'When will we arrive?'
I closed both my eyes and raised my head towards the ceiling to lessen my fatigue while thinking about the Ether Institute nonstop.
I don't even fully know what Ether is and I'm going to start learning it soon How can I not get nervous?
I forgot from the intensity of fatigue and excitement that my absorption of the Ether is not yet certain.
All I know is how the body absorbs Ether and that only 10% of the world's population is able to absorb and breathe it properly.
I sighed for the last time, as I felt the bus's brakes suddenly work, and my head almost hit the chair in front of me, but I stopped myself at the last moment.
I slowly stood up and took my father's black bag off the shelf at the top. it almost fell a lot on the trip because of the many mountain turns, so I had to guard it a little.
Fortunately, the institute was built in the capital, so the conditions in the streets improved a short time ago, and I was able to rest a bit.
I dragged the bag on the floor of the narrow bus slowly and carefully so I don't cause any damage to the bag, although it was the hardest thing I had ever seen in my life.
No wonder since this bag holds a special place in my heart that cannot be shaken, this bag is the only souvenir I got from my dad.
If something happens to this bag because of my negligence, I may never forgive myself, so I still prefer caution than cause the destruction of some part of my future.
I put the bag down on the stone pavement very slowly and then looked at the strangers around me - everyone seemed to be exhausted.
Although riding the bus for more than four hours continuously in addition to the mountain road may be difficult and a little tiring, I never thought that I would suffer to this extent.
If you brought a person from the street and showed this scene to him, he might think that these people just had a heated battle with demons.
I sighed before casting my gaze toward the people who really deserved it.
Only a third of the people other than me looked much better as if they had just had a picnic, two of them seemed very special.
One of them had black hair, but it was slightly reddish, and it fit perfectly with his red eyes, which shone like the sun even in the bright daylight, and he seemed from the expressions of his face alone that he was an easy person to approach and recognize.
The other was his complete opposite as if the two were born to be enemies of each other, as he had blue-black hair that perfectly matched his snow-blue eyes.
Both of these two looked at each other strangely as if they were the best of friends and at the same time the worst of enemies which confused me a bit about their real situation.
The red-eyed person noticed my gaze after a short while, which made me feel a little anxious, as he did not hesitate to walk toward me with a wide smile on his face.
"Hi! I'm Flame!"
I looked at Flame with a mixture of astonishment and concern. This person approached me and began to treat me as if I were a childhood friend, even though this was the first time I had seen him.
I looked at myself, At 5 feet and 8.5 inches, looking childish and a bit Shocked because of all the things that happened today, yeah I wasn't the best one to approach here.
"I'm Venture..."
I extended my hand hesitantly, as I was unable to realize the intention of this particular person to approach me, but I did not discover anything.
After ten seconds of continuous, blank staring, Flame broke the awkward atmosphere by himself.
"Let's go in, my friend!"
Flame put his left hand behind my back and pointed with his other hand towards the wide entrance as if I had known him for dozens of years, I felt a little suspicious. I refuse to believe he approached me for no reason which made me a little wary. Despite this strange situation, I couldn't stop my eyes from creeping toward the Imperial Institute in front of me... I didn't expect my father to put me in the Imperial Institute of all places. The outrageous amount of money he paid...
Well... I can't describe the view in front of me with the vulgar word gorgeous since my eyes are so short-sighted that I have never seen a sight like this before.
The bright sun shone on the silver gate and cast shadows on my face, which was filled with astonishment and excitement.
To be honest, I felt as if I was one of the rural or primitive people who saw technology for the first time, which made me feel very embarrassed, especially since I was the only person who was amazed in front of this scene.
Calling this place an institute is wrong and insulting in fact, since its yard contained dozens of buildings, the smallest of which can be called an institute, and each of these buildings has a unique and elegant appearance that suits its purpose, making it easier for novice students to know their destination accurately without having to disturb and ask others.
What I didn't realize at the time was that this gentle and peaceful area was actually nothing less than a top-level battlefield with imperial-level defense, the magic formations above the walls, the bulletproof cameras, and even the imperial flags scattered everywhere were nothing but war-level cannons. Aali hides in the clothes of cattle.
The bottom line is that staying in this academy is as safe as staying in the imperial treasury, and maybe a lot more than that!
'How much did my father pay to get me into such a place!!'
I quickly regained my sanity after several seconds due to the continuous flame patting on my back and my face almost turned red when I remembered how I looked.
"Ha-ha-ha! Don't worry, don't worry! Everyone was like this when they first saw the institute! It's the most famous in the empire after all!"
Flame laughed in my face as he desperately tried to make me feel better but altogether it made me feel worse than before.
I had never seen this institute before, except behind screens or on billboards decorated on the side of the road. Only the children of rich and powerful families got the chance to learn here and here I am. without any status.
Contrary to my expectations, no guide or teacher came to lead the way for us, which made me wonder how they distinguished students and visitors.
"The white building is for elemental users, and the black one is for body warriors!"
Flame continued to explain as we took a short tour around the institute and he led the path since I know almost nothing about the institute, I learned that each of these buildings has three floors, the first floor is for the first year, and the second for the second year...
I was a little surprised when I found out that since my father had mentioned in his will that I would go for one year only, and I am sure that he did not ask to spend three years in his will, even since I read it until I saved it in my mind.
'I'll think about this when the time comes...'
I interrupted my thinking when I saw a strange building and my mind forced me to stop to see it more clearly, a giant golden building whose size alone reached an entire village without exaggeration! Only from the outside did I realize that it was a battlefield as it was like a coliseum in ancient stories where powerful humans fought each other.
"Is this gold real?"
If this coliseum was entirely made of real gold, it might cost in the annual budget of the small area in which I used to live.
"of course not"
I heard the words I expected from Flame's tongue and let out a sigh. It seems that my worldview and sense of the world are still in good condition, but Flame's next words made me goosebumps.
"Ordinary gold won't be able to stop the strikes of the second and third year students. It's magical gold!"
Looks like I need a general sense review very urgently! If I am not mistaken, the value of magic gold is three times the value of ordinary gold!! This means the annual budget for three residential areas!
My eyes quickly wandered all over the huge coliseum and stopped at a large screen visible from many kilometers away and clearly saw that its content was a list with several names written on it.
[
Silver classification of the Colosseum arena! The higher your rank, the higher your reward at the end of the month!
1-....
2-....
3-....
4-...
5-...
6-...
7-...
8-...
9-...
10-...
]
I saw many strange and long names that are difficult to pronounce even and I gave up after a short attempt, it seems that these people are at the top of the rankings!
"The Colosseum! I think it's too early for us to participate in it right now, we can't even use ether let alone fight these monsters…"
Flame also told me about the Gold and Diamond rankings and although I heard him externally, I thought of many things internally. Thinking of the unknown monthly bonus made my blood boil and I could hardly resist. My absolute hobby is collecting treasures and exploring after all, and I always found Difficulty restraining myself in front of such things.
"The other Silver Building is the Combat Building where all students learn how to fight properly! Both element users and warriors participate in this class at least once every several days…."
Flame continued chattering for several minutes and I felt a little bored.
"Looks like we're done here..."
Flame suddenly began to walk quickly and I could hardly follow him, the physique that I had always been proud of internally was not comparable to Flame who appeared to be a frail man externally.
"What do you do!"
I unconsciously shouted in a low voice, causing some of the surrounding students to look at us, but I didn't care one bit.
"Ether Test! The last student must finish within three minutes!"
I looked at Flame in amazement and could only describe him in one word, childish!! He sacrificed the test of Ether, which cannot be repeated, no matter what the circumstances, just to take a quick walk around the institute, and he also took someone else with him! And he's not sure that I even have the qualifications to use ether!
Flame sensed my anxiety strangely and spoke in a low voice as he slowed down to catch up with him.
"Don't worry, the test building is after that corner..."
A strange person suddenly appeared at the corner, and Flame could not stop at the right time, so he fell to the ground at the same moment of impact. On the other side, the mysterious person stood firmly as if he was a mountain and looked at Flame with disdain.
"Elior!"
Flame mentioned the name of the person he had involuntarily bumped into and quickly stood up.
"Go"
Elior uttered a single word with heavy weight and went on to leave us dumbfounded.
"This is Elior?"