Chapter 4: The Academy Of Apprentice Mages

Finally, the school session began and all those who had passed the entrance exam resumed at the academy,among them Arnik and Rowan.

About a week before resumption the school had sent out a parcel to each of the students offered admission, the contents of this parcel were two school uniforms , a dormitory assignment letter and a small black card.

Arnik as well as all elite students were assigned to the Serdana dorm, not only was it the most impressive of all the dorms, but it also housed the academy's best Magic training equipment.

Arnik and Rowan had coincidentally been assigned to the same dorm room and had just moved their things in when Rowan said

" This is a four-man room, it seems like our other roommates have already left for class",

"That just means we better finish up quickly and head to class too" Arnik replied.

On their way to class, Rowan who seemed nervous said" I wonder what our classmates will be like, Elite class is reserved for the best of the best and I heard that all of them were impressive during the test" after a short silence he continued " I heard some of them even had dual affinity " with this Arnik stopped, " Dual affinity, tell me which ones" he asked enthusiastically, " Arrgh, get off me, I'm not sure but I heard that apart from controlling ice, Eissa Frost could also control water".

It wasn't surprising for Aqua mages to control water and ice, most of them started off with Water and later Mastered ice due to the similarities between the two elements.

The Frost family were already well known for being strong ice users, but to have both Elements at such a young age was nothing short of remarkable.

" I guess the Elite class students are incredible" Arnik thought.

They soon got to class and took their seats, Arnik looked around at his classmates, among them he could see Eissa, along with the two boys that had followed her on the day of the exam, he could also see several new faces, in all, there were 10 boys and 10 girls. The teacher soon came in, he was a well-built man with a mark on his forehead, he wore dark shades even though they were indoors.

"Hello everyone, My name is Matteo Sykes and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next three years at this academy. As you all know this is the Elite class and you all are regarded as the best of the best, you are expected to represent the school well as well as set an example for your other peers. If you happen to have any difficulties or complaints do not hesitate to let me know. Alright, I would like each of you to stand up and introduce yourselves".

With this the students began introducing themselves one after the other, they also spoke about their elemental affinities. There were water, fire, wind, earth, ice, lightning, and even a plant user. Some of them did have dual affinity as Rowan had said earlier and many of them came from prestigious families. When it was Arnik's turn to introduce himself, he stood up and began,

"My name is Arnik Ragniel, I am a fire-type mage" just as he was about to continue he was interrupted by someone, it was one of the boys, Gerdi Litho, he was from the prestigious Litho family and Rowan's cousin.

" Instructor Sykes, I thought this class was reserved for only the best of the best, how come trash like him and his buddy over there are here," he said gesturing to Rowan with a scowl on his face. Rowan stood up angrily,

" Hey, you better watch your mouth ok, everyone here deserves to be here and that includes Arnik and me" he answered.

" Hoo, you've got a sharp mouth don't you, perhaps I need to show you the difference in power between members of the main family and branch family" Gerdi responded, an evil smile across his face, "Bring it" Rowan answered mana beginning to accumulate in his fists.

" Uhm, Instructor Sykes, shouldn't you stop them," asked a female student, she was the only plant user in the class, Vilma Ilde, Instructor Sykes let out a sigh, "I guess I should", he flicked his finger and all the previously accumulated mana dissipated,

" Everyone settle down, I just said I expected you to be good examples" he let out another sigh " Duels between students are allowed, but only in the training room and under supervision. Also I except you all to give me utmost respect " as he said this the entire classroom grew dark and a dark aura began to emanate from him, he lowered his glasses to the tip of his nose, and everyone could see Instructor Sykes eyes glow red, " Is that understood?" he said in a very low voice.

The entire class adjusted and seemed to grow a lot sober, and just as quickly as the darkness had come it disappeared and Instructor Sykes wore his shades properly, "ok then, Mr. Ragniel continue your introduction ". " Uhm uh, yes sir" Arnik replied still shaken by what had just happened.

When everyone was done, Instructor Sykes spoke to the class " Now that we've concluded with the introductions, I should remind you that being in Elite class has a requirement, you are given specific goals at certain intervals during the session, failure to achieve said goals will result in your prompt demotion, understood?'. Arnik shifted uncomfortably in his seat , "i have to keep getting stronger" he thought to himself.

Mr Sykes pointed to the giant screen behind him, and the words "LEVEL 5" appeared. "This is your goal for now, get to Level 5 before the mid-term assessment, feel free to make use of all MAGIC equipment available to you, those of you who can exceed the goal will be rewarded accordingly ,i wish you best of luck". With this he left the class and the next teacher came in.

Classes dragged on until it was time for lunch break, Arnik and Rowan left for the cafeteria together and were astonished by how large it was. "Look at the menu, it's quite expensive " noted Rowan,

" Oh you don't have to worry about that" answered a voice from behind them,

Arnik and Rowan turned around simultaneously, the person in front of them was Vilma, their classmate, " Sorry to rudely butt in, I assume you received something like this " she sad holding up a small black card, they both nodded and she continued" this covers our living expenses in school, it's something exclusive to Elite students only" . " Thanks for the info, I'm Rowan and this is Arnik, you're welcome to seat with us for lunch if you want" , " I'd love to " she replied with a smile. They ate lunch together while chatting and left for class together.

Eventually classes ended for the day and Arnik went back to his room, so much had happened in one day. He lay down on his bed and tapped the button on his Atephra and the window popped up

[NAME]

ARNIK RAGNIEL

[LEVEL]

APPRENTICE MAGE

[ELEMENTAL AFFINITY]

FIRE- Lvl 3

????- Lvl Unavailable (Development Required)

[MAGIC GEAR]

RAGNIEL SOULRUNE- Lvl 1

Level 3, he needed to get to level 5 or higher by the middle of the session, " I've got to train harder " , according to Vilma most of the class were level 4 or higher, there were even rumors that some had gotten to level 8, it was no surprise as most of them had being training since they were little.

Arnik decided to go see Instructor Karid, he needed to get stronger fast and learn more about his Soulrune, maybe she'd even know how to unlock his second elemental affinity. He quickly left for her office but was disappointed to find out that she wasn't around at the moment,

"What do I do now" he thought to himself "guess I'll go train till I'm tired" he said and with that he hurriedly went to the training facility of the Serdana dorm, he met a couple of people there, some were his classmates and others were members of Elite class in higher grades. He was able to train to his satisfaction and went back to his room sometime in the evening, while laying on his bed he came up with a schedule on when to study about magic as well as train to get stronger before eventually drifting off to sleep.