"Good morning" Myr mentioned, as he got up and out of his bed. "And may the light of the gods shine upon you this day".

"Good morning" Pyr said, waking up groggily, before kissing Arc. "Awaken the spirit of the heart".

"...why do I feel like your habbit is getting worse?" Arc said, as he suddenly pushed Pyr out of his bed with his foot, the boy falling head first with his rear extended into the sky, just covered by his tail.

Either way, this scene was starting to become a regular experience for Arc. That said, they were still getting used to Myr, their Apprentice Priest roommate. From what they talked about yesterday, he seemed rather simple and normal, mostly. Perhaps maybe he was expecting something more extreme, but he seemed rather mellow and friendly, though could get a bit excitable. That said, it did appear he held his faith rather deeply.

However, Arc couldn't help but get the feeling Myr was being rather vague upon some of those details, but given Arc and Pyr's even harder to explain or reveal backstories, they decided to let it go for now. In any case, once they were dressed and ready, they headed out for breakfast, and then their first classes here.

"And, what did you learn of their roommate, Myr?" Headmaster Sera asked the two black cloaked twins.

"Myr, an apprentice priest..." Ara started.

"Wait, seriously? That's odd..." Elina mentioned. "Which god does he worship?"

"Azara, the god of knowledge, magic, and souls" Era mentioned. "We do get some of those sometimes..."

"Yes, but its always so odd...keep a watch over that one. There might be more to him then he seems...in any case, is there anything else to report?"

"Yes, it appears someone has misplaced the western wing of the library, and a few classrooms moved themselves at the last moment. In addition, we have recovered one of the Emerald Keystones, but a few others are still missing. Oh, and it appears that all the Royal Successors will be attending the academy this year. This has led to an increase in the number of Noble students, so tensions might run high depending on the personalities present. As many of them have Duke and Arch-Duke backing most likely, we may have to tread carefully. That said, the recent disappearances in the city guard, as well as the investigations into the Skyfire event and the Shadowkeep have all stalled out for now" Ara mentioned

"I see....stalled you say?"

"We have confirmed that several large objects, some made of stone, some made of brick, and some made of metal, have fallen from the sky, and some of them are structures. That said, their craftsmanship is unique, using techniques never seen before" he said. "Unfortunately, most of it fell on noble land, and most of those nobles are in the pockets of the royal successors. I believe we will soon be asked to place our vote or support behind someone as well..." Era added on.

Elina Sera furrowed her brows, before remembering something.

"I want you to acquire a document for me. It will be highly dangerous, but it may be necessary for the kingdom. We cant be sure of who can and cant be trusted these days. And one more thing...what of the Slavers that are sneaking into the city, and attempting to kidnap our students to sell as 'high quality intelligent slaves'?"

"We routed out a base last week, but we believe they have more. We think Shadowkeep might be funding them".

"I see....do whatever it takes to see to their destruction none the less".

""Understood"" the twins said, disappearing back into the shadows.

The school's workout uniform, or gym uniform basically, was a simple pair of black shorts, a white T shirt, and black boots. They were simple and easy to wash, and everyone wore it for most classes that involved exercise or moving around, except for swimming where they were just naked, or for classes that involved using specialized gear.

And that held true even for this class, Physical Development. Not only that, but the class lasted extra long then normal classes, taking up an hour and a half. Although technically, it was only an hour and fifteen minutes, and then with fourty five minutes till the next class would start would be taken to wash off, put on clean clothes, rest and eat a bit to rebuild stamina, and such. The class was mostly outside, but it also had a building in case the weather was bad, or for other reasons. It also had its own specialized and expensive bathing room to wash off and clean one's body.

Physical Development was basically a class to train and excercise the body, since that was considered important too. It didn't exclude magic out completely though, but the focus was the physical body.

That said, since this was the first class, Arc figured it would be mostly explanations, basic work, ability gauging, and such.

He was wrong.

"Alright, for the first off, you are going to spar with another student so I can accurate determine your overall abilities. Although some classes should be the same for everyone, other times I will have special tasks and excercises for each of you individually. But to do that, I need to know what you can do right now".

He then looked at some paper he had, and pointed out to Arc and another kid, a dark elf girl.

"Arc, Sabine, both of you will fight each other. Now, the rules this time are simple. Blunted attacks and non-lethal techniques only, and avoid giving your opponent serious injury. For this excercise, it will be hand to hand combat only. Take your boots off and step onto the mat. There are several ways to win. If you pin or knock your opponent down to the ground for five seconds. If you knock your opponent unconscious. If you render your opponent unable to fight. If you strip your opponent naked. If your opponent concedes defeat. And if your opponent steps off of the mat, or is knocked outside of it. That said...please do avoid knocking them unconscious, since that could have dangerous medical problems".

"Yes!"

"Understood!"

The two went over to the mat, taking their boots off and stepping onto them barefoot. Arc didn't know too much about hand to hand combat, but his body did seem to have some knowledge of it, probably designed for it. As they reached the mat, Sabine bowed to him, so Arc did the same.

"Now, do you both promise to fight fairly and honorably?"

"Yes!" they both said in unison.

"Then rise..." he said, as they raised their heads. "...and begin!"

Suddenly, the moment that was said, Sabine disappeared right in front of his eyes as he felt a strange surge, and then disappearance, of mana. Invisibility...I see...what said...

As he thought that, he struck his palm out at empty air, but he seemed to hit something. However, as Sabine appeared, his palm was blocked by her arm and she sent an uppercut right at his head. Arc however seemed to rotate his whole body, his head going down as his foot rose up, surrounded by crackling lightning. She used her arm to block quickly, and elbowed his leg back down.

"Shadowball!"

She launched a magical shadowball at her, but Arc managed to break out of the conflict and dodge it, landing on his feet again.

"Very well then..." Arc mentioned, thrusting his palm out at her, and then as it was fully extended, his fingers pulled back as part of the palm pushed forward, creating a powerful wind blast. This was the same technique he used to knock the knights off their feet, although he did make sure to reduce the power this time. That said, she used the shadows to brace herself, and not only did she not get pushed out of the ring, she didn't even fall down.

I know I weakened it, but I didn't think it was by that much...

Meanwhile, the dark skinned dark elf girl watched him with black eyes full of shock, as she settled down and her black hair fell back down her back.

That shot was powerful. Had I not braced myself, I would have been done in right then and there. This boy is strong...he might hate me, but clearly I need to finish this quickly to win. I wont lose now.

"Shadowbind!" Sabine cast, as shadow tendrils shot from the ground and tried to bind Arc. Arc unleashed a wave of electricity from his body to shoot them down, but then Sabine closed the distance. He prepared to attack head on...

"Shadowbind!" she cast again. "Shadowbind! Shadowbind! And now...Shadowball!"

Casting multiple magic spells in a row, she showed no sign of slowing down or being fatigued. Furthermore, her last one was an attack spell. Arc tried to pull back, but the Shadowbinds got caught on his body and clothes.

"Wind pulse!" he released, sending a pulse of wind to slow her down as all the bindings pulled down on him. But as he did, the shadowball hit. While it was slower then normal, it packed a massive punch. At that point though, Arc realized that if he kept struggling, his clothes would likely get torn off his body, which was one of the ways he could lose. His arms rendered imobile and his legs also so, it seemed like a tricky situation.

"Lightning Rod!" he cast, as suddenly electricity surged across his entire body, shocking the tendrils. He figured that creating a large amount of light through lightning would weaken the shadow tendrils, and release himself, but so many were cast that didn't help much.

"That wont be enough!"

"That isn't only what the spell does..." Arc muttered, as an electrical beam fired out of his body and attacked Sabine who was closing it, shocking her body and causing her to fall to the ground. He had adjusted it a bit to stun her, not smoke her, so hopefully that was enough.

However, as she fell, she seemd to mutter something, and then suddenly hands emerged from the shadows and grasped Arc's clothes, pulling them off his body. At the same time, the teacher finished counting to five.

"Simultainous defeat! A tie!" he said as the shadows disappeared, and Arc quickly picked up his clothes and put them back on. "Now, can someone tell me why we spar like this?"

"Because it avoids doing serious and permenant damage! Pushing someone out of the ring, or removing their clothes, or having the enemy themself surrender does not impose lasting physical damage, while also making note of their weaknesses!"

As that was said, Sabine finally recovered from the stun and got up, looking bitter at her loss, even if it was a tie, while Arc finished getting dressed again while embarassed a bit.

"Now, what was their weaknesses? Arla?"

"Sabine was too direct and obvious with her sneak attack. She also shouldn't have disappeared right in front of her enemy, but waited to be out of his line of sight while fighting close up. In addition, she was also too direct when she charged right for him, even though Arc had just cast a spell that affected his whole body. She should have been wary".

"Correct. Now, Sero, what was Arc's mistakes?"

"He didn't use his lightning magic to clad himself early, but tried to struggle out of the shadows with brute strength. Considering the multiple casts of that spell which even a fully grown adult would have issues breaking out of naturally, he should have used it immediately. His clothes, or in combat, his armor, would not have become so easy to remove in that situation. In addition, he shouldn't have backed up at all against a user of shadow magic, but kept her in her line of sight while fighting close up, since it was obvious he was physically superior" Sero mentioned.

"Correct. However, both of you didn't get everything. Arc also failed to use any wide area magic to catch Sabine off guard during her stealth attack. With wind magic, he could have blasted her out since she failed to have any real defenses up while in stealth. In addition, with his speed, he could have easily dodged those bindings if he had been wary and aware of his surroundings properly. Meanwhile, Sabine, stealth combat is good, but after that failed you didn't restore the mana to your body, making yourself more vulnerable. In addition, if this became a fight of attrition, you were wasting mana at a far greater rate then him. That said, you did prove yourself to be superior in your experience of hand to hand combat, which is good at least. And Arc proved to be quite inventive, showing off what I believe is self taught fighting style, right? Your body moved quite well to it".

"Yes, thank you!"

"Ah, I will keep that in mind".

As they said that, Arc's shorts fell down again as they were quite worn out. However, as he pulled them up, it could be noticed they were regenerating. Since the course could cause them to become tatters easily, all of the uniforms were enchanted with Regeneration Enchantments, as well as increased durability.

And so, the class continued as such.

So in essence, the Academy classes were simple enough. Each one would last about fifty minutes, with a ten minute guarenteed break afterwards to give you time to get to your next class. Not every class met on every day, and there is plenty of free time to pursue one's own goals, take on some quests and make money, and so on. It seems that a lot of time was dedicated to free time and practice, and to allow one the ability to really do personal studying and projects.

"Well...that was rather...interesting" Arc said, feeling a rather inconsistant fluidity with his classes. Of course, this had something to do with the fact that some classes contained knowledge and concepts totally new to him still, while others he learned in early elementary school. So it couldn't be helped. It was like taking a basic math course, and then suddenly doing triginometry. Extremely inconsistant. As such, it made it even more tiring.

So Arc was now resting and laying down in a grassy field. It was on school grounds, as the grounds were quite expansive. But he just wanted to lay back and soak in the sun. Pyr had also run off somewhere with Rel, but since Arc didn't want to make Pyr totally reliant on being with him all the time, he thought splitting up would be a good idea.

Plus, even he wanted peaceful alone time every now and then.

The wind was blowing nicely, and the sky was nice and clear. It appeared rain and snow frequently lasted from several hours to all day when they happened, and major storms would last for a few days. Although there were still more sunny days then not, it was something to take note of.

Of course, sometimes that silence was interrupted by a loud noise, as there were two students nearby that appeared to be training in magic and swords.

That said, his ears were quite sensative, able to pick up voices and noises that were farther away. He was thankful the dorm rooms at least have strong walls, because he couldn't hear anyone gossip or snore in the rooms next to them. Or maybe it was created specially to prevent that.

Either way, the rythmic clashing of swords and magic eventually became rythmic and soothing for him.

They seemed quite skilled, because as far as Arc could tell with his eyes closed and far away, it sounded like neither of them had actually lost, and they were holding up the stamina to keep this fight up long term. That said, he predicted it would end soon. Both of them were starting to gasp for breath, and the strikes were slowing. Well, they had been at it for an hour after all.

However, during their last clash, one of their grips finally loosened and the sword went flying at an incredibly speed...

Huh...wait, huh?!

Quickly reacting, he pushed his feet off the ground while placing his hands firmly off the ground, going into a handstand as electricity covered his leg. He then kicked the blade that was flying towards him full force, directing it straight into the ground nearby without touching him, as his body leaned over. His upper hands released the dirt as his feet planted themselves upon the ground, and he looked back at both them, and the sword. Two people were running towards him, two girls wearing what appeared to be a type of armor where metal plates had been attached to leather and joined together, creating a lightweight metal armor that covered vital areas as well as others.

"Sorry!" a girl said, appearing to be around Arc's age. There was another girl with her of about the same age.

"Ah, its fine...sorry about your sword by the way..." Arc said, looking at the blade that had been thrush so deep into the ground.

"No, no, its my fault...sorry, let me introduce myself. I am Isabel Reylo, of the Arch-Duke Reylo Family".

Arch-Duke. It was a rank that was only ever occupied by the Duke Family that had a member as the current King or Queen. In other words, the girl in front of him could be said to be a Princess.

"Ah...ah? Wait...Arch-Duke?!" Arc realized in a panic, trying to bow. However, Isabel looked at that and then got embarrassed.

"No no! Its fine! Besides, it was my carelessness that endangered your life! Its fine its okay! Plus, we are at school! Merit is supposed to matter more then nobility here!"

"Ah, I am her Page and Guardian, Ella Tais, of the Tais Knightdom" Ella mentioned, introducing herself as well.

"She is also my best friend! Again, I am very sorry!" she said, starting to bow to Arc in an apology.

"Ah, no no its fine!" Arc said, flustered now too.

"Ahem" Ella mentioned, breaking up whatever was going on. "Anyways, I should get it"

With that said, she reached down to pull the sword out...however, the sword was quite stuck in there.

"You weren't kidding about it being really stuck in there. Just how much force did you use?"

"Ah, I didn't hold back because I did that on reflex".

Honestly, I have no idea how I reacted like that! I really did do it on instinct!

While Arc thought that in his head, E;;a went over to help pull the sword out, but both of them seemed to still have trouble with it, so Arc joined in and...

"This thing..."

"...really wont..."

"...budge at all!"

Even with him there, the sword had essentially fused into the ground, as if it had become one with it

It was completely hopeless no matter what they attempted.

"Alright, in that case...." Arc said, focusing all of his mana and power into his foot as he raised his leg. "Lets smash the ground!"

He took all that force and slammed his heel into the ground, smashing it to pieces and freeing the sword. That said...there was something attached to it.

"Its...a rock..."

"There is a rock in the middle of the sword".

"...was that rock giving us all that trouble?"

A large rock could be seen right there, and by all accounts it was clearly the most likely culprit to their inability to pull it out. However, it looked like quite a solid rock the sword was now pierced through and stuck inside.

"Ah....if I try that kick again, it might shatter the blade".

"That is definently ill advised....we can just...chisel it out" Ella mentioned.

"Ah...sorry for bothering you!" Isabel mentioned. "And, nice to meet you!"

"...you know we were in the same class as him earlier, right?"

"Eh?"

"Ah..."

"Anyways, we should get going" Ella mentioned.

"Ah, right! Thanks! Bye...erm...."

"Arc".

"Bye, Arc!" she said, before running off.

Once she was gone, Arc let loose a sigh.

"Seriously, what was with me? Married for over a decade, and suddenly I cant talk to a girl? How weird".

As he muttered that to himself, he laid back down on the grass.

Arch-Duke...wait, at that age, wouldn't that make her one of the candidates to potentially inherit the throne?

As that thought muttered in his mind, he decided not to mind it, since it really didn't concern him at the moment.

But he felt like he was probably going to get pulled into something problematic in the future.