"Master, how do we actually qualify as students though? Wouldn't there be a complicated application process for a school of this caliber?"
"Well, I'm sure we can work something out. I'd imagine a school of magic to be interested in magical talents above all else. They might make an exception, if we talk to the right people."
"And who are the right people?"
"We'll figure that out now."
They walked along a pathway surrounded by a garden. It was quite a sight, truly an architectural marvel, Yamato thought. But then again, a world with magic has less physics to worry about which in turn speeds up architectural development.
The school consisted of four main buildings. One in the middle, accessible through the main entrance gate. Two were linked to the first building and behind it. The final building was all the way in the back, behind the two buildings connected to the first building. Looking at a map in the first building, they could orient themselves around the school. The first building was home to the teachers office and principal's office, the cafeteria, and free time activity rooms. The two buildings linked to the sides of the first building were for the classrooms of each first and second years. Each year having their own building. The final building, that was split in the middle, was for the students dorms. The right side of the building had the girls dorms and the left side the boys dorms.
Now having a basic understanding of the school, they went to further explore the first building. They walked up a staircase and entered the second floor, which had white walls and a floor made out of marble. To their left, there was a door labled as the headmaster's office. Yamato just entered without knocking and they saw a man sorting books in a shelf. He had a dark, blue robe and pretty long hair, almost as long as Yuki's. He looked surprised by the sudden intrusion, but didn't seem to mind it all that much.
"Can I help you?"
"We'd like to apply as students."
"…you know, we have a application process that we take very seriously."
"Not interested."
"Excuse me?"
"Are you the headmaster?"
"That would be me, yes."
"Then let us skip the application process."
"And why would I ever do that? I don't even know your names, magic abilities or academic achievements. I don't even know if I want you at my school."
"Yamato Tasumaki. I'm pretty sure I can achieve anything you want of me academically wise."
"Yuki Hikari. I too believe that I can do anything necessary to qualify for this school."
"Well, at least you have confidence… but I'm sure you understand that I can't just let you enter because of that."
Yuki was slightly surprised by Yamato's straightforwardness, expecting a more subtle approach to this. But if he wanted to be blunt, she could do that. So she bluntly proposed her idea.
"How about a test then. If we pass, you let us in without any more requirements~!"
"That test would have to be quite convincing."
"Let's fight then!"
"…Excuse me?"
"You said you need to varify our magical abilities. If I win against the headmaster, I should qualify for this school, or not?"
"Technically, that is correct. But what gives you the idea that you could beat me… but fine. I will humor your idea. If you both win against me, that is."
"Ah… well, it should be enough if I win against you, cause M-… Yamato is specialized on buffs and healing magic, so it'd be unfair to fight us separately!
"I'm okay with that."
"Phew, that was close… master can't use magic… if I don't get hit, he won't need to show off the healing stuff I said he could use… I almost blew it there, but now it should be a piece of cake. I just have to beat that guy and probably be careful not to kill him."
"But we shouldn't do that in my office. There are still a few days until school officially starts, so the training space is free right now. If you would follow me now?"
"Lead the way."
With that, Yamato wouldn't need to do anything. If Yuki doesn't struggle, that is. Arriving in a arena-like field, the headmaster snapped his fingers and suddenly stood fourty meters away, facing them. Teleportation magic seemed to be a thing, although probably not a common one. Yamato felt like he was showing off. He took that as a challenge, now determined to win. Since the headmaster didn't make any rules for their fight, it was probably alright to just attack once ready. That became even more apparent when he extended his arms and made himself an easy target. Provoking them to attack.
"What should we do, Master?"
"Fight how you want. I leave that to you. Ah, but don't overdo it…"
"I wasn't going to overdo it anyway!"
She pouted but then quickly dropped that and focused on the headmaster. During their way here, she had learned to control her mana a lot better. She was now able to produce it naturally, so she wasn't dependent on the souls of others for that. Another seal lifted from her full potential in this world, but still far from it. But more importantly, this meant she didn't need use it as sparingly as before. Though she still needed to hold back of course.
The headmaster, who seemed to be tired of waiting around, snapped his fingers again. Suddenly, a spherical barrier surrounded them, trapping the three inside. Yuki, without further explanation launched forward, using mana to float through the air. She obviously couldn't use her wings for that as they were concealed. Yamato on the other hand looked at the barrier, finding it fascinating. The headmaster started floating as well, focusing on Yuki and getting ready to fight.
Yuki, who wanted to test him first, only attempted a simple yet extremely fast and precise punch, which the headmaster dodged with ease. She continued with fire based attacks, summoning a fire tornado where he floated which at first seemed to be a direct hit, but had no effect on him. He now had spears of water float around him which aimed at Yuki, but she was able to dodge all of them and shoot a lightning bolt back at him, which just passed through the spears of water that initially were used to block the attack. However a wall out of rocks, which suddenly appeared infront of the headmaster, stopped the lightning bolt but was also destroyed in the process. He then threw a pillar of ice towards her which he created out of thin air, but Yuki created a small sun in her hand, which melted it in an instant. The headmaster just assumed it was a extremely powerful fireball. By now he had realized that his opponents where quite strong indeed, and he wouldn't need to hold back. Which surprised him since they were supposed to be applying to be students at this school. He, now getting serious, summoned a giant dragon out of purple flames, which was at least twenty meters tall. It spit an ocean of fire at Yuki, though it was more of an area attack and it almost filled the entire area that was enclosed through the barrier. It would've reached even Yamato on the other side of the arena, if Yuki hadn't reacted so quickly. She created a black hole above her, which sucked in every bit of fire in the air. Once the dragon disappeared, she closed the black hole again. The headmaster, amazed by this, was stunned for a moment.
She used this moment to her advantage and charged forward again and quickly followed up with summoning a ball of fire in the palm of her hand and throwing it at close range, but it just evaporated once it came into the proximity of the headmaster. Suprised, and slightly annoyed, she changed strategies and instead turned to kick him down into the ground. He blocked af first, but to his surprise, he was still pushed back further than he had anticipated. Yuki's superior physical attributes seemed to surpass his magic defenses, which she noticed too by now.
With the headmaster now close to the ground, she charged at him again. A direct hit would result in the headmaster being smashed into the ground completely, but he just smirked at her attack and suddenly appeared behind her and stomped on her back, resulting in her hitting the ground instead and creating a small impact crater and a cloud of dirt and dust.
The headmaster, who seemed to dismiss Yuki as defeated now appeared next to Yamato, who while inspecting the barrier had just been watching. He was visibly not as focused anymore and even initiated small talk, which Yamato saw as his chance to strike.
"I thought you are the one to heal and buff?"
He said condescendingly, as he stood right next to him.
"…"
Yamato, without saying a word, grabbed his arm and threw the headmaster over his back against the barrier, which was significantly harder than the ground. The headmaster barely had enough time to react, not expecting a healer to use physical force. Just in time, he managed to stop himself mid air using levitation magic.
But his safety was short lived, as Yamato's throwing motion transitioned into a flip after letting go of the headmaster and kicking him with his heel. It was even more effective since the headmaster couldn't turn with the motion, since he previously fixated himself mid air to stop Yamato throwing him. He attempted to block Yamato's foot with a magic barrier, but it deemed useless since Yamato didn't use magic to enhance his physical strength. The kick hit the headmaster directly in his stomach, and the impact was so severe that for a moment, he lost consciousness, which caused his levitation magic to stop and resulted in him hitting the magic barrier behind him immediately after regaining consciousness.
Hitting the barrier with his back threw his head back, resulting in a concussion once his head also hit the barrier. The kick alone already broke some of his ribs, and once he hit the ground, the battle was already over.
Yuki, slightly roughed up but unharmed, came out of the smoke and held her hand against her head.
"Ouch… What kind of school is this…?"
The headmaster just smiled and admitted defeat. Starting to use healing magic to stand up.
"And what kind of students are you? But a deal is a deal… The entrance exam starts in a few days, but you two aren't required to partake in it. Though, you should appear at the school enrollment ceremony."
"You're a laid back guy, headmaster."
Yuki said bluntly, slightly perplexed by him talking so casually after such a fight.
"Yeah, I get that a lot… and you can call me Professor Reed. I'll take care of the training field, you guys can go to the dorms already. Although school hasn't started yet, you can stay there and explore the campus already if you want."
And so they went to their dorms, marking the beginning of their school life.