After Larne's tense encounter with Hirwaun, he made his way to the Orca Academy. The Academy's architecture was reminiscent of ancient Greek buildings, with the main hall consisting of seven floors which housed the offices of the academy's instructors. The auxiliary buildings on either side were three stories high and contained a total of 90 classrooms, accommodating up to 4500 students at any given time.
Between the buildings to the left, there was a small plaza which previously served as an outpost but now functions as the Enforcement Department and the Department of Internal Affairs. On the right side of the building was a small forest, which provided an ideal location for training as well as romantic rendezvous.
The main building of the structure goes around the assembly ground, passes through the garden and also passes through his own office which was the research building because it was mainly used by the academy's alchemists and finally the library before he arrived at the main administration building. The academy head's office was on the top floor of the administration building.
Despite its 153-year history as a multi-disciplinary institution, the Orca Academy was not known for its CoreEnergy or swordsmanship courses until recently. Most other schools that outranked them had powerful quasi-sword saints in charge of these two courses. However, the Academy was well-known for its research in alchemy, artifact refining, magic, and magical beast studies. To ensure that students receive the best education, the Orca Academy requires them to choose two other professional courses in addition to their main CoreEnergy awakening and training course and swordsmanship courses. Otherwise, they will not be allowed to graduate. The Academy does not place any time limit on graduation as long as the fees are paid.
In addition to these courses, the Academy also offers renowned courses such as construction and knight training. There is even a course specially designed for descendants of nobility, which includes flower appreciation and fine-dining courses.
Larne, a Nobel prize-winning scientist, took up alchemy and artifact refining, but found the arithmetic used in accounting too crude for his genius brain. He even became the best student in the entire alliance and one of the best in the continent. However, his achievement did not bring him much joy as he walked towards the Academy head's office. He knocked and heard a voice from inside.
"Come in," said the Academy head, Steven Grey, a man with a bright smile despite his aged-looking face. Standing on his right was Instructor Watkins, whom Larne thought was meant to be in seclusion. On the other side was Instructor Anita, renowned for her beauty and ever-smiling face.
Larne ignored Grey and walked straight to Anita, hugging her. She responded with happiness, and the other instructors did not seem surprised. After a while, Larne withdrew from the hug and cleared his throat. "Uhm...Uhm," he said and turned to Grey to discuss his business.
"I understand why you're here," Grey interrupted. "We're in a tough spot financially and we need more instructors. Unfortunately, two of our top instructors have left to join our rival academy, Rose Academy. They were resentful of the favorable treatment you've been receiving, even though you only graduated a few years ago. With the war over, there's been an influx of refugees which means more students for every academy. I need you to perform well in the challenges so we can attract more instructors."
Larne's face contorted into a frown. "Am I also the reason we're broke?"
"I can't disclose that information right now. Take some time to think about what I've said," Grey replied, sweating nervously.
Larne noticed something strange about Grey, Anita, and Watkins. He sensed that they were hiding something.
To break the tension, Grey announced, "Starting today, Larne, you will be given the CoreEnergy awakening seminar."
Larne was confused at first, but then he realized what Grey was doing. He flew into a rage and shouted at Grey, "I never knew you were like this. I think I'll resign too."
Grey reminded Larne of the agreement they made when he went on vacation. "You owe me, and until you can pay it back, you can't leave the academy."
Feeling defeated, Larne returned to his office and fell asleep.