Raelis's vision shifted, and a few moments later, he found himself standing in front of a colossal academy built into the side of a volcano.
It was the same one he had seen earlier, only this time, he was approaching it as a student, not just a candidate.
The headmaster was in front of them, slowly walking forward.
At the same time, he addressed a few matters that had happened during the course of the exam.
"During the second exam, in the forest, the total death count was roughly 63 candidates. The others we managed to save," Arius stated, his voice falling low.
"We at the Furnace Academy would like students who know the basics of protecting themselves. If they are not able to even avoid a fatal hit, then they wouldn't have survived in the real world."
As hard as it sounded, Raelis could agree with that ideology.
This wasn't the same world that existed before the demonic forces invaded it, so those who couldn't carry their weight simply had no place in this world.
But I guess that's just one of the ideals I'll have to fix, Raelis hummed. Though that only comes much later in the future.
With that in mind, the headmaster proceeded to explain the rules of the academy, and in the end, there were only 3 rules that stood out to Raelis.
1. Outside conflicts stay outside the academy gates.
2. After the first semester, ranking battles will be opened to the other first-year students. Those in the top 25 have no choice but to accept a ranking battle against the first years outside of the top 25. Limited to 3 battles per week.
3. If you are seen talking to a demon, and after confirmation, you are found with demonic power inside your mana stream, you and your entire bloodline will be erased.
They were pretty serious rules, but they also weren't something he'd need to worry about.
Though, the top 25 battles would be a bit of a pain to get through unless he asserted dominance, which he would do without hesitation.
Nevertheless, they made it inside the academy, and the moment they did, a peculiar sight greeted them.
The interior of the academy was carved straight from volcanic rock, with dark stone walls that radiated heat and a floor etched with glowing crimson lines. Metal pipes ran along the ceiling, hissing quietly as steam escaped through vents.
It was a mix between magic and industrial technology, which was later labeled as Magitek.
The imperial family used a more advanced version of Magitek that had not yet been released to the public, and it focused more on the magic part of the technology rather than the old-school industrialism.
Still, seeing the academy in person and hearing about it from his bragging siblings was really different.
As they walked through the halls, two people walked up to him, Alice and Clea.
"Heya. Sorry I couldn't hold down the fort," Alice apologized. "There were too many of them, and they were only going for the king and queen, so I—"
"It's fine," Raelis cut her off. "You did what you could, so no point in dwelling on it now."
Clea nodded. "Indeed. You and the others did well, though they're not nearly as friendly as you."
"Hehe..."
By others, Clea meant the other team leaders, Antares and Charlotte.
They seemed disappointed, but since they had passed, Raelis would leave them be.
They're good people, and I'll have a talk with them later. For now, I just want to get settled in and have some solid sleep.
With that, they chatted along the way about whatever nonsense came to mind until finally, they arrived in front of the dormitories.
The dorm buildings stood across from each other, one clearly meant for men, the other for women.
The headmaster clapped his hands once, getting their attention.
"You will find out your classes tomorrow, and as for your rankings, they will be out next week," Arius stated. "You must be wondering about the class distribution, yes? Well, don't worry about it. We're trying something new after this year's results."
Raelis tilted his head in confusion, and before he could voice his thoughts, the headmaster continued.
"We used to have a tier system according to performance the previous years. It worked wonders, but those in the lower classes tended to be a bit..." Arius trailed off with a sigh. "Let's just say that this year, we are merging all the classes into one."
Raelis didn't care about class divisions, but he could already tell the others would make it a problem.
It seemed like he was right, as just a few moments later, a few people halted and, without waiting a beat, voiced their complaints.
"Hey... are we seriously going to be in the same class as those filthy commoners?"
"Yeah! What's up with that!? What's the point of merging the classes if their performance will still be lacking!?"
"We want—"
"Quiet," Arius cut them off coldly. "I don't care about what you want. This is my academy, and I run it however I please. I believe that by implementing this new curriculum, it will help bridge the gap between the students, and in the end, nothing much is going to change."
He shot a glance at each of the students present.
"You will be assigned a homeroom instructor who'll take care of you all, and the other instructors will rotate in depending on the lesson," Arius stated. "So the only difference is the fact that there will be more people inside the classroom. If you cannot handle that much, then drop out and enter one of those backwater academies."
Several students opened their mouths in protest, but the headmaster simply snapped his fingers, silencing them.
"The decision is final, but that doesn't mean we will ignore those who did well during the entrance exam," Arius said, a warm smile appearing on his face. "Those in the top 5 will receive special training from any instructor they choose. So if you wish to move up, challenge them, beat them, and take their place."
With that, he twirled on his heel and pointed toward the two dormitories.
"Left building is for the girls, the right is for the boys. Your rooms have already been assigned to you, so go to the front desk and tell the receptionist your name. You'll be given a key to your room," Arius said and slowly floated up.
"Those who need to leave must sign out at the reception desk in the booth beside the academy gates. Just write your name in the ledger so we can keep track. That is all."
With those words, the headmaster vanished, causing a moment of silence to ensue.
Everyone was just staring at the air blankly, yet when the first person moved toward the dormitory, the others soon followed suit, including Alice.
But not Raelis, as he began walking the opposite way instead.
After all, he had come with a suitcase that held all of his clothes and knives.
He was only missing 5 knives, and once he forged them, he could finally begin learning his father's secret technique.
Raelis made his way through the academy toward the booth, swiftly wrote his name down, and exited.
But when he turned around, he spotted a certain someone not too far away, walking in the same direction as him.
It was Clea, and once their gazes met, a faint smile appeared on her face, then quickly faded, as if the smile had never been there in the first place.
A shiver ran down Raelis's spine, but he brushed it off and strolled toward the cheap Black Lotus inn he had settled in.