Chapter 52 - 15
Vittoria city is a city that is in the territory of the Neigal Kingdom. The city is located on the outskirts of the kingdom, precisely beside the border between the Neigal kingdom, the Argaint kingdom, and the Aurelia kingdom. Vittoria is not a big city like Moissan or Dugald. It can be said to be a developing city. Vittoria was originally a small town, but because the academy was built in that place. The entire city infrastructure was changed to support the safety and comfort of living there.
After Ziel and the others traveled for a whole day, they finally arrived at their destination. The place where the Piqmentia Grand Academy is located. Although the city doesn't look as busy as Moissan City, the arrangement of every building there is neatly made so that it looks more organized and beautiful.
Ziel and the others headed straight to the academy building on their horse carriage. It is located right in the center of Vittoria city. First, Ziel and Clara must register because today is the last day of enrollment. While the entrance exam will be held tomorrow..
The horse carriage that Ziel and the others were riding stopped, indicating that they had arrived at their destination. When they got out of the carriage, Clara was the first to make a sound.
"Waah... This is amazing! This academy looks so high and majestic." Clara screamed in admiration and looked at the academy buildings.
Even though they were still in front of the gate and hadn't entered to see it in person. But they could see its spectacle even from the outside. There stood 7 gigantic towers with different colors. The 7 towers surround a building shaped like a dome in the middle. The building in the middle has a mixed color of 7 towers.
Clara, who saw it for the first time would be amazed by her sparkling eyes. But it's different from Ziel who doesn't care about such things at all. Meanwhile, Beatrix who had seen it before just smiled at Clara's reaction.
"The 7 towers are called the 7 Sky Guardian Towers, and the big building in the middle is called the SkyDome." Beatrix started to explain about the building in front of them.
"Sky Guardian?" Ziel who heard that absurd name subconsciously asked.
"Yes, that's right. Maybe the name of this tower sounds arrogant. But if you pay attention to it carefully. The 7 towers that were built circle around the dome-like building in the middle as if holding up the sky for it." Beatrix pointed to the end of the tower. It's true if you look closely, the 7 ends of the tower seem to be in direct contact with the sky and it is as if the 7 towers are pillars that hold up the sky for the doom in the middle.
"Then, where will we study later? Is it in the building in the middle?" Clara who was admiring the splendor and beauty of the tower suddenly asked a question. She brought her face closer to Beatrix looking very curious.
"I told you you have to pass the exam first before delusional like that." Beatrix smiled slightly at her and flicked Clara's forehead.
"Auh... Yes... Yes... I understand. So where will we study after we pass the exam?" Clara clutches her forehead in pain while puffing her cheeks at what Beatrix said.
"Rather than me explaining it 1 by 1, it would be better if I explain it all at once. Actually, without me explaining, you will know when you get accepted into the academy and get the student manual book." Beatrix started to explain while walking towards the registration area in the SkyDome.
"So we have to pass the test first to find out huh..." Clara mumbled softly while wiping her lips with her finger. She thought if it was okay to tell them even though they haven't been accepted into the academy. Beatrix ignored her and continued her explanation.
"That golden tower..." Beatrix began to explain at length the function of each building. A summary of the explanation is as follows.
7 Sky Guardian
The golden tower: the tower where students learn swordsmanship
The silver tower: the tower where students learn magic
The red tower: the tower where students learn alchemy
The blue tower: the tower where students learn blacksmithing in creating magic tools.
The green tower: the tower where there is a library containing books of knowledge, especially magic, martial arts, alchemy, and weapon arts
The black tower: the tower where male students live
The white tower: the tower where female students live
SkyDome: a large multipurpose hall as a venue for certain events or duels. There is also a place for teachers and Principals. Magic tools, various weapons, and potions produced from the red and blue towers will be stored there.
That's what Beatrix explained about the 7 towers and the SkyDome. After hearing that, Clara nodded like a chicken eating its food. Soon they arrived in front of the building door. On a close look, Ziel felt the building had powerful barrier magic that was even stronger than the 'Dark Legacy' organization's hiding cave. Ziel also knew that there was a barrier protecting the entire territory of this academy. But currently, it seems to be deactivated. When they opened the large doors and entered the building, they were immediately greeted with a long line of people lining up.
"Haah... Looks like we're a little late." Beatrix sighed heavily at the queue in front of him. If they had arrived earlier maybe the queue wouldn't have been as long as this time. Hundreds of people were currently lining up to apply for admission to the academy. Be it royalty, nobles, merchants' children, or commoners. They blended there, and the hall felt crowded.
"How long do we have to wait with that much queue?" Clara's face turned pale at the thought of them having to queue with that many people.
"I don't know how long it will take. But since it's the last day of enrollment, we can't help but queue until it's our turn." Beatrix can only surrender and accept it. Then, they queue in the back row.
"Auntie, can't you use your status so we can register without waiting in line?" Clara smirked looking at Beatrix expectantly.
"You already know that status can't be used here even though I'm a teacher in this academy." She shook her head at Clara's request. Then the queue started moving forward little by little. When they are focused on the queue in front. Suddenly a scream came from behind them. There they could see a boy with short golden hair and luxurious robe about their age stepping on another boy under his feet.
"I already told you, I am a noble! Why am I waiting in line with commoners like you!" The golden-haired boy kicked the boy under his feet.
"Don't you know that your status is meaningless here! And you want to overtake my queue just because you're a noble child!" The trampled boy shouted back at him. He gritted his teeth in pain from the golden-haired boy's earlier kick.
"You dare to answer my words!" The golden-haired boy took out a short magic wand from inside his robe. Then 4 magic circles appeared from his body and he pointed his wand at the child lying on the floor. The people standing near them frantically dodged to avoid being hit by the attack.
[Fire Bullets]
The golden-haired boy shot fire bullets at the boy's head. But before the attack hit the boy, a thin barrier formed and protected him.
"Stop!" Screams echoed throughout the hall accompanied by the pressure that made it difficult for applicants to breathe.
"Ughh... Who are you!? How dare you bother me! Don't you know that I, Simon Voskila! Son of Duke Voskila of Aurelia Kingdom!" He screamed and looked around for someone that stop him.
Ziel who was waiting in silence suddenly looked at one corner of the hall. The space there is distorted and appeared a middle-aged man with long black hair that was neatly tied up. He was holding a long silver wand and decorated it with 4 colored crystals on it. He walk slowly and approached Simon.
"I don't care who you are. But when you're here you have to obey the rules. Whether you're a noble or a king." He stared intently at Simon who was kneeling due to the pressure from him.
"Aren't you afraid of what you just said!" Simon is still trying to stand up against the pressure. But the more he resisted the stronger the pressure.
"Hahaha... I'm the one who has full authority here. If you don't like it please get out of here." The man then withdrew his pressure and walked away from the place.
Simon's face turned pale after hearing what the middle-aged man said before he left. The person who has the highest authority in the academy is the principal who is chosen and recognized directly by the 5 kings. A sage who had the same power as them. He was Merlick Donovan, someone who was independent and not affiliated with any kingdom.
Simon then stood up and cleaned his clothes then queued in the back row. Even though he looked calm but sweat continued to flow profusely from his forehead.
"The headmaster bothered to come himself to stop him." Beatrix muttered after seeing Merlick disappear from the place.
"He is the headmaster of this academy? Is he strong?" Clara who heard Beatrix's murmur next to her asked curiously.
"Of course, he can't be recognized by the 5 kings if he's weak." Beatrix nodded slowly and stroked Clara's head.
After Merlick left, Ziel narrowed his eyes towards the farthest corner of the hall. He could see there was a woman with white-purple hair standing in line.
"What is a fallen god doing in this place?" Ziel mumbled quietly without anyone hearing him.