My eyes slowly opened, revealing an unfamiliar ceiling.
'The exam must be over.'
I rolled over on my side and faced the window of the room I was in. Outside, I could see the bustling city of Pantheon. I was a few floors above ground and I could see the dome where exams were taken to my right.
'I'm in the academy. An infirmary probably.'
As I pondered my situation, the creaking of a door drew my attention behind me.
"Argh, damn that Evan Dynelle!"
A tall, slender woman with pink hair and glasses walked through the door of my room. She was holding a clipboard and reading it with a furious expression.
"Not only do they send one A-rank, they send two! And one had a domain! Idiots!"
After her outburst, she finally looked up from her clipboard and nearly dropped it once she saw me awake.
"Oh! Y-You're awake!" She exclaimed in surprise.
I smiled awkwardly. "Yeah…"
Her surprise soon turned to embarrassment. "Please don't tell anyone you heard me say that."
"Lips are sealed."
She grew relaxed at my words and walked up to my bed. "Thank you, Kaiser. Now, let's see how you're doing."
Her hand suddenly lit up with a golden light and she gently placed it on my chest. I felt a current of warm and peaceful mana flow into me and around my body.
Soon, the mana dispersed and she took her hand from my chest.
"Very good!" She exclaimed with a happy expression. "You're in perfect health!"
Even before she checked, I already knew I was fine. "Thanks for checking… Who are you?"
"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself," She said, extending her hand for a handshake. "My name is Meredith. I'm the head nurse at Pantheon Academy."
I took her dainty hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Meredith. You already know, but I'm Kaiser Raijin."
After our handshake, Meredith went back to her clipboard and wrote a few things down.
"Okay," She said, putting down her clipboard. "Now that you've healed, I bet you are curious about the exam results."
"How long have I been here?" I asked.
"Oh, just a few hours. The results are about to be posted in the dome."
I quickly got out of bed and made sure I had everything I needed. "Alright, I'll go there now. Thank you for taking care of me, Meredith."
The woman smiled. "No problem, Kaiser."
Walking out of the small room, I came upon a long hallway and turned around to face Meredith again. "Um… How do I get out of here?"
Meredith seemed to be surprised by my question. "Oh! I forgot it's your first time here! Just down the hall to your right. The stairs lead down to the main floor."
'She's very airheaded.'
I thanked her again and ran down the hall to the stairs. Once I climbed them all the way down, I opened the door to a wide room filled with many people of different races.
On the side opposite the main doors was a reception desk that had a long line of students. I assumed they were signing in for the first day back from vacation. But, I didn't linger in the lobby for too long and ran out the main doors that people were still streaming through.
Outside, I continued to the dome on the right and came upon the same guards as earlier.
"Name." One said in a monotone voice.
"Kaiser Raijin. I was getting healed after the entrance exam."
Surprisingly, the guard had a dubious expression at my words. "Healed? Why would you need to be healed after the entrance exam?"
I saw his eyes scanning something in his helmet and his expression changed to understanding and then back to indifferent. "You're good, go ahead."
The gates to the dome slowly opened with a loud creak and I quickly headed in.
'Why was he so surprised I was getting healed?'
Inside the large dome, I saw the same number of people that were here before the exam. Unlike before, everyone was silent, awaiting the results of the exam. When they heard the doors opening, all of their eyes were on me when I walked through.
I didn't know how to act, so I just walked through them with an indifferent expression and stopped when I reached the front of the crowd.
I could feel the thousands of eyes on my back, but I remained calm. After what felt like forever, the doors to the back of the dome opened and the familiar man in dark robes walked in.
Professor Dynelle had an excited expression and seemed to be looking for someone. Soon, his eyes landed on me and he grinned.
But his gaze didn't last very long and he cleared his throat and faced the crowd. "Welcome back, future flowers! I hope you enjoyed your exam because I sure did! So many budding flowers this year!"
The students didn't say much. They were only anticipating the results.
Dynelle's expression turned sour at everyone's sub-par reaction. "Fine. I'll show the results and then maybe you'll share some of my enthusiasm."
The man pulled out a small device from his robe pocket and pushed on its surface. A bright light shone above him and formed into a large flat screen. On it was a list of names, starting from the number 1000 and slowly scrolling down.
Many excited shouts came from the crowd behind me as the list continued to reveal who had passed the entrance exam.
After nearly 30 more minutes of the list slowly scrolling, I still didn't see my name, which could be a good or bad thing. Many of the students around me grew more anxious as the list continued. Everyone was curious about who would be the top students in their year.
The list passed 50, and I still didn't see my name anywhere. My anticipation continued to rise until the list broke the top 10. I made note of all the names that I saw.
…
10. Flora Plumeria
9. Quintin Flare
8. Kervai Mako
7. Aveina Netherbane
6. Tessa Silvercrest
5. Faulkner Claw
4. Kristine Ebonblood
3. Crescelia Favila
2. Reyla Snow
1. Kaiser Raijin
…
My eyes widened and a smile broke out on my face.
'Yes! I did it!'
[Congratulations, master! You've completed all the available quests!]
…
Name: Kaiser Raijin
Level: 37
Level Up Quest (Completed):
[Pass the entrance exam for Pantheon Academy.]
Bonus Skill Points Quest (Completed):
[Impress your examiner during the entrance exam of Pantheon Academy.]
Item Reward Quest (Completed):
[Rank in the top 10 students for the entrance exam of Pantheon Academy.]
{Collect Reward}
Random Skill Quest (Completed):
[Rank first in the entrance exam for Pantheon Academy.]
{Collect Reward}
Skill Points: 80
Status:
Health: 100%
Stamina: 92%
Mana: 88%
{Skill Trees}
{Skill Store}
…
My smile only widened at the completion of all the quests.
[New quests will be available once all rewards have been collected.]
'Thank you, Emy.'
After the list had lingered on the top 10 for a minute, Professor Dynelle clicked the device in his hands again and the screen disappeared.
"Those are the results for the entrance exam," He said. "Those who didn't make it, please exit the way you came in. For those that did, stay here."
Professor Dynelle then left the dome and the crowd broke into a massive cacophony of voices. A lot had disappointed expressions or ones of anger. Those that made it, however, had excited and ecstatic expressions.
Eventually, many left through the large doors, leaving 1000 students who had passed the exam.
After a few minutes, all of the voices quieted down and left only silence in the large building. The excitement had faded and many were left with anticipation for what would happen now that they had finally gotten into Pantheon.
I quietly stood at the front of the crowd and took the time to analyze the intricate runes on the side of the dome. Nobody had told me about magic runes yet, so I was quite fascinated by how they worked.
But suddenly, the runes I was observing began to glow with a deep blue. I felt the familiar sensation of everything shifting and fading away. My body was pulled and everything turned black.
Soon after, my vision returned. I was suddenly blinded by multiple bright lights and my eyes took a few seconds to adjust. But what was revealed nearly made my heart stop.
In front of me was a large crowd of thousands of uniformed students sitting in rows. I was standing on the stage of an auditorium of sorts that had high, white walls with many booths where many men and women sat.
I looked behind me and was equally surprised to find the students that had taken the exam. They stood in staggered rows that started with me, then had two students, then three, then so on.
Directly behind me stood a fierce girl with dark skin and braided hair. Her piercing silver eyes were staring at me with hints of anger and curiosity. Next to her stood a beautiful girl with pure white hair and piercing light blue eyes. She wore regal white clothes with light blue accents that exuded royalty. Her eyes were also staring at me, but instead of anger and curiosity, they were filled with annoyance.
"Pantheon Academy!"
A booming, male voice took my attention away from the two girls. To my left, a tall burly man with dark skin and long, curly brown hair walked onto the stage and up to the podium in front of me.
All the voices in the massive auditorium went quiet and all eyes focused on him.
"For the returning students, I would like to welcome you all back from vacation. To another year here at the academy!"
At the man's words, the crowd of sitting students stood up and erupted in yells and whistles.
"Alright, alright," The man said. "That's enough."
The crowd quickly quieted and sat back in their seats.
"I would like to apologize in the place of the headmaster. She had some urgent business to take care of, so I will be speaking today in her absence. But that doesn't mean this day isn't any less special!" The man turned around to face me and the students behind me. "Today, we are welcoming a new year of students. They have just completed their entrance exams and I must say we've got a special batch this year."
The man walked away from the podium and toward me.
"My name is Warren Trudo. I'm the head instructor for close combat."
He looked around the rows of new students and his gaze finally landed on me. Warren reached out with his hand and smiled.
"Nice to meet you, kid."
I quickly took his hand in a firm grasp, something that he didn't fail to notice. "I'm Kaiser Raijin, sir. It's nice to meet you."
After our handshake, the man turned around and walked back to the podium. "How about we give a warm welcome to the new freshman of Pantheon Academy!"
The auditorium erupted in applause.
After half a minute, the applause died down and Warren spoke up. "Alright, everyone is dismissed. First years can stay here for dorm assignment."
The crowd of students in front of me as well as the people in the booths got up and left the auditorium in an orderly fashion.
Once everyone had left, several men and women in the same dark blue and black robes walked onto the stage. They were each carrying several small devices that were similar to the one Professor Dynelle had used earlier to show the list of accepted students.
"Our staff is handing out devices that are essential to your life here at Pantheon Academy," Warren said. "Attach them to your wrist and they will provide you with necessary information as well as a means of communication with other students and staff here."
A woman handed me the device. It was a small, black orb without any prominent features. I held it to my wrist and it began to stretch around it. Once finished, a small screen floated above my wrist and displayed the number 1.
"The number of your dorm room corresponds with your ranking in your entrance exams. After this, you will find your room in the bottom quarter of the campus." Warren smiled again, something I noticed he did a lot. "I'm very excited to see what you are all capable of this year and the many more years you will spend here at the academy. I'll see you in class tomorrow."
The large man walked off the stage and left us with the staff.
…
The staff took us out of the auditorium, which happened to be directly behind the reception room of the academy. They led us to several elevators that took us up the floors until reaching the freshman dorms.
I was on the highest floor of the lower quarter and was joined by the nine other students in the top 10. Each of them found their rooms with help from the staff and lastly, I was led to the very end of the hallway, where I found a room with the number 1 on the door.
"Here you are, Kaiser," said the male staff member that led us to our rooms.
"Thank you," I said as I scanned the doorknob with my new wrist device. I heard a soft click and opened the door.
The staff left and I walked into my new room. I entered a large entry area with a kitchen to my right and the living room straight ahead of me. Down the hall of the entry and to the left was one large bedroom with a bathroom and closet. I went back into the living room and looked out the large windows that showed a beautiful view of Pantheon.
I exhaled in exhaustion. "Today was crazy, Emy. What do you think?"
[The runes in the dome and the special devices they gave out are quite intriguing. Also, congratulations again for ranking first!]
"Yeah, there's a lot we need to look into."
As I recollected the runes I had studied, a vibration from my wrist caught my attention. I held it up and the screen opened.
…
All freshmen report to your designated homeroom tomorrow morning.
Homeroom of Kaiser Raijin:
Room 022 – Hela Dremeseus
…
"Guess we're starting bright and early."