11th September, 1507

“Finally, I’m free” One of the teenagers exclaimed as he took in the fresh cold air of the mountain.

“This might have been the most stressful day of my life yet”

“No kidding I just want to jump into my bed and forget about everything”

All the youths had similar comments as they made their way out of the mansion and into the bathing sunlight of the sunset in the distance.

The scenery was extremely beautiful since the village was on the mountain so you could see the giant river at the base with small dots of shining lights coming from the commoner’s households near the river.

Once everyone had gathered at the front gate of the mansion, Elara walked forward in front of the youngsters with elders walking behind him.

Elara announced in a loud and authoritative voice “Those of you who now have the qualifications to become a Lexarch will head to the Academy tomorrow at 8 am which is on the north side of the Chimera Vale’s first peak”.

Then Elara’s voice turned dark and sinister as he said “One word of advice for those who failed the Rite, DO. NOT. GO. TO. THE. ACADEMY. If you do decide to sneak in, there will be harsh consequences”.

With a smile then he said in a light tone, “Have a nice day”.

...

As Seren was getting ready to leave, someone tugged on his right sleeve and when he turned around, he saw Susie standing there, her face red, fists clenched tight from anxiety, and she appeared visibly smaller like a mouse.

“Is there something wrong?” Seren asked with an expressionless face.

“I-I don’t have any money to stay at a place and as you know it's hard for a commoner to live in the upper village where Lexarchs typically reside. If it's not too much to ask, I was hoping you could let me stay at your place for a few days. I promise to pay you back after I become an official Lexarch.”

It took everything Susie had to bring herself to ask Seren for this favor since she didn’t have any friends ever since she came to the upper village and Seren was her first proper friend in over a year.

Seren observed Susie for a second who was too embarrassed to look him in the eye and then he said, “You shouldn’t trust someone you just met a few hours ago so easily. What if I do something to you during your sleep?”

Susie didn’t say anything as she just stood still there in front of him.

Seren let out a sigh as he said, “Fine”.

“Thank you” Susie replied meekly.

Seren started heading down the street towards his home and Susie followed behind. On the way there, most shops had been closed and few people were on the streets. Most of the people that live in the upper village are either merchants, business owners, or Lexarchs, with the majority of the population being human guards or servants belonging to a Lexarch family.

After walking for 20 minutes, taking some turns and twists here and there, Seren and Susie finally reached their destination. Seren’s residence was a bit run down but still in relatively good shape and outside the front door of the house was the house name that said ‘86 Ruinside Row’.

Seren opened the door and was greeted by a hallway that had a door to the left and another to the right and at the end of the hallway was a flat of stairs that led upstairs.

“Other than me, 2 other families are living here. The landlord’s family lives upstairs and to the opposite of us lives a family of a servant of some Lexarch family. If you want to take a shower or go to the washroom then you will have to go to 80 Ruinside Street which has a free public washroom and a shower there” Seren introduced.

Susie, who was standing behind Seren didn’t say anything and only nodded. After they entered Seren’s room, Susie saw that other than a small table that had a candle on it and a blanket with holes in them, the room was completely empty.

Susie didn’t seem surprised at the lack of things in Seren’s room because in her mind Seren appeared to be a minimalist who only had things that he absolutely needed for everyday use.

Seren took the single blanket sheet he had and gave it to Susie as he said, “Use it for the night and I will be sleeping in that corner over there” he pointed to a dark corner in the small room.

Susie appeared conflicted because Seren only had 1 blanket and he had given it to her. She was also worried that Seren would get cold in the night, so she tried to hand it back, but Seren refused her and went to sleep in his spot.

“Goodnight,” Seren said with a yawn before promptly falling asleep.

Susie just stood there in her spot without saying anything as she stared at Seren’s back who was lying down with his eyes closed.

She then laid down in the corner opposite of Seren and put the blanket over herself as she tried to fall asleep.

As the crickets sang softly in the night, the room shimmered in the light of the blue moon. Just as Susie was trying to sleep, she caught Seren’s scent lingering in the blanket. Trying to push away any odd thoughts, she couldn't help but be carried away by the comforting fragrance, lost in the moment.

While Seren on the hand was thinking of what his next course of action was going to be with his relationship with Susie.

Did Seren really care about Susie and decide to be kind and let her stay in his room while showing subtle acts of kindness by giving her his only blanket? No, that was far from it, Seren had only decided to make contact with Susie because she was an ethereal grade, received a gift from the Luminar tree and she also didn’t belong to any Lexarch family.

In his eyes, Susie could prove to be very useful in the future if she was nurtured properly that her strength was enough to accompany him after he was done with Chimera Vale, and that she was loyal to Seren. If she didn’t meet his expectations, then he could simply abandon her when she was no longer needed.

It was also easy for Seren to start building trust with her since she had an injury and Seren had a way to reattach her arm.

‘I could attempt to include her among the six individuals whom ‘He’ said to bring with me’.

After thinking for a while, Seren slowly drifted off into sleep.

...

The next day Seren and Susie were walking on a dirt path in the middle of a forest. Seren noticed how tired Susie looked and had bags under her. Seren asked with a hint of concern in his voice, “Were you not able to fall asleep last night?”.

“No, I just stayed up late thinking about Realms Rite and what life is going to be like after I become a Lexarch” Susie replied with some tiredness in her voice.

“Don’t think too much about the things you can’t control, it's bad for your health” Seren advised sincerely.

Susie smiled lightly and nodded her head.

...

After walking for half a mile, both of them finally arrived at the Lexarch Academy. There were people of all ages coming in and out of the academy and all of them were wearing clothing with 3 different colors; blue, red, and black.

Nestled within an ancient forest, the academy stood as a testament to architectural grandeur and history. Its towering spires and ivy-clad stone walls blended into the lush, green canopy, giving the impression of a structure in harmony with nature. Cobblestone paths weaved through the grounds, seemingly leading to hidden pathways. The academy was bathed in the scene of golden sunlight, casting long shadows and illuminating the intricate carvings on the stones.

Seren observed the scenery for a few seconds before noticing Lorien and Finn standing within the scattered group of individuals that had passed the Rite yesterday.

Seren and Susie joined the scattered group and waited for the professors to come and explain their next steps.

An ordinary old man walked down the giant flat of stairs and quietly observed the youths who were standing a bit further away from him. The students were happily chatting with each other, and the old man was looking at each individual’s body language to determine their personalities.

‘Hmmm... Kai from the Valorhearts acts like a man with great honor and respect for the people around him but seems a bit reserved, probably because he hasn’t established a friend group yet. Lorien on the other hand is more hyperactive and casually talks to anyone he finds interesting but mainly stays with his best friend Finn. He excludes the feeling of a leader that has yet to mature properly. While Finn gives off the feeling of a lucky idiot who is easy to talk to. The report said he easily falls for girls and constantly tries to go out with them but it also said he is actually relatively smart and knows what to do in tight situations. That girl Elise seems to be cast out by her peers due to her status, but she doesn’t seem to be bothered by it. The two bald brothers, Ethan and Noah act like carefree little children who get excited and happy over the smallest of things’.

Seren from the side of his eye, noticed how that old man with short white hair and a white beard was scrutinizing everyone and their actions. Seren with his quick thinking realized it might be one of the professors that was meant to meet them here today. He decided to use this opportunity and chose to put on an act. When the old man looked in Seren’s direction, he put a smile on his face and turned to look at Susie.

Susie was confused at why Seren was suddenly smiling at her and then to her surprise Seren extended out his hand and caressed her short hair gently on the side.

Susie’s face instantly flushed red, and her mind was going insane with thoughts as she stood frozen in her spot.

‘What do I do! What do I do! Why is he suddenly touching my hair and smiling at me?’

Seren then pulled his hand back and in his hand was a shriveled-up leaf that had been stuck in Susie’s hair. He didn’t say anything to Susie and just took his eyes off of her and looked away.

‘Susie, the only unexpected ethereal grade we had in a long time and also received a gift from the Luminar tree. The boy next to her with long silver is Seren, a cunning child who is good at deception and outsmarting his opponents. I didn’t receive a report on his combat capabilities, but he is only a D-grade Lumina with the perfect memory skill he got from the Luminar tree. Susie seems to have mixed feelings about Seren but seems to trust him to a certain extent, but I can’t say the same about him’.

After thinking for a while, the professor had a few hypotheses on Seren. ‘The report did say that boy the regularly shows a cold expression and rarely smiles but right now he’s smiling warmly at this girl... Does he actually have feelings for her or did he approach her for her ethereal grade... I will need to observe him more to come to a conclusion’.

The old man fixed his clothes, checked his voice and then stuck out his index finger so it faced toward the sky. Then a 5-centimetre blackish-yellow ball materialized on top of his finger.

POP!

The ball exploded and produced a loud popping sound that caught the attention of all the nearby people.

“Welcome to the Chimera Academy. First, congratulations to everyone who has made it here. I’m Aldric but you all will be calling me teacher for the rest of your time at this place.”

The students didn’t say anything for a few moments and then Lorien who was looking at Aldric, clasped his fist in his hand and said “Yes, teacher”. The other students then followed Lorien’s example as they greeted Aldric.

After the greetings were done, one of the students raised his hand and asked, “When are we going to become Lexarchs?”

“All of you are already Lexarchs”. Aldric explained with a smile but the student made a confused look. Aldric continued, “A Lexarch is just someone that controls the laws and concepts created naturally in this world. Most people are unable to wield these laws and if they tried to then the likely result will be death or worse. The Realms Rite was just a test to see if you are qualified to wield these powers.”

“...when will we get access to the laws” The student asked with a bit of anticipation in his voice.

Aldric smiled lightly and then turned around and said, “Follow me”.

The whole batch of students hurriedly followed behind Aldric with excited steps. They walked up the giant stone stairs into the spacious hall of the academy that had a fountain in the middle of it.

On top of the fountain, there was a statue of a creature that was standing on 2 legs like a human, had large ears, and a small fury body with black eyes.

Unlike the outside of the academy, the floor inside was made of white marble with a beautiful texture drawn on each tile. There was a chandelier hanging down from the tall ceiling and you could see the other students in the academy walking on the second floor.

As Aldric guided the students behind the fountain into the hallway, they passed rows of closed doors on both sides. Each door bore a simple design, their surfaces unadorned and their handles polished to a sheen. The hallway remained silent except for the muffled sound of their footsteps, and a sense of anticipation that grew as they continued onward, their imaginations ignited by the mystery of the closed doors.

As they walked behind Aldric, a few students noticed a door slightly open and a sliver of darkness peeking through the gap. Curiosity got the better of them, and they couldn't resist stealing a glance inside.

What they saw froze them in their tracks. The room beyond was shrouded in a sickly green light, casting eerie shadows that danced across the walls. In the center of the room stood a figure, its back hunched and its movements jerky and unnatural. Its skin was pallid and stretched tight over its bones, with empty eye sockets staring into the void.

Around it, shelves lined the walls with each shelf holding deformed specimens preserved in jars filled with a murky liquid. Some looked like twisted creatures from nightmares, while others resembled human organs distorted beyond recognition. The air was thick with the scent of decay, making the students’ stomachs churn in revulsion.

A sudden sound broke the silence. A low, guttural moan that seemed to emanate from the very walls themselves spread throughout the room. Panic surged through the students as they realized they were not alone. Without a word, they quickly averted their gaze, heartbeats pounding in their ears as they hurried to catch up with the group that had left them behind. Their minds buzzed with the horrors they had witnessed.

Emerging from the labyrinthine hallway, Aldric stepped outside into the cool breeze. Walking beneath the shelter of a roofed walkway, the students’ eyes were drawn to the left where a vast stone platform lay nestled amidst the towering trees. Stretching fifty meters wide, it commanded attention against the backdrop of the dense forest.