"All new students, follow the signs and head for the auditorium. I repeat, all new students please head for the auditorium!" A voice could be heard across the academy. Scores of students hobbled along the walkways that lead to the Saint Agatha auditorium. Crammed among them, Tara followed the crowds to the new student orientation ceremony.
Tara managed to push her way into the large marble building which housed a dizzying amount of seats. The seats descended down in layers as they encircled a small stage at the bottom. Students continually filed into the building, slowly filling the seats as they entered. Tara decided to find a seat near the back so she could escape the imminent crowds that would form once the orientation finished. She found a seat next to a girl with long ashen brown hair and large circular glasses. "Would you mind if I sit here?" Tara asked of the girl. "Of course not, please do," the girl responded. Everything from her voice to her appearance was small.
Tara thanked the girl and sat down. Tara could feel the girl's gaze as people continued to fill the seats around them. "Did you need anything?" Tara asked the girl. "Huh?" the girl was startled, "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare at you. I just couldn't help admiring how you looked..." Tara never really thought about it, but she was more than conventionally attractive. She was a stark contrast to the small girl next to her. Tara was tall and had a visibly defined musculature. Her skin was a bronze color, tanned from spending many hours outside in training. Her short brown hair was thick, but just long enough to put into a ponytail. Her bright green eyes paired well with her sharp facial features that closely resembled her mother.
"Uh, thanks?" Tara responded halfheartedly. She was never one to really care about things like someone's physical appearance. Tara saw that the girl was clearly anxious, so she decided to be nice and make some small talk, "My name is Tara. What's your name?"
"Nice to meet you Tara, I'm Celine Acanthus," the girl replied, "I came here from the Sinthath region. Its a really hot place to live. The sun is out all the time so I just stay inside. My skin is really sens-" Celine was cut off by the sound of the entrance doors closing shut. The auditorium had finally filled enough to start the orientation. Celine and Tara directed their focus to the stage in the center. A tall and slender man walked onto the stage. He had long straight blonde hair and wore a pair of large circle rimmed glasses. He cast a sound amplification spell on himself before he spoke.
"Hello, my name is professor Richard Rampion. I welcome you to Saint Agatha Academy. The academy of the Chrysanthemum Empire. This academy was built on the principal of nourishment. We aim to nourish those who walk these halls so that they can achieve great things in the future. With the nourishment we provide, all of you will become leaders that pave the way for the future of the Chrysanthemum Empire." A roar of applause echoed throughout the room. The young students cheered at the thought of becoming prominent figures in the Empire. As the cheering started to die down, Richard continued his speech. "Your stay at Saint Agatha will not be easy. From the moment you wake, to the moment you lay your head to sleep, you will be studying with your life on the line." He paused for a moment to scan the room. His gaze fell on Tara. He paused on her and a smile briefly appeared on his face. Tara felt a chill run through her body.
"If you have the will and determination, don't let a single chance slip by during your stay here. For those who take advantage of those opportunities, your potential will be limitless." As he finished speaking, he clapped his hands together. Almost as if signaled, a young woman walked onto the stage. She had lavender colored hair placed in a neat ponytail. Her face was soft and dignified. For some reason, her eyes remained shut, though it didn't seem to hinder her movement. She also wore a student uniform which was decorated with gold and lavender tassels.
Once on stage, Richard cast sound amplification on her as well. "Now, please welcome the leader of the student council, Symphonia Delosperma," Richard said before walking off stage.
"Thank you professor Rampion for your wonderful words," Symphonia bowed slightly in Richard's direction. She raised her head and gave a long speech about the history of the academy and it's relation to the Empire. The speech bore Tara to death. She already didn't like sitting in one place for too long, but now she had to listen to a speech she cared nothing for. She sat in agony for 30 minutes before Symphonia completed her speech.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Thank you all for being patient during my long speech. Shortly, all of you will be sent to your respective dorm rooms. Please use that time to get settled into your room. The rest of today will be a free day. I would advise that you take this chance as a chance to rest, for tomorrow will be filled with testing. We will conduct testing to place you all in your respective classes. Those of you who score high will receive greater benefits during your time here. For those who place lower, do not fret, there will always be chances to increase your ranks. I thank you once more for your time and welcome to Saint Agatha."
Now that the orientation had finally finished, the teaching staff escorted the freshman class to the dormitories. The dorms were split into two main buildings, one for the girls and another for the boys. The individual buildings themselves were further separated by floor depending on your nobility rank. The lower your rank, the closer you lived to the ground floor. For students that belonged to Earl rank nobilities and above, they were provided with rooms to themselves. Everyone else was paired with another student. Since Tara was the daughter of an Earl, she was given a nice room to herself.
Tara made her way to the 3rd floor where her room was. She entered the dorm room and looked around. The room had a small living area with a separate bathroom and kitchen. Her actual bedroom was spacious and everything was modestly furnished. She put away her belongings and made her way outside to check out the campus.
Tara wandered around for a bit until she happened upon a small garden. A large tree stood in the middle of the garden. She walked over to the tree and laid under it's shade. She had considered doing some training today, but decided against it to conserve energy for the coming tests. As she laid there, she felt the presence of someone getting closer. She opened her eyes to the sight of professor Rampion looking down at her. "You must be Christoph's daughter, Tara, right?" he said with a warm smile on his face, "You look just like your mother when she was younger."
"So you're the professor that my father was talking about. Its nice to finally meet you." Tara sat up and extender her hand toward the professor. Richard took her hand, "Its nice to meet you as well."
"I didn't fully believe Christoph when he told me how strong you were, but seeing you now, I can tell you put a lot of work into training your mana wells." Richard said as he sent a small amount of his own mana into Tara through their handshake. He was able to quickly ascertain that Tara had already managed to grow 3 very large mana wells. "Most students come to the academy having only formed a single mana well. Those that were born into the wealthier noble houses typically have two. You came here with three. Not only that, but the sizes of your wells are quite remarkable. A single one of yours has a higher capacity than the combined wells of the other students."
Hearing such compliments elevated Tara's ego. She had already assumed she would be ahead of the others, but never knew by how much. "Well, I have been training since I was a child. I also spend a lot of time hunting monsters and absorbing their essence. You could say that I'm a bit of a genius."
Richard chuckled, "Ah, yes. You might just be a genius. Also, judging by your physique, I'm going to assume you are proficient in normal combat as well."
Tara nodded, "Of course. I actually fight the majority of time without mana. If I used mana in all of my fights, they would be too easy. I prefer fights that present at least some challenge." Tara's ego continued to grow. "Graduating at the top of my class won't be an issue from the sounds of it. They might even give me an award for being so strong. These next three years are going to be a breeze." Tara arrogantly thought.
"What a wonderful mentality. It seems the combat aspect of this academy will be of great benefit to you," said Richard. He hesitated for a moment and looked her over. "How are your studies beyond combat?" he finally asked.
Tara's ego dropped immediately. She had completely forgotten that the coursework included actual academic studies as well. "Uh, you could say I'm pretty knowledgeable in that department too," she shakily responded. Tara tried to avoid the quizzical look of the professor. She didn't want him to see the weakness in her face.
"That's wonderful news," he said, "it seems like you will be able to excel across the board." There were hints of sarcasm in his voice. Richard had clearly picked up on Tara's obvious disdain of study. "I had originally decided to assist you a bit for tomorrow's tests, but it seems like you aren't in need of any assistance. I can't wait to see how you will rank in tomorrows tests." Richard finished his talk with Tara and gave his farewells. He walked away, leaving Tara alone under the tree.
Tara was left with a sense of dread. She was confident that she knew enough to not make a total fool of herself, but not confident enough to do anything noteworthy. "I'll just have to do so well in the combat portion that no one will even pay attention to my other scores!" Tara tried her best to fool herself. Delusion would be the only thing that helped her sleep that night.