Inside a small house, cozy enough for four people to live happily, a beautiful young girl stood in front of a mirror, checking her appearance one final time.
In the mirror in front of her stood a beautiful young girl with long brown hair, its tips adorned with red, and gentle red eyes. She boasted a graceful figure, radiating a gentle aura that made her pleasant to look at. The young girl was dressed in a uniform—a white shirt, blue blazer, red tie, and a sky-blue skirt reaching her knees.
"Lily, just come down already, or you'll be late." A female voice sounded from downstairs, urging the girl to hurry.
"Coming, Mom," Lily replied while giving herself a final once-over in the mirror.
"Alright, everything looks good," she said, looking at herself in the reflection with satisfaction and then glanced around her room.
Her room consisted of a simple-looking single bed, a table and chair, a dressing table, a door leading outside, a window right in front of her table, and a bookshelf a little bit away filled with books covering everything she might need for her studies.
"I will miss this room," she said, walking out with a soft smile.
Right in front of her room was another door leading to her sister's room, designed similarly to her own. On her right, stairs led down to the ground floor in front of the main entrance of her house.
She went downstairs and glanced left and right with a tinge of sadness. The place where she had lived for 16 years, she was now leaving to reside in the dorms of her new academy.
The ground floor of her house had a door leading outside, accompanied by a shoe stand next to the wall. There was also a hallway leading to the living room and washroom.
She walked to the living room and entered through a wooden and glass door. Inside, she saw a U-shaped sofa, a TV suitable for the space, a table in between the sofa, a dining table set at the side, and a kitchen attached to the dining area.
Her parents and her little sister were already sitting at the dining table, waiting for her. She hurriedly joined them.
***
"Lily, if you face any kind of problem, just give us a call, okay? Although we cannot do much, we can still do something to help you," Lily's mother said in a worried tone, tears in her eyes.
"I will, Mom," Lily replied, tears welling in her eyes.
'DEAR PASSENGERS TRAIN NUMBER 23489: ACADEMIC TRAIN NUMBER 5 IS ABOUT TO DEPART. KINDLY BOARD THE TRAIN'
'DEAR PASSENGERS TRAIN NUMBER 23489: ACADEMIC TRAIN NUMBER 5 IS ABOUT TO DEPART. KINDLY BOARD THE TRAIN'
"That's my cue. See you, Mom. See you, Dad. See you, Rose. Bye!" With a shout, Lily, with a tinge of sadness, hurried inside the train, and in a minute, the train departed.
***
Among the crowd of students, Lily finally entered her new place of study and the residence for the next four years – Aroa, the Academy of Heroes.
There are a total of 11 Academies of Heroes, responsible for crafting the shield and swords of humanity against the Vampires. Among these academies, Aroa holds the 8th position. It is the third-best in producing academically advanced individuals. The 11 Academies according to their Ranks are:
1. Mortis Academy
2. Eden Academy
3. Lunaria Academy
4. Zenith Academy
5. Solar Academy
6. Stella Academy
7. Navio Academy
8. Aroa Academy
9. Ethos Academy
10. Aeon Academy
11. Apex Academy
After learning about the location of the Opening Ceremony, Lily headed there, reaching the place in just 15 minutes.
The main building of the academy is square-shaped, with its center being hollow, serving as the venue for the opening ceremony. The sides of the building house the classrooms. It is a four-storey structure, with each floor dedicated to a specific year. Theory classes are conducted in the main building, while other subjects have designated buildings for instruction.
The Academies of Heroes offers two programs: the combat program and the academic program. While combat students are required to study academic subjects, their primary focus is on combat training. Conversely, academic students prioritize academic studies, with a minor emphasis on combat training.
"Let's see, I have to go to Class G's line," she mumbled, scanning the area. Once she located it, she headed straight to the front seat, being the topper in theory, thanks to her ability.
"Fufu, I'm glad I have Eidetic Memory ability. Without it, I wouldn't be able to reach where I am," she thought in her mind, feeling happy and grateful for the ability she has possessed since birth.
(Even that ability is not yours my dear Lily, but I don't know if you should be grateful to that ability)
Suddenly a whisper sounded inside her yet she didn't even hear it, not even knowing the origin of the said whisper.
And finally in another 30 minutes the opening ceremony started.
***
"Sigh~ Finally, I can rest," Lily exclaimed wearily as she lay down on her bed in her room.
The ceremony, mandatory for all students to attend, served as nothing more than a method to exhaust and dampen their excitement. Essentially, the students endured five hours of relentless boredom with no breaks, causing nearly all of them to sit with open eyes, sleeping in their seats.
PING
Suddenly, her phone beeped, signaling an incoming message. Upon checking, she discovered that the message came from the student council itself:
-----------------------------------------
Dear First Year Students,
You all are announced to form a temporary team of seven members as per guidelines provided by the Hero Association.
Submit the team list to your homeroom teacher by the end of the month.
If you want to be placed in a random team then report it as such as well to your homeroom teacher before the deadline.
- Student Council, Aroa Academy of Heroes
-----------------------------------------
In the educational program released by the Hero Association, every student must be part of a team. These teams will endure beyond graduation, lasting until either a member dies or retires from hero work.
In the first year, teams are temporary due to the high occurrence of students dropping out, facing expulsion due to their behavior, or being killed during the first-year exams. After the first year, teams will be divided based on synergy by the Association itself, and everyone must be part of a team, whether they prefer it or not.
While students are initially allowed to join any team as a trial to experience working together, they ultimately must join a team based on their chosen direction, which include: Knight, Assassin, Mage, Healer, Summoner, Marksman, and Psion.
There are individual associations according to the direction we humans can take, them being:
1. Ironclad Citadel - Knight Association
2. Arcane Spire - Mage Association
3. Celestial Nexus - Summoner Tower
4. Vital Sanctum - Healer Tower
5. Shadow Veil - Assassin Tower
6. Mind's Eyes Citadel - Psion Tower
7. Sylvan Watch - Marksman Tower
"I wonder who I should ask to be in the team. Well, I just don't want to be in a combat-focused team; I might really struggle in that scenario. So, I have to look for non-combatants and focus on academic activities."
Regardless of whether someone is a non-combatant or not, they must choose one path.
'Seriously, why do I have to be weak? Anyway, I do possess a good ability instead of being completely without one.'
She has chosen the path of a mage due to her innate ability, even though she doesn't particularly enjoy it. Using her ability often proves to be a hassle, and she dreads having to use it.
'Status.' The moment Lily thought so, a pure white screen with blue words materialized in front of her, visible only to her.
===STATUS===
Name: Lily Adams
Race: Human
Potential: E
Affinity: Ice (Mid), Fire (Mid)
Rank: F
===ATTRIBUTES===
Strength: F– –
Stamina: F–
Agility: F– –
Intelligence: F– –
Mana: F
Charm: 7
> Arts:
- Basic Sword Art (Low) [26%]
> Skills:
- None
> Abilities:
- Eidetic Memory – Remember everything you have experienced.
===END===
"Sigh~ Close." With a sigh, she ordered the status screen to close since just viewing and maintaining the screen consumes mana.
"Whatever, I'll think about it tomorrow." With that, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
***
"Yes, Master. She is right next to my room, as per your command."
In the room adjacent to Lily's, a pretty girl is sitting on her bed, currently engaged in a video call with someone.
"Get close to her, inquire about her taste, weaknesses, talents, and strengths, and report to me in a week." A young man's voice sounded from the girl's phone.
"Yes, Master," the girl said reverently, and with that, the phone call was cut off.