Chapter 16: Academy Wars Begin!

Fortunately for Sen and the others, the competition was to be hosted in the town of Bright Sail this year. Each year, the three competing academies took turns hosting the others. It just so happened that Sen’s academy was in charge this year.

He stood with the other competitors from his school in their dark academy uniforms. They’d also been given new cloaks, with their school symbol brighter and more prevalent on the back so an audience could see from far away. The image of a sailboat with rays shooting from the sails. Sen still hadn’t the faintest idea where the name had come from, but it was too late to petition the academy to change it to something cooler now. Maybe he’d say something after winning the academy war for them.

The mayor of Bright Sail had spared no expense in modifying the town’s arena. Most of the larger towns had them. Sometimes they featured plays, musicals, or any number of events. But the most popular of all were duels between magicians. People came from far and wide to witness clashes between skilled mages, and today, they’d come in equal numbers to watch a clash between academies.

Today was the opening ceremony, and the first of three events. He had no idea what these events might look like, and the upperclassman hadn’t talked much about them. He stood on his own with Milim and Joseia. Girch and Susanna stood in a pair as well. Snake stood on his own, glaring at the audience. He looked as if he wanted to kill something already. The thought occurred to Sen that he didn’t even know if that would be against the rules or not. He certainly wouldn’t take the life of a student, rival academy or not, but Snake? Snake would be the sole survivor of the Academy War if he could help it. He’d have to keep an eye on that.

The six of them stood in the arena, waiting for the other schools to file in and join them. Their entrance had been a long, drawn out affair. A good portion of which focused on Susanna and her apparently important family. As well as the fact Brightsail Academy had sent first years to the Academy War this year.

They didn’t have to wait long.

A voice cried out above the clamor of the arena; magic amplified it so that everyone could hear.

“Welcome, esteemed guests and supporters of the annual Academy War! The other competitors have arrived, and it is with great pleasure that I introduce the students of Fire Kite Academy and the Green Book Institute!” The announcer had greasy, slicked-back hair and wore a tight-fitting suit.

Sen looked up. From the opposite side of the arena, each school strode out of its respective exit.

Fire Kite Academy students wore bright red and white outfits with flames flickering at their edges. A lot of them also wore red jewelry with similar effects, or wrapped their hair with bright ribbons with plumes of smoke rising off them. His initial impression was that this was the school to watch out for of the two new arrivals.

The Green Book Institute apparently didn’t value uniformity as much as the other two academies. Their students looked as if they woke up this morning and threw together whatever was in their closest. Some wore blues and greens, others bright yellows, and one student had on so much red he looked as if he should’ve walked in with Fire Kite. It was possible they were veiling their true strength, but even Tutor wasn’t flagging anything special about them. It was as if their professors had pulled random people off the street and asked them to compete. If his only focus was winning, he’d try to steer Fire Kite to failure instead of Green Book, though…that sounded positively boring and he quickly abandoned the idea.

“What do you think the challenge will be?” Joseia whispered, though his natural speaking voice was already fairly quiet.

Milim perked up. “I don’t know, but I hope it’s a good opportunity to try out my new spell.”

Sen had invested several more dream magic essence spheres into helping Milim develop Dream Decay. Under his guidance, she’d even learned some modifiers for it. Some he’d suggested, and others she came up with on her own. He was interested in seeing how his investment paid off. In the past, he’d never found success in taking on students. But this was a new era, and the people of this time should be more capable of keeping up. Milim was a friend, but she also represented an opportunity to experiment. One in which she benefitted greatly.

Sen realized he’d zoned out and missed most of the Green Book introductions. He caught the tail end of it.

A very round man in poorly fitting clothes was currently being introduced. “Tonka Evers of Green Book!”

A short girl with bangs that covered each of her eyes and a long pointed hat was next. “Mary Candless!”

And finally, a blue-haired guy floated in with a pillow under his head as if he were sleeping. He wore blue pajamas, but even under the outfit it was clear he was muscular. “And Green Book’s highest-ranked fourth-year, Anonymous Student!”

Milim shook her head. “He didn’t even give them his name?” she asked.

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The audience went wild. It seemed a lot of the women in the audience had taken a liking to the unnamed boy already.

The attention turned towards Fire Kite Academy.

At the front of Fire Kite was a tan-skinned girl with brown hair that stopped just before her shoulders. She had a single highlight of fire orange in the center of her hair and bright orange eyes. An earring dangled from her right ear. The look on her face was intense, and it was only bolstered by the flaming sword sheathed at her side.

“The top-ranked student on the continent and the daughter of—” The announcer paused at a quick glare from Alari. “It…it’s Alari Kingcrew!” he said, his momentum ruined. Several members of the audience gasped. Others cheered. Sen squinted. It seemed Alari’s father was important. But what had really drawn his attention was the fact that she was the top-ranked student. He’d keep an eye on her.

The announcer introduced the rest of her teammates.

Dasai River had black hair and looked like he’d rather be anywhere in the world but here. He had a sucker of some kind in his mouth and scanned the audience with contempt. He almost looked as if he’d rather be in bed.