Chapter 16: Entrance Ceremony Part 2

"Hurry up let's go" exclaimed Milo as he dragged the dazed Damian.

"Ah, yes sorry I was just thinking about something" he mumbled, embarrassed, as he ran after the rest of the youths who followed the handsome man into the academy.

Following the man, all the around 50 youths were excited, but also had competitive expressions and were analysing everybody around them as opponents.

Damian would look down every time somebody would look at him, still very socially awkward, but he felt slightly comfortable with Milo.

"Why is everybody being so aggressive towards each other, isn't this meant to be a fair and welcoming academy," whispered Damian into Milo's ear.

Milo looked into the small boy's yellow eyes who was the same age as him, yet was so ignorant, innocent and antisocial, but also pitied him for it and decided he would help him out and make a new friend at the same time.

However, he could also see in his yellow eyes that there was no fear in the slightest, despite the situation he was in, which made Milo very curious about how strong he really was.

"Listen, bro, there is no such thing as fairness in this world as not everyone is born the same, and although this Academy gives everybody the opportunity to become a fighter or a mage, inside the academy, it is everyone for himself," he whispered back.

Looking at the chubby boy next to him who gave him a friendly smile, implying he would support him, Damian accepted Milo as his first friend and vowed that he would return all the help he received from him.

"Thanks, Milo" he thanked with a grateful smile.

"Just call me fatty and don't worry bro, we can look out for each other," replied Milo giving him a thumbs up.

"Yes, fatty bro," said Damian with a wide smile after feeling a sense of friendship for the first time.

"Get in a line, and each of you will stand on stage, then announce your name and show your Soul Spirit power to the rest of your class. The rest of the to-be students here will all be in a single class and joined at the same time.

But your achievements within the academy will not be attained by your class as a whole, but by yourself," announced the man.

"I am your class representative Ivan Woods," he stated.

Getting into the queue, Damian and Milo were not in a rush and stood last in the queue.

One by one they all went onto the stage and announced their names and showed a small form of their Soul Spirits.

Soul Spirits were rarely awakened in Gobe country, which was why the 21 original families were able to keep their power for so long.

As an amalgamation of your will, soul, talent and personality, most Soul Spirits were unique to themselves, unlike the large families, and none of them stood out to Damian apart from three of them, which Utsusu had told him to keep an eye on.

Julia Valentine had an origin unknown to Damian, but from her eyes and facial expressions, she must have lived a hard life, which went against her pretty nature. What stood out to Damian was her Soul Spirit that allowed her to form weapons from water.

Matilda Dale was seemingly joyful, energetic and cute and always had a nice smile, but from her eyes, Damian could see she was strong and her appearance shouldn't fool you. Her ability seemed to boost her voice and allowed her to release a sonic scream, yet it wasn't as simple as it seemed.

Finally, there was Max Cole, who from his outward appearance had strong muscles and a calm temperament. His ability, although simple, was extremely rare and powerful and allowed him to harden his body externally, which was very useful in battle.

"You go first, I want to gain all the attention of the cute girls in the class as the last person," said Milo as he pushed Damian forwards and gave him a cheeky wink.

Walking forwards nervously, Damian climbed up the stairs and stood on the stage.

"My name is Damian" he announced plainly.

[Utsusu use the Maxwell Fire Power] he communicated within his mind.

Damian couldn't use the Soul Spirits he copied unless he withdrew the Copy Book, so had to tell Utsusu to do it for him.

Instantly he felt his previously neutral and clear energy burn red and scorch in his body.

Damian formed a small fire ball in his hand then retracted the Maxwell Fire Power and walked off stage.

"Hmmm, interesting I seem to recognise that flame" mumbled the man.

The Maxwell Family was known for its red burning flames that were unique to the family, and although there were many other fire Soul Spirits, the Maxwell Fire Soul Spirit was one of the most well known.

Damian didn't want to gain unwanted attention, but their class representative and the stronger and intelligent members in the class had set their eyes on him.

Damian scurried off the stage and stood near the crowd of the new students and was excited to see what kind of ability his new friend had.

Milo walked proudly onto the stage and as he stood in the centre of the stage, he had a cheeky smile as he looked at all the girls lustfully.

With the thick energy in the air even those who aren't fighters or mages, were still strong physically and develop much faster, so at the age of 10 most are almost fully developed, which was why that was the age that Soul Spirits were awakened at.

"I am Milo Green" he announced gloatingly as he winked at Julia.

Damian had his eyes open as wide as they could staring at Milo waiting for him to use his Soul Spirit.

Milo's back seemed to be moving and suddenly two large white wings sprouted from his back and began to flap.

Hovering in the air Milo had a cheeky smile and flew down to Julia's side, before retracting his wings.

"Did you like that darling" asked Milo.

Despite the arrogance and pride, he was showing, it was obvious his ability strained his body and he was tired after a few seconds of using it.

"That was interesting. Now that it is over, one thing you should all know is that you shouldn't underestimate anybody and the Ranks of the Soul Spirits were not told so you do not know the individual's talent and power" warned the class representative.

"Now is the time where there is a small competition where the top 5 are rewarded and given an advantage in the class, this competition is a tradition for Akegria Academy's students who have Soul Spirits and it is always fun to watch as part of the entrance ceremony and can be watched by all students and your close ones can also be allowed watch" he announced.

"Follow me to the stage"