The assessments continued for about twenty minutes before, at last, every student in the room was assessed and assigned to a division that best suited their abilities.
Some students cheered when they were assigned to the Fighter Division, punching the air and exchanging high-fives, while others returned to their spots in silence, trying to hide their disappointment at being placed in divisions they hadn't hoped for.
When the final student stepped away from the orb, Alexander took a step forward once more, his long white robes sweeping softly across the polished stone floor.
"That concludes your attribute assessments," he said, his voice calm. "From this point on, you will be grouped according to your assigned divisions. Each division will follow its own curriculum, training, and progression path."
He turned slightly, motioning to the side doors of the chamber. "Fighter Division students, proceed through the left hall. Support Division, through the right. Healing Division, remain here for further instruction."
The room immediately began to shift as the students separated into their respective groups.
Cody glanced at Jericho and nudged him with an elbow. "Guess this is where we split," he said with a grin.
Jericho gave a small nod and joined the Support Division group. "Yeah. Guess so."
Without another word, Cody turned and vanished into the crowd of fighters heading left.
Jericho took one last glance at the glowing orb at the front of the room, then turned toward the right hall with the other Support Division students.
As he stepped out of the room, Jericho saw that all the students were being handed cloaks. When he got to the door, he was handed a blue cloak with an eagle-head crest embroidered on the left corner.
The blue cloak signified that he was assigned to the Support Division. As he took it, the announcer instructed all the students to put on their cloaks and follow him.
The group followed the announcer through the building, eventually arriving at a large classroom. The students assigned to the Support Division were no more than thirty, while all the students admitted into the academy were exactly seventy.
The announcer opened the door to the classroom, revealing a room where several students that were already wearing the same blue cloaks as Jericho and the rest of the newly admitted students were seated and being taught by a young female instructor.
As soon as Jericho and his group stepped inside, the teacher's attention shifted toward them, prompting the rest of the class to turn and look as well.
The instructor was a young, dark-skinned woman with short brown hair and a striking, well-toned figure.
"These are the newly admitted first-years. They'll be joining your division starting today," the announcer said, his voice echoing through the classroom.
The teacher stepped away from the front desk and approached Jericho and the others with a confident stride and a sweet smile on her face.
"I will be your instructor from now on. My name is Nia," she introduced herself with a smile.
She gestured toward the empty seats at the back of the room and asked them to grab a seat. "Find a seat and get settled."
As Jericho and the others moved toward the seats, some of the already-seated students turned to size them up, whispering amongst themselves. The students in the classroom were mostly royals and high-ranking nobles, who were directly admitted into the academy without taking the exam.
Jericho ignored the stares and made his way to the last row, settling quietly beside a large arched window. The soft morning light spilled through the glass, casting faint shadows across the desk.
Outside, the sprawling academy grounds stretched out like a kingdom unto itself, with nothing but forest over the tall walls.
Jericho exhaled slowly and let his fingers trail along the edge of the desk, feeling the cold grain of polished stone beneath them.
"This marks the beginning of my journey," he whispered under his breath, just loud enough for himself to hear.
Meanwhile, in the quiet hallway of the academy's eastern wing, Alexander walked alone.
The stone corridor echoed faintly with each step he took. Though he wore his usual calm smile, there was something different about it now. It was clear that something dark and uneasy lay hidden beneath the gentle curve of his lips.
As he passed beneath a row of tall archways, a figure suddenly emerged silently from behind one of the stone pillars.
The figure was draped in a long black cloak, and his face was hidden beneath a deep hood, revealing only the lower half of his mouth. As the figure spoke, his voice was low and laced with urgency.
"I picked up on its energy. It's nearby. I can feel it," the figure said to Alexander, like a servant reporting to a master.
Alexander slowed his pace but didn't look back. "I'm aware," he said calmly. "In fact, I've located it."
The hooded figure stiffened in surprise. "What?" His voice rose slightly, but it quickly calmed back down. "Then tell me where it is. It must be retrieved immediately," the figure pressed.
Alexander immediately came to a stop and glanced sideways at the cloaked man. "Not yet," he said, glaring sharply at the figure. "I wish to observe it a little longer."
On hearing Alexander's words, the figure clenched his gloved fists in anger. "You're taking a risk," he warned.
Alexander calmly turned his face and, without saying a word, turned on his heel and resumed his walk, the soft sound of his steps fading down the corridor.
"I hope you know what you're doing," the figure muttered.
As Alexander walked away into the distance, the figure walked back to the side of the pillar he had emerged from, then vanished into the shadows like smoke.
Back in the Support Division's Classroom, the instructor stood at the front of the class, her eyes flicking toward the enchanted wall clock that hung just above the blackboard.
She closed the book on her podium with a soft thud and looked over to the seated students, all of them dressed in their matching blue cloaks marked by the eagle-head crest of the Support Division.
"That will be all for today," she said to the class, bringing the class session to an end.
On hearing this, the room immediately perked up with a soft stir of chairs and shifting feet. All the students began rising from their seats, ready to leave the classroom.
Before she left the room, the instructor gave the class a final announcement.
"Tomorrow morning, all the newly admitted first-years will be participating in a joint field exercise," she said, folding her arms. "You'll be grouped with members from both the Fighter and Healer divisions to complete various tasks. Further details on the exercise will be provided on-site, but be prepared for practical use of your abilities."
"Finally, we'll get to do something," a Fishman student muttered in excitement from the middle row.
The instructor paused near the doorway, her hand resting on the stone frame as she glanced back at the classroom with a calm expression.
"Rest well. You'll need it," she said with a smile.
And with that, she gave a short nod and strode out through the large classroom doors, her blue cloak trailing behind her in rhythmic sways.
The room exhaled in collective relief, as if they had been forced to sit through a boring lecture. Some of the students immediately stood up and stretched their arms, while others lingered in their seats to talk quietly.
Jericho sat still for a few moments, his eyes fixed on the crest of his cloak. The eagle's head shimmered faintly as the setting sun cast its light on it through the window.
"A field exercise, huh," he muttered to himself as he rose from his seat.
He slung his cloak over his shoulder and quietly exited the classroom, walking slowly through the large classroom doors.
As he rounded the corner and took just a few steps down the corridor, his eyes caught a flash of a familiar face. It was Cody, he was standing just down the hall and waving as if he had been waiting for him.
Jericho's eyes dropped to the cloak Cody was wearing. It was exactly like his own, with the only difference being the color and the stitching on the chest. Instead of blue, Cody's cloak was a deep red, and instead of an eagle's head, Cody's cloak bore the crest of a dragon's skull with its jaws open wide in a roar of flame.
Cody grinned. "Guess we'll be sharing the battlefield after all," he said, referring to the joint field exercise session the female instructor had announced earlier.
Jericho raised a brow, accompanied by a shy smile. "Looks like we will," he said.
The two of them turned and began walking away side by side, deciding to make their way around the academy grounds. The halls were slowly emptying as students trickled off to various parts of the building, most likely heading to the cafeteria or returning to their dorms.
"Wanna check out the cafeteria? I'm starving," Cody said, rubbing his stomach.
Jericho gave a slow nod. "Yeah, I could eat."
As they walked away, the towering stone walls of the academy loomed over them. Just as they turned a corner on their way toward the cafeteria, both Jericho and Cody came to a halt.
Just ahead of them, at the end of a long corridor, they spotted the white-haired elf. He was walking slowly toward a section of the wall that was obviously a dead end, with two men walking behind him on each side.
The two men looked like academy personnel; they were dressed in fitted black uniforms, while the elf boy was wearing the same cloak as Cody, which meant that he was in the Fighter Division.
Cody and Jericho watched as the white-haired elf and the two men walked up to the wall without slowing down.
Immediately they got to the wall, the smooth stone surface shimmered faintly, and without any visible command, the wall shifted and dissolved into a doorway.
Jericho's eyes widened in surprise. "Did that wall just turn into a door?" he asked in confusion.
Cody leaned forward slightly and squinted his eyes to see. "Yeah. It definitely did," Cody replied to Jericho.
Jericho gave a slow nod. "Why is he with the academy staff? Is he in some kind of trouble?"
Cody frowned, lowering his voice. "Where does that door lead?"
As the elf boy and the two academy personnel walked through the door, Jericho and Cody stood in silence, their minds consumed by the thought of where the door led to.