The stream of candidates slowly began leaving the selection field.
With the registration and initial evaluations finally complete, the instructors began directing the candidates toward their respective dormitory complexes.
The sound of footsteps filled the stone road that cut through GIMA’s main grounds.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
TOTAL REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS
1,877
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Aether glanced at the number as they passed the Grand Main Hall.
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven people.
Far more than he had imagined.
Yet even in a crowd that large…
he spotted someone familiar once again.
Lyra.
She was walking a few meters away on the other side of the line.
When their eyes met, Lyra gave him a small smile.
“Finally over, huh?”
Aether nodded.
“Seems like it.”
Lyra glanced toward the massive academy buildings ahead.
“At least we made it in.”
“Yeah.”
“Training starts tomorrow?”
“I guess so.”
Lyra let out a quiet laugh.
“Your answers always sound like you’re just guessing.”
Aether shrugged.
“I honestly don’t know yet.”
Lyra smiled.
“That’s true.”
They walked a few more steps.
But then the flow of candidates began to split.
At the intersection, a holographic system panel floated in the air, displaying the directions with perfect clarity.
MALE DORMITORY →
FEMALE DORMITORY ←
A senior instructor raised his hand.
“ALL MALE CANDIDATES!”
“FOLLOW THE RIGHT PATH!”
“ALL FEMALE CANDIDATES!”
“FOLLOW THE LEFT PATH!”
“DO NOT LEAVE YOUR LINE UNTIL YOU REACH YOUR DORMITORY!”
The crowd began moving again.
Aether watched as Lyra started heading down a different path.
Lyra raised one hand slightly.
“See you tomorrow, Aether.”
Aether nodded.
“See you tomorrow.”
It was only a brief exchange.
Yet for some reason…
for the first time since arriving at GIMA, Aether felt like he was truly about to begin something new.
Not a journey.
Not a battle.
Not a search for his past.
School.
He followed the group of male candidates.
And for the first time…
he entered a place that, ironically, had once been part of his own life.
A few minutes later…
the male dormitory building came into view.
Aether slowed his pace.
He looked up at the massive structure.
It wasn’t simply a dormitory.
It looked more like a luxurious high-rise office building designed for some enormous corporation.
Dozens of floors rose into the sky as part of one magnificent structure.
Its exterior combined white stone, towering glass panels, and dark metal.
Golden light flowed along the edges of its architecture.
At the center of the building was an enormous emblem of the Galaxium Imperial Military Academy.
Even from a distance…
Aether could see several elevated bridges connecting the building to other facilities.
A candidate behind him let out a low whistle.
“This…”
“This is a dormitory?”
His friend stared at the building with a blank expression.
“If this is a dormitory…”
“…I don’t want to know what the Imperial Palace looks like.”
Several candidates laughed.
Aether didn’t.
He simply stared at the building.
Its size alone made it difficult for him to imagine how many rooms existed inside.
The senior instructor leading the group spoke again.
“Attention!”
“This building is the Male Cadet Residence.”
“All male candidates will be housed here throughout their time at the Academy.”
“Each room houses two cadets.”
“Room assignments are determined by the Academy’s system.”
“Do not switch rooms without authorization.”
He raised a panel.
“Room assignments are also organized by Division.”
“Vanguard candidates will room with Vanguard candidates.”
“Ranger with Ranger.”
“Arcane with Arcane.”
“Support with Support.”
“And Special with Special.”
Several candidates immediately exchanged glances.
Aether remembered his evaluation result.
Special Division.
That meant…
his roommate would also be someone from the Special Division.
The instructor continued.
“This residence is shared by all Divisions.”
“Common facilities such as study rooms, recreation rooms, sparring areas, training facilities, the dormitory library, and the main elevators are available to all residents.”
He paused.
Then added in a matter-of-fact tone,
“Each room is also equipped with private facilities.”
“That includes a bathroom, shower, and sanitation area within each unit.”
“There are also additional facilities on certain floors, including hot springs, saunas, and separate relaxation rooms.”
“Maintain order.”
“Do not cause trouble.”
He paused again.
Then added firmly,
“Especially after twenty-two hundred hours!”
Several candidates who had been whispering immediately fell silent.
Aether stored that information in his mind.
Twenty-two hundred.
Curfew.
Simple enough.
At least, that’s what he understood.
The dormitory’s main doors opened.
Aether entered with hundreds of other candidates.
And…
he fell silent once again.
The interior was even more impressive.
The ceiling stretched several stories overhead.
Crystal lights hung from above.
The marble floor reflected a soft glow.
A grand staircase split toward the left and right sides.
In the center of the lobby stood a massive holographic panel displaying resident information, schedules, facility maps, and routes to different floors.
Several large elevators lined the back wall.
Aether glanced toward one of them.
The doors were large enough to carry more than a dozen people at once.
“Is this really a G.I.M.A. dormitory?”
a nearby candidate muttered.
Another answered,
“They say GIMA’s facilities are all like this.”
“Like a hotel?”
“The best hotel.”
“More expensive.”
Aether turned toward them.
“More expensive?”
The candidate laughed.
“I don’t know. I’ve only ever seen hotels from the outside.”
Aether nodded.
“Me too.”
The two fell silent for a moment.
Then they both laughed.
“…At least we’re equally poor.”
“Seems like it.”
Their brief conversation made several nearby candidates laugh as well.
Aether then followed the instructor again.
They were directed toward a row of elevators.
One by one, the candidates entered according to their assigned floors.
Aether looked at the small panel in his hand.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
GIMA CADET RESIDENCE
Name: Aether
Division: Special
Room: 17-08
Floor: 17
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Seventeenth floor.
Aether looked upward.
The building was apparently much taller than it had seemed from the outside.
The elevator stopped several times.
Candidates got off one by one.
The number of people inside gradually decreased.
Until finally…
DING.
The number 17 lit up.
The doors opened.
Aether stepped out.
A long corridor stretched before him.
Dark carpet ran from one end to the other.
The walls were decorated with portraits of figures from Galaxium’s history.
Several names were unfamiliar to Aether.
Yet some of them…
strangely felt familiar.
He stopped in front of a large painting.
A man stood in a military uniform.
A sword hung at his waist.
The man’s face bore a slight resemblance to Aether’s.
His gaze was sharp.
Beneath the portrait was an inscription:
FIRST GENERATION — COMMANDER OF THE UNITED ARMY
Aether stared at it for several seconds.
Something felt strange.
It wasn’t a memory.
More like…
a sense of familiarity with no source.
Eventually, he looked away.
“Room 17-08…”
Aether continued down the corridor.
Eventually, he found the door with the same number.
17-08
He touched the panel beside the door.
BEEP.
The lock released.
Aether pushed the door open.
The room was…
far larger than he had expected.
Two large beds stood on opposite sides.
Each had its own study desk.
Wardrobe.
Storage shelves.
Information panel.
A small sofa.
A private bathroom.
Even a large glass window overlooking the main grounds of GIMA.
Aether stood in the doorway.
“…”
He looked around.
“This is the room?”
A voice came from inside.
“If it isn’t a room…”
“…then I guess it could be a living room.”
Aether turned.
A young man was sitting on one of the beds.
He stood.
His silver hair was slightly messy.
His eyes were bright blue.
He studied Aether for a moment.
His relaxed expression slowly changed into mild surprise.
“…So you’re the guy.”
Aether raised an eyebrow.
“Me?”
The young man pointed at him.
“Aether.”
“Candidate 0713.”
“The guy who caused the entire academy to freak out earlier.”
Aether was silent for a moment.
“Oh.”
Sebas chuckled.
“That’s your response?”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”
“Fair enough.”
He extended his hand.
“Fernandes Sebastian Silva.”
“Most people just call me Sebas.”
Aether shook his hand.
“Aether.”
Sebas smiled.
“I know your name.”
Aether released his hand.
“Well, you just said it.”
Sebas laughed.
“Everyone knows it by now.”
He pointed toward the wall, as if the Crystal Resonance display were still there.
“Authority of Creation.”
“Unique Class.”
“Mana Capacity S.”
“Mana Quality S.”
“Resonance S.”
“And Mastery: Master, Middle Stage.”
He paused.
“Not to mention the whole ICAN-000001 incident.”
Sebas slowly shook his head.
“Believe it or not, I haven’t even figured out what all of that means.”
Aether walked farther into the room.
“Neither do I.”
Sebas looked at him.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
Aether stopped for a moment.
“…I don’t know that person.”
Sebas studied Aether’s face.
He didn’t look like he was joking.
“Yeah.”
He let out a small sigh.
“Then I guess neither of us has any answers.”
Aether placed his bag beside one of the beds.
“Seems like it.”
Sebas sat back down.
“At least one thing is clear.”
“What?”
“We’re roommates.”
Aether looked at him.
“Yeah.”
Sebas pointed toward the bed opposite his own.
“That’s yours.”
“You can use the desk by the window too. I usually study at the desk near the door.”
Aether nodded.
“Thanks.”
Sebas frowned.
“Don’t be so formal, damn it. You’re no fun.”
He laughed.
“We’re going to be sharing this room for quite a while.”
Aether sat on the edge of his bed.
“All right.”
Sebas stared at him for a few seconds.
“Are you always this brief?”
Aether looked at him.
“Brief how?”
“Your answers.”
Sebas smiled.
“‘Yeah.’ ‘All right.’ ‘Seems like it.'”
He deliberately mimicked Aether’s tone.
Aether fell silent.
Then…
the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
“I’ll try to talk more.”
Sebas immediately laughed.
“Now that’s progress.”
Aether smiled faintly.
“Thanks for the feedback.”
Sebas:
“Don’t thank me yet.”
He pointed at Aether.
“I’m not finished criticizing you.”
Aether raised an eyebrow.
“Go ahead.”
Sebas studied him for a few seconds.
Then shook his head.
“Eh.”
“You’re much more normal than I expected.”
Aether looked at him in confusion.
“What did you think I’d be like?”
Sebas thought for a moment.
“After seeing your Crystal Resonance results?”
“Who knows.”
“Maybe someone surrounded by lightning every time he walked.”
Aether laughed quietly.
“Unfortunately, no.”
Sebas grinned.
“There it is.”
“You can actually joke.”
Aether shrugged.
“A little.”
Sebas stood and walked toward the wardrobe.
As he opened one of the doors, he said,
“Then let’s start with something simple.”
“What?”
“Don’t kill each other during training.”
Aether looked at him.
“That’s a room rule?”
“A survival rule.”
Sebas took a spare uniform from the wardrobe.
“Especially since we’re both in Special Division.”
He glanced back at Aether.
“The people there don’t look like the type to hold back.”
Aether remembered several of the Special Division candidates he had seen after registration.
Their auras had indeed felt different.
Denser.
Stronger.
“You’re right.”
Sebas nodded.
“Earlier, I saw a few people who looked like they could cause trouble just by standing still.”
Aether smiled faintly.
“Are you one of them?”
Sebas froze.
“Me?”
Aether:
“Yeah.”
Sebas laughed.
“If I look intimidating, then at least my silver hair is doing its job.”
Aether looked at Sebas’s hair.
“Your hair is pretty noticeable.”
Sebas nodded with satisfaction.
“See?”
“At least someone appreciates it.”
He then picked up his identity panel from the table.
Aether glanced at it.
FERNANDES SEBASTIAN SILVA
Region: Arkhaven
House: Silva
Aether pointed at the panel.
“House Silva?”
Sebas nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Noble family?”
“More or less.”
Sebas leaned against the desk.
“House Silva has lived in Arkhaven for generations.”
“People there know us more as a family involved in regional administration and trade than as a military family.”
“So you’re not from a military family?”
Sebas shook his head.
“House Silva is actually one of the strongest military families in Arkhaven.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not from the main branch, so…”
He gave a small smile.
“…that’s not exactly an option for me.”
“That’s why getting into GIMA is a little…”
He paused.
“…intimidating.”
“My parents were actually hoping I’d attend an administrative academy or help manage the territory.”
Aether looked at him.
“But you chose GIMA.”
Sebas nodded.
“Yeah.”
Aether:
“Why?”
Sebas fell silent for a moment.
This time, his smile changed.
It became more serious.
“I want to know whether I’m just a noble’s son…”
“…or whether I can stand on my own.”
Aether nodded slowly.
“That’s a good reason.”
Sebas looked at him.
“And you?”
“What’s your reason?”
Aether fell silent.
The simple question left his mind blank once again.
He looked down at his own hands.
“I…”
He stopped.
“I don’t know.”
“I just want to become stronger.”
Sebas didn’t answer immediately.
Then he nodded.
“Then find out.”
Aether looked up.
“Here?”
Sebas:
“Here.”
He smiled.
“A place like GIMA probably has plenty of ways to help someone find their answer.”
Aether stared at him for a few moments.
Then nodded.
“Maybe.”
Sebas laughed softly.
“There’s that ‘maybe’ again.”
Aether smiled.
“Not necessarily.”
Sebas:
“All right, then.”
He grabbed his jacket.
“But at least you’ve got one thing.”
Aether:
“What?”
“A pretty decent roommate.”
Aether stared at him.
“You’re rating yourself?”
Sebas:
“Who else?”
Sebas opened the door.
“Come on.”
Aether:
“Where?”
Sebas:
“Dinner.”
Aether stood.
“Already?”
Sebas pointed toward the time panel on the wall.
“If we’re late, we’ll be stuck at the very back of the line.”
Aether picked up his identity panel.
“Do you know where it is?”
Sebas:
“Not yet.”
Sebas walked out.
“But I heard GIMA’s dining hall is big enough to accommodate every cadet.”
He glanced back.
“And after standing in that field all day, I’m not taking any chances with dinner.”
Aether followed him.
“So you’re hungry?”
Sebas stopped.
Then looked at Aether with an expression that suggested the answer should have been obvious.
“My stomach has been growling for the past two hours.”
Aether laughed quietly.
“All right.”
The two walked down the seventeenth-floor corridor.
For the first time that evening…
Aether wasn’t walking alone.
The seventeenth-floor corridor gradually filled with footsteps.
Doors opened one after another.
Cadets emerged from their rooms, some still wearing full uniforms while others had already changed into more comfortable clothes.
Some walked alone.
Most moved in groups with friends they had met during the selection process.
Sebas walked ahead of Aether at a brisk pace.
Every now and then, he checked the information panels mounted on the walls.
“Grand Dining Room…”
he muttered.
“The elevator is at the end of the corridor.”
Aether followed.
“So everyone eats in one place?”
Sebas:
“Every cadet.”
He raised one finger.
“Every.”
“Six thousand people.”
Aether frowned slightly.
“Six thousand?”
Sebas nodded.
“Roughly.”
“That’s the total number of cadets across all three active years.”
He pointed toward a large panel at the end of the corridor.
“The academy has three active years.”
“First year, second year, and third year.”
“And they all eat in the Grand Dining Room.”
Aether looked toward the panel.
Numbers showing the cadet distribution were displayed across it.
But before he could read further…
they reached the end of the corridor.
A vast room opened before them.
In the center…
stood a circular platform.
It wasn’t like an ordinary elevator.
There were no metal doors.
No cables.
Only an enormous magic circle engraved into the floor.
Sebas stopped.
“There.”
“Here it is.”
Aether stared at the platform.
“This is the elevator?”
“That’s what they call it.”
Sebas stepped onto the circle.
Aether followed.
Several other cadets began filling the platform.
One.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
Within moments…
dozens of people stood on it.
Yet the platform was still spacious enough to accommodate everyone comfortably.
An instructor stood beside the platform.
“Grand Dining Room!”
“Make sure you’re inside the teleportation area!”
“That destination can only be accessed from this route!”
Several cadets nodded.
Aether looked down at the magic circle beneath his feet.
The runes began to glow.
Sebas stood beside him.
“Yeah.”
Sebas smiled.
“Hold on to something if you need to.”
Aether turned toward him.
“Why?”
Sebas hadn’t even finished speaking.
WHUUUM—
White light filled their vision.
There was no sensation of falling.
No shaking.
No explosive sound.
Just a brief pull on his body.
Then…
everything returned to normal.
Aether opened his eyes.
One second.
Maybe less.
He looked forward.
And for several moments…
he said nothing.
The Grand Dining Room.
It was…
far larger than he had imagined.
Enormous.
The ceiling stretched dozens of meters overhead.
Crystal lights hung in the air like constellations.
The marble floor extended so far that the far end of the hall seemed distant.
Hundreds of large tables were spread across the room.
Each was large enough to seat around twenty-five people.
Thousands of cadets moved between them.
Voices filled the room.
Laughter.
Calls.
The clatter of utensils.
Chairs scraping against the floor.
Even soft music could be heard from somewhere in the hall.
Everything blended together.
A sea of people.
Aether stood still.
Sebas grinned.
“See?”
Aether looked at him.
“This…”
“It’s bigger than I expected.”
Sebas:
“That’s GIMA.”
He raised both hands.
“If something can be made big…”
“…they’ll make it bigger.”
Aether laughed softly.
They began walking away from the teleportation platform.
Once they left it…
Aether noticed something.
Not everyone here was a new candidate.
Some cadets wore slightly different uniforms.
Several had year insignias on their shoulders.
Some walked casually, as though a place this enormous had long since become part of their daily lives.
Others sat reading.
Some were discussing training.
“That one is a third-year.”
Sebas pointed toward a cadet speaking with several others.
Aether watched him.
The young man’s aura felt different.
More mature.
More controlled.
Yet his strength was obvious even from several meters away.
“How do you know?”
“The uniform.”
Sebas pointed toward the small insignia on the cadet’s shoulder.
“And their year badge.”
Aether nodded.
They continued walking.
On the other side of the room…
a group of second-year cadets were laughing together.
One of them was even standing on top of a chair.
“Hey, idiot! If you lose again tomorrow, don’t blame your sword!”
“Shut up!”
“I heard that, bastard!”
Laughter erupted around the table.
Not far away…
a female cadet rested her head against a male cadet’s shoulder.
The two spoke quietly while eating.
Aether glanced at them.
“They’re…”
“A couple?”
Sebas finished for him.
“Looks like it.”
Aether raised an eyebrow.
“That’s allowed at GIMA?”
Sebas looked genuinely surprised by the question.
“Of course.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
Aether shook his head.
“Nothing.”
They continued walking.
The deeper they went into the Grand Dining Room…
the more noticeable the social division between Divisions became.
There were no separate rooms.
No barriers.
Everyone shared the same dining hall.
Yet most tables were occupied by cadets from the same Division.
Each table could seat around twenty-five people.
They didn’t have to be from the same year.
A first-year cadet could sit with a second- or third-year senior.
As long as they belonged to the same Division.
Some tables even contained a mixture of all three years.
A first-year cadet sat listening to a senior’s story.
At another table…
a group of third-years were giving advice to several juniors.
“So you’re a first-year?”
“Yeah.”
“Then don’t take too many extra missions during your first month.”
“Even if the bonus credit looks tempting.”
“Why?”
“You’ll regret it.”
“Even the easiest missions can be beyond ridiculous.”
“Speaking from experience?”
“Speaking for the entire year.”
Laughter came from their table.
Sebas smiled.
“Looks like the seniors here aren’t all that scary.”
Aether looked around.
“Seems like it.”
They continued farther into the dining hall.
Then…
Sebas stopped.
His gaze settled on an area to the right side of the Grand Dining Room.
Aether followed his eyes.
Three tables.
Only three.
Yet the area felt…
different.
They weren’t empty.
Several were already filled with cadets.
But their numbers were far smaller than those of the other Division tables.
Sebas nodded toward them.
“That’s our section.”
Aether looked.
“Special Division?”
“Yeah.”
Three tables for three years.
First year.
Second year.
Third year.
The numbers were small.
Only eighteen first-years.
Twenty-three second-years.
Twenty-one third-years.
A total of…
sixty-two cadets.
Compared to the thousands of other cadets…
the number was almost insignificant.
Yet there was something that made the area easy to recognize.
Their auras.
Several cadets sitting there weren’t doing anything remarkable.
They were simply eating.
Talking.
Or reading.
Yet the faint pressure of their Vestiges was clearly noticeable.
Not deliberately released.
Just a natural consequence of the power they possessed.
Several cadets from other Divisions who passed through the area even instinctively slowed their pace.
Sebas slipped both hands into his pockets.
“Sixty-two people.”
Aether looked at him.
“That’s not many.”
“Not at all.”
“Special Division has always been small.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Sebas smiled faintly.
“So don’t expect to hide in the crowd.”
Aether studied the three tables.
Several faces belonged to candidates he had seen during the registration process.
Others were completely unfamiliar.
But they all shared one thing.
They possessed Unique-Class Authorities.
Aether let out a quiet breath.
“At least we won’t have to search for our table.”
Sebas glanced at him.
“Why?”
Aether pointed toward the three tables.
“Because it’s pretty obvious there are only three tables for our Division.”
Sebas laughed.
“Good point.”
They began walking toward the Special Division area.
But before they could reach it…
a woman’s voice came from one of the tables.
“Hey.”
Sebas stopped.
A Siren Ghost stood beside the table.
She looked like a young woman with long hair that fell to her waist.
Her skin was smooth and pale.
Her eyes had a distinct sea-blue color.
She wore simple chef’s clothing with a white apron.
A small ordering panel rested in her hand.
She smiled at them.
“New cadets?”
Sebas nodded.
“Is it that obvious?”
The Siren Ghost glanced at their uniforms.
“A little.”
Sebas laughed.
Aether studied the woman.
She didn’t have the aura of a ghost.
Her body seemed completely physical.
Her footsteps made sounds.
Her hands could touch the table.
And her expression looked completely alive.
Sebas pointed at her.
“So it’s true…”
“You’re the ones who prepare the food for each table?”
The Siren Ghost nodded.
“That’s right.”
Sebas looked at Aether.
“Then…”
He grinned.
“I think..”
“I’m starting to like this place.”
Aether smiled faintly.
“You haven’t even eaten yet.”
“That’s why I said I’m starting to.”
The Siren Ghost laughed softly.
“Then…”
“Welcome to GIMA.”
She raised the ordering panel.
“Pick a seat.”
“Then call me when you’re ready to order.”
Sebas nodded.
“Thank you.”
They finally reached one of the three Special Division tables.
Aether pulled out a chair.
He sat down.
Sebas took the seat beside him.
Around them…
other cadets gradually began filling the table.
Several first-years.
Several seniors.
Some already knew each other.
Others were meeting for the first time.
For the first time since entering GIMA…
Aether found himself sitting among dozens of people he didn’t know at all.
Yet strangely…
the atmosphere didn’t feel unfamiliar.
Conversations surrounded him.
Laughter.
The sound of plates.
The voices of the Siren Ghosts taking orders.
And above it all…
the Grand Dining Room continued to live and breathe.
Six thousand cadets.
Three active years.
Five Divisions.
Dozens of lives unfolding side by side.
Aether looked around the room once more.
Maybe…
he thought.
This was what life at GIMA was going to be like.
VERY LUXURY YEAH!?