"Sir, are you certain this is a good idea..?" A worried voice raised a question as he shuffled between documents and files. In his hands were two sheets of paper, detailing the history and information of the two described. One sheet held the information of Zain, while the other held his soon to be opponent during the entrance exams. Elise Wrintry.
"Hm? What's the matter?" The principal of the School of Suzaku spoke back, his old and rough sounding voice giving a response to his secretary's slight complaint.
"Sir it's just, putting up a student of noble birth against someone who's barely a commoner is just cruel. They're already leagues stronger than most mages in their generation thanks to their upbringing. Not only that, but this is the worst compatibility that this student, Zain, can have."
"Children of this generation are bound to face many struggles over the course of their life. This is no exception."
"But Sir, this is the eldest daughter of the Wrintry family. It is well known over the kingdom what kind of personality she has. I just believe having this young man go up against someone of her caliber is just a bit…."
"I understand…..and that's why I'm personally going to watch over this fight." The principal stood up out of his chair before walking forward to the doorway.
"I believe it's an important lesson for everyone to see the differences in their strength compared to others. But should thing's get out of hand I'll be certain to intervene."
His secretary gave a sigh, still not completely ok with the situation, before he himself stood up and followed behind his employer. The school of Suzaku was one of the few prestigious academies in the world, bringing forth many talented mages, and with each new school year it brings in more hopeful students who wish to learn the absolute depths of magic and better themselves.
"Still I'm baffled that the system could pair these two up. Isn't the selection random?"
Before they can take their classes, the students must undergo a selection process. First a written exam to prove their knowledge about the world and of magic in general.
"Yes, you are true about that."
"Then this makes even less sense. Not to undermine this student, however the randomizer usually pits students of the same intelligence level against one another."
"The system didn't make a mistake, after all, Mr. Zain obtained a perfect score."
"A perfect scor- Sir it's entirely possible that he cheated to obtain those answers!"
"We had our best analyst mage scan over his test. They didn't find any form of tampering, or magic he could have used to converse with an outside source. He finished the test legitimately."
"Seriously….? No, even if their scores on the written exam are the same, that still doesn't justify us putting these two against one another!"
The two had finally arrived at the fighting grounds, a large arena spread out before them. Down below there were three other people sitting in the stands, clipboards at the ready and eyes focused on the two separate entrances.
"Sir, no Zephyr, I get the feeling you're taking too many risks with this! A student could be really hurt if things go wrong!"
"Carter, just watch his expression. He's walking out now."
Carter, with his confused expression, did as he was asked. As his eyes were laid upon Zain walking out from the corridor, he could hardly believe himself. He quickly looked between Zain and his profile photo a number of times. How Zain looked now was nothing like the photo that he had taken for his information.
"Is...is that even the same person…?" Carter couldn't hide his surprise at the facial expression Zain held as he walked towards the center of the grounds.
"It's hard to believe but, yes it is."
"He...doesn't have the face of someone who just turned seventeen….let alone the posture of one."
"I thought the same thing. He reminds me of my old war buddies with the way he carries himself. I can tell from the way he walks that he is someone who has fought long and hard to become the man he is now. I took a chance on that..."
Zephyr simply chuckled to himself as he walked down to the spectator seats.
"He came running in two days ago saying he wished to change some information about himself. I happened to be around the premises when this happened and allowed it."
"But why?"
"The look in his eyes….it compelled me to. If he's telling the truth about himself then he could cause quite the stir in the community we live in. If not...I will quickly step in to stop this fight, and expel him if necessary."
Carter stood confused before looking over to Zain, trying to get a read on his facial expression. However all he could see was a stern look, and what seemed to be anger.
"That doesn't seem like a compelling face…"
Down in the arena Zain was doing some light stretches to prepare himself for the upcoming fight.
"I need to understand how much I've retained from the future, and the best way to do that is by throwing myself into combat…And what better opponent than someone of royal blood."
Zain stood up and looked forward, hearing the footsteps of someone else walking into the room. It sounded akin to the clicking of high heels on a hard surface. Soon enough light started to shine on his opponent, and a flowing light blue dress was what entered his eyes first. Light silk waved in the air with each step they took before finally her entire form was revealed. Long ice blue hair fluttered in the wind with each step she took. Her eyes opened to reveal silver orbs and a very young and beautiful face. With her presence here the referee had walked forward and raised his hand up into the air, but before he could announce both fighters, Zain's opponent cut him off.
"I don't need you to introduce myself. Someone of your status couldn't even begin to capture my true elegance and strength." Arrogance had filled her mouth and her comment directed towards the referee left everyone in silence. Her eyes landed on Zain from across the way, and her face scrunched up in disgust.
"And you're my opponent…?
"Would I be here if I was anything else?"
The girl simply smiled before letting her hand fall to the side.
"Rejoice, for you are fighting Elise Wrintry, a mage who resides in the fourth circle! You will find power and grace of equal caliber nowhere else."
It was common courtesy for fellow mages who were about to duel in any form of a tournament to announce their full name, along with what magic circle they have obtained. Within each mage, there were six circles that made up their mana core, which held all of their power. The stronger you became, the deeper into the circle you could draw power from.
"It seems misfortune chose to shine down on you today. For a commoner like yourself, hearing a mage announce themselves to be in the fourth circle must be a surprise. Don't worry, I'll let you watch and observe my power before sending you back to whatever backwater household you came from."
Zain took a deep breath before speaking up.
"You're only in the fourth circle? Then this won't be much of a challenge…."
Elise stood there shocked, confusion slightly taking over her face, before she calmed herself down. She chuckled before laughing at Zain's comment.
"Really? Not a challenge? It seems you have a screw loose. Then by all means, tell me what circle you've obtained. Second? Third?"
Her laughing continued as the rest of the onlookers in the room grew worried for a moment. However Zain stood tall before announcing his place with full confidence.
"My name is Zain, a mage who resides in the fifth circle."