—Asher Frostblade's point of view.
The two days passed so quickly that, in the blink of an eye, it was already Monday. Directly in front of the royal family's castle, a white carriage adorned with intriguing golden details waited in front of the great gates.
Today is the day I start at the Laosa Academy.
I felt something inside me that I don't know how to describe, but it was a strange feeling of entering an academy with kids my age. Of course, there would be older teenagers in the third and fifth grades.
"It's her again." I muttered as I felt a gaze on me again.
Even though I hadn't seen that woman's face two days ago, lately I've felt watched ever since. Every second, every minute and every hour, for two days straight, in every part of the castle.
She's definitely a stalker.
Why is she doing something so weird, why is she stalking me? Just thinking about it sends a strong shiver throughout my body.
Looking around, the gaze of wherever she was watching me instantly disappeared.
Sighing, I looked at the carriage, I was waiting for Luna and Gloriana.
Fortunately, Oriana let me ride in the carriage.
Going on foot would take too long, and even flying wouldn't allow me to get there in time, as my mana would be depleted very quickly.
In fact, since I learned to fly thanks to mana, the consumption is so high that I can only last ten minutes in the air.
"Asher, sorry, we took too long." Luna spoke the moment she stepped out of the castle gates.
"No problem, I can wait as long as it takes."
"You're all three here already."
I instantly opened my eyes as I saw who it was.
Oriana appeared right next to me, this time in a completely different outfit.
It wasn't a military one; this time it was different, a white suit similar to the one I wore the day I was given my noble title, with the difference that it had a badge with a logo in the center.
"Sister, what are you doing here?" Gloriana asked.
"About that, I'm one of the teachers at the academy." replied Oriana.
"..."
At that moment, she looked me straight in the eyes. A smile was etched on her face and, of course, a big shiver ran through every part of my body.
"No, no, that's impossible."
I thought over and over again, denying the idea that Oriana would be a teacher at the academy.
Remembering the days she trained me... not memories I wanted to conjure up. Simply put, a strong shiver came.
"But teachers are wizards, not knights," Luna mentioned.
"Silly girl, remember I'm from the Mengral family, a family of wizards and knights. I can use magic too and I have more than enough knowledge to be a magic teacher."
"Uh..."
I didn't know anything about that. I thought Oriana was a knight because she couldn't use magic, but this changes everything.
"You, what are you thinking?"
"N-no, nothing."
Sighing, Oriana spoke once more.
"Good, then we're leaving."
***
—Scene change.
—Wilbek Laosa's point of view.
Looking down at his desk, Director Wilbek finished sorting through several stacks of papers, each and every one of them reviewed and stamped with a seal indicating approval.
Director Wilbek, despite being a ninth-circle wizard, has these time-consuming jobs. Most of all, he has to take care of academy stuff every day.
In other words, he is an old man with unlimited work every year.
No rest.
No vacation.
And without any days he can enjoy.
That was until two days ago. If it weren't for a child catching his eye, he wouldn't have had a few hours of rest in his long busy days.
Smiling, Wilbek glanced toward the door, into the room filled with books and shelves.
"You may come in."
"Knock..."
Before the person knocked on the door, Wilbek spoke.
"Excuse me, director."
A woman with blonde hair and green eyes, wearing clear glasses, wore a tight-fitting white suit with the academy's insignia, which had a small drawing of the academy in the center.
To the naked eye, the woman was very beautiful, with very well defined curves, a complete beauty in a woman.
"Oh dear, Professor Bridget, were you looking for me for something important?"
"About this year's cadets, the test is already finished. It's only a matter of time before the cadets take the entrance test."
"I understand, they haven't arrived yet."
"No, but the children of the ten families will be here soon, and so will Princess Gloriana."
"That's good news," Wilbek said.
"Finally, I'd like you to assign me to class one, headmaster. I want to teach the members of the ten families and Princess Gloriana."
Looking serious, Wilbek spoke up.
"That's a separate matter, but..." Pausing there, Wilbek quickly remembered someone.
"Okay, there's a cadet that has me curious."
"A cadet? What family is he from?"
"He's not from any family, he's not from the royal family either, he's just a kid."
Looking confused, Bridget stared at Wilbek.
No wonder Wilbek would say those words from a child. Bridget, a seventh circle mage, knows more than anyone else that Headmaster Wilbek usually pays no attention to anyone.
So why does he say those words? Bridget, of course, is very confused, but if that's what the principal says, then it's none of her business.
"Then I'll be on my way, it looks like the cadets are coming."
Leaving the room, Wilbek stood and looked out the large windows, watching each child entering the Academy through the doors. A smile etched itself on his face as he looked at one boy in particular.
"You're special, I hope you won't disappoint me."
Were his words as he looked at the boy stepping down from the carriage and into the Academy.
***
-Scene Change.
-Asher Frostblade's point of view.
The Laosa Academy is a mammoth size, four stories high and divided into several areas. The most important are as follows.
Library section, campus section, meeting section, faculty section and testing section.
A total of five important sections. The others are like the halls where the magic classes and the demonstration of magic and combat are received, something like a university with their respective places set aside.
The academy campus is about the size of five soccer stadiums. While the academy has four floors, it is also filled with places like the cafeteria, stores and various other things.
It is like a small city with all the necessary things. In particular, there are the dormitories, which are shaped like a building with several rooms on each floor.
"It's very big, bigger than I thought."
"That's obvious. This academy is the most prestigious on the entire continent. It's normal for it to have everything and be this size."
Luna answered me.
Looking around, there was a path resembling a cobblestone street leading to the gates of the academy. Just now I am outside the academy, but I am referring to the campus facilities.
[New cadets, enter the meeting section].
A voice that echoed throughout the place spoke.
Looking at Oriana, who was facing the front, she at that moment spoke.
"Follow me."
She simply said that, then we followed her.
It was a few minutes until we reached an area inside the academy. The place was a bit dark. Right at the front was a podium where a woman with blonde hair and green eyes was standing in the center.
Looking around, everyone was starting to sit down. Doing the same, Luna and Gloriana followed me while Oriana went elsewhere saying:
"I'll go to the teachers' section."
That was all she said. Luna sat next to me and Gloriana on the other side. Strangely, no one was muttering about "the princess is here" or such things.
It's rare that people don't say those things. An example would be the castle, where all the time they talk about the nobles and the royal family. It was even boring to be hearing those words every day.
At that moment, a silence flooded the entire room. No one uttered a single word.
Then, looking at the woman standing at the podium, her lips parted and then she spoke.
"Well, I guess you're all here now, a thousand new first-years."
No one said a word and they kept looking at the woman.
"As you know, Laosa Academy is divided into five years, from first year to fifth year. You will be here for five years, you will not leave the academy during this time."
That means no outside contact for five years. It's a somewhat absurd idea, but they must have some reason.
After all, Laosa Academy is in the middle of a large forest, right in the middle. Going outside wouldn't make any sense, especially since this academy has everything you need, such as stores, restaurants and even dormitories.
Following the words, the woman continued.
"At the Laosa academy, there are rules that you must abide by, such as not using magic on campus or anywhere in the academy. They are only allowed to use magic in combat session, training and testing."
That makes sense. After all, if there's any inconvenience, people could get hurt from using magic.
"I'll get straight to the point. Every year you have five classes, from one to five. Class one is the elite class, while class five is where there are cadets who are so bad at magic and are destined to fail."
No harsh words, but it's true.
"Five classes, huh," I thought about it for a moment.
The classes are divided into five areas, perhaps to separate the untalented from the talented. It's kind of normal for this sort of thing, actually.
It would be strange to be with the untalented in a class where there are pure talented geniuses. On the other hand, the cadets would not be happy to be with the untalented.
That doesn't matter to me, though.
Following the words, the woman continued once more.
"To be in class one, the cadets will have a skills test and prove that their class will be one. The tests should already know where they are."
A test.
I expected that, but this test will only be to find out which cadet will be in which class.
Should I give it my all or not?
First of all, nor do I want to draw attention to myself with my magic, and secondly, I don't like to draw attention to myself.
"Well then, after the test, the members of the disciplinary committee will be decided. There will be a vote to elect the chairman, vice-chairman and secretary."
"A disciplinary committee?"
"You don't know what it is," Luna spoke up.
It's not that I don't know, but I have no idea how that works in this world, so I shook my head, indicating that I don't know.
"The disciplinary committee handles tasks, events and fixes problems that cadets cause at the academy. It's a simple thing, but their tasks are a pain in the ass."
"..."
That's pretty much the same as the other world.
"It's the same thing," I muttered.
"What thing?"
"It's nothing."
Most things in this academy are similar to a school or university in the world I came from. For a moment I thought it would be different, but there are things that are the same, just with a few small slight changes that are hardly noticeable.
Still, it's something I need to know. Even if I'm in this world, there are things that are different.
"The test will be in an hour. In the meantime, you can look around the surroundings of the academy." At that moment, the woman started walking and left the podium.
Then a woman entered, walked in the direction of the podium and stared at all the people.
"Ahem..." She cleared her throat.
"Cadets, Professor Bridget has already explained what is necessary. Now I'll tell you what's next."
Looking at the woman, who for some reason looked familiar, she appeared to be about thirty to thirty-five years old, with dark hair and purple eyes, she was wearing the same outfit as Oriana, a white one with a badge on it.
"The academy has a point system. It would be like their money, how do you get them? They can explore dungeons or clear them. The dungeons are connected by a teleport door system that will take them to the entrance of the dungeons."
Now that was unexpected.
A point and dungeon system. But that means we'll be out of the academy.
"The points will be used for your needs, such as shopping and your meals. It's a simple thing."
"I know you'll be thinking it's dangerous, but through this point system you guys will be able to get experience in the dungeons. It's a great opportunity. The dungeons you will be going to are graded as grade 9 to grade 7. Of course, the lower grade ones are available for years three through five."
"Good, then that's it. Testing will start soon. Don't be late."
At that moment, the woman left the podium. Strangely, she gave me a funny feeling. Could she be the woman stalking me? That's impossible.
Sighing, I looked at all the cadets who were leaving the place.
"Hey, how about we go look at the combat section?"
At that moment I opened my eyes. I was really curious to know the level of the kids in their magic, and there would probably be second year cadets too, even up to fifth year cadets.
With that in mind, we headed for the combat section. But just then...
"I'm watching you, honey."
My whole body froze. I quickly looked around, but....
No one. There was no one. But it was the voice of the woman from two days ago....
__________________________________________________
We start with volume two, where the story is just beginning, I want to say that my writing has improved a bit so I'm giving it my all from this volume so there will be some changes, leave a comment if we are starting well.