The Opinum Academy!

Everyone with any type of aptitude for fighting would strive to get into this prestigious academy. The training was rigorous, the acceptance rate was pitifully low, but all of the graduates were simply outstanding.

The legendary Grego Drand had graduated from this academy!

Even the magic races tried to get into this human academy. It was a place for the best of the best, the elite of the elite.

The academy, needless to say, was huge! The campus was incredibly beautiful and located in a kingdom-neutral territory. It was collectively owned by the human kingdoms, but no single kingdom had a higher rank than another in Opinum.

The students could either choose to join whichever kingdom’s military or they could be free to roam the world.

When one would enter the academy, they would see the students walking around, some seated in the grass under the shade of a tree eating and conversing among themselves happily.

The students all wore robes, but they were all different colors. The freshman wore blue, sophomores wore green, juniors in red, and finally, the seniors in black.

The majority of the robed students were human, but there were also dwarves, angels, demons, and beastman mixed in the crowds.

At the current time, a single carriage had just arrived at the grand gates of the school. In comparison to the carriages that would normally come to this school, this one looked old and out-dated, like it hadn’t been used for years... which was true.

Erebus and his subordinates never used the carriage because for them, it was easier to just run places or walk there... so, it just stayed there collecting dust.

The students who had stopped walking to stare at the out-of-place carriage were surprised by its high-classed occupants. The first one out was a beautiful woman with long hair that seemed to glisten like diamonds while her eyes were like sapphires. Her face seemed to have been crafted by the gods, all of those who gazed upon her, regardless of gender, were enchanted by her ethereal beauty.

Following behind her was a tall, lanky man with beguiling golden eyes and his light brown hair tied back from his face, like the girl, his face wouldn’t have many rivals in terms of appearance. The last one who came out was a man with hints of femininity in his delicate face, his ink-black hair contrasted with his pale skin and vivid green eyes, the broad smile on his face seemed to light up the entire atmosphere around them.

The unparalleled people in appearance stepped out of such a shabby carriage!

A spark of pity ignited in some of the students, they thought that it must be troublesome to be that good-looking, no matter where those three went, they would probably always get stared at. Some were envious, and some didn’t care that much, so they looked for maybe a second or two before going back to what they were doing.

“Finally, I can stretch,” Erebus was saying as he extended his arms, his elbow cracked and he displayed a peaceful expression when it happened. “I hate carriages for a reason.”

“It couldn’t be helped. It’s would be too unnatural if we walked here. We have to blend in,” Vyne said, not realizing that they had attracted the attention of nearly everyone there.

Erebus pouted but didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned to the woman who was walking towards them with fake happy expression and smiled glued onto her face.

“Hello! Are you three Erebus, Tear, and Vyne?” She smiled. “My name is Rose, I’ll be your guide for today, and I’ll help you with any questions that you have.” Her voice was candy sweet, but it felt as if she was forcing herself to be like that.

“Yes, that’s us,” Erebus said just as Tear stepped in front of him as if she was protecting him and Vyne seemed to be ready to create his sword and cut Rose down. He withheld a sigh, thinking that these two would probably end up killing someone if they suddenly came up behind them.

Rose smiled. “But, before any of that, I am required to have you take tests to see what classes you will be put in. They’re rather simple, so don’t worry about that.”

“We won’t be put in the same class?” Tear questioned.

“If your test results qualify all of you for the same class, then you will be put in it, if it doesn’t, then you will not be put into the same class. It’s a rather simple concept,” Rose, for some reason, spoke with malice in her tone towards Tear. “There will be a written test which you have one hour to take, then there’s a magic power gauge. The results of those will determine your placement. Now, follow me!”

The three did as told, following Rose who seemed to bounce with every step she took to the room where they’d be taking the writing portion of the test.

“I don’t even know what’s going to be on this test,” Tear muttered. She glanced at Erebus and Vyne who were walking slightly ahead of her and talking to each other. “Unlike them, I’m not a genius...”

Tear’s knowledge of magic was minimal, she had never bothered to put that much time into studying the concepts of mana and magic, but rather, she just did what she felt was right. There was never a literacy test required, too, so Tear didn’t know how to read or write very well, typically, Lilian would help her out. Those were tools that she had rarely if ever needed.

In comparison to Erebus who had read thousands of books and explored the world and Vyne who constantly did experiments testing his own theories on mana and magic, Tear could barely even be considered in the elementary grade. When it came to the High Humans, she knew plenty.

She sighed heavily. “Hopefully, I do well. If I don’t get put in the same class as Lord Erebus, I’ll kill whoever I have to kill to get put in there,” Tear said very dangerous words.

“In here!” Rose’s chirpy voice interrupted Tear’s violent train of thought. The trio walked inside a rather small classroom where three desks with tests on them were already set up. In front of the three desks was a single chair where Rose bounced over to sit here. “When I say so, you may all begin. The test should not be too hard if you’re a student of the Opinum caliber.” Her eyes met with Tear’s.

This bitch has it out for me, doesn’t she? Tear thought while glaring back at Rose.

“All you need to do is answer the questions within an hour. You will not be graded on how many questions you complete, but rather, how many you get correct. If something is left blank, it will not count against your score.” When the three nodded their consent, Rose clapped her hands together. “Begin!”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Vyne and Erebus put their pencils against the paper and their hands were flying as they breezed through pages upon pages of writing within a matter of minutes. Tear, on the other hand, was moving at a normal pace, trying her best not to be distracted by Erebus’ and Vyne’s pencils scratching against the paper.

The questions were simpler than she thought, or perhaps because the minimal knowledge she thought she had was greater than that of the humans’s. Tear thought, for this to be the qualifications for such an esteemed academy, this test was very embarrassing.

Before the time limit they have had ended, the three had already completed their test and were patiently waiting like good students. Rose was staring at them with bug eyes, her peachy skin had lost all its color and she was looking at them like she had seen a ghost.

To complete that test before the time limit was something that had never been done before. Well, maybe once or twice, but all those students proved to be extraordinary and became legends. Rose stared at the three in silence, was she, the humble employee that she was, gazing upon the ones who could possibly become forever documented in history?

“Can we just move on?” Erebus asked, breaking her out of her reverie. “We still have a sizeable amount of time left, what’s the point in waiting for it to complete when we can move onto the next phase?”

Rose straightened in her seat. “Y-yes, you’re right! Let us get going.”

This time, Rose lead them to a wide, open field. Not too far off, other students were practicing their own magic and physical capabilities in front of an instructor who was barking out orders.

“Is that I should have been teaching Weryn,” Erebus murmured as he watched the students fire off spells. Well, the young dragon could probably easily wipe out this school now since he had made progress in the last three years.

Most dragons were at that level nowadays, but Weryn was already ahead of his time.

“N-now then,” Rose stammered. “This is the magical testing section where we will gauge how much magic power you have by finding out your magic number. The system reads from zero to nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine. Even if your strength is beyond the max number, it will only display that, but that never happens, but I’m supposed to tell you anyway.

“Getting you number is extremely easy, just hit the target with your fist. Erebus, you may begin.”

Erebus walked over to the gauge, it was a black sphere placed upon a pole. He scratched his head, not really knowing how much power to put in it. A little less than one percent should be enough, right? Erebus cracked his knuckles and formed a fist. He wasn’t good at restraining his power, but he thought that this amount should be sufficient.

He punched the target.

“Take cover,” Vyne said the minute Erebus fist connected with the sphere, he put a shield up just in time.

The ground shook as if there was an earthquake and a large plume of dust covered the area.

“I think it’s broken,” a sole voice said as the dust began to settle. “Are you sure this is an accurate reader of strength?”

The dust cleared and everyone’s eyes were on the man who stood in front of a completely destroyed magic gauge. In the air, random numbers were appearing before changing, blinking in and out of existence. The man scratched his head and turned to his companions.

“No, you broke it,” Vyne said to Erebus, he then turned to Rose.“Do you have another one of those? Tear and I still need to do our test.”

The poor woman was shaking, her eyes bulging so much it seemed as if they’d pop out of their socket at any moment. “Ah, right, another one of those. W-we do, I think, but I don’t really think you guys need it... ah, I have to administer the test, though or else I’ll get fired. Anyway, I-I’ll just say that Erebus’ strength is at nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, that should work...”

“All right. I’m assuming that one over there is also a magic gauge?” He pointed to a sphere that was green in color.

“Yes, the colors are different but they’re the same creation,” Rose explained, her legs trembling. “G-go ahead, Vyne.”

Vyne walked over to the green sphere. “I just hit it?”

“Mhmm.”

Vyne smacked the top of the sphere, the pole got pushed deeper into the ground. Four glowing nines were displayed in the air before fading away.

“Ah, so easily he hit that number,” Rose said, she looked like she was ready to cry. “Tear, you can go now.”

Tear skipped over. She turned her head away from the sphere and tapped it lightly. “I’m so scared~ I’m a weakling, you know?” She peeked at the three nines in the air along with a single eight tacked onto the end. Tear’s eye twitched. “What the hell! I’m not weaker than him!” she screeched, kicking the gauge multiple times, the eight turned into a nine, but Tear kept kicking it. “Damn this thing, it must be broken.”

“How unsightly,” Vyne said.

Tear whipped around and scowled at him. “I’ll fight you right now and prove that this thing is wrong.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Vyne lowered himself into an offensive stance.

“Stop it, you two,” Erebus ordered, his voice uncharacteristically cold and stern. “Have you both forgotten where we are?”

Tear and Vyne both straightened up. “Apologies,” the two said, each of the resisting the urge to bow down in front of Erebus.

“Sorry about that, now Rose, will you continue with your tour?” Erebus turned to Rose, wearing a warm smile.

She nodded her head. “I have to submit your test results and then the tour will begin, by the time the tour’s over, they should have your class assignments ready. I’m not technically supposed to say this, but I think you will be put in the Myth class.”

“Myth? Like the magic rank?”

“Yes, our classes in this school follow that order. Common, Lord, King, Myth. Each year, freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior have those classes, so there are sixteen classes in total, but there is a wide variety of subjects available,” Rose answered his question flawlessly, she felt calm talking to him for some strange reason.

“Heh... that so?” Erebus looked amused. He couldn’t help but wonder if they had a classroom for Lost rank magic.