“Listen up, freshmen,”

Grand Knight Alcides, head of military studies, bellowed to silence us from a raised dais.

“For your 1st year here in the Royal Mauve Academy, all 58 of you will be tested for your strengths and weaknesses. You will have lessons in science, mathematics, management, humanities, arts, and physical education. You will then be grouped according to your talents and divided into different classes once you reach your 2nd year of education. Any questions?” he asked after this announcement.

“Yes?”

We looked to the left as Grand Knight Alcides pointed at a student who raised his hand.

“Master, may we know when we can start being apprenticed to other masters such as yourself?” a tall, buff looking young man with a hooked nose asked.

“It depends on your abilities,” the Grand Knight replied. “If you get good results in the quarterly events, then you may catch a master’s eye and get an apprenticeship from them as early as six weeks from now.”

“Oh, that’s good to hear!” said Elliot, rubbing his palms together.

Several other students began talking among themselves as well.

“But, truly exceptional students like Nigellus, may catch the eyes of grand masters the first day they enter the academy,” he added proudly placing the crown prince on a pedestal. “He was scouted at once by Grand Knight Faber, the head of the emperor’s royal knights himself! He had been learning under him for three years now, and only finished his apprenticeship recently so he can begin training under Grand Magister Shalem to learn combat magic.”

Another hand shot up.

“But the crown prince didn’t receive a Purple Flame in yesterday’s ceremony, right?”

Grand Knight Alcides glared at the student who sank back in his seat.

“Nigellus was able to receive the Purple Flame yesterday,” he said firmly. “The Holy Sage Prunus Rosales was kind enough to repeat the summoning prayer for the crown –” he paused to correct himself, “for Nigellus, and he was granted a flame as the sun was starting to set.”

“In short, he bribed the school to force a flame on him,” mumbled someone.”

“And they say you leave your title and family name behind the gilded gates,” others said spitefully.

Now I understand why Holy Sage Prunus looked so tired and out of breath earlier. He probably prayed for hours before a blessing descended upon the crown prince.

If one did descend at all.

“Silence!” Grand Knight Alcides yelled. “As conscripted nobles, you are expected to act accordingly and show honor and respect to your superiors. That includes your seniors who had gone through the same sufferings you are going through right now.”

“Only, the crown prince never really suffered, did he?”

“Who said that?!” Grand Knight Alcides snapped at us.

Nobody answered.

“You either stand up right now and admit your offense, or I shall penalize this whole class for your cowardly remark!”

Still, no one stepped forward.

“At the count of three, I shall make all of you strip naked and run around the building ten times,” Grand Knight Alcides belowed. “One. Two. Th-”

“It was I.”

We all looked at a bespectacled young man who stood at the center of the room. He was quite slim and of average height, with oily, hay colored hair that cling to his ears.

“Your Name.”

“Andreas.”

“Title and affiliation?”

“I left them behind the gates, Sir,” Andreas said, his strong gaze, set straight at the Grand Knight.

“Oh, isn’t that your line?” Elliot whispered to me.

“You are a brave one,” Grand Knight Alcides said with a grin. “I shall look forward to see you in training tomorrow morning.”

“Sadly, I am a scholar, I have no plans of becoming a soldier,” Andreas told him directly.

“Sir.” He added.

“Sadly, you have no choice but to pass through me,” said the Grand Knight, the grin in his face now gone. “And right now, I want you to run around this building ten times to teach you a lesson about respect.”

“What has respect have to do with your blatant abuse of authority, sir?”

“Whoa...” the rest of the students gasped.

“Silence!” Grand Knight Alcides yelled at us. “Do it now or I shall get you whipped, young man!”

Andreas glared at him.

“Do I still need to strip, sir?” he asked.

“Do as you will!” snapped the Grand Knight, his red face shaking with rage.

Andreas took off his tunic. I couldn’t help but stare at the deep scars on his firm back. I guess he has been through his own share of punishments. He stripped down to his underwear, until the grand knight stopped him.

“Just hurry up and run your ten rounds!”

We watched as Andreas stepped outside with his head held high and began to run.

“Now, where were we...” Grand Knight Alcides cleared his throat. “I shall now distribute your student uniforms. Come forward when I call your name.”

Andreas was still running his ten rounds when we left the hall to go upstairs for our next class. His lean body was dripping with sweat and he seems to have slowed down considerably, yet he still ran proudly around the vast building.

“You think he’ll be okay?” asked Cat.

“Running is definitely a much better punishment than being treated like whores by the seniors!” one of our classmates said. “Serves him right for his impertinence!”

“Yeah, and he almost got the whole class in trouble too!” said another.

“He didn’t though,” said Arman, “He was brave enough to speak up, as well as stand up to receive his punishment.”

The two students who spoke against Andreas glared at him.

Arman glared back, a burnt eyebrow arched.

“Hmph, the ugly sure have a lot to say!” they mocked him.

“Well, what more do they have to lose? No one else wants them around after all!” they laughed as they moved away from us.

“Those damn ugly bastards!” Arman gritted his teeth.

“Don’t mind them,” said Gerald. “They’re just bitter about how the seniors have been treating them.

“It’s not like they’re the only ones having trouble!” Arman snapped at him. “We’ve been harassed as well, you know!”

“Oh, yeah? You think being called ugly is much worst than getting molested?” Hank suddenly snapped at him.

Arman looked at him wide eyed, his closed fists shaking. The rest of the class looked at us as well as we were about to enter our class on the second floor.

“Stop fighting!” Cat suddenly appeared between them.

“Now, now,” Elliot also stepped in, “let’s just drop it and get through the day peacefully, okay?” he said with a smile.

Hank turned around to leave, but not before having the last say.

“I wish I was ugly too,” he sneered, “then I could just laugh at all the pretty people getting molested.”

“I never laughed at you,” Arman snapped back at him. “And you weren’t the only one who got molested.”

Upon saying this, Arman raised his right hand and grabbed the ‘mask of flesh’ right off his face.

The people around us gasped as the spell wore off, revealing his beautiful skin underneath.

“I was almost raped by three seniors myself, but I fought back,” he looked at Elliot and I. “We all fought back!” he said proudly. “Perhaps you should do the same instead of crying and blaming others for being the weak useless nobles you are!”

Hank stood there, speechless, staring at Arman. So did the rest of the class.

“Pat, what do we do now?” Cat asked, pulling at my arm.

“It’s okay,” I told him with a sigh. “We can fight back now, remember?”

“That’s right!” Elliot said loudly. He went to Arman’s side, placing an arm over his shoulder. “My friends and I will continue to fight back. There won’t be any penalties as long as we challenge the seniors in fair battle. I suggest you do the same if you really hate the situation you’re currently in.”

“Perhaps what you should do right now is enter the room.”

We all turned around to look at the entrance to the lecture hall.

There, Prof. Laurel Novil stood, leaning on the door frame with his arms across his chest while the rest of the students watched from inside.

“Sorry, Prof. Novil, sir...” Elliot said, turning red.

We filed inside the room, seating at the very back.

Hank and Gerald didn’t follow us this time, in fact, there seemed to be an empty void between us and the rest of the class.

“I know you’ve had enough of orientations,” said Prof. Novil, pushing his glasses in place, “so for this class, I would simply want you to answer an assessment test.”

A groan broke out in the room.

“Don’t worry, this is just a simple exam to evaluate your knowledge of certain topics we would be studying in the coming academic year.”

“Oh, he talks like you, Pat!” Cat whispered to my right.

“I think I’m gonna flunk,” said Arman who sat to my left. “I’ll be counting on you, Pat.”

“Don’t worry, I’m pretty confident about my knowledge as well!” Elliot said, next to Cat, while flexing his fat fingers.

“If you look inside the desk in front of you, you will see the textbooks you would be using for this school year,” the professor informed us. “On top of those books are some sheets of paper, a quill, and an ink well. I want you to answer as many questions as you can before an hour is through. You can make use of the books as reference if you want to.”

The sound of desk tops lifting filled the room, as well as more grumbling from the students. The class was still a bit noisy when the clock tower struck three.

“You may now begin.”

And the exam begins in earnest.

The test was quite easy.

It had mathematical equations, some accounting problems, spelling and sentence construction, facts about science, and some critical thinking problems where you simply need to use your common sense.

We were halfway through the hour when Andreas came to the lecture room, gasping for breath. He had put his tunic back on and was still wet with perspiration, but he stood up straight when he entered the room and greeted the professor.

“Prof. Laurel Novil, I beg your pardon for being late,” he said with a slight bow. “Can I please join the class?”

“You may come in and take a seat,” the professor told him. “You are required to pass your paper with the rest of the class, though.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

He gave another bow before heading to the back of the class and seated behind the farthest desk.

“Um... may I know where the test paper is?” he asked, four seats away from Arman.

“It’s under the desk,” we told him.

I was finished with my test by then, and was simply holding on to my papers so that Cat and Arman could check their answers.

“Are you guys done?” Elliot asked a couple of minutes later. He didn’t seem to have any problem with the test either. “I’m getting hungry, you think the professor would let us out first if we pass our papers earlier?”

“Professor I am done.”

We looked to the left and saw Andreas standing up with his paper raised.

“Remain seated and wait for the rest of the class to finish,” Prof. Novil replied, not even looking up from a book he was reading. “You have ten minutes left.”

When at last, the clock chimed four, the professor looked up and told us to pass our test papers to the front.

“Now, you may leave the class, one row at a time.”

Elliot groaned.

“Remind me never to sit at the back of the class again...” he moaned.

“I still have some candy from the dining hall earlier,” said Cat, pulling out a piece of sweet from his pocket. “Here, Elliot, you can have it.”

“Thank you so much,” he said with a weak smile. “I get really weak when I’m hungry.”

“Don’t worry, we’re almost out of here,” said Arman.

But when it was about our turn to leave, the professor called to us before we could even stand from our seats.

“The last row, please come over.”