Dante donned the Port Island Academy's uniform, a sleek ensemble comprising a white dress shirt, trousers, a blazer jacket, loafers, and a tie.
However, he decided to forego fastening the top button of his shirt, leaving the tie to dangle casually around his collar, serving as a stylish accessory rather than a mandatory component.
Dante then picked up his katana, Void Edge, which rested against his bed inscribed with runes, and stowed it away in his inventory with a flick of his wrist. It wouldn't be appropriate to roam around with a weapon on display.
With his silver hair fashioned into his signature double-strand, draping on both sides of his face, he made his way out of the Magic Quarters Complex.
As an integral part of the sprawling Port Island Academy, the Magic Quarters Complex was just one of six distinct sections that made up the institution.
Despite its location in Port Island City, the academy was so vast in size that it could easily rival the expanse of an entire metropolis.
Each of the six sections possessed its unique environment, and this was particularly evident in the Magic Quarters Complex.
Here, a wide variety of diverse structures could be found, showcasing the artistry and creativity of the academy's architects and builders.
Passing through the gate checkpoint that separated each distinct section, Dante made his way into the Magic Studies Wing.
This area was also replete with buildings, all dedicated to academic pursuits, such as The Library Tower, The Classroom, and many other facilities.
As he navigated through the labyrinthine roads, he noticed teleportation circles painted on the ground, hovering cars, and seniors who were preparing to go out on dates.
Some of the seniors were even on the lookout for new entrants, hoping to bag a noble partner. The sheer number of people passing by made it an ideal opportunity for them to strike up a conversation and make a connection.
In a world where power was everything, connections were crucial to maintaining one's status, and sometimes coercion was the only means of getting things done.
The world had changed drastically since mana had appeared, disrupting the old systems and ways of doing things.
However, there were still a few remnants of the old Earth that could be seen, and these could be attributed to the presence of "Unfated" humans who had somehow managed to gain positions of power within the mage hierarchy.
Even within the academy, such situations were not uncommon, as evidenced by the female who was currently following Arthur.
As Arthur's narrow escape played out elsewhere, Dante found himself in an alley just around the corner from one of the many roads.
It was there that he was confronted by a group of four children - three males and a female - who were all quadruplets and bore a striking resemblance to each other.
The female sibling stood in front of her brothers with her arms crossed over her large chest, a proud smirk on her face as she gazed at Dante.
Two of her brothers had the same expression, while the other appeared to be shy and barely able to meet Dante's gaze, his voice coming out as a squeak. Despite their youth, the siblings seemed to carry themselves with a certain confidence and poise.
As Dante confronted the quadruplets, he heard Theia chomping on a dark snack resembling popcorn and uttering something.
Meanwhile, Damien was preoccupied with scratching Elrid's ashy skin, and Theia's voice reverberated in Dante's mind, "You've reached the classical stage of bullying, little brat. It's a common experience for protagonists in most of the anime I've read."
Dante felt a surge of irritation at Theia's words. "Why do you always compare me to some anime hero? I'm nothing like them, particularly with all the cursed events in my life."
His lips twitched at the corners, revealing his vexation with the supposed Goddess's juvenile demeanor.
"Silence, you insolent child," Theia retorted, unconcerned about the potential consequences of her desires.
"Where do you expect a being as mighty as myself to find entertainment? You should be on the brink of death by now, and then miraculously surviving. That would be excellent entertainment."
Dante couldn't believe Theia's callousness. He knew that if her wishes were to come true, her flickering soul, which was bonded to his, would be jeopardized, and she would risk being permanently erased, along with Elrid, the last surviving member of her race.
Just as Dante was about to retort to Theia's callous remark, he heard a voice with a distinct foreign accent. The young girl with red hair had spoken, and Dante quickly perceived her words, despite the accent being new to him.
"I am Zoey Thorne of the Pyrothorne noble house. I am here to demand that you join our group of four," Zoey declared, her voice laced with a thick Britannian accent and an air of pride.
"There are two reasons for this: first, to increase our chances of taking down Mr. Arthur, and secondly, our alliance will last until the end of the Grade A Corps Examination. Follow us now."
Zoey spoke without giving Dante a chance to voice his opinion, and she led her siblings away as though expecting Dante to rush after them, convinced by the benefits of her proposition.
Dante's eyes met Zoey's orange phoenix-patterned gaze as he spoke in an indifferent tone,
"Unfortunately, I won't be joining you all. I cannot be commanded by a group of weaklings and have my sword at their beck and call."
"Do you know who....." Zoey was saying when Dante cut her off.
"I don't care who you think you are. I'm leaving now," Dante said, his curiosity now satisfied. The only reason he had willingly entered the alley was because of Zoey's unique patterned eyes.
Upon dreaming of the swordsman kid, he was reminded of something he had long forgotten. He recalled the child's peculiar cross-patterned eyes that he had somehow overlooked before.
Now, noticing similar patterns in other individuals, he became curious and desired to acquire further knowledge regarding the origins of these distinctive variations.
Despite having an encyclopedic knowledge base within his mind, he found himself restricted by Theia's intentional withholding of information.
As a result, he remained ignorant of the true capabilities of his Origin Eyes. Nonetheless, he was able to utilize his enhanced perception to gauge the level of the mana signature of those not vastly superior to him, providing him with a sense of assurance. It was this confidence that emboldened him to confront the quadruplets without fear.
"Who do you think you are? Daring to ignore the member of the Pyrothorne bloodline. Do you want your entire family to be engulfed in a sea of flames?" The young boy called Xavier yelled as he defended his sister.
As he departed from the alley's boundary marked by the wall, Dante disregarded his rumbling.
Suddenly a thick fog of smoke covered them obscuring their vision. But Dante could see everything around him. This was done by a sibling called Zachary.
In the thick smoke, orange glints showed in the fog of smoke as they headed for Dante. To be precise it was three orange glints.
In Zachary's hand was a dual orange colored dagger and Zoe and Xavier had magic staffs with an orange-colored magic crystal.
With a wave of his hands, Dante revealed his katana. Its pitch-black blade was incapable of reflecting the sun's rays, which hung over the State Academy Island.
As he aimed for the three siblings, he commanded, "Ignite." Suddenly, a pitch-black flame burst around his katana, ready to strike.
Dante knew that facing the siblings with a mere twenty-level difference would be foolish. So, before making his move, he transformed into his Rapid Rhythm form, taking on a more powerful and advanced state.
He knew that the last sibling, Yara, was still on the loose, making the situation even more dangerous.
Despite Dante's limited knowledge about various subjects, including Monarchs and other mage-related topics, he had some knowledge of the Pyrothorne family, particularly Yara, the unusual sibling.
Yara had stayed in the womb of his mother for almost a year after the birth of his three identical siblings and was safely delivered with the help of one of the best nature magic practitioners. Despite his young age, Yara's martial feats were extraordinary.
However, Yara's hesitant and shy personality prevented him from being associated with the likes of the "Azure Slasher" and "Lightning Titan."
Despite his unremarkable personality, news of his martial accomplishments spread far and wide. Even those residing in the deepest slums, such as Dante, had heard of him.
However, if not for the names that floated in front of Dante's eyes, he would not have been able to recognize him.
[ZOEY THORNE] [LEVEL 54]
[ZACHARY THORNE] [LEVEL 52]
[XAVIER THORNE] [LEVEL 57]
[YARA THORNE] [LEVEL ???]
Since his arrival, he had noticed numerous question marks among the participants. However, he had only spoken to one of them, Atlas.
Given the incredible feats that Atlas had already accomplished, he could only imagine what else he was capable of.
But now, he had the chance to fight one of these mysterious individuals. Would he still need to rely on his imagination to understand their true capabilities?
Without hesitation, Dante darted past the three siblings and made a beeline for Yara, who was still nervously fidgeting about.
Dante brandished his katana, ready to strike at Yara's fidgeting hand, which clutched a sword aimed at him.
However, before Yara could arrive, a thick wall of ice emerged from the ground a few meters away from the alley distracting them.
The ice wall had jagged edges and was translucent enough to allow light to pass through it. Within its crystal structure, the bodies of several mages could be seen.
Despite the distance between Dante and the ice wall, the cold seemed to penetrate his skin.
It all became clear when a man with spiky white hair appeared in the alley. Although the appearance of the man and the destruction had occurred at different places at similar times, it was evident that he was responsible for the attack.
Arthur arrived on the scene, his eyes scanning the uniforms adorned with a golden phoenix crest rising from the center.
The colors of the crest were orange and gold, leading Arthur to recognize the noble family to which the little brats causing a commotion on their first day belonged.
As he observed the clash between two Celestial Edges, Arthur's voice rang out, "Something I would have liked to witness, but I cannot allow any destruction to occur on the old man's property."
Taking control of the situation, he murmured to himself while his fingers held the two blades motionless.
Sophia's voice rang out, her tone annoyed as she stated, "But you are also causing a commotion by creating that large ice wall to fight a bunch of kids."
Her pink hair mirrored her red face, which was filled with mild anger.
Arthur's voice rang out, a mixture of indifference and a rare tone of joviality as he replied, "Haah, I am sorry Sophia, but I have to protect myself from these crazy kids who are out for my head."
Sophia began to retort when suddenly, a sword moved toward Arthur's head, its orange runes glimmering as an explosion occurred at point-blank range, hitting him in the face.
Yara, who had earlier freed his sword from Arthur's grasp, attacked him. Dante stood there confused, not understanding what was happening.
Before the smoke from the explosion could clear out, waves of spells and dagger slashes were aimed toward Dante's location.
Seeing the incoming attacks, he hurriedly disappeared by the skin of his teeth, just as the attacks landed squarely on Arthur. He arrived meters away from the destruction.
As the smoke cleared out, Arthur's body was revealed unharmed, with not a speck of dirt on his outfit.
"You see, this is what I'm talking about. Even the usually quiet Yara of the 'Fiery Quad' wants the old man's tutelage, so he's ready to take my head," Arthur remarked to Sophia.
"It's time for you kids to head off to class. You can try another time, but save your energies for your first mission from the academy," Arthur said as he blew the quadruplets away with an icy wind.
Turning to Dante, who had witnessed the strange scene, Arthur held him by the collar as they flew into the air with Sophia in tow heading for Missions Hall.