"Now," The Headmaster began, clearing his throat. "Behind me stand the professors who will oversee your freshman tenure."
He gestured behind him. The two women on his left gave a light, synchronized bow.
"Ms. Whitman and Ms. Carter will be instructing you in elemental affinity growth and proper mana accumulation."
Retracting his arm, he then gestured to two men on his right.
"These gentlemen here will be appraising you. What they teach you now depends entirely upon your performance."
He stepped back. The two older men took his place.
"Professor Calyron," the Headmaster said, nodding to the taller of the two, "and Professor Darrien."
The taller one, Professor Calyron—silver-grey hair and visibly irritated—drew an egg from his coat.
The egg was etched in hieroglyphs Ryker recognized but could not decipher. Though gold in color, it reflected a cold cobalt glare, its surface broken by precise mechanical seams.
He spoke.
"Lord Vermont. Step forward, please." His voice was deep, like a giant. "To the best of your knowledge, do you or do you not currently hold within your flesh and the soul bound within your flesh a Deadly Sin or a Heavenly Virtue?"
Everybody froze. The low whispers immediately came to a crushing silence. Even mentioning the sins was considered extremely taboo.
"No, sir. To the best of my knowledge I do not." Cassian presented an open palm. "I do, however, have two dormant Interventions. Both of which are descendants of Highmarcs."
The man's brow furrowed, his gaze locking onto Cassian's eyes. A dim orange light seeped from his own, coating Cassian's body as he examined him.
He's a Helios too…
In response, the egg opened at the seams.
Streams of teal mana expanded outward into a towering mechanism of gears and other machinations Ryker hadn't seen before. Cassian held firm, matching the professor's gaze.
"Lord Vermont. Do I have your permission to search your soul."
"Yes, sir. The Vermont house eagerly awaits your appraisal." Cassian's hand was suddenly imprinted with the same glyphs that were carved into the egg. Teal streams of mana enveloped his body, soaking into his skin.
His mana manifested into a Deep ruby red flame on one side and a sapphire blue on the other. Small particulates of green lightning bolted and popped off his immense aura.
"Hmmm." Professor Calyron mumbled something under his breath. "This is…unsurprising for you, Lord Vermont. Breaking records is your forte, I see."
As he finished his sentence, the assortment of rings and talismans on Cassian's body vanished. His aura expanded to consume the entire room.
His harem simply gushed at his overwhelming power while everyone else felt as though they were being crushed.
Ryker was used to it, however. They'd clashed before, many times before.
Ryker's mana responded, a thin sheet of green mana coating his body. Still, the pressure was enough to bring a mild discomfort. Nobody else fared as well as Ryker. They didn't have the body he did, most of them being entirely focused on growing their magical power and all.
Ryker had spent a decade training rigorously to make up for his dire lack of any reasonable quantities of mana. So much so that in many avenues he was an anomaly by even the most abstract methods.
Even still, against Cassian, he was an ant. Nothing to scoff at for most but to this guy he was nothing. Nobody here was anything to him.
The teal mana exploded out from his body, swirling into a beautiful multicolored cyclone before sucking itself down back into the egg. The mechanical shell slammed closed, the color of Cassian's mana spilling out of the seams.
Professor Calyron raised the egg.
"Cassian Vermont. Your appraisal is completed." He handed the egg to Cassian with a proud smile, the first show of any positive emotion so far.
Cassian took the egg, a rush of teal mana spilling into his eyes conveying a spiritually transferred message.
"I've been appraised at the Advanced rank. At tier 3 of such rank. My Interventions are Crown of Cinders and Stillwater Decree. Both are direct descendants of ancient Venra Highmarcs. I do not possess any Icons of Sin." The mana left him as his rank was declared, returning to the egg. He couldn't help but pass a smirk at Ryker.
Ryker kept his gaze forward, paying Cassian no mind. He couldn't help notice the cacophony of amazed whispers consuming the room.
"Itsuka. Step forward." Calyron said coldly.
Cassian stepped aside with a smug grin. Ryker took his place and offered his open palm.
"Young, Itsuka. To the best of your knowledge, do you or do you not currently hold within your flesh and the soul bound within your flesh a Deadly Sin or a Heavenly Virtue?"
"Not to my knowledge, sir." Ryker looked down, anxious. "I do have an active Intervention, however." His voice came out shaky, terrified to continue. "...It's a direct descendant of The Leviathan's Imbuement."
Professor Calyron didn't react. Unlike his peers, who seemed to spread out from the bottom of the stairs.
"Do I have permission to search your soul, Ryker?" He said, still ice cold.
"Yes, sir." On command, the egg opened up into a towering collection of mana gears again. This time, it was a deep shade of purple with orange veins that seemed to enrich the mana. Calyron was visibly shocked by the colors, and so too was Ryker.
"I-uhh." Calyron raised a hand to silence him. The mana seeped into Ryker's skin, as it did with Cassian. Ryker felt a chill run down his spine as the mana filtered through the depths of his soul, rooting out any impurities within.
His mana manifested into a purple fog that expanded outward to fill the hall. Ryker saw through it clearly, while everyone else was forced into a panic. The hall erupted into terror, their voices growing further from Ryker in the fog. Bolts of orange lightning zipped through the mass of miasma, arcing off of anyone within.
Ryker tried pulling his hand away to spare them the terror but he found himself paralyzed.
"Calyron, stop it! You're making me hurt them!" Just then the fog vanished, pulling itself into his chest aggressively. He felt nothing but could hear the faint whispers of headless voices crammed into the fog as it retreated.
The egg responded, erupting the mana upward into a cyclone that sucked itself back into the egg, sealing it.
Calyron handed him the egg.
Ryker's hands trembled as he grabbed it, fearing the worst. His eyes were covered by a toxic black lens.
"I–I've been appraised at the Beginner rank. Of which I am tier 1." The words spoke themselves out of his own control. "My Intervention is Vector Dominion, Leviathan creation." The lens shifted to a royal orange tone. "By decree of the Late Holy Mother Sydra, I am an elected candidate for the throne of Helios."
In an instant the force withdrew from him and he could only stand there in shock. He'd only heard stories from his father about Sydra, Helios and the King selection process.
This was no trivial declaration. Calyron's cold composure cracked, his disbelief matching Ryker's own.
Headmaster Keening stepped forward again, gently gesturing for Calyron to step back.
"Excellent! I knew you boys were special." He clasped his hands together, grabbed both of them and ruffled their hair.
Ryker just let it happen. Cassian didn't take it so well. He stepped back, batting Keening's hand away.
"I don't even care about the King BS. There is no way he managed to clear that Proto-dungeon at his level." The rings he'd stored earlier materialized on his hands again. "And what was that fog? Look at everybody down there. There is no way you're actually letting this monster participate in Preliminaries."
"Cassian–" Keening tried.
"NO. This is absurd! You just gave us proof he's connected to The Leviathan somehow and you're just letting him exist like this? All's normal, huh? Wars plagued this entire planet over a rumor of that thing being back and now it's just fine?!"
He stomped toward Ryker, his platinum plated boots scraping against the marble floor. "The greatest man this nation's ever been blessed with hosting was killed by that monster. There is no way I can accept this! House Vermont will not stand for this!" He snatched Ryker by the collar, towering over him.
The onlookers below joined in, cursing Ryker in any way they could.
He didn't dare reply.
Headmaster Keening made no attempt to calm them, simply watching. Heels clacked against marble, growing louder while Cassian continued. Ryker tried to look at the source.
"I WILL NOT allow something like that to happen again, Ryker. You better watch your back during prelims because I will see to it that you won't be attending this-"
SMACK!
Cassian's head jerked aside, the slap hit him like a train. He stumbled away, rubbing his cheek as his ears rang.
"Shut your damn mouth, asshole!" Ryker was dumbfounded. Right next to him was Yuri in all of her hellish beauty. She whipped long strands of magenta hair aside, revealing heterochromic eyes. "YOU don't get to say one fuckin word about Ryker OR Yuuta. Capiche?"
Cassian's eyes burned with a fury Ryker could hardly fathom. He opened his mouth to reply–
"Nuh uh. None of that shit!" She snapped, her hand gripping Ryker's. "You've done enough the past eight years, Cassi–"
"Yuri–" Ryker barely even finished her name.
"Almost done." She said warmly, then switched back to her fiery attitude. "We got an agreement here, Cassian? Are we gonna stop acting like kids in front of everyone? Huh?"
He rubbed his cheek, the spot marked with a brutal welt.
Damn…she really rocked him.
"I'll tolerate this—for now," Cassian said, standing his ground. "But I will remove him from the Preliminaries. One way or another. Are we clear?"
Headmaster Keening chuckled and intervened before Yuri could interject.
"That's quite enough," he said mildly. "Another outburst and I'll remove both of you from Prelims. You will learn to coexist. We have one final announcement."
Yuri and Ryker turned to face the staff while Cassian remained facing away. He turned his head slightly, barely even looking at them.
"With that," Keening continued, "this appraisal ceremony is concluded. All available seats have been filled. Any student who failed to complete their pre-trial will be required to wait until next year's intake."
He snapped his fingers. Sparks leapt from them, streaking toward the massive golden doors.
"Preliminary exams will be in three days." He added.
Ryker, Cassian and Yuri made their way down the steps as he continued. The door swung open with a deep, echoing creak.
"Look around you," he finished, voice warm but firm. "These are your opponents—and, perhaps, your future peers. Good luck. May Sydra grant you strength and vitality."
All of the attendees filed out through the towering golden exit, most of them excited while others showed clear anxiety. Ryker and Yuri, however, stayed behind to avoid getting caught in the crowd.
Most in the crowd didn't dare give Ryker the treatment they'd like to right about now. Yuri had a reputation for being irrationally protective, as did Ryker for her. She leaned back against his chest, resting her head against him and crossing her arms.
"Hug me." She said with a tinge of blush. "Please." Her arms raised slightly.
He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his face gently into her silken magenta hair. "Your manners are getting better."
"Shut up." Her elbow jabbed his ribs. "We're going to my place tonight. I can't take another night of trying to get your mother to speak." Her carried a somber weight as she trailed off.
"Fine by me. She won't miss me either way."
"Yes she will."
...