The day was inspirational, the way the sky was an enchanting blue with the scattered wisps of clouds, along with a fresh breeze that countered the heat from the sun. This was the type of day that should be spent under the shade of a lovely tree, while beautiful women fed delectable treats into one’s mouth.

These were the thoughts that went through Han’s mind as he exited the carriage. In front was Academic City, where the goal was to become a student in and enjoy a fantasy setting school experience typically seen in mangas and animes.

Close to the entrance was a winding line of teenagers and young adults looking to be processed. It was interesting the variety of clothing worn by the people, giving insight into how desired going to this academy was to the public. There were boys and girls in drab outfits, not always fitting them with how they draped over their bodies. It was obvious to see those who were from well off families or from nobility, with how colorful the clothing was and looked fitted.

Walking towards the line of students, who were waiting to take the admittance exam into Illumin’s Academy, Han received several looks from people who saw him leading a group of woman.

Thinking ahead, the city had likely made the line to be outside of the city walls to prevent any congestion impeding the daily life of the residents as they went about their day.

Looking around, Han could see tents being pitched all around, as people waited until it was their time to take the exam. This defied his expectations of what getting into an academy was like, considering how movies, shows, and novels made everything seem such a smooth process.

The number of tents and the overall mood reminded him of a festival in the desert. He noticed merchants going around, between the tents, peddling their wares to various families.

Reaching the line, Han saw several people in formal outfits taking down information from the students. After the students finished talking to the officials, they would leave towards the sea of tents.

Guessing by this process, the officials probably gave each of the student's information about when their exam was taking place. This helped the line to steadily move, never getting overly long. With students going back to their own tents, their family, likely, celebrated with them to keep their mentality positive. Compared to applying to a university, on Earth, this method seemed to take in mind the mental health of students.

“Master, would you care to have a seat and maybe have a refreshment?” Brittany broke his chain of thought.

Turning towards her, Han replied, “I do not believe we will be in this line long enough, but I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

The three girls looked stimulating in their new outfits. He was happy with their choice in outfits, presenting himself with the opportunity to enjoy viewing their physique.

Brittany was wearing a one-piece outfit, where the top exposed the top of her bust, shoulders, and neck, and was a light green color with the skirt being slightly above her knees.

Queen wore a light blue corset, where the leather seemed to only cover up her nipples while pushing up her breasts. Her skirt went past her knees, but there was a slit, on one side, that went all the way to her hips, allowing you to enjoy the view of her thigh. It kind of reminded him of those Chinese dresses, at least with the skirt.

Helania looked very modest in her pink outfit, where her dress covered her from the neck all the way to her ankles. The only part that revealed her skin was a diamond shape, allowing him to see her breasts pressed together and ending just above her waist. Her outfit was nearly skin tight, which gave you a lovely view of all her curves.

Even though it appeared modest, compared to the other two, there was no doubt that she was a sensual woman. All the dresses had his symbol on it, five-pointed star (similar looking to a pentagram) in front of a crescent moon.

Hearing the sound of someone hastily approaching him, Han looked up to see an official who seemed somewhat frazzled. Addressing him, the man bowed his head and said, “My Lord, I presume you are the son of Han, who met the Lady Knight?”

Han was somewhat taken aback by the sudden inquiry, replying, “Yes, I am known as Han Yi.”

“Please! Forgive our rudeness of having you wait in this line, my Lord! We did not know when you would be arriving, and have been eagerly awaiting!” The official frantically bowed, looking stressed.

Holding out his hand to indicate he wasn't offended, Han tried to calm the man by saying, “There is no cause for you to be so anxious. I know that my father did not mention a time, for when I would be coming."

"Do I need to provide any kind of information? I noticed officials from the academy writing down information from each of the students.” Han asked.

The official looked horrified. “My Lord, there is no reason for someone, such as yourself, to go through this process. We have already prepared everything! The Lady Knight, herself, is present to help escort you to make sure your experience proceeds smoothly.” The man kept wringing his hands like he was trying to get rid of the sweat on his palms.

Nodding his head, Han could only picture how the academy viewed him, someone, that came from such an affluent “family.” Escorting him towards the beginning of the line, Han noticed many of the students muttering to one another, trying to figure out who he was to get such preferential treatment from the Academy.

At the front of the line, there was a long table, with numerous officials filing a vast amount of paperwork. Idling near the tables, the Lady Knight, Valessandria, was quietly anticipating the official to bring Han to her. She was donning a minimalist armor outfit, which had a rectangular chest plate in addition to the protection covering her forearms and shins.

Underneath her chest plate was a white shirt, matched with a blue skirt that went to her knees. At her side, she had a light looking sword which didn’t look very elaborate, intended for function over fashion.

Now that he appeared like a teenager, there was a definite age difference. The Lady Knight looked like someone attending a college, on Earth, so gave an upperclassmen vibe.

When she noticed him, her face changed from looking arrogant to respectful. There was a look of curiosity as Valessandria's eyes wandered his face. She likely saw the similarities between his adult form compared to his current one.

In anticipation of meeting her and desiring change, Han had made some slight changes to his appearance. His hair was closer to being black than brown, though he maintained his brown eyes. Thinking of taking advantage of his abilities, he was guilty of making several cosmetic changes.

“My lord, I apologize for not receiving you sooner and having you wait in line. My name is Valessandria, and I am the Lady Knight of Academic City, the head of the Disciplinary Committee of the Student Council." Valessandria bowed in greeting.

"Following your father’s wishes, we have arranged for you to stay in one of the housing areas, so that you may have your servants look after you." She said.

"Before we head to your new home, while you are attending the Academy, we will need to have you take a small practical exam. Though this may be an inconvenience, this is required for all students, regardless of family background.” Sounding apologetic, about him having to go through such a task.

Giving her a smile, Han said, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Knight. I am Han Yi, but you can call me Yi. My name is a generational name, so the men take the same name as their father while a second name is added."

"This is why I go by Yi, instead of my father’s name when I am outside my family.” He explained.

Motioning towards the girls, Han said, “These are the servants that arrived with me, to gauge if additional servants are necessary.” And introduced each one of them.

“My Lord Han, it is a pleasure meeting you, and I hope that you will enjoy your time in the Academic City,” Valessandria said to him, bowing her head.

After the introductions were finished, Valessandria led Han and his creations past the city walls. The thick wooden doors were the first things he noticed. Massive chains hung around the middle and trailing to either side of the entrance, likely connecting to a mechanism to allow them to be closed without exposing the people to danger from an attack.

Even with all the prospective students waiting outside of the city, there were still lines of wagons waiting to be admitted inside. Guards were posted in several locations with a team dedicated to questioning the wagon drivers.

Walking past the guards, several of them saluted Valessandria before resuming their duties. Merchants looked at her with apprehension, wondering why someone of such high rank was at the entrance.

An open carriage was waiting in front of the gate, with a dressed up driver next to the official-looking vehicle. "Lady Knight! I give greetings to you and our guest." The driver said.

"We will be going to the Tower," Valessandria ordered, entering the carriage.

The driver merely nodded his head.

Han smiled at the driver as he and the girls entered and sat down.

Once in the carriage, they made their way towards a giant tower. Compared to modern day skyscrapers, the tower didn’t look much, but considering the level of technology in this world, it looked impressive, like a spear trying to pierce into the heavens.

On the way, Han glanced at the multitudes of shops, a majority which catered towards students. The diversity of people was impressive.

There were not only humans, but also elves, beastmen, and dwarves. The beastmen showed the most variety, due to the many variations of animals. Some of them had very subtle animal characteristics, where they just had the ears and tails of the anime, while others seemed to look like bipedal animals.

Seeing all the beastmen made him think about his own beastmen servants, and how this place didn’t seem to have an issue with them. With concerns of how this world would react to beastmen, he had intentionally not chosen them to attend him.

Walking down this road reminded him of going through the shopping district, where he lived on Earth. There were clothing stores (catered to different customers), food stores, school supplies, restaurants, and random stores that had a wide variety of product. It would be fun to fully explore this city, especially considering how large it was.

Up ahead, Han saw a large entrance that looked similar to the entrance to the city.

"Only students of the Academy are allowed to enter into the center of the city," Valessandria said.

"Why are the students lining up at the smaller gate?" Han asked when he noticed the behavior.

Valessandria glanced at where Han was referring to, saying, "Ah. This is due to the larger gate meant mainly for carriages, passing through." Feeling the need to elaborate, she said, "Carriages are mainly used by those of the nobility."

Han noticed an edge in her voice when talking about the nobility. Though the city looked to be peaceful and utopian, there was likely tension between those originating from excess and those not.

Seeing how the city was focused on the Academy, Han thought of how unique it was. When looking at urban planning, the first thing that was created for a new city presented a good indicator as to its focus.

He remembered how there were some cities where the religious worship building was built first, leading to the area being more aligned with that particular religion’s mores. Academics was what ruled this city, and those in the Student Council were at the head of this city.

A question was how similar this city was to cities in other countries. Sensing the Lady Knights feelings, there were questions whether this city had the same issues, related to the underside of a large group of people living together.

With the carriage approaching, the guards, upon seeing the Lady Knight, proceeded to let them pass. With such a small action, he understood that Valessandria held a significant amount of power, further reinforcing his prior thoughts.

Entering into the academy, Han noticed a drastic difference between the outer city and the academy. This section felt a little sterilized and artificial, similar to how a scientist would keep their labs cleaned to prevent contamination. Which explained why so many students were going back into the academy.

A sterile environment likely didn't have exciting elements to grab the attention of young adults. Though such locations weren't seen when they entered, it was a strong possibility of the existence of a red-light district or other similar shops that wouldn't exist in an academic environment.

On either side of the road, some buildings looked similar to dormitories at a university. Since the examination process just started, there were barely any students that looked like they were moving in.

The students that he saw walked around with the confidence of someone that had been here for some time. A new student would walk around having a slight look of confusion, regardless of where they came from, cause this place was a new environment.

He learned that when going into a scenario such as a university, a students ability to adapt was very crucial cause those that didn’t change would face hardships.

“These are the dorms for the majority of students, my Lord,” Valessandria informed him when she noticed that he became interested.

“In the dormitories, there are several tiers based on how much the student can pay. The first tier of dormitories has four rooms, with each one having two to four students, all connected to a common area that has a kitchen. These rooms are for those who can’t afford to eat outside at restaurants or academy cafeteria. With so many people in each dorm, the overall cost per student is lowered."

"Next, the students have an option for a single room, where two students live. These students normally include options related to the academy’s cafeteria, we call these options, 'meal plans,' and they allow students to figure out how much they want available based on the plan."

"Following this, a student can select slightly larger single rooms. Having students who often go out to the restaurants or cafeteria to eat.”

Pointing out the next area that had houses, she said, “these are the housing area, where normally nobles stay. The size of the housing unit is based on their status and wealth. A bigger house will allow for a greater number of servants, to live in the housing unit."

"The closer you are to the central tower, the bigger the house will be. Each of the student council members has houses that are near the tower, due to our status in the city.” She finished explaining.

Han just nodded at this information, not particularly interested in what the nobles thought of themselves. In his eyes, nobles were just as powerless as the commoners they stepped on, having no inherent power other than what they inherited.

“M-m-my lord, your housing unit is very close to the houses of the St-Student Council. We purposefully arranged in consideration to your father.” Valessandria stammered at him.

Han suspected that she thought his lack of response was due to his displeasure of where he was housed. Chuckling to himself, it appeared that the Student Council was very particular towards him and thought that his “father” was a very influential person if he was able to bring out such wealth, so casually.

He self-congratulated himself for going with the platinum bar, instead of giving out the required amount. This would allow him a higher degree of freedom within the academy, though he suspected that they tried to present themselves as an institute that strove for equality among the nobility and commoners.

After passing by numerous styles of houses, the different styles following what was explained. A noticeable aspect of the house near the center were the guards at the entrances.

Each house had guards that were in different uniforms and armor styles. All of them had flags hung on either side of the guarded doorways, with some type of symbol or house sigil.

Slowly, the carriage began to slow down, when they reached the base of the tower. The tower was cylindrical in shape and looked like someone just stabbed a large staff into the ground.

At the base were doorways that were being opened and closed by the busy traffic of students going about their day. Han chuckled at the sight, thinking how even in a fantasy setting an educational institute would still be busy with students handling various matters.

Going into the tower, the ceiling was massive and allowed a lot of natural light to come in. It kind of looked like the inside of some airports, especially the various booths that circled the inner wall. Seeing each of the signs, Han saw that they were for the different studies within the academy.

“My lord, this is where you can make any changes from one studies to another, and turn in multiple assignment and tasks." Valessandria waved an arm to present the pride and joy of the city.

Seeing Han look at her, she said, "Tasks are similar to quests, where the instructor will have the students go out and complete something and return with proof of the completion. This is very analogous to the requests inside most Adventurer Guilds. Mentioning the guilds, most of the guilds have a branch within this tower."

The best part is that all students can join, and completion of requests can count towards the completion of their own study." She grinned.

Han looked at his creations, who looked impressed by the concept. Helania especially appeared to be staring intently at where students were waiting in line to hand in documentation. It was likely her thinking about how to integrate the new system into The Stronghold or future events if such a thing is necessary.

Han and Helania's curiosity fueled Valessandria to continue. "We feel that this provides students with theoretical and practical experience, so they are more likely to succeed. Many of our students often get hired by the nobility or go on to lead their respective houses."

Her expression changed to look like she was feeling mixed about the next tidbit of information. "Inside of this academy, we are fortunate enough to have prince and princesses attending our academy."

"You will find that there is a significant advantage, for those lucky to attend. I am sure that you will also find a lot of benefits, and if there are any issues, please come to me, and I will be happy to sort them out.” Valessandria explained to him, trying to appeal to him and shake off the brief negative atmosphere.

Han enjoyed how different she was from the first time he met her, in that Inn. When she first came in, Valessandria acted like she was above them, but now that it was known how wealthy he was she bent over backward for him.

Grinning at an image, Han thought, "To be honest, I wouldn’t mind is she bent forward, instead of backward."

Continuing into the base of the tower, going by students of varying ages, they attracted more attention. There were discussions about what was happening.

Though the whispering appeared to be originating from those not belonging to the nobility, judging by some of the sneers given by some of the students directed at the others.

Directing his attention to the lines and booths, Valessandria said, “Since we, at the Academy, have already prepared everything for you, there is no need to wait in these lines to fill out paperwork.”

Trying to appear pleased, Han said, “I greatly appreciate that, Lady Knight.”

“Oh no, it was our pleasure to have everything ready. And please, call me Valessandria or Val. There is no need to be so formal around me.” Val said, giving him a happy smile.

They continued, past the booths, up some stairs, and onto the second floor. The second floor looked immensely different from the first. Instead of being completely open, there were just hallways.

Past the stairs, there was the main corridor which likely wrapped around the tower with halls radiating out from the center. Val walked them down the main hallway past several corridors.

“Where do these lead to?” Han asked Val.

“My lord, this floor is for practicing various fields of studies. Students can come to these levels and practice what they learn from their instructors. The room we are heading towards is designated for the usage of magic.” Val patiently explained to him.

“Are there differences in the amount of magic a user can generate?” Han probed.

A part of him wanted to demonstrate how powerful he was, but, undoubtedly, such action would destroy the tower. If he wanted to, he could snap his fingers and make it disappear in an instant.

“Yes… but normally for new students, we take them to the rooms designated for the exams.” Val carefully explained, trying not to insult him.

Hearing Val's comment, a growling noise was heard. “Master’s abilities are far above those you have seen,” Queen spoke up, with an edge to her voice. The idea that her Creator would be measured to the same standards as normal humans were insulting for her.

Desiring to drive the point home, Helania added in her thoughts. “If Master wished it he...,” Helania was about to say but stopped when she saw Han looking at her.

Looking apologetic, Han said, “Apologies for my servants. They are protective of my honor, especially after what my family has done for them. I am glad that my father allowed them to accompany me, but they can be a bit zealous with their thoughts.” He emphasized the last part with this eyes looking directly at the two of them.

Stopping, there was an awkward smile plastered on Val's face. “There is no need for concern. We will change the room to a stronger testing room, to accommodate, my lord.” Val said, unsure about how to handle what Han’s servants were implying.

“Thank you, for your understanding and consideration.” He replied. Trying to counter the appearance that Queen and Helania presented.

Han didn’t want these people to know the full extent of his power, at least not at the moment. There are some things he wanted to try, but allowing them to understand what he was capable of doing would place unnecessary restrictions on himself.

After walking down the main hallway for quite some time, Val looked back at them and pointed at a sign next to the radiating hall. “When on this floor, these signs will let you know which field of study these rooms belong to."

A sign was attached to the wall with a symbol. Walking past numerous corridors, each one had the metal insignia embedded in the wall.

Valessandria pointed at the insignia, "Including this corridor and past, all belong to the Magic Department. This department is one of the largest within the Academy, due to how important magic is to every part of society."

With a serious expression, she explained, "One's ability to harness magic will greatly affect how you do in this academy, though it is not explicitly spoken.

"When you go down the hallway, there will be an ID next to the door. Each room needs to be reserved in advance, on this floor. There are floors where a room’s right can be purchased, so reserving a room is unnecessary."

"A private room’s sign is made out of platinum, which also helps denote the resources involved to have access to one.” She finished.

Val took them down the hallway and leaving behind the main hall.

As they strolled down the hallway, Han saw doors on either side of him. Based on how far about they were spaced, these rooms were likely of significant size.

Each of the doors had no windows or handles to gain access. Trying to figure out how one would get into a room, he saw that Val had stopped by one of the doors.

“My lord, when you reserve a room, all you will need to do is swipe your identification card on the sign, next to the door. The room will recognize your card and automatically open up.” Val then swiped her card, and the door went into the room and slid off to the side.

Upon entering the room, the thing he noticed was how blank it looked. The entire place was made out of white material, though it didn’t look as if it was made in pieces.

Looking closer at the wall, Han saw there was a faint line, letting him know that it wasn’t one giant solid piece. Having them fit so tightly together really showed the level of work that went to create this room.

Pointing at the walls, Val explained to Han, “These walls are made out of a material that neutralizes magic, while also displaying the magic that was designed into it.”

She laid a hand on the wall opposite of the door, and a screen appeared with various indicators on it. After touching on different parts of the screen, Val turned to the wall furthest from them.

On this wall, several targets appeared. Val then faced him and said, “My Lord, these targets will be used to assess your magical abilities. Please utilize your strongest spell to attack these targets. After completing this, we will proceed onto speed, and conclude with simulated combat.”

“Is it possible for me to have multiple attempts? I am doubtful how much this wall can withstand and would prefer not to cause any damage.” Han asked, trying to make it sound like a reasonable request.

Based on Val’s expression, this was a very unusual request. “My Lord…, normally we only allow a student to use one spell to measure the strength of the spell. To permit a student multiple tries is unprecedented."

"This room is built to handle the strongest known spells, in consideration of what your servants have previously stated. I ensure that this room can handle the spell, so there is no need for concern.” Val expressed skillfully.

After hearing this, Han felt a little annoyed. While presenting his strength would be a hassle, allowing them to see an inadequate spell would have an equally detrimental result.

Like Val explained, this academy uses magic to conclude the ability of a student, so Han needed to use enough power to demonstrate to the Student Council that their assumptions were well founded.

Letting out a heavy sigh of frustration, he looked at the target and said, “Burn.” His eyebrows furrowed as he felt something surge within him.

-----------------

Val was bothered by the boy’s request, she had tried to explain the situation as carefully as possible without offending. From her interactions with his father, Yi was someone they probably shouldn’t provoke.

The way Han was able to hand over a platinum bar, to pay for Yi’s studies, meant that their family had significant resources. Though it was uncertain whether their wealth was limited to financial avenues or if there was something else.

Explaining the capabilities of the rooms was something she hadn’t done in a while. Usually, Val didn’t interact with new students.

"The room is rated to handle an S-ranked spell," She said to herself. "I am even factoring what the servants have said, though I believe Yi is correct in categorizing their words as being overly zealous." Mentally shaking her head, it just reminded her how the nobility always believe they were divine beings even after using a B-ranked skill.

She even remembered a nobles kid that declared his powers being A-ranked but ended up being E-ranked, the lowest tier. The servants looked ashamed, especially after hyping up the kid's powers.

Yi's servants made it sound like the spell used would be S-ranked, but the number of people who could operate at that level could be counted on two hands.

"I think I heard rumors of people being above S-ranked across the ocean, but such things are likely propaganda generated by those foreign merchants." Val sneered at the thought.

Seeing one of the servants look at her, she quickly wiped her sneer away. The servants were becoming a source of frustration, with how they looked at her as if she were insignificant. "We have already accommodated your young master so much, in deference to your master. The least all of you could do is not treat me like scum." She mentally criticized them.

The brunette's eyes narrowed, making Val sweat a little. "I must be imagining things. Get hold of yourself, Val! It is a coincidence she looked at you after you mentally criticized them."

Glancing at Yi, Val saw his eyebrows furrow before he whispered the words, "burn."

Before she could think how this was a spell she was unfamiliar with, the entire wall was covered in a raging inferno.

Val jumped away to give some distance, but the heat still enveloped her, causing her to instantly become soaked in sweat.

Everything in her body was screaming at her to leave from her current location. "Protect me from harm... Shield!" She yelled, a glittering bubble forming around her.

Before it had a chance to fully form, the spell shattered from the force pummeling it. Once again, she felt heat and pain filling her thoughts.

Feeling disoriented, Val made several hand gestures in the air and drawing upon the pool of mana inside of her. Her hands began to glow as the spell started to take shape, matching with the mental image.

Making sure to focus her thoughts and pushing away the building fear, she yelled, "All things will stop before you! I cast Tri-shield! Type Delta!"

Faster than the previous shield, there was an initial shield that quickly covered her and gave relief from the onslaught of magic. A second shield was layered on top of the first, followed by a rainbow bubble that indicated the completion of the spell.

"I thought I was going to die," Val panted and collected herself.

With a Tri-Shield defense guarding her, especially the strongest variant, there was no longer any concern about what the boy had cast. Turning her head jerkily, and seeing the four of them standing unprotected made her mind blank.

"What is that boy?!" She wondered, before noticing one of the servants, the brunette, looking at her contemptuously. The other two looked enraptured by the boy, the youngest clapping in celebration.

Pain shot in her mind. Immediately, she focused on her shield and saw that cracks were forming on the surface of the main defense. Lifting up a hand, she forced more mana into the spell. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw that the cracks weren't stopping, only slowing down.

"My Lord!" She screamed in panic, feeling the mana being used up inside of her.

Screaming in pain as the rainbow layer shattered, her vision darkened from the backlash.

"Please, My Lord! Stop the spell!" Val pleaded, already feeling the second layer getting ready to shatter, dropping to her knees from the effort of reinforcing the spell.

Usually stopping a spell midway was dangerous, and would cause a backlash on the caster, but at this pace, Val would be incinerated by Yi’s hellish spell.

Groaning from the second layer shattering, she knew that it was only a matter of time before the spell would leave her a smoldering corpse.

Yi coolly looked at her, as if the spell was nothing. With a brief wave of his hand, the inferno dispersed as if never there, to begin with.

Looking back at her shield, Val saw that the final shield look similar to ice that was hit by a heavy hammer. How close she was to death was not lost on her, as she touched the shield and like glass, it shattered. She could feel the blood draining away from her face.

“What spell was that??!!” She exclaimed to Yi as she shakily got up, pointing at the wall that had fissures all throughout it. If the spell had continued, she could only envision the amount of damage caused.

Waving her hand in an infuriating manner, the brunette, named Helania, said, “Master prepared a weak fire spell, for fear of damaging this room.” It felt like she was challenging Val to state otherwise.

Replacing the cold expression earlier was an apologetic look on Yi's face. “Are you okay? I did not mean to cast a powerful spell.” Yi said to her, appearing embarrassed by all of this.

The woman, named Queen, angrily said, “Master, there is no reason for you to apologize! You had asked ahead of time if you could have the chance to measure the power of your spell, and this woman arrogantly denied you this right.”

“Now. Now. There is no reason to criticize the Lady Knight. She was merely doing her job, and providing multiple attempts would obviously be unfair to other students.” Yi tried to come to Val's defense.

“But, Master,…” The girl, Brittany, tried to protest but stopped when Yi raised his hand.

“Please forgive their manners, they are protective of me and my family’s honor,” Yi explained.

Knees still shaking from the experience, Val smoothed out her outfit to help her come to grips with what could have happened. Sounds of rubble falling to the ground reminded her how reality was shaken.

By Yi’s own admission, the action he performed was considered to be a reasonable one but considering how this room was graded his thinking was wrong. Looking at him, she imagined him to be akin to the void, where the deeper you go into it, the more questions you find yourself asking.

With how he stood in front of the flames, Yi didn’t seem to be affected by it which would make sense. The questionable part is how none of his servants reacted to it. They acted as if his power was within the norm, being able to withstand the secondary effects like the intense heat and force of it.

Likely, the secondary parts wouldn’t have been as bad if this was outside, but being in an enclosed area caused the excess mana to be trapped with nowhere to go.

“My lord, I can not believe how you are able to perform such a spell.” Val tried to say calmly, while she felt her body shaking.

“If this boy was so powerful, then what would this say for the rest of his family?” The thought terrifying her.

Giving her a smile, Yi simply stated, “I was only able to perform such spells due to my own diligence and my father’s guidance.”

Val nearly gasped at his statement, considering how simple he made it sound like. "Could diligence and proper lessons be able to create someone that could generate spells strong enough to wipe out a platoon of soldiers?"

“Due to the damage that was done, we will not be able to continue with the other parts of the examination. But considering your magical abilities, I declare that the examination is not necessary and we will proceed with accepting you to the academy." She tried to smile.

Motioning with a hand, Val said, "If you follow me, we will proceed with creating an ID card for you to carry around.”

Walking out of the room, they made their way back to the first floor of the tower.

Of the many booths that circled the base of the tower, Val headed towards the one marked, “Admissions,” and skipped the line of students that were waiting to have their paperwork turned in. The man that was working at the booth initially looked annoyed, but when he recognized her, he stood up quickly.

“Lady Knight! How may I be of assistance to you?” He squeaked. The only time this man would have seen the Lady Knight would be when the Student Council made announcements to the academy, making it understandable his nervousness.

“I will need an ID card created for this student, as soon as possible,” Val informed him, with a tone that was stated her desire for obedience.

“Of course, we can proceed with the ID, right now!” The man fell over his words, as he tried to please her wishes. Looking a Yi, he said, “If you come into the back room, I will be able to process your ID card, my lord.” He was respectful considering no typical student would be escorted by the Lady Knight.

She watched as Yi walked into the back room, where his name and magic rank would be listed. As he completed tasks and progressed further into his field of study, the card would be updated here.

His card could also be used in all the guilds, within the tower, which many students found to be very convenient. The academy’s ability to measure an individual’s magic ability was unparalleled. When Val had reserved the magic room, the magic system within the room automatically updated the status of the student into the database.

Since Yi had destroyed the system, his status was made to reflect an S-rank status. Thinking about what had happened, she felt herself quake in terror.

Once she completed her task, she needed to go to the President and let him know how much they couldn’t offend Yi.

Glancing over at Yi’s servants, she realized how amazing the three of them looked. Compared to other women, they looked like goddesses walking amongst mortals.

“How long have you been working for Yi’s father?” Val tried to casually ask them. The way they behaved was slightly disconcerting, but she understood the importance of being pleasant with Yi's servants.

The three women looked at one another and the one called, Helania, answered, “We have been a part of the Master’s family since the very beginning.”

Startle, here eyes opened wide. “Oh… so you were born into the roles? Your parents must be very proud that you are working for such a great family.” She said, trying to figure out what they meant.

It wasn’t often that servants would have their children serve the same family. Usually, the children would grow up and learn a new trade, instead of remaining in the main family. It really spoke to how influential Yi’s family was, to have such loyal servants.

--------------

Han was looking at his ID card, as he left the booth area and walked with Val and the girls. Unlike on Earth, these cards were not made out of plastic and instead created using a metallic looking mana crystal.

This allowed the academy to add in information when accomplishments were stacked up on the student. The student would just need to return back to the admissions booth, and the official would update the information from the central system.

Listening to Val explain all of this, the system here reminded him of a network of computers. Though the information that passed throughout the system was nowhere near the level of data that was contained on the internet, it was still a very creative idea.

During his time on Earth, Han had messed around with network security, so he wondered if there was a similar field in this world.

If he really needed information, he could just use his ability to gain the information, so using such roundabout methods were unnecessary. He just imagined him acting like a spy in those espionage films. He would think about this more when he arrived at his housing unit.

Leaving the tower, Val escorted him to his new home. The benefit of being so highly thought of, Han’s house was reasonably close to the Tower.

Reaching the housing unit, Han saw that it looked like a very large country dwelling. Based on the windows, he saw that the house had three floors.

There was a five-foot-tall wall that surrounded the property lines, and past it, there was a sizeable lawn with a water fountain. The fountain was placed in the middle of the path that led to the front door.

A part of him pictured this house belonging to some European countryside, with rows upon rows of grapes growing for his wine.

Walking past the manicured lawns had him thinking about hosting dinner parties, under a starry sky. He would need to make some acquaintances and friends so that he could host those parties that everyone talked about on Earth.

Dinner parties appeared to be the things that all adults did, once they started making a significant amount of money. With his own financial situation, dinner parties weren’t ever a possibility. Beth would often talk about them regularly, hinting at her desires of hosting one.

Sometimes Sam would have dinner parties and invite everyone to his house, and they would watch the wondrous dishes he prepared. They had a lot of fun at these social events, though Han would sometimes have to skip them due to schedule conflicts with work.

Beth would go by herself, and when he came back from work, would listen to her talking about everything that happened. It was a common occurrence to hear how great Sam was at cooking and hosting parties.

He sometimes felt jealous about how to put together Sam’s life was, every time Beth bragged about him, but Han would beat himself up for it cause being jealous was never a healthy trait to have.

Han was startled from his thoughts, by a hand on his shoulder. Looking, he saw Helania with a concerned expression on her face.

Shaking his head, Han let her know that everything was fine.

While Val had reached the entrance, to his house, Han had stopped and stared at the lawn, causing Helania to reach out to him. Queen and Brittany also looked like they wanted to come to him and give him a hug. The girls likely sensed that there was something that had happened to him, so they were empathetic to his moods.

Entering into the house, Han thought that it looked welcoming. Once entering, there was an open hallway, with a spiral metal staircase that went up to each of the rooms. On his right, he saw that there was a mini-library, with leather seats and sofas. There was already furniture prepared for him and his servants.

The library was likely where he would entertain guests, over a nice drink. To his left, there was a spacious dining area, with a table that held twelve chairs. Even with the extensive table, there was plenty of space to make it not feel cramped.

Han could see a door, on the opposite side of the entrance wall, likely leading to the kitchen. From The Stronghold, Han would need to bring some of the staff instead of just having them teleport back and forth. It would be kind of hard to explain where the finished dished were coming from if he just had them cooked at The Stronghold.

Continuing down the main hallway, next to the library room there was a private lounge area. This looked to be for himself and close friends to relax in while chatting about daily events.

Across from the lounge room, there was the kitchen and small area for servants to have their meals. Having servants eat separately made sense to him, concerning the time period he was in. The servant's area was considerable, probably one of the largest areas in the house, if you also included the kitchen.

Returning to the front of the house, they went up the winding stairs, moving to the second floor to where the servants would be staying at. There were twelve rooms for his servants to sleep in.

This floor also had a communal bathing area and communal restroom, for the servants.

On the third floor, everything seemed to be dedicated to him. There was a large master bedroom, reading room, and a sky room.

When they arrived back on the first floor, Val said to him, “my lord, I will be taking my leave now, so if there are any questions, feel free to contact me."

"In the tower, you can reach the elevator on the second floor, and it will take you up to the first floor of the Disciplinary Committee’s section. All you will need to do is get in contact with the person at the front desk and request to see me."

"On the dining table, we have included all the information related to your general learning classes and a map of the academy. If you will now excuse me.” She gave him a bow and left his house.

Once Val was gone, Han looked over at the girls and said, “What do you think of this place? It seems like an entertaining area.”

Queen looked at him and stated, “Master, these people are not worth your time. They are not even close to the powers that we carry, let alone Master. With their attitude, they have shown such utter disrespect and deserve to be eliminated.” Her eyes flashed with anger, at how badly she felt Han had been treated.

“I agree, with Queen, Master. These people act as if they are powerful, but they are surprised by even a minor flame spell. For what purpose are we even here, considering they do not even provide a challenge to you." Helania said.

"With a wave of your hand, this entire city could be destroyed.” She still looked bothered by Han’s expression, when he looked out at the lawn. Her feeling of helplessness at helping out Han led her to lash out at the city and its residents.

Han looked at Brittany, who had yet to say anything about all of this. “What are your thoughts, Brittany?”

“I apologize, Master. I also support what Queen and Helania had to say. Though I am happy to be with you, I feel troubled by how those around us are treating you, our Master, as if they are on the same level.” Brittany slowly lowered her head, as she became more troubled by everything.

Han walked up to Brittany and gave her a hug. Her body was trembling in silent fury, over what she considered to be a grave offense, but as he held her in his arms, she began to relax.

Whispering into her ear, Han said, “Brittany, I greatly appreciate all of you here with me, and I am happy that you stand up for me so often. Without all of you here, including those in The Stronghold, this world would have been a dreary and dreadful place. I can smile, only because of the support you provide me.”

He pulled away and looking into her eyes, to convey his sincere feelings. Gently, Han went and gave her a kiss, feeling her soft and gentle lips on his. Removing his lips from hers, he saw that she was blushing, while looking jubilant.

He wasn’t kidding when he talked about how his creations helped him in enjoying this world. This was the first time he had experienced such supportive people in his life, who were constantly standing up for him and getting angry in his stead.

Back on Earth, Han felt like he was only friends with people cause they found him to be convenient. He thought back when friends would make plans with him, but they would suddenly cancel when another friend invited them to hang out.

These types of events gave him the impression that his friends would only make plans with him if they had nothing else going on. The funny thing was how he started to call them several hours in advance to confirm if his friends still planned to hang out with him. This prevented him from getting excited about seeing his friends if they ended up canceling cause something better came along.

People on Earth would likely criticize him, about his relationship with his creations, but he considered the way they often treated him and thought at least his creations would never betray his expectations.

Rubbing his hands together, Han stated, “Now that we have another place to call home, we should probably bring some people to fill this place up. Helania, I want you to bring over a full cooking staff, for this place. I am talking about a Chef, a Sous Chef, several line chefs, prep cooks, a dishwasher, and waitresses."

"Brittany, I am going to need you to bring in enough maids for this place, to make sure that everything is well maintained."

"Queen, you will need to have some of your shadow minions monitor this area, and ensure that any intruders are watched, killed if they do anything that could endanger us.” Han looked at each one, as he handed out his orders.

“Yes, Master!” They said, looking happy that they would be completing tasks assigned by him.

Smiling at how serious they looked, he went into his lounge area, walking past the library and thinking he should read some of those books. In his lounge, Han sat on the leather seat and thought it would be fun to have something to drink and smoke with.

Flicking his finger and feeling his powers flow through his finger, Han made a glass filled with scotch, with a substantial chunk of ice that wouldn’t melt easily, materialize in front of him.

Taking the cup, he took a light sip from it and gave a sigh of contentment. After savoring the flavor, he made a hookah appear next to him and already prepped with an apple on top. There was already a bowl filled with fruity tobacco and covered with aluminum foil along with hot coals on top.

Not wanting to taste the harsh smoke, he made the pipe have a frozen end to it. This would cool it, and present an improved experience. Priming the hookah, he started to get a decent hit off of it and just reminisced about when he used to go to the local hookah lounge with friends after his community college classes were finished for the day.

When the place first opened up, they would go almost every day and just discuss different topics, ranging from school to dating.

When he met Beth, they would go and smoke hookah with their friends. She would lay against him on the comfortable couch, and they would pass the pipe back and forth as they talked about their future together. His friends would tease him, calling him such a romantic and laughing how “in love” he looked. Hearing his friends, he would blush and cause them to laugh even louder.

"It was such a happy…" Han thought before being interrupted.

“Master, are you okay?” Brittany asked him, with a worried voice.

Taking in a deep breath, Han started to say, “I am fi...”

“Please, do not say that you are fine, Master!” She scolded him, tears appearing in her eyes. “You always say you are fine, but we can see that you are in great pain whenever you stare off into the distance. If there is anything we can do, we want you to be able to talk to us about it!”

The way she looked, Han could tell that she was hurt, by his inability to open up about himself.

Sighing, he placed his glass on the coffee table and hung the pipe on the hookah. Getting up, he moved over to the sofa. After sitting down, he motioned for Brittany to come and sit next to him.

When she sat down, he gently pulled her towards him, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “My gentle and caring Brittany, I did not mean to upset you.” He gently whispered to her.

“You want to know something? I have not always been as powerful as I am now.” Feeling her look at him, he continued, “At one point, I was even weaker than these humans that walk around this city." He chuckled self deprecatingly.

"Before I came to this world, I lived in a different one, living among those similar to me. Life was difficult, as I tried to figure out my place in that world.” His voice taking on a serious tone, remembering the past.

Brittany looked like she wanted to ask him a question, but he ignored her and moved on. “When compared to those who were close to me, I was always running about to secure my future."

"Along the way, I met a girl who enjoyed being around me. She was a kind woman, who would care for those around her. As we became closer, we slowly fell in love and began a life together."

"Things were going great, at least that was what I believed. For whatever reason, her feelings for me began to lose its initial power, and she began to develop feelings for another man."

"This man was a close friend, who I believed was someone I could rely on. I later found out that they had developed a relationship, and was concealing it from me."

"Though I do not mean to, I sometimes find myself thinking of this woman and the memories that we developed together."

Sighing, he said, "I hope you can forgive me, for keeping my thoughts hidden from the three of you.”

On his chest, Han could feel teardrops falling. Turning to look at Brittany's face, he saw tears streaming down her face.

“Master should have told this to us sooner,” she spoke, as her voice quivered. Burying her face into his chest, she wailed on behalf of his suffering.

Brittany’s wail could be felt deep within his chest as if it was trying to penetrate into his heart. Her wail conveyed her feelings of wanting him to rely on her more, to share the times when he is sad, and the times he is happy.

Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her tighter, cause he also wanted to feel the love she felt for him. Han held her as if afraid that her feeling would disappear like the wind leaving him behind to be alone.

Even after Brittany had stopped crying, Han still held her, though not as tightly.

It felt like everything around them had stopped, and only the two of them existed in that one, precious, moment. Without realizing it, the sun had gone down and the night sky could be seen. Through the window, there were firefly looking creatures flying about as they tried to gain attention from their future mate.

“Master,” Brittany said, her voice muffled. “Though I do not know what allowed you to create us, I wanted to let you know that I love you, Master.”

Surprised by her straightforward declaration, he gently let her go and moved her back. Looking at her face, he saw that her eyes were red and puffy, though she still looked beautiful. He guessed that she was the type of individual who could cry and still look stunning.

Placing both of his hands on either side of her head, Han looked deeply into her eyes and said, “I love you, too, Brittany.” Han proceeded to place a kiss on her forehead.

Two voiced then called out to him, saying, “Master, we love you, too!”

Looking over to the source of the voice, he saw Helania and Queen standing near the entrance into the lounge area, both of them looking like they had been crying. Reaching for them, with one of his hands, he gently smiled, as they rushed towards him crying.

When Queen and Helania reached him, he held the three of them to his chest. With Queen and Helania crying, Brittany renewed her crying. Instead of shedding tears of sadness, it felt like they were crying in happiness.

“I love all of you,” Han said to them, which just caused them to cry louder.

Looking out the window, overlooking his backyard, Han saw the two moons floating in the air and thought how wonderful it looked.