Cruex was not what Jiran expected. Memories of Earth had predisposed him to think the largest city in the empire would be filled with huge buildings, bustling streets, and the telltale signs of industry.

Instead, he saw a sea of pyramids and short square structures. Everything, absolutely everything was made out of blocks. Even the few larger buildings were just more stacked blocks.

Beyond his initial surprise at the building materials, Jiran couldn’t see where the city ended, it seemed to stretch on forever. Row upon row of similar-looking districts created a uniformity that was uncharacteristic of the empire at large.

Each district had an area for farming, water storage, a low wall, and numerous houses.

Only a dozen structures really stood out from the bland normality. The Imperial palace, so far away it was just a speck on the horizon, immediately drew attention. With eyes enhanced by mana, Jiran could see pristine white walls with arched and domed structures. Tall towers lined the short wall that separated it from the surrounding city.

The architecture gave him an Arabian palace vibe that fit perfectly with the otherwise alien-looking surroundings.

The other stand-out structures were enormous pyramids, easily dwarfing their neighbors.

Upon first glance, the city had looked fairly boring. His vantage from the top of a hill that first revealed the city did not paint a complete picture.

Once he was actually walking the streets an hour later, Jiran was pleasantly surprised by the creative ways Cruex’s inhabitants had livened up their city.

Motifs spanned entire districts, each home sharing a small portion of a larger picture that told stories of deep history and shared burdens. Paints were used in clever ways to reflect the varied colors of the sky, making homes and shops glisten with shifting and dancing displays of light as the day progressed.

Most of the citizens stuck to their districts, working and supporting each other in close knit communities. The wide streets that separated the living areas into uniform blocks were easy to navigate due to the minimal traffic.

Jiran walked down the same street he had entered the city from. Jebid had said his goodbyes shortly after they passed through the gates together. He had confidently pointed Jiran toward one of the giant pyramids, insisting it was the academy.

He took his time as he progressed, listening to the people talk and absorbing the flow of daily activity. The smell of spiced meat attracted him to a food court where he sampled several local dishes.

He then dropped into a local clothier and purchased some new shirts and pants. His old clothes were well-worn from constant fighting and traveling. The low prices surprised him.

Samris had given Jiran access to his earnings from the last several seasons. Until now, he had little understanding of just how far those funds would last. The clothes had cost a meager twenty silver.

With one hundred silver per gold coin and five hundred gold per platinum, Jiran’s forty platinum could last decades. If he converted all his money to silver it would come to a staggering two million silver.

Something's not right with this, there is no way he was paying me a normal rate for a squire. Whatever, I’ll harass him about it the next time I see him.

Jiran was snapped out of his financial musings by a group of women huddled nearby. He was not trying to listen in on their conversation. However, his mana body had expanded to be many times larger than when he first unlocked it.

If someone were to stand within fifteen meters of him, he wouldn't be able to help but overhear them through its senses.

He had done his best over the years to control the information provided through his aura. For a boy going through puberty, any details could be enough to send him into a blushing fit of uncontrollable emotions.

Through luck and desperation, he had learned to limit the physical details to a bare minimum. However, sound or quickly moving objects always bypassed his filters.

He could also shrink his aura down to less than a meter around his body. But after being in constant combat for half of his life on Madra, having his aura in, and not protecting him, felt worse than being naked.

“I heard someone actually saw him. Their village was about to be overrun by beasts and he swooped in from the sky on wings of blue. Just like in all the stories!

“She said his hand glowed like he held Second Father in his palm. Then she was blinded by his radiance and when she could see again, he was gone. But their village was saved, all the beasts were wiped out in an instant!”

“I heard his hair absorbs all the light of the suns, which is why it’s as black as a rent in the fabric of the day.”

“I heard his skin shimmers like the surface of the fifth moon, it's serene as an untouched lake. Truly the Fireling was sent by the Mother to give all women a —”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Jiran barely escaped in time, once he realized what the swooning witches were saying, he had taken off running in the other direction.

I hate that name so much, just kill me now!

With cheeks flaming red from embarrassment, Jiran shrunk his aura to cover a much smaller area. He would rather walk down these streets naked than have to listen to women talk about him like that.

If I ever find the jackass who started calling me that, I'm going to kill him a thousand times. No, that's too nice. I’m sure there’s some worm on this planet that slowly digests someone over a thousand years. That’s a much more deserving fate.

Jiran lost himself in thoughts of finding the perfect revenge. Several hours later, he arrived before the gates of a massive pyramid.

Up close, the building blocked out the sky. Platforms littered every layer of the structure like thousands of patio decks. Deliveries of supplies were heaped in boxes and left on the platforms. Jiran could see academy staff bringing them inside several at a time.

Compared to the empty streets, the academy was a hive of activity.

A boy and a girl around his age, wearing what he hoped were the academy uniforms, stood just inside the gate. As Jiran approached, the girl perked up and waved him over.

“Hi!” She said while tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Jiran did his best to not roll his eyes at her overly flirtatious tone.

“Hello. I’m here to enroll. This is the Va'liance Imperial Academy, correct?”

The boy on the other side of the gate stepped toward them, an overly pleasant grin plastered on his face.

“You’re in the right place, kid. Except the dister entrance is over there,” He said while pointing to an adjacent entrance in the distance. It would take Jiran over an hour to walk that far.

Jiran looked at the boy in confusion, “What’s a dister?”

Who’s he calling kid? We look the same age.

The girl began to wring her hands nervously. “Laek, I don’t think—” Was all she managed to say before she was interrupted.

“Look peasant, just get out of here. We don’t want your kind in the academy. This place is for the elite, not trash like you.” He spoke in a harsh tone while stepping threateningly toward Jiran. All pretense of pleasantry had faded from his demeanor.

Jiran completely ignored him. Instead, he cast his gaze about the large plaza leading up to the academy.

I bet they have signs out for where to go as a new applicant. I’ll just look around until I find something.

As he took a step to the left to walk past the antagonistic youth, Laek predictably tried to get in his way once more. Having anticipated the move, Jiran pivoted smoothly on his heel, spinning instead to the right.

Laek reached out with his hand and tried to grab Jiran’s shoulder. Seeing the move well in advance through his aura, he rotated his torso enough that the boy’s hand slid past him without making contact.

Jiran walked away at a casual pace, unwilling to engage further in whatever childish game Laek was playing.

“Don’t you walk away from me, dister filth!” Laek yelled while balling up his fist and winding up for a sucker punch.

Jiran just kept walking, completely ignoring the oblivious boy.

The punch was let loose and flew toward the back of his head. Before it even got close, a hand appeared and caught the offending fist.

“Laek, Laek, Laek, what am I going to do with you,” The voice attached to the hand came from a young man who looked a year senior to the three of them. He had dropped in from above after watching the exchange.

Jiran had noticed him hovering above shortly after Laek began harassing him. Since he had not made an aggressive move, Jiran saw no reason to interfere with whatever he had been planning.

“Let go of me, Dillen. Before I have your father beat for your insolence!” Laek growled, spittle flying from his mouth.

“When did you become so scary, Laek?” Dillen snickered while releasing the fist he had been holding.

“Poor Laek, I am terribly saddened that I’ll have to report this transgression to Master Espond. Striking a second year, even in the hand, is a red infraction after all.”

Laek blanched in response to Dillen’s words. Before he could sense anything else, Jiran was out of range. He had hastened away from the trio of idiots since he had no desire to interact with any more of their drama.

He wandered the large plaza that circled the academy for three hours. There were dozens of shops set up by students. They mostly sold services. Uniform repairs, martial and academic lessons from the upperclassmen, and various relaxation activities like assisted stretching and massage.

Finally, he found a sign pointing toward the office where new applicants were supposed to register. He made his way there with confident steps.

The inner hallways of the academy were carpeted in what looked like some kind of animal fur similar to grass. Short and green while soft to the touch. The walls were lined with murals of imperials fighting a multitude of battles.

Jiran recognized many of the beasts in the images. He wished he had the time to get lost in the intricate history of the military academy. But first, he needed to register. He wasn't sure when the cut-off was for getting into the calm season classes. Missing out and then having to wait an entire season to join was not an option he wanted to consider.

Inside the designated auditorium, Jiran stood and waited in the short line until it was his turn to talk with the seated staff member. A masculine woman with bulging muscles and a no-nonsense attitude.

“First-time takers to the right, repeat takers to the left,” She said in a robotic voice.

Must be boring to direct a bunch of kids all day who probably ask the same questions time and again.

With a mischievous grin, Jiran asked, “Uhh, is this the line for the rectal exam?”

“Hah! Good one, kid,” She responded, looking up at him for the first time.

Whatever she saw made her eyes widen in surprise before she shooed him off to the new test takers line.

He didn't need to wait long after entering the line. Another uniformed staff led him to a booth with a written exam on a table. After directing him to take a seat, she closed a small privacy curtain.

“You have three hours to complete as much of the exam as possible. You are being monitored, so don’t think about cheating. Someone will come to get you when your time is up. Good luck.”