The Imperial Academy is located within the inner circle of the Main City in Lavivacy County. It is an aristocratic institution with prestigious faculty and is the only magic school directly operated by the royal family. While the admission criteria are strictly enforced, ninety percent of the federation’s elite sorcerers are alumni. Receiving an acceptance letter is equivalent to holding a key to the upper class.
Xi Ye nodded as he listened to a senior’s introduction, though his attention frequently drifted to the person beside him.
“After the initial sorcery test, Xi Ye, you have been assigned to Class A-1. Your friend, Zevis, is in Class F-3,” Edgar said, turning to the two exceptionally good looking newcomers.
As the vice president of the student council, Edgar had initially felt that handling transfers was beneath him, but his dissatisfaction vanished the moment he saw them. Noting their confusion, he explained with a smile, “Class assignments are based on the strength of your magic. Xi Ye, yours is the rare Ice element.” He paused. “Your friend’s magic is of the Mental type, but it is currently far too weak.” In fact, it was so weak that it was nearly indistinguishable from that of a commoner.
“I see. And the dormitory arrangements?” Xi Ye asked, his finger brushing lightly against the hand of the man beside him, whose expression seemed dejected.
“The dorms are double occupancy. Let me see” Edgar flipped through his charts. “Xi Ye is assigned to stay with a special enrollment student. Zevis currently has no roommate and will live alone.”
“Is there no way for Xi Ye to stay with me? The space is empty anyway,” Song Yanxing asked. Noticing they were in a crowded area, he caught himself before calling Xi Ye brother.
Edgar had spent the entire morning with them, yet he still found himself marveling at Zevis’s beauty. There was an aura about Zevis that felt blinding, a presence that made one feel small, as if looking directly at him were an act of impudence. Edgar looked away. “It is possible, but it requires administrative approval.”
“Fine,” Song Yanxing murmured listlessly.
Edgar noticed that ever since they entered the campus, Zevis had followed Xi Ye like a shadow, even during the brief moments they were separated for testing. It was incredibly clingy, yet the one being clung to seemed entirely indulgent of the behavior.
They reached a marble plaza where a statue stood before a white porcelain European castle. The statue’s eyes were lowered, reflecting a sense of divine mercy for the world.
“This statue represents the deity our continent worships” Edgar was cut off by a group of people approaching from a distance. Leading them was a silver haired man walking with steady steps. His green eyes were cold and devoid of emotion.
“It is Lord Joushuar!” Edgar whispered excitedly. Noticing their blank stares, he added, “He is the Divine Envoy! He is the one who has the closest contact with the Deity and relays His commands!” Edgar spoke with pride. “His status is second only to the King. He is the priest connecting the royal family to the Heavens. Remarkably, he is the only ordinary person without any magic to ever graduate from the Imperial Academy!”
As Joushuar passed them, his pace faltered. He stopped, his green eyes remaining neutral. “Edgar.”
The clear, cold voice snapped Edgar out of his lecture. Realizing the man he was just discussing was standing right there, his heart hammered. The Envoy remembered his name! “Present!” Edgar barked, like a student answering a teacher.
Joushuar’s gaze swept over the two standing behind Edgar before returning to the trembling student. Edgar quickly introduced them. “These are the new transfer students.”
“Mmh,” Joushuar replied, though he could not shake a sudden, creeping sense of familiarity.
“Does the Envoy have urgent business at the academy?” Edgar asked, before realizing he had overstepped. “Oh! You do not have to answer that”
“I am here to select a God Blessed,” Joushuar said calmly. He turned a ring on his left hand, a gem as green as his eyes, and glanced once more at the person behind Edgar. “I am leaving now.”
Edgar stood frozen, his eyes wide. A God Blessed was someone favored by the Deity from birth, possessing innate magic and the ability to communicate with the Divine. Becoming a God Blessed meant potentially becoming the next Envoy.
After walking Xi Ye to the other dormitory, Song Yanxing slowly made his way to his own room. He paused when he saw a student standing by his door. Hearing footsteps, Cole turned around.
Cole smiled and stepped forward. “Edgar certainly took his time showing you around. I have been waiting a while.”
“The senior was very enthusiastic, and the school is wonderful,” Song Yanxing replied.
Cole looked at him. “That is good. The school is holding a sorcery trial in a few days. We are allowed to form groups to enter the Northern Forest.” He asked tentatively, “Can I join you?”
“Of course,” Song Yanxing said, his gaze shifting. “I have not asked yet: what is your magic, Senior Cole?”
“Ah” Cole looked into those brilliant gold eyes that felt as though they could see through his very soul. He looked away. “Just some basic talisman arts.”
Cole had been reborn, but he had brought none of his past power with him. The talismans he held were bought at a high price on the black market and required his own blood to activate, a desperate measure to hide his lack of magic. He had to seize this person now. Although things had gone slightly off track; the Deity who was supposed to be slumbering in the abyss had somehow appeared in the Lower District and befriended his half brother; Cole believed he could make the Deity fall for him again. This trial was his chance to prevent himself from becoming the laughingstock of the nobility.
“That is impressive,” Song Yanxing interrupted his thoughts. “But if we are grouping up, I have to bring Brother.”
Cole’s fingers tightened. He found the mention of Xi Ye irritating. If he had met the Deity first, Xi Ye would not even be in the picture. Obstacles just need to be removed, he thought. Aloud, he smiled. “Of course, no problem.”
The off campus trial focused on exterminating ghosts and seizing spirit stones. Song Yanxing’s group was sent to a deserted, haunted village deep within the forest.
Upton pored over a map before looking at their surroundings. “We should be southwest of the village. Following the creek should lead us straight there, but we have been walking for hours without reaching the destination.” Upton was a member of the five person team and Xi Ye’s roommate. His magic was Divination.
He crouched down and began drawing in the dirt with a twig. “West South, latitude 28 degrees, elapsed time 3.5 hours, 2835 is the number.” He performed a calculation, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. “A nightmare echo. This is a bad omen!”
“It seems we have encountered a ghost wall,” Xi Ye said grimly.
“Do not be so dramatic,” Maren said, trying to comfort himself. Maren was Upton’s boyfriend, a noble with Lightning magic. “Before I left, my father had someone divine for me. The result was Great Fortune and that I would encounter a benefactor!”
Song Yanxing looked at the surrounding mountains, which loomed like ghosts guarding their nest, peering down at them. With no other choice, the group continued forward. By noon, the fog in the forest cleared.
“Look over there!” Maren pointed to a small courtyard nearby. An old woman was hunched over, clearing weeds. Hearing his voice, she looked up in surprise. “Young men, are you sorcerers here for the trial?”
They approached the house. She was over seventy, with sunken eyes and white hair wrapped in a black headscarf. Veins like earthworms snaked across her thin hands as she leaned on a cane.
“Yes, Grandma,” Xi Ye said. He glanced at the clothes drying in the yard. “I thought this place was deserted. Why do you and your son still live here?”
The group followed his gaze and saw adult men’s clothing hanging on the rack.
“It is for survival,” the old woman said bitterly. “We cannot afford the Main City or the Lower District. It gets dark here quickly, and the forest is dangerous at night. Why do you not stay here?” Fearing she might be misunderstood, she added, “I have seen many sorcerers like you. When I have food to spare, I help. After all, you are the young men building our kingdom.”
Cole and Maren looked at the shack and were hesitant to sleep in beds used by strangers. Just as they were about to refuse, the youth who had been silent except for calling for Brother spoke up. “We would be honored to stay, Grandma.”
“Then” Maren tried to argue, but his boyfriend cut him off.
“This might be the benefactor the divination mentioned,” Upton whispered. Maren compromised.
The shack was small but fully functional. The old woman led them to the back rooms. “Oh dear, two rooms are not enough for five people!”
Cole frowned. “What should we do?”
“If you do not mind, one of you will have to share with my son,” she suggested.
Immediately, Song Yanxing leaned his weight against Xi Ye. “I will stay with Brother.”
Cole felt a vein throb in his temple. He looked at the couple who had already paired up. Upton looked at him awkwardly. “Lord Viscount, it seems you will have to squeeze in with her son.”
The sky darkened rapidly. After eating with the son, who had returned from work, they went to their rooms. At midnight, dark clouds rolled overhead. Thunder rumbled without rain, making the air heavy.
Cole lay on the wooden bed against the wall, unable to sleep. Just as he was finally drifting off, he felt the man beside him move. The old woman’s son got out of bed and walked out the door.
Cole grabbed a talisman from his pocket, put on his shoes, and followed cautiously. Outside, he witnessed a horrifying sight.
In the storage room, the man’s head had detached from his body. Long, bloody internal organs dangled beneath the severed head. It floated out the window. Cole held his breath and followed the direction of the float. He found the head pressed against Zevis and Xi Ye’s window, its large eyes wide as it peered inside.