The air was still, the blades of grass unmoving as the Swordgeists descended from above. As they grew closer, the sheer magnitude of their aura pressed down upon my shoulders. I glanced about at the others. One, two, then more dropped to their knees. I reinforced my body with the strength of my qi, but that wasn't enough. I soon joined the others.

The pressure increased across my shoulder and head like a yoke strapped to my back until I was forced to drop my weapons and plant my arms on the ground. I was practically bowing. Out of the corner of my eye, I could make out two figure squirming but still standing.

Alanna struggled, the lines of her qi etching glowing fiercely. Then, she, too, fell to her knees.

Only the pale boy with black eyes remained. Sweat drenched his white hair. Upon seeing Alanna fall, he nodded in satisfaction and dropped to his knees as well.

That made no sense. If the pale boy had been so strong, why had he needed to offer gold to finish the exam? Was this all a cruel joke to him?

Three voices in unison sounded throughout the clearing.

"Welcome, little ones. As students of the Sword System Academy, you will receive many blessings, blessings of knowledge and blessings of power. Here is the first: our true names."

I strained to raise my head. Three clouds of golden flames had reached the ground. Inside each cloud was a human-like shape with a head, two arms, and two legs, but the flames obscured any further details. More golden flames, silent and without heat, rose up around the clearing, enclosing the Swordgeists along with us in a wide sphere.

The Swordgeist furthest to my left shimmered and spoke. "I am Kizen the Warrior."

The next one spoke. "I am Shiah the Refiner."

The final one spoke. "I am Theus the Maker."

They spoke in unison again. "Be strong. The Void awaits."

With that the Swordgeists hovered into the air, then shot away at an impossible speed, vanishing to whatever unearthly realm they usually occupied. The golden flames around us disappeared, as did the pressure on my body. I rose to my feet.

The others murmured among themselves. From the bits of chatter I caught, they didn't seem particularly impressed after meeting these legendary figures. I didn't quite blame them.

"That's it? Names?" Naisha brushed loose soil off the front of her black tunic. "I was hoping for, I don't know, a technique or two."

I shared Naisha's sentiment, although the morsel of knowledge, more than any flashing messages, convinced me that we had finally passed the exam. I glanced about the field and counted those who remained. Thirty-four, including myself. Those who had failed or fallen were gone, removed somehow during the Swordgeists' brief visit. I realized that their weapon from the exam had also vanished.

"You, I don't believe we've met?" a voice asked.

I glanced backward to find Alanna motioning to the pale boy.

The pale boy smiled with thin white lips. "But I know you, Lady Vox." He tipped his head to Naisha. "And your...half-sister. She uses the surname Leshander, yes?"

Interesting. Given the similarity in age, I was leaning towards Naisha being an illegitimate child. That would explain the thieving and troublemaking.

Naisha tossed her head, sending a wave through her shining black hair. "You've heard of us. Big deal. Who are you?"

"Naisha, be civil." Alanna held up her index finger. Naisha replied with a different finger.

Alanna sighed and turned back to the pale boy. "Don't mind her. I have to admit I share her curiosity, though. I try to keep up with who's who, and I have no idea who you are."

The pale boy gave a small bow. "I gave up my name. My commanders simply call me Five."

Alanna tilted her head. "An army project? I had heard rumors..."

I hid my scowl. I had heard the rumors as well. When the nobles bought treatments and elixirs, they expected to receive their money's worth in return for their gold. That meant turning to established and reliable alchemical vendors.

Alchemical discoveries, on the other hand, were the result of risky and volatile experimentation on test subjects, frequently criminals. There were dark rumors about the imperial army's work with alchemists. I eyed the pale boy. I didn't trust anyone associated with the army, especially him.

"Are you kidding?" Naisha shook her head. "A clansman. A soldier. I'm surrounded by a freak show."

"You killed her needlessly." My voice was quiet, but from the way everyone's bodies shifted, I knew that they had all heard me.

Five raised his chin. "She accepted my offer." He turned to face me. "And if I did? What of it?" His face was calm, but a lethal aura flooded the air for an instant before receding.

I didn't flinch. The Koroi had no formal bonds with the Selai, but we shared something that needed no oaths or blood seals. My first duty was to my own clan, though. "Karma will find you."

"Yes, I'm sure she will," Five replied. "And when she does, I'll grab her by the throat and flay her alive."

Five and I stared at each other in silence.

Alanna stepped between us. "We're all...classmates now. This should be a time for celebration, not fighting."

"And a time to get new ears!" Naisha yelled.

"Exactly." Alanna looked around the field. She pointed further away to the large gray structure at the center of the grassy field.

I glared one last time at Five, then followed Alanna's gaze. A small section of the wall's structure was shaded darker than the rest. A doorway, now open.

"Shall we?" Alanna asked.

Five smirked, then turned and began walking towards what I assumed was the Academy. The others headed over as well.

I followed, putting some distance between myself and the rest, but Five slowed to match my pace, walking on my left. I tensed slightly, readying for trouble, but then, to my mild annoyance, Alanna fell back as well on my right. I kept my face expressionless as my hand shifted slightly away from Terminus. I wasn't a fragile child who needed watching.

Five smiled, although his wan expression carried no warmth. "You know, that was a smart plan, bartering. Didn't even cross my mind until you mentioned it." Five chuckled. "Leave it to a poor country boy to come up with that. Right, Vox?"

I walked in silence, ignoring his barbs. I wasn't ashamed of my background. Far from it. While I didn't deny the attraction of being born to privilege, my clan had given me everything I needed to succeed as a sword artist. What more could I ask for?

Alanna was polite enough to ignore Five as well. "Honestly, I'm impressed, Talen. Everyone else who passed has some form of qi surgery. And here you are, as natural as the day you were born."

"That's the way of the sword clans," I replied.

Alanna nodded. "Once you catch up with the alchemy, you'll be an absolute monster. I'm sure of it."

I raised an eyebrow as I glanced over to Alanna. "You think I can't best you now?"

Alanna opened her mouth, speechless for a second, then laughed. I shrugged.

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to find out soon enough," she said.

Naisha made a barfing noise from behind. "Is everyone done waving their dicks? Alanna's got a big one, that's for sure."

Alanna sighed. "Watch your mouth, Naisha."

"Or what?" Naisha asked. Alanna didn't bother to reply.

I kept to myself mostly. The group bantered and chatted for the rest of the walk, some speculating about the Swordgeists or the Academy, except for Five who acted like he was above it all.

When we arrived at the rather plain doorway within a section of the curving stone wall, a tall man with black hair set in a top knot stepped out to meet us. He wore only a simple pair of dark trousers, nothing else, and his skin was grayish, almost powdery in texture. His lean, bare chest rippled with hard musculature, but his figure had a ragged, bestial quality, not the kind that would make young women swoon. The man's aura was hidden, and he showed no signs of power, not even carrying a sword.

"I am Ikari, disciple of Kizen," the man said. The words were stiff and formal like they were part of some ritual or incantation.

He paused, but no one replied. The man, Ikari, continued. "It's my privilege to be the one to welcome you to the Sword System Academy."

It didn't seem like he thought it was much of a privilege. His brown eyes skipped over us with a bored glaze. I glanced at the others to check their reactions. Some were frowning. There were a few coughs and hushed whispers.

Ikari pressed his lips together into a tight smile. "Cherish this moment. I know I will. Because this will be the last time all of you aren't trying to kill me."

Finally, someone, a bland-faced, blond-haired noble in a silver robe spoke up. "What are you? Some kind of servant?"

Ikari laughed. "No, I'm one of your instructors."

"Prove it." The noble reached for his sword.

"Garin..." someone warned.

I took half a step away, fearing the worst. So did Alanna and some of the others. Not all the nobles were blind fools.

The noble had barely drawn his sword, when Ikari shook his head, a wide, free grin spreading cross his otherwise severe face. "See what I mean?"

A bright flash erupted behind Ikari. I shut my eyes out of reflex, and when I opened them again, nine golden swords, each as large as a greatsword, were hovering behind him with their blades pointed outward. They fanned apart, like the stretched wings of a bird about to take flight, before shooting forward to converge upon the noble Garin. Nine sword points floated inches from Garin's face, arranged in a neat circle.

"Satisfied?" Ikari asked.

Garin gulped and nodded ever so slightly. The golden swords vanished.

The rest of us stared. There was no doubt that those swords had been made of pure qi. But to summon and condense that much qi, and to command it independent of the body? What Ikari had displayed was beyond anything that a sword artist could aspire to, Grandmaster or not. We created small slivers or thin discs of qi, a hundred-fold less at least than what Ikari had done. And we definitely didn't send that condensed qi flying around under our control.

Seeing such power with my own eyes in a human was more awe-inspiring than the brief encounter with the Swordgeists. For Swordgeists were alien, something impossibly far away that I couldn't relate to. But this man...what if that could be me some day?

We waited quietly as obedient students for Ikari's instructions. He noticed our change in demeanor and nodded once.

"Come," Ikari said. He turned and stepped into the doorway, pausing with one foot in and one foot out of the dark shadow. "Only the thirty-four who passed the exam can step through this door. Don't bother trying to fool the Academy's wards. You'll die."

Something flickered on the edge of my vision, but when I turned to look, I saw only the leaves of grass waving in the breeze. A few of the others also looked about in confusion.

Ikari grunted and stepped into the building. "Hurry along, students."

I scanned the surroundings once more, but the golden walls still formed a perimeter around the grassy field that had served as the exam location. Had someone actually snuck inside, bypassing whatever system the Swordgeists had set up? That sounded highly improbable, but I couldn't make sense of Ikari's warning otherwise. I shook my head and jogged forward to follow the others into the gray structure.

Past the doorway was a large hallway, wide enough for ten to walk side by side along it. The gray floor sloped downward, our leather boots padding softly on the unnaturally smooth surface. If it was stone, the stone had been polished to a mirror-like finish I hadn't seen before. The walls and ceiling were made of the same material. A series of orbs above us cast a bluish light that reminded me of the alchemical lamps. As we descended down the hallway, I had expected the cold, damp of a stone basement, but the air was fresh and dry.

I lost track of how far we must have gone. The hallway eventually leveled off, but Ikari showed no signs of stopping or providing any further explanation. Now that the initial novelty of exploring the Academy had given way to the boredom of the long walk through the monotonous hallway, the others began whispering among themselves again. I shared some of their questions.

Could we return to the city? I needed to update Elder Gri with my progress. I also wanted to check on the matter of the bounty the Emperor had promised, even if that was a rather mundane matter compared to the displays of power by Ikari and the Swordgeists. There were countless logistical questions. Would we be living here?

Ikari stopped in front of a set of imposing double doors that looked to be made of a dark metal. The doors were plain with no markings or decorations.

"The Academy has many Rooms," Ikari said, with a strange emphasis on the last word. "Take care which Rooms you enter. This one is your Homeroom. It's the only one without a seal."

Ikari lightly touched the center where the two doors met, and they flew wide open with a resounding bang. He entered the classroom. No one else moved for a moment.

"How long is this going to take?" Naisha grumbled. "I could use a shower and a hot meal."

Some of the others murmured their agreement.

Alanna made a hushing sound. "Quiet."

"Since when did you become such a goody two-shoes?" Naisha asked.

"Let's not keep the man with nine flying swords waiting," I said.

Alanna nodded at me. "What he said."

I strode into the classroom first. The room was entirely empty, with no chairs, tables or other furniture, even though it was large enough to serve as a banquet hall for one of the nobles' parties. The floor here was a darker gray than in the hallways, and the texture was rougher as well.

Ikari waited in the center of the room, facing away from the entrance.

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"Sit down," he said.

"Here?" A familiar voice asked. "But there aren't any chairs."

A few others groaned as they identified the speaker, Garin, who seemed to have forgotten his previous lesson already.

"Sit!" Ikari commanded in a thunderous voice, pointing towards the area in front of him.

A single golden sword appeared above his head. The rest of us scattered, more away from Garin than towards the direction that Ikari had pointed. Garin screamed as the golden sword flew toward him and skewered his right arm.

I, along with the others, ran over to white floor in front of Ikari and sat down cross-legged. Behind Ikari, Garin rolled on the ground, shrieking the whole time. The golden sword vanished, and Garin clutched his wounded arm, screaming even louder.

"Spare the bawling," Ikari said. "It's only a flesh wound, and as students of the Academy, you'll all have access to the infirmary." Ikari turned and glowered at Garin's prone form. "After we're done here. Now sit!"

Garin's crying immediately stopped, and he lumbered over to the area where the rest of us were waiting. Blood dripped down his right arm, drenching the sleeve of his silver robe, but his face was flushed red from screaming, rather than the pale hue of someone about to faint from blood loss.

Ikari frowned at us. "Remember this. At the Academy, you're constantly being examined and assessed. Like now."

Blue words appeared in my vision. A question, now of all times?

Rank the following groups of hypothetical sword artists from least potent to most potent in a four versus four battle.

I. Grandmaster, Grandmaster, Grandmaster, Grandmaster.

II. Lesser Expert, Expert, Lesser Silver, Lesser Silver.

III. Expert, Greater Master, Grandmaster, Greater Silver.

IV. Lesser Expert, Master, Greater Grandmaster, Greater Silver.

A) I, II, III, IV.

B) I, III, IV, II.

C) II, III, IV, I.

D) I, IV, III, II.

I looked back up at Ikari. His face was set in a stern expression, his forehead slightly creased. I returned to the question.

I played out the battle in my head. In a fight between sword artists, the lower ranks were irrelevant for the most part. Only the strongest mattered. That was why the sword clans had wielded such influence before when Masters were rare, even though their numbers paled in comparison to the lower ranks. Even the weakest Master would be nearly untouchable by anyone below him, and, as far as I could tell, everyone who had passed the exam just now was a Master of some kind.

Silver was a rank from the Hidden Realm, based on what I had gleaned from the exam. In that case, the groups with a Silver sword artist had the clear advantage. Within a rank, the difference between Lesser and Greater designations was much less. Two Lesser Masters would likely overpower a single Greater Master, and I guessed that the same would be true among Silvers.

Going by the same principles, the group with the Greater Silver and Greater Grandmaster would defeat the group with the Greater Silver and Grandmaster, with the other members of their group being irrelevant.

Final answer, B.

+5 xp. Total: 1010 xp.

They were still keeping track of these exam points? The exam really wasn't over, then, as Ikari had said. Or perhaps it had only truly begun.

"That's right, you'll continue gaining exam points here," Ikari said, as if reading my thoughts. "Your advancement and access to bonuses will depend on your total exam points and class standings."

"Let me be clear." Ikari surveyed us slowly and deliberately, looking each one of us in the eye. "The Sword System Academy is not meant to raise all of you up. It has one purpose: to discover and develop those worthy enough to reach the rank of Blade Divinity. Nothing else matters. No one else matters."

I half-frowned when he said those words. The purpose of the question he had given us was clear. Only the strongest mattered in a fight, and a Blade Divinity was what we needed to become.

This could become ugly. We sword artists were competitive by nature, and his message would do nothing to dampen that nature. I had an inkling of what methods he might use, of how he would pit us against one another. He had mentioned class standings, hadn't he? I understood the concept. Steel sharpened steel, as the saying went. I glanced over at the pale soldier, Five. But in a fight, steel also clashed with steel, ruining both.

Ikari nodded. "Very good. Most of you understand what that means. Moving on with the orientation. Along with Homeroom, the two other Rooms you'll have immediate access to are Services and Quarters. Services houses essential services, including an infirmary, dining hall, and supply center. Quarters contain your living quarters, of course. For both Rooms, you'll need to send a small current of qi into the door's qi seal to open them."

Naisha raised a hand. Ikari blinked at the hand as if it offended him and ignored her. Naisha frowned but kept quiet as she lowered her hand. Ikari continued talking.

"Once you reach a thousand exam points, we'll provide you with the reagents necessary to achieve the rank of what you call Grandmaster. Your bonus points from the exam have been refunded, and you'll be free to spend them as you see fit. Although I'd advise you to wait for the moment until you've been to all your classes."

My pulse quickened.  I had over a thousand exam points, didn't I? If Ikari's promise was true, it hadn't even been a day yet, and I would already be reaching a rank that no one else had reached in years. The callous exam and deaths had left me wavering on whether this whole business would be worth it, but now...I could be a Grandmaster.

I calmed myself, circulating my qi through my body methodically. No, I would wait and see the truth myself. An unbridled lust for power would only blind me.

Ikari held up a green circular object that fit within his palm. "Each of you will find a jade bracelet waiting for you in Quarters. This the Academy's Index. You must wear the Index at all times while students of the Academy. Until now, you've been responding to the Academy's messages. The Index will let you actively check your status, exam points, bonus points, class schedule, and so forth. Send a small current of qi into the bracelet to activate it."

"Let's see, what else was there?" Ikari tilted his head. "Ah. Two more things before we move along. First, up until now, you've been given questions requiring immediate answers. In the future, some questions you receive may take days, if not longer to answer. Their answer may also require specific conditions or actions on your part. Ongoing questions will appear in your Question Log. Here's a rather important question you'll need to answer in the coming months."

The words flared to life in my sight. From the sudden silence all around, I gathered that the rest were reading the words as well.

Instructions: As new students of the Sword System Academy, you are granted admission on a probationary status. To continue on in your studies, you must become a disciple of one of the Swordgeists. You may choose your master after advancing to the Hidden Realm. You will not be able to make your choice in advance. Speak to a senior disciple of the appropriate master to confirm your acceptance. Your master must reciprocate your choice for this question to be answered successfully. The time limit for this question is at the discretion of the instructors.

Choose your master from one of the following:

A) Kizen the Warrior.

B) Shiah the Refiner.

C) Theus the Maker.

D) Hamu the Broken.

Kizen, Shiah, Theus, and...Hamu? Only three Swordgeists had shown up just now. Who was Hamu, and why was he broken? That didn't sound particularly appealing. As for the others, my first impression would have been to choose the Warrior. I looked up at Ikari, Kizen's disciple. Surely that was a potent power. Would the other Swordgeists teach different paths to power? There were too many things I didn't know.

"Are there more instructors?" someone asked. More voices joined in with further questions.

"How do we reach the Hidden Realm?"

"Who's Hamu?"

"How old are you?"

Ikari raised an eyebrow at that last question, as did I. That had been Naisha, I was fairly certain.

Ikari raised a hand and the others settled down immediately. "Some answers will be given in due time. Others, you must discover for yourself. And still others are not for you to know." Ikari grinned. "The last thing for now. Here are the class standings."

A list of names scrolled across my vision.

Class Leaders

1. Unit 5, 1025 xp

2. Alanna Vox, 1015 xp

2. Tycho Rees, 1015 xp

4. Kendra Sullivan, 1010 xp

4. Naisha Leshander, 1010 xp

4. Talen Koroi, 1010 xp

7. Oman Mirsk, 1002 xp

8. Elda Wrynn, 1000 xp

8. Jun Ingler, 1000 xp

10. Hanika Maeves, 997 xp

I paused on my own name, then scanned the rest of the list. I was surprised to find that there were others with more exam points than me. I didn't think I had made any obvious mistake. Were there hidden opportunities? Had the different victory conditions rewarded different points?

I looked at the top of the list again. Unit 5. It took me a second to connect the name with the pale-faced soldier. Five. That really was his name. He and Alanna led the standings. For now.

"Vox." Five was seated all the way in the back of the group, but his whisper carried clearly over the murmurs. "You make a good number two."

Alanna turned and stared at him for a second but didn't reply.

Ikari grunted. "Listen carefully. While your progress will ultimately depend on your own skills and insights, an important part of your Academy evaluations will include team-based components."

I could make out Naisha tossing her head from the corner of my left eye. "Oh, come on! I hate teams!"

In this case, I agreed with the thief. Teams tended to be unpredictable and messy. I didn't deny the effectiveness of a well-oiled team, but as part of training...I didn't see how that would work. Someone would be holding someone back. That was the nature of group work.

"Everyone, organize yourselves into teams of four. Choose your teams wisely, as you'll stay in the same team throughout your time at the Academy. A hint: a balanced team is the most likely to succeed in the long run."

When nobody moved, Ikari clapped his hands once sharply. "Go! You have five minutes before I start assigning teams."

I stood up, along with the others, but quickly found myself drifting to the edge of the crowd. Almost everyone else, other than me and Five, seemed to be from nobility. Roughly half were female, which was somewhat surprising since noblewomen were discouraged from continuing as sword artists once they grew older. But perhaps that meant the ones who persevered were all the more dedicated. Or maybe they were desperate to escape whatever fate their parents had in store.

I scanned the group of nobles all about me. I hated this sort of thing. Duels risking life and limb I could take. Trying to squirm my way into the graces of the nobility was an entirely different matter. It was obvious that with thirty-four students, two would be left out, which only made matters worse.

The others were chatting and pairing up already. I tried to approach the closest student, a red-haired girl with bright blue eyes and porcelain features. Her eyes flicked to the sides of my face where my ears should have been. She sniffed and turned away to approach a silver-robed boy.

I spotted Zeriko, the blond boy who had made a deal with me earlier during the exam. I stepped towards him, but he looked away, as if he didn't recognize me.

So that was how it was. The battlefield was the great equalizer, but once the exam had ended, I was a fringe traditionalist of low birth and station, not worth the time of a noble. Didn't they understand? The exam had never ended. I grit my teeth and approached another group, meeting the same tepid response.

Politics and preening. This wasn't my kind of fight.

"Talen!" Alanna waved from the edge of the room on the other side of the group.

I headed over to the sword artist, relieved to find someone willing to at least acknowledge my existence. But I froze when I saw who was standing next to Alanna.

Five leaned against the wall, avoiding any eye contact. Naisha, though, shook her head.

"No, it's bad enough you want him." Naisha glared at Five. Then, she pointed at me. "We are not a damn zoo."

Alanna shifted her head so that only I could see her rolling her eyes. "Even you must have gotten the point of that question. Only superlatives matter. The rest don't. Talen's at the top. We take him."

"Take someone else near the top. Anyone else. Someone respectable."

"You of all people know how bad we stuffy nobles are. Come on, this will be different. Interesting."

"What about Kendra? I like the Sullivans." Naisha's fiery eyes darted between Five and me.

Alanna shook his head. "Yes, I know you and her get along, which is precisely why I don't want twice the headache with having you gang up on me."

The situation didn't look like it would resolve itself easily, and I wasn't too interested in teaming up with Five. Time was running out.

"You're still mad at Kendra, aren't you?" Naisha said. "For that boy--"

"Shut up, Naisha. Now listen..."

I ignored their bickering and turned to find another group.

"Wait, Talen!" Alanna rushed over. "Naisha will behave, I promise."

Naisha huffed. "Well, I don't."

"Are you sure?" I asked Alanna. I honestly wasn't sure what was behind her motivation. There were other nobles on the top ten. Surely, they would be happy to join Alanna's group as well.

"Absolutely," Alanna said. "Think of it...as an apology. For the other night's mistake." She gave Naisha a knowing look.

I frowned. "I'm not looking for pity."

"Nor would I offer it," Alanna said. "Look, Ikari specifically said to form a balanced group, right? We'll be a motley team, but also the most balanced no matter how you looked at it."

She was right. Balance was fundamental to a sword artist's path, to qi itself. While the four of us might grate on each other's nerves at times, as a whole, we would be far more balanced than the rather uniform groups forming up nearby. It was clear that Alanna and Naisha were not typical nobles, both in their own ways. I wondered, briefly, whether that lowered them in the eyes of the others.

There was one other matter, though.

I glanced at Five, who still lounged nonchalantly at the side, pretending that he hadn't notice the scene before him. "What about him?"

"He's on board with you joining," Alanna replied quickly. "Right, Five?"

Five looked up. He smiled, the same colorless smile as before. "I'm the one that suggested you, clansman."

"Yeah, because you think--" Naisha began.

Alanna waved her hand to cut Naisha off. "Together, we'll be unstoppable. I know it."

I studied the three of them. Alanna had spoken the truth. There was no altruism or pity here. I had a guess what Five had in mind, but I would deal with that when it came up.

I nodded. "Okay. I agree."

Alanna grinned and stretched out her hand. "Welcome!"

I regarded the sword artist with her braided golden hair and well-kept appearance, even after going through the turmoil of the exam. She was a noble through and through. But while her sharp blue eyes conveyed a plotting mind, the hand and smile she offered seemed genuine enough.

I shook it.

The rest of the students formed up into teams as well. A boy with shoulder length brown hair and rather plain features stood off to the side by himself, clearly left out from the teams. His robes were too stained with blood and dirt to make out if they had once been a noble's silver. His face grew uneasy as Ikari announced that the allotted time had passed. I shared a pang of sympathy for him. That would have been me, if not for Alanna's offer.

The other one left out was the loud-mouth Garin.

"Hey!" Garin shouted. "I don't believe it." He turned one way, then the other, before stomping over to my group.

"You're taking that country bumpkin?" Garin yelled, pointing at me.

Five snickered. Alanna moved to say something, but I stepped forward first to block her. I lowered my hand to Terminus.

"What's the Academy's policy on duels?" I asked in a loud voice.

Ikari chuckled. "Allowed but discouraged. You have better things to do with your sword." He pointed to Garin and the leftover boy. "You two. We have a special task for you."

Ikari tossed two jade bracelets towards them, one to each. "Put these on."

Garin closed his open mouth, a curious expression crossing the features of his flat face. He put on the bracelet, as did the other boy.

"Follow the directions. Go. Hurry." Ikari's voice was calm, but his eyes carried a threat as he looked in Garin's direction.

The boy walked briskly towards the shut double doors. He pushed, and they swung outwards, opposite from when we had entered. He left. After a moment, Garin ran to catch up with him.

"You think they'll kick them out?" Naisha whispered.

"Shush." Alanna flicked at her nose, but Naisha dodged with ease. "No. Anyone who passed the exam is far too valuable to waste like that. Still..." She shook her head. "I don't know."

"As for the rest of you," Ikari said, "turn right and head down the hall. You'll find the entrance to Quarters all the way at the end. Your living arrangements are organized by team, and you'll find your names posted on the doors already. Don't forget to put on the jade bracelet left inside for you. If you need to head to Services, you can find directions with your bracelet."

With that, Ikari walked out of the room, leaving us to ourselves. The whispers quickly started.

"Garin deserved better," someone said.

"Who's that peasant with Vox, anyways?"

I caught more than a few dirty looks in my direction.

"Typical Vox, just like her mother. Too much time playing with the servants."

My ears perked up at that last comment. Alanna ignored them. Naisha's jaw tightened. Well, that explained some things, a bit differently than I had expected. Five watched everything silently, the ever-present mocking gleam still in his black eyes.

"There's no sense waiting around," I said. "Let's go."

We followed Ikari's simple directions along the hallway. After about fifty yards down the monotonous gray path, we arrived at a series of double-doors, similar to the one on the Homeroom, except this one had a circular seal in the middle where the two doors met. The seal was nearly a foot in diameter, and dense concentric circles carved into its surface created a ridged pattern. Our group was closest to the double doors.

"The qi seal Ikari mentioned?" Alanna asked. She held up her hand to touch the seal, tracing the contours of the rings on its surface.

Naisha elbowed Alanna aside. "It's a fancy lock. Big deal." Her hand pulsed softly with yellow light before the seal made a faint clicking sound. Naisha pushed, and the double doors opened.

Inside was another smaller hallway with single doors lining either side. Each door had another seal with concentric circles placed where the door joined the wall.

Naisha had rushed inside first, and she pointed to a rectangular object posted above the first door on our right. We gathered around her to read the words on the sign.

Unit 5

Alanna Vox

Naisha Leshander

Talen Koroi

"Wait a minute..." Naisha muttered as she held up her hand to the seal. The seal and her hand glowed softly once more. Then, the door slid to the side, moving on its own. More alchemy?

Naisha rushed inside. A few seconds later, she screamed.

Alanna ran inside, followed by me, and then Five. I had half drawn Terminus, and Alanna had one hand on the greatsword strapped to her back.

"Is this a joke?" Naisha yelled.

The room was small and mostly bare, except for four beds and a few storage closets built into the walls. There were two beds on each half of the room, and they were the kind that stacked on top of each other. Bunk beds. At the back of the room was another open door that led to what looked like a washroom.

I sheathed Terminus and stared at Naisha curiously. The quarters, while not exactly luxurious, were comfortable, clean, and spacious enough. On the other hand, I was used to sleeping on the ground or in bug-ridden beds. I supposed that it might have been jarring for a noble accustomed to feather beds, soft quilts, and perfumed wash basins.

"Looks nice," I said.

Alanna turned to give me an odd look, then chuckled. "Well, it is what it is."

"This is your fault," Naisha hissed at her, but that only made Alanna break out into full laughter.

Five walked to the left half of the room and threw himself on the lower bed, claiming it without a word. The mattress rustled as he rolled over onto his back.

Since Naisha and Alanna hadn't moved, I made my way to the other lower bunk on the right side of the room.

Alanna coughed. "Ahem." She jerked her head towards Five's side of the room.

Naisha stabbed her finger at me. "I swear by every god and demon in this world, if you lay a finger on me, I will cut you into little pieces and cram them down your throat until your belly explodes." She glared at Five as well, but he had his back turned to us.

"Now, now," Alanna said. "Things could be worse. Talen's a traditionalist, remember? The honorable kind."

"What about him?" Naisha said, meaning Five. "I don't trust soldiers."

"You shouldn't," Alanna said, "but he's more likely to slit your throat in your sleep than do anything creepy."

"I'm flattered," Five said with his back still towards us.

I shrugged. So that's what this was about. When you spent most of your time thinking about swinging swords and scrounging up your next meal, you tended to forget about the issues that bothered polite society.

Apparently so had the Swordgeists. In that, at least, we were alike.

As I stepped towards the beds on the left side of the room, I realized what Five was doing. He had a jade bracelet on one of his wrists.

"The bracelets," I said, looking at the beds again. There was a jade bracelet at the head of each bed, tucked between the mattress and the headboard.

I leaped onto the bed above Five, not bothering to use the rungs at the end. I grabbed the waiting jade bracelet, eager to see what the Academy had to offer.