"Which one of you is Ezra?"
"I am" Ezra replies.
She taps off the slab and lands in front of Ezra.
Her gaze pervades him. "Interesting" she mutters. 'I can't feel anything from him, no, even his presence has been suppressed to an extent'
Then, her gaze pervades the siblings. "What do we have here? You all are very peculiar"
"One who can rile up Arron so easily" She encircles them as she speaks, a smile appearing on her face. "I sense mana from you five, at least the level of early advanced rank, it seems we'll be witnessing the birth of many stars this time around…how exciting!"
Ezra coughs, handing her the admittance letters Bolton gave him.
"I believe that is sufficient to prove our identities?"
"Of course," she replies, "Only…you might have a bit of a problem"
"What problem?"
"Before that, I'd rather not have you standing for so long" she pulled a row of chairs to her then sat.
"Let's start like this" she begins, "I assume you saw the building one the way here"
They nodded.
"Good. Then I must also presume that you wondered why such a prestigious academy is devoid of students, yes?"
They nod again.
"It's a simple matter. On the Emperor's order, we've were barred from accepting new entries for the past five years"
Ezra nodded; he knew of this.
"Now, just how many students do you think stand at our gates?"
"None. I saw no one when coming here" Ezra answered matter-of-factly.
She giggled, "That's because we already sent them away, we would have done the same for you as well, lest your status"
"You don't mean to tell me-
"It's exactly so. The academy can only accommodate a few more students"
"This should be Niton's royal academy, just how many students could you have-
"More than fifteen thousand"
Ezra calmed, eyeing the woman.
"I don't believe it, how is it that I met none of these students of my way here? And if they're that many, throwing out just five of them should be no problem"
She nods, drawing a floating teapot and cup to her lap, of which she takes a sip.
"For why you didn't see any of them, it's because they are right here!"
A snap of her fingers as the shelves move to the side as a wave of voices hit them.
The siblings were amazed at the masterful use of magic.
"Take this you b#stard!"
"Oh yeah? What about this?!"
"Look, its Valentine Kreel!"
"Hooo! How gorgeous!"
Meanwhile, Ezra gaze pervaded the swarm of people akin to ants, each person in different clothes.
Then, a fingersnap later, the shelves go back to their former positions and the sound recedes.
"What are they doing?"
"Taking the last of the entry tests"
"As for your second question. Truly, it would have not been a problem to replace some of them…if not for your father"
"What of him?"
"Those unable to arrive on time are barred admittance, regardless of status"
"What does 'arrive on time' mean?"
"Arrival before the start of the entry tests. Which was three days ago"
"You seem to love wordplay"
"Excuse me?"
"You just told me that the Emperor gave the verdict. Those letters in your hand, who are they from? The King of Covaria???"
She laughed, her forehead creasing. "You seem to have misunderstood"
Ezra raised a brow.
"If it were normal times, I could easily replace anyone, but not now" she continues. "Every single child you see outside is either offspring of nobility or something similar"
"They are all children of powerful people, either that, or suitably talented"
Ezra was beginning to understand.
"Now, I previously mentioned a populace of more than fifteen thousand, but they were initially more than thirty thousand applicants"
The sibling's eyes widened.
"Half of them were cut off within the first two tests-and they're still too much…so we'll have to cut them off even more"
"Many of them-thousands actually-are at the advanced rank, and we even have a few at the Expert rank"
"Then, thanks to the five-year ban, majority have grown past the normal age of entry, forcing us to add an age criterion"
"Which is?"
"Fifteen to twenty-eight years. And as I've been told, you are merely twelve"
"Even so-
"Let me finish"
"I've told you all this so you understand the real point-if I do admit you, which I clearly can-life here will be incredibly difficult"
"First, you'd have to pass the entry tests" she stares. "From what I can see, that shouldn't be a problem-the problem comes after"
"The large student populace forced us to change our grading systems"
"How so?"
"I'm getting to that, and I don't like being interrupted"
"Okay"
"Previously, one to a bit above two thousand was the yearly student populace, four thousand was our former highest. With those, we could concentrate effort and resources on each individual and achieve remarkable results year after year" she exhales. "We can't do that with ten thousand. It would exhaust the professors, resources, and then, results would be mediocre"
Ezra gleaned something from that 'So, ten thousand is the planned limit'
"What do you plan to do?"
"Again, I'm getting to it" she sighed. "At the Entry test, students would be awarded a crest to signify their position. These crests have numbers on them, and the lower the number, the higher the benefits"
Ezra smiled. "And let me guess…you can take these 'crests' from one another?"
"Exactly. But you can't steal them, buy them or hide them. Only through spectated duels can they be won"
"Housing quality, food quality, resource allocation, monthly allowances and much more, are decided by one's crest"
At this point, Ezra burst out laughing, "Isn't that a bit too cruel?"
"Not at all. Firstly, when challenging, the challenger gets to choose the battlefield, and the duration of battle"
"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"
She shook her head. "As the one holding a higher position, one's skills should be applicable no matter the situation, if your surroundings defeat you, it just means you're weak"
She added, "Of course, the details of any duel are sent to the professors for approval"
Ezra nods, "So, some duel will be unallowed?"
"Fighting a fire mage underwater for example, when you're less than ten numbers below him will be unallowed"
"Hmm?" Ezra caught onto something. "What if the challenger if twenty numbers below him?"
"It depends. But we'll most likely allow it" she smiled.
"Brutal" Ezra muttered. Holding his chin "But certainly effective"
"Thank you" she says. "Then, just as crest decide benefits, they decide test levels"
"Rank one to ten for example, will be required to kill a beast two sub-ranks above them every two months. Rank eleven to twenty are required to kill a beast two sub ranks above them every three months, while rank twenty-one to thirty kill the same sort of beast, but every four months. And that's only part of the requirements"
"What happens if a requirement is unfulfilled?"
"Simple, your benefits are reduced. A crest is given to signify one's worth, and you must keep proving your worth to keep it. That's why it's called a worth crest" she locks gazes with Ezra. "So? Will you still be joining?"
"Hoo…" Ezra was amazed, his hands clasped. His mind was spinning.
No, he didn't think it was hard. He thought it was too easy.
'There's no way another master exists at my age' he confirmed, then he thought, 'Except the person had mana stones'
The probability of another having a mana stone was abysmal, the probability that that person would be a student of this academy was even more abysmal, Ezra didn't even consider it.
'Still though' Ezra was having second thoughts. 'Is there no other way?'
At master rank, the number one crest was confirmed.
But… 'That's too much attention'
He knew not the intentions of his enemies, those known or hidden.
To show off like this would bring no real good.
He could control his strength to just enough to get first place. But that would expose him as an Expert.
An Expert at twelve years. He'd wouldn't be surprised if thwarting assassinations became a routine, when, even before revealing himself, a master had come to take his head.
The benefits? Pfft.
What could they give Ezra that amounted to a single mana stone? Simple, nothing!
Housing? He could buy a hotel and renovate it. Food? That he could buy anywhere. Money? Don't even mention it.
He realized. 'This academy has little to benefit me'
If he had to pinpoint the main benefit, it would be information.
The books in the academy were regularly updated-those in the castle were not-holding stocks of indispensable knowledge.
Then, he had the insights of the best professors to learn from.
Considering that information was brought him mana stones… 'Maybe the benefit is not so little?'
'But I don't need to stand out to learn'
It hit him. 'Should I just pretend to be weak?'
That seemed viable…Ezra shook his head.
'If nothing else, my status won't allow me to be'
His status as the fourth prince. No matter what he did, was bound to be something people used to judge his actions.
Thinking further, acting weak would cost him a lot in the long run.
For one, he would lose the Emperor's favour.
Then, if he was to go through with the plan of becoming the Emperor, an outstanding or at least extraordinary reputation was needed.
A reputation that would represent him in his absence.
Acting weak didn't cut it. Especially considering that he was hailed the genius of a millennium.
Most had probably forgotten it by now, but once news of his activities spread, it was bound to be dug up.
Ezra scratched his head, frustrated. 'I guess everything has its disadvantages'
He sighed.
