As the class became completely paired up, our lesson continued. "For the sake of today's lesson, we are going to be inflicting a minor wound on the younger classes' hands and have our advanced classes show us how it's done. Then, when they have completed the exercise, we will flip roles. Does anyone have any questions?" Our professor asked smugly. "Okay then, let us begin". A glimpse of malice filled Yuun's eyes as he drew his sword. "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you!" He shouted out with a twisted smile. Being stronger than Yuun usually, I would punch him in the gut or roundhouse kick, maybe even light his clothes on fire, but unfortunately, we are in class, and I don't want to go to detention again. Then again, maybe just a little taste of it will do. Smugly looking up, I exclaimed to him. "Mr. Yuun, sir, it seems your pants have been lit ablaze." Stopping his swing mid-strike, it was as if he had been struck by lightning; he dropped his sword and all, screeching and running away, holding what was left of his pants. "I know this lesson is probably below you, but could you please not interrupt my class, Shio?" Mavis sighed. "Yes, sir, I'm terribly sorry, sir. He just said he needed motivation to strike a classmate's hand, so I thought I would light a fire in him." I responded, grinning from ear to ear. Sighing, he waved off my response and told me to just practice on myself. While Yuun was busy cooling off and I was face down on my desk trying to catch up on some much-needed sleep, Kaori and Aki had begun to stray a little off topic. "Aki, you really are amazing, you're only a first year, and I would say your power almost rivals mine. My mother had been training me my whole life, preparing me to have the strength to try out for the fallen order." She sounded sad as she talked about it. She was also clasping Aki's hand very gently while talking to her. Quickly getting back on topic, I asked, "Are you going to try out for the Fallen Order when you graduate?" Aki shook her head back and forth, dismissing her strength, and simply replied with a "I Dunno". The reason for her selective shyness was quite simple. She couldn't change her voice to sound manly, so instead, she opted to speak rarely. Due to her raw strength and genuine smile, people were usually okay with it. Kaori seldom seemed to have a problem with the one-way conversation, even though she was probably the person that Aki spoke most to, who didn't know her secret. "I know you could try out for the fallen order with me! It will be fun, please don't let me try out alone." She pleaded, bringing Aki's hand close to her chest. Aki sighed, almost seeming annoyed. "I can't try out for a rank until I've graduated and been un-sleeved." Sighing, Kaori had seemed to be defeated, almost releasing Aki's hand. Just when she had begun to remove her hand from her over-eager and happy 4th year classmate, she started back up again, this time with much more grit and determination. Regripping her hand, she clasps it against her chest. If her hand were any closer to Kaori's breasts, she would've been able to grasp her heart. "You just have to graduate at the top of your class and ace the exam! I know you can do it, Aki, I believe in you, you're as strong as I am in my current form, and you're a first-year. If I can jump a year, you can jump 3!" She spouted with utmost joy. With the sudden turn of events, Aki began to turn up. Her face turned bright red, and blood spouted out of her right nostril. "Kaori, my hand is between your breasts." She let out a shy smile. Looking down, Kaori giggled and stuck her tongue out. This is why she was easily the most sought-after girl in our school after all. She seemed to have it all, the beauty, the power, and she was the daughter of the most powerful exalted knight ever recorded. The only person ever to pass the trial to be let into the fallen order.
The fallen order was not part of the Ninth order. Just for recap, the Ninth order is a powerful set of families who are treated like royalty. Despite this, everyone must choose a job as if it would work anywhere else. If you chose the job of becoming an exalted, there were requirements. You had to be of age and be able to be sworn in as a registered Exalted. If you did not meet these, you would be considered a rogue Exalted. Exalted is a term for the warriors/adventurers of our country. There were 3 titles you could be bestowed based on your skill set: A knight, A mage, or an assassin. These were the 3 styles that embed how you fought and what strengths/weapons you used. Aside from that, when attempting to become a registered Exalted, there's an HQ for each rank. The trial is simple; in front of each HQ, there is a dome-like arena. If you wish to be tried out for your rank exalted exam, you just step into the dome and insert your arm into the HQ terminal. No one knows when these terminals were established or how the trials came to be exactly, but it is said that they are their own entity and have no correlation to the guild itself, only the trial. Once you deposit your arm into the terminal, an incarnate Exalted will appear, and depending on which Ranked Exalted Exam you are taking, the incarnate matches its strength. It is a 10-minute fight; the whole purpose of the fight is to protect your bracelet and not let it be detached from your arm. The higher in the ranks you go, the more dangerous the exam is. The highest rank, aka The Fallen Order, is said they completely slice your arm off with no hesitation. It is rumored that some people have even died during the exam. But If you keep your arm attached to your body and your bracelet in tact, it will permanently change your entire arm's color and assign you to your according House HQ, if you flee the trial by leaving the dome you are either instantly placed if they deam you have enough strength to be exalted or what happens most of the time, is you fail. The ranks, starting from the weakest to the strongest, are Ember (red), Steel (orange), Adamantium (white), Mythril (blue), and finally The Fallen Order( black). The colors represent the fire in the individual soul and how deep their passion burns, except for black, which represents the color of death itself. Only one individual has been placed into black, and they are said to be as strong as three Exalted blue knights. It's important to know that when trialing for a house rank, if you succeed, you can only place as high as the exam you took, but you can also place lower than the rank of that house. Even if you passed the exam. For example, if you trialed for the blue house and passed your exam, you could place white or even orange if the exam doesn't deem you worthy. Blue was the peak an individual could hope to obtain, so most people trialed for blue. Although black was the highest, most people fled the dome while trialing in fear of losing their limb. If you lost your limb in any trial, it would not be gone forever due to the powers of the high priest in Perixal; there was a lengthy recovery time, and also, the pain is unbearable to most. Except for trying out for The Fallen order (Black), for some reason, the priest could not explain that your limb was lost and unable to be regenerated. So, most considered black a death wish and would never rationally consider doing it.
Once every year, there were a few students and blue rank adventurers who would try their luck, and every year, someone would lose their arm. It was an event that people loved to watch. Crowds would gather around the trials and watch as people tried their luck. The trials were not open all year; in fact, they only opened once a year on the same week. This week, a festival was always held, it was called the Exalted festival, and it was just a big excuse for people to gather around, make bets, drink, and eat while watching the trials. It was probably the biggest annual event for Perixal. The reason academy students couldn't participate in the trials was due to a sleeve protector. When enrolling in an academy to train to become exalted, each academy binds a sleeve protector onto your arm, and the only way to release the protector was to go through a mock version of the house trials that was made by the school, and if you passed, the protector was released and your arm would be ready for marking. It was rumored that our school was matched to be around Orange's house trial difficulty. The academy we attended was very prestigious and prided itself on never graduating a student who placed lower than orange. Although orange was the second lowest, this is where most Exalted sat, placing or being admitted into any house higher than orange was considered to be esteemed and very difficult. There was only 1 black, and about 16 blue Exalted, although there was a decent amount of white Exalted, they were considered to be of the best. Every year, despite graduation, hundreds of Exalted would hype themselves up to retribution and obtain a greater title and feat. After all, this was the power of our land, and everyone wanted to reach the power of the table. The table was considered to be the elite blue, and higher. Blue Exalted were only contracted by the king and high priest, whereas black Exalted had to answer to no one, not even the king. If one reached house rank black, they were given a title and were known throughout all of the land. Their strength was unparalleled, and not even the order could rival them. The only one ever to do that is Kaori's mother. Hana Kaneko, The Knight of Death.
"Kaori, I presume you will be showing Aki how to properly perform a miracle first?" Professor Mavis spouts. " Yes, of course," she replies quickly, letting go of AKis and looking into her eyes. Before Kaori can even think about doing anything, Aki quickly grabs the blade closest to them and gouges her hand without even flinching.. Blood pouring down her hand, she looks at Kaori with a smile, "I'm ready!" Kaori Scrambling begins to chant. "God, please bless this hand with healing". Akis's hand begins to light up and is instantly stitched, and the blood soaks back into the wound like nothing happened. Kaori truly is talented; most students here would need anywhere from 10-20 tries, and she managed to do it on her first try.
Casting simple miracles on oneself is easy, but casting on someone else is 10x harder. Where regeneration miracles were said to only be possible by those chosen by god himself. That is why the high priest is the only one known in Perixal able to perform such a thing. It was just as impossible as becoming part of the Fallen Order.
After Kaori performed the miracle, Aki's eyes lit up like fireworks. Aki loved magic, and although she excelled in combat, she struggled when it came to magic. Not that she didn't have any, she just lacked the focus and patience since she would much rather practice combat simulations. With it being Aki's turn to heal Kaori, she was much more gentle. She pricked her finger and gave a smile, "Take your time! You got this.". There is something about her smile that makes my heart skip a beat. She's the only person I've seen who makes me feel this way. She's not only strong, but she's so warm. Aki gets a focused look on her face and begins to mimic Kaori's chant. "God, please bless this hand with healing". Nothing happens, frustrated, she chants again, "God please bless this hand with healing". And again, "God, please bless this hand with healing". And again, "God, please bless this hand with healing". And again, "God, please bless this hand with healing". Getting dizzy, she begins to sway back and forth. This time, grabbing Kaori's bloody hand, she chants one last time, "God, please bless this hand with healing". A faint glow appears, and a bright smile comes across her face as she falls backwards. Scrambling, Kaori catches her right before she makes contact with the ground and holds her close to her breasts. "You did well, Aki," she says, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
Something you should know about miracles is that every time you chant one, it takes from your mana pool; the only way to grow your mana pool is through practice. Believe it or not, it's not something you are born with, although you are born with a cap that you can reach. Since Aki barely practices magic, and I mean barely... Hers is fairly short.
Waving over at me, I hear Kaori snickering, "Don't worry, Shio! I'll take your brother to the Apostle to make sure he's okay. No need to come".
Kaori knows how protective I am of Aki; I'm always by her side, and I rarely let people be alone with her just in case her secret is somehow revealed. With that being said, Kaori is one of the few people I trust, although I do wish I could go with her. Aki has no idea that I am interested in Kaori, and although I feel slightly intimidated by my younger brother, I know there is no reason to feel that way for the obvious reason that he is, in fact, a girl and has no interest in romance. Even if Kaori is obsessed with him, I guess I should probably give up on this dream and focus on what's important, my little sis-brother.
I nod slightly, and the two of them walk out of the classroom together as I put my head back into the desk and close my eyes. Call it special treatment if you will, but the only classes I am forced to participate in are combat simulations and mission simulations. Anything that was related to magic, I was able to do whatever I pleased, as the professors knew that I had no reason to participate and was far above the curriculum.
After taking my exam, I was offered to jump a grade and become a third year, but I declined, I couldn't leave my sister behind. I made a promise when we were young, and I found her crying in the courtyard that I would always be there for her, no matter what. That she could always have someone she didn't have to be fake around, and I would protect her. I intend on keeping that promise as long as I'm alive.