"Do you recall that time when you inquired about The Academy? As a matter of fact, its principal is actually the Chief Magistrate of the council ruling over Prudentia. His name is Derval Rhea. He is a long-term friend of our family. I explained to him your situation, and he appeared eager to have you. However, he also reminded me of the Entrance Ceremony every student must partake in."
"Entrance Ceremony?"
"The Entrance Ceremony is an event which is held at the start of each school year, meant solely for all newcomers. It is to see who is truly worthy of entering The Academy and who is not. The participants get one day to score as many points as they can, by completing all sorts of varying tasks. Those who score enough points will officially become part of The Academy's legacy."
So, I doubt that scoring enough points would be an easy task.
Not that I was actually thinking that it would be, but
I couldn't help myself to have some hope that it might be the case.
Yet I should've known better.
We are talking about the most prestigious school in Fira, after all.
It was a given that many, very talented Wielders from all over the world would participate in it as well.
And I had to compete against them, with no special powers of my own?
The phrase "Fighting an uphill battle" never seemed more fitting.
"What is it, Shako? You look somewhat glum."
"Well, it seems I have my work cut out for me, if I want to attend The Academy."
I tried to act cool, but in reality I was insanely nervous.
Although I feel anyone would be, if they were in my position.
Having to battle people who were by far more talented than me didn't really spark that much confidence in me.
And, in a weird sense, I thought that I would end up disappointing Kia if I were to fail to enter The Academy.
Not that she was the person to get upset over something like that, I didn't come to know her just yesterday, but somehow I couldn't get the thought out of my head.
After the effort she went through to get me there, failing just before the finish line would definitely leave a sour taste in my mouth - even if that finish line was still miles away.
"Are you scared?"
Kia grabbed both my hands and looked me unsettled in the eyes.
"N-No! Well, maybe I am. There will surely be others there who are far more capable to enter The Academy than me. And the fact that I don't have a Gift to help me makes me feel…extremely nervous."
She looked like she was at a loss for words.
Even she should know that the odds were stacked against me.
Otherwise, the look on her face would likely have been more optimistic.
Even so, she tried to cheer me up by telling me:
"It will be alright. You have Astress training you, after all."
It was true that Astress's training had indeed helped me tremendously.
If it weren't for her, the task that laid before me would've no doubt been impossible.
Yet, I wondered if her training alone would be enough to get me to pass the Entrance Ceremony.
"We should head back now. Otherwise, people might start to get suspicious of us."
I followed Kia back up the stairs, to the throne room.
Once there, we made sure no one was nearby and walked back to our bedrooms.