“Welcome, dear Apprentices of this esteemed Magus Academy.”
As a feminine voice echoed from the woman who stood on an elevated stage, the students who stood in rows before her found themselves trembling.
None could resist the sound of her voice.
They were currently in what could simply described as a massive white and gold auditorium.
The hall was large enough to hold the three hundred students of the academy—all of whom were arranged in ten rows.
They all had serious expressions on their faces, though the students in the far left row appeared more nervous than all the others.
After all, they were the newcomers.
“As you well know, this is the most prestigious Magus Academy in the entire Southern Empire. You all here have done well—both the newcomers and those who have managed to remain here through it all.”
The woman who spoke, elevated far above the staff who stood at strategic positions in the auditorium, was none other than the Archmage who governed the Imperial Magus Academy.
Her long Mage Robe was pure white, though a mix of black and red shone from her inner attire. She had a dark brown hat on her head, with a choker firmly wrapped around her neck.
Her pure skin radiated nothing short of ethereal beauty, and her brilliant blue eyes captured the gaze of everyone who watched her.
This was Archmage Juliana Randalorion—one of the only seven Archmages in the entire Empire.
Of all of them, she was also the youngest.
“It brings me pleasure to see you are all doing well, ready to start a new semester in your journey to understand the mystic arts.”
For the newcomers, this would be their very first semester in this Academy. However, the veterans already knew what to expect.
“And now… for the moment of introduction…”
This General Assembly that occurred only once every Semester had many purposes; however, one was regarded as the most pertinent.
The Introduction of the new Apprentices.
—All fifty of them.
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One after the other, as Archmage Juliana Randalorion mentioned their names, the newbies would come forth.
They were called according to their passing grades; from top to bottom.
In a competitive society such as this, hierarchy was not uncommon.
In fact, it was enforced.
The new students—called Apprentices in the Magus Academy—lined up before their seniors as they were either acknowledged with praise or scorn.
The first few to be mentioned got the usual proud and awe-filled reception, but as soon as the later students were being called, the displayed reactions began to sour.
These were the ones who didn’t do very well in their Entrance Exams—some even scoring pathetic grades that made one wonder how they managed to get in.
It was possible that some students used connections, while for others, it was merely luck.
None of those factors would help them remain in the Academy, though, so the sneering seniors could already see them dropping out soon enough.
One after the other, Apprentices climbed the stage, and the far left row was emptied of the people there.
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Until, finally, it got to the turn of the last name.
The seniors looked at one another, and then stole a glance at the boy that was waiting for his name to be called.
He looked young—most likely sixteen years old—with a pretty stoic and plain-looking face.
His dark brown hair swayed slightly as he remained in good posture, with his eyes fixated on the stage.
As his seniors looked at him, some couldn’t help the words that came out of their mouths.
“I heard he woefully failed the Spell exams.”
“Heard? Dude, you didn’t see the results? It was terrible!”
“Yeah… my guy could not cast a single Spell.”
“What’s he doing in a Magus Academy if he can’t do something as simple as that?”
“Beats me. He even flopped his written exams. I think he barely passed that one.”
“Yeah. 51 out of 100. He barely passed the cut-off grade.”
While a lot of these condescending words could be seen as malicious, quite a few stemmed from genuine concern.
This wasn’t the best Magus Academy for nothing.
Only the best could remain and excel, while the dregs would get left behind.
Anyone who showed very little promise at the mere start was most likely going to fail in the near future.
That was why they all gazed upon him with such prejudice.
“… Please come to the stage, Dan Nilrem.”
The boy moved as soon his name was called. All eyes were fixed on him as he climbed the stage.
The murmurs did not cease though.
“I heard the only reason he made the cut was due to his Rune Exams.”
“Rune Exams?”
“Yeah. Apparently, he got a perfect score!”
“For real? When did someone get that high? No… has that even happened here before?”
“Does that matter? It’s not like it’s going to do much good anyway.”
“A-ah… true, true.”
As the young man took his place among the rest of his classmates and stood before those who watched him from their rows, he could hear everything they said.
He could see the scorn on their faces, and he could detect their concerns.
These students—ranging from Year 1 to 10—and their harsh words nearly made him break his current stoic demeanor.
But he maintained his calm facade.
After all…
‘… This reminds me of the old days.’
Dan Nilrem smiled internally as he cast his gaze upon the young adults and those who were already in their twenties.
Faces from the past overlapped with the current ones he was looking at.
‘They’re so cheeky. Reminds me of my students.’ He could feel a slight pull on his lips.
While appearing like nothing more than a 16-year-old boy, Dan had a secret no one knew about.
One that even he hadn’t completely wrapped his head around.
He was a much older man who suddenly found himself in the body of this boy. Not only that, but he appeared to be over a hundred years into the future.
‘Imagine my surprise gaining consciousness during the Entrance Exams a week ago. I barely knew what was going on, and I still had to go through all three stages.’
The Written Exam
The Spell Exam
The Rune Exam
He managed to go through all of them while still confused about what was happening.
‘It’s unfortunate that I scored so low, but it couldn’t be helped.’
As someone of the past, he didn’t know anything about his current era, so the Written Exams were a bust.
The Magia in his body was also pretty low, and he wasn’t well synced to it, so the Spell Exams didn’t go too well either.
The only reason he passed was because of his specialty in Runes.
‘I’m happy I got in, though.’ Dan Nilrem smiled in his thoughts.
He could feel excitement welling up within his chest.
There was a reason why, despite finding himself in a mysterious situation so randomly, he had decided to carry on with the Entrance Exams. It was the same reason why he felt a sense of fulfillment now that he stood beside his new colleagues and before his seniors.
It wasn’t merely for his sake.
‘The owner of this body studied and practiced absurdly hard to get into this school.’
He knew that due to his observation of the boy’s body, and also reading his journals.
Despite being a mere commoner, he had made it as far as the Entrance Exams. There was no way he—an older man—could ignore such a blatant dedication.
‘I don’t know where you went, Dan. But don’t worry…’
At this point, he could no longer control his smile. A sparkle of pure resolve shone from his eyes as his lips curled upward to form a big grin.
‘… I’ll make sure you excel in this Magus Academy!’
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[A/N]
Thanks for beginning this story with me.
This is a relatively short prologue, and the chapters from this point on will be longer (2k to 3k words at least). I hope you stick around and enjoy the story, and do let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Cheers!