They reached the capital on the 10th day, at night. It was pitch dark, but the city was still hustling and bustling. Lights from mana lamps glowed in the windows. The Ironhorn Beast entered through the gate, which was made out of a sturdy material with a golden color. The iron beast's nostrils snorted, steam rising into the cold air, and it entered the capital of the Empire.
There was a silver knight standing near the entrance of the gate. He was wearing silver knight armor, with eyes as sharp as swords. On his chest plate, there was a logo of a sword pointing toward the sky with angel-like wings behind the sword. It glowed faintly in the night.
He saw the Crimson Clan logo on the carriage and spoke. "Papers, Show me the clan seal." The knight didn't smile. His eyes scanned the carriage like a weapon.
Ryan handed over the scroll from the
pre-exam. The knight scanned it. "Proceed. Inn district is east."
The Iron Beast stopped near an inn where they would be staying tonight. It halted its steps on the paved stone of the capital. The air was colder here than at the Manor.
Ryan was the first to leave the carriage. "We finally are in the capital of the Empire!" He was excited. His eyes widened at the towering buildings.
Then Elena, Aria, and Samuel also left the carriage. Samuel looked at Aria. "We should bandage your wound, Sister Aria," Samuel spoke. He checked her shoulder, which had stopped bleeding, but the hideous wound was there, left by the black lightning.
"It is fine," Aria said. She winced slightly. "Rest first. The exam is tomorrow."
They rested in the inn. On the next day, the sun rose. The crowd was moving from one place to another. Merchants were selling weapons and potions.
"10 percent discount on grains!" one shouted.
"High quality, cheap weapons for today only!" another yelled.
Samuel and his siblings departed towards the Academy. The gate of the Academy had the logo of a sword pointing toward the sky with angel-like wings behind it. It was shining gold in the sunlight. It was massive, making them feel small.
"We should separate from here," Samuel asked Elena and Aria.
"The registration queue is clan specified. And be careful," said Aria. Her shoulder was trembling due to pain. She hid it well, but Samuel noticed.
Elena, wearing a blue robe, spoke to Samuel. "Don't embarrass the clan. And don't come running to me if you get kicked out on the first day of academia."
"Don't say such things, Sister Elena," Aria defended Samuel from Elena. Her voice was sharp.
Elena shrugged. "Just stating facts. Come, Aira. We have our placements."
Samuel and Ryan left for the entrance test. Both Elena and Aria were D-Rank, so they would not need to take the entrance exam. They would be promoted to the second year directly.
Samuel spoke to Ryan. "Be careful. We are alone. And don't cause any trouble for both of us."
Saying that, they both headed toward the ground on which the entrance exam would be conducted.
The ground was an arena where ten thousand people could seat and watch. On the ground, there were many queues. Some were clan specified, and some were for commoners.
There was a group of people different from other clans. Little geniuses of the seven major clans. There was a spiky-haired boy with a lightning logo of the Thunder Clan on his chest. His name was marcus.
Marcus laughed loud enough for the crowd to hear. "Look! The Crimson Clan's waste actually showed up. Did you come to watch, or to cry?"
"Let him talk. The crystal will speak for me.."Samuel thought.
It was Marcus Thunder. He smiled cruelly.
Samuel did not engage with him on verbal abuse. His face was blank, but his eyes were staring at that boy who mocked him. Ryan wanted to ask something, but Samuel spoke.
"Don't mind that idiot. He is from Thunder Clan, full of idiots. The more one barks, the quicker they falls," Samuel said to Ryan with a calm tone. His voice only reached Ryan.
Ryan nodded. He trusted Samuel.
"Hello participants. I am Invigilator Vark. Do not speak without my permission." A man with dark hair, with an instructor's cloak, appeared on the stage. His aura was heavy.
"This is the mana crystal. You need to place your hand on it. According to this crystal, you all classes will be separated by normal and elite classes," Vark spoke. His voice echoed throught the ground.
"It measures your mana quality. There will be another sparing round for only elite class students tomorrow. You need to pass it to enter into an elite class. It is as simple as this." Saying this, he placed the crystal on the stage. It was large and translucent.
"Please come one by one."
One girl from the Stone Clan was the first to test. She had short brown hair and eyes like polished stones. She placed her hand on the crystal.
The crystal glowed blue. "Elite class," said the Invigilator Vark. He wrote it in a book.
One by one, students checked their mana quality. Now it was Ryan's turn to check. He placed his hand. The crystal glowed bright yellow. He also passed and entered into elite class.
"Ryan Crimson. Elite Class," Vark announced.
Ryan stepped down. He looked at Samuel. "Good luck."
Samuel stepped forward. He felt the eyes of the Thunder Clan on him.
"System. Convert Spirit to Mana.
"Now"
[Warning ! Output will exceed normal limits. Proceed?]
"Yes."
[Converting...]
Samuel placed his hands on the crystal. His hand burned. The mana rushed into the crystal too fast.
The crystal glowed golden-blue with a hint of gold in it. It was unique. No one else had produced that color.
Vark noticed this.Vark's pen stopped. The ink stained on the paper. He looked at Samuel, then the crystal, then Samuel again. "Samuel Crimson, Elite,'Priority Watch List'."
"Students, now you can go to your dorms. Normal class and elite class have different dorms. It is also separate by a barrier between girls and boys dorms."
"And one more thing. Elite class students have solo rooms. But normal class students need to share the room with others. And you can also lose elite class status from your position at the end of the months." Saying that, Vark handed everyone a page with benefits of elite class students to increase the competition between students. He left the arena after that.
"Looks like they are trying to increase competition between the students," thinking that, both Ryan and Samuel left for their dorms.
Samuel looked at the paper. Solo room, Privacy. He needed that.
Above the arena, there was a tower. In that tower, Officer Kane was standing with a quill. He was writing the name of excellent students on the notes to give it to the principal.
He stopped at Samuel's name. He frowned. "Golden-blue... Interesting."
He put the note aside. He would watch this boy closely.
P.S. If you want to add a character with your name in the novel, comment your name. Any three people will get the chance.