Arriving in Veras, Leonard accompanied the three boys to the academy aboard what he called "Roborse"; Erwin, in addition to being fascinated by the speed of that strange object, was completely stunned by the surrounding landscape, and on his face you could see the astonishment and joy of having discovered a place like Veras;
Elaine, although she tried not to show it, she was also fascinated by the beauty of the structures and the ambiguity of the technologies she saw, which seemed to her to come out of a science fiction book, by how weird, but at the same time, ingenious they were.
Brenin on the side, although he came from the poorest districts, did not seem particularly surprised by what he was seeing; Erwin, looking at the boy, seemed that the latter was very bored with everything he saw, and in a way, that expression that he thought was boring, reminded him of Ron, which he started to miss a little.
"Well Guys" – Leonard began, addressing Erwin and Elaine – "Tell me a little about you, just to get to know us" – concluded the professor, curious to know the story of the two boys who for him, at that moment, were complete strangers.
At that moment, Erwin wanted to answer, but some rules imposed by Ron came to his mind: one of them, was not to reveal the fact that he was the son of Artemisius, under any circumstances; he did not know the reason for this rule that seemed stupid to him, and that he could break as or when he could; but he decided to follow this "advice of his", since anyway, since he lived with Ron, the latter was always right.
"Well... I grew up in Hakvill; I don't know who my parents are, nor if i'm a native of Hakvill; I was raised by a gruff old man named Ron, and it was the one who taught me everything I know.."
Elaine, listening to Erwin's words, saw a certain note of sadness in her eyes, and somehow, she could partly understand what Erwin was feeling; she didn't know that Erwin was lying at the time, but the fact that both of them no longer had parents in life, somehow caused Elaine to see herself a little more in Erwin, although she was not particularly sympathetic to the boy.
"I'm sorry..." - replied the elderly gentleman, who for a moment felt guilty for bringing up the subject, then trying to make up for it – "However, the fact that you found a man so kind as to raise you as if you were his son, is a really admirable thing."
"In fact, it's like that... although in truth, I see him more as my grandfather, hehe." replied Erwin, who because of Ron's appearance, he just couldn't see him as a father, it was difficult for him, also because in reality, in his mind, only one persone could be his father.
"I understand... And let's hear, what is the age at which you 'Awakened', Erwin?" Leonard asked.
Erwin hesitated for a moment, before answering; he would have liked to follow Ron's line, that is, to lie about everything, but since they would notice his lack sooner or later, he thought well that perhaps, telling the truth now, was the right things to do.
"Well...I underwent the awakening process two years ago..."
"WHAT?!" Elaine and Leonard exclaimed in unison, shocked by what the boy had revealed; Leonard was shocked that Erwin, who had shown excellent instincts for fighting and had considerable control over his mana, had awakened only 2 years ago, going against what was said about awakened people, that is, those who awakened after the age of 10 had no type of talent/ lack control over their mana.
Elaine instead was even more surprised: she hated to admit it, but she knew that Erwin had a great talent, which only flaw was the fact that he was not akin to any magical element; in support of his thesis, there was the incredible victory obtained against Rudolf, who was much stronger and more experienced than him.
The young princess, believed that her adventure partner was lying, but as soon as she saw that innocent boy look, she began to convince herself that at that moment, Erwin was really telling the truth.
Brenin, who until then looked bored, did not turn away, but began to be curious about the guy in front of him.
"You're not lying, are you?!" Leonard said, grabbing Erwin with his big hands, looking at Erwin as if he had found a diamond at that moment.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said that..." Erwin whispered scratching his head, believing he had made a real disaster. - "Anyway... no, it's the truth. Then, thanks to Ron, who was interested in mana and the awakened, he gave me a huge hand in training and perfecting control over mana."
"Oh, so Ron is the name of your teacher..." - said Leonard, managing to find out at least the name of this mysterious person, although that name at that moment, told him nothing, thus remaining intrigued as to why so much secrecy on Ludwig's part - "And tell me, is he also an awakened one?"
"Y.. N-no! ... he's just a very curious man." Erwin replied nervously, who was almost about to break another of the rules imposed by Ron, which is, don't say anything important about Ron.
Leonard noticed this little defaiance, suspecting that in truth, this person called Ron was a "awakened"; slowly, he began to grow some curiosity about this figure, but he felt that perhaps, it was better not to investigate further, as he had promised Ludwig a few days earlier.
"Uhm... He did a great job anyway, to be a normal person." - replied Leonard, effectively ignoring the boy's nervousness - "And tell me, what elements can you use?"
"Umh..."
Erwin at that moment found himself again in an uncomfortable position, this time, even more than before: he was aware of the fact that by the time he would face the test, everyone would become aware of his serious deficit, but he did not believe that this would happen even before he arrived at the academy;
".... That's a secret." said Erwin, making a more than forced smile; Leonard noticed this smile, remaining quite skeptical of the boy's response.
He wanted to insist, but it was enough to look at Erwin to understand that it would be useless to do this, thus settling for the answer, although he did not like it.
"You're pretty boring..." Leonard snorted, in a slight sarcastic tone but also with a slightly disappointed expression.
The professor then turned his gaze to Elaine, intrigued to know her story.
"And tell me, Lucy, what's your story?"
"Nothing special. I was born in Hakvill and I am part of a humble family, made up of a fisherman father and a seamstress mother. At the age of 6 I woke up, and since then, I trained with Master Ron, who despite not being an awakened man, did everything to help me in my workouts." Elaine replied, very calmly; Erwin was baffled by the ease with which Elaine responded by lying shamelessly; he still did not know Elaine well, and began to wonder if all he told a few days earlier were nothing but lies.
"And that's where you met Erwin?" Leonard asked.
"That's right... let's say we're 'brothers.'..." said Elaine, who out of the corner of her eye observed Erwin's reaction, who by just naming the word 'brothers,' pissed him off.
"So... aren't you some kind of couple?"
Suddenly, Brenin, who until then had not opened his mouth but to introduce himself, asked this strange question to Elaine, who felt disgust at just thinking of her and Erwin as a couple, casting a sharp look at Erwin, who had the same reaction as the girl.
"Not a chance!" the two boys replied, annoyed by that question, starting to look at each other in a bad way.
"...clear, understood..."
Brenin began to observe Elaine with a strange look in the eyes; after a few seconds, suddenly, the young swordsman's gaze turned slightly red, forcing him to look away from the young girl.
[T-This idiot....] Leonard thought, who immediately understood the reason for that strange behavior: that boy, who seemed disinterested in anything but his sword, felt a certain interest in Elaine, who noticed that strange look at her; [What the hell does that have to look at?!] she thought annoyed by those strange looks, still trying not to give it much importance.
"A-Anywever... what element are you able to use?" the professor immediately asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well, I control the water element..." - Elaine began, creating a small sphere of water, manipulating it with extreme ease, trying to show her professor her control. - "... And I am able to control the element of the ice." concluded Elaine, who turned the water ball into an ice ball, thus displacing Leonard, who certainly did not expect the girl to have a deviant element*.
Observing that small performance, the professor of the academy immediately gave a quick evaluation of Elaine's abilities, finding an excellent control over the water element, superior to that of her peers, and a good element on the deviant element, thus reaching a first conclusion.
"Probably... you were already born with that element, I'm right?" asked Leonard, thus displacing Elaine, who did not expect such a deduction at all.
"Well, you don't have to be surprised. At your age, having a deviant element is very, very rare... there are two cases in which a little girl like you can get a deviant element: the first, is that you are a genius kissed by the mana and it does not seem the case to me, despite your control of the elements is remarkable. So, it's likely that you inherited that element...maybe, from a distant descendant...." said Leonard, who seemed very intrigued by Elaine's abilities.
"Maybe...you're right. Besides, I don't know any other member of my family, so it might be true..." replied Elaine, trying not to give up too much of her huge surprise, beginning to believe that maybe she shouldn't have shown her deviant element.
"Well, it's your turn, Brenin!" - said the professor, patting the boy next to him on the arm – "Why don't you show up to the two boys?"
"... I'm Brenin, I'm 15 years old, I control the element of the wind and one day I'll become the best magic knight in the world...no, in the history." Brenin replied quickly, looking back at the landscape that flowed quickly before his eyes.
"... Wow!" - exclaimed Erwin, who saw similarities between his goal and Brenin's dream – "I, on the other hand, hope one day I can become the best wizard in the world!"
"The best wizard... seems cool!" replied Brenin, who also seemed to appreciate the dream of his peer.
[.. Oh? So Brenin likes these people, huh?] Leonard thought with surprise, but with a slight smile on his lip; he had met Brenin 5 years ago in the 12th district; Brenin, who was an orphan, was a kind of little delinquent, who roamed the city stealing money, food, and assaulting anyone who tried to help him. And it was just that fate brought them together, with Brenin trying to rob Leonard, failing miserably. The latter thought of giving it to the competent authorities, but two things stopped him: the first, the despair in the eyes of that brat; second, that innate talent for the control of the wind element.
So, he decided instead to send Brenin to a small orphanage, where the nuns took care of him; it was not easy, but finally, the boy had calmed down, returning to the right path, but he seemed somewhat bored by everything he saw, not interacting with his peers, both because the kids did not understand Brenin's feelings, and because the latter did not open up to anyone. Moreover, he was very intelligent and "mature" for his age, causing him to move further and further away from those boys; for this reason, Leonard and the nuns decided to send Brenin to the academy of a thousand magical arts, both because he had a great talent, and because they wanted Brenin to finally be able to live his youth to the full.
The fact that Brenin seemed comfortable with other awakened people seemed to prove Leonard and the people in the orphanage who loved him right.
While looking at the three boys, however, he could not help but notice Elaine's look at the two boys; like Brenin, Elaine had that "mature" side that a young person should not have, thus indicating that perhaps, something very unpleasant had happened to her. Yet, in Elaine's gaze, the professor also saw something else; he didn't know what, but it was clear to him that that girl was not telling the truth, and that she must have been through a lot.
After a few seconds, the horse-drawn carriage, commanded by robotic horses, stopped suddenly.
"We have arrived at our destination, gentlemen." said the coachman, catching the attention of those present.
"Oh, I hadn't even noticed..." - said Leonard, who was assorted in his thoughts. - "Here, keep the money."
Erwin couldn't stay in the skin, and so, he looked out in front of the window, invading Elaine's space, who was annoyed by such behavior.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" The girl exclaimed, but received no answer from the latter;
Erwin, as soon as he put his head out, was blown away by what he saw; with his eyes full of wonder, he found himself in front of the majestic Magic Academy of Veras, an imposing structure surrounded by imposing towers and enchanted woods.
"W-Woah..."
Erwin catapulted himself out of the carriage, thus approaching the entrance of the academy, with the entrance gate in gold with strange writings engraved on each bar that composed it; in front of the gate then, there were two magical guards, who as soon as they saw Professor Leonard, stood on the eye;
"Welcome back, Mr. Leonard!" They exclaimed the two guards in unison, as a sign of respect for the man in front of them.
"N-No need to greet me like this..." the professor said slightly embarrassed, as he pulled down his suitcases from the cale with the help of Elaine and Brenin.
Erwin in the meantime remained completely in a state of shock in the face of all that beauty; The imposing stone towers stood out against the sky, adorned with intricate sculptures that seemed to dance in the light of twilight.
Erwin looked around with eyes filled with astonishment. The central courtyard was an enchanted garden, with bright flowers sparking and trees whispering magical secrets to the wind. The flora seemed to respond to the young man's presence, as if welcoming him with a symphony of unique colors and fragrances.
The walls of the academy were covered in stone carved with magical symbols and ancient runes. The windows whispered thousand-year-old stories, painted with images of spells and fantastic creatures.
In some Towers, there were statues depicting the mighty and sinister Gargoyle, which Erwin observed with admiration, but at the same time, with a hint of fear.
"Beautiful, don't you think?" Leonard said, while leaving the boy's bag next to him.
"E-Excuse me, professor!" Erwin exclaimed, who had completely forgotten about his bag, making a slight bow as an apology.
"Hey hey... Don't worry!" - said Leonard, amused by the boy's reaction – "Anyway follow me, it's not the time for you to relax..." Leonard said, thus addressing three boys, who without any hesitation, followed him.
****
The four characters, passed in the middle of the immense courtyard of the academy, which presented impressive and beautiful works of art, and with fountains that gave a breathtaking spectacle of water and light.
As they crossed the courtyard, they come across the future wizards who were part of the academy; many of them, along with their friends, studied in the courtyards, others instead practiced some spells, and others instead laughed and joked with each other; Erwin, who had never had anyone he could consider as a friend, felt that he could begin to have many here, looking forward to being able to interact with all of them.
Elaine, for her part, did not pay attention to all this, not even the beautiful landscape in front of her, as the moment she stepped her foot inside the academy, her mentality swithed: right now, her only goal was to become strong, not having the slightest interest in making friends, which she considered futile.
Brenin, for his part, felt the same feelings as Erwin, although his expression might seem like that of a person who did not seem surprised at everything he was seeing at the time.
After a few minutes, they finally entered the mammoth building, more precisely, they headed to the academy secretariat for pre-registration.
"Sit here, guys" said Leonard, who then went to one of the secretaries placed behind a large window; they spoke for a few seconds, in which the three boys didn't hear much; then, the professor went back, taking 3 sheets with him and handing one each to the boys.
"What is it?" Erwin asked intriguedly.
"That's a form for enrollment" – Leonard said, approaching the boy – "You have to write down your details and which courses you would prefer to attend."
"Umh... What courses are there?"
Leonard was somewhat amazed by that question; everyone who aspired to become formidable magicians or magical knights, already knew everything about the academies, from what courses to follow to the most trivial things, and yet that boy seemed to know nothing about certains things;
"Well... There are several courses in the academy, which are distinguished between mandatory and personal: the mandatory courses for all students, are the course of mana theory, the course of alchemy, theory of war and the study of the elements.
Instead, the courses of free choice are courses where you practice what you learn, a bit like a specialization course: in this case, the courses we have here at our disposal are the course for medium-long range magic, the course of defensive magic and divination, the course of magic knights and the course of hand-to-hand combat. When you enroll in the academy, you are obliged to choose at least one of these courses. Is that clear to you now?"
"Oh... Ok!" said Erwin, who began to fill out his form;
After a few minutes finally, when the three boys filled out the form, they handed the papers to Leonard, whom I folded there and put them inside the pocket of his jacket.
"Well, now that we've settled this matter, follow me!"
"Where are you taking us now?" asked Erwin, who was curious about what would happen.
"Oh, well...Now you're going to take your entrance test!"
-------
*P.O.V by Elaine.*
Finally, after all this long journey and all these useless bureaucratic chores, the time came for me to take my entrance test to this academy;
Since I set foot in Veras, I have felt much more confident than I had ever been in the past month; before, I was tired, and although I was in the best of conditions, my mind had come almost to the limit. Now, on the other hand, this sense of security I felt around me gave me such a boost that I felt in tip-top shape in all aspects.
But now that I was here, I certainly could not relax: after passing this useless exam, in these years that I would have spent here at the academy, I would have worked hard, trying to become as strong as possible; I would have gathered faithful allies around me, and only when all of us would become strong, that I would have left to kill Umarth. That was my goal, and nothing would distract me from this.
The only problem was that I had Erwin in my feet, who in addition to knowing my secret, was also an idiot capable of steaming everything; in addition to the fact that I couldn't stand him at all, hearing him talk about his dreams, with that joy in his eyes and with that happiness made me boil with anger; I believed that somehow, he and I were similar because of our past, but the more I observed him, the more I changed my mind, and the more I hated him.
I was forced to observe him wherever he went, being careful that this fool didn't talk more than he should; the only way to get him out of my "way", was to hope that his test went wrong, so that he would be forced to go back. For this reason, in my heart, I was hoping for his failure.
-------
We entered a large gym of the academy; the room was immense, and on one side of the room there were several training weapons, such as wooden swords, wooden axes and other weapons that, although they seemed solid, were rather worn, a symptom that the objects in question were used very regularly;
In front of us, we found a long wooden table, on which 4 people were sitting; judging by the purity and density of their mana, those people had to be professors of the highest level, who the moment we set foot inside, scrutinized from top to bottom, with careful eyes on every detail.
It was enough to see their composure to understand that those in front of me were monsters, but what caught my attention the most was an elderly gentleman sitting in the middle of the table, as I could not feel his mana, but at the same time, he was giving me a strange feeling of danger, although his appearance was that of the most classic grandpa.
"Are these the guys you recommended, Leonard?" asked the elderly gentleman, who continued to scrutinize us with great interest.
"Yes, these are the boys, Mr. Principal." - replied Leonard, who went to sit in an empty chair at the end of the table where all the professors were sitting – "What do you think?"
The elderly gentleman remained silent for a few seconds, massaging his beard and observing us with a strange smile on his lips.
"You girl, what's your name?" asked the Principal, pointing at me with his finger full of wrinkles, leaving me a little bewildered.
"I... I'm Lucy Blazestorm.."
"Lucy, huh? Well, could you show me your element?"
Suddenly, the air became heavy in the gym; the professors' looks became heavier and heavier, and it was as if they were looking at my soul at that moment. For a moment I petrified myself, but then I remembered why I was here, and without wasting any more time, I created a sphere of water, starting to play with it and creating trails of water around me.
After that, I suddenly glaced these ice trails, thus creating a cold ice structure, leaving the professors so surprised, who observed me even more closely.
"As I imagined.. It's enough! You are admitted to this academy!" exclaimed the principal, smiling.
"Huh?!"
I expected them to put me to some tough test, but I never expected to be admitted so easily!
"I see you surprised..." - said the old man, always with a smile on his lips – "I may be nearsighted, but I can sense your mana and its purity, and I am sure you have immense talent for magic. Are there any objections?"
"None. That's just what I thought as soon as I saw her!" Leonard replied, making the thumb sign with a radiant smile on my face;
"Same for me. This school chooses the best of the best, and she seems to be qualified to represent our academy." replied a woman from the other end of the table; this woman was endowed with a rare beauty, wearing elegant white clothes; she had a very blond long hair and her blue eyes, combined with that cold and sharp look, gave me the impression of being in front of some dangerous foe.
"For once, I agree with Yilenia. That girl has potential." replied another woman in a firm tone of voice, trying to tease the woman she had just called "Yilenia"; unlike Yleinia, this professor had thick orange-red curly hair, green eyes and a fair amount of freckles scattered on her face. She wasn't as beautiful as Yilenia, and she didn't even look as elegant as the latter and had a to-boy behavior, but she had a look that was that of a lively person; somehow, it annoyedly reminded me of Erwin.
"Shot up, peasant. You shouldn't open your mouth here." countered Yilenia, in a composed voice but with the look that became even sharper than before, showing all her contempt for the red-haired woman.
"Yilenia... Maybe you should be careful of that long tongue of yours that comes to you on the floor, you could get burned..." replied the woman with a smile that seemed threatening, with her fist that suddenly, was enveloped by lively and hot flames.
"As much as I'd love to fix that ugly face you find yourself, I can't behave like a mere barbaric in front of those future students, Martha..."
The red-haired woman gave us a quick look, almost angry that we were there; after that she breathed a long sigh of disappointment, apparently tackling her anger and extinguishing those burning flames she was ready to use against the woman.
"You've become boring, Yilenia..." the woman whispered, then crossing her arms.
"Hohoh! Excuse me, young Lucy! Some of our professors are still childish!" said the principal with a funny laugh. - "Anyway, now all that's left is your answer, Durmuss. What do you think of the girl?"
Indeed, now the opinion of the one who had remained silent all this time was missing; this professor wore an elegant black dress, with well-groomed hair of the same color and wore dark-lens glasses; his complexion was paler than normal, and his face was thin, but with a square chin and with dimples clearly visible.
I didn't pay attention to him at first, but in addition to the Principal, even around the man named Durmus I felt a strange aura, but the sensation that i was feeling was more disturbing and sinister.
"...That's fine with me, but first I want to check something out. It's a quick test, which also applies to the two kids. What do you see in my right hand?" said the professor, showing us his hand
It was a strange question, since at that moment, there was nothing at all in his hand. But it was very strange, as he couldn't ask us such a strange question.
"... Nothing" Erwin immediately replied, who did not ask himself the reason for that question; The professor looked at him for a moment with a strange look, and then gave a small smile.
"Wrong. You next to him, what do you see here?"
Brenin looked at his hand, and unlike Erwin, he didn't immediately respond without even thinking.
"If you're asking me, it means there's something there. Unfortunately though, I'm not able to answer." Brenin said openly.
"Okay... What about you Lucy? What do you see?" asked the black-haired professor, looking at me with attentive eyes.
I really believed there was nothing there, and in fact, since Durmuss didn't gave an answer to Brenin's response, I believed that was the right answer. But suddenly, as I looked at his hand, I noticed something strange, very strange.
I approached his hand, and it was at that moment that I felt a subtle, very thin purple light around his hand.
"I-Is that mana?"
Erwin and Brenin also approached, but despite that, they didn't see what I was seeing. The mana around his hands was very weak, but that was not the strangest thing: in fact, his hand had no shadow zone, on the contrary, his whole body did not produce shadow with all that light.
The professor remained silent for a moment, then, he gave a small smile of satisfaction.
"Congratulations, Lucy Blazestorm, the answer is correct." - said the professor, thus nullifying that little aura of mana around his hand – "Only a few students have managed to spot this faint mana around my hand, which for them, is simply invisible. The fact that you were able to see it means that you are sensitive to the smallest variations in mana. So for me too, there are no problems about his admission. And I would like to propose something, Mr. Principal..."
the man stood next to me, then resting his hand on my shoulder.
"How about admitting Ms. Elaine in section A? I think she has all the requirements."
Section A? I didn't know what it was, but judging by the particular request of that man, it must have been a good news for me.
"Well, I have no problem with that. What about you instead?"
The professors and the principal didn't say anything, a symptom that the proposal made by Durmus was fine for them.
"Good. In this case, I declare Lucy Blazestorm admitted to our academy. Congratulations!"
END OF CHAPTER 12 - TEST