(Lyon's POV)
Walking out of the mansion, Lyon was reminded once again of the intrinsic differences between ordinary people and those with power.
He was in the Capital of a continent spanning Empire. It was understandable for the city to have stricter rules, but the abuse of power here was absolute.
Lyon was silently disgusted with the measures that the Imperial family had taken. Looking at the precious kei stones covering every building he passed, he wondered how many struggling mortals could be fed off the decorations carelessly placed here.
The Capital spanned a staggering 5,000 sq. miles with a towering wall that wound around the circumference of the capital. It was lined with Kei cannons that could easily blow apart an average sized mountain.
These monstrous weapons were protected by a squad of royal soldiers and placed at every ten-mile interval. Each squad was made up of elites trained their whole lives to fight for the empire. The squad leader was required to be at least a 5th Realm Soul Kei Master.
This was done to protect the capital from possible beast attacks and more importantly to protect against enemy sneak attacks that other less friendly continents might attempt.
Apparently, finding these defenses alone to be insufficient due to two successful Assassinations that happened to members of the Imperial family centuries before, the Emperor decided to lay down further defenses using a somewhat cruel method.
Directly behind the Giant wall were pressurized kei bombs placed strategically underground to prevent a quick infiltration into the deeper parts of the capital.
Thankfully, these bombs are normally not active and require express confirmation from a member of the direct line of the Imperial family before they can be armed.
The immense power of the bombs placed beneath the capital's outer city was not to be taken lightly. Each device could flatten everything within a hundred-mile radius, turning the area into a death zone.
To conceal the true boundaries of the city's key districts and avoid drawing suspicion from potential enemies, the Royal family had long ago orchestrated the relocation of ten million people.
These individuals were strategically settled across three thousand square miles, creating a dense and bustling environment that masked the purpose of the land.
Of the remaining territory, 1,000 sq. Miles were designated for the noble families of Kei Masters, while another 1,000 sq. miles were reserved for the Imperial district, to be the home for the emperor and their extended relatives.
The noble Kei Master families were trusted with the knowledge of the hidden bombs beneath the outer city. However, this privilege came with strict and unforgiving laws.
Revealing the existence of the bombs to any commoner was considered high treason, punishable by the extermination of the traitor's entire family.
This ensured that the capital's darkest secret remained closely guarded. When a new family ascended from the outer city to the ranks of royalty, they were immediately made aware of the situation and bound by the same rules.
Failure to comply meant instant death, a reality that fostered resentment among some of the newer noble families.
To maintain control, the crown recruited several of the most powerful families to act as official overseers, monitoring any suspicious activity.
Rumors were that other families operated secretly on behalf of the crown, watching from the shadows to address issues beyond the reach of those in the open.
These layers of checks and balances combined to form the capital Lyon saw before him. Majestic, reinforced cobblestone roads lined with mansions stretched along both sides.
The roads themselves were inlaid with water, fire, and light kei runes, keeping the streets immaculate and softly illuminated at night.
The inner city, known as the royal district, enjoyed significant freedom in architectural design, in stark contrast to the rigid regulations imposed on the outer city, or commoner's district.
In the commoner district, residents could open stores if they had the means, but no family, regardless of wealth, was allowed to alter residential areas.
This led the wealthier commoners to purchase entire neighborhoods as displays of status. As a result, many families found themselves compelled to work for these affluent households to secure housing.
Those unable to do so were often forced to live in the tent city on the outskirts, a place largely ignored by the Imperial family and plagued by higher crime rates.
The royal Kei Master families, in contrast, were each allotted a square mile of land to develop as they wished, provided they erected a Kei barrier to conceal their mansions from the uninitiated.
The size of their holdings could be increased or reduced based on their performance, adding another layer of control for the Imperial family and discouraging rebellion by fostering competition among the nobles.
As Lyon observed the extravagant mansions of the illustrious households, a bittersweet smile crossed his face.
The requirement to become a distinguished Kei Master before attaining nobility meant there was not an overwhelming number of mansions—yet, even so, over a hundred could be seen at a glance.
This did not account for the multitude of Kei Masters that had emerged from these families over the centuries.
Such a display was a testament to the true power wielded by the ruler of the Central Continent. The ostentatious mansions served not only as homes but also as deterrents to would-be enemies.
The empire's willingness to showcase its strength so boldly was enough to make those in the know shudder, for it hinted at the even greater power hidden beneath the surface, ready to be unleashed on any who dared to oppose them.
Turning towards the Imperial district, Lyon started to make his way towards the Academy, not wanting to be one of those fools he saw on KV that missed important events and ended up in a huge mess.
With these and other random thoughts flying around his mind Lyon continued to walk, Azera shooting out from a nearby patch of shadows to attach herself to his back.
She quickly shrunk her body and slid her way to his shoulders. There, she gazed vigilantly at their surroundings, her eyes wandering slightly to a few especially shiny toys being displayed in various ads.
Lyon casually observed all the glittering stone tablets that glowed flamboyantly with different kei stones. Each noble household they passed trying to outshine the next.
He shook his head again at the sheer stupidity of all the resources wasted by most nobles.
As Lyon walked down the streets, people who saw him stopped, startled for a moment by his reappearance in the public eye. Soon they started whispering, various emotions playing out on their faces and in their tones.
Ignoring them, Lyon continued only pausing long enough to ensure Azera didn't jump out and start a fight with all the pedestrians.
Feeling his intentions, Azera snorted and blew a crackling smoke from her black snout that had a more intense sound and color as a "subtle" warning to all the prying eyes.
Thankfully, she heeded his mental order to ignore them. Azera decided to simply close her eyes to avoid looking at the nuisances that dared to gawk at her and her human.
After thirty minutes of walking, Lyon finally made it to the gates of the imperial district. Looking up, Lyon found himself gazing at the place he would call home for the coming years. Before him rose a towering gate, its presence both imposing and dignified.
Beyond the gate, a collection of buildings sprawled in an organized cluster, forming a grand yet modest scene. The architecture, while impressive, lacked the gaudiness Lyon had expected from the premier Academy of the Continent.
The understated elegance stood in contrast to the lavish grandeur Lyon had gotten used to, hinting at a focus on purpose over extravagance.
"Here goes nothing," Lyon muttered to Azera as he walked up to the reception area at the side of the large gates. He could see the obsidian stone building, marked along the sides with engravings of kei masters and their monsters, poised for a heroic charge.
Looking towards the front, inlaid with gold essence and printed in bold, flowing script, a plaque shined "Welcome To Aserx Royal Academy''.
Nodding to himself, he entered the building, noticing the subtle difference in Kei stability and began sizing up the people inside.
To one side, the room was full of satin dresses and shiny silk robes worn by those spoiled nobles trying to show off their superiority over the others while openly disdaining the commoners.
On the other mostly coarse or common looking clothes that pointed out most of the common born and left them feeling and looking embarrassed.
Shaking his head, Lyon made his way through the throngs of people, trying to find where he needed to be. Noticing a registration table set up around 10 feet away from him, Lyon turned that way.
He could feel the eyes of most of the room settling on him. The nobles didn't want to associate with a societal outcast like him.
The commoners were either too afraid of the other nobles or felt no empathy because as they saw it, he was more privileged than most of the people here.
'To be fair, they're not entirely wrong in their assumption...' Lyon thought idly. His own clothes were certainly stylish with his current fit consisting of a long sleeve black silk shirt.
It matched his purple and black pants that were accented by a purplish gold lightning bolt pattern and simple black shoes.
His clothes were also made from special kei materials that increased his sensitivity to Shadow and Lightning Kei.
While the commoners likely didn't know that, seeing the jealous and angry looks of the other nobles towards him made them even more unaccepting of him.
After a couple minutes of moving around countless bodies of other nobles and commoners who seemed to eye each other and him warily, Lyon finally made it to the checkpoint.
Seated there was a teen around 16 or 17 years old wearing the Academy's iconic black uniform with red cuffs.
The red embroidery displayed proudly denoted him as a Second year. He had black hair and a lean but fit looking body that was barely hidden by his uniform. His glasses were scratched and crooked yet gleamed sharply whenever he adjusted.
This guy seemed more suited for yelling at someone in a lab rather than welcoming a bunch of pampered freshmen into the most prestigious academy on the continent.
Lyon watched the guy for a moment longer before pushing forwards to get his schedule.
"Hello sir, here is my acceptance letter and information" Lyon said. "Let me see what we have here," the teen barely glanced up, looking through his information to find out where Lyon was supposed to go.
"Oh, that's quite a surprise" he mumbled to himself upon seeing his innate spirit info. "Well kid, looks like you are going to end up in the freshman's first Heaven Class" he says after reading the information.
Not knowing what that means, Lyon just shook his head. Appearing to realize that he was an even more clueless freshman than most nobles, the teen explained a little more.
"Well kid, you might not know this, but our academy has classes that are divided by your talent level among other things. All you need do for now is make your way to the welcome Ceremony on time."
Wanting to know more about the classifications and how they were decided Lyon started to open his mouth to ask.
Before he could the senior gazed at him amused, before pointing behind him where another ten people had lined up in the brief period while he was thinking.
Leaving the table after getting his identity token from the man, Lyon made his way towards the dormitory he had been pointed towards.
As he walked towards the main campus, Lyon found himself taking in the surroundings in awe. All around him the ground was paved with magical tiles that boosted Kei energy concentration.
The entrance to the actual campus had another check in desk for the students at which a guard was currently sitting. Upon showing the guard his token, Lyon was led to a shining portal that he had somehow failed to notice up to that point.
Upon crossing over, the first thing Lyon noticed was the sheer size of the main campus. Looking around, there were three enormous signs embedded with calligraphy that glowed with the obvious amount of kei energy concentrated into them.
Practice Range, Dormitory, and Class Hall were shown with arrows leading to the left, straight ahead, and to the right respectively. Finally on the campus, Lyon noticed that the places appeared further away than what should have been possible.
Moving forwards as the sign pointed, he walked for five minutes and began to see some shops around him that offered different services, games, foods, and even techniques.
In the surroundings he could occasionally see students and teachers of different years walking around the streets and shops.
Suppressing his curiosity, he moved past the area and after another 10 minutes of walking found the dormitories and entered the building that would be his home for the next few years.
After entering, Lyon slowed down and looked around to try and better understand the place. To the left of the entrance was a lobby furnished with couches and chairs that radiated a faint light.
It appeared all the furnishings had been made with the fur of rare demonic beasts and hundred-year-old spiritual wood.
Further into the room there was a collection of large kei boxes that were attached to the three walls inside and portrayed the various news and entertainment networks of the capital.
To the right was a two-person desk that only had a single female student sitting there who appeared to have been meditating. As Lyon approached, a two-tailed, red and blue bird flashed into existence on her shoulder.
Walking up to the desk, it appeared the girl's Keibeast felt his presence and told its human companion. The girl opened her eyes, a flash of coldness briefly present before she registered Lyon's presence.
"Hello!" The girl began, speaking warmly. "My name is Thea, and I'm a third-year student here! I know you are probably curious about everything, but there are a few things I need to tell you about the dorms.
It's no biggie! But it's probably best to follow them if you don't want to get kicked out or worse...The lobby is open to all the students and teachers from 6am to midnight. But, from midnight to 6am the lobby is off limits. I wouldn't try to test that; the results are never pretty.
Anyway, there are a total of six floors in the dorms, while each floor is separated into two wings for the males and females. As a first year you will only be able to access the left wing of the first floor.
Each wing has its own commons area that is for the exclusive use of your wing. On that note, unless you are given express permission by the residents of another wing or floor, you are not allowed on any other floor or room.
Even then, you are only allowed to go to the specific room of the person who gave you that permission," Thea paused here to make sure that Lyon was still paying attention.
"I know that sounds like a lot of information, but I promise it isn't as complicated as it seems. Anyway, for now let me see your identification token and I will give you your room key" she finished.
Passing her his token, Lyon briefly wondered what would happen if he were unlucky enough to lose the token. Focusing her kei energy into the token, she read the information that was projected into her eyes.
Thea's eyes shot open after reading the information inside. Looking at the first year in front of her, Thea was hardly able to believe that he had a Duke grade innate spirit.
Taking a breath to compose herself, she reached below the desk and found the card that belonged to him before passing it on while explaining how the cards were to be used.
"This is your room card with the room number on the back, all you must do is insert your kei energy and place it against the door to your room.
Also, you can use the card to prove your student identity if you ever happen to not have your token on you," Thea explained.
Thanking her, Lyon moved to head up the stairs that he saw in the back of the lobby area when he first entered. Pausing he turned back towards her, "If you don't mind me asking, when is orientation, and how am I supposed to get there?" he questioned.
"There will be a message sent out to all the first year's tokens when the orientation is scheduled to start. All you have to do is stand on the transportation circle in your rooms, and you'll be at the spot." Thea replied.
"Thank you," Lyon said and continued to his new room.