Darkness Inside The Light 40 A New Beginning

"Attention, please! The teachers and the princ.i.p.al will soon arrive. Form into lines and stay silent. Quickly or we'll be all be in trouble!" a man around eighteen years old shouted anxiously, as he proceeded to give instructions together with some other students like him to the freshmen. It didn't take more than ten minutes for a group of men and women to arrive in the area. In the lead, there was a white-haired man who was wearing a pair of gla.s.ses that made him look like a scholar. He was surrounded by many teachers, but the person that caught the attention of not only John but all the youths was a woman with scarlet hair and light-blue eyes. It was neither because of her astonishing beauty nor her confident and dominant body language. What stunned everyone was the ident.i.ty of that person, as she was the sole daughter of the Emperor, Adriana de Grenmar!

"No way, right?"

"T-the Imperial princess? Shall we kneel?"

"No, idiot, we are in the Academy. We have already become soldiers."

"Shut up!"

Whispers started to sound from the crowd, but the uppercla.s.smen hurriedly controlled the situation. The princ.i.p.al looked with interest at the newcomers, before he opened his mouth.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. No, students of our Academy is more proper. Today, you made the first step for a new beginning for your lives. You might believe that since you managed to pa.s.s the examination, your hardships are over, but I'll tell you that they only start now. Each one of you probably thinks that the moment you entered the academy, you have already accomplished your goals. Some of you might want to become n.o.bles, others to become famous. No matter what are your wishes, if you don't have strength, they will never become a reality. We are in a war against the Demons. Not even I know how many of you will survive until graduation. You might have become soldiers of our Empire, but in my eyes, you are all weaklings that will die the moment they send you on the front lines." Tudor said mockingly. Seeing the frustration on the faces of the youths, he smiled before he looked at the peak of the tower.

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"Look! This is your flag. Do you see how the turtle defends with self- sacrifice against the continuous attacks of the dragon? This turtle is what you'll become. A shield for the peace and the prosperity of our country. Heroes who'll protect your loved ones and the place where they live. Do you think that I debase your sense of dignity? Then, prove that I am wrong. This establishment will give you the chance to gain power. Become proud warriors who'll guard our homeland no matter what adversities you'll face. Freshmen of the Imperial Academy, I welcome you to the Tower of War..."

The students started to clap with frenzy. The excitement that they felt couldn't be hidden from their eyes. The princ.i.p.al waited for a moment for the noise to subside before he started talking again.

"I will now explain to you what you need to know here. The Tower of War is divided into four cla.s.ses. The Dragon, the Phoenix, the Human and the Rat. You have to abide strictly by the Academy's rules. As for what these rules are, you'll be informed personally by your teachers. We will start now to cla.s.sify you in your corresponding cla.s.s. Lloyd, you may begin."

"Yes, princ.i.p.al!" the man shouted before he started reading aloud the paper he was holding in his hands.

"Stephanie Hogan, Human- cla.s.s!"

"Leonard de Drummond, Phoenix-cla.s.s!"

"...."

John was watching the procedure with interest. He already had an idea about what these cla.s.ses were from his investigation. The Dragon-cla.s.s could be considered the place where the students with the biggest potential were. The people there would become both swordsmen and magicians, in contrast to the Phoenix-cla.s.s that produced solely magicians and the Human-cla.s.s in which, the students were only training in martial arts. As for the Rat-cla.s.s, he had no idea.

"Vladimir Erickson, Dragon-cla.s.s!"

'As expected. Vladimir could be considered the most suitable person for that cla.s.s. Using martial arts and magic at the same time is something that not even the majority of the mage knights haven't accomplished. '

"Helena Greene, Phoenix-cla.s.s!"

'It should be the sweetheart of my brother. She was a genius if I remember correctly. I wonder how well she fought against the teachers.'

"Gregory Wardrog, Dragon-cla.s.s!"

'No surprises here. I should observe him in the future though. He might become a troublesome enemy someday.'

"John Smith, Rat-cla.s.s!"

'What?'

****

"Alright! My name is Elisa Parkes. I am an uppercla.s.swoman here. Welcome to the Rat-cla.s.s, beansprouts!" A gorgeous woman said with a smile to the confused group in front of her. She had green hair similar to the color of the gra.s.s and black eyes. Her pale skin and her fleshy lips, combined with her slender and attractive body, were making her look like a G.o.ddess. Even John was a little mesmerized by her appearance. He looked around so that he wouldn't be considered tactless and saw that there were fifteen people here.

'Seven women and eight men together with me. They don't seem to have anything special. What kind of cla.s.s in this?'

"It seems that all of you are wearing your uniforms. Good! We will head now towards the dorms. They are in the small village behind the tower. Alright! follow me!"

*****

The village had pretty much everything. From stores, houses, even a guild. Someone could imagine how huge this Academy was considering that there were another three villages inside for the other departments. The forest was the only thing that separated the towers from each other making someone wonder how this enormous place was located in the inner area.

"It's not that strange..." Elisa suddenly said as she had already guessed what the youths were thinking.

"The Imperial Capital is the biggest city on the continent. There are at least ten million residents only in the outer area. The size of the Academy might seem outrageous, but it's nothing compared to the rest of the capital. Wait to see the fields out of the city. You'll be dumbfounded."

As they talked, they soon arrived in front of a building. It was in the middle of a square courtyard that contained a beautiful garden, as well as a small training area.

"That's your new home. On the ground floor is the shared kitchen and the living room. There are two wings on the first floor. The left belongs to the girls and the right to the boys. Inside you'll also find a note about your cla.s.ses and what time you have to be there. I live in the opposite building. If you need anything you can come to ask me."

*****

'Impressive!' John thought as he looked at the interior. The living room and the kitchen were s.p.a.cious enough to accommodate all of them at the same time. Two separate staircases were leading to their corresponding wings.

"Shall we introduce ourselves first?" one of the boys took the initiative to ask. Upon seeing the agreement on the faces of the others, he started to talk.

"My name is William Bostock. As you have guessed, I am a commoner. I wanted to become an adventurer, but, in the end, I decided to try my luck here. It's my pleasure to meet you."

'He will probably become the leader of our cla.s.s. He has both the looks and the charisma' the brown-haired youth thought.

"Hi, there! I am Alisha Brown. I am a commoner too. Nice to meet you!" one of the girls said as she winked with coyness at William. The boy returned her cute action with a smile.

'She reminds me of Maria. I wonder what happened to her. If I am not wrong, she is a student here...'

"I am Mateo..." another youth continued with a monotonous voice. His face was expressionless.

'Here comes the male version of Sophie. Is it my idea or am I the only one with an average appearance?'

"h.e.l.lo, ladies and gentlemen, especially the ladies. My name is Reece de Downs. I am the son of a baron. It's my pleasure to meet you."

'At last, a n.o.ble!'

"H-hi! My name is Zofia. Zofia Acosta! N-nice to meet you!" a girl shouted with a flushed face.

'Is it the fifth person? I have already almost forgotten their names!'

"John... My name is John Smith."

******

There weren't many n.o.bles in the group. With the addition of Reece, only five of them with the majority of the group consisted of commoners. John looked with satisfaction at his large room that had two beds and an oak desk.

"Hey, John, right? It seems that we are roommates!" a voice suddenly sounded behind him. Upon turning around, he saw a muscular man that looked several years older from his real age. He wasn't surprised by his remark since there were only three rooms in the wing.

"You are Henry Berry if I remember correctly. Let's get along!"

"Sure. You have to know though, that I snore at nights..." Henry said with a smile.

"What a coincidence! So do I!" the brown-haired boy replied with a laugh.