"Hi, I'm Sofia Ansari. Nice to have you here." It's already an hour since Tessa stepped into the academy and within this short time many things had already occurred to her. First she had a short trouble in the gate where the Archmage herself was checking the newcomers. In the turn of Tessa the Relic beeped twice which was unusual. " Hmmm .... That's strange.. I have never seen such unusual life exilire. Are you Ms. Malven, her majesty was referring to?" Tessa nodded like innocent . " You may enter. " Tessa let out a sigh as she thought, she was about to get caught. The academy and its area was so vast that she almost got lost. Finally when she made it up to the 'Resonance camp' it was about to be over.
( Note for readers: This academy doesn't rank students by magic or combat strength.
Instead, every student has a "Resonance Core" — a crystal placed in a bracelet they must wear until their last day here. It basically measures the balance between their life exilire health and their magical ability and tells about the aura intensity an individual possesses.)
" You have very low Aura .... You must have been really sick dear. " Professor Drin said as he gave her the bracelet. Tessa instantly remembered it was the empress's plan to hide her identity like this. While the admission process , she herself wrote a letter to the head of the academy stating that Tessa was a very sickly child and survived a huge accident recently. As a human she doesn't have an aura intensity to be captured here but thanks to Jacob's dagger...she passed through these two stages somehow.Tessa was first hesitant to lie but later she agreed as her existence here depends on this white lies.
" Thank you for your concern, professor. I shall try to not to bother anyone much . " She took her leave. " Phew... That's was close. But anyways ahh . .. that's the dormatory area I guess. " She looked at the board written 'Harmonious Stay ' . Here in the gate everyone was lined up for the bracelet scan.
(This determines a student current situation and according to it they were assigned dorms to stay. Basically compatiblity measurement to avoid any serious fights during special times)
" Hi , I'm Tessa Malven from Seron. Nice to meet you too. "
" You must be the one everyone talking about. But I didn't expect you here ... Do you have a low Aura? " Sofia said.
" Yes.. I do .. you know I was very sick from childhood and recently recovered from a accident....."
" Oh. . I'm sorry to hear that . But don't worry.. I also don't have much talent... I can't even properly use my magical ability ... So I won't judge you. "
" Thanks for understanding my situation Sofia... you are from ? "
" I'm from Grathon . But Gail is from Torf. "
" Gail? "
" Our other roommate. She went outside not much ago . She is a werewolf and I swear her ability to look far was quite impressive. But she also has low Aura level like us ... I hope she got recognised for her ability. "
" I see . " Tessa put her backpack into the desk . " I'm taking this bed then. Oh what's your core subject? "
"Business & Inter-Realm Trade" Sofia said .
" What's yours? .... Literature? Nice . You have a aura of a creator... Like you give off that vibe. Anyways let's go .. the orientation will be starting soon. We can't be late there. "
" Lessgoo"
The Academy was nothing like a simple educational institutions....
it was a floating fortress mixed with ancient charm and high-tech brilliance. Crystal bridges connected the buildings in mid-air, shimmering like liquid starlight. Massive ancient trees spiraled upward, their branches carved with magical runes faintly glowing.
Students walked around in uniforms that varied by race — vampires with red-threaded coats, werewolves in deep forest-silver jackets …Everyone looked elegant. Powerful. Otherworldly. They both entered in the grand hall of the academy and took a seat . The hall was decorated beautifully . Tessa was looking at the pillers while a voice made the whole hall silent. A commanding voice of a male roared like thunder. She saw on the podium a male student in silver jacket standing.
" Welcome to the new batch of the students. Wishing everyone a great academic journey ahead but before anything let me explain the simple rules everyone must follow till they are here and the potential office they can join. "
" He is Astras Vallenhert . The Head Captain. The heartthrob of our academy. I swear Tessa , while coming here I heard tons of ladies talking about him . "
" Really? "
" Don't you find him handsome? Well it's ok if you do even if we don't stand a chance... People with low Aura and low level magic usage don't have potential to charm him so we both can only daydream. "
" He is from Torf right? "
" Holy deity , how do you know? "
" From his silver jacket... He is a werewolf I presume and werewolves are mostly from Torf . "
" Great guess. I thought you are also a admirer of him. " Tessa and Sira both again started listening to the speech.
" I'm also the Head of DECNS. So if any oddities are seen , you have to face consequences for breaking the rules. And under my watch specially as I'm not a easy going. "
" What's DECNS? " Tessa asked.
" You don't know? It's ok.. That stands for the Student administration which is also run by students for the welfare and development of students. It has 5 section or committees - Discipline, Extra curricular, Cultural appreciation, Notice administration, Safety Group. Discipline committee ofc handles the overall discipline. Extra Curricular committee offers various different activities to enjoy your hobbies. Cultural appropriation committee deals with rich and different culture and it's unique values from 5 different places to create globalisation. So it arranges many different things. Notice administration sees over the Notice part .. like any order given from the teaching section or higher ones ...it also circulates emergency news and information. The Safety group Is newly opened for the hunters matter. The best Knight or Combat students are the part of this to ensure safety."
Tessa was dumbstuck after hearing the whole system. It's very new to her but it was also quite interesting. Astras' speech was ended .His silver eyes scanned the crowd.
" Today has no class for the newcomers. Take your jackets from the hall gate and refrain yourself from creating any disturbance. "
" He looks super tough. Must be very strict. "
Tessa gulped .
" Not only that ..... I heard he has the potential to become the advisor of the Royal Highness, the crown prince of the Empire Velmor. "
Tessa imagined both of them together and smiled. " Huh.... Jasper might be dead serious when he works but he atleast know how to crack jokes in free time. This guy is too stiff ..... He will definitely drain his energy. "
Tessa took her red jacket from the gate and went to eat the supper with Sofia.
" See that's Gail. GAILLLLL ... Here.."
Tessa saw another tall girl but she has a good health. Her brown hear was looking good with the silver jacket. She came forward, " Hi Sofia...you....must be Tessa right? Nice to see you. I'm Gail Setor."
" You know me? "
" Ofc you are a little bit famous among the Velmor students. Although I'm from Torf but I was just doing my supper with some and they were talking about you. "
" Why? ... I mean..."
" Don't mind them. You a vampire? "
" Umm ...yes? "
" Good to know that you are my roommate...you don't have that odd smell of a typical vampire. "
Tessa Tried to smile. " Umm .. maybe because my aura intensity is low. "
" That could be. Anyways let's not stand here and finish our supper. From tomorrow the real journey begins. "
All three of them sat together and had a meal. Tessa spent her first day but could she conceal her real identity for long without Jasper? " Let's see how much I can do. " She took a deep breath and dug in her food