The letter was not just a message but a passport through the gates. Without it, I was in trouble.
The two guards stood motionless ready for action. They probably didn't enforce as students here were mostly polished and prepped since diapers.
"What do you mean you don't have it?" the taller guard said.
I kept my face blank. "It's... not on me. I lost it."
The second guard scoffed:
"In my twenty years, no student has shown up without the letter. Then this guy walks in like it's a street market."
Apparently, I was already making history.
He adjusted his stance. "Should've brought popcorn. Will you do the honors, Bill?"
The tall guard started coming forward.
He was seconds from tossing me when the device on his belt chirped red. A pause.
He touched his earpiece, muttered something that sounded like my name. He had seen my state issued ID so he knew it. Then he stared at me with indifference.
"You've been summoned. Go in."
The gate groaned open and I went in.
***
The administrative room gleamed with polished severity.
The man behind the desk had eyes like tempered steel. He studied my ID.
And when he was done, he launched into protocol mode. He started telling me about imposters, tradition, and consequences and many other things. A whole sermon on the very first day.
Eventually, they confirmed my identity. Entrance exam data was pulled up.
That was the only data they could pull up, I imagined.
***
By the time I reached the classroom, the day had been very dramatic. I wondered what the classroom could offer me.
"Ah. He's here."
A woman's voice silenced the room. Conversations died instantly.
I stepped in.
Faces turned. Some were amused. Others were indifferent. A few had already decided I wasn't worth their time.
"This is Kai Renfield," the teacher introduced me.
Then from the front, someone decided to use me as a stepping stone to popularity:
"The guy who forgot his acceptance letter."
Another chimed in:
"Hunter Academy's first disgrace of the year."
Laughter. Sharp and biting. It clung to the air like smoke.
I didn't flinch.
Teacher's gaze narrowed. "I don't recall giving permission to speak, did anyone hear differently?"
Silence crashed down. Even I felt her threat. She was an impressive woman.
She turned back to me. "Take your seat."
Only one was empty. Back row, by the window. It was very fitting to my situation. If I were to be an outcast, this was the best seat.
"I'm Aelira Varn. Lead trainer for first-years. Keep up my dear students, or I'll cut you loose myself."
She looked like someone who lived by ideals, not orders. Fitting for the Hunter Academy.
Outside these walls, I'd mostly met immoral people with few principles. It was interesting to see these new people. They seemed covered in ideals and petty jokes.
Perhaps I would have been like that myself. Before I ended up on the streets, I was from a very respectable family. My father probably would have raised me into people like these. But from another angle, he was the best mind I ever knew. He was a genius in his research. Perhaps with him around, I might not have ended up like these idiots afterall.
I stared out the window, half-listening to the teacher.
Then a whisper slid into my ear.
"They wouldn't laugh if they knew who you are."
The girl beside me looked straight ahead. Crimson hair, calm face, a sword bag resting against the table. Not ornamental. Worn and used.
Still pretending to focus on Miss Varn's lecture, I murmured:
"You talking to me?"
"Obviously."
"Kai."
"Seris Veyne."
"You're... Uh, confident. Didn't hear what happened earlier?"
"I trust my instincts. And besides, you're not fazed by it either."
"Don't care."
"What was that about 'who I am'?"
"I see things others don't. My Attribute lets me see mana auras. Yours eclipses even Miss Varn's."
Ah. So that's what it was. An interesting Attribute. As far as I knew, you couldn't tell Attributes by aura. So I was safe. I wondered how much she could see about my mana levels.
She probably didn't see how fast I refilled. I couldn't be sure, but it wasn't a major problem. Some people recovered mana fast. It could pass as natural if needed.
But sometimes small details pile up enough, and they expose you. I needed to be careful. I knew what to say and it wouldn't hurt me because it was true.
"Mana's just a battery. Attributes play a bigger part."
"Maybe. But power speaks for itself. Like a phone without a battery is useless."
"And a battery without a phone is just potential. Balance matters."
There was another truth inside this analogy. But maybe she wasn't really interested in the argument.
She nodded slowly. "True."
I studied her. She was sharp, and grounded to reality. I wanted to know more about her.
"Water-Healing. I patch people up."
That surprised her. "Didn't expect that. Healing is rare."
Now she probably understood why I argued against mana. Because I didn't have an impressive Attribute. Healing was rare indeed, but rare isn't always good.
In combat, you were dead weight as a healer. Always in need of protection. Always the first target. A parasitic existence.
My attention drifted to the sword she carried. It meant something special to her, so I took a guess based on weapons I'd seen before.
"Is that a channeling-sword?"
She immediately looked at me.
"You know about mana channeling? That's rare for a new student."
"I think carrying that sword around is rarer. Those things are valuable. Good thing you're in the academy. Outside, people would be eying for you to slip."
Hunters belonging to the criminal world would kill for artifacts like that. They were a path to both power and wealth.
A moment passed. She didn't reply. I wondered if I made a mistake by telling her.
Then the ground shook.
A dull boom rolled through the walls.
Gasps. Frozen eyes. Even Varn flinched. Barely.
She looked at her phone screen.
"Stay here," she ordered. Then vanished out the door.
Murmurs swelled:
"Attack?"
"A drill?"
"Beast maybe?"
"Beasts don't come this deep into cities."
Seris leaned close. "Your guess?"
I watched the sky outside. "Don't know. But the Academy doesn't flinch over nothing. Even the front guards are high-level hunters."
Minutes passed. Then Varn returned. Calm and composed.
"There was an intruder. It's been handled." Before anyone could ask further, she spoke again: "No further questions. Let's finish our remaining session."
The room calmed. Most believed her. I didn't. Seris didn't either.
We whispered occasionally through the rest of class. It felt natural. Like picking up a conversation from another life.
By the end, I realized I hadn't registered half of Varn's lecture. Too focused on Seris. Or letting her focus on me.
Outside, she disappeared into a group that welcomed her like royalty.
I didn't linger either. I went straight for dorm buildings.
***
"Name?" the dorm clerk asked, not looking up.
"Kai Renfield."
"Room 2-07."
He slid the keycard over, more interested in the news playing behind him.
Breaking report. Two guards died. The attacker was captured.
So much for "handled." In a way Varn hadn't lied. She just didn't tell the whole story.
***
I collapsed onto the mattress, staring at the ceiling, thoughts circling like crows.
Late. Laughed at. Recognized by one. Then an attack.
It was too early for bounty hunters… If that's what it was. If it was something else, it wasn't my problem.
I wasn't here to play detective. I was here to get strong while hiding. So I needed to find hunters with strong Attributes. That was the way I could grow stronger.
The rest was just noise.