First Class

The Great Hall loomed before Rion, its towering doors etched with scenes of desperate battles. Shadowed figures stood wielding glowing weapons against monstrous, writhing shapes, the draughnir. Just seeing them carved in stone made his skin prickle.

This was why the academy existed. Built from the ashes of a world that had nearly ended.

He was able to hear the buzzing of hundreds of students in the building. The rays of the sun were shot through coloured windows, and scattered coloured rays over the smooth marble. He sat down in one corner, at the back of the room, and clasped his hands upon his knees.

There stood before me a woman in silver robes at the podium. She held up her hand.

Silence fell.

"Thirty years ago," she began, voice clear and steady, "this academy was founded in blood and fire."

Above her, a shimmering illusion unfolded. A sky choked in unnatural dark, streets clogged with screaming crowds, and in their midst, the draughnir. Twisted things. Bodies warped by fused objects, limbs bent at impossible angles, mouths split too wide. Rion's breath caught.

"The sun vanished for months. Madness spread faster than any plague. By the time the surviving nations stopped fighting each other, it was nearly too late."

The image shifted. Spirit mage, beast mages, arcana mages, regular mages, and even normal peoples. All standing together against the dark.

"We paid a terrible price to push them back. And we made a vow: never again."

Her gaze swept the hall.

"You are not here as heirs to old dynasties. You are not here to carry grudges. You are heroes in the making. When the darkness comes again, and it will, we will not face it divided. We will stand united."

Rion's throat tightened. He didn't know the full history, the dynasties, the wars. But he understood loss. He saw the how his friend corrupted form in his mind. The screams, their eyes, his helplessness facing it.

He would never let that happen again.

The orientation shifted to practical matters. A cheerful instructor took the stage, lifting a slender band etched with glowing runes.

"Regalia," he said, tapping the band. A shimmering arrow appeared above his wrist. "Tap here for your schedule. Swipe here to store small items. Yes, even your secret snack stash."

A wave of laughter went through the hall.

"And if you get hopelessly lost, just ask it. It won't judge."

Rion tapped his own band. A soft glow displayed his schedule. The first one is Combat Theory on north Wing, followed by Mana Channeling on Courtyard Annex, and several other classes. Classes were reassigned each term, the instructor explained. No fixed groups.

"You'll train with strangers, rivals, and future allies. Adaptability is survival"

When it ended, students poured out in waves. Rion followed the glowing arrow on his wrist to Combat Theory.

Half of the classroom was already full. A purple haired girl with long hair slept over her desk. Close to a window a spirit mage flipped through pages of an open book with edges of his body transparent. A sharp eyed boy in the back corner of the room drummed his fingers.

Rion sat beside a tall beast mage. Lean, with tawny eyes and claws filed down. His beast trait almost looked exactly like Leon making the resemblance was striking.

The beast mage sniffed once, then nodded.

Before Rion could speak, the door slammed open.

The instructor strode in like a warhammer. Towering, scarred, and stone faced. His left ear was notched like a veteran soldier's.

"Name's Rudrick Voss," he growled. "From Namryha, which means I've seen draughnir up close. If you don't learn fast, you'll see them too, right before they rip your throat out."

Some students stiffened. The purple-haired girl kept snoring.

Rudrick grinned. "Good, fear keeps you sharp. Now, who here knows why your pretty little emission tricks won't save you from a draughnir's bite?"

Silence.

Rion's fingers twitched. He knew this, they corroded magic. Before he could speak, the annoyed boy at the back muttered, "Because they devour mana, you idiot."

Rudrick's grin widened. "Correct, and congratulations, you just volunteered for the first practical training."

Nervous laughter followed. Rion exhaled slowly, pulse still pounding from the draughnir images. But his eyes were already drawn to the boy tall, wiry, with indigo hair and golden eyes.

---

The training arena was no ordinary room. It was a colosseum. Circular, wide, silent. No crowd, just the class seated on the podium as the annoyed boy strode forward.

Rudrick tossed him a training blade.

"Name?"

"Luciel," the boy snapped, catching the sword mid spin.

"Alright, Luciel." Rudrick cracked his neck. "Let's see if your mouth's faster than your feet."

Luciel's smirk answered for him. He drew his blade in a blur, emission flaring at his feet. He rocketed forward in short bursts, his blade coated in a flickering Invisible Edge, extending its reach past steel.

He struck—

And stopped cold.

Rudrick hadn't moved. The blade rang uselessly against his forearm. "Emission is always on," Rudrick said calmly. "Even when you're not focused. A living shield, but against a draughnir?"

His grin turned sharp.

"They'll chew through it faster than you thought."

Luciel darted back, breath steady. He pivoted sharply, burst left, burst right. Erratic, but strategic. Then struck again, not at Rudrick, but beside him.

A shimmer of heat bent the air, Blaze Magic. Flames licked the edge of his blade, fire channeled through emission. The edge glowed with power, invisible and burning. Rudrick moved, just one step. That was allHe caught Luciel's wrist before the strike landed. The flames sputtered out.

"Not bad," Rudrick said. "But magic's no good if it never connects."

He flung Luciel across the yard. The boy hit the stone and rolled, popping back to his feet in one seamless motion.

Another burst of Trampolin Technique, and Luciel charged. He slash horizontally, but this time unleashing when Rudrick moving his hand to block it. Luciel emission expanded in a wave, pressure cracking through the air, an aura crush.

Rudrick stepped back, the first sign of effort. Luciel not wasting that moment, stop expnading it and compress it into the back of his hand, using trampolin technique to boost its speed and managed to scracth Rudrick on his waist.

Rudrick stare at it and then laughed.

"Not bad kid! Now, lets try your defense."

He step forward, emission focused on his leg, and with blast he become flickering shadow that dash toward Luciel.

"Bring it on!" Luciel roar, his body coated by raging and thunder, leaned forward and followed by low bum, he rush forward. They meet on the middle and their impact make smoke scatter everywhere. But they still not have enough.

Blurry shadow of Rudrick moving left and right, up and down. And Luciel doesn't want to lose instead of dodging him, meet him head on. Flesh and iron, element and raw power, on high speed.

But in the end Luciel is the one who meet his limit first. His flame and thunder dissipate, following by it his speed dropped tremendeously. Rudrick shoot a palm strike to his chest, Luciel failed to dodge in time. Flew backward, planted to the ground with dust flying in the air.

"Your technique are really refined, but you need to learn more to do more than brute force it head on. Stubbornly repeated the same things while hopping different result its not display of willpower or bravery, but nothing more than a foolishnees."

Luciel spat. "Tch, fine."

A ripple of murmurs spread. Rion's pulse thundered. Luciel had been fast, smart, well-trained and Rudrick had dismantled him like it was a warm up. Then Rudrick's eyes landed on him.

"Next," he said. "You, let's see what you've got."

Rion stepped forward.

He had no magic, no clever tricks. Just the basics Leon had hammered into him and the raw fire still buried in his core.

He launched forward, emission underfoot. Not as fast, not as precise, but clean.

He struck with a basic slash, sharp and steady.

It bounced off.

Rudrick hadn't even blocked.

"Your edge is weak," he said. "It's not just shaping emission. You have to believe it will cut."

Rion gritted his teeth. "Again."

This time, Rion didn't charge recklessly. He focused, breathing slower. Emission wrapped his blade, flickering, but firmer. He struck again.

Rudrick sidestepped.

The blade sliced empty air. Then a heavy hand clapped his shoulder.

"Too slow," Rudrick said. "But you're learning."

A soft green light shimmered from Rion's regalia, easing the sting in his muscles. Across the yard, Luciel was healing too. The regalis auto healing magic.

Luciel rolled his shoulders, still scowling. "That was pointless."

But Rion noticed the subtle flex of his fingers, already planning another strike.

Rudrick crossed his arms.

"Emission is your foundation. Remember to master the basics first before you try more advanced tricks, or die pretty."

Class dismissed. Students trickled out, whispering.

Rion lingered, his grip still tight on his sword.