We soon found ourselves seated somewhere on the mid-right side of a huge in-door auditorium which I suspected could easily accommodate upwards of three thousand students. Although thankful that there weren’t any other high-rank students sitting near us, the three of us sitting together still attracted an uncanny number of stares from the other students. While the three of us made small talk, mostly getting through basic introductions, the auditorium soon fell into a gradual silence. 

As I turned my attention to the stage in front of us, I saw Chancellor Ashford walking up to the podium to address the students; his elegant robes and gold-encrusted magic staff which currently served as a bedazzled walking stick, on full display for this crowd of admirers. Of course, even more impressive was the S-rank mana creature following behind him, the size of two large SUVs stalked on top of each other; it’s black fur in stark contrast to the blue-flames it wore on its back like a living robe. This was one of the chancellor’s two S-ranked familiars, the Midnight Wolf.

The audible gasps and occasional cheers emanating from the crowd of students was hardly surprising, not just at the sight of the mana creature, but also, it’s master. I had always thought how unfair it was if someone’s comtype turned out to be healer, gatekeeper or summoner. While healers were the most sought after and most highly paid mages in the world, gatekeepers were a close second, followed by summoners. While the lucrative financial gains from being a high-ranked summoner were obvious, it was the terrifying power they possessed to form mana-links with high-level mana creatures that was truly terrifying to me. Although defeating an S-rank mana creature like the Midnight Wolf would be a difficult challenge even for a small party of normal S-ranked mages, the chancellor was powerful enough to have subdued the mana creature with the sheer strength of his will.

Although he did need to constantly use up his internal mana to keep the mana link active, there was little downside to him not being able to cast high-level spells on his own. After all, he now possessed a weapon stronger than an average S-ranked mage. In this particular case, one that was able to use blue flames, something only three fire elementals in the world had so far been able to learn. It was no wonder that a younger Ashford Wendigo had made a name for himself defending Seoul from hordes of mana creatures in the early days after the Aurora, before the establishment of the barrier surrounding the city. The chancellor was indeed worthy of leading one of the three best magic academies in the province.

‘You know I can beat that little puppy right,’ Azu remarked egotistically in my head as I held back from bursting into laughter at my cute little familiar calling the gigantic wolf on stage a ‘little puppy’.

After the chancellor had finished his usual ‘together we will succeed and reach new heights’ speech that I had somehow gotten used to by now after speaking to him regularly for the past month, he invited five members of the student body on the stage.

The crowd cheered loudly as the five indigo-blazer -wearing second-years were introduced as our student council members; it went without saying that these five A-rank mages were considered the strongest mages in the academy, with the exception of a few teachers I assumed.

‘I will leave you now in the capable hands of your student council president, Miss An Heejin. I hope that you will make the most of your two years here at Ashford Academy to become strong mages, and carry this pride with you for the rest of your lives,’ he added calmly, before walking off the stage with his familiar to resounding applause.

As the cheers died down, Jihoon and I looked at each other with tired eyes, not wanting to listen to another speech. Although I surmised this one was at the very least going to be more useful than the previous one.

‘First-years, let me once again welcome you to Ashford Academy and sincerely congratulate you for being chosen to become the next generation of our world’s leaders,’ An Heejin began optimistically, adding, ‘…while your time studying here will not be without its fair share of challenges, I promise you that if you work hard, you’ll all become competent mages by the time you graduate, regardless of your rank right now,’ her words prompting the loudest cheer from the crowd so far.

‘Now let me introduce you to the student council. It is our job to make sure that Ashford Academy remains an internally safe and conducive learning environment. Please note that second-years who will be your dorm liaisons and academic liaisons will make themselves known to you in the days ahead, so contact them in case you need assistance with residential or class-related matters. Those matters are outside the scope of our duties. Simply put, the student council enforces security on campus. So, the next time you decide to pick on a mage ranked lower than you, or initiate a duel or a battle outside of practical classes, you can rest assured that we will catch you, stop you, and at minimum suspend you. On occasion, there have been students who have been expelled at the recommendation of the student council, so I would urge you to take my words seriously. Now without further ado, let me introduce the members one by one,’ she added, a pin drop silence enveloping the auditorium.

‘She’s the daughter of the mayor of Seoul,’ Yuri whispered into my ear, as if to justify the air of authority exuding from every fiber of An Heejin’s body.

Although only non-affinates could hold elected offices in our kingdom, such as major of a city, in order to uphold a degree of balance between affinates and non-affinates, her father must have been someone of considerable influence to become mayor of a grand city like Seoul. I could already imagine her childhood being completely different from mine, in a bid to prepare her for a suitable leadership position in the future. And to top it off, An Heejin wasn’t just an A-rank mage but also president of the student council at Ashford Academy. I suspected that she and I not only came from, but currently lived in completely different worlds.

‘Once again, I’m An Heejin, student council president and A-rank monk,’ she spoke as she bowed her head gracefully, now standing in the center of the stage.

‘Jeong Yohan, A-rank healer.’

‘Yoo Misun, A-rank trickster.’

‘Yang Jia, A-rank dual elemental, wind and fire.’

‘Sun Yongrae, A-rank gatekeeper.’

As the student council members introduced themselves one by one, the crowd of mainly lower-ranked mages went wild, cheers erupting at the sight of these powerful, young, good-looking faces promising to enforce balance around campus. My attention however, had been piqued by Miss Yang Jia, the tall brunette with olive-green eyes who had just announced herself as a dual elemental of wind and fire. If she really was a true dual-elemental, something rare even among S-rank elementals, then perhaps she could give me some tips on how to improve two elements at the same time. Although I wasn’t exactly sure how I’d bring the subject up without revealing my secret. Well, that would be a battle best left for another day… after all, I had plenty of time.