Tailyn went over to the arch and smiled to see Valia waving from the door leading to the main building. For whatever reason, that was what struck him as most important. The procedure itself was secondary. And so, he took a step forward, placed a hand on the stone, and blinked to protect his eyes from the blinding light. The stone turned out to be warm and pleasant to the touch. But just as Tailyn was about to pull his hand away, a message popped up:
Testing device detected.
Would you like to hack it?
Light continued pouring from the boy’s body as though he’d turned into the shining sun. Knowing how suspicious doing anything else would be, he regretfully let go of the stone and walked away. It definitely wasn’t the time to show the world that he had something forbidden. Still, he appreciated knowing he’d learned how to control mechanisms.
“Potential — ninety-five, healing ability!” boomed the department head, and Tailyn headed toward Valia, who was standing there beaming. He’d proven himself worthy of her. Right on the other side of the door, there was a long hallway lined with many more doors, and Tailyn’s fellow students were gathered around a short, red-faced mage with an enormous gash where his nose should have been. He was as heavy-set as the provost.
Bogil Ale (human). Mage. Age 53. Level 48.
Tailyn couldn’t hold back a smile when he saw the mage’s last name. From the looks of him, Magistrate Bogil often met with his namesake at local taverns, even staying a while when he did. The smirks on the faces of the other students told Tailyn they were entertaining similar thoughts.
Meanwhile, Tailyn and Valia were both being avoided, something that had its advantages and disadvantages. The other kids quickly split up into groups of three or four to discuss the procedure they’d just been through. But with none of the thirty-two kids in the department exceeding level five, Valia was an awe-inspiring monster with a flawless face, and none of them had any desire to get any closer than a couple meters. What if she absorbed them and confiscated their levels? You never knew with the potentials... Then, there was Tailyn at level one wearing an outfit befitting the emperor’s guard. How was it possible to sport values that high at level one? No to mention becoming a student at the academy. Had he never gotten a level-up?
There were lots of questions, but with no answers, the rest stayed well enough away from the odd pair.
“Follow me,” the dean barked. He was trying to hide his excitement, though the fact remained that he was going to be opening one of the rare bottles of wine he’d had delivered from the far shores of Lervandia. In fact, in his head he’d already signed the provost’s order dedicating enormous funds to his department with the purpose of developing and training his two star pupils. The rest were useless, of course. Not a single one had potential above fifty, and in a better year they all would have been tossed out right away. But battle magic was too popular. It was the department everyone tried to get their most talented children into.
The magic card department occupied a separate wing in the main academy building. The whole thing resembled a scorpion — the long body was the three-story administrative section. With three on each side, the six “legs” were the supporting departments, and the enormous central tower looming above the rest of the academy was the dangerous tail. The battle magic department didn’t want to be on the same level as everyone else.
The leg Tailyn’s department made up was the farthest from the tail and set on the right-hand side. Once they arrived, the dean led the group of students into a large room lined with mirrors. A three-tiered railing ran around the edge, the lowest rail at Tailyn’s waist, the highest at his neck.
“Impossible,” Valia exclaimed when she recognized where they were. Ever since she’d been five, she’d spent at least an hour a day in a room just like that one.
“What is?” Tailyn asked. He, like most of the students, had never seen that many mirrors in one place.
“I’m afraid you’re going to find out soon enough. And I don’t think you’re going to enjoy the lesson. This is a choreography hall — they’re going to teach us how to dance. But why do mages need that?”
There was no answer forthcoming. There in the room, there were four teachers and several rows of chairs.
“Take any open spot,” the dean said. As soon as the hubbub died down and everyone was seated, he continued.
“Once again, welcome to the academy’s magic card department. I’m happy you picked the best department we have — and it is that, no matter what others might think. Now, this is Magistrate Varin Gee, my top deputy. If you have any questions about your education, housing, or anything else, she’s the one to talk to. Magistrate Varin, over to you.”
The gangly woman in a white robe took the lead. Sharp features made her look like some kind of vulture looming over the students, and her voice fit her perfectly. It was powerful, rich, and the opposite of feminine.
“Welcome to the department of magic cards. I’m Magistrate Varin, but you can call me Madam Varin — it’s up to you. However, if you’ll forgive me for not joining the upbeat chorus, I do need to tell you that you picked one of the most difficult pathways. We don’t just train mages to use cards in the right order. If that’s what you wanted, you should have gone with battle magic. Here, we focus on how to make cards. Yes, you heard that right — we don’t just use cards; we make them. You’ll start with templates, of course. But by the end of this year, you’ll be able to make your own magic card without a template. That will be your ticket to year two. If any of you aren’t able to make a card, you’ll wash out, though you’ll be able to join any of the other departments next year. The simpler ones. Hopefully, that is clear enough that we won’t have to come back to it.”
Just like the rest of the students, Tailyn was entranced by what the woman was saying. And it wasn’t even the part about washing out. No, they were going to learn how to make their own cards from scratch.
“Let’s talk about some administrative notes. Academy graduates represent us, and so you’ll be held to high standards. You need to know how to dance, sing, recite poetry, and keep up a conversation without making a fool of yourself. And it’ll be Master Gronk Var who will take care of that.”
One of the professors took a step forward and bowed gracefully to the group of students. Tailyn couldn’t help but notice how smoothly he moved. Actually, he more flowed than moved. But Madam Varin continued.
“Since you’ll be making your own cards, you’ll need to be able to draw complex lines and figures as well as straight lines and circles. Master Elhor Tur will have even the most hopeless of you drawing self-portraits by the end of the school year.”
Another professor stepped forward. Oddly enough, there wasn’t anything to arrest Tailyn’s gaze — the man was gray and unprepossessing, the kind of person you forget the second after you see them. His crooked nose was all that distinguished him from a mannequin.
“I’ll be the one teaching you how to create cards, though we won’t get to that for at least another three months. There’s no sense thinking about it before then. Also, you should know that the academy has an arena, which is where students can practice using the cards they create without hurting themselves or the people around them. Master Charmis Foleg is who you should talk to if you have questions about the arena. For myself, I’ll just add that group competitions in the arena can do wonders to boost your rating. And in addition to all that, Master Charmis runs physical training courses for anyone who wants to join, though that’s not something that’s important for our discipline.”
Master Charmis was a stocky, powerful man with terrifying scars lining his face and wrists. Tailyn had no doubt there were many more such traces of past battles under his snow-white robe. After tossing an unpleasant glance at the group, he paused to look over at Tailyn and Valia before returning to the rest.
“And now, the most important part. Throughout the year, you will all be building your personal rating. You already got your initial value — the potential
you came in with as well as your healing ability. At the end of the year, all students will go through a dynamic labyrinth in the order determined by the leaderboard, and the first-year student to beat the labyrinth first will have earned a meeting with the provost. Just remember that you need to have all the attributes required for your studies unlocked by the end of the day. You’ll get the list when we’re done here. If you don’t have gold, you can borrow it from the academy. Anyone who shows up tomorrow without them unlocked will be released from the program. All right, that’s enough for now. As I call your name, come over here and give me permission to modify your interface. Dimid Garlon!”
Tailyn was surprised to note that the list started with the boy who’d come after Valia for the potential procedure rather than with the girl herself. After each student went up to Madam Varin, they spent a few moments staring off into space as they looked around at the changes that had been made. That was followed by a return to their chair, the next student taking their place. Of the thirty-two children who had joined the magic card department, thirty stepped over to the deputy dean. Neither Tailyn nor Valia were called. But they hadn’t been forgotten. Glancing over at the pair, the deputy dean spoke up.
“You two find me after dance — your schedule isn’t ready, yet. Okay, I’ll leave you in Master Gronk’s good hands. That’s all for me.”
The dean thanked Magistrate Varin and wrapped up the meeting.
“Congratulations to you all once again. Your time at the academy has officially begun.”
Chapter 4
“VALIA, WE HAVE a problem,” Tailyn said sadly after Master Gronk handed out reputation points. The girl, as might have been expected, had earned the maximum of five. For her, dancing was in her nature, and she floated from one position to the next, the wrinkles on Gronk’s face seeming to even out as she did. But the frown remained unchanged once Tailyn had had his chance. From what the master said, he’d never seen anyone so stiff and ungainly. And when the class received their reputation points after three hours, the only one left out was Tailyn. His score remained blank.
“We’re going to have to get up earlier so I can teach you,” the girl replied. “Either that, or we can ask Valanil to go with dancing instead of one of her runs.”
“I’m definitely not going to be dancing outside,” Tailyn muttered as he knocked on Madam Varin’s door. But after pulling it open, he froze. The woman wasn’t alone. Both the dean and Forian Tarn were with her, the children’s mentor sporting dark circles under his eyes that spoke to days without sleep. Still, he was there despite having told the pair he’d be gone for two weeks.
“What are you waiting for? Come on in,” the dean said with a smile. He gestured the kids to an open couch. “Have a seat. We need to decide what to do.”
“We have to do something?” Valia asked nervously.
“After a dance class like that?” the dean replied, laughing. “I’m afraid a reprimand isn’t going to cut it.”
“Mentor, no need to exaggerate,” Forian said unexpectedly. “Sure, Tailyn has problems with rhythm and a sense of music. Okay, he has no idea what to listen for whatsoever, but we could teach a lix to dance. Master Gronk has seen worse, and Tailyn even has someone to help him.”
“You, too?” The dean pouted cartoonishly. “You’re all just going to gang up on an old man, I see. Okay, you all can take care of dancing yourselves. Magistrate Varin, have you put together a training plan?”
“Yes, of course. Tailyn, come here. We’ll start with you.”
The boy went over to stand next to the masculine woman and felt her hands settle on his shoulders.
Varin Gee is requesting access to your interface so she can make changes.
Tailyn’s stomach tightened. Of course, he was at the academy, they were all on the same side, and nobody was out to get him, but something was still off.
“Tailyn?” Varin asked, her eyes narrowing when she didn’t get what she’d requested.
“I... I can’t,” the boy muttered. His mentor shot back at him.
“Mumbling again? Mages speak clearly and to the point!”
“I can’t give you access to my interface since that contradicts everything Forian Tarn taught me,” the boy blurted out. “The only way I could give you access to my personal information is if my mentor gave me permission, and he hasn’t.”
Varin Gee glanced over at the dean as if looking for support that was quickly forthcoming.
“You realize you’re making a problem out of nothing, don’t you?” the dean asked gently. “Disobeying a direct order from a deputy dean is punishable by expulsion from the academy. And your mentor is right here — he can see everything.”
“But he’s saying nothing,” Valia said, jumping in on her partner’s side. “I’m with Tailyn. It’s our interface, and we’re not supposed to let anyone else in without a good reason. If we belonged to ourselves, sure, you could punish us, but we don’t. We have a mentor who isn’t just a mage; he’s a professor here at the academy. And he gave us clear instructions. If we ignore them, we’ll still be kicked out, so we’re better off keeping our interfaces to ourselves if we’re going to be gone either way.”
“Look at you go,” the dean said, permitting himself a momentary smile. “I’m going to have to disappoint you, child. Forian Tarn isn’t a professor, and he can’t kick you out. Sure, he’s an academy mage, but he’s our eyes and hands within these walls. Do I understand correctly that you’re refusing to grant access?”
“My apologies, Master,” Tailyn said. “I can’t without my mentor’s specific instructions, and I didn’t get them.”
The silence lasted for several seconds before the dean suddenly turned to Forian.
“If I didn’t know you, I’d say you prepped them for this meeting! Seriously — prepared to fly in the face of the academy so long as they don’t make their mentor angry. When did you have time to work on them?”
“It’s all the god’s will,” the mage replied evenly. Glancing over at his students, he continued. “The access request is one of the oldest tests here at the academy, and now that you know about it, you’re going to have to swear not to disclose information about it. Very few students avoid giving in and stand up for their privacy. After all, neither of you know who Magistrate Varin is or what she wanted to do to you. But I didn’t expect anything else from you. Here. This is your schedule, your training plans, and the list of attributes you need to unlock today.”
Tailyn took a few pieces of paper from his mentor and froze. Everything swirled around him as his tables filled up — that had been why Forian had told him to set them up even though there hadn’t yet been any data for them. It was great. But one look at the boy’s schedule made him wonder if he’d be able to keep up that pace. Each day, there were three lessons lasting three hours apiece with an hour’s break between each of them. Starting at nine in the morning, his day was scheduled to end at nine in the evening, and that was seven days a week. It was absurd. Looking over at Valia, Tailyn found that the changes had affected her, too.
Valia Levor (human). Mage. Age 12. Level 30. Betrothed to Tailyn Vlashich. First-year student at the academy’s magic card department.
“A few extra lessons were thrown in for you, which is why you’ll be studying from morning until night. And with the exception of a few days a week when Tailyn will have alchemy, and Valia will have magic, your schedules coincide. Your extras are the healing arts, the basics of fighting in the arena, and work with Master Varin, all of which starts right away. And you also get a reward for standing up for yourself.”
Academy rating +40 (235).
“Oh wow, how is it so high?” Valia couldn’t help but ask when she saw her number. The dean was only too happy to explain.
“Ninety-five for your potential, another hundred for your healing. Five for the lesson, forty right now. Tailyn has five fewer, which means you’re at the top of the charts. Okay, now we need to talk about where you’re going to live.”
&
nbsp; “We don’t get rooms?” Tailyn asked in surprise.
“No. Honestly, even I didn’t know about this, but there’s apparently a law as old as the academy itself that prohibits housing betrothed couples separately. I have no idea who would have ever needed that, but the law is the law, and the provost already gave me instructions to make sure we’re in line with it. As it turns out, your innocent little trick of sleeping in the same bed didn’t turn out to be a trick. It’s required.”
“But we can’t just live in the servants’ quarters forever!” Valia said. Used to a level of comfort, just the idea horrified her.
Tears of Alron (The Alchemist Book #3): LitRPG Series Page 5