Along a long quiet corridor inside of the academy, two men wearing robes—blue like the deep ocean, with golden ornate-stitched hems—stood in front of a large door, one of them scratching his head with mounting frustration. 

Along the large door ran a complex seal, decorated with glowing runes and rows of inscriptions. With precise movements, the two men both moved a rune in a direction according to a predetermined order.

“Slide up, down, left… One. Slide right, down, down…Two… Three… Ahk! I don’t get it!” A soft whir echoed with every count, followed by the sound of breaking glass. 

One of the two men complained, “Can’t we make do without all these locks next time? Having to repeat this every year is so tiresome!”

Each year, they would be tasked to retrieve and return an object within this meticulously sealed door. It was something required for the academy’s final assessment, hence the need for it to be brought out annually.

“Finally!” Completing the final step, the man who had complained brushed aside the dust-like residual mana floating in the air, before reaching for the door handle. He entered the room and came out shortly with a peculiar box in hand, the size of the length of an adult’s forearm.

Seeing him exit the room, his partner addressed his earlier statement, “You know why we lock it in there—we don’t want any of the students or anyone else taking it. Besides, there’s no knowing what’ll happen if it’s played with.”

“Hasn’t it already been studied enough? Worst case is we lose the theatrics for the final assessment.” The man threw his partner a mischievous nod and shook the box vigorously, its contents producing muffled rattling. “See? Harmless!”

His partner knocked his head with a fist and took the box. He said, “No. Worst case is that you drop that thing out of its container and the board throws us off the island.”

The two robed men left the door and passed through a certain shabby corridor on the way to the training grounds. It was then that they ran into a group who were headed in the same direction. 

“Good day, sir Noreau!” the men greeted respectfully. Ahead of the group they met was a professor of the academy board, as well as a reputable Luveris aristocrat. 

“Carry on,” Noreau Philitte replied, allowing them to be on their way.

They gave a humble nod and left, but not before sparing a glance at the gray ties that the aristocrat was leading. 

“What is it?” One of the robed men asked the other; the man carrying the box was scratching his chin, mulling over who he’d seen.

“There’s his son; the woodlands’ princess; that kid from Bellona district; and… another young lady? She looks quite dignified—is she another noble perhaps?”

“It’s likely, since it’s sir Noreau that’s escorting them. Let’s look forward to the assessment. I’m sure these four will put on a good show.” The two men went in haste.

Meanwhile, within Roa’s group, intending to separate from them later on, Noreau Philitte patted the shoulder of his son and said, “Novis, the board will be requiring my presence. I shall leave our new acquaintances to you.”

Novis pursed his lips, showing his unwillingness, but couldn’t go against his father’s wishes. “Yes, father,” he answered, while stealing a quick glance at the three behind him—Ariene, the fiery-tempered looking fae yawned and crossed her arms while Yuria, the quiet raven-haired beauty, walked with a distinguished stride. 

Back on the kuujn, his father had filled him in on their identities, and what Novis learned of them left him quite humbled. “Hmm?” Among the three, however, there appeared an ugly duckling. 

Standing five meters away, Roa Fariche, the unseemly boy from Bellona District flashed Novis a dumb smile, which caused the young noble to snort in reply and turn his gaze away.

Roa noticed Novis’ reaction and shrugged his shoulders. He thought, ‘We haven’t even begun to attend the academy and I seem to already have an admirer.’ 

Seeing that the young noble had occasionally shot him piercing glances, he wondered, ‘D-Does he perhaps know that it was me that stole his storage pouch? Even Noreau hasn’t caught me, how could he possibly have?’

Roa wasn’t certain, but he didn’t let the young noble’s ire bother him. Instead, his attention shifted to one of the two robed men that greeted Noreau, particularly the box that was in between the man’s arms, and the material it was made from.

‘Draumadite?’ —The most mana malleable material on the continent; the fact that it was easy to imbue with mana, made it one of the more valuable commodities available on the market. The box being made purely of the special mineral caught Roa’s eye.

Most cases, the box could keep anything from rotting inside of it almost indefinitely, or prevent powerful unexpected mana discharges from leaking to the outside. 

‘A precious herb, a powerful arcane rune, a cursed artifact, or an avian’s—I can’t recall anything that the academy would keep contained so luxuriously…’ Roa eventually dismissed the matter.

Once they reached the training grounds, Noreau Philitte parted from them. Novis led them to the seats, and shortly after, he also left after parting with some harsh words. 

“Listen! Your companions are one thing, but you? You’d best be aware of your own status, especially here in the academy. Lower your head if you don’t want any trouble. I’m saying this for your own good!

“Yeah, sure thing.” Roa replied with a wry smile. He was already numb to this kind of treatment. Although his curt answer raised even more displeasure from Novis, Roa didn’t mind. Rather, what the young noble mentioned raised a point of intrigue.

“My companions?” Roa snuck a glance towards the two seated adjacent to him.

Ariene was a given, seeing as she possessed a special status. But, Yuria? Was there something about her other than being a sack of potatoes he’d picked up in an alley? 

They’d shared nothing more than a few casual conversations so Roa didn’t have much of a chance to dig up some dirt. His dear friend from the Spirit Domain, Lucas Hargan, didn’t provide him with much useful information either. 

‘Good thing I asked Morrow to look into it. Her background might give me some clues on that idiot’s location,‘ he thought. 

Anyways, finding Lucas Hargan wasn't a high priority. The man survived long enough until they met inside the spirit domain, so Roa didn’t feel too rushed.

‘No wonder it hadn’t started yet.’ A few minutes later, Roa watched as from a group of people seated atop a viewing stage built for the training ground, a mustached man carrying a cup of tea stepped forward. 

It seemed Noreau Philitte would be the speaker for the assessment. Noreau took out a small artifact from his sleeves, and the sound of static echoed throughout the area followed by his voice.

“The final assessment will be a test to show you a suitable path to your growth, either as a swordsman or a mage. What you will see here won’t necessarily be a foretelling of your fate.”

“The amount of effort you put into carving your path could lead you to the highest of peaks, or to the depths of the abyss. Remember that it will be your own efforts that will shape your future.”

Noreau continued to give quite the speech. Up to this point, Roa was slightly captivated. He hadn’t had the chance to take this test in the past. —Effort? He was already putting it in. Knowing what he could already achieve even with various limitations, would this test do him justice? Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait too long to find out. 

Noreau finished his speech and called up the first four applicants to take the test. Gray ties, faculty, professors—under numerous scrutinizing gazes, Roa unhesitantly stepped up to the platform.

Was it because they hitched a ride on his personal kuujn? Roa, Ariene, Yuria, and along with Novis, stood side by side as they were chosen to be the first ones to undergo the assessment.

“Novis, go ahead.” Noreau urged his son. Novis walked forward, unsurprised. It seemed he had already known they would be called. 

‘Was this what he meant by lowering my head? Quite the attention.’ Roa thought, shrugging off another sharp glare from the young noble.

There were various runes and mana crystals set up around the arena where Roa and Ariene once fought, forming a defensive array around it. As soon as Novis stepped onto the array, a soft whir echoed out, and a curtain of mana around the arena solidified into a wall of transparent cerulean, capable of ensuring the safety of those outside the arena.