In a small square room with only one window, which was behind a simple wooden chair and desk, a familiar white-haired figure sat with her arms stretched out.

The walls were adorned with various framed pictures, which displayed the white-haired principal and countless influential figures within the kingdom.

One of the pictures hanging above the window even depicted the famous emperor with his golden-blonde hair and calm, divine-blue eyes.

A red robe was draped across the Emperor, with countless golden ribbons and a diamond plaque that read "Emperor Caesar De'lor" hanging from it.

Unlike Principal Artemis, who looked ahead at the camera with a smile, Emperor Caesar somberly looked up at the sky, ruining the picture's jolly mood.

Of course, the photograph didn't dare mention it.

Sitting in her wooden chair, which was facing away from the desk, Art stared at the picture above before slowly shifting her gaze downward to the window.

Through the window, Art could see some students swarming out of the plaza while others still sat in their chairs in shock.

Yawning, Art threw her hand upward, and at that moment, her chair suddenly twisted around with her still on it.

In the next second, Art was now sitting in the chair with her legs under the desk, staring at the door in front of her.

Opening one of the many drawers, she retrieved a crystal glass ball and carefully placed it on top of her empty desk.

Placing her thumb and index finger together, she flicked the glass ball, causing a small dent to appear on its clean surface.

A second later, the dent disappeared, and the crystal ball's color began to change until the scenery of a forest appeared on its surface.

Staring at the ball, which displayed a figure with amber-brown hair dragging around another figure with black hair, Art smiled faintly.

"The first special admission student in...who knows how long."

Principal Artemis wanted to limit imperial influence or restrictions on the academy, so instead of seeking funding from the emperor, she sought individual sponsors.

Candidates for these jobs consisted of wealthy merchant guild owners or even grand dukes.

Although the empire's army was vast and massive, grand dukes still preferred to have their own armies in case of a sudden emergency.

Thus, a deal was established between the academy and the dukes.

Stolen story; please report.

In exchange for money, Artemis gave the dukes and merchant guilds, who also sponsored the academy, early recruiting rights for students.

Occasionally, these sponsors would make outrageous demands to her about changing academy rules or letting certain students in.

And, though Principal Artemis refused almost all of these demands, she was forced to accept one.

Recalling the discussion at hand, Artemis put her hand on her forehead and sighed.

"You want me to recruit students...from Blackthorne, the city infamously known for being torn down and homeless?"

"Hey, only I'm allowed to insult my hometown...but yes, I do."

Shaking her head at the grand duke sitting in front of her, Artemis leaned back in her wooden chair.

"I understand your point. There could be some hidden gems in the outskirts towns that we don't know and will never know about due to the system of applying to the academy. But, we can't just send recruiters to every outskirt town a-"

"Then, only send them to my hometown."

"...you should know best that recruiting in that environment will be almost impossible."

"I'm not asking you to recruit anyone from the town specifically...but just give them a chance and see if anyone takes it."

Making eye contact with the grand duke, Artemis was about to reject the proposal as she did with every other sponsor, but before she could speak, the grand duke continued.

"Remember, you still owe me one."

"..."

Indeed, when the academy had trouble with the emperor, Grand Duke Archon stepped in to defend it on the royal stage.

Leaning forward in her chair and fixing her posture, Artemis seriously asked.

"Archon...this is why you'd like to spend your favor on?"

A favor from Artemis, the influential principal of Aetherhelm academy who raises the next generation of magicians and combatants, could go a long way...so spending it on this seemed like a waste.

Seeing him nod his head, Artemis sighed before waving her hands and dismissing him from the room.

However, before Artemis could fall into deep thought, Archon suddenly halted as he touched the doorknob and said.

"Nobody must know about the special admission besides me and you."

Before Artemis could even argue and react, Archon shamelessly opened the door and walked through, letting it slam shut behind him.

Thus, every year, Artemis sent two teachers to Blackthorne with a diamond that they had no idea existed.

And...in the thirty years of the academy, that diamond had been stolen three times.

Yet, today marked the first day it had been returned to the academy, its rightful place.

Placing her finger on the surface of the crystal orb, Artemis stared at Athen and muttered.

"I shouldn't let Archon get his hopes up...yet."

After all, this special admissions student...didn't even know he was special admission.

To ensure this, Artemis even added an extra student who didn't exist to the student list every year.

This meant that in addition to passing the academy entrance test, the special admission student also had to assume a completely new identity.

"Good luck...Athen...or Ren, whichever one you choose."

...

...

...

Back outside the plaza, Athen and Kai finally arrived in front of a massive building with too many windows to count.

The massive metal building seemed to stretch to the sky as the sun reflected off its cold metal surface, making it shine.

Seeing Athen starstruck, Kai sighed before pulling him towards the door and saying.

"I assume you didn't make it to the dorm building last night..."

Nodding his head as he entered the building, Athen smiled and replied.

"Yesterday was a pretty crazy night. I think I even got married and had a child at one point."

"..."

"...at one point...?"

Shaking his hand from Kai's grasp, Athen nodded his head before placing a finger over his closed lips and staring at Kai.

"What happens in Blackthorne stays in Blackthorne..."

Standing completely still for a second, Kai silently stared at Athen before finally entering the building with a blank expression.

"Let's just get to your dorm already, ok? We can talk about...your child and wife later."