Ok guys.
My favorite/most hated part of the story is starting.
I love the school scenes but it is going to be a nightmare to write.
anyway enjoy.
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Wesley continued reading for a short while after the three men from the central government left, then he left the study and headed towards the kitchen to look for something to eat.
The maids in the kitchen were currently just sitting around relaxing, it was around four in the afternoon and it seems like they finished most of their work and the renovation works were starting to slow so there was nothing much left for them to do.
The moment Wesley walked in, the four maids immediately stood at attention as if they were soldiers, only they had no idea what to do, they were all hired by Lane making him their boss, but everyone knew that Wesley was the true master of the house. Wesley just ignored their confused looks and started looking around the kitchen for something to eat.
While Wesley was rummaging around the kitchen, the four maids looked at each other, and after a short moment of silent conversation, one of the maids stepped forward and spoke:
"Master, do you need help with anything."
Wesley who was currently starting to get flustered at his not finding food, looked up at the maid who spoke. She was an elderly women, around fifty if not older, her face was full of wrinkles, but her eyes shined with a youthful luster that gave her an amiable and kind feeling. Wesley just straightened himself and spoke while trying to hide his frustration:
"I was looking for something to eat, but I couldn’t find any."
Wesley was really trying his hardest to save some dignity in front of these maids, but he failed miserably as his words came out sounding childish. One of the three maids behind the old maid snickered at Wesley's words but was met with glares from both the elder maid and Wesley. The elder maid turned back to look at Wesley and spoke with an apologetic look on her face:
"Master, It is still too early for supper so there is no food prepared yet. We will prepare something for you now."
Wesley was really embarrassed, so he didn’t want to spend anymore time than necessary in this damned kitchen.
"No need, I'll eat when everyone else is eating. Have Lane inform me when it is supper time. I'll be in the basement."
The old maid was surprised at Wesley's word, they were all told by Lane when he hired them that the study and the basement were not to be entered at all. She somewhat understood why the study was off limits, but why the basement?
Wesley immediately left the kitchen with haste. He really hated situations like that where people would look at him like a child. But it couldn’t be helped, so he didn’t get angry, only really embarrassed.
'Damn, I hate it when things like this happen.'
Wesley walked into the basement and locked the door behind him. He then went to the center of the basement and started refining, he never really bothered to put any lambs or light sources in the basement since they will be extinguished when he invokes his Dark Globe so the basement was naturally dark and gloomy, however, when combined with his Dark Globe, the basement gets even darker, only this darkness is beyond words, it is like looking into a bottomless abyss where you know there is something there but your eyes simply can't register anything.
Wesley continued refining for about five hours. A knock on the door nudged Wesley causing him to immediately cancel his Dark Globe, he then walked to the door and opened it only to find a pale looking Lane standing there.
'Hmm, I wonder if he felt my Dark Globe."
"Lane, what is the matter. You look pale."
Lane who looked to be in some sort of daze looked up at Wesley with eyes full of confusion and said:
"Master, the basement...Such a cold feeling was coming from it. What...."
Lane managed to restrain himself before finishing his sentence. He knew that there was a reason why Wesley told them to never enter the basement, but for him to feel such an intense cold from simply standing outside, he couldn’t imagine what was going on inside, furthermore, the moment he knocked on the door, the coldness disappeared meaning that it was Wesley who controlled it.
'Ho, I wonder what Lane's affinity is for him to be able to feel my Dark Globe. Probably light or fire.'
"Lane, Do you know what your elemental affinity is."
Lane hearing Wesley's question seemed to have understood something, he looked at Wesley with excitement visible on his face.
"Master, I have an average affinity for fire. How about you master, what is your elemental affinity."
'Average affinity with fire, huh? Too bad it is not enough to become a mage, but it is still enough to feel the expulsion of fire elements caused by my Dark Globe. Interesting'
"That is a discussion for another day. Let's go Lane, I am starving."
Lane was slightly disappointed that Wesley didn’t tell him his affinity, but he didn’t mind too much, affinities were, after all, a personal matter, and his master seems to prefer using the swords meaning that he probably didn’t have a high elemental affinity, but what was the bone chilling coldness he felt.
"Yes Master."
Wesley and Lane walked towards the main hall where a dining room has been set. Wesley noticed that the three brothers and little Sala were already there, the four maids were also there only they were standing near the wall.
Wesley sat at the head of the table while Lane sat on his right, surprisingly, on his left, little Sala was sitting while looking at the food in front of her greedily. Wesley laughed at this in the depth of his heart. He then turned to the elder maid who was standing to the right.
"You guys can go eat as well. There is no need for you to just stand there."
The four maids looked at each other with confused looks, everyone knows that it is common etiquette to wait on the masters of the house while they eat so that if they need anything it is easy to provide it. Lane simply sat there unconcerned with the maids, while the other four where each just sitting there. The five siblings, although nobles by birth, grew up as urchins, being waited on was hardly a necessity.
"Yes Master" the eldest maid replied then promptly walked out of the dining room followed by the other three.
Wesley then turned to the siblings and spoke:
"Well, Let us eat."
"Yes Master" they all replied together and started devouring their food.
They continued eating for another half an hour, after everyone was done eating, Wesley told them to take their dishes to the kitchen and clean them since he really didn't want them to start behaving like nobles. Although the siblings were surprised, they really didn’t mind since only a few days ago they were starving on the streets. The ones who were really surprised were the maids, they didn’t know what to do with these odd employers.
When the siblings returned from their chore, they sat around the table and started chatting. Wesley had something on his mind so he turned to Lane and asked:
"Say Lane, do you know what affinities you siblings have."
Lane thought for a moment then replied:
"Stein and Wannel both have average affinities for fire like me. Lavar has a high affinity for wind as for Sala we don't really know since the attack happened before we were told by our parents."
'High affinity for wind. That is not too bad. And little Sala, I wonder what her elemental affinity is.'
Wesley turned to Sala and said:
"Little Sala, come closer, I want to see check your affinity."
Everyone at the table looked towards Wesley with odd expressions, the other three were simply curious about Sala's affinity and how Wesley would check it, but Lane was surprised, he thought that Wesley didn’t have a strong affinity, but to be able to check another's affinity, one needs to a mage.
"What is that Master Wes." Sala had no idea what affinities were since she was only three at the time.
"haha, little Sala, affinities are what kind of magic you can practice. Now come"
Wesley reached towards her and set his hand on her forehead. He then muttered something under his breath and his hand lit up with a bright light then instantly dimmed down.
'Hmm, seems like she has a high affinity for light. Impressive.'
Checking affinities was not a complicated procedure. One only needs pour a small portion of their mana into the other person's body, and depending the mana reacts, it is easy to figure out the affinity of the person. For example if its light affinity, and the testers mana is darkness then the two will reject. As for the strength of the affinity, that is completely dependent on the strength of the reaction.
"Little Sala, it seems you have a high affinity for Light."
Wesley was currently all smiles, of course he would have liked it if she had a darkness affinity so he could teach her, but the chances of that are really too slim, and to get the chance to observe and study his natural opposite is not a bad thing. The other four siblings, however, had their mouths hanging. A high affinity for light is not a simple matter, after all, light magic is hailed as the most noble and powerful of the affinities.
"What is that Master Wes?"Sala had absolutely no idea what was going on.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"It means you're a little genius. Don’t worry"
"Master, could you possibly teach Sala and Lavar."
Lane was the first to ask since he was now convinced that Wesley was a powerful mage, only he didn’t consider that Sala and Lavar had different affinities. Wesley only laughed at Lane's words and spoke with an amused voice:
"Haha Lane, the two of them have different affinities, and neither of them has the same affinity as me so I can't teach them. But don't worry, we'll find them some good teachers."
Wesley's words caught Lane's attention, he really wanted to know what his affinity was, but Wesley didn’t want to tell him so he naturally wouldn't ask again. Wesley seeing Lane's face sighed inwardly.
'I would really hate to have to kill you, so you'll have to settle for not knowing'
"Anyway, time to get some sleep. Lane, tomorrow I'll be going to school so you'll need to hire those guards, also make sure they are trustworthy and capable."
"Yes Master."
Wesley then got up from the table and headed towards the stairs to get some sleep.
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The next morning, Wesley woke up at four. He wasn't expected at the academy until six in the morning, but he still felt slight anxiousness and woke up too early. Wesley's anxiousness was not caused by the fact that this was his first day of school, rather it was caused by a completely unrelated issue.
'Ugh, I really don't want to meet those old freaks again, especially that second elder.'
Remembering the dread he felt when that second elder gazed at him caused Wesley to question whether he should go or not. But his master had told him that being at this academy would benefit him, and he would never dare disobey his master.
Wesley immediately wore his uniform. The uniform composed of a shirt and pants, he could have chosen a robe, but that would make him look like a mage and that was not a good idea. The light blue clothes matched his similarly blue hair and coupled with his slender but tall stature, gave him a majestic feeling that was sure to draw a lot of attention. The only thing that stood out was the dark colored satchel that hung from him shoulder and the dark sword that he carried on his left hip.
After getting ready, Wesley walked out of his room, only the whole house was quiet since everyone was probably sleeping. The first thing Wesley did was head down to the kitchen to look for something to eat, only he couldn’t find anything again.
'Where the hell do they hide all the food in this damn kitchen'
Since he couldn't find anything to eat, Wesley just left and headed outside. It wasn't too dark outside, but the sun hasn't come up yet so it was hard to see very far, but Wesley could still feel some eyes were on him.
'It seems I will be watched constantly from now on.'
Wesley Ignored the eyes on him and just headed down the road. The Academy was located in the Central District so it was almost an hour's walk away, and Wesley needed to get some breakfast so he headed towards the sixth district, to Michael's Inn.
Wesley reached Michael's Inn in ten or so minutes, and was greeted by an excited Michael. After eating his breakfast and chatting with Michael for a while, it was already five. Wesley decided that it was about time he left and after saying farewell to Michael walked towards the academy.
Since it was about time for the day to begin, there were a lot more people on the streets compared to earlier. Most of these people would stare at Wesley when he walked past them. A student from the Royal Academy walking amongst them was sure to catch some attention, and factoring in Wesley's appearance, it was not that surprising that a lot of people noticed him.
Wesley simply ignored the stares and briskly walked towards his destination. After almost an hour of walking he finally reached the gates of the Academy. There were a few students standing outside the gate chatting, Wesley was not interested in such things, so he just walked past them, of course the students noticed him and spoke somethings in hushed voices.
The moment Wesley walked in, he was greeted by an older youth who was slightly taller than Wesley wearing a red robe.
'He must be an upperclassman.'
The youth looked at Wesley with an appraising look, then as soon as his eyes landed on Wesley's sword, a look of disappointment crept on his face, he then spoke with a calm voice:
"Please head to the left. The new student welcoming ceremony will start soon."
'It seems people don't like swordsmen in this school.'
"Thank you."
Wesley gave a simple reply and headed towards the place he was told to go. After walking for almost a minute, Wesley reached an open courtyard with marble floors. Inside the courtyard, there were at least two hundred blue clothed students standing in five ordered lines facing a raised stage. The stage had a short podium, and behind the podium there were twenty one chairs with the center chair being larger and more impressive than the others.
'That must be the headmaster's chair. Meaning there are twenty teachers at this school'
While Wesley was looking around the courtyard, a red robed girl with dark hair approached him. As soon as she was within speaking range of him, she spoke in an annoyed and irritated voice while extending her hand.
"Your identification Tablet"
Seeing her attitude Wesley only smiled back at her. He reached into his satchel and pulled out the rectangular blue tablet he received when he was admitted. The girl almost snatched the tablet from his hand, and looked at the number, she then handed it back to him while still speaking with her annoyed tone:
"The first line."
Wesley immediately walked away without even replying, there was no need to reply when someone was clearly being rude, however, the black haired girl seeing Wesley attitude felt unfathomable anger well up in her heart. She thought of beating him senseless but managed to restrain herself and only shot him a hateful glance.
The lines each had about forty or so people and each person was standing inattention. Wesley simply get into the first line and stood there as well.
'I hope this won't take too long'
Fortunately for Wesley, they had to stand there for thirty more minutes before a large gong captured everyone's attention. As soon as the gong sounded, twenty blue roped people walked to the stage and took sat on the seats that were there. Out of the twenty blue robed people, five had swords while the rest didn’t. After a closer look at the ones who had swords, Wesley noticed that the second elder he encountered during the first test.
'Great. That old monster is also here.'
Wesley was reprehensive about being close to that elder. But before he could start wallowing in regret, a luxuriously dressed old man walked onto the stage. This old man wore a white robe with blue and gold patterns on it. His face was filled with wrinkles and his hair was white without a single dark strand. He exuded an air of nobility and appeared to be surrounded by a faint light. Everyone in the hall was focused on this elder as he simply walked to the podium.
The elder stood in front of the podium without uttering a word as he stared at the students. Then he spoke up, his voice containing a tremendous amount of authority as it echoed throughout the entire hall:
"Welcome to the Four Moons Royal Academy."
The entire hall was silent after the old man's words. Not even a breath could be heard as everyone directed their complete attention to the stage. It was as if time slowed down in that moment.
'This old man must be even stronger than that second elder. What tremendous presence.'
Wesley was initially really surprised that this Academy that had monsters like the that second elder, but now he realized that the second elder was not as scary as this old man who stood before them. To be able to have such a presence with simple words was no simple feat.
'No wonder master wanted me to come to this place. Compared to all these freaks, am afraid I am not worth more than dust.'
"I am the Headmaster of this Academy, and on behalf of all the elders of the Academy, we welcome you to your home for the next few years."
The Headmaster paused again as if to add to the suspense that already filled the room. Then he spoke again:
"You are all talented youths from all over the world. Harness your talents, train your bodies, and strengthen your minds in this Academy. You will never get a chance such as this to meet and learn from masters such as those present in this Academy, so relish it and take advantage of it. Do not for a moment believe that your talent is special, look around you, there are hundreds of others as talented as you, and hundreds more talented, but if you work hard, if you persevere, then one day, you will leave a legacy and your name on these walls. I have no desire to give a long speech so I'll leave you with some words of wisdom: This Academy has no need for the mediocre, you will be the best or spend the rest of your time here in obscurity."
Having said his words, the headmaster walked off the stage followed by the other twenty elders. Everyone in the hall was silently contemplating the headmaster's words.
'It seems this Academy will be fun."