Easterners, don't boast of the pyramids.
Westerners, don't talk about Babylon.
There is no place for them in front of the emperor's academy 'Colosseo'.
All fame is for this.
All shall be in its shadow.
* * *
The Colosseo Academy. The most prestigious academy in the world, from east to west, north to south, and across the central continent.
Located in the heart of the Central Continent, in the capital city of the imperial family, the academy occupies the entirety of the most fertile yolk land in the Imperial Capital.
Unlike the 'Magic Tower', which specializes in magic, and the 'Varangian', which specializes in martial arts, there is a tendency to value both literal and martial arts. It is famous for not being able to enter or graduate if you do not meet the strict standards.
For the start of the new semester, crowds of students flocked to Venezior, the capital of the ROK.
Freshmen.
And their families.
And the groups escorting them.
And the hordes of people trying to sell them stuff.
It's the one time of year when the largest concentration of people can be found at the Academy.
All the new students from the East, West, South, and North who flocked to the Imperial City had to marvel twice: once at the beauty of the capital, and again at the grandeur of the Academy.
Venezior, the city of water.
The capital of the Imperial Empire of ROK, Venezior is a gently sloping basin, where rivers from across the continent converge to create a myriad of waterways.
As you drive into the city center, you'll be greeted with sweeping views of the entire city on the land below.
With a crystal clear freshwater lake gently hugging the ecliptic, 112 islands on top of it, and nearly 400 bridges, the metropolis looks like a paradise.
Slow, warm rivers.
Countless waterways and bridges connecting them.
Beautiful architecture rises high above the crowded streets above the bridges.
Numerous aerial bridges connect skyscraper after skyscraper, and greenery grows all year round on the piers.
The city's waterways have become important transportation routes, creating a unique and beautiful cityscape, and it is not uncommon to see canoes traveling on the waterways in the alleys, as well as various street vendors on them.
As an imperial capital, it is also home to a number of modern cultural institutions, including theaters, museums, clock towers, churches, opera houses, the Imperial Library, and huge public baths.
But it's the Academy that's most famous. Home to some of the continent's finest materials.
The Colosseo.
This massive, circular cluster of buildings is home to about 20,000 people, including students, professors, and workers of all kinds.
Together, the buildings form a gigantic arena surrounding a single large stage, and a walk around the diameter of the Academy grounds would take the average person over four hours.
The academy is divided into two main parts: the dormitory building, where students live, and the classroom building, where classes are held. The dormitory building is divided by grade and gender, and the classroom building is divided by grade and class.
Since the school is a four-year program, there are four grades.
Students are divided into first, second, third, and fourth grades, and there were rare cases of students taking a leave of absence or returning to school after failing the graduation examination.
There were two main classes.
The "Cold Class".
And the "Hot Class".
The Cold Class includes students who specialize in swords, bows, and spears, and they take courses related to their specialty as required courses for their majors, other Cold Classes as electives for their majors, and courses in the Hot Class as required courses for their general education.
On the other hand, the Hot Class contains students whose primary specialty is magic, and they take courses related to their primary elemental magic as required courses, other magics as electives, and courses in the Cold Class as general education requirements.
In other words. It doesn't matter if they specialize in swords, bows, spears, fire, ice, earth, or plant magic, the end result is that they have four years to develop a general knowledge of all of them.
In addition to these classes, of course, there is a wealth of other general electives in languages, theology, law, astronomy, geography, military studies, etc.
In order to graduate, students must take a certain number of credits of these major requirements, major electives, general education requirements, general education electives, and courses for majors and minors, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes compulsorily, according to their schedule and aptitude.
Class schedules are organized, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes by force.
Naturally, there is a pecking order among students based on their grades, which has a huge impact on their later academic life.
In addition, students are limited in their ability to participate in clubs, volunteer activities, work experience programs, and other internal and external activities such as choosing a major.
Therefore, freshmen are eager to take the academy's placement test for the first time.
Seniors are also very interested in the results of the freshmen's placement test.
They want to recruit the best possible juniors for their clubs and social organizations.
...Is that so?
The Academy's current students have been buzzing since February, when the freshman placement test ended.
They wanted to get a head start on the new students who had already stood out.
"I heard the freshman placement test is over?"
"Who stood out the most?"
"Probably the ones who did well in the practical evaluation, right?"
Except for the professors, the freshmen's information is off-limits, but... the grades and rankings of the freshmen were already circulating among some powerful students.
Like stock market speculation, the names, grades, and rankings of the new students were traded at a high price depending on their accuracy.
This is because most of those who enter the academy are likely to enter the upper echelons of the Empire in the future, so it's important to make connections in advance.
"Oho, look at this, all the new students this year have great grades~"
"Huh? Isn't the first place in the cold class tied?"
"Tudor from the Sun Spear Clan and Bianca from the God Bow Secret House are tied for first place."
"They're tier one. They are our club's top priority for recruitment!"
The current students of the Cold Class were already excited by the rumors of an outstanding junior would be joining them.
Tudor, a spearman, and Bianca, an archer, are likely to receive a lot of offers from their seniors, as the school values practical skills much more highly than written ones.
These geniuses have caught the attention of professors and seniors alike.
-Ranking in the Cold Class's practical evaluation
< 1- Don Quixote Tudor, Usher Bianca >
< 2- Highbrow Baskerville >
< 3- Midbrow Baskerville >
< 4- Lowbrow Baskerville >
< 5- Sancho Barataria >
< 6- ... >
.
.
Tudor, eldest son of Don Quixote, one of the seven great houses of the empire and known for his spearmanship.
Bianca, the eldest daughter of Usher, one of the seven great houses of the empire and known for her archery skills.
And the Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro triplets from the Ironblades of Baskerville. Sancho Barataria, who was selected as a scholarship student by the Northern Mercenary Guild Alliance, and others are the super-rookies who are currently causing a stir in the Cold Class.
On the other hand, the Hot Class was also in a frenzy.
"Wow, there's a kid who got a perfect score on the practical exam?"
"He's second in the written exam, too, so he's really good at studying!"
"'Sinclair'? A genius among geniuses has been admitted."
"Did you hear the rumor? This is information from the admissions office… … What a beautiful girl… … ."
The department was paying all the attention to Sinclair, a genius who scored a record-breaking 1st in the practical assessment and 2nd in the written assessment.
-Practical Evaluation Ranking of the Hot Class
<1- Sinclair>.
.
.
She didn't reveal her family name, but it was safe to assume that she had some sort of fancy background behind her, as she was the top of the mage class, which required an enormous amount of scholarship money in the first place.
In addition, the tycoon Bourgeoisie, the ultra-violent Leviathan, and the religious Quarvadis also admitted many talented students.
Normally, the seven great families would avoid admitting students from similar grades so that their own talents could easily take the top spot, but this time, the great talents of all seven families were admitted at the same time.
It was such a strong entry that this generation of freshmen was dubbed the "Glory Generation".
This was because there was a massive influx of talented students who could have become class leaders and student council presidents if they had entered at different times.
....
And.
Overshadowed by a strong freshman class the likes of which we haven't seen in recent decades, and an academic culture that values practical skills far more highly than written work, there was one person who was not being recognized.
-Comprehensive Written (Theory) Evaluation Ranking
<1- Vikir>.
.
.
Study bug.
Sandman.
A commoner without a surname.
Common names.
A hound with no name tag or leash entered the Academy.
–
–
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T/N: "Tudor from the Sun Spear Clan and Bianca from the God Bow Secret House are tied for first place." in raw : "창해창가(滄海槍家)의 튜더, 신궁비가(神弓秘家)의 비앙카가 공동 1위인가." Don Quixote of Sun Spear Clan & Usher of God Bow Secret House. idk if this is the correct?