Alex staggered as he entered the academy, finding himself in the bustling hallway. Examinees hurried past him, some casting fleeting glances his way, but none lingered to stare before moving on. Alex's back arched forward, almost comically, his hips pressed against the wall, and his hands braced on his knees. The old man had placed an unimaginable weight upon him, a pressure that defied belief. He had never experienced anything so intense. No one had ever dared to force their aura upon him and bend him to their will, but the old man had done just that.
Alex bit his lip, realizing he was simply too weak for the outside world. The mocking voices of the crowd still echoed in his mind, each jeer like an arrow piercing his chest. His skin was too thin to shrug it off, and the sting of their words lingered. Gradually, his heart began to calm. It had pounded so violently against his ribcage that, if not for that barrier of bone, it might have burst free.
At last, Alex understood why his parents had been so adamant about not letting him leave the palace all these years—they had only wanted to protect him. As a level one, he would have become an easy target for others. Being the heir to the ducal house made it even worse; there were those who would want to kidnap or kill him for their own gain. Thankfully, the academy was a sanctuary from the dangers of the outside world. Princess Eva and his grandfather had both made it clear that the academy was the safest place he could be.
The academy boasted some of the most powerful teachers, and its principal was said to be unmatched in strength. His grandfather, Ragnar, had not revealed much, but Alex had sensed from his tone that the principal's power was beyond reason. That was why his grandfather had felt comfortable allowing him to attend the academy.
Alex drew a long breath, straightened his posture, and smoothed his clothes before joining the flow of examinees. They moved steadily toward a vast hall where notices were posted on the walls. A huge crowd had gathered, and examinees jostled and pushed each other to get a better view.
Alex reached the crowd and scanned the wall in front of him. There were lists of names organized by classroom for the written exam. Since some examinees were still undergoing the level-checking test, it would be a while before the written exam officially began. However, the way the crowd swelled around the notices suggested it would start soon. Not wanting to risk getting lost in the labyrinthine hallways, Alex began searching for his name, determined to be early and seated in his assigned spot.
Alex could not find his name among the notice list posted high on the wall. He began edging his way forward, gently pushing past others to examine the notices hung lower, which had been hidden behind the crowd.
Examinees blocked Alex's path, and as he pushed them aside, one elbow nearly struck his face. He dodged it. He raised his hands to shield himself as he squeezed and squirmed through the dense crowd.
After struggling for nearly five minutes, Alex finally reached the front. There were so many examinees that it felt almost impossible to get close to the front. But, he somehow managed. A transparent barrier seemed to keep them from touching the notice list, likely to prevent anyone from tearing them down in frustration.
Alex searched for his name, the din of voices piercing his ears, when suddenly someone grabbed his hand and shoved him aside to look at the papers. The boy was of similar height, with short red hair that stood upright, almost resembling jagged peaks. He had black eyes, and something about his face seemed oddly familiar to Alex.
Alex focused back on the notice list. He feared being pushed back. Alex scanned the lists for his own name. Relief washed over him as he spotted 'Alex Drakethorne' listed under class Z-20.
Alex was jostled backward by the press of bodies, but he kept his eyes locked on the list to make sure he had seen correctly. Yes, it was Z-20. Within moments, he was pushed out of the crowd entirely. The examinees seemed to be wrestling one another for a better view. He wondered why no one had thought to organize this chaos by assigning staff to help manage the crowd.
Alex began striding back down the hallway, following the direction of the notice board. Classrooms lined the left side, while tall windows on the right revealed a sprawling garden and massive doors that stretched high above, almost unnecessarily grand. The ceiling soared overhead, at least twice as high as any ceiling in his own palace. He wondered for whom such grandeur had been intended.
Alex glanced at the nameplates above each door, which were arranged in alphabetical order. The first room he passed after leaving the notice hall was 'A-1,' with 'A-2' next to it. He wanted to run to his own classroom, but there were so many examinees crowded into the corridor that he would have collided with someone at every turn if he tried.
Some examinees filed into 'A-3,' others into 'A-1,' and soon Alex realized that the A-section continued all the way to 'A-50.' The hallway seemed to stretch on forever, and even the garden outside appeared endless when he squinted through the windows. Surely, some kind of magic had been used to create this illusion of infinite space. He wondered if he would ever learn such spells himself.
Alex pressed onward, the crowd of examinees gradually thinning as more and more slipped into their classrooms. Some students wore tense expressions, others gnawed nervously at their nails, and a few had already laid their heads down to nap at their desks. At the front of each classroom stood a man or woman, sharply dressed in a suit, likely an invigilator. They held papers—some clutched them to their chests, others gripped them tightly, and a few had set them on the center desk near the whiteboard.
Alex had only just reached the classroom labeled 'G-5' when he finally found enough space to move freely. He dashed forward, impatience gnawing at him. Shouldn't there be some sort of teleportation prepared to help students reach their classes? The distance seemed endless, and even after twenty minutes of walking, he had only just made it to 'G-5'—he still had a long way to go before reaching 'Z-20.'
Alex kept running on, and soon found the hallway thinning out as fewer students remained. He apologized whenever he accidentally brushed against someone's shoulder. Most appeared irritated by him, but a few were so anxious about the exam that they barely noticed him at all.
At last, Alex managed to reach the 'Z-1' classroom after what felt like another ten minutes. The room was already half-filled, and he felt a surge of excitement for the written exam. He had studied hard and prepared well. As he finally spotted his own classroom, 'Z-20,' he became so focused on the nameplate that he failed to notice someone walking toward him until he collided with them.
Alex stumbled backward and landed hard on the floor, pain shooting up from where he landed. He had bumped into a girl. The girl also took a step back but did not fall. Her long black hair flowed like a waterfall down to her waist, her skin was porcelain pale, and her eyes were as white as freshly fallen snow. He recognized those eyes instantly; they were the unmistakable hallmark of the Veilcaster grand ducal house.
The girl turned to Alex with a frustrated expression, her eyes as icy as her younger sister Thalia's—eyes he had seen before. But then her gaze immediately softened, and she smiled. She extended her hand for him to take, but Alex, unsure of what to do, chose not to take it and pulled himself to his feet without assistance.
The girl's lips twitched, and he saw it before she masked it into a smile. He swore that he saw it; it was a subtle twitch, but she was too quick to mask it.
"I am sorry, it was my fault," Alex apologized, bowing his head.
"No need for that, it was also partly my fault for not seeing you coming," she replied, her voice sweet as honey.
Alex lifted his head and scratched his cheek awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
"Oh my, how bad of me to make you wait. You should hurry to class and clear your mind so you can do your best," she continued, raising her hand in front of her mouth.
"...Um, sure," Alex replied and stopped in front of his classroom. The invigilator nodded and asked, "Name?"
"Alex Drakethorne," Alex answered as he entered the class.
The invigilator was a man with broad shoulders and short, straight black hair. A scar ran over his left eye, and his right eye twitched at the sound of Alex's name.
"Last desk of the second row from the door," he said, pointing to the back.
The room was spacious enough to have four rows of desks lined up neatly, and some examinees were already seated in their seats. They seemed to analyze him, piqued by him as if he were some otherworldly object, and some were clearly disinterested in him. He recalled that some of the faces were there when he tested his level. Others were probably not present there, and they must have heard his childhood tales to admire him like that. He felt they would soon have the same disinterested face once they knew his level.
He reached the last desk while the class watched his every step. After sitting down, he let out a breath he had not realized he was holding.
***
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