Ashern City - Reinhart Institute of War, 1st of Brightforge, year 315 UC

“Rank thirteen.”

Octavius called out for the next student to rise, and Sabrina quickly shot up from her seat. She had a grin on her face as she looked at Alexander and Bryan.

Out of their team members she was currently ranked the highest, with Alexander being the lowest. Although that would not last long as Bryan’s name still was not called, along with another girl who sat opposite of Alexander.

Meaning that their little team would not be as bad as Alexander made it out to seem. People sat everywhere and since rankings were not being discussed at the start, there was not much information to go on.

Their backgrounds helped determine most of it. If they came from a prominent family then people expected them to have talent. Such was the case for Alessia.

Her family had generations of military officers, some were written down in history. Their combat ability was exceptional, and while they were primarily known for their combat skills, it was not all they had going for them.

The Hayes family also helped with many of the technological advances that helped shaped the Roan Kingdom. They were a premium supplier of magitech, being one of the richest families within the kingdom.

Based off these two facts about her family, it was easy to see why she was surrounded by other students. She was only ranked nineteenth out of their group of twenty, but that was here.

Each and every one of them placed far above the other two-hundred and eighty students, meaning she was no pushover.

But, she wasn’t the strongest within their group.

The people in her team had yet to be called, meaning that there were going to be some in the top ten.

“Sabrina Rigof, nice to meetcha! If you're ever in need of potions, I'm your girl. Come find me and I'll be sure to give you a discount.”

Sabrina winked.

“Yes, now if you will, sit down.”

Octavius told her and Sabrina quickly took her seat.

“Was that really necessary?”

Alexander asked her as he peeked over. He was hiding his face in embarrassment for some reason.

“Of course! We’ve got rank twenty, who's too scared to say much in front of crowds.”

“I am not!”

Alexander countered.

“Uhuh. Anyway, we’ve got you and rank eighteen who isn’t much better. Right, Christopher?”

Christopher looked away from the front where the headmaster was and turned to Sabrina.

He yawned once and shook his shaggy brown hair.

“I guess so.”

Christopher replied before looking back towards the front.

“So, we’ve got Mr. shy, two boys that are dead on the inside, me, and the girl on the other end.”

Sabrina said.

“Speaking of, even if the rude boy here and the silent girl there aren’t in the top ten, they are above me, which means we have numbers twelve and eleven in our group. Not bad.”

Alexander nodded slowly at that, still not fully understanding where she was going with this.

“Ok, so what does that have to do with you trying to stand out? You want to draw attention to our group? Why?”

“Seems fun?”

Sabrina posed it as a question rather than stating it.

“Rank six, please stand.”

“You caused us to miss the other ranks due to your shenanigans.”

Alexander complained.

The young lady next to Alexander stood up, her dark complexion complemented her long black hair that curled at the ends.

Bryan mostly took note of her long brown ears that had a point at the tip and peeked out from under her hair.

She was a dark elf, and an attractive one at that.

“Farrah Heartland.”

Her introduction was short and simple, similar to Alexanders. Farrah sat down soon after but didn’t speak to anyone.

Rank six huh? Guess the team won’t be such a drag after all.’

Bryan thought to himself as he gave Farrah a quick glance.

When he did, he found her green eyees looking right at him. His brows furrowed wondering why she was staring at him.

She turned away first after their eyes locked for five seconds.

Sabrina's eyes widened as she stared at Farrah, then slowly turned to Bryan, who remained seated. A grin spread across her face as realization dawned.

"Who would've guessed we'd get two?"

She whispered excitedly.

Alexander caught on, glancing at Bryan.

"What's your rank?"

Bryan merely glared at him before returning his attention to the front of the room.

"Rank five."

Octavius called.

A young man in Alessia's row stood up. His black hair was neatly combed back, and his outfit seemed to barely fit him.

"Marcus Blackwood of House Blackwood. I look forward to working with you all."

He said with practiced grace, offering a slight bow before sitting.

"Rank four."

A girl rose, and her skin seemed to have never seen daylight before. Her golden hair fell behind her in elegant waves.

"Isabella Thornheart. I hope we can all learn from each other during our time here."

Her voice carried clearly through the hall.

"Rank three."

Next a boy stood up next to Isabella, and gave a slight bow before introducing himself.

"Victor Ashworth of House Ashworth.”

Whispers rippled through the room about the concentration of talent.

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"Rank two."

A young boy rose and fixed his uniform slightly as he turned to face everyone. His jet black hair fell slightly over his left eye, as his blue eyes scanned the room.

Bryan raised his eyebrow slightly at him. He was different from the rest.

His presence was a lot greater than those around him, and that should not be the case. People awakened their magical abilities during puberty, with some cases such as his own being far and few in-between.

Due to his own awakening and having a high magic sensitivity, he could feel the subtle pressure the boy was giving off. He was stronger than the others, there was no doubt about that.

‘But how strong is he?’

Bryan wondered to himself as he smirked.

"Julius Reinhart. Prodigy of the Reinhart family, son of the Wolf. Pleasure to make your acquaintce."

After Julius's introduction, Octavius called for silence.

"Figures."

Sabrina muttered.

"The top team's nothing but noble families."

All the major families were in one team. They were setting themselves up for success even before the camp truly began. Bryan wouldn’t be surprised to find out that they all knew one another.

Their team was stacked, and would be able to contend against the others with ease.

The Blackwood family were known for having earth magic cores, with a large majority of their members having some defensive class. They played a vital part on the frontline when combating other kingdoms or magical beasts.

As for Isabella Thornheart, Bryan had no knowledge on her but her family took a seat on the kingdoms council. They were members of the Scott families trade empire and had a high affinity for wind or darkness.

Unlike the Reinhart’s that specalized in fire magic, or the Blackwoods known for their earth magic, the Ashwoods had no specalitiy. Their members all have a variety of different magic types so trying to figure out what Victor’s core attribute would be different.

It was a coin toss.

With Marcus taking up a defensive position on their team, and Randel being a fighter of some type, the rest of the positions were easy to fill. Isabella could potentially cover for range or even assassination, with Alessia being centered around support.

Even if she was not a supporter or had the spells for it, she could fill in for what they were missing. Their team was versitale, and Victor was a wild card.

"How is that even fair?"

Alexander grumbled.

“And did you hear how they introduced themselves? Marcus Blackwood of House Blackwood.”

Alexander said in a mocking tone as he tried to mimic the voice of Marcus.

“Like, come on we know who your family is no need to remind us peasants.”

Sabrina's grin widened.

"Well, at least we have rank one to help balance things out."

Bryan rolled his eyes and sighed as Alexander turned to stare at him with newfound understanding.

Christopher leaned over Sabrina to get a better look at Bryan.

"No shit?"

He whispered, studying Bryan with renewed interest.

Bryan did not stand out, so him being rank one had not crossed Christopher’s mind. In fact, he was hardly paying attention to the rankings at all.

Octavius cleared his throat.

"We have one more student to call, though I suspect many of you have already deduced who it is. Before that, I'd like to inform you that after our rank one introduces themselves, the instructors beside me will make their introductions."

The students' attention shifted to the stage where the instructors stood with their hands clasped behind their backs.

"These instructors will each select one team to oversee for the remainder of Excellence Camp. They have been monitoring you since your arrival and during your enrollment tests. Each has their own criteria for selection."

Octavius said as his gaze swept across the room.

"I hope you all demonstrate why you deserve to be here instead of the other candidates who could have taken your place."

The room fell silent.

"Now, without further delay, would our rank one please stand and introduce themselves?"

Bryan stood, his snow-white hair and red eyes drawing immediate attention. His expression remained neutral as he spoke.

"Bryan Blackwood."

He sat down slowly as all eyes were on him. The attention was something he had gotten used to in the Inquisition so he merely brushed it off.

For some reason Julius was staring at him as if he were some criminal that stole his jewels. The boys gaze was intently focused on him, so Bryan glared right back and Julius seemed to like that as he smiled.

It creeped Bryan out the way Julius smiled at him, so he looked away.

The other students were whispering, making various assumptions about him. Who he was, who were the Blackwoods, and what sort of connections did he have? Everything they were saying was wrong.

His last name meant nothing, he was not a noble. It was something the Inqusition gave him to use as a cover. Simple as that.

If they looked into his background they would find nothing out of the ordinary. Just a boy who grew up in a small farming village with a population of a hundred, whose mother passed when he was young and father took him away to try their luck in the city.

The entire thing was made up of course, but no one would go looking that deep.

And if they did?

Well, they’d find portions of the story to be true.

"So, how does it feel being number one?"

Sabrina leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Bryan kept his gaze forward, hoping his silence would discourage further questions. It didn't.

"Come on."

Alexander chimed in, his earlier nervousness seemingly forgotten in his excitement.

"At least tell us what attribute you use."

Before Bryan could respond, he felt a presence behind him. Someone tapped his shoulder, causing him to turn sharply - old habits from the Inquisition making his movements more defensive than necessary.

A staff member in a white and gold uniform stood there, holding out a thin blue card. Bryan recognized it immediately as an academic credit card, taking it with a slight nod. He studied the holographic surface for a moment, watching the way the light played across its surface, before slipping it into his pocket.

"How much did you get?"

Alexander asked, trying to peek at Bryan's pocket.

"None of your business."

Bryan replied flatly.

He noticed Farrah glancing his way again, her bright green eyes quickly darting away when he caught her. There was something unsettling about the way she looked at him - not with the usual curiosity or judgment, but with... recognition? Understanding? He couldn't quite place it.

Sabrina noticed the exchange and opened her mouth, likely to make another comment, but Octavius's voice cut her off.

"Now that student introductions are complete, I'd like to introduce you to your potential instructors. These individuals will be responsible for shaping you into the mages this kingdom needs."

Octavius said as he drew all the attention back on him.

Bryan sat up in his seat a little, as he observed each of them with interest. These instructors would be his first real teachers outside the Inquisition's strict methods. He wondered how different their approaches would be.

What did they excel in? Would they give him a pass if he could beat them in a fight?

The rest of the hall fell silent as the line of instructors stepped forward.

The first instructor stepped forward drawing immediate attention. Gloria Reinhart's long brown hair flowed freely as she moved, her military uniform and dark blue overcoat marking her as someone of significant rank.

Her piercing blue eyes swept across the hall, studying each student with an intensity that made several of them shift uncomfortably in their seats.

"I am Commander Gloria Reinhart of the Sixteenth Brigade, also known as Duce."

She announced.

"I should be out there, directing missions for my people, but instead, I'm here babysitting you all."

She paused, letting her words sink in. The silence in the room grew heavier with each passing moment.

"Unlike my associates here. I will not coddle you, and I will not hold my punches."

Gloria continued, a hint of a smirk playing at her lips.

"If you want to be mages, I will treat you like mages. So don't go crying to your families later on when you get bruised up."

Bryan noticed several students straightening their postures, while others seemed to shrink in their seats.

Surely they weren’t sheltered their entire lives. What type of mage hid behind their doors?

‘Cowards.’

He thought as he made a mental note of the ones that seemed to shy away from what Gloria was saying.

For all the beatings he had taken, and how he was treated growing up in the Inqusition, this would be a cake walk. He knew how to take a punch and dish one out.

But these people?

Ha.

What did they know?

"I'm a combat instructor, meaning I only know how to punch shit—nothing else."

Her crude language drew a few gasps from the noble-born students.

"And if you haven't noticed, I'm a Reinhart, meaning my specialty, like most of my family, is fire magic."

She clasped her hands behind her back, her stance widening slightly.

"As for my class, I'm a Fighter with my archetype being Juggernaut, and I do my job very well."

Gloria's eyes narrowed as she surveyed the room again.

"By the time you leave this camp, each of you will know your class, and a few of you will begin developing into your archetypes. If you have any aspirations of being a specific type, drop them now. Archetypes are dependent on your spells and weapon choice."

She let out a short laugh.

"I know some sword wielders that are supporters and some who use wands that ended up becoming tanks. Your preconceptions mean nothing here."

Bryan found himself leaning forward slightly.

He wondered how she would feel about him already knowing his class. It was rare, being one that could a little bit of everything.

Inside the white room that he stayed in, he had studied up on all the known spells, who discovered them, what they could do, and different measures to counter them. So, he was well versed in all the spells and combinations they had with specific classes.

He could tell what a persons class was based off a couple spells. Which was not something everyone could do.

"I've already decided on the team I will be leading for the Excellence Camp."

Gloria announced.

"Team Four, I will meet you outside after my associates finish their introductions."

As she stepped back into line, whispers erupted throughout the hall. Bryan noticed several students trying to figure out which group was Team Four, while others seemed relieved they wouldn't be under her instruction.

"Holy shit, she's intense."

Sabrina whispered.

Alexander nodded vigorously.

"Did you see how she carries herself? Like she could take on an army single-handedly."

"She probably has."

Christopher added quietly, his usual drowsiness seemingly forgotten.

Gloria Reinhart—he'd heard that name before. The Inquisition had files on prominent military figures, mages and their assosication. Every mage that ever made a name for themself, small or large was documented, along with their whereabouts.

It was scary when one thought about it. That one orginazation had information on every single mage within the kingdom at their fingertips.

He would have been scared, but the orginzation was not all it was cracked up to be.

Farrah's eyes were still focused forward, but Bryan noticed her hands had tightened into fists on her lap.