(Fari POV)

The Cross kingdom academy is a huge institution with multiple buildings inside, each of them with different purposes, some are dorms for students, and others are classrooms, arenas, or laboratories.

If you want to take the admission test, you would need to register in an office inside one of the training arenas. As everyone could expect the requirements for the inscription are very strict. The applicant needed to be more than nine years old and less than twelve years old, possess more than four stars, and have done a contract. If they fulfilled all the requirements, they would be given a tag with their information and told to enter the arena.

There wasn't any restriction regarding being a noble or commoner to enter the academy, but it's obvious that different environments and resources influenced the admission scores.

As former students from the academy, we have permission to watch the admission test. There is a good reason for this, as a good portion of students here try to lure talented freshmen into their team or faction.

This was my first time watching the admission exams, as I didn't have a reason to see it until I met the masked girl. After finding a good seat I tried to locate the masked girl among the crowd. I wasn't surprised by the number of people in the arena, but seeing three teachers meant there were more than when we took our admission test.

"There she is!"(Fari)

Because this was an important event most of the applicants in the arena were nervous, but contrarily to my expectations, the masked girl was at the end of the group lazily stretching and warming up. Looking at her made me remember how I was when I took the admission test, at that time I wasn't, by any means, so relaxed like her. I was curious about the reaction of Rine and Lapis so I looked at them, Rine didn't show a big reaction and only was looking at the masked girl, while Lapis was immersed in her thoughts.

"She is really full of surprises..."(Lapis)

I couldn't agree more with the whisper of Lapis. Just the memory of the masked girl breaking the ice arrow with her hand was incredible! I still couldn't believe that a girl younger than me could have so much amount of power.

"You saw that too right?! The way she caught and broke the ice arrow was breathtaking!! And the best of all is that she didn't avoid us after hearing the trash of that bastard! She is really cool!"(Fari)

Damnit, I spoke without thinking again, but luckily Rine and Lapis nodded at my words without showing any reaction, not for nothing they were my best friends, but still, I need to take care of what I said. I'm so grateful for having them as friends, but at the same time, I couldn't avoid feeling sad and guilty for ruining their futures.

As the dark thoughts crept in my heart a sharp pain on my forehead dispelled them instantaneously, surprised by this I looked at Rine who unexpectedly flicked my forehead.

"We know what you are thinking. We aren't angry or remorseful with you for what happened, so please stop blaming yourself Fari."(Rine)

As always Rine and Lapis knew what was going on in my head, I shifted my sight a bit and saw Lapis looking at me with a concerned expression. In order to not let them down, I sealed back my dark feelings and smiled at them the best I could.

We looked at the arena again hoping that we didn't miss anything, only to be surprised by an unexpected development.

"Attention! The principal told us she would be overseeing this test!"(????)

I couldn't believe what my ears were hearing, I wasn't the only one, as everyone inside of the arena couldn't believe it either. Everyone knew the principal never came to an admission test because she said she preferred more interesting events. Although her sudden apparition was strange I could see how everyone tried to look more presentable, some of them tried to clean their clothes while others fix their makeup or rearranged their hair. I expected the masked girl to do the same, but to my surprise, she didn't do anything as she kept stretching in her place like nothing was happening.

After waiting for a while the principal entered the stadium wearing her symbolic red dress accompanied by a maid with beautiful blue hair and a blushing face. I couldn't blame the maid for being embarrassed while walking behind the principal, after all, she was wearing a risky maid uniform with a miniskirt and a big cleavage.

Seeing the maid behind the principal made the masked girl stiffen in her place and, for some reason, she looked at the principal while emitting a dangerous aura. The principal only smiled at her glare of the masked girl and snapped her fingers, reacting to it the maid took out a chair from a storage device, and without looking back the principal sat on it.

"Let's start the test already while I'm in a good mood!"(Fayna)

And with the bored voice of the principal, the admission test began.

The admission test was very simple, the applicants needed to endure one minute in combat against one of the teachers. They could dodge, parry, and counterattack the teachers. Of course, your score depends on your performance. While the applicants were hearing the explanation the bastard from before approached us from behind.

The name of that bastard is Rapuo Hert, the son of the prime minister. He is a narcissistic bastard who liked to show off his light blue hair and strength. I had to admit he is really strong even though I despise him, as this bastard is a guy with seven stars and a sixth rank spirit. You could say he is a very lucky bastard. Did I say he was a bastard?

Anyway, it was obvious he approached us with something in mind as his wicked smile exposed him.

"Do you think that stupid girl could pass the test? How about we make a bet?"(Rapuo)

And as I feared he approached with a stupid idea. Did he forget how that girl broke his arrow with her bare hands? I didn't want to hear any other word from him so I tried to send him away, but before I could say anything Rine stopped me.

"So? What are we betting?"(Rine)

I couldn't believe her words, I was expecting her to send him away, but soon after I understood her intentions. Seeing me sopped by Rine made that bastard glad and began to talk.

"If the stupid girl gets a better score than my beloved, I will give you a high-rank elemental crystal from every element, but if you lose then either you pay with the same wager or pay in another way."(????)

After he finished his words, I was furious, as I expected he only wanted our bodies.

"Now that's bullshit! That bastard only wants our body! I need to admit that Rine's chest is big and her big sis appearance always made others drool and the childish look of Lapis made everyone want to mime her or commit a crime. Of course, I'm beautiful on my own and I'm proud of my appearance and... What I was talking about?" (Fari)

After recovering my senses from my sudden rampant I saw how everyone was in silence. What hurt me the most was the glare of Rine and Lapis, as Rine looked at me like I was a pervert, and Lapis was disgusted from the bottom of her heart, I even heard her questioning herself why she was my friend.

I tried to avoid their gazes only to see that the face of the bastard was red and twitching.

"Wha-What are you talking about you dirty woman?! I only wanted all of you to work as my maids!"(???)

That’s right, how could I forget we were only twelve years old? His intentions weren't good either but my ideas were even worse, I was so ashamed of myself that I crouched and covered my face not wanting to look at them. I can only blame my stupid father for not hiding his "goods" when I was seven... and of course, mom gave him the punishment of his life.

When I finally recovered the bet was sealed and everyone was looking at the arena. I looked at the test in silence while trying not to make Rine or Lapis angry again. When I looked at the arena it was the turn of the girl with heavy makeup. The teacher looked at her tag and announced her identity.

"Resina Parel, Eleven years, Six stars, earth attribute, fifth rank spirit. Begin!"(????)

I finally remembered who she was, she was one of the noble girls that were jealous of Rine in the past. Returning to the current situation the teacher testing her was a water spiritualist, as she was firing a series of water balls at the girl while holding herself back. Surprisingly the girl had some skill, as she blocked some water bullets with earth walls while summoning her spirit that looked like a brown wolf.

When her spirit was summoned, she mounted it and kept dodging and blocking the attacks of the teacher until the time was up. After the test was over her spirit disappeared and she fell to the ground exhausted.

Because of her performance, she got a score of eighty points, only losing some of them for bad use of her magic and being unable to counterattack.

It was finally the time of truth, the masked girl got in front of the teacher and the teacher announced what I was waiting for.

"Alice, Ten years, Five stars, light attribute, fourth rank spirit. Begin!" (?????)

The rank of the masked girl... I should say, Alice. The rank of Alice made us look in disbelief, from her previous display we thought she would be even stronger.

The teacher began to fire water balls at her but Alice dodged them without effort. She didn't summon her spirit or waste any energy on her actions. Seeing the lazy dodges of Alice made the teacher a little irritated, because of this the teacher increased the intensity of her attacks, but again Alice wasn't overwhelmed by them. She looked calmed and composed even in the middle of the fight, her dodges were soft and graceful, making her look like she was dancing instead of fighting. This unique way of fighting was so charming and beautiful that everyone in the stadium was amazed by her.

When the minute was almost finished Alice ran toward the teacher without giving anyone time to react. The teacher was surprised by Alice's sudden action but still created a water wall. You could say this was the expected from a veteran, but Alice's attack was strange. When her punch landed on the water wall it didn't do any damage and she didn't follow with another hit, she only retreated. This left all of us confused but the true power of the attack was manifested when the teacher dropped the water shield. An unexpected flash of light impacted the teacher's abdomen and sent her out of the arena.

Because of this sudden development, I jumped out of my seat not knowing what happened.

"What was that!? What happened!?"(Fari)

I was very amazed by Alice's performance, I knew being friends with her was a good idea. I looked at the bastard and my friends with a smug smile as I knew for a fact she will have the best score of the newcomers.

(Alice POV)

Damn witch!!!!!

That almost gave me a heart attack!

Who told the teacher to be so crafty with her attacks?! Isn't this supposed to be a simple test?! Although it looked simple to an outsider the attacks of that teacher were no joke. One of them could send me to the infirmary in one hit and when the number of water balls increased made the angles and speed of them almost impossible to dodge!

I was really lucky to be trained by that witch for three years. I obviously can't block the attacks of the witch so I needed to learn how to dodge. My current way of fighting was created by me and Azazel, a few years ago he saw at a festival that some dancers hardly get tired while dancing even if the dance lasted for hours.

Although our theory was debunked by my mom as soon as we returned to the mansion it was true that they don't get tired so fast as a fighter. Because of this, we tried to adapt that idea into a fighting style, sadly the witch overheard us and forced us to perfect it.

When I finally managed to regain some composure, I saw how the witch was secretly pointing at the teacher and then the outside of the arena, it was obvious she wanted me to throw the teacher out of the arena before the time was up. I wanted to know why she waited until there were ten seconds left!

My only chance was an experimental skill Azazel and me were practicing. I approached the teacher as fast as I could while gathering the resonance energy on my fist, and as I expected the teacher made a water wall to protect herself. Following my plan, I punched the water wall while leaving in midair the resonance energy I gathered and retreated. After my retreat, the teacher removed her water wall and tried to continue her attacks, but that precisely was the moment I was waiting for. Without wasting any moment, I made the resonance energy that I left burst into a flash of light that impacted the teacher's abdomen.

Thanks to the unexpected attack the teacher went flying outside of the arena. Although the teacher was hit by my sneak attack she recovered her stance in mid-air and looked at me with amazed eyes before returning to the arena while coughing embarrassed.

"You got some pretty impressive skills there. Your way of fighting is unique and your composure in battle is amazing, congratulations, you get full score."(????)

Everyone in the stadium cheered loudly, I could be happier with my score if a certain witch didn't interfere in the test. After the test ended one of the teachers gave everyone who got a passing grade a map of the academy.

I received the items and exited the stadium while thinking about how to make that witch suffer for messing with my test and also for embarrassing my mom in front of everyone. Just as I left the stadium, Fari ran at me without any advice and hugged me from behind.

"Alice you are amazing!!! I wish you could look at the face of that bastard!!! JAJAJAJA!!!"(Fari)

I didn't have the composure to hear what she was saying thanks to the pain from her bear hug. I didn't expect her to be this strong, luckily at the next moment, I was released from her bear hug.

Freed from the bear hug I turned around to complain, only to see her crouching with her hands on her head with Lapis at her side Lapis cleaning her fist with a handkerchief. For safety reasons, I will ignore the fact that the handkerchief had blood on it.

Thankfully Rine approached me with a big smile on her face. But once again I felt some chills when I looked at her face, she looked like someone who just made someone lose a fortune.

"You made a big show there, thanks to you we won a bet against that idiot from before. We will give you your part when we are in the dorms, after all, is dangerous to show these elemental crystals in public." (Rine)

It seemed that Rine made a bet with that bastard and won, so this means I could drop my plans of revenge on him. Originally, I planned to drag him into a black alley and beat him to the point he wouldn't have any idea of messing with me again but hearing of his misfortune made me calm down.

Don't misunderstand me, of course, I'm still going to traumatize him in another way. I don't want him to mess with me in the future.

"Why don't we celebrate the admission of Alice inside the academy?! Everyone let's go!" (Fari)

Fari was cheerful as always, before she was able to walk outside of the academy Lapis stopped and dragged her towards the dorms, as we needed to leave the crystals in a safe place before hanging out.

I couldn't resist the sight of Fari being dragged and began to laugh together with Rine, Lapis wasn't laughing but she still had a smile on her face and Fari was pleading pathetically to Lapis. This was a good start to my academic life.