Chapter 1. Awakening.

P5: The start of the entrance exam.

One week had passed since I confronted Draculos, now going by the name Dracula. Today was the day that Transylvania Magic Academy would conduct the entrance exams.

It was a sunny afternoon, a perfect day for the exams. There I stood in front of the gates to the academy with many young people who all carried envelopes which were the invitations needed to partake in the exams that Dracula told me about.

I made my way through the gates which were wide open to let the immense mass of people inside.

Leyla should have also been here but I couldn't find her in the crowd of people.

Through the gates were various queues which led to desks and at those desks were instructors sitting on their chairs checking to ensure that the invitations were valid.

I made my way to one of those queues and stood in line.

I heard excitement from many to be here and also a great deal of anxiety from even more students because they wanted to study at the academy.

“Next,” The instructors said to the students moving the lines along.

“No, please….PLEASE! GIVE ME A CHANCE!” A person cried in the line to my right.

“This letter is a fake! Guards!” An instructor held a letter which she burnt with magic.

Two people in armour dragged the person out past the gates.

It was obvious that the forging of letters would not fly here.

After a while, I was the next in line.

“Please hand me your invitation.” The instructor held his hand out.

I reached into my pocket and handed him the card that Dracula gave to me.

“Here,” I said.

“Is this meant to be a joke to you?” The instructor said with his eyebrows frowning and a displeased tone.

“I was told that the card would be enough,” I told him.

He looked at the card carefully. *Gasp* “Is that…?” He changed his expression and tone from being unamused to being in complete shock.

“Please wait a moment,” The instructor got up from his chair and ran off inside the building.

Many of the people behind and beside me stared at me wanting to know what was going on. I was used to being the centre of attention during my reign as the King and knew how to deal with those situations.

Minutes later the instructor came back with another person following him.

The person behind was a woman with light purple hair, tall stature and was dressed in professional clothing.

You could tell immediately that she was strict and did not allow for the slightest of mistakes.

She came to the desk.

“Is this the boy?” She asked.

“Yes,” The instructor answered.

She held the card in her hand.

“Who are you?” She asked with a strict tone.

It's for the best for me to not tell her my real name. “It's Ilyas,” I said.

The queue behind was getting impatient which she seemed to notice.

“Let's head somewhere more private,” She said.

She led me away from the queue inside the building.

We were standing inside a giant hallway.

“Do you know what this card means?” She asked, holding the card in front of me.

“I was told that I can use this to participate in the exam,” I told her.

“Indeed, with this, you can partake without an issue. This card is only given to the most potentially gifted by nobles,” Now I understood why the instructor was shocked. It's not every day that someone would hand one of those cards.

“Aren't you going to ask who gave it to me?” I asked. I could see her face had curiosity written all over it.

*sigh* “We are not allowed to ask,” She said with disappointment.

“What happens next?” I asked her.

“You will partake in the exam, just keep in mind that instructors will keep an eye on you,” She warned me.

“I understand,” I nodded.

I was back outside and I was told to stand with the people whose invitation was real.

“Is that you?” Someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

I turned around and saw that it was Leyla.

“Hello, it's good to see you,” I shook her hand.

She looked confused.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

“Well, no one shakes hands when greeting a friend,” She told me.

Shaking hands and greeting your friends was common 5000 years ago.

“Then how do you greet your friends?” I asked.

“Most people wave or give them a hug,” She told me, which was certainly not a common form of greeting.

“I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting a handshake, it's so good to see you as well,” She grabbed my hand with both of hers.

“Please call me, Ilyas from now on,” I told her to make sure she wouldn't need to use my real name.

“Got it, Ilyas,” She said with a smile.

More and more applicants gathered around until the final invitations were checked and the gates closed.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

If anyone wanted to partake had to wait until next year and hope for another invitation once the gates were closed to the academy no one could enter.

I looked at Leyla who was wearing the necklace Ginara whose emerald had changed from white to purple.

“I see you bonded with the necklace,” The reason why the colour of the emerald changed was that she used a drop of blood to bind the relic to her which meant that the necklace's effect could only be used by her.

The colour of the emerald represents the colour of her essence.

The essence is the fundamental root of every living being it's the very concept of one's existence which is the source of body, mind and soul.

“Yes! Thank you very much for the necklace…I can feel that my magic has improved significantly!” She said with excitement grabbing the necklace.

“I'm glad to hear that,” I smiled, seeing her like that was a nice treat.

I remembered something she told me about the capital: that it was best for me to see myself.

“Leyla, when you meant to see the bad sides of the capital for me did you mean the inequality between nobles and the poor?” I asked, when I walked around the capital I saw people dressed in expensive attire from people dressed in nothing but torn fabric.

She nodded with a sad expression.

I wanted to ask Dracula about that situation but given his tone and character, I knew that he knew about this and was supporting it.

“LISTEN UP!” A female voice shouted.

In front of the applicants, instructors were standing in a horizontal line and in the middle stood the same woman who asked me about the card.

“My name is Vallerie Tepes! I am the headmistress of the academy. I hereby congratulate all who passed the first hurdle and managed to gain a spot to take part in the enrolment exam!” Tepes. That was one of the noble families who served me loyally during the war they focused heavily on military might.

“Now don't get full of yourselves! The hard part is yet to come. You will be instructed to complete various tests to see if you are qualified enough to study here! I wish you all the best of luck!” Not a bad speech I must say.

One of the instructors walked forward and asked us to gather in lines.

Looking around the applicants were nervous which was nothing surprising, this included Leyla.

“We should stick together,” I suggested to her to help with her anxiety.

Leyla was at ease…”Thank you,” She whispered.

We were led inside the academy. The people were amazed at the size of the interior like the high ceiling and wide corridors.

We were led inside another building connected with the main academy building.

Arrived at a colosseum-like structure, a large empty area surrounded by seats, many seats were occupied by people wearing orange uniforms. These must be students already attending the academy so our seniors.

“This place will be where the first test will be held!” The instructor said in a loud tone.

Another instructor then took the lead.

“All of you will duel each other with the loser being eliminated to partake any further! You are allowed to use any relics you wish! Killing however is forbidden!” She explained.

“Find empty seats and wait for your name!” The instructor said with a firm tone.

Me and Leyla found two seats and sat down close to many of the seniors who stared at us which made Leyla nervous.

“Having stage fright?” I asked to distract her from those gazes.

“You could say that,” She said with a shaken-up voice.

“Don't focus on the people, focus on you,” I told her which is easier said than done.

This was not the only concern of hers from what I saw.

“You never fought in a magic duel have you?” I asked for certain to know the answer.

“Yeah, I never used magic offensively against anyone, I'm not sure I can,” She said with an even more shaken-up tone.

“Leyla, your magic power is great. Watch your opponent's every move and counter it. Use your magic in a defensive manner to frustrate your opponent leaving room for error for you to exploit,” I told her a basic tactic to help her.

“Got it,” She looked determined and less tense than before.

Many duels take place at the same time walls made from earth magic separate the arena into many small sections just big enough to conduct magic duels.

As time passed both mine and Leyla's names were called fortunately we wouldn't be dueling each other.

“Good luck,” Both me and Leyla wished each other and we each went inside one of those sections.

My opponent was already inside waiting for me.

“Sorry for the wait,” I said with a smile.

Before stood a boy who looked displeased.

“Tsk, Let's get this over with,” He said with a cocky tone.

“Alright, let's get this over with,” I responded.

A magic circle appeared on the palm of my hand…