Anri's routine started at 4:30 am every morning. It began with a 5 kilometre run through the soybean farm. He had to do 100 push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and then combat practise with the old man. The sorcerer wasn't terrible at martial arts but he fell short of the tutor's expectations.
"Get up and finish the lap!" The old man had berated him on his first day. The very breathless teenager had fallen to his knees from his exertions. "It's only going to get harder from here on. If you can't even do this then you might as well quit trying to get into Starfield."
What was so special about Starfield anyway? Anri wondered. He could just sign up to another Academy since he had no interest in joining an elite school. The thought of quitting though was abhorrent to the teenager who couldn't resist a challenge when it was staring at him in the face. His pride wasn't going to let him off if he gave up this way.
"Yeah, stop nagging, old man. I'm getting up."
His teacher frowned down at the teenage boy who had the most unenthusiastic dead fish look on his face. It was either that or boredom. Anri perpetually appeared to be disinterested in the world. But there was one thing that could motivate him like no other.
"If you aren't done by the time breakfast cools, you get none."
It seemed to put some life back into Anri's eyes. The teenager rolled over and began silently doing push-ups.
The old man had a grandson who hated studying. He motivated the little boy with a candy or a toy as a reward if he did all his lessons properly. Where was the difference here? None.
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Physical conditioning aside, the old man was astonished at how intelligent his new student was. It hadn't taken more than a few lessons for him to really see the depth of Anri's capabilities. His aptitude for Mathematics and arithmetic reasoning went beyond just natural talent. He had uncanny talent and tenacity that allowed him to easily grasp and solve complex problems.
That wasn't all though. Anri had a hunger for knowledge and learning, and it often drove him into seeking out material that went beyond what was expected of him to learn. The teenager would often be found with his nose buried in a book during every waking moment of the day when he wasn't working out or skulking around the machines in the soy farm and taking apart broken machinery.
The old teacher was a little terrified. At the rate that his student was going, it would only take two weeks for him to be done with the mathematical portions of his study. It brought up a whole new direction of thought that disturbed the teacher - Anri was an introverted genius, emotionally closed off, had high self-esteem, high confidence, and a lack of respect for authority. Where did his moral compass point towards?
"What are you thinking about?" He asked the young man who was deep in his thoughts. They'd just had dinner together and Anri was boiling some water for black tea.
He was thinking about the possibility of energy transmutation from metals. He had learnt about batteries that day and was formulating a method of extracting energy through magic.
"Energy. Batteries."
"What about it?" The old man prompted him to continue.
"The efficiency could be improved. It would be interesting to have batteries the size of a thumbnail that can launch a ship into the sky."
"If that was the case then humanity would not have to worry so much about energy while exploring the universe," the old man replied. Such a battery sounded fantastical.
Anri poured the tea into their cups, his thoughts still lingering over the possibilities of what could be achieved when technology and magic were used together.
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Time flew on wings when there was much to be done. Anri's mind and body grew stronger as the months disappeared. It seemed as though he had only arrived on the farm not a week ago when 6 months had actually sped by. Now there was only 1 month remaining.
The sky was overcast with thick clouds that promised rain. Anri was in a rain jacket, shovelling soil at the soybean farm when he heard the sound of a flying vehicle landing in front of the cabin where he stayed with the old man. Even from a distance, he could recognise the bulky shape of a Beetle, a compact and heavily armoured aerial vehicle.
He leaned on the shovel and watched the figure of a young girl with silky silver hair disembark from the Beetle. She looked no older than 18.
"Anri, there's someone here to meet you. Clean up and head over here," he heard the voice of his teacher from his wrist communicator.
The teenager removed his work clothes and washed his hand under a tap of warm water. Holding open an umbrella, he set an unhurried pace towards the home he shared with his teacher.
"That's him," the old man gruffly told the silver-haired girl when Anri stepped under the roof of the house and shook the droplets of water from his umbrella.
The sorcerer glanced at the visitor. Her demeanour was cool and she had bright green feline-like eyes under silver lashes. If he were still in his original world, he would have suspected she had high elf blood in her.
"You are Anri?" She asked him.
"Yes."
She extended her hand forward. "I am prefect Helena from Starfield Academy." Her fingers were long and delicate like they were made for playing the harp.
Anri glanced at the extended hand and reluctantly shook it. After sequestering himself for so long in the soy farm with only the company of an old man, he had become weird.
"You must be wondering why I've come here to meet you." She spoke upper-class federation. Her accent was very pronounced.
"Come inside and drink soup while you talk," the old man called from the kitchen.
Helena glanced at the door of the kitchen. "Thank you but-"
"You're just like your older brother," the old man good-naturedly accused. "Now put away that unnecessary formal act and drink the soup before it gets cold."
Anri glanced at Helena who looked like she wasn't sure what to say. "I- thank you," she replied. For a brief second, she made eye contact with Anri and then turned to the kitchen door.
___
"Are you aware of the camp system that exists in the Academy?" She asked Anri after taking a sip of the hot chicken soup that was served.
"I am," Anri replied. There were four camps in Starfield Academy. Each student had to pledge loyalty to a camp and follow the orders of the perfects whose commands they were under. "What about it?"
Helena sat with her back ramrod straight but there was no stiffness in her posture. Anri was intrigued by how her every movement was fluid and elegant.
"I am a representative of Camp Ursa," she informed him. "And I'm here to extend to you an invitation to join us during the four years of your study at Starfield Academy."
Anri was confused. He hadn't even cleared the exam so why was he getting special treatment?
"Why?" He asked her. "Do you go around inviting every hopeful candidate before the exams?"
Helena shook her head elegantly. "Only the ones who have been recommended by officers we hold in high esteem." It was because of unit 13 that Anri had caught the eyes of the prefect.
"And how do you know this?" The old man interrupted their conversation. "Students aren't supposed to have access to details like that. At least not this early."
"With all due respect, sir," Helena replied. "Candidate details aren't exactly classified information. If you know the right people, there are.... ways to work around the rules."
"Should I prepare myself for a visit from the other camp prefects?" Anri asked, annoyed by the prospect of it.
Helena's deep gaze returned to him. "Maybe. It depends on how capable they are. But I'm certain that the prefect of camp Cygnus will arrive within the hour. Whatever it is, I want to remind you that the commander of unit 13 was also a member of Camp Ursa." She then turned a small smile at the old man. "Thank you for the soup, sir. I must get going now."
"Hurry along then. It looks like the storm is about to get worse."
Anri took the empty bowls of soup to the sink and loaded them under the washer. Helena had given him much to think about.