Even from here, the academy was enormous. Several towers rose above the main building, each one covered in glowing runes. Large stone walls surrounded the campus, and beyond them, I could see students and their families arriving from every direction.
I adjusted my mask.
Today was the day—the long-awaited entrance exam. If Claudia's information was correct, even the head priest of the Sanctuary of the Arcane Order had come to watch that day. That's how big of a deal this was.
"Remember," I said, turning towards Claudia and Akari. "From this point onward, I am Noir Drake."
Claudia stared at me.
"I know."
"And you must address me accordingly."
"You forgot something, dummy. I'm a noble as well. I don't need to follow your rules."
"Maybe not, but you still have to address me accordingly. That's another role of a noble, I suppose."
If looks could kill, the stare Claudia gave me would have killed me a hundred times over.
"...Fine, Lord Noir."
"It's only when we're in public. In private, you may address me however you see fit."
"Dummy."
Akari simply looked at me and nodded. In her hand was the suitcase containing the documents proving that I was indeed the son of the Drake family.
Once we got inside, Claudia would have to go to the headmaster and explain everything, so it was better to let Akari handle this.
Oh yeah, before I forget.
"Reinhardt, could you come out, please?"
"What took so long? You were gone for a whole minute."
"Sorry, I had a bit of a chat there."
I stuck out my hand and created another gate. There weren't that many people around, so I wasn't worried about attracting attention.
A few moments later, Reinhardt stepped through.
I had taken the liberty of giving him a set of new clothes as well.
He wore a finely tailored black coat with silver embroidery along the edges. Underneath was a white shirt with a high collar, accompanied by a dark vest decorated with subtle silver patterns. His black trousers were neatly fitted, and polished black shoes completed the outfit.
A silver brooch rested against his chest, bearing the crest of the Arcane Knights.
His blonde hair had been neatly brushed back, making his blue eyes stand out even more. That part was all his doing.
He looked less like a commander heading into battle and more like a noble attending an important ceremony.
I looked him over for a moment.
"Not bad."
Reinhardt glanced down at himself.
"You really went all out."
"Of course. You're going to be accompanying a noble today. You can't exactly show up looking like you just came from a battlefield."
He was going to be accompanying Claudia to the headmaster's office to try and explain the situation without revealing anything major.
I straightened up my blazer and walked through the gates of the academy.
There were nobles everywhere.
Some wore elaborate dresses and expensive-looking suits, while others walked alongside servants carrying their belongings. There were also plenty of commoners, most of whom looked considerably more nervous than the nobles.
When we got to the center, Claudia and I parted ways. She and Reinhardt would head to the headmaster's office, while Akari and I went to the bulletin board to find our classrooms.
Since she was a maid, Akari would have to go to a different wing altogether.
"Be careful," I told her.
"I will," she responded in Japanese.
Then she handed me the bag and walked away.
---
The classroom was already nearly full when I arrived. Sunlight filtered through tall windows lined with faint runes, and the low murmur of dozens of candidates filled the space. Some students sat rigidly straight, trying to look composed. Others whispered to their neighbors or stared down at their hands.
I found my seat at the back of the room and sat down.
A few minutes later, the door opened. A teacher entered carrying a thick stack of papers. As she moved down the rows, she paused at each desk, placed a sheet in front of the student, and briefly ran her hand over it. A faint glow passed across each page—an anti-cheating detection spell.
It was pretty weak.
If they truly wanted to prevent cheating, they should have used something stronger.
I rested one finger lightly on the edge of the paper as it was placed in front of me, feeling the structure of the spell.
Then I leaned back in my seat and waited.
She walked back to the front and turned towards us.
"You have thirty minutes. Begin!"
I began the test.
The first section was basic theory—mana circulation, elemental affinities, and simple spell structures. The kind of material any serious applicant should already know. I filled in the answers at a steady pace, careful not to finish suspiciously fast.
Around me, the sound of quills scratching against paper filled the room. Someone near the front muttered under their breath. Another student kept tapping their fingers against the desk, unable to hide their nerves.
The second section covered history and classification.
Questions about the founding of Selene, the ranking of skills, and the difference between Core, Link, Soul, and Astral abilities.
For the record, Core Skills are the basic ones. Anyone can learn them if they train enough. Strengthening your body, shooting a simple fireball, healing small wounds—that kind of thing. They're useful, but they're normal.
Link Skills need a connection. A spirit, a partner, a contract, something outside yourself. On their own, they're limited. With a strong link, they become a lot more dangerous. Akari's spirit skills are this type.
Soul Skills are carved into your soul. They're personal. You don't just learn them; they become part of who you are. They're rare, and they grow with you. Reinhardt's skill is one of those. As far as I know, with enough training, Core Skills can be evolved into Soul Skills with enough effort.
Astral Skills are different. They don't just use power. They force a concept onto the world. Space, fate, flames, null—whatever the skill rules over, it can rewrite how that thing works. Only a handful of people in history have ever had one. Mine is one of them. So is the one sleeping inside Akari.
Once I finished that part of the exam, the rest was just math. I had Khaos help with that. Shameful as it is, my knowledge of math is only up to a physics level. Anything above that is much more difficult. Funny thing is, I didn't have this problem when I was a god. That seems to be a limitation of this body.
What would you do without me?
Shut up.
Once I finished the calculations, I was done. I still had ten minutes left until the exam was over. I got up and submitted my test early.
"Who's the freak with the mask?"
"How the hell is he finished?"
"Damn. Maybe I should have asked him to help."
I could feel the stares and hear the grumbling of the other students behind me.
"Results will be posted in one hour. Until then, you are dismissed," she told me.
I gave a slight nod and headed for the door.
As I walked through, a certain student caught my eye.
He was hiding his aura, just like me, but I could tell he was strong.
He had long white hair and golden eyes. He was wearing a leather coat with a white collared shirt underneath. His desk was hiding anything below his waist.
I wondered how powerful he was, and I considered asking him directly after the test. But I didn't know what his personality was like, so I scratched that idea out.
There were some other powerful individuals mixed in, but that specific guy caught my attention.
Perhaps we'll meet later.
So I turned and walked out of the classroom.
For the next hour, I was free to do what I wanted. So, I left the academy for a while and went to find a food stand nearby.
---
"So you're saying that you took her as an apprentice?"
Obviously, Julius could tell Reinhardt was lying. After all, this was the same Reinhardt who had shown him an image of Claudia being taken away by a mysterious figure.
"Obviously not, but that's the excuse we'll give to the school board."
As happy as he was to see Claudia in his office, he was not happy about having to come up with an excuse.
Time had been rewritten, courtesy of Noir Drake, which meant that Claudia was now just a student who had skipped school. Obviously, things did not look good for her.
Telling the school board about the whole Crimson Army incident would make Julius sound like a buffoon. They wouldn't believe him.
Fortunately, Reinhardt had come up with a solution, but it wasn't exactly effective.
"Okay," Julius responded. "But why only Claudia specifically? It can't be for her skills, because I can assure you, there are more people skilled than her in this academy."
Claudia looked down and pouted.
"Of course, you are one of this academy's top students. I'm just saying there are people who are more skilled than you. Don't worry, you'll get there," he assured Claudia.
"Don't worry. I've thought this out thoroughly. This is what we're gonna do," Reinhardt told Julius.
"We are making a junior Arcane Knight program. Through this, students will get to go on missions on behalf of the Arcane Knights and receive training and education aboard the Aether Ark."
That... isn't terrible.
If Claudia had to leave the academy for a mission for one of the Arcane Knights, she would have an excuse for leaving the academy.
And if the board asked why they didn't tell them about it, they could say the program was a secret up until now and that Claudia was chosen based on her potential.
It wasn't a bad excuse at all.
Although—
"I agree with your plan and will do my best to help. But what happened when you left the academy? I know you were taken by someone, so how did you escape?"
"I'm sorry," Claudia said. "But I can't tell you. Not now, anyway."
"I see. Very well, I will respect your wishes for now. But do not hesitate to ask me for help. Understood?"
Claudia lifted her head and smiled.
"Understood."
Julius smiled at her, then looked at Reinhardt.
"Reinhardt. For this plan to succeed, we must make this program public. Are you ready to deal with that?"
"Of course."
"Okay. Then we have work to do."
---
An hour passed, and I made my way back to the academy.
I had found a café nearby selling cupcakes. Apparently, they were a treat enjoyed by both commoners and nobles.
I'll admit, it was delicious. Regular cakes were good on their own, but the small size of cupcakes added a sort of charm to them.
When I got to the bulletin board, the results were already posted. Unfortunately, I wasn't at the top. That position went to someone named Lisa Vulkan. I was in fifteenth position, which, out of three hundred participants, wasn't bad at all.
There were a total of five hundred candidates, but only three hundred participants had been posted, which meant the remaining two hundred had failed.
Tough luck.
Some were crying, while others were rejoicing. Obviously, I was happy, but I didn't make a big deal out of it or overreact. That would be unsightly.
---
A few minutes later, an exam proctor gathered all of us in the middle of some sort of training ground. I couldn't see any test dummies. Instead, I saw a circular platform right next to the proctor.
"For the next stage of your exam, you will be transported to different locations, each with a boss designed based on your Eather Levels."
Eather Levels?
They're the total amount of internal energy that you can control.
Ahh, I see. So it's a way of measuring how much power we possess. But I guess it won't exactly be accurate.
I mean, even if a baby possessed an enormous amount of power, against an adult who's mastered different ways to use that power, the baby wouldn't stand a chance. Not unless they just fired it all in one go, but even that would have a low chance of succeeding.
That's another reason why skills are important. They help you fully utilize the power you possess.
"Be warned. This test is not to see how fast you can defeat the boss, but how well you manage to do it. We want you to fully utilize your skills and magic in every way possible."
Once he was done, he snapped his fingers, and several of the same circular platforms formed beneath everyone.
A magic circle appeared below my feet and slowly rose up to my head.
"Eather Level: 195."
A voice spoke directly into my mind, and it wasn't Khaos.
"When the magic circle passes through you, it will scan for your Eather Level. Only you will know what your Eather Level is."
Ohh, so that's what the voice was.
The circular platform glowed blue, and this time, the environment around me began to change.
"The exam will now begin. Good luck."
And then my surroundings completely changed.
I was now in some sort of sub-space. The sky was yellow, and I was standing in something that looked like a coliseum.
In front of me were three magic beasts.
On the left was a beast with the head of a wolf, the body of a wyvern, and the tail of a serpent.
On the right, a massive titan made of white stone glared at me. It was the biggest of the three.
Finally, at the center was something akin to a human. It had black hair and red horns on its head. It also wore red armor, along with a great crimson longsword.
Fighting in these clothes isn't going to be easy.
Leave that to me.
My clothes changed into pure motes of light before reconfiguring themselves into a new set of clothes.
It was a simple set of black pants and a shirt, along with a hoodie.
My mask was still the same, but this time, my head was covered by the hood.
This is your idea of comfortable?
Is it not?
I admit it is, but where did you even get this from?
From Akari.
You spoke to her!?
There's a lot of things I've done that you're unaware of.
How did you do that?
That's a trade secret.
...We're not done having this conversation.
The three beasts didn't wait.
The wolf-wyvern hybrid moved first. Its wings snapped open and it shot forward in a low arc, serpent tail lashing behind it for balance.
At the same time, the white stone titan raised one massive arm and brought it down toward the center of the coliseum, aiming to crush everything in a wide radius.
The horned humanoid simply lowered its stance and watched, crimson sword resting on its shoulder.
Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain. I simply dashed backward, avoiding every single one of their attacks with ease.
At the back of my waist was a waist pouch with two handles sticking out the sides.
I undid the concealment spell placed on it and grabbed the handle on the right. I pulled, and unsheathed my katana from it.
The bag had a spatial spell on it, so I could use it to store my weapons, no matter how big. For some reason, my inventory had been blocked so this was the solution I came up with.
I pointed my katana towards the beasts as I released my mana. The yellow sky seemed to darken as the ground cracked from the pressure.
"Come at me, savage beasts. Entertain me for as long as you can."