IMPERIAL ACADEMY

Arriving at the academy

"You little swine. What the hell did you do?" Madam Kira screamed at Alex and punched him in the face!

Alex staggered back as the pain from the punch swept across his face. His vision seemed to darken for a moment, and the metallic taste of blood that soon followed made Alex aware of how dire the assault was.

"You stupid boy! Are you begging for death? Everyone knows low lives like you cannot take the Imperial examination." Madam Kira screamed at Alex as she grabbed his shirt. She pushed him against the wall, suffocating him as she held on tighter to his shirt.

"How did you do it? I only sent you there to take Kevin's exam. How did you do it?" She asked Alex in a whisper, such that the driver could not hear what she said. Alex, struggling to breathe, tapped on her hands repeatedly, but she did not let him go.

"I… I… used a… cloning spell… " Alex muttered amidst the pain. Madam Kira quickly let go of Alex and gazed at him in shock as he coughed out blood. She knew the boy was gifted, but a cloning spell was way above his current experience level. How did Alex manage to learn it?

"Does that mean your clone took Kevin's exam?" Madam Kira asked Alex as she crouched before him. Alex nodded and a wave of anger swept across her face again.

"You made a clone take my son's exam?" She asked him with bitterness in her voice. Alex raised his head and glared at her.

"How about a 'thank you' for securing your son's admission into the Imperial Academy? Kevin would never have passed the entrance examination if it wasn't for me!" Alex shot back at her and Madam Kira gasped. She slowly chuckled as she rose to her feet. Alex's audacity had struck a nerve.

"It appears that you, a lowly servant, no longer knows your place. Since the punishment for a low life taking the Imperial exam is death, I shall deliver your judgment here and now!" Madam Kira yelled at Alex and stretched forth her right hand toward him. The hand glowed with a faint blue light. Madam Kira was a mage, but she didn't attend the academy to become a diplomat. She never passed the entrance exam herself.

"I will end your bloody life here and now!" She yelled again, but just as she was about to deliver the blow, the driver grabbed her hand. Madam Kira shot him a glare.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She snapped at him, furious.

"Only the Headmaster of the Imperial Academy can deliver this judgment. And since Alex was the best in the exam, I must take him back with me to the academy," the driver said to her and she backed down. She slowly lowered her hand as the blue light disappeared.

"You will not survive this, Alex!" She yelled at Alex as he stood to his feet and walked out of the house, coughing on the way. But just as Kevin was about to follow, Madam Kira grabbed Kevin's shoulder.

"If they do not kill that trash at the academy, find a way to get him expelled. He must never graduate. Do you understand me?" Madam Kira said sternly to her son. Kevin nodded with a wicked smile.

"I understand, mother," Kevin replied and followed the driver outside.

As soon as Kevin stepped into the backseat of the Porsche, he shot Alex a glare, but Alex looked away. Then the driver zoomed off. Alex looked out through the window and took in the view of the city again. The city of Oak sprawled across a mystical convergence of rivers, its towers and spires twisting like crystal formations towards the sky.

Oak was the greatest city in the world for a reason. And since the Imperial Academy that trains Diplomats and Knights was located there, it was little wonder that it was as magnificent. People from all over the world send their children there for training.

But the thing is, except for its alumni, no one knew where the academy was located exactly in the city. Alex was still lost in thought when the car suddenly pulled to a stop.

The driver stepped down and opened the door for the two youngsters to come down from the car. But they weren't at the academy yet, or so Alex thought.

"Hey! Where are we? This isn't the academy. You dropped us at a bank!" Kevin yelled at the driver, who just scoffed and approached the door to the bank. The driver knocked twice, and then knocked again. The door suddenly opened and Alex gazed in awe as a bright light shone from within the building.

"Follow me," the driver said and stepped into the light. Kevin quickly followed him, huffing at Alex. Alex then stepped into the light and felt the aura surrounding him. In the next second, Alex was standing before a mesmerizing landscape.

"Wow…" Alex muttered.

The Imperial Academy stood as a majestic, sprawling complex, nestled within a valley shrouded in mist and ancient magic. Towering buildings and grand architecture blended seamlessly into the surrounding landscape, as if grown from the very earth itself.

The driver led them along a bridge as glimmering stained-glass windows depicted arcane symbols, casting kaleidoscopic patterns across the floors.

Other newcomers trudged across the bridge, heading for the gigantic doors that were being guarded by two sentries.

"As you step through the door, you will be assigned to a house that most aligns with your magic. There are four houses: blue house for water magic, red house for fire magic, green house for earth magic, and white house for air magic. Your house will determine the Wing you will stay in, and the lessons you will receive here," the sentries explained, and Alex listened attentively.

He saw other students walking through the door and bright lights of blue, green, red or white shimmered around them. With gleeful faces, the students approached their houses. Alex watched as Kevin stepped through the door and a red light shimmered around him.

"Hell yeah!" Kevin said with pride as he approached the other red house students. Finally, it was Alex's turn. Alex braced himself as he walked through the door. All eyes fell on him as Alex stepped across the door. However, something astounding happened.

Alex shimmered with hundreds of lights as he walked through. The intensity of the lights was so high that other students screamed, and the teachers took a step back in fear.

"What is this? Who is this freak?" A student cried out.

"This has never happened before!" A teacher screamed as the lights filled the room.

"Enough!" A deep, male voice yelled with so much authority and stumped his staff on the ground, shutting down the lights. Alex, gasping for air, raised his head and saw a middle-aged man approach him. He knew who the man was. Who didn't?

"Master Orion!" Alex muttered and quickly bowed his head. Master Orion has been principal of the Imperial Academy for over a hundred years. But his vast magical abilities offered him slow aging. He didn't even look a day above fifty. And he was the first person ever to score a hundred percent in the Imperial exams. Until Alex.

"Who are you, child?" Master Orion asked Alex.

"I'm Alex Kane, sir," Alex muttered. Master Orion arched his brow.

"The one who broke my record. You are a very interesting lad," Master Orion said to Alex and gazed at him from head to toe, noting his old, worn out clothes and lack of good shoes.

"Is he a servant?"

"What is he doing here?"

"Low born that take the exam should be killed!"

Students began to whisper. Master Orion heard them and watched as Alex shudder.

"What shall we do with this one? Huh?" Master Orion asked the teachers.

"We should kill him. He's obviously a servant and a lowlife. Plus, his magic seems destructive. None of us has ever seen anything like this. I say we kill him here and now!" A teacher from the Air Wing said. Alex was surprised. Air diplomats were believed to be peaceful and merciful.

"We should let him live. I have a feeling we'll need him someday," a female teacher from the fire wing countered. She gazed at Alex with a curious smile as her eyes lit up with intrigue. Alex was terrified by that, but he didn't show it.

"Very well, Professor Dora. The lad shall stay in the fire wing until we figure out what to do with him," master Orion proclaimed.

"But, he's a lowborn. He should be killed!" Another teacher protested, but Master Orion fumed.

"I am the Headmaster and I say who dies and who lives! Alex broke my record. He has magic beyond our experiences. He might be the very thing that saves us someday. Do you want to miss that chance and kill him just because of his status? Unless Alex gives me another reason, he stays!" Master Orion yelled and everyone present bowed their heads in submission. He shot Alex a final glare and walked away.

Alex noticed that Master Orion's feet didn't even touch the ground as he walked. While other students shot him glares of anger and disgust, Kevin stood furious.

"I'll make sure you leave this school. Either as a corpse, or a vegetable. Mark my words, Alex!" Kevin snapped at Alex and walked away. Alex sighed while the other students headed for another hall for an orientation. But just as he was about to take a step, a cold wrapped around his skin.

Alex froze on the spot as the world around him darkened. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, and the next thing Alex heard was a ghostly whisper that sent shivers down his spine.

"Alex… come to me…. " Alex heard the terrifying whispers.

Who was calling him this time?