CHAPTER 4-DUST

My first thought was I have to get out of here. I looked around at what used to be my school, the scent of smoke burning my throat. The dust started filling my lungs, and I broke into a fit of coughing. I sprinted into the forest behind the school, my lungs burning and my eyes watering. I ran an extra mile after entering the forest for extra cover, and I climbed and sat in a tree to collect my thoughts.

‘I just blew up the school. I’m gonna be arrested, my friends might be arrested, they’ll come after my family…’ I thought. But then I realized, how would they know it was me? And then another question entered my mind. Was it even me? I remember fighting that senior and his friends, and then there was this big explosion, and I was knocked unconscious. Maybe it was some terrorist, someone with a grudge against the school. That did little to calm my mind. Then how was I the only one that survived? Surely, my aura shield is far weaker than that of the entire school. ‘Doesn’t matter,’ I told myself. ‘They still don’t have proof it was you.’

After resting for over an hour, I started making my way home, giving the school a wide berth. Leaving myself alone with my thoughts wasn’t healthy, so I went to Zeph’s house before going to my own.

He opened the door about two seconds after I knocked.

“Kai? What happened? What was that loud noise I heard?”

“Let’s go inside first. I have some bad news.”

After telling him about the state of our school, he was in shock.

“What do you mean, there’s nothing left? How is that even possible? That school was enchanted with spells from some of the highest ranking shields in all of Glaetia!”

‘Huh. So it was strong. Then how the heck did I survive?’

“I don’t know how it happened,” I said, “ but one second I was fighting those thugs and the next there was this huge explosion. I got knocked unconscious, and when I woke up everything was gone.”

I wasn’t lying either. That was pretty much all I knew about the situation.

Zephyr turned so white that I could’ve sworn I could see through him. “So how are you okay? An explosion of that size should’ve k-killed you!”

“To be completely honest, I have no idea.”

“Where are we gonna go to school now?” he asked, concern evident in his voice, “I don’t want to stay home doing chores for the rest of my life!”

That was one of the things I was thinking about on the way here. “We could go to Aurora Academy in Cryst.”

Zephyr scoffed, “And where do you think we could get the money to afford that school? Going there for a year costs more than my parents have made their whole lives!”

“We could try out for scholarships. I heard if you’re good enough, they take you in for free. It’s good for their image as a school or something.” I replied.

“I don’t doubt that you could get one, being the genius you are, but how do you expect me to get accepted? I’m below average at best in all my classes!”

“Zeph, you’re just not confident enough in your abilities. You could take on half the class by yourself if you actually tried.”

I wasn’t saying that just to encourage him, I actually believed it. Zephyr was some kind of natural prodigy, and if he actually trained like he should, he could probably beat me. But he’s one of the laziest people I know, with crippling anxiety to go with it.

“Like hell I could. I’m worse than them at everything I do.”

“That’s because they practice and you don’t. And even without practice, you’re still only just below their level. You have a gift, Zeph. I guarantee that if you actually train for these tryouts, you’ll pass with flying colors.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so. In fact, if you don’t pass even after training with me every day until the exams, I’ll do all your chores for two months.”

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Maybe my parents are looking for me?

It was Celeste.

“Are you both okay? Did you hear about what happened to the school?” she said immediately.

“Yeah, Cel, we’re fine. Actually, we were just thinking of applying to Aurora Academy now that Krax is… a crater.”

“Aurora? I’ve always wanted to go there! I’ll go with you guys!” she responded, excitedly.

“Yeah! You definitely should!” Zeph said, even more excited. “But wait, we still have to get scholarships if we want to go there…” he realized.

“You guys do realize who I am, right? You know, beach mansion girl… I can just get my family to pay for you. It’s really not a problem.”

“Really! Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best, Cel!” Zephyr said, hugging her. He looked ecstatic at the prospect of not training.

I wasn’t so quick to agree, though. “Thanks, but no thanks. I want to try for a scholarship and see if I can do it.” After all, if I couldn’t do that, how was I ever going to defeat Nightshade? “I mean, if I fail the exam, then I suppose I could accept your help…” I said, trailing off.

“Great! Then it’s settled, we’re going to Aurora! This is gonna be so fun!” Celeste exclaimed.

‘Leave it to these two to make our school blowing up sound like a good thing.’

“We still have to ask our parents, don’t get too excited.”

***

Well, that was fast. Not even a week later, the transfer processes were all done, and we were waiting in front of our houses for the carriages to arrive. All that was left was to arrive at the academy and take our entrance exams. Leave it to the best sorcery school in the country to be this efficient.

When we entered the city of Cryst, Zephyr and I were in disbelief. We had never seen a city this big (Granted, we had only seen our hometown, but still). I think there are more people in my line of sight than there were in all of Minsler. There were merchants selling crates upon crates of fruits, blacksmiths, students and teachers, and even some street performers. It was all a little overwhelming, but cool nonetheless.

A few minutes later, we arrived at Aurora Academy. And when I tell you it’s huge, I mean huge. The entryway alone was taller than the entire building of Krax. I couldn’t even see the top of the building, it was above the clouds. I’m pretty sure the campus was larger than our entire town.

The three of us couldn’t contain our gasps of amazement as we pulled into the carriage loop.

“Welcome to Aurora Academy,” some tall man said, “I am Principal Rutkins, and I will be your guide today. Before we begin, would you prefer the tour or the entrance exam first?”

“Tour,” we all said in unison.

“Well then, tour it is!”

He led us through the vast amount of buildings on campus, showing us where all the classrooms, dorms, and training arenas were, while also telling us the history of everything we passed.

“That there is the closet of trophies for just one of our most gifted students. His name was Neil Vikatra, and he was far past the skill level of even the teachers at this academy. By his third year, he decided he had nothing left to learn, and he dropped out, but not without leaving a lasting impression on this school. These trophies here are proof of his skill, and proof that he was trained right here, at our very own Aurora Academy. Nobody knows where he is now, or what he is doing, but he is still the pride of our school.

“Now, shall we start the entrance exam?” he said, “ you two go with this gentleman over here,” he directed Zephyr and Celeste to an old man who simultaneously looked like he would die any second and he could wipe the floor with us three. “And you, young man,” he told me, “I’ll be the proctor of your exam.”

I had expected something like this. I have an encouraging wave to Zeph and Cel, having no doubt they would pass their exam. I then followed the principal to the fanciest training arena I had ever seen, with students lined up on it.

“Your goal in this exam is to beat as many students as possible. You can pick who you start with, but you’ll have to fight all of them eventually, so choose strategically, so you don’t tire yourself out fast.”

I see how this works. These students were probably first years, so being able to defeat them was the bare minimum to get accepted as a second year. But was it enough for a scholarship? I had to try something extreme here.

“Do I have to fight one at a time? Can’t I fight more?”

“Well, how many of our students do you intend to take on at once? I’d recommend not underestimating them, even if they are a year younger than you.”

“I was thinking… all of them?”

“You know that overconfidence will get you nowhere. A sorcerer who doesn’t know his limits is a dead one.”

“I know, sir.”

“Very well then. Everyone take your positions!” he shouted.

The sorcerers-in-training all scurried into an arrow shaped formation. I was already spotting holes in their defense that I could exploit.

“I will be the judge of this match,” the principal proclaimed, “use of weapons is allowed, but there will be no killing or maiming. I will end the match when I see one side being overwhelmed.” He glanced at me as he said this, already assuming that side would be me. I’ll show him, I thought.

“Without further ado, let the entrance exam of Kai Dustfang begin!”

I immediately rushed towards the flanks of the arrow, knowing that would be the least defended point. I tripped the student at the end, and went for the next. Then the next. Then the next. I was trying to break their formation, but they didnt’ seem to adapt very well to change, so I just kept going. When I was at the tip of the arrow, they seemed to realize they were doing something wrong, and dismantled their line. That was the opportunity I was waiting for. In one fell swoop, I knocked the rest of them down. I thought the old man would end the match here, but he didn’t. Nobody was getting up, so why didn’t he end it?

“Hey, Principal Rutkins, are you gonna end the match or not?” I asked.

He didn’t respond. Taking a closer look, I saw a dazed expression on his face. It appeared he was in shock from watching ten of his students be defeated by one transfer student.

“Hey, wake up, the match is over!” I shouted.

He blinked, focusing his eyes again. Took him long enough.

“T-The winner of this match is the examinee, Kai Dustfang!”

“Thank you, Principal.”

“No p-problem,” he stuttered, “could y-you please wait here for a moment? I have to go fetch someone.”

“Sure, I got nothing to do anyway.” I answered.

A few minutes later, he returned, with some girl following him. She looked older than me, but not by much, so I assumed she was a third year.

“K-Kai, this is Alma Frostore. She is one year your senior, so show some respect. She is currently the number one sorcerer among the third years in this school. Seeing as how those first years didn’t stand a chance, I wanted to try this. This will be your final test in this examination.”

Alma and I stood across from one another on the arena platform, and bowed. The group of first years were still recovering from their injuries, but they were watching intently.

“You both know the rules. Now, let the match between entrance examinee Kai Dustfang and third year Alma Frostore begin!”