“Fear is the essence of survival and the proof of the will to live.”

Those words were quoted by a woman with short, brown hair. The woman is wearing a casual red tunic, paired with dark brown formal pants. The woman in her fifties scanned the lecture hall from the row at the very top to the bottom.

She then asked, “This quote is from…?”

She paused, making it obvious that she wanted one of her students to answer. Suddenly, all the students tapped on their desks. Their simultaneous tap made it sound like an aggressive slam.

A beam of light briefly emits from one of the tables.

Every single student in the room wore the same uniform neatly. A black blazer that has pockets located near the hem, layered over a white blouse or shirt, and finished with a grey necktie at the front. The common dress code that boys wear dark pants and girls wear dark skirts were implemented in this institution. Other than this, each student wore a black collar, the light yet heavy material snug against their necks.

There wasn’t a single thing out of place.

The teacher calls the student’s name. “Claudia Bellerose.”

A tall female student with long, auburn-colored hair stood up. Her own onyx gaze meets the teacher’s as she answers with confidence. “Royal Mage Nicholas Kayser.”

“Correct, well done Ms. Bellerose.” The teacher briefly went to her desk to jot something down in her notepad before continuing the discussion. She clasps her own hands together as she asks the following question, “Can someone expand on the quote’s context and significance?”

Once again, all students tapped on their desk, hitting the small, circular button on the upper left corner of their desks.

Once again, a small beam of light emits from the table.

“Kaius Marx.” The teacher calls.

This time, a young man stood up. He had messy dark hair tied to a low ponytail and bright blue eyes. Despite having such light-colored eyes that match the sky on a fine sunny day, it contrasted with the dark circles under his eyes.

“Fear is the essence of survival and the proof of the will to live.” He repeats, “Fear is humanity’s vital emotion of survival as it acts as our response to detect and avoid threats, find solutions to those threats and encourage us to be more secure.”

“Thank you Mr. Marx, that’s a good answer.” The teacher turns to her desk again, writing on her notepad.

“Now, for my next question. Grab a piece of paper and write down your answer with a minimum of six hundred words. Make sure to finish it in fifteen minutes.”

As soon as the teacher mentioned paper, every single student withdrew a piece of paper and pen from underneath their desks, revealing that each desk had a drawer. Before the teacher revealed her question, she shared a few words of encouragement.

“We’re doing great everybody. Last week, nobody failed to write the minimum word requirement under the time limit and nobody submitted any redundant ideas. This week, let’s aim higher!”

The teacher snapped their finger and an illusionary hourglass appeared on the desk.

“Here is the question. What makes fear powerful?” She snapped her fingers again and the sand in the top of the glass began to sink. Everyone is absorbed in their own work, not a single student batted an eye nor moved their head. They wrote nonstop, the sound of their pens scratching the paper and the wood underneath becomes a white noise.

Fifteen.

Fourteen.

Thirteen.

Twelve.

Eleven.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

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Four.

Three.

Two.

Two minutes are left.

CREEEAAAKK…..

All of the sudden, the door at the very back creaks open. The teacher was the only one to investigate the cause of the opening door. A tall man in a dark cloak peeks their head in, their face hidden by the hood of his cloak.

It was one of the Academy’s guards.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Thorn?”

The guard looks at the male student who answered one of the teacher’s questions before.

“The headmaster would like to excuse Kaius Marx,” Then he looks at the female student, “And Claudia Bellerose.”

The teacher nods and calls out their names, “Claudia Bellerose and Kaius Marx, you two are excused. There is no need to submit your work.”

The two students didn’t stop writing.

They didn’t need to finish their work since they were excused by the Headmaster himself. In this case, they would receive the exact passing mark or grade. However, Claudia and Kaius didn’t seem too keen on the idea.

Claudia added three more sentences while Kaius worked on the conclusion of his work. A few seconds later, they stood at the same time and walked down the classroom, placing their papers on the teacher’s desk.

“Kindly pardon my absence, Mrs. Dewitt.” The two said simultaneously. They return to their seats for a brief moment, they carefully try not to bump into their seatmates and push their chairs back into their desk as they had rushed to submit their work first. They finally make their way to the stairs to reach the back of their classroom and towards the exit..

CHAPTER 2 ILLUSTRATION [https://storage.ko-fi.com/cdn/useruploads/post/92b9be54-5f20-4079-80b5-37bd19e29fe3_chapter2illustration.png]

Once they left the lecture hall, they followed Mr. Thorn from a distance. Kaius whispered with a blank look, “What do you think we’re called in for?”

Claudia shrugged, “I don’t know. You didn’t do anything, did you?”

Kaius raised his eyebrow, “Me? Me? I would die before I actually break a rule.”

Claudia rolled her eyes, “Did you offend anyone?”

Kaius sighs, “I would’ve been dead on the first day.”

“Stop talking like that. That attracts bad energy.”

Kaius looks at Claudia in disbelief. “Well, what about you? Did you do something?”

“Don’t automatically assume it’s something bad.”

“Hey, you did it to me first.”

“...”

“...”

A smirk appeared on Claudia’s face and it was Kaius’s turn to roll his eyes. The two were escorted to the headmaster’s office. Mr. Thorn opened the doors for them, entering first. Claudia and Kaius wait for Mr. Thorn to completely enter and move aside for the headmaster to see them.

Claudia and Kaius stood upright, hands to their side. “Good afternoon Headmaster.”

They’ve already noticed a teen sitting in front of the headmaster. He wore the same uniform as them, but the two Wisiria students do not recognize him. He had ashy ice blue hair that was combed neatly and crimson eyes.

“Good afternoon, Bellerose and Marx.” The elderly headmaster smiled. Has his wrinkles increased since the last time? Claudia couldn’t help but think. Everytime she sees the headmaster, his face looks older and older, but remains active and cheerful as ever. She’s surprised that he hasn’t gone bald yet or even found any visible white hair.

Though she also wouldn’t be surprised if the headmaster was drinking an anti-aging potion or casting a spell.

“As you can see, we have a new student.”

Claudia and Kaius looked closely at the teen, they attempted to remember if they’ve ever seen a face like his. Is Wisiria Middle School letting him advance to high school? Have we seen someone like him there? The headmaster fortunately explains further, answering his students’ curiosity.

“He is our first transfer and scholarship student. I’ve chosen the two of you to guide him and enlighten him about our esteemed institution. Please treat him well, he is our first scholarship student after all.”

It took almost everything they had in them to refrain from reacting physically. Kaius and Claudia’s faces remain neutral, at least they hope it did. Not only was this new student the first one with a scholarship, but he was also the first transfer student they have.

Wisiria has been around for years and there was never a single student like him before.

Kaius briefly glances at the collar wrapped around the newbie’s neck.

“...”

The new student rose from his seat and introduced himself, “My name is Lionel Wesholm. As the headmaster said, I’m here on scholarship. I’m a first-year student. It’s a pleasure to meet you two.”

Claudia was the first to greet him. “The pleasure is all mine, Lionel. My name is Claudia Bellerose, a third-year student.”

Kaius follows through easily, “And my name is Kaius Marx, also a third-year student.”

The pair presented their perfectionary smiles. They even offered their right hand to Lionel, initiating a friendly handshake. The Headmaster’s smile grew bigger and he stood up from his desk, moving to stand by Lionel’s side and pat him on the back.

“Welcome to Wisiria, Wesholm. I know you’ll do wonderful here.”

“Thank you headmaster.” Lionel replies.

“Now go on you three.” The headmaster ushered them out of his office, “I’ve already contacted your teachers for the rest of your classes this afternoon. During this time while the students are busy, the two of you can tour Wesholm around the campus and help him settle down.”

The headmaster snapped his finger and Mr. Thorn approached Kaius, handing the student a piece of paper. Kaius didn’t look at it, instead, he put it inside his pocket. The pair bid their farewells to their headmaster, followed by Lionel.

This ends their exchange neatly and the pair silently guide Lionel out the office.

Claudia secretly glances at one of the vases in the office, which displayed the reflection of the smiling headmaster.

Right…Something’s obviously going on.