Silence surrounded Ray and the others as the bespectacled man repeated, “They didn’t pass.” Ray glanced at Elaira and the others and then turned towards the man to speak. But the man interrupted, “Just like the other one hundred lowborn. Only you did.” Elaira’s eyes widened as she complained, “Listen here, old ma–”
Ray covered her mouth with his palm. “They didn’t pass, but they also didn’t fail. Am I right?” The man stared at Ray, his eyes unreadable. But not for Ray.
He looks mildly amused.
“Who knows?” The man said as he walked back inside. Bushes rustled, footsteps followed. A man holding a bow walked out, scratching his head. His blue eyes glanced over at Ray, and he added with a smile, raising his thumb, “Good job, kid.” And followed the bespectacled man inside. Ray let go of Elaira as he wondered. Who is that?
He shrugged and looked at Elaira, Sera, and Jon. “Better not passing than failing, yeah?” Sera muttered, her eyes dead, “They are the same.” Jon groaned on the ground. “Yeah, my dreams, hope, all is lost. I wonder if I’ll get another chance? I hope I do.” Elaira stood, frowning.
Ray sighed, “If you really failed, then why are they not kicking you out?” And pointed at the two cloaked figures behind Sera. She flinched as she finally felt their presence. Jon jumped to his feet, and Elaira glared at them.
“Your rooms for the night are ready.” Both spoke at the same time. One of them pointed at Ray. “You meet the vice headmaster upstairs.”
Ray nodded, and the cloaked figures vanished. He looked at Elaira and the others. “See? I told you.”
Sera’s eyes gleamed, Jon’s smile returned, and Elaira stammered. “I-I knew it.”
The group entered the building. It was dark, silent. Only their footsteps echoed through the corridors, followed by distant murmurs. Elaira, Sera, and Jon followed the murmurs towards the only source of light. They walked towards the room, and their voices grew louder. Sera, who was walking at the front, spoke. “It looks like the other kids are in there.”
Jon nodded. “I hope there aren’t scum in there. Otherwise, I’ll have to put them in their place. And then I’ll become the king of the lowborn.” And laughed as Sera and Elaira ignored him and walked inside.
The glistening marble floor reflected the shining chandeliers. The hallway extended far, with many doors on both walls. A set of stairs leading to the first floor was at the end of the hallway. Some children stood outside the doors, talking about something. Some sat near the stairs, and some walked around.
Jon’s mouth was wide open as he looked around. Sera and Elaira’s eyes wandered around the bright hallway. He turned to Sera and Elaira. “Isn’t this supposed to be a guesthouse? Why is it so fancy? And how big is it? It didn’t look this big from the outside.”
Sera shook her head. “It’s nighttime, and a forest surrounds the building.” Elaira nodded. “Listen here, stop gawking, and let’s find our rooms.” She turned to Ray, but didn’t find him. “Where’s Ray?”
Sera started walking. “He’s probably gone to meet the vice headmaster.” Elaira and Jon glanced at each other and followed her. The two cloaked figures appeared before them again. One of them handed Sera three cards with numbers on them. “These are your rooms for the night.” They said as they disappeared.
Sera sighed and handed one card to Elaira and the other to Jon, who gasped, “Huh! 101! My room is 101? There are over a hundred rooms in here?”
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Elaira looked at her card. “Listen here, mine says 134. What about you, Sera?” She pointed at the door next to her. “This one. 50.”
Elaira scratched her chin, Jon stared at his card, and Sera looked around. Ray’s absence sent the group into visible confusion. Elaira suddenly pointed at the nearby boys. “Listen here, you, come here.”
They laughed, and one of them said, “No, you black wench.” Jon and Sera’s eyes widened while Elaira frowned, clenching her fists. Sera face-palmed. “They’re dead.”
She jumped at the boys and kicked one in the ribs. The cracking of bones was so loud that the nearby children flinched. She grabbed another by his neck and slammed him on the floor, cracking the marble. The last remaining boy tried to attack her, but she blocked his punch and kicked the side of his face, sending him flying.
As the three of them squirmed on the ground in pain, the sound of clapping echoed through the now silent hallway.
Everyone looked around when a woman with white hair, just like Elaira’s, jumped down from the second floor, landing with graceful ease.
She smiled and walked towards her. “What’s your name, dear?” She asked, completely ignoring the boys on the floor.
“Elaira,” she replied, gauging the woman.
“Hmm, nice name. You’re pretty strong, not as much as the other boy, but stronger than all the lowborn in here.” She said as she circled around her.
Stopping in front of her, she continued, “I’m Maya. And I would like to sponsor you.”
The children gasped, and murmurs followed. Jon looked at Sera. “What does that mean?” Sera responded by shrugging her shoulders.
A gruff voice chimed in from above. “Are you sure, Maya?” A bulky man peered down from the second floor. Jon flinched and looked away.
“Of course,” she said, wrapping her hand around Elaira. “We look like siblings, don’t we? White hair, red eyes, dark skin.”
The man sighed, “All you Westerners look the same. White hair, red eyes, dark skin.” Maya chuckled. “Oh, come on, don’t act like you don’t have an eye on someone.”
The man shook his head. “Jon.” He flinched again as the man added, “What are you doing here?”
Sera tilted her head. “You know him?” Jon fervently shook his head, refusing to glance towards the man.
The man chuckled, “How impudent of you to act like you don’t know me, Jona-”
“Brother, no! I’m Jon; don’t call me that.” Sera and Elaira blinked. “Brother?”
On the other side of the mansion, Ray walked through the darkness, relying solely on his hearing, and followed the slow, calculated breathing further away from where he was. After some time, he stopped in front of a door. He knocked before entering.
“Good job.” The bespectacled man said as the room lit up. “So you’ve mastered sight and hearing. And you’re not even an apprentice at Acacia Academy yet.”
Ray looked around the room. There were two bookshelves on opposite walls. A red carpet engraved with a lion lay under his feet. The man sat behind his desk, his arms crossed as he looked at Ray with amusement. “So, what have you called me here for?”
The bespectacled man chuckled, “What makes you think I called you?”
Ray frowned. “The cloaked woman said you called for me.”
The man’s chuckle continued, filling the room. “The vice headmaster called for you. Do you think I am the vice headmaster?”
Ray’s frown deepened. “Yes, you are. I’ve seen you in books; you’re the headmaster’s brother. You two created the Acacia Academy eighteen years ago, two years after the War of the Worst ended.”
And you look exactly like that statue out there.
The man now laughed loudly. “You seem to know a lot.”
Ray took a deep breath. “I read.”
The man continued laughing before stopping and leaning back in his chair. “Yes, knowledge is power.”
The two of them stared at each other for a while. Is he gonna say something or what? Ray wondered.
The man tilted his head slightly. “You’ve already mastered internal harmony in sight and hearing. Your body can also keep up with those senses. You are already as strong as a Squire apprentice.” The man put his hands on the desk. “So, why do you want to enter Acacia?”
Ray smiled. “To learn more.”
The bespectacled man blinked, then laughed again. “Alright. Just don’t overdo it. Your fellow students will be weaker than you.”
Ray nodded and left the room.
The two cloaked figures emerged from behind the bespectacled man. He looked over at the one on his left. “He figured out that you were a woman.” The cloaked woman removed her hood, revealing her bright red hair. “He’s exceptional, it seems.”
The man smiled. “Keep an eye on him. I want to see how far he goes.”
