Vermilia was incredibly vast. The land it covered was divided into several districts and sections, each with its specific purpose and origin. Most notably, the imperial palace, an imposing grandeur structure, was located in the city's central district. It was the residence of the Rangurd Emperor himself.

The districts directly around the palace formed what was known as the Rangurd's inner ring. This inner ring that surrounded the palace was where the wealthiest individuals resided. It was characterised by the large, ornate mansions, sprawling gardens and expensive boutiques. The city's inner districts were exclusive to the nobles who were situated in the Capital. There were also many fancy venues that these nobles used for their lavish parties and social gatherings. It was safe to assume that the closer to the palace your residence was, the higher your status and prestige. And the opposite could be said the further away from the palace you got. The outer sections of the Capital were where the Capital was most densely populated.

The Roa District was part of this 'inner ring', but its surroundings were void of any noble residences and instead repurposed into a hub for the students. This meant that the district could essentially act as its own independent area. This district had a long history for the people of the Capital, and the Academy had been located there for nearly as long as the beginning of the Empire. It had many supporting stores catering to student necessities and desires. The students could procure anything related to food, entertainment and equipment there.

The sky took on a scarlet hue as evening fell for Vermilia.

On the southern side of Vermilia was the Lachtis District. This was one of the areas where most of the residents were commoners. During the day, it was a bustling area filled with vendors selling various products, from fresh produce to handmade crafts. The district was also home to many small businesses, including restaurants, bakeries, and clothing stores. It was a hub of activity and was popular with both locals and visitors alike.

Kaiel was walking down the streets of the Lachtis District.

This was where Kaiel had spent most of his childhood. There were fewer extravagant buildings and more ordinary people. Things he was more used to. But being in the area, he was raised in did not make Kaiel feel at ease. He was not excited and, instead, wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Students of the Academy were allowed to leave as long as they returned before the curfew, which was in a few hours, at around 9 PM. Kaiel had travelled here using the transport system the Capital was famous for, its magic railway system. It was the fastest way of covering the significant distance between districts in the Capital. The only other method would be to hire a carriage, but that was a less popular method of transport in the Capital nowadays and typically only used by the nobles when they wanted to flaunt their wealth and prestige. And while the distance to his destination was traversable by foot, it would be quite an inefficient usage of his time.

According to what he knew, the railway cars were powered by enchanted engines that ran on the mana transmitted through the rails. It was a recent invention that revolutionised transportation in the Empire. However, he didn't know the details of how it all functioned as they were things he did not specialise in and had yet to look up.

The routes the rails had access to were limited to large cities for obvious reasons. It was impossible to have the tracks extend through any locations infested with monsters and behemoths. Even if we were to ignore the dangerous and arduous process of building the tracks in the face of constant danger, maintaining them was another matter entirely. It would be a waste of time and resources and could cause many deaths. The only option for people who wanted to go to or through these locations was by foot or carriage. Kaiel had to admit the speed at which the vehicle moved shocked him the first time he rode it to the Academy.

Soon, he was standing in front of a tavern named Laguna. This was the place he had lived in before entering the Academy. He pushed open the door and entered the building.

The inside of the building had an aged feeling to it. It was a cosy place with dim lighting and wooden furnishings, and the walls were adorned with old paintings and pictures. The sound of chatter and laughter from customers filled Kaiel's ears, and the aroma of expensive wine caressed his nose. It was a scent he was familiar with.

Behind the bar was a vast selection of alcoholic beverages from all over the Empire.

There was a female worker at the counter; she wore a bartender uniform and was currently cleaning. He recognised the woman and bowed his head politely. The woman looked at him briefly before closing her eyes and continuing to clean the mugs. "The boss is in the back."

Talia had worked here for as long as he could remember; she was a person of few words and extremely cold, ignoring almost everyone who spoke to her about a topic unrelated to her work. That's why any more words were unnecessary from Kaiel.

Kaiel went through a door leading to the back of the establishment. There were several rooms behind the tavern; the largest room was where he was headed. He saw various men along the way, and they shot him curious looks along the way. Once they realised who he was, they ignored him and returned to doing what they had done before. Slacking off.

The room had many crates stacked on top of each other against the walls. A table was pushed against the walls, and a middle-aged man sat beside it with his legs propped up. The chair he was sitting on was worn from usage, and the room was filled entirely with the putrid smell of cigars mixed with the smell of alcohol. On the table were many empty alcohol bottles on one side, closer to the man and alchemic potions of several different colours on the other half. They glowed dimly, indicating their magical properties.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The man had short hair that was starting to grey. He had several scars on his face, and they gave him a wild and intimidating appearance. He was wearing a long black overcoat and a white shirt underneath. The shirt had been left unbuttoned at his chest area, displaying his well-toned muscles and angling from his neck were two metal chains with some sort of locket attached.

This man was known as Zephyr Rutgall and could be considered to be Kaiel's guardian.

From what he could remember, this man took him in when he was an orphan in the slums of the Capital. And ever since then, he had been raised by this man.

Without even looking at him, Zephyr knew who it was; he spoke in a deep voice, "Kaiel. What did you come back for?"

It was reasonable that he was curious. For two months now, Kaiel had spent most of his time living in the Academy dorms. As such, they had scarcely met one another. Even the last time they had seen each other was last month.

"It's time for my monthly report."

Kaiel realised that it must've slipped his mind, Zephyr was always busy managing other business, so it wasn't all that surprising. While the man in front of him, in a way, was his family, Kaiel stood at the entrance of the room and stood ramrod straight with his hands behind his back. It was more like he was a subordinate talking to his superior.

"Ah, it's already that time again, huh."

Zephyr reached for one of the glowing bottles on the table, opened it and sniffed it slightly. He then held the liquid up into the light, closed one eye, and looked through it. Kaiel narrowed his eyes as he stared at the expensive-looking bottles. Alchemic potions were famous for having wondrous effects, being able to heal wounds, recovering your stamina and energy, and even boosting your strength temporarily, to name a few.

They were tremendously popular for Arts users, as potions could be vital and come in clutch in a life-or-death situation. Their only downside was they had undesirable drawbacks, so at most, only a few would be taken at a time, and only in desperate situations would one even consider drinking several at a time. If he knew Zephyr, the potions on the table differed from your bog standard and probably had unorthodox effects.

Maybe because he felt Kaiel's gaze concentrated on the vial, he held it over to him as though he was offering it to him, "Want it?"

The viscous liquid seemed to glow brighter as if to tempt him, but...

"I'm fine."

Kaiel tore his gaze away from the potion and refused without hesitation.

"Suit yourself. On with the report then."

Zephyr shrugged, and since the boy had refused, he ingested the potion himself. He gulped down the contents and threw the vial aside. It clanked and rattled around as it bounced onto the floor.

"As you know, the Academy releases its Rankings at the beginning of every month."

The man nodded slightly, "And...?"

"I ranked 5th in Theory... and in the combat ranking, I was ranked 302nd, and overall, I was ranked 205th.", There was a bit of hesitation in his voice as he finished the latter half of his words.

Zephyr was silent for a moment. Kaiel held his breath as the man mulled over what he had just heard.

"Is that so? It looks like you still have a lot of work to do in the combat department, don't you think?"

"...Yes."

"Still, it is an improvement from last month's results. So I can't complain that much."

Hearing this, Kaiel's face remained unchanged, but the hands behind his back clenched into fists.

"Since it's already been one month into your time at the Academy. It should be time for them to start badgering the lot of you to form those cute little teams of yours." Zephyr chuckled slightly as he found it amusing.

Kaiel nodded in confirmation, "Do you think it's a waste of time?"

"No, no. I think it's a great approach to teaching you brats. But the method and disciplines they preach are a bit too idealistic for my tastes. But what do I know? I'm no famous instructor at the Academy, and I certainly haven't made a name for myself."

The two had known each other for a long time now. But even then, Kaiel did not know much regarding Zephyr's background. He did know that he had travelled around the world at one point and had settled in the Capital afterwards. However, he didn't know why and never dared to ask.

It did surprise him that the man talked so much. Usually, he was not a fan of wasting his breath. But, perhaps he was in a good mood today.

"Have you already joined a team?"

"Not yet."

"I don't think it needs to be said, but be careful of who you interact with and whose team you choose to be on."

Kaiel refrained from telling the man that it would most likely end up being left to random allocation. It was too much hassle to deal with.

"So for this next month, forget the theory ranking. Maintain it, but don't bother trying to go any higher. Even after a whole month, you only rose by two ranks. At this point, it's meaningless."

"...But..."

Zephyr denied him his chance to speak, "Focus on your training and the results from those team activities. The Academy places tremendous importance on them and always invests a lot of its resources into them."

Others would argue that this was an impressive feat. But Zephyr was inclined to think otherwise, and Kaiel could not refute him.

"The academy will likely introduce another ranking system on top of the pre-existing ones after the deadline. With your current capabilities, unless you are extremely lucky and somehow manage to get into a team with top-tier talents, becoming the top-ranked team would be an impossible goal. But fortunately, I don't need you to be the best. There's no need as long as you reach a certain quota."

"As for your next individual assessment, supposedly, they will allow visitors from outside of the academy. And I heard an interesting piece of news from the boys earlier. The Imperial Prince himself will be present to view the event. I don't know what he's after, but he sure has a helluva lot of time on his hands, don't you think?"

Kaiel didn't doubt the man's words. Zephyr had many unsavoury connections throughout the city, and he had always known things like this earlier than others.

"If I have time, I'll probably be there too. So, try your best."

The man then waved his hand, shooing the boy away. Kaiel bowed to the man before preparing to leave. He paused when the man spoke once last time, "Kaiel."

Kaiel turned his head to look at Zephyr. He noticed that, for the first time, Zephyr looked Kaiel in the eyes. His dull grey eyes were emotionless, "Don't disappoint me."

He had several thoughts on the matter, but he knew better than to express them. Thus, he responded obediently, "I understand."

He bowed one last time and finally left.