Dyon started. 'For a king to not appear in 10 years… I feel like there's more to this story…'
But, Ri immediately changed the subject. Dyon didn't find this to be suspicious at all, who wouldn't feel complicated when they spoke of their missing uncle?
"Anyway, don't be a hot head and hop into the life and death arenas. Don't accept challenges to the ancient games, I suck at them because I'm half human, let alone you being a full human. Be sure to really think about it if you want to use the unique type technique, there's always the possibility of you crippling your soul cultivation as opposed to helping it."
Ri seemed to be rushing through information as they neared a massive castle like structure, except much like the rest of city, the stones were made of marble and jade.
What was even more odd was the fact that other than its basic structure, it had no other features of one. It stood in a cul-de-sac, completely out of place with the buildings around it. If it wasn't for the fact that it was hundreds of meters across, you'd never think it was worth its prestige as one of the 3 main academies of the Elvin Kingdom.
Ri smiled, seeming to enjoy Dyon's confusion.
"There's another important thing I forgot to tell you. Elves, because our population is relatively small compared to other nations, live on this small island rather than having an entire continent to ourselves like the humans do. That's partially due to infertility issues, but unimportant... The point I'm trying to make is that although the area we take up is small… well, you'd better not take anything at face value."
Dyon was going to ask Ri what she meant but all his thoughts were interrupted by his surprise. Ri had flashed a badge at the large doors of the castle, and Dyon was greeted with the fresh air from a completely different world.
The castle doors led into a field of flowers and sunlight. There was an elegant jade path leading towards the largest structure Dyon had ever seen. The fields were filled with Elvin students. They chatted and laughed, trained and sweated. The air was fresh and revitalizing. The energy in the air was so dense that Dyon's body almost bulged greedily.
After kilometers of fields, a building reminiscent of ancient times was found at the end of the path. It stretched out as far as Dyon's eyes could see in either direction and was at least 5 stories high.
Ri interrupted Dyon's thoughts, "although you can't see it now, the school building is actually a massive square. Within it, there are a whole bunch of things to do although the most popular is probably the ancient games. So, what do you think?"
Dyon couldn't speak for a while… 'all of their buildings… have pocket dimensions within them?! What kind of nonsense is this?!"
Ri's grin was wide as she watched Dyon's reaction with a bit of pride. "Welcome to Acacia Academy"
As Dyon and Ri walked along the path through the field, they were the subject of a few glances, but, nothing too substantial happened.
Soon, they reached the opening of the large square structure. There wasn't an actual door, the opening led straight into the largest atrium Dyon had ever seen. On top of this, the entire first floor of the massive square shaped structure was nothing but pillars holding up the above four floors. Within the inner space, many oddly shaped stairs connected the ground floor to the above ones.
"Oh, there's one last thing I forgot to tell you. The preferred form of currency at Acacia, and the city in general, are intent fruits, so profound stones won't do you much good. Especially since most students who attend this academy are from very well-off families."
Dyon nodded. He didn't mind too much since he had left all the profound stones he hadn't used in training with the orphans anyway.
"Doesn't matter too much, anyway, how do I regis –"
"RI!"
A shout reverberated through the atrium. The few students who were walking around were shaken out of their thoughts. Before Dyon could even react, a gust of wind had appeared by his side and Ri was no longer on her two feet.
"Headmaster?" the students in the surroundings shook their head when the recognized the one who had called out.
Dyon was stunned. He had no idea how to react…
"I've missed you! Where've you been young lady! You shouldn't let your father worry so much!"
Ri was struggling to respond, but she was being hugged too tightly.
A laugh escaped Dyon.
"To witness the fiery Ri as a doted daughter might be the best thing I've ever seen."
Ri struggled to turn her head just so she could give him a scornful look, but Dyon wasn't paying attention to her anymore. His eyes were trained on the tall and lean man beside him. His hair was a deep and dark blue that rivaled even Ri's in length.
He was taller than Dyon by an entire head, and his presence was suffocating despite his now childish appearance. His features were sharp, and his eyes matched his hair, but all that paled in comparison to the bright smile his face had when hugging Ri.
"Dad… let go," Ri finally coughed out.
Ri finally sighed in relief once her father set her down. Having done so, Ri's father finally looked over to Dyon.
"Yhis is?..."
"Ah, yes, I met him while I was with mom. He's hoping to join the academy, I was hoping you'd help him out."
Dyon didn't let his confusion show on his face. He just assumed that this was a story Ri came up with so that those who were listening in wouldn't inquire as to who he was so much. The details of how they met, especially the high-level spatial ring Dyon had, might lead to his danger. It wasn't that Dyon liked playing it lowkey at all, but he decided to just let Ri give whatever explanation she wanted.
Ri's father raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "As long as he meets the requirements, no one would complain if he has my recommendation," he aimed a light smile towards Dyon.
'This is what a true expert is… I've never felt this sort of pressure from the other elders.'
"Don't worry dad, there shouldn't be an issue. He has an innate aurora, there's no way he wouldn't meet the mark."
A look of surprise flashed across the headmaster's features. "An innate aurora? I've never seen such a thing before, would you mind showing me?"
Dyon smiled, the curiosity of the headmaster gave him a feeling akin to a kid of Christmas morning. Of course, Dyon had no problems demonstrating.
His eyes flashed in gold as a simple array began to be formed in from of him. Unbeknownst to Dyon, when those around heard Ri say he had an innate aurora, they had already focused their attention onto him. Whispers of astonishment filled the atrium.
