As I entered the hall, a sea of stares directed at me made me feel a bit stunned, though I kept a neutral expression on my face.
"Yo Ebon, are you doing something weird?" I asked him in my mind.
Ebon spoke matter-of-factly, "It's your bloodlust oozing out."
"What the hell do you mean? I'm not even releasing it right now," I complained.
"It's been so incorporated into your being that you release it everywhere. Some people, like Arthur and Elijah, are immune to it, possibly due to your relationship with them," Ebon stated.
"Enough information, Ebon," I spoke, cutting down the wyvern.
We sat in the last row at the corner—a pretty sweet spot, if you ask me. Elijah sat beside Arthur, and Arthur beside me. I settled into my seat, uninterested in the whole ordeal, placing my arm on the armrest of the chair and supporting my face with my hand.
Father could have asked me to slay some beasts, and I would have gladly done it. I still didn't know why he wanted me to attend this academy. I could still see the little glances everyone gave me from time to time. As I looked around, I couldn't spot the ghost. Yeah, I named her that until I could find her and understand this phenomenon.
Soon, a barrier formed around the stage, and the Grandma—or Director Goodsky—appeared, teleporting to the podium. She spoke, her voice reverberating throughout the hall like a stadium.
"Excuse me for my rudeness, but I do hate speaking up. It's not very good for my throat—especially at my old age." She continued, "I would like to welcome you all—the future leaders, scholars, powerhouses of Dicathen—to this humble academy. I am Director Goodsky." She placed her hand on her chest, her voice clear throughout the hall. Her control over sound magic was very impressive.
She spoke as she glanced at us, a little smile playing on her lips. "While I considered presenting a long and rather boring speech, I realized that this is a very special year..."
She paused, lifting her head to look at the audience before continuing with enthusiasm, "I am proud to say that, since the founding of this institution, we have never had as many elves and dwarves in attendance as today!"
She gestured toward the left side. "As such, who better to welcome you all than the very students that will help lead and give voices to every one of you?"
She continued as a group of teenagers, wearing the same blue uniform but in different styles, walked onto the stage. "Please give a warm welcome to the members of the Xyrus Academy Student Council."
"Arthur, look! It's Lilia. We should cheer for her. Woo!! Go Lilia!!" Elijah spoke as he shook Arthur excitedly.
Ebon mused, "Student council, so generic." Not wanting to comment on the wyvern's mind, I looked down after a black-haired boy stepped forward, followed by the Elven Princess, Tessia Eralith. I could see Arthur's eyes sparkle as he saw her. Sylvie got attentive, glancing happily between Arthur and the elf.
I whispered in Arthur's ear, "You like the elf, right?" His face cracked a bit before he changed it back. "If she doesn't accept your love, tell me. I'll get her for you the illegal way." I added.
Arthur smiled, "Which illegal way?"
"Kidnapping," I said, looking back at the stage as the elf approached the podium.
"Well, keep your offer on the table," he replied, also looking at the stage. I glanced at Elijah, who still had his mouth open in awe. "Guys, I think I fell in love," he muttered, his mouth still agape.
"Well, not only you. Someone else also fell in love," I said, pointing to Arthur with my index finger above his head.
"My name is Tessia Eralith, your student council president. First and foremost, congratulations on your admittance to the finest institute of mages this continent has to offer. While I am a first year like all of you, I had the privilege of observing the academy for a year longer."
She acted composed but her eyes were darting everywhere, as if searching for someone. "Alongside the lessons and bonds formed within these grounds, I've also seen a lot of discrimination, particularly towards Scholar Mages. If mere differences in uniform can divide you, I worry about what the differences in races will lead to... Today, I stand before all of you, students of the new generation, and implore you..."
She spoke in a high tone, "to cast aside the mistrust of the older generation that bred hostility amongst different races." She continued, "Just as the royal families have come together to form the council, we should do the same as the future of this continent!"
The whole hall erupted in applause, everyone clapping at the inspiring speech of the princess—everyone except me. Want to know why? Because my hand had fallen asleep in the same position.
"Great, just great," I muttered, shaking my hand to get the blood flowing again.
Elijah leaned over, "Why aren't you clapping, Lucas?"
"My hand's asleep," I replied, giving him a wry smile. Arthur chuckled beside me.
"That's what you get for being so cool and aloof," Arthur teased, nudging me with his elbow.
"Yeah, yeah," I said, finally feeling the pins and needles fade away as I joined in the applause, albeit a bit late.
"The whole thing was boring as hell," Elijah complained as we walked out of the hall and into the academy grounds, which looked more like a road leading to different areas.
"Well, someone sure got his share of sleep," Elijah said, glancing at me.
Placing my hand over my mouth as I yawned, "Yeah, the best."I looked around and spotted a meat stall a bit in the distance.
"You guys wanna eat something?" I asked.Arthur nodded, and Elijah, a bit hesitant, was helped along as I shook his head for him.
I left the crew, making my way to the stall.
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"Still can't really get why both of you applied for scholar mage," Elijah said, draping his arm around my neck.
I shrugged, looking ahead. "Just felt like the right choice, I guess."
Elijah rolled his eyes, "You and your vague answers."
As we walked, a commotion up ahead caught our attention.
People were gathering, craning their necks to see what was happening. Elijah nudged me, "Come on, let's see what's going on."
"Racism right after the speech," I thought as Sylvie looked uninterested in the scene. "My name is Nicolas Dreyl. Why don't you declare a duel, short-ass? Or are you all bark?" The boy with chestnut-colored hair sneered down at the brown-haired dwarf, who glared back angrily. The dwarf was about two feet shorter than him.
"I, Broznean Boor, declare a duel between myself and Nicolas Dreyl," the dwarf announced, his voice filled with determination.
They both touched their badges, initiating the duel. I noticed the function for the first time. Pouring mana into my eyes, I examined their levels. The dwarf's mana revealed a black core, while Nicolas had a dark red core.
"Let's see what they've got," I thought as they summoned their weapons from their rings.
They fought fiercely. Nicolas's control was impressive, using deception effectively in the fight.
I could see Elijah from the corner of my eye, cheering for Broznean. Nicolas fought dirty, but in a duel, everything was fair game.
The dwarf fell as the barrier dissipated, but Nicolas wasn't done. Standing above the fallen dwarf, he continued his taunting. He readied his leg as if to crush the dwarf's arm. "Let's see how your school year goes with a shattered arm, fresh meat!" Nicolas sneered.
The crowd watched, some in shock and others in silent agreement with Nicolas's actions. This wasn't just a duel anymore; it was outright bullying.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Elijah stepping up as if he was going to stop this atrocity. Turning to my left, I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, "Oh no, it's the student council president I see?" Sylvie, perched on my head, pointed forward with a cute chirp as if she were indicating the president's presence.
Nicolas, disrupted by my voice, looked around frantically. "The president?! Where?!" he exclaimed, quickly desummoning his swords. Elijah turned to me with an annoyed expression. "You ruined my chance to shine," he grumbled.
I spoke in a sheepish voice, "Oops, I must've seen wrong." Sylvie nodded in agreement. "Your chance? You were just going to bully that sword-swinging kid," I began, but before I could finish my sentence, I was grabbed by the arm and spun around.
"Are you picking a fight with me, scholar boy? How dare you ruin my duel," Nicolas growled.
Lifting my hands up, I tried to defuse the situation. "Whoa, man, chill out... didn't you hear? It's not cool to discriminate," I said calmly. "And besides, I'm pretty sure the duel was over long before that."
Nicolas pushed me back, speaking with dominance, "I decide when the duel ends, scrawny first year."
He turned his back on me, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But Sylvie, who was above me, wasn't having it. She spat at Nicolas, who turned back, looking at us angrily, a vein popping, his nostrils flaring like a pig's.
I pointed at Sylvie, trying to dispute the situation. "It wasn't me," I insisted. His face, now red with anger, poured mana into his ring to summon his sword.
"You dare---" he began, but before he could complete his sentence, a punch landed on his cheek, sending him rolling back.
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