Ken walked backstage, where all of the other candidates who passed the exam were waiting.
After the speech he just made, he had painted an obvious target on his back, he was getting glared at by a lot of the other candidates, who felt as if he had personally insulted them.
“Think you might have gone a little too over the top” Tai chuckled as he approached Ken.
“Guess I got a little carried away.”
“Well, at least you got your message across.”
“For the small amount of time I've known you, you have proven yourself to be a very capable opponent, Ken Granfold. So, see you at the finish line” said Tai, his voice filled with competitiveness.
“Right! I'll see you there!”
The lady that had woken up Ken earlier, stood in front of everyone and introduced herself with a microphone, "Alright, now that everyone is here, my name is Jess.”
“You will all now receive your Student Cell, which you will carry with you throughout your entire time at this academy.”
"One at a time I will call up students, and give you your Cell, which will have a map to your dormitory where you will be living with a few other students. You will come up once I've called your name and I'll tell you how to function your map" Jess said as she stood in front of a stack of smartphones.
Jess started to call out names one by one and soon everyone was attaining their Student Cells and leaving. After about half an hour everyone had been giving their student cell and dorm information, leaving Ken last.
"So you're Ken Granfold? That was one hell of an introduction, let's hope your bite is worse than your bark" Said Jess.
Jess grabbed a student cell on the desk beside her and handed it to Ken. She then instructed Him to place either His right or left thumb on the screen of his cell, Ken used his right thumb and once He did, the screen scanned Ken’s thumbprint. Once He removed His thumb, the screen of the cell lit up before multiple icons appeared on the screen.
"Okay, now click the icon with the map symbol, it's already been pre-set to your dorm, so just follow the map and you will reach your new dorm" Jess explained as she showed a demonstration on her phone.
"Alright, I think I understand."
Ken followed the map which led Him into a forest that took him almost an hour to reach.
“Hmmm, it looks to be just a straight walk from him, that should be easy enough.”
Ken clicked off of the Maps app and viewed the other preset apps on his student cell.
1. I.D
2. Rank
3. Bank
4. Contacts
5. Messages
6. Camera
7. Gallery
8. Map
9. The Net
10. Guide Book
“Right, I should add Hanako.”
Ken clicked the contacts app and once it opened, as expected it was empty with only two numbers, which were Cell service and main office. Ken clicked the search bar and typed in
"How strange."
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Once Ken clicked the add button it turned into 'Pending Request'.
"I guess it's set up like this to keep people's privacy and give people the option of who they want in their contacts."
Next Ken opened the Bank App.
-300p
“300 points, I wonder what a single point is worth.”
He then opened the Rank App, and four tabs appeared.
-First Year
-Second Year
-Third Year
-Academy Rank
“So each year has a separate Ranking, which must mean Academy Rank, is the overall ranking.”
Ken clicked the Academy Rank tab, where he was met with a list of every student's name, and next to them was a number– their Ranking.
“Julius Ainsworth, so he's Ranked Number 1 in this Academy, interesting…” Looking down the list, Ken realized that Rank 10 was empty. “Why don't they just push Rank 11 up to Rank 10, weird.”
As Ken looked through the other apps, his phone suddenly chimed as a notification popped up on his screen.
-Hanako Sakura, Accepted Request-
"Oh, Sweet.”
Soon enough, Ken reached a big old building that looked like it was abandoned.
"I couldn't have gotten myself lost, it was just a straight walk," He said as he looked at his phone.
Walking into the dorm, he entered a well-lit, large living room with its furniture neatly layered out and not too cramped. Ken was met by fourteen other first-year students, all comfortably lounging about.
Ken’s presence caught everyone's attention, which was understandable, but Ken’s attention fell someone where else, his eyes widened, and his mouth dropped a little, he didn't know if this was pure luck, or the gods giving a sign, but one of the students was none other than Hanako Sakura, sitting by herself.
“Hey, Hanako!” He called out, before approaching her. “What a coincidence that we ended up in the same dorm”. Ken took a seat next to her.
“Y-Yeah…” She replied.
A short old male cat Beast-Kin, made his way down the stairs. The old man’s cat ears and tail were both gray.
“My goodness, I have so many new faces this year” The old man stood in front of everyone. “My name is Silva, and welcome to Dorm 44. I'll be your dorm master for the next three years. You will all be sent a notification with your room number, your Student Cell also acts as your room key, so try not to lose it.”
“Now, do any of you have questions? I've been at this academy for way too long, so there won't be anything I can't answer.”
“I have a question” A girl with short yellow hair spoke up, “Exactly how big is this Academy? And why is it so big?”
"The very land we are standing on was once ground zero for an old war. Its size is about 10 km squared and is vastly an open forest. The main area of this academy is called 'Academy Square' which is as big as 4.5km squared, and it's where all the main facilities are built, like education centers, cafeterias, and multiple in-school shops, as well as other entertainment buildings.''
“And what about the forest area?” Another student asked.
“The Hollow Forest is filled with buildings scattered about. Most of the buildings are abandoned buildings from the war, but there are buildings inhabited by students, some are even built by students, which are considered private buildings. Only Second Year's and higher are allowed to enter the forest, for the first year to enter they need a pass."
“I had read that this school is very student-focused, can you explain that a little more please” Someone else asked.
"Yes, the Academy prides itself in giving the students complete freedom and comfort to study how they want. The academy still does have the traditional day-to-day classes, but none of the students are forced to attend any of the classes.”
“What's the catch?”
“Not attending your classes means you won't gain any academic points, and if a student doesn't have enough academic points by the end of the year, they will fail to move up a year, and for the third years, they won't be able to graduate."
“Can you talk a little more about the Ranking System?” Another student asked.
“Yes, the Ranking System. You First Years won't receive your rankings until you complete the Ranking Exams which will be held a month from now. You will be better informed when that day comes.”
“How about our points? This Academy uses points as currency don't they?” some other student asked.
“Yes, that's correct, you will all be given 300 points as a starter, you can gain more points through class and countless other activities the Academy offers. You can spend your currency however you want, you are responsible for managing it, there is nothing you can't buy in this Academy.”
“Magic Duels, how does that work?” another student asked.
“Magicka Duels is a way to settle arguments and tension between students, a duel can be initiated by anyone and anywhere, as long it's not in a battle-free zone, and both parties have to agree. As for Ranked matches, they can only be held in the Academies Arena, and must be supervised by qualified judges, for it to be official.”
“Any more questions?”
“...”
“Well that's fine, if you think of any more questions, feel free to ask me, or just open the Guide Book app on your phone, it lists all the academy's rules.”
“I've made some food in the kitchen in case you guys want to stay up and get to know each other.”
With that, Silva walked back upstairs, leaving the First years to keep each other company.