Atlus Academy

Old Chapter 6

Five days later

The results for the exams were posted in the front of the Atlus Academy. It seems that this class was the biggest this year. Only two hundred and twelve people made it out of the many people who did the exam process. From the list some familiars names could be seen on the board. Xander Wright, Amelia Ignis, Lance Humus, Jade Campe, Stephen Gelum and Skye Bloomingdale. It seems all the people so far have made it into the school. There were professors giving instructions to those who made it. Motioning them into the school to start the next phase of the exams.

I walked up to the board and looked for my name. I thought I wasn't going to see it, but I was wrong. My name was there; clear as day. Ren Blackwell. I was glad that I was able to get into the school without much trouble. I made my way into the school and heard the instructions from then.

"If you're just now entering the building please come grab a pin," someone said.

I made my way to what seemed to be a desk and picked up a pin. The person instructed me to put it on my upper body somewhere and to not lose it. After a few minutes the professors left the room. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I decided to wait patiently. A hologram of a man wearing a suit appeared towards the center of the room. You could hear everyone whispering about it, until the man cleared his throat and got everyone's attention.

"Greeting new students of Atlus Academy," the man said. "I am your headmaster as well as your guide for the day. You are all here to participate in a battle royal to determine your rank for when you start your classes on Monday. Your rank is important because it shows not only your strength, but your use of authority as well. The higher your ranking is, the more privileges you get in the school."

I've heard rumors, but I didn't know it was true. To think that we would be competing in a battle royal with what seemed to be more than two hundred people. I wasn't really sweating it, but I was excited to see the outcome of it all.

"You will be sent to an artificially created space where any damage you take won't be fatal in here," he said. "However, you will still feel the pain and get exhausted. The upside is that you get to use your magic to your hearts content. To determine your rank, you have to be eliminated or the last person standing. To get eliminated your pin has to be destroyed. You will then be transported back to this area and your name and rank will be displayed for those to see in the battle area. I wish you all the best of luck. Your battle begins now."

As soon as he said that he disappeared and everything went black. Then a huge magic circle appeared beneath everyone's feet and the room glowed a bright blue light blinding us all. When I opened my eyes I found myself in a forest area. The people that were around me were nowhere to be seen. I guess we were all separated and scattered across a big field. Although this battle royal was the last thing on my mind. I was more interested in the magic behind creating something like this. I could figure out the basics behind it I could use it for practice. Although I would expect that it would use a lot of mana to create and be kept stabilized. Maybe sometime in the future.

"I wonder where I could go relax," I said to myself.

There was a lot of forest to be seen. I went in a random direction a walked for a few minutes and stopped so I could rest. I climbed onto one of the trees and stretched myself out on top of a branch. I closed my eyes and listened to my surroundings. I could feel the entirety of the place. Magic was being used all over the place. I could hear explosions in the distance and felt occasional ground shacking. To think that there were some powerful people in my class was quite surprising.

Although everything wasn't real, I couldn't help but feel relaxed in this tree. The soft autumn breeze brushed against me as the smell of leaves entered my nose. It was quite odd since winter was almost ending out in the real world. Well I say almost, but it's like half way. Basically what I'm trying to say is the scenery is so nice that I could just fall asleep. If only that were the case. I couldn't quite relax because I felt a very threatening aura on me. It was as if the person wasn't trying to hide their murderous intent.

After a couple of minutes pass, the person starts getting closer to my location. As they got closer I could feel their mana. It seems they were about to cast a spell directed towards me. The mysterious person jumps up to height I was at and cut the branch I was relaxing on. I dodged the attack because it was aimed at me, but made it seem like I completely lost my balance. I landed on the ground and the branch feel beside me. It had scorch marks at the place it was cut so it was the work of someone who could use fire magic. I look up and to my surprise see a familiar face that I didn't want to see.

---

The professors for this generation of students were all gathered at a table watching the battle royal unfold from different screens. You could see the battle ground from different angles and each professor focused on certain places. The headmaster sat at the far end of the room and was also observing the battle royal, but it was unclear what he was looking for.

There was a small group of professors sitting at one corner of the table. They seemed very close and were discussing the current students and the upcoming talents of this generation. While they were talking, one professor among them seemed really out of it. Like he was deep in thought thinking about something.

"Professor Sullivan," someone said getting his attention. "What's on your mind? You seem deep in thought."

"It's nothing," he answered.

"Well if it's nothing then you can join us in our talk," another person said very brutishly.

Professor Sullivan looked at the other professors in the small group and sighed. He brushed away his prior thoughts and joined in on the conversation being held.

"What are you talking about then," he asked.

"We were discussing who of the new students could be the top for this year," a professor said.

"Professor Moon," he said. "That's not a question that needs to be asked. The obvious answer is Xander Wright."

"And why is that Professor Sullivan," Professor Flare asked.

"He's the only student this generation that got five bars in the mana examination," he said. "Not only that, but his skill with the sword is quite phenomenal. He completely overwhelmed the earth golem and didn't even break a sweat."

"He wasn't the only one that overwhelmed the golem," Professor Hamilton said.

"Who else overwhelmed the earth golem," he asked.

"That one kid," Professor Hamilton answered. "He was that kid with the bags. He signed up for your department. You should know."

"You mean the one that looked like he had experience," he said sarcastically. "He didn't overwhelm the golem. He just got lucky. If anything, the fact that he got into this school is a complete mystery to me."

"You should give him a chance Professor Sullivan," Professor Moon said. "You haven't even met him yet and you're already knocking him down."

"I don't need to meet him to know that he won't make it far in this school," Professor Sullivan said. "I'll keep an eye on him, but I don't expect much."

"Speaking of that student," Professor Flare said. "Isn't that him on the screen. It seems he's the first person to get into a fight. I wonder how he'll manage. For all you know, he could have the best instincts out of all the students and wouldn't have to rely on his magic. Since he has raw power."

"We'll just have to see," Professor Sullivan said. "But again I don't expect much."