53 Just a Number

Ten thousand acolytes filled the ground in front of the purple glowing tower. It was crowded with various youngsters, some were taller by more than a head and some were smaller half the size of an average teenager; some even have horns and tails, however, they were all in fact humans.

In the middle of the crowd, Emery scouted the surrounding and found a particular woman with pale skin, long hair reaching just below her bottom and snake-like eyes. He approached her and said, "Hey Silva, good to see you here."

Emery was quite sure he had seen her smiling at first glance but instantly returned to her usual demeanor.

"Of course I am here. What kind of a question is that?" she said, looking away from him.

"Haha, sorry I'd like to introduce you to my friends," he replied.

"Friends?" she asked, tilting her head.

He looked behind him only to realize he had gotten separated with the others.

"I wonder if anyone would like to be friends with you. You will become a problem to them."

"Haha, I probably am," Emery answered, scratching his head.

Silva appeared as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard. She shook her head and said, "Please don't stand near me too much. I don't want to get your bad luck rubbing off me again."

Before Emery could answer, a soft hand grabbed his arm and the beautiful black haired, bronze-skinned beauty was there. 

"There you are, what are you doing here?" asked Klea.

"Oh, perfect timing. Let me introduce you to a friend I met the other day. This is a fellow acolyte from our class, Silva is her name. I was with her during the incident I told you yesterday morning," Emery replied.

"Ahh so it's you. Thank you for helping Emery. My name's Klea."

Surprisingly, Silva only gave a nod and didn't reply. The air between the three suddenly became awkward, so he knew he had to do something. Before he could break the ice, however, Klea started dragging him back to his group.

"Okay, nice to know you, Silva. Let's go, Emery. The others are waiting for us. Chumo found a place where we can see the podium better."

Klea pulled Emery away from Silva who now had her back facing them. They arrived at a slightly elevated ground and reunited with Julian, Chumo and Thrax. 

"Good, you're here. It's going to start soon," said Julian, pointing with his chin at the numerous magi standing on the podium above a giant row of stairs.

Just like the first day, an old man with a white beard and walking stick stood in front with his eyes seemingly close.

Headmaster Altus opened his eyes and the whole area became surrounded with an overbearing pressure. The chattering of the first year acolytes stopped at once, and they all twisted their necks in the direction of the old man. 

Headmaster Altus struck the floor he was standing on, and his booming voice entered everyone's mind. "I would like to congratulate everyone who has finished their first year in our Magus Academy."

After speaking, a large crystal-like object floated above the podium and listed names of people that had a corresponding number on the said ranking from 1 to 100.

"These are the rankings of the top 100 acolytes based on the information provided by the symbol on your palms. It showed us the growth of each individual in the past seven days," Headmaster Altus said.

Klea gasped as her field of view showed a notification of her ranking. "Oh my, I'm ranked 91!"

[Congratulation to become top 100 acolyte - you receive 1000 contribution points]

"Rank 91 gets this many contribution points, how much do you think the top 10 gets?" exclaimed Klea.

The giant crystal showed the names as well as the acolyte ranking of the top five people in large writings.

1. Zack - acolyte rank 5

2. Trish - acolyte rank 5

3. Akira - acolyte rank 5

4. Tobias - acolyte rank 5

5. Vida - acolyte rank 4

The headmaster continued "Our Magus Academy not only rewards those who have talent in the elements, but also rewards those who have talent in the path of combat."

The names in the crystal shifted to the side while another set of names on the opposite side. Some names overlapped, indicating that person both had talent in the elements and physical combat.

1. Damien - acolyte rank 4

2. Tori - acolyte rank 4

3. Fixten - acolyte rank 3

4. Vida - acolyte rank 4

5. Zurui - acolyte rank 3

Emery read the names and was impressed at those who had managed to breakthrough rank 5 and rank 4 on both lists. As far as he knew, all youths here were of the same age, and they were all talented unlike how he had struggled to break through to rank 2.

It wasn't only Emery who shared the sentiment, but the other students too. They were in particular staring at the sole name that reached the top five, Vida.

"Yes! I got it," Thrax roared, lifting his fists in the air.

[Congratulations on becoming one of the top 100 fighters - you receive 500 contribution points]

"Good for you! What's your rank?" Klea asked while searching for Thrax's name.

"99," Thrax proudly said.

"Hah! You just barely passed, that's all," said Julian smirking.

"Oh yeah? Then what rank are you, roman? Probably at the bottom 100, I presume." Thrax laughed as he placed his fists on his hip.

"No way… I—never mind." Julian didn't continue after that and decided to stay quiet after checking his rank through the symbol on his hand. From the looks of it, his ranking was probably not that great. 

The acolytes that managed to reach the top ten were then called to the podium and given a special reward. After that, the giant floating crystal again shifted its list and showed a couple of names. This time, they were names of people who failed the first test. Emery read the name Fatty.

"It is, however, sad to see some of you didn't make it. As for those who have passed, I hope all of you will work even harder than you have this year. We are looking forward to having you back."

Emery's mind was on a different topic though. Fatty being in the mouth of that monster and Topper's melting face. From the way Headmaster Altus had spoken of them, it seemed like dying in the world of magi was a more common occurrence than his world. If so, then he had to make sure he wouldn't be just a number in the years he would be here.

"Hey, aren't the names of the people you worked with are listed there?" a voice said next to him. He turned around and saw Silva walking toward him.

"Silva? Oh, uh… yes. Fatty is a first year like me. He's on the list."

Emery confusedly stared at Silva.

"What are you looking at? I-I only came here because this spot has a better view!" Silva said.

He tried to remember the view from where Silva was and this. For Emery, there were no differences, they all served the same purpose anyway. The four people finally noticed Silva's presence as she talked to Emery. 

"Aren't you the person who had the highest battle and spirit power in the class examination?" said Thrax, scanning Silva from head to toe.

"Right, Silva, these are my friends that I wanted to introduce to you. We're all from the same world."

Emery presented them one by one and mentioned the same thing he had mentioned to Klea earlier to the others. Julian appeared friendly as usual, Chumo still silent as ever, Klea though didn't seem to be herself as she joined Chumo in silence. 

Thrax, however, approached Silva and said, "I wish to challenge you to battle sometime."

Silva crossed her arms and said, "All of you came from a lower world. You should worry about surviving there before wishing to fight me."

Thrax answered confidently, "Hah! With the strength that I have right now, no one in my country can defeat me!"

Silva placed a palm on her forehead before sighing. "You people don't know anything..."

"Care to enlighten us with your wisdom then?" said Klea.

"Just watch. You'll soon see," Silva said.

After hearing Silva's mysterious remarks, Emery instinctively felt things wouldn't be good for them. And at the moment he thought of that, Headmaster Altus raised his staff and an energy glowed brightly. Almost every youth's palm burned but it didn't last long. Emery focused on the symbol on his hand and read over his status.

[Emery Ambrose]

[Battle power: 16 (11)]

[Spirit power: 30 (20)]

[Restriction spells has been placed]