will be interested." Professor Xena answered with confidence.
"Ok, you may come in then." The door opened abruptly and professor Xena entered the room.
The room was a complete mess. There were cauldrons everywhere with some smelly liquid inside. Opened books randomly tossed on the ground. The place was not a pigsty but it was not clean at all. The light of the sun barely passed through a window, and the room was barely illuminated with some small candles.
A middle-aged brunette man, wearing black clothes, with messy hair, a short brown beard and bloodshot eyes was sitting calmly on a stool smoking a pipe while looking at professor Xena entering the room.
"So, what brings the deputy director to my humble abode?" The middle-aged man asked with a mocking smile.