‘Jun… Jun! Wake uppp!’ I heard a shrill voice screaming inside my head as I shot up in my bed, rubbing my half-shut eyes while scanning my surroundings.

‘Hurry up, we’re going to be late!’ the voice continued, as Azu came into view, jumping up and down on the blanket which was still covering my lower body.

As I slowly regained my senses, I instinctively checked the time on my bedside timepiece, thankful that I still had another hour to go until my transport arrived. Slowly pushing the blanket aside as I got up off the bed, I got into position for a few morning-stretches to loosen up my stiff body. As I glanced at my foxlike familiar still pouncing around the room playfully, I could somewhat relate to her sense of excitement. After all, today was the first day of my next two years at Ashford Academy, and the beginning of a brand-new adventure.

Finishing the last of my stretches, I slung off my shorts and got straight into the shower, eager to enjoy a moment of peace ahead of the busy day today. Within moments, Azu hopped into the shower with me, mentally commanding me to shampoo her fur, as she wanted to ‘look fabulous’ for the big day. Although I don’t think she appreciated the almost hysterical chuckle I couldn’t help but let out at her increasingly colorful vocabulary. Normally having a ‘girl’ like Azu showering with me would be at minimum panic inducing, but as I’d come to understand it, genders weren’t really a thing for Azu’s race, as she felt more like my adopted child through our soul-bond than anything else.

After finishing my morning grooming routine, which took longer-than-usual today, I put on the only pair of my new academy uniform which had been sent to my house; the rest of the identical pairs would be waiting for me in my dorm room at the academy, or so I’d been told. As I put on the black fitted jeans and tucked the accompanying black collared shirt into them, I was surprised at how comfortable this supposedly ‘battle-ready’ uniform actually was. Although I didn’t need to wear the accompanying belt with the Ashford Academy logo etched onto the buckle, on account of these jeans which had been perfectly tailored for my waist, I had no choice. 

Apparently, it was mandatory to wear proper uniform to uphold the ‘tradition and prestige’ of the academy in the eyes of everyone around me, as the letter accompanying the uniform had stated. Still, after putting on the dark-brown shoes and maroon-colored blazer, even Azu had to admit I looked good, giving an excited nod of approval. Whether it was fate or coincidence, this B-rank uniform complemented my natural features quite well; my mahogany bangs and golden-brown eyes tying the whole outfit together seamlessly. As I put on my WristNAV, silver storage ring and a pair of matching wing-tipped, silver dangle earrings, Azu jumped onto my left shoulder, eager to get going.

After a few quick bites of Yeon Soon’s delicious breakfast spread, I quickly said my goodbyes to my family before getting into the white Rolls-Royce Phantom, which Fang’s father had sent me as a gift for moving up to B-rank; no doubt a future investment into a possible strong ally for the House of Aria. Still, I had no reason to complain; a car would definitely be convenient since I was planning to visit my family every other weekend. Although I didn’t feel comfortable with the attached gift being the driver, Mr. Im Su-oh; making my father agree to pay for his employment instead of the Arias. I could have refused outright, but I didn’t want the hard-working young man, perhaps a few years older than me, to lose his job, especially since he was a non-affinate. After confirming that all my luggage had been placed in the trunk of the luxury vehicle with Mr. Su-oh, we were soon off.

The almost hour-long drive to Ashford Academy, which was located on the west side of Seoul, near the Mistfall Sea, was made quite pleasant due to Mr. Su-oh’s superb conversational skills. Mr. Su-oh, who asked me to address him informally as ‘hyung’ or older brother, was apparently a rising police officer before he was suddenly let go from the police force. Although I was curious as to the reason for his dismissal, as he did not disclose it himself, I didn’t want to invade his privacy by probing further. Either way, Su-oh hyung was now working in private security, his position now clearer to me as more of a bodyguard than a driver, although I wasn’t sure why the Aria family thought I needed protecting. He told me he had just gotten an apartment close to the academy so he wouldn’t have to go back and forth to central Seoul all the time, which was a relief. Overall, my first impression of him was more of a reliable friend than an employee, so I didn’t want to cause him unnecessary duress on my behalf.

‘We’ve arrived Sir,’ he signaled to me as he parked the car near the drop-off point for first-year students, bringing me back to reality from my silent admiration of the academy’s campus as we were driving in. Although Ashford Academy was supposed to be one of the top three magic academies in the Korean province, I couldn’t at all imagine the other two being grander than this place. Situated on top of one of the lower, more expansive hills found in the western part of Seoul, the academy seemed more like a small cordoned-off town rather than a magic academy. With the white-stone and marble finish of the campus’ boundary wall mirroring the visage of the internal buildings, Ashford Academy might better be described as a small, ash-white castle. The countless boutiques, cafés, dispensaries and shops we had passed by on our way to the drop-off point, as well as the much grander libraries, green spaces, and what seemed like a battle arena, made me realize that this was indeed a place created solely for elite mages.

As I got out of the car to help Su-oh hyung with my luggage, I was left speechless at the sight of the twenty-storey tall male dormitory building, which resembled a sort of white-spiral stretching upwards into the sky with its white-gold marble-lined exterior. As we walked inside, I felt quite out of place, as if I’d walked into the lobby of a five-star hotel rather than a student dormitory. Intricately decorated panels lined the curved walls of this open-plan in-door reception area, contrasting well with the gold-tinted limestone flooring and similarly encased large pillars that stretched out to the ceiling. My fascinated gaze must have only lasted a few seconds because we were quickly chaperoned to one of the three reception desks where the remaining formalities took less than five minutes to complete. After handing me a silver-colored ‘campus ring’, I was told that I could take the elevator up to the 18th floor, and head directly to room 18A, one of only four shared rooms on the whole floor which was reserved for B-rank students.

As I said goodbye to Su-oh hyung, promising him I’d call if I needed something, I made my way towards the glass-door elevator that was closest to where I was standing. My luggage I’d been told would be brought directly to my room, and right away; so that was one hassle I thankfully avoided having to partake in. While waiting inside the slow-moving elevator carrying me upwards, I glanced at the campus ring I was wearing on my right middle-finger, thankful that my almost identical storage ring on the opposite hand wouldn’t stand out. After all, I didn’t want students wondering how someone like me from a non-elite family had obtained a regalia worth hundreds of millions of wingtips, which even with my B-rank status would be considered an anomaly. Since every student would be wearing this magitech-comprised campus ring however, which served as our personal identification, access key to different facilities including our rooms, and even a communication device similar to my WristNAV; it seemed like the perfect camouflage for my priceless regalia.

As I arrived on the 18th floor lobby, I walked up to the left wing of this massive floor, spotting my luggage in front of one of the two diverging doorways on this side of the floor. I quickly opened the grand birchwood door with 18A engraved on it, dragging one of my large luggage cases behind me as I walked into the large living space of this ‘room’ which was more like a modern apartment. The room had been designed with an open-space plan, with the living area seamlessly transitioning to a grand fully-decked out kitchen space directly behind it, the largest wooden-top kitchen island I had ever seen in my life staring me in the face from a few meters away. 

As I dragged my luggage further west, past the black faux-wall that partly separated the living space from the small library, or study space on the right, I was glad to see three top-of-the-line workstations next to study tables, directly positioned in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling glass window with a direct view of the outside. Of course, the real reason for my happiness, was soon confirmed as I walked further right past another faux-partition into the sleeping space, noticing three modern queen-sized beds occupying this flawless space; I wasn’t going to be using this huge mansion-esque ‘room’ alone.

I put my luggage near the bed furthest away from the window, knowing how annoying the light from the curtain-less window would be every morning, before heading out to bring in my two remaining bags, leaving a sleepy Azu to nap on my new cloud-like bed. I held the door half open with my right leg stretched out, grabbing my bags with both hands before turning around to head back inside. ‘Hold the door!’ I heard a voice from behind me as I instinctively turned around, curious about the source of the sound.

‘Of course that voice sounded familiar…’ I muttered to myself as I saw Moon Jihoon’s smiling face walking up to me with his luggage in tow.

Oh great… Chancellor Ashford was clearly playing some sort of joke on me, making Jihoon and I share a room after I beat him in the final test on Magiharu. I assumed he would probably hate me and want revenge after I flung him off the stage last time having delivered a not-so-pleasant flame fist to his chest, but at least his smile indicated otherwise.

‘Oh… hello again,’ I managed to say out loud along with the strangest smile that I had ever formed with my facial muscles.

‘Oh it’s you! Minhyun… no Minjun, right? Are you also in this room?’ he spoke in a friendly, almost excited tone quite different from his reserved demeanor during the test, as he pushed his way into the room, forcing me to also quickly head inside.

‘Yeah, it looks like we’ll be roommates…’ I replied, my voice trailing off slightly, although I doubt Jihoon noticed with how wide his eyes got upon seeing the room. I chuckled at the thought of my own face probably having had the same look plastered on it a minute or so ago.

‘Wow, this is insane… How is it so big?! I’ve never seen wooden flooring this elegant… And the paneling on the walls is so… grand. This, this kitchen… can I just live in the kitchen?! I can sleep on the kitchen island! No, scratch that, can I sleep on these white marshmallows- I mean err sofas?!’ he let out in one breath as he portaled around the living space, making me question how he didn’t pass out from the lack of air.

‘Umm, you’ll definitely want to sleep in the actual bedroom thingy after seeing it,’ I playfully replied as I signaled to him to follow me towards the right side of the room.

Although it took another five minutes to reach the bedroom after Jihoon decided to make a long pitstop at the high-tech workstation, when we did finally arrive, he couldn’t stop speaking for what seemed like the next decade.

‘Holy… Shit,’ was all he could utter before jumping onto the middle bed and beginning his monologue, ‘… wow I can’t believe we’re going to be living here, this is so nice! The wooden flooring, the birchwood framed beds soft like cotton, the immaculately designed glass window touching the ceiling… these neat side lamps, this huge projector, these floor cushions…!’

As I sat on my bed, smiling silently while waiting for his monologue to end, my patience was finally rewarded after Jihoon sat on the floor near his bed with a thud, unable to find new words for his novel observations any longer. Although it was a bit baffling to me why he was this excited… I mean, I wasn’t from an elite-family so my fascination at this grand ‘dorm room’ still made sense. But Jihoon had given off an elite aura since the first time I had met him, so I wasn’t sure why all this was new to him, given how opulently elite families of mages lived in our province.

Putting that question aside however, given that we had another two hours to kill until our official orientation session, I decided to get to know my new roommate better. I wasn’t surprised to know that Jihoon was the same age as me or that he had been assigned B-rank after Magiharu, given his maroon blazer and presence on this floor. 

Apparently, Jihoon’s family was from Busan, the second largest city in our province, so he didn’t know anyone in Seoul, although he excitedly showed me a never-ending list of young ladies’ phone numbers he had received after Magiharu, which even I admit, was impressive. Although given his handsome prince-like looks, it wasn’t exactly a surprise. If I rated myself a 9 out of 10, Jihoon was definitely a 10 out of 10. He might even break the scale, I chuckled to myself, since his friendly, slightly aloof personality only added to his charm. Even I had fallen for his easygoing demeanor, opening up about myself, my family and my life so far; leaving out certain things like ‘lightning magic’ and ‘Chancellor Ashford’ of course.