House of Amarin

When the day of the new semester came, all of the first-year students were assigned to one class. They were gathering in a vast auditorium, sitting in multiple rows, numbering more than a hundred. Lia wanted to sit right at the front, but luckily, Koadriana could persuade her to walk straight to the back, at the highest point, saying they could see everything from there.

"Good job." Aurora wrote to Koadriana, who whispered back to her.

"No way I sit right in front of a teacher… damn! I wouldn't be able to sleep then!"

"I won't bail you out if you flunk the courses," Aurora added.

"Please, what can they teach us we do not know? Especially for someone like you? I bet you are the only one here who fought against the undead. None of us even seen one yet!"

"Yeah, you fought those!" Lia cut in, catching onto the word 'undead' immediately. "What was it like?"

"Mmm…" Aurora tilted her head. "Dangerous. They are hard to kill because they are already dead."

"Makes sense." Koadriana chuckled. She wanted to say something more when the door opened to the auditorium, and a young-looking man walked in. He let his long, white tail sweep behind him, closing the door as he walked up to the podium, leaning against the teacher's table and looking over the youngsters with his ruby-like eyes. "Hey…" Koadriana whispered to the duo. "He is one sexy foxie!"

"Welcome!" Lucian clapped, sounding like a gong, silencing even the faintest murmur as its shockwave pressed onto them, strong enough to halt everyone's breath for a brief moment. "My name is Lucian, and I am the Institution of Eight Elements' Headmaster! For the next few years, you are going to be my students just as the students of the many teachers working at our prestigious Academy!" He started his speech, looking at them with a faint smile. "As this is the first day of your new life here, it is just and proper that I would welcome you!"

"He looks so fluffy!" Lia whispered in a mosquito-like voice, prompting even Aurora to nod, watching the swaying fox tail behind the Headmaster.

"I am always happy to see so many young talents coming to my Academy year after year!" Lucian continued in a cheerful voice. "All of you are going to have special lessons in the future aimed to help you master the element of yours! But for that, we need to determine what it is first!" He laughed, and his voice, even as he spoke calmly, echoed next to everyone's ears.

"He is strong…." Aurora signaled with her hands while Lia translated it to Koadriana. "That man fought many battles for sure! He has a look in his eyes that I only saw in our own Veterans!"

Lucian's eyes met with hers just as she 'said' it. It was only a fraction of a second, but Aurora knew that he sensed what they were talking about.

"First of all! Let me give everybody the most important thing in our Academy! Your very own identification! Look at it as your key to success in our Academy!" He said as he flicked his hand, and in front of everybody, a deeply violet-colored, swirling portal appeared, and a silver bracelet fell out right into their hands. "Put it on!" He said, and his voice was eerily commanding.

Lia didn't even hesitate, already excited, clamping it onto her left hand like she would do it with a watch. As soon as it was in place, it lit up, forming a perfect circle that she could not get off anymore. A small, colorful projection rose up from it, showing her figure dressed in the school's uniform. Next to it, she could read her name, age, body condition, height, weight, everything.

"Hey… My breasts are bigger…." Koadriana complained under her breath, reading her own stats, receiving some gazes as others, mainly guys, turned around, already checking out her chest.

"This is soooo coooool!" Lia squealed with sparkling eyes as she swiped on the image.

It quickly followed her command, switching tabs, and now it showed her schedule for the day, only having this lesson appear in it. With another swipe, she was greeted with a map detailing the city in the sky that she could manipulate, zoom in and out, or even place her unique markers. She was completely blown away as they had nothing like this at home. The next tab was even more interesting as it showed multiple slots, currently empty, yet a red line was drawn up under her own miniature image with a flaming emblem below it at the right end. Stealing a glance, she saw that Koadriana had a similar line under hers on the same page, but hers was blue with a water droplet, while Aurora's was purple with a violet, swirly badge.

"Oh… this must be our main proficiency?" Lia whispered as all three of them learned to manipulate an element they had the most affinity towards. In the House of Amarin, as soon as they were taught to read and write, they were also taught how to meditate and draw in mana from the air. Both Reyra and Kawu taught their kids spells, and Lia was no exception; she already had her own way of manipulating fire. "But I have never seen it like this…." She murmured, raising her hand, concentrating on one spell she knew.

Just as she did, in one of the empty brackets, a text appeared reading as 'ember.' Just by looking at it, Lia felt her mana react and be drawn into the bracelet as, from her fingers, a tiny, orange ember sparked forward, landing on the young boy's head, setting his black hair on fire immediately.

"Ah…" Lia gasped as soon the poor guy screamed out, suddenly being set ablaze. The fastest to react was Koadriana, snapping her fingers and pouring a bucket of water from nowhere onto the poor kid's head, extinguishing the flames. Yet it burnt long enough the leave his head completely bald and shining on the very top of it. "It was an accident!" Lia tried to explain as the guy stood up, huffing and puffing, looking at her. He was around 16 years old and tall, reaching approximately 190 centimeters. His face was chiseled as he was on the muscular side, already flexing his arms and twitching his eyelids. Nobody knew who he was, and neither did he know who was the one who turned his looks into a priestly one.

"You little bitch-" He growled, forgetting everything for a moment, but just as he managed to say it, an obsidian knife pointed directly at his neck, already drawing a thin line of blood from his skin. It was held in Aurora's hand, who appeared behind him, restraining him easily.

"Ahahaha~" Traveled Lucian's laugh to them, and it alone was enough to dispel Aurora's summoned blade and separate the two. "Our Academy does not forbid its students from dueling!" He continued, snapping his fingers, and a violet aura surrounded both the boy and Aurora as they were teleported back to their places, made to sit down as if nothing had happened at all. "But battles outside of official duels result in harsh punishments!" He explained patiently.

After finishing, both of their bracelets buzzed, and now they had a red stripe next to their names, with a slow-ticking down timer. For now, it showed 24 hours as it slowly counted backward.

"We have a three-strike system! You will automatically receive a strike if you break our rules. So when you have time, read them through~ Depending on the seriousness of your crimes, the strike may stay up for days, weeks, months… or years. Collect three of them at once, and you are going to be expelled. Immediately. No questions are asked, and there are NO ways to appeal any of the strikes! So be careful!" Lucian warned them with a friendly but also chilling smile.

"And here I thought, I am going to be the first to get into trouble…." Koadriana chuckled, but Aurora just shrugged, not really bothered by the fact.

"S-sorry…" Lia said, feeling guilty as she was let off scot-free, it seemed.

"No worries. It was an accident!" Aurora signed to her with a smile.

Looking at their images, the trio could see that the little bar under their pictures decreased slightly. It was clear that they represented their inner mana pools, accurately measuring how much power they could wield before running empty.

"Our little impromptu demonstration showed my next point!" Lucian grabbed everyone's attention again. "As newcomers, some of you may just start out learning magic! Some of you may come from prestigious families and already know some spells!" He waved his hand, clearly pointing toward the source of the previous incident. "As you know, true mages wield immense power! We have a responsibility to rein in this power! To harness it but not endearing others in our vicinity!"

"Hauh…" Lia played with the edge of her clothes, lowering her head, while Koadriana just chuckled, rubbing her head, hugging her close, knowing that her little cousin may be a troublemaker, but she would never be one to try and hurt others or provoke them.

"To achieve this," Lucian's monologue continued, "Mages use items to help them focus! Be it an exquisite staff decorated with jewels and artifacts or just a simple branch. An earring… or a bracelet." He said, looking over everyone. "The one on your hands will be your first enchanted artifact, helping you to focus your mana and spells! Our students, by the end of their graduation, usually find their own items they will carry as their companions in magic!"

"Like my grandpa's scepter." Koadriana whispered, still rubbing Lia's head, "It was left behind by one of my ancestors after becoming a Supri."

"Left behind?" Lia murmured, and the answer came from Lucian, who had just reached that point.

"Some of you may bring honor to our Academy with your own artifacts, and when you step into the Realm of the Three Ri, you will gift it to us!" He clapped, and behind him, a huge image appeared, showcasing a vault with thousands of artifacts floating above golden plaques containing the names of their owners and the date when they were donated to the Academy. "At that stage, you no longer need them; you no longer can use them! Those of our students who reached that stage came back, gifting them to us, and it is our honor to display them in our halls! Maybe one day, your own will be in our care, and you will leave your name here for eternity!"

"Is he trying to motivate us, or is he telling us to pay back our tuition fee if we succeed?" Aurora asked, writing with her fingers, while Koadriana just chuckled.

"Mom never told me I should use something like this…." Lia murmured, rubbing the bracelet on her wrist.

"Because we are taught to cast on our own. It helps you understand your body and not rely on crutches all the time!" Aurora explained, and as she only moved her fingers, nobody else could hear her, not drawing attention to them. "You are not at the Magi level yet. If you had reached it earlier, you would have been given one."

"Oh!" She exclaimed, tilting her head. "You already had your own?"

"I used a combat knife in the army." Aurora nodded while Koadriana also answered.

"I use a ring." She raised her hand, having a blue ring on her right pinky finger.

"Ah… I get it now!" Lia nodded her head rapidly, now looking at the bracelet like a super handy treasure that she needed to be careful with.

"But I think this thing is even more potent…." Koadriana added, also rubbing it on her wrist as Lucian was still talking on the podium.

"Some of you may never have been taught how to take in mana from the world; worry not! We will teach you! Those of you who have already discovered your first element! Every mage instinctively knows which of the eight elements resonates best with their bodies! In theory, it is possible to learn all eight~ Or any of your choosing, but why would you start with the one that has the least affinity towards you?" Lucian smiled, explaining it to them as their first lesson. "You ought to start with what suits you the best! Everyone should just focus their mind on their bracelets! It will help you discover the element best suited for you!"

All the youngsters immediately went and did just that. Or at least those who have yet to start learning what it means to be a mage. For the trio of girls at the back, this was already something they did back when they were only four or five years old. Aurora was quickly discovered to be proficient in the element of Darkness. After being trained primarily by Kawu, she became skilled in fighting, ambushing, and dealing with enemies in close-quarters combat. When she joined the 4th branch and went under Solren's leadership, she quickly perfected her proficiency, becoming a deadly weapon by age 16. Koadriana was the same as she; like many from her branch of the family, she felt the closest to the element of Water. She especially liked to be part of the 3rd branch, as they lived on the shores of their territory, close to the most significant body of water in the whole realm. Lia's contact with mana was even more straightforward… she once set her father's beard on fire when still only 2 years old, then clapped and laughed happily as she watched him try to blow it out. Her mana was easily manipulated from a very young age. She only had difficulties raising her own pool of it and climbing upwards in ranks. Something was interfering with her concentration when meditating, and neither her parents had found a solution yet, turning their daughter into the slowest among their children regarding the growth of her magic.

As the trio looked around, they suddenly realized an emblem had appeared on their vests from nowhere without them realizing it. Lia's was crimson in color, forming the image of a flame, while Koa's was blue and in the shape of a water droplet. Aurora gently tapped on hers as it was deep purple, just like her hair, and in the form of a smoke cloud. Everyone else found that after their bracelet recognized their innate affinity, it was showcased on their uniform instantly. As they proudly examined it, Lucian's voice again grabbed their attention.

"Today, this is your only class." He smiled, watching the hundreds of excited faces, "You have time to explore your new gift, the school, and familiarize yourself with each other! Tomorrow is going to be the first real day for you, so don't be late!" He explained, fixing his clothes. "Hopefully, this is the first and last time you all see me before graduation! If we meet again before that, that could mean only two things! You are either in big trouble, or you achieved something incredible! Oh, yeah!" He stopped, looking back at them from the door. "Only those who reached the state of Magi Adepti can graduate. Everyone else who fails to reach it in four years… is expelled at the end. So work hard~" He winked at them before disappearing into nothingness, leaving a shocked group behind.

"Then we are safe!" Aurora wrote in the air, drawing out a sigh from Koadriana too. The two were already at the stage of Magi; they just had to go through their first tribulation and step into the level of Adepti. On the other hand, Lia felt pressure mounting on her, knowing full well she was not the fastest when it came to advancing. By the time her brothers were 12, as she now, they were preparing for their tribulation.

"Relax!" Koadriana laughed, watching her face, rubbing her head. "Four years is a long time!"

“U-um… I… I hope so!” Lia gulped.

"Let's go; grab something to eat!" Koadriana said, standing up, but before the three could go, the guy who was set ablaze stepped in front of them, drawing many pairs of eyes to their group.

"I challenge you." He said, eyeing Lia, who barely reached up to his chest.

"Listen-" Koadriana furrowed her brows, already stepping before Lia while Aurora summoned a black knife into her hand, holding it behind his back, ready to intervene.

"It is fine, Koa! Aurora," Lia stepped before them, looking into the eyes of the guy. "I accept!"

Just as she said it, both of their bracelets suddenly lit up, and they could hear a synthetic yet charming female voice speak up.

"An official duel has been initiated. The challenged party; please name the date of the duel."

"Oh…" Everyone flinched as they were not told how this would work, and they were finding it out live. "Well…" Lia tilted her head. "I am fine doing it right now!"

"Arena D12 booked." The voice said as a one-hour countdown appeared for both of them. "Please head to the designated arena marked on your map. If you fail to appear in an hour, the duel is considered forfeit, and the challenger is deemed victorious. CP will be distributed accordingly while the challenged will receive punishment."

"CP?" Lia asked reflexively while Aurora answered, writing into the air as she flipped through the many menus on her new device.

"Contribution Points. It says it is the currency inside the Academy. Everyone starts with a 100. Winning a duel can award one with five and upwards, depending on… many things." She wrote it very quickly, still reading it. "It says there are even ranking lists for not just duelings but the number of points one has. Oh… there is a list of the biggest offenders and most punishments… I am surprised Koa is not on it already."

"Fuck you." Koadriana scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You almost killed the guy on the first day. You ARE on the list already!"

"Oh." Aurora nodded. "True."

"Hey!" The man shouted, drawing their attention back to himself. "Are we doing this or not?" He asked, getting irritated being ignored by them.

"Sure!" all three answered at the same time. "Let's go!" Lia laughed, fired up as they were followed by many of the first-year students, curious about what would happen next.