Chương 24: Chapter 22

The words of the students reached her like the susurration of a river.

"Is she a mortal? Who let their servant off a leash?"

"What's a mongrel doing here? I didn't realize our standards had dropped."

"Are those Kelahk colours? Do they even teach literacy out there?" These words and more battered her as she traversed the campus, her blood simmering at the insults, but she acknowledged how they made her feel and let them go, like water under the bridge. I'll show them up soon enough, she promised. I'll work harder than any of them and exceed them before they even know what hit them. I wonder if Krebo would count that as motivation…

After a quarter hour of walking, Shaya finally made it onto the path of the fallen the guardswoman had mentioned. Larger-than-life statues stood on each side, each depicting one of the Empire's fallen heroes in full colour to breathe life into them and highlight their family ties. The stone pedestals they stood upon held plaques that bore the person's name and a short description of why they were immortalized here.

At the head of the statues was Serra Mikaelix, first knight of the Arcadian Empire and namesake of all those who held that rank since. Though shorter than many of the other heroic statues, Serra's drew the eye for being sculpted from marble, with its long hair sculpted from enough mithrite to forge a suit of armour. She wore a functional panoply forged of bronze atop white robes—setting an aesthetic trend many of the Empire's mageknight orders still followed to this day.

I'll have to come back here later, when I have time to read some of the— Shaya paused, looking up at one of the last statues. The muscular, armoured woman had her crystalline sword raised high, shield ready at her side. Voluminous, golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail that flowed down the statue's back. It looked exactly like Shaya's esper, though lacking the feathered wings, and looked even more alien to Shaya than her esper had.

The plaque was simple: Phaedra Amon A beacon of hope to banish the darkness Defender Unifier Hero I hope I can live up to your expectations, Mom. The administrative building loomed over her, and Shaya entered it without looking back. The musty, vaulted chamber was filled with the sounds of quills scratching against paper and pages being turned, a veritable army of scribes, familiars, and animated objects working away at desks everywhere Shaya looked.

Every wall was lined with shelves filled with leather tomes, with yet more people scurrying about to take or place books from those shelves on foot or by the use of flight spells. Chandeliers kept the room lit while giving a sense of refinement to the room, but globes of light floated about each person as well to offer greater illumination and spare them from at least a small amount of eye strain.

The waiting area was empty, so Shaya approached the front desk where the registrar was busy writing—two animated quills mirroring her writing on different sheets of paper, floating hands waiting to turn the sheets as needed. Even the clerk here—a radiant Astorian in immaculate robes despite the danger of ink spills all around—had more divine blood than Shaya. Shaya waited a few seconds for the registrar to notice her, then cleared her throat when nothing happened.

The woman glanced up at her and then went back to writing.

"I've told you lot a dozen times, servants entrance is to the side. Register your deliveries there." Shaya set Quill down and patted them on the head. Pulling out her letter, she stepped forward and placed it on the registrar's desk. When they ignored her and kept writing, Shaya slid the letter over the document the registrar was writing on, interrupting her mid-word. The woman sputtered as she glared up at Shaya, ignoring the letter entirely, and snapped, "Do you have any idea how busy I am?"

"Lady Shaya Heirosoth, reporting to the registrar as instructed," Shaya replied, wielding her stiff and formal tone like a bat to beat the woman over the head with.

"Register me." The woman's iron-grey eyes travelled up and down Shaya's dishevelled, wounded body, conveying all the derision she felt on her walk through campus without a single word. The clerk reviewed her letter, looking at the front and back of it, then holding it up to her personal globe of light. She scratched at the blood stain on it from when Shaya first opened the letter and rubbed at the wear and tear on it, frowning the entire time.

Concluding that this wasn't the most elaborate suicidal plot one could conceive of, she took out a stack of paperwork and a crystalline dagger. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"Alright," she sniffed in resignation. The woman pushed a tower of paper towards her. An hour later, Shaya had managed to get through the paperwork, signing every page, and turned it back in to the registrar. She massaged her cramped hand and forearm, wondering how the scribes around her managed to get through their days and looking at a few to see if their writing hands had grown asymmetrically large like a crab's.

"Congratulations, you're now a sanctioned mage in Imperial Legions," the woman said without a congratulatory note in her voice while tapping the pile of papers to align their edges. She placed the pile in a basket off to the side, which was snatched up by a passing aide and dropped off at another clerk's desk. The registrar then drew out a thin stone slate, no bigger than Shaya's palm, and slid it across to her.

"This is your identification slate. Guard it with your life—losing it is grounds for being dishonourably discharged. This slate will be keyed to you and your classes, allowing you to access the specific areas you need to on campus. Understood?" Shaya nodded, taking the slate and looking at it. Tiny aethercyte circuits were embedded into it and, squinting really hard, Shaya could make out tiny spell formulae etched into the circuits. She pocketed it and looked back at the registrar as she continued.

"Your monthly stipend will be one gold coin, but you will not be expected to pay for your residence or tuition." Shaya blanched at the small stipend, given the costs she heard merchants charging for food right now. She looked down at Quill as well, wondering how much their food was going to cost her as well.

"You have been assigned to Lance Seven, you can find the residences in the north part of campus." Shaya earned a map of the campus, which she started analysing as the woman kept speaking.

"You've arrived later than we prefer, so the rest of your Lance has already settled in. Worse for you, most students enrolled in classes before the summer, so your selection may be limited." Shaya looked up from the map, frowning.

"The hells? I didn't even receive my acceptance letter until a month ago."

"Ah, yes, well Kelahk is very much off the Imperial Teleportation Network," she said testily.

"Most of our students are more…local."

"Can I register my courses with you right now?"

"Of course." She forced a smile.

"Review this manual and use it to fill out this form. You can register for up to six courses for no additional cost, but we do not recommend going above five. Especially if you are not particularly…gifted." Shaya ignored the barb.

"On that note, could I register for an exam for the next Circle?"

"Of course." The woman's forced smile faltered.

"Will that be for the Third or Fourth Circle?"

"Second," Shaya replied, keeping her voice level.

"I see." The woman's derision reached new levels and Shaya was thankful the clerk needed a minute to search through a schedule. Don't punch her in the face. Her opinion doesn't matter. You knew this was going to be the initial reaction and that you were going to prove everyone wrong about you through your success.

"Our earliest availability is… in six weeks."

"I'll take it," Shaya sighed, then turned to deal with her course registration. Quill stretched their wings as Shaya plopped back down on the chair with the manual, quickly browsing through it. It contained all of the courses from first to fourth year, but didn't note which ones were full. That meant she had to pick a few spares and prioritize them based on available space.

Flipping through the manual, she noticed that third- and fourth-year courses had especially complex requirements, and she wanted to make sure she'd be able to take the ones she wanted. The manual was divided by subject. Each type of magic had a section dedicated to it, the courses broken down by high-level concepts rather than types of espers. That let Shaya ignore three entire sections, at least, and likely a fourth.

Until she learned to better control her blood rage, she was afraid of what she might do when Ruby aether stoked her anger, but she hated the idea of depriving herself of a third of her magical power. The strategy courses piqued Shaya's interest, as they were dedicated to teaching how to direct combatants at different scales and fight smart.

Battle was a subject devoted to personal combat, ranging from basic weapons training to advanced courses on fighting particular types of monsters and Titans, and she knew she'd want to take several of those as well. There were also more generalized sections on aspects of magic, such as conjuration and item crafting. Shaya was also surprised to see entire streams dedicated to thaumaturgy and even alchemy—maybe she would be able to find Rel a nice gift here.

Beyond that, it looked like the Academy partnered with the neighbouring University of Arcadia to offer other courses less related to war: courses on ruling, diplomacy, history, and more. Shaya was certain of only a few things about her future, but she knew that it was going to include violence. Monsters were common enough in Kelahk that it was going to take her lifetime to cleanse Lumir's lands and make sure her people were safe.

Even the rare Titan rising between cycles wasn't unheard of in her kingdom, so she wanted to be ready for anything. That means I can ignore anything from the university, unfortunately, Shaya thought as she reviewed the huge list of courses still available to her, but hopefully I can pick up interesting historical texts for light reading between coursework.

There was no way she was going to miss a class because she didn't plan ahead, so Shaya started flipping through the thick manual and plotting out her life for the next four years.