A Giant Room in Midka Academy
A giant lecture hall buzzed with activity. It was filled with tired researchers and professor assistants all staring at an enormous mana projection and several surrounding screens.
Most were scribbling in notebooks, half-asleep, or operating strange instruments; measuring, recording and surviving in an academic nightmare.
This time of the academic year was a hell for them. It was the most intense version of crunch culture with magic and swords around.
"School Registration Time!"
These people were the backbone of Midka Academy's Academic Divisions, overworked magical scholars and assistants. Many hadn't been home in days, hell- even weeks.
They were the invisible hands behind the written exams, the deadly obstacle courses, and the infamous "Death Maze" currently live on the main screen.
Most would've collapsed had it not been for energy boosting potions handed out like candy. Buying that potion in bulk was actually illegal. But Midka didn't care about law in this period of the curriculum.
These people all wore the same clothes for days. Even the women had long abandoned formality. Unbuttoned shirts, discarded skirts, strolling around in slippers and shorts just to stay comfortable.
The stench was ripe in the room.
This surveillance room was simply disgusting.
Boom!!
The doors slammed open with a violent kick.
A neat looking old man in his seventies marched in. He was dressed like nobility, a black suit and even a formal bow tie. He had no baldness despite his age.
This was Samuel, the head of the Administrative Faculty.
Even if he opened the door with a kick, he acted like nothing unusual happened.
"Ehem.." With a throat cleaning as an habit, he checked his suit for the formality.
Samuel scanned the chaos of the room, spotted his assistant, and made his way over there. After a whispered exchange his attention turned to the main projection; where a boy had just stood up bloodied but smiling.
It was a replay of things happened just a few minutes ago.
Samuel wouldn't have come if his secretary hadn't alerted him. And he would've missed this madness.
The old man stared with a stunned face and an open mouth. Half a minute later he came to his senses. Then he signaled his aide, and exited the giant room without another word.
He is 19 years old. Hahaha.. Finally, someone interesting.
Minutes later, a high-level meeting started in a dimly lit meeting room.
Professors, Sovereign Class Guardians, and Top Faculty Members watched the same projection. But none of them cared about the aristocrats, the powerful mage pupils, or sword prodigies on the screen.
The high scores were already locked in this exam.
The rankings were practically decided from the first few actions of these students in the beginning of the examination.
That's not why they were here. They were watching "him".
The boy who hovered at the brink of death, then healed fast.
Too f*cking fast!
No one knew why or how this student registered under the Academic Personnel and still ended up in the combat zone.
Not even a normal combat exam, but the famous and dangerous one named "Hell Maze".
They were discussing this anomalies' files and records on the table.
Midka Academy Exam Registry:
Name: Orion Vale
Specialization: Advanced Academic Support / Civil Services
Mana Value: 0 – No Mana Training
Physical Rating: Not Measured
Written Exam Score: 880/1000
Written Exam Rank: 191 / 440,000
He wasn't a mage or a fighter. Just a bright student with no mana training, accepted to be a public officer or an academic personal.
Someone like him should have been irrelevant. Even if he had a great score in written exam, it was nothing.
He was nothing.
Nobody in the room would stare someone like him more than three seconds.
"Does anyone know how he got into the combat exam?"
Samuel, 70 years old department head and the man who oversaw almost all applicants was just as confused.
A non-mana user with regenerative capabilities that almost defied death?
The implications were endless.
"My assistant is tearing through the records now. We'll know soon." someone responded from the back. The room returned to silence, eyes glued to the screen.
"Wait... isn't that the chamber where we sealed the Death Fairies and Nether Slimes?"
Silence.
Everyone *knew* that room.
Two years ago during a magical containment breach, the academy had dumped those two species into what became known as the "empty room". But after a while, the whole Academy knew that if you see an empty room in the maze, you got to stay away.
The level of the poison in that room was insane.
Actually this Hell Maze was revered as a sacred trial in the outside world, yes. But actually it was just a damn storage. Useful, big and dangerous.
Nobody from the outside world would know the truth, never!
Midka Academy was a giant machine and had tons of responsibilities. So they couldn't care about everything. They dump all dangerous or tiresome things to maze and forget about them forever.
That was the reason that even veteran instructors and high level fighters avoid entering that maze alone. Just using the first section of the maze for the exams was a challenge itself.
But when the boy survived that "empty room" and entered a room rumored to be a dragon's nesting ground, the control room's door opened again.
Everyone turned.
"Magnus, my boy!
"Finally!"
"Our superstar's here!"
"Thank God!"
Someone unfamiliar might think the man entering was the ruler of the planet or a superstar.
But no, this was Magnus Blackwood: Head of Forbidden Arts, Death Magic, and All Things Unholy and Horrific.
He was the "go fix this problem" guy.
That Title wasn't even a joke! It was real and he probably had the longest door-sign in the entire human territories.
Magnus was the man who had to deal with every dark, horrific and unknown thing. And he immediately regretted showing up here.
"They're going to dump this on me," he thought. "I know they will."
When Magnus saw the boy on screen staring to a dragon, his jaw dropped.
"He even survived that?"
"He looked the eyes of a damn dragon!"
Everyone else was equally stunned. But they were also looking at Magnus is a strange way.
Of course they'd dump this on him. He was the expert.
Magnus wanted to cry after seeing those eyes with snares. Just as he was losing hope, something even stranger happened.
"Am I hallucinating or is that our Headmistress Thalia?"
The whole room went silent. No breathing, movement or anything. Dead silence..
Finally Magnus opened his mouth with great difficulty.
"H..h...he complimented her!"
"She is going to kill him right? What a shame."
"Yeah, that boy got talent."
Suddenly Magnus screamed.
"HEY LOOK!"
"Headmistress Thalia just smiled?"
The entire room fell into silence again.
You wouldn't stare or gawk at Thalia Arken. You didn't live if you did.
It was forbidden to talk to that woman, even look at her from a distance, a screen, or express an opinion about her.
She was the demoness, rule maker and the shield of the whole Human Race!
"Is he flirting with the Headmistress?"
What the hell!
The survivor of the most unlucky things in school -Marcus- did what needed to be done.
"Let me teach you something everyone."
"If you can't solve a problem, delete the problem and all evidence."
With a flick of his hand, a black fireball consumed the screen. The last image was the boy reaching for the redhaired woman's hair.
The room remained still. Some even kept their eyes closed with their hands.
"..."
If the Headmistress wanted to kill or kiss a student...not their business.
They'd seen nothing, heard nothing, knew nothing.
Ignorence was truly a bliss.
..
Meanwhile, Orion was still smiling.
He felt safe here. If a beautiful and young knight was resting here, it must be a safe zone.
He took a step closer.
She was gorgeous. Too gorgeous to be real. She was in the same beauty league of that blonde girl from the battlefield.
Was it really a game he bought? He didn't remember how expensive this game was.
They made a good job for the graphics and all the details.
Niceee...
"Too beautiful to be real..." he whispered.
The NPC -Headmistress Thalia froze and couldn't find strenght to stop this brave boy.
Orion was qurious about everything and stepped even closer. He touched her red hair with his right hand.
The details were amazing.
He was admiring her armor, her eyes and the rest of everything.
"Such soft hair…"
Thalia- sexy warrior NPC blinked rapidly with a weird face. But Orion was truly in a good mood and didn't stop.
Could NPCs get flustered?
Could they feel?
"My name's Orion. What's yours beautiful?"
She blushed.
"Have we met before?"
"Trust me. If I'd seen a beautiful girl like you, I'd never forget. Never!"
Maybe this game would allow relationships, ha.
Can I touch her body?
Orion slowly approached the woman, keeping less than a hand distance between them.
He wondered how close he could get to an NPC before he quits this game. Can NPCs, maybe do +18 things in this game?
He was ready to find out the answers.