TBATE - Lightseeker

[Around 8 Months Later]

A/N: ~1-year time skip to Xyrus Academy. Solis and friends' experiences will be shown through new techniques, strength, and flashbacks.

....

- Solis - 

Ada and I walked through the streets of the floating city of Xyrus in our black ponchos, dirty sandals, and adventurer masks. "We don't look like much, no one would ever believe we are AA-rank adventurers." Ada jested.

"To be fair, regardless of how we are dressed, I doubt people would believe us if we told them we were AA-class. Out of roughly 800,000 current adventurers, less than 60 are AA-rank, and only 7 are S-rank. Hell, I doubt they would believe us if we said we were A-class. Only about 5,000 adventurers are A-rank; it's incredibly rare. With our stature and how we are dressed, we probably look more like children playing in the mud than real adventurers."

We walked down the market district of the bustling city of Xyrus and came to the tea shop we visited two years ago.

"Wanna go in here, for old times sale?" I asked Ada. "Sure."

We entered the simple tea shop and sat down at a bench out in the sun, taking off our masks and calling over the waitress. We both ordered tea and a plate of dumplings. "I still remember when we used to visit tea shops while discussing illegal topics and ways to prevent the destruction of our continent. Ironic, isn't it? Discussing such important topics in a tea shop." Ada mused, thinking about our time as adventurers and wanted criminals of the New Dawn. "Mm. Wanna go visit the Guild later? We can see who has the higher bounty."

"Sure!" She enthusiastically agreed. The waitress delivered our order and we ate and drank, reminiscing about our tenure in the Glades and our missions in the New Dawn.

....

Entering the unchanged Xyrus Guild Hall, we walked over to the wanted poster board and looked for our names. On the far right of the middle row sat two bounty posters with silhouetted faces and question marks in the middle where the noses would be. 'Flame Emperor - fire conjurer capable of augmentation. Possesses white flames likely from a strong beast will. Highly skilled individual, S-rank criminal; run on sight. Bounty: 8,500 Gold' and 'Tempest' - fire augmenter with lightning deviant. Rare blue lightning likely from a strong beast will. Highly skilled individual, S-rank criminal; run on sight. Bounty: 10,000 Gold.'

"Hah! I knew mine would be higher! Hand over my gold, loser." Ada threw her hands up in triumph and demanded the 3 gold I bet on my bounty being higher. I handed over the 3 gold pieces in defeat.

"How is yours higher? That makes no sense. Most of the missions we do in a two-man cell and operate together, so logically ours should be the exact same. It's not like there's a difference in strength that would accommodate a 1,500 Gold difference."

"Quit complaining, loser."

"Whatever, let's just get out of here."

I was fortunate that there was no note of my ability to wield light, as I kept my adventurer and New Dawn member identities separate, only using one element for each.

The two of us continued through the streets of Xyrus until we reached the gate the the academy. The students were on break currently, so there was only minimal security. We easily slipped past the border guard through the use of light movement and blinks, eventually approaching the main door, which was completely open. We walked down the halls and up many staircases, retracing the steps we took when we last came with Jack and Ilya. We finally reached the Director's office and an assistant let us through the doors. Madam Cynthia stood from her chair and greeted us as we walked in.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Madam Cynthia." We both gave a small bow and she insisted we drop the unnecessary formalities and join her for some tea.

"I have something I'd like to ask the two of you, knowing how strong you likely are." The Director sipped her tea slowly between questions. "I'd like for the two of you to join a small elite group I'm forming this year - the Disciplinary Committee. A group of ten or so elite students picked solely based on strength who carry the authority to use magic outside of authorised duels and can independently discipline students."

"Sounds... interesting. Though it doesn't help us stay undetected much. Both of us are wanted criminals, and although our names and faces haven't been revealed, someone who has heard of our unique powers and has seen our bounties could quite easily put two-and-two together and blow our cover. Being closely related to the New Dawn, you should know of our overarching mission at the academy." I pressed. Running around in an academy of eager magic wielders and being allowed to beat them up sounded fun, and I'm sure Ada would love it most, but it's risky.

"What if I told you the benefits outweigh the downsides?"

"Go on."

"I can give you a private training room open only to the two of you and Jack, who I will also be giving this offer, access to higher level classes, like Team Fighting Mechanics, the most sought-after class in the whole academy, and you will hopefully be on the same committee as your target - Arthur Leywin."

Arthur Leywin!

"That does make it more convincing, but regardless, it will bring us too much attention." 

We can always find another way to monitor Arthur Leywin.

"I agree with Solis, Director. It's too risky."

"Hmm. I understand your reservations. If Jack joins, will you? If the three of you share the same mission and are on the same committee, surely the mission would be easier, no? And besides, if laying low is your goal, I'm afraid Jack isn't doing too well." 

"Huh? What do you mean..?" I sincerely hoped Jack wasn't messing things up for us.

"Huhuh. Jack has made quite the name for himself. He's one of the strongest students in the academy. I'm afraid I can't really afford to let him decline the offer, as having a committee with only the strongest students but leaving out someone who is feared by everyone in lower years and has been a menace since the day he joined would ruin the nimbus of the DC, and make it look like I'm purposefully excluding a commoner, despite saying that the committee members are picked based on strength and note blood."

Looks like we have no choice then...

"Alright. We will join this 'Disciplinary Committee of yours." We both stated in tandem. With our strength, we would have ended up in the limelight regardless.

"Excellent! Well, then. Do either of you have any questions regarding the academy?"

"Jack told me there are classes on medical magic. How do I take those?" I asked. I've always had a passion for medical magic, it's a shame my Holy white Flames only heal myself. Maybe I can learn to heal others at this academy."

"There sure are. All tactical Royal Guard teams - namely the Assassination & Espionage and Search & Rescue divisions - require a base-level field medic on their squad and are taught simple healing spells that don't require the emitter deviancy to use - for example, closing very minor wounds and helping blood clot. With the joining of the three races and the prospect of war, the council has added these basic healing programs into all practical mana classes. If you want to take an official class dedicated strictly to healing, you need to prove you can do it. I know of your situation, and one of my friends actually knew you master, so I know you are capable. If someone wanted to take these strictly medical classes, they would first have to prove they are an emitter."

Her friend knew Master Lumen... Just who is this friend who knew an Asura? 

"I have a question. Why is Team Fighting Mechanics the most sought-after class?" Asked Ada, tilting her head slightly.

"There is only one TFM class. The class is taught by Professor Vanesy Glory, a former AA-rank adventurer. It's so sought-after because entry into that class has to be approved by me directly instead of one of my assistants, and I only allow the strongest of students to enter. There are also a few practical assignments in the Beast Glades for that class. The other most sought-after class is Practical Mage Tactics, which again has only one class. It is taught by Professor Tobi Sword, a former Royal Guard Assassination & Espionage Squad Captain. Naturally, should either of you want to join those classes, I will let you in without an assessment. Call it faith in Belladonna and her ability to pick strong subordinates."

Madam Cynthia led us to a uniform fitting shop on the outskirts of the vast academy campus where she fitted our custom one-of-one black and gold uniforms. Each member of the DC gets a custom black uniform with gold trimmings of their choice - a unique uniform that not even the SC gets. Due to my naturally high body temperature, I chose a simple black short-sleeved jacket with minimal gold trimmings. The Xyrus Academy logo embroidered on my right chest was gold, as were the linings of my sleeves, base of the neck and the zipper. I also got a small golden sun on my left chest. The neck of the jacket came up to just under my chin to hide my tattoo. I chose simple black shorts with a pocket on each side that came down just above my kneecap. Ada chose a black version of the scholar mage shirt with various golden trimmings down her sleeves that looked like lightning bolts and the same gold Xyrus logo embroidered on her right chest. She chose tight black jeans, and cut off the right leg, exposing her whole leg up to the top of her thigh.

"What's with the cut jeans?" I questioned.

"Looks cool." She said flatly.

"Fair enough."

"That reminds me, Director. Who else do you plan to have join the Disciplinary Committee?" I asked, curious who our colleagues would be.

"Other than you two, Jack and Arthur Leywin, there are 7 others. The captain, Claire Bladeheart, Vice-Captain Theodore Maxwell, Curtis and Kathlyn Glader, Kai Crestless, Feyrith Ivsaar III and Doradrea Oreguard. That makes 11 of you. Only 11 people in the whole school will have unique black and gold uniforms out of around 2,000. Even the Student Council only gets a small cape and a little more blue on their shirts."

"Befitting of incredible people like us," Ada said with a have of her shoulder-length hair.

The Director led us back to her office after getting us both three uniforms each and helped us organise our schedule. I took TFM, Healing Arts 1, Practical Mana Manipulation 2 - the upper-level PMM class, and Practical Mage Tactics. I took Healing Arts level 1 since I'm not confident at all in my ability to heal others, and I took level 2 classes in the rest since I'm very confident.

Ada took TFM, PMM2, Fundamentals of Mana Theory 1, Fundamentals of Augmenting 2, and Practical Mage Tactics.

There are 7 periods in a day, with each class being 1 hour long. Most students pick 3-5 subjects, with exceptionally nerdy students taking 6. According to the Director, it has been years since someone took 7 classes a day. Rare classes, like Healing Arts classes, aren't even available on every day, so I only have HA1 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Thursday is without a doubt the best day for me as I only have 3 subjects and they're all in the afternoon. PMM2 12 pm-1 pm, TFM 1:15 pm-2:15 pm, and PMT at 4 pm-5 pm.

....

Ada and I sat at the back of the auditorium in temporary battle mage uniforms so as to not stand out before our duties officially begin tomorrow. The Student Council President, Princess Tessia Eralith, was giving her speech about racial equality and respect between both types of students. She explained the official levels of mages, and how each of us first years would now officially become registered mages starting at level 1. At the end of each year, students will take the ascension examination for that year, and if they pass will graduate from that level and increase in level by one, as well as be allowed into the next year. Should they fail, they will need to repeat the full year. Mage levels range from:

Level 1 - Academy Cadet (Blue)

Level 2 - Academy Junior (Two Blue)

Level 3 - Academy Intermediate (Three Blue)

Level 4 - Academy Senior (Red)

Level 5 - Army Prospect (Two Red)

Level 6 - Army Cadet (Three Red)

Level 7 - Army Soldier

Level 8 - Lieutenant (Head)

Level 9 - Captain (Rear-General/Major)

Level 10 - General

Starting at level 5, a student may put down their name to be chosen to be enlisted in the military. Once chosen, they may graduate from the Academy and start military training. There are very few sixth-year students due to this reason, and they generally spend most of their time doing practical classes and secluded training. Upon 'complete graduation' - which is continuing with school up until the end of your sixth year - Level 6 students will immediately be recruited into the Royal Guard and will complete practical training, skipping the military training regiments. A student's rank is shown by the colour and amount of lines on their collar. For example, a level 3 student will have three blue lines drawn on their shirt collar.

Under certain circumstances, certain ranks/levels may be given other duties. For example, A Lieutenant may be placed in charge of a small outpost and may be referred to as Head, matching the authority of a Captain only at their specific outpost. Regardless of the situation, the General always has the highest authority even if they are at the station under the command of a Captain.

.....

Her long speech finally ended and all 400 of the first years were released at once, making getting out quite hard. Ada pointed out a boy with long-ish auburn hair and a cute white fox perched on his head walking next to a generic-looking half-dwarf with short black hair and black-rimmed glasses. We discretely followed them and saw two boys, a human and a dwarf, about to duel.

"The name's Nicolas Dreyl. Declare the duel, shortass!" He held his head high and looked down at the short dwarf, instigating him to declare the duel. According to the Director, a student cannot start a duel with a student in a lower year than them, meaning the first-year dwarf must initiate the duel. The dwarf touched his fingers to the gold Xyrus Academy logo pin on his left chest, and spoke loudly for all of the bystanders to hear, "I, Broznean Boor, declare a duel between myself and Nicolas Dreyl!"

"I, Nicolas Dreyl, accept." He mirrored the dwarf's gesture, touching the gold pin on the left of his chest.

"The dwarf will lose," Ada stated flatly

"Mm. I agree."

A thin yellow barrier encased the both of them, and they took out their weapons. The dwarf held a large axe in both of his hands, and the human drew two identical scimitars from his dimension ring and they both got into a stance. The two of them traded blows for a few minutes, simply augmenting their bodies. The human shot large spikes of earth from the tip of his scimitars but the dwarf merely chopped right through them and charged towards the human, knocking him into the air with a clean hit to his barrier. The human controlled his descent and landed deftly on the ground, stabbing both of his scimitars into the ground. A large pillar of earth erupted from the ground and hit the dwarf right in his stomach, shattering his barrier.

These two are both so slow... More importantly, that barrier... is it light magic..?

No. It's more like a bad imitation. The Directors friend knew Master Lumen, so knowing about the light magic makes sense. Recreating it with pure mana, even if it's only a rough copy, it's still impressive. This 'friend' must be strong.

"The duel is over, but this Nicolas guy doesn't seem to be stopping." Ada voiced in mild concern.

The dark-haired boy next to Arthur Leywin took and step forward, his posture straight and head held high, a triumphant and powerful look on his face. His expression fell when Arthur Leywin looked over in a random direction. "Oh, dear. Is that the Student Council President I see?" He spoke with the most monotone voice I have ever heard with a completely blank and unbothered expression on his face.

Nicolas Dreyl spun around in search of the president, clearly afraid.

"Ah, whoops. Must have been mistaken." Arthur spoke, still completely monotone. Nicolas grabbed Arthur's collar and pulled him closer. "You Dare!? How Dare you interfere."

"Hey man, chillax. You've already won." Arthur tried to diffuse the situation he created, but the silly ape of house Dreyl brought one of his swords high above his head. Arthur brought up his arm as if he were going to use it as a shield.

"Do you dare?" A feminine voice came from behind Nicolas and his visage turned pale white, devoid of colour. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"P-president! I was just trying to educate this boy-"

"I believe I asked you a question. Do you dare?" She stated coldly, interrupting the bumbling fool.

"O-of course not, president." The president promptly asked him for his name, and one of the other student council members, a short girl with long brown hair, took his name down. A tall boy with dark hair next to the Princess attempted to reason with the two parties and claim that no action needed to be taken against Nicolas, but the president shut him down.

"And you! Why are you causing trouble on the first day? Did you not hear my speech about racial equality?!" She shouted at Arthur, and Ada and I's jaws hit the floor and our eyes sprang from their sockets.

She just yelled at Arthur Leywin! She's so dead!!

"What? Are you seriously making assumptions based on the 5 seconds you witnessed? If I hadn't stepped in, Broznean over here would be in a hospital bed. I'm disappointed you would think of me that way, but alas, I apologise for the trouble I have caused, Student Council President." Arthur turned around to leave with his friend, but the tall, dark-haired human from the SC grabbed his shoulder.

"Hold it, first-year. Did your mother not teach you manners? Are you an orphan raised in a barn?"

Hah? Did he just insult my mother?

In just one sentence, he had immediately angered me, Ada and Arthur. Three people he couldn't afford to piss off.

Ada's brows furrowed and blue lightning danced around her palms. "Leave it. It won't look good for future DC members to attack a SC member outside of a sanctioned duel." I grabbed her wrist sending a jolt up my arm.

Arthur let out a deep, tired sigh and grabbed the tall boy's arm, throwing him over his shoulder before walking off.

"Tch. He's lucky Arthur got to him first." Ada whispered angrily under her breath. "I hate letting him off with just a sore bum, but this is the responsibility we bear now. Even if we weren't part of the DC, beating up a SC member on your first day would make you stand out quite a bit." I reasoned.

....

A/N His DC jacket is like Neji Hyuga's genin jacket but black with the gold trimmings and stuff on it.