14th July
Albedo was at the door to their house, dressed in the same suit he had created using the Ethereal Silk Armor. If you could be protected and look handsome, why not right?
Behind him, Gwen fastened a small mana-pin onto the collar of his uniform, "It's enchanted with a minor resistance ward," she said, voice low but steady, "It'll probably do jack-all against anything stronger than a sneeze, but… I figured it wouldn't hurt."
Albedo turned to face her, and for the first time that morning, his expression softened. "Thanks, Gwen."
She looked like she wanted to say more, maybe another warning, maybe another plea to not overdo it, but all that came out was a sigh, "Just… come back without exploding."
"No promises," he replied with a smirk.
She snorted despite herself, then walked him to the door. As it slid open, the morning wind caught the hem of his coat.
"Good luck, Albedo," she said. "For what it's worth, I think you're going to destroy them. In a good way."
He glanced over his shoulder, eyes flickering with ember-light, "That's the plan."
He stepped outside and quickly made his way to Pantheon's SkyRail, which was similar to the Mana Train, but much faster, and flying through the sky, at the cost of being more expensive of course.
The SkyRail was used as Zephyr Academy wasn't located in the Capital City, but a decent drive away from it.
This was because of how massive the school was, it was basically an entire City itself, with its own functioning security, economy and more.
After riding the SkyRail, the Academy finally came into view, and all Albedo could say was, "Holy shit, the author really didn't undersell it."
It was a self contained metropolis, just a glance stole his breath. Reading about it was one thing, seeing was another.
Enormous crystalline towers rose high into the sky.
Runes as large as entire buildings crawled across the surfaces of some towers, constantly shifting, adaptive warding scripts designed to react to atmospheric changes, magical fluctuations, or even unauthorized teleportation attempts.
From the ground level, Zephyr looked like an architectural miracle. Mana Trains zipped all across the City, while overhead, floating message hubs, essentially magic billboards, displayed Academy announcements, weather readings, and combat rankings.
The streets had artificial trees that absorbed ambient mana and repurposed it to clean the air, there were shops of every kind. Shopping, food, movie theaters, everything.
There were dorms, and at the centre of the city was the Central Spire, a large building that housed the Academy's administration, Grand Archives, and faculty chambers.
At its peak? An Artifact known only as the Eye of Aeons, which served both as the city's primary defense mechanism and surveillance node. With it, the Academy could track all magical signatures within its borders in real-time.
By the time Albedo disembarked and moved towards the Academy Testing Grounds, he was finally done gawking at the incredible visuals.
He saw other students, some commoners and some Nobles, but none of them were main characters, so he didn't pay much attention.
He walked around for a bit before arriving at the Academy Testing Grounds, where he was greeted by a tall man in a black guard uniform standing next to the Outer Gate wearing a visor. His mana signature was sharp and refined, and he seemed to be Amethyst Ranked.
"Next."
Albedo stepped forward and extended his arm.
"Name?" the guard asked.
"Albedo Neverwinter."
The man tapped his visor, and a beam of blue light scanned over Albedo's form.
"Documents?" the guard asked.
Albedo quickly took out the required document and gave it to the guard, who scanned it and handed it back to him once everything was completed.
"Do you have a personal weapon?" The guard asked.
Albedo summoned Havoc and Ruin, which were also scanned.
The guard's brow twitched, " Soul Weapon, Dual Type, and Pistols? You're quite special huh."
Albedo said nothing.
The guard stared for a moment longer, then nodded and stepped aside, "You're cleared. Follow the glowing glyphs to the Auditorium of Stars. Written Exam first. Combat comes after."
Albedo nodded walked past the threshold, and the moment he entered the actual Academy Grounds, a pulse of mana rippled through him.
It felt like entering a sanctum. Every stone, every blade of grass seemed curated by power. Ancient. Watching.
Not only that, the Mana in the air felt purer than outside, which would massively benefit his training.
After taking this in for a couple seconds, he walked towards the Auditorium of Stars, which was like a modern cathedral, its ceilings arched with floating constellations of light. The front hall was lined with pillars etched in celestial patterns.
A dozen staff members and instructors stood along the side hallways, managing the flow of examinees extremely strictly.
Inside the main chamber, rows of desks were arranged in perfect symmetry, each one separated by opaque mana barriers, isolating every candidate in their own bubble to avoid any cheating.
At the center of each desk was a thin crystalline slate, a ManaSlate, glowing softly. This would be the medium for their Theory Exam.
Albedo stepped forward as a mana steward gestured him to an empty space.
"Candidate Neverwinter, you've been assigned Booth A-079," the steward said, her voice professional, "The ManaSlate will automatically detect your mana signature and unlock. You have sixty minutes to complete the exam. Any attempt at external communication or spell casting will immediately disqualify you."
Albedo nodded once and entered the booth, sitting down and tapping the ManaSlate's power button.
The ManaSlate blinked twice, then unlocked.
Begin Examination
Section I – Magical Theory and Arcane Mechanics
Section II – Tactical Combat and Scenario Analysis
Section III – Monster, Dungeon & Gate Analysis
Section IV – Optional Advanced Application Essay
Albedo's eyes scanned the content, and it was relatively easy. He had known most of this stuff from the Novel anyway, and for the ones he didn't, he had learned from reading the internet and preparing himself.
As for the Optional Advanced Application Essay, Albedo had decided to write about the importance of planning for attempting Dungeons and Gates, he didn't want to do anything too advanced and catch the wrong eyes after all.
By the time the sixty-minute timer blinked red, Albedo was done.
He leaned back, letting the faint hum of the mana barrier soothe his nerves. Around him, other students were still sweating over their answers, fingers trembling, mana flickering with stress whilst Albedo was smiling, relaxed.
[ DING! ]
The System chirped softly within his mind.
[ DING! Host has passed the Written Entrance Examination of Zephyr Academy with a Perfect Score! Host is Rewarded with Academic Anomaly! ]
[ Academic Anomaly: Grants 10% increased efficiency in learning or adapting to new magical concepts. ]
"Nice." Albedo said.
The steward's voice echoed into his booth through the sealed barrier.
"Please exit your stations calmly. You will now proceed to the first door on your right down the hallway."
Albedo got up and followed the directions, entering a large waiting hall filled with seats.
He could already see hundreds of prospective students already seated, some chatting with each-other, while others just sat by themselves showing off their nervousness.
Albedo quietly sat and waited, but it didn't take long until someone slid into the empty chair next to him.
"Mind if I sit here?" a calm, feminine voice asked.
He glanced to the side and spotted a girl not dressed in anything too flashy, just black slacks, dark boots and a neatly pressed gray tunic.
She had long dark auburn hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and her eyes were a sharp forest green,
"Go ahead," Albedo said, nodding slightly.
She smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Thanks."
The silence between them lasted only a few seconds before she turned again, offering a hand, "I'm Elara Vance."
Albedo took it. He didn't recognize her name for the novel, but it wouldn't hurt to be polite. Who wants to go around being an asshole and making enemies for no reason?
He wasn't some Chinese MC telling people they were courting death just for staring at him after all.
"Albedo Neverwinter."
"Neverwinter?" she repeated, tilting her head curiously,"Huh… Can't say I've heard of the name, but it sounds noble."
He gave a half-smirk, "Common blood, uncommon name."
She chuckled, "Same. My family runs a potion stall near the edge of the East District of Pantheon. Not a fancy one."
He nodded in understanding, "Practical work. Better than some noble families I've seen wasting their mana on luxury enchantments."
Her eyebrows rose slightly, "Wow. That sounded dangerously reasonable for someone in a black suit walking like he owns the place."
Albedo smiled faintly. "It's the suit. Makes me look like I have a trust fund."
They shared a quiet laugh at that.
Then her gaze flicked around the room,"So… what do you think the combat part's going to be like? I've been reading forums and gossip pages all week. No one's posted anything solid. It's like the Academy wipes everyone's memories after they finish or something."
Albedo shrugged, "Probably on purpose. If no one knows what to expect, then it tests real adaptability."
"Right," she murmured, then leaned back, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "I'm hoping for a group trial. I'm not the best solo fighter, but I'm pretty good at Support. I focused on mainly Enchantment Magic and protection spells since I want to be an Alchemist like my dad."
"And you?" she asked.
Albedo glanced at her, "I wouldn't mind group or solo, I'm confident in my skills."
Elara nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Well, good luck either way. I've got a feeling today's going to be rough."
"We'll see." Albedo said.
Before she could ask more, the room lights shifted, soft white to pale blue, and a chime echoed through the air.
Then, a powerful aura boomed across the space, and the temperature began to rise immediately.
A blaze ignited across the edges of the room, and the beautiful sky seemed to crack, dripping blood as an alluring yet commanding presence made itself known.
All eyes turned toward the stage as Raphaeline Cortezia, the Headmistress, entered.
She was unlike anyone else in the room. She was tall, around Albedo's current height at 6'6, her skin was pale white, and she had luscious violet hair that cascaded down her back like liquid, with striking red eyes like dripping blood and coral lips, making her look wicked yet seductive.
Despite being so tall, she had the perfect body, rather slender, but with a noticeable rack on her chest, and a rather voluptuous butt. She wore a fitted red and gold gown adorned with unique patterns.
However, the most noticeable part about her was her Black Horns growing out of her head. The horns were polished and elegant, curved slightly backwards, and growing out of her back were two angelic black wings, with pitch black feathers that seemed to be like manifested night.
Yes that's right, Raphaeline Cortezia was a Demoness, the Princess of the Demon Royal Family, a Royal Succubus.
Albedo stared at her intently, as she was a big player in the Novel.
It might seem strange that a Demoness, a Princess at that, was the Headmistress of the Human Academy, but all of this was intentional.
The reason was to curb any potential favoritism that a Headmaster/ Headmistress may have towards students they are related to or know.
Due to this, the various races decided that the Headmasters / Headmistress' of the various academies should be from different races.
So a Demoness rules the Human Academy, while a Human rules the Elven Academy, and an Elf rules the Demon Academy.
Raphaeline was an extremely important character in the Novel, as she protected the Protagonist and a group a multitude of times from dangers they couldn't solve themselves, and she could be called their biggest backer.
"Hello, everyone," She greeted everyone, "You all know who I am so I'll keep it short. The test this year is simple. Teams of two, find your partner here I don't are who. Then you'll be dropped into an Artificial Space made by us to battle Bronze and Low Silver Beasts. Each beast gives points depending on their ranks."
Raphaeline said and whispers immediately begun.
"You'll be given Mana Bracelets that track points. However, you need to contribute, whether by buffing, trapping, or healing your teammates, no useless people allowed. The bracelets will also teleport you out if things get dangerous.
"Inter-team combat is allowed after 2 hours. For people eliminated, don't worry, we'll track your performance ourselves, so even if you get destroyed by someone much stronger, if you impress us, you're in."
With the rules explained, Raphaeline pointed towards a shimmering portal.
"You have 5 minutes to form teams. Then, collect your bracelets and enter the portal. You'll have 10 hours to gain as much points as possible. Good luck!"
With that, Raphaeline vanished, and left the surroundings in a moment of silence before discussions burst out, people hurrying around to find their teammates.
Elara looked towards Albedo nervously and sheepishly said, "Wanna team?"
Albedo nodded and replied,
"Let's go."