Chapter 4: The Royal Academy (6)

~4.6~

*****

The class schedule was split up so that the academic courses were covered in the morning while magic, combat, and other practical classes were covered in the afternoon. The class was lined up in a room with a large clear orb floating in the center while waiting for their first aptitude test.

“This test consists of three portions,” said the second instructor. “The first is a simple measurement of your mana, the second is a check of basic magic skills, and the third is a test of your combat prowess. I am Instructor Jane Howitts, and I shall be your proctor for the first portion. As I call your names, step forward. The test is simply to place your hand on the orb and allow it to draw upon your mana. It will measure you and display your capacity.”

Instructor Howitts began calling out names. One by one, each student stepped forward. Doran went first and placed his hand on the orb. It read 1425.

That’s not his true score. He’s giving the orb a false reading. He’s probably trying to stay stealth, but you can’t hide your mana from me, Adele.

“That’s quite high,” said the instructor as she recorded the result. “Next.” Michelle went next and received a result of 1475. “Oh, yours is even higher.”

Same for you, Adara. I wonder why you haven’t approached me or Alethea, yet. Do you not have your memories?

The instructor recorded the result and called for the next student. “You Drachenheim royals seem to be setting precedence.” Danielle scored 1290, Michael scored 1270, and Elizabeth scored 1460. Liliana and Aliana each scored 4630.

“Wow...” several in the class were outright shocked at their results compared to the others.

“Oh, my. The bar is quite high now,” the instructor said.

Once it was Alethea’s turn, she approached the orb and began to channel white mana, but it only showed “???” briefly before it shattered.

“Uh...”

“If I were to hazard a guess,” Instructor Howitts said. “I would say that the orb is simply not able to process your white mana. Your profile shows you have all affinities, so for now, use neutral mana or some such. Instructor Line, if you would please.”

Instructor Line nodded and cast a quick spell to transport another orb into the room.

Alethea nodded and channeled neutral mana into the new orb. It read 18925.

“Wow...” Line blinked.

“... that is quite high.” Jane shook her head. “Let’s continue. Last is Lady Kye Akari.”

Kye nodded.

“Wow, your neutral mana is that high?” Doran said. “I can only imagine how powerful your white mana must be. I must admit I’m quite jealous of it.”

You either don’t have your memories or...

“Thanks. White mana is very potent, so training with it has made everything else much easier.”

“Lucky,” Danielle mumbled.

The highest so far after Alethea was Lily and Ally, and none came even close to them. Alethea’s score was rather high, but that’s nothing compared to her white mana. She probably won’t be too happy if I go too much higher... but if I wasn’t already sure about easing the attention around her... She’s been getting pestered all day! I’ll take some heat off her no matter what.

Kye touched the orb and allowed her mana to flow freely. In the moment, she decided not to hold back as much and simply let the orb do its job. It read 95000.

“Heilige scheiße!” Isabel exclaimed. Others echoed similar reactions. While she maintained the outward illusion of a proper royal, Kye mentally smirked.

That’ll do.

Alethea gave her a look that was unmistakably saying “I’m gonna get you for that.”

“Are you the second white mana user?” Michelle asked bluntly. “Your score is far too absurd for an eighteen-year-old under normal circumstances.”

“If you’ll recall, the second white mana user wishes to remain anonymous,” Kye replied. “Regardless of if I answered yes or no, you wouldn’t know for sure until the second user is observed in the act.”

“So, you are then.”

Kye sighed. “Believe what you want. The fact of the matter is that I’ve trained since I was three with Lady Allison Barrett. She’s my maternal aunt, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“Princess Kye has also invented a new method of enchanting manasteel,” Liliana said.

“Yes, there’s that, too. Just enchanting those ingots with regular mana was taxing enough, but I over-enchanted them with divine mana to create a more durable weapon.”

“I cannot accept that that’s enough to account for such a massive difference,” Elizabeth said. “You far exceeded what the known white mana user scored by a degree of sheer absurdity. In fact, you exceeded the rest of the class combined twice over!”

“That’s eno-,” Instructor Line said.

“Michelle, Elizabeth, cease this at once!” Doran commanded. “You are royals, act like it. We know very little of her abilities and it’s already evident that she is formidable. Rather than putting her on the spot and demanding answers to what you deem ridiculous, you should instead ask how you can improve. It’s clear that she’s done something right that the rest of us haven’t.”

Kye was shocked at Doran’s defense, enough that she blushed. She managed to hide it from all but Alethea and her attendants.

“Indeed,” Instructor Line said. “The individual circumstances of any one student are nobody’s business. Whatever Lady Kye went through to manage a score like that is none of our business. The only fact that matters is that she is powerful enough to manage a score that shatters every record in the book. And as she said, the second white mana user wishes to remain anonymous.”

Michelle and Elizabeth glared at Kye, unwilling to accept her denial. Kye paid them no mind, and the instructors didn’t want to linger on the topic.

“Moving on...” Instructor Howitts said. “I need to go to the next class for measurements. Instructor Line will be your proctor for the remaining two tests.” Howitts teleported.

Instructor Line cleared her throat and explained the second phase, “The next test will be in the training grounds. How quickly you arrive will be included in your scores. I will teleport there ahead of you.” She formed a ball of mana in her hand and left it suspended in front of her. “Once this disappears, you may begin. Good luck!” She teleported.

“That was rather abrupt,” said one of the noble students.

“I like it simple,” Doran said.

“It’s fizzling out, get ready!” Danielle added.

*****

The ball disappeared with an audible pop and the class instantly rushed out. Kye, Liliana, Aliana, and Alethea simply teleported to the training grounds after the rest of the class ran out of the room.

“I expected you two would be among the first to arrive,” Line said, looking between Kye and Alethea. “Though, I didn’t expect more than you to be capable of teleportation.”

“My attendants have trained with me. They are quite capable,” Kye replied.

“I see. That combined with their impressive mana scores has earned them a spot on my higher expectations list.” As she glanced between the four students before her, Line noticed Kye had attendants present but Alethea did not. “Alethea, where are your attendants?”

“They are around. I imagine at least one is watching from atop one of the buildings. They are not students, so they must keep their distance while I am in class.”

“I see.”

“In my case, my attendants are students, the same age, and have been all but inseparable since we were little, thus they’ll be with me all the time,” Kye said with a shrug.

“We are Princess’s attendants, training partners, family, and closest friends!” Aliana spoke with stars in her eyes.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Line said, “I’m curious as to what your relationship is. One of you is a white mana user and the other has mana capabilities unheard of for a first year. And, I’ve noticed you four have been together everywhere today.”

Without skipping a beat, Kye said, “We occupy two of the large suites on one end of our dorm. We got to know each other yesterday and dueled this morning. We hit it off right away.”

“So, you are the center of the gossip from this morning’s duel. I’ve been hearing about that all morning. Some of the older students said there was some girl akin to a Goddess of Light that was able to hold her own in a match against a white mana user. Considering your scores, it makes sense now.”

“...they’re calling me a...” Kye sighed, not bothering to even repeat it. Alethea gave her a sympathetic smile while Aliana asked for permission to correct the gossiping students. Kye told them to leave it alone just as the Drachenheim quintet arrived.

“How the hell did you get here so fast?” Michelle blurted out, not even bothering to mask her displeasure.

“We teleported,” Alethea answered with a shrug.

“You already know how to do that?” Danielle asked. “Your mana is insane, and you can teleport...? What kind of training have you had?”

“Lady Astarte has put me through rather rigorous training since I was three years old.” She gave her an apologetic smile, knowing that wasn’t the answer she was looking for. The Drachenheim group all eyed Kye next. She felt daggers coming from their eyes.

Kye shrugged. “Same, but with Lady Allison.”

“Hmm, Lord Drangan trained us, but we didn’t start until age seven,” Michael said. “Three years is quite significant, but that doesn’t explain the ungodly gap.”

“You’re also lazy, Michael,” Michelle said. “You saw my score. You just didn’t work hard enough. Though, even my score is a far cry from any of their scores.”

I still think those two are hiding their power. I want to talk to them, but I should wait for the right time.

Michelle and Michael bickered like the siblings they are and carried on until the rest of the class arrived.

*****

Revision: 12-18-2023