The way to the academy was a long one, but that didn’t matter to Valar. The capital’s streets were a beautiful sight, and he loved the chance to sightsee during their trek through the city. The beautiful murals were on almost every wall, Valar’s favorites being ones that depicted beasts. All the artworks about flowers and the like were beautiful, but they didn’t evoke strong feelings in the boy. Mighty northern bears on the other hand…

  “Who paints all these murals? They seem to fill every single city street,” Valar asked.

  “The capital has a big university of arts,” Viktor explained. “The students are allowed to make these murals if they get good marks from the courses. Personally, I think it was a great idea from the city council.”

  Valar tended to agree. The sunlit murals made the city look like a constantly evolving work of art. He even noticed one mural in the process of being painted, some students laughing with each other on wooden scaffolding.

  They were all iron rankers and affinityless, enjoying their days making art instead of constantly striving for power. In some ways, these iron rank students were admirable, but Valar couldn’t see himself in those shoes.

  Ever since awakening, he had felt the wound’s presence. It hurt constantly, making it harder to laugh and enjoy life like those students. Sometimes, he could just about forget its existence for a brief moment. It always came back though, pushing him along. He would not enjoy his days, painting murals on the capital streets, but push for power. Not for its own sake but to heal himself. To rid himself of that pain.

  Viktor seemed to notice Valar falling into sad introspection, and looked around for a saving grace. Luckily, the alleyways between the buildings were littered with small shops and more importantly, street food.

  “Are you hungry by any chance? We could grab something to eat on the way.”

  “Sure, we can grab something to eat. I won’t be the one to say no to free food!.”

  The alleyway was quite different from the wide main street because the city’s shops, terraces, and food carts were stacked between the multi-story stone buildings. Where the large street had been mainly meant for wagons, only leaving small lanes for people to traverse on foot, the alleyway was meant purely for pedestrian travel. The sunlight that had lit the main streets was nowhere to see, blocked by the tall buildings, but that didn’t matter. The shopkeepers had set up their own lights instead.

  Valar and Viktor didn’t wander around for long, skipping the stores selling all kinds of clothing, equipment, foodstuffs and everything else one could imagine. They were searching for food and nothing else, at least for the moment. They landed on the first food cart they could see, not about to wander around when good food was in front of their noses. Even better, the vendor was selling sausage rolls, a delicacy even an orphan like Valar could appreciate. Who wouldn’t appreciate a fine creation like this? A delicious sausage baked to a pastry, and well seasoned to boot? I love it!

  Viktor’s devious plan to lift the young teenager’s mood worked flawlessly, only costing him 8 copper for the 2 sausage rolls the pair bought. He paid with a silver coin regardless, telling the shopkeeper to keep the change. That ridiculously reckless use of money left Valar speechless, looking at the tall man in shock.

  “Why in the abyss did you give the man a whole silver coin? You paid over ten times the asking price!”

  The wind mage just stayed silent for a while, the pair managing to return to the larger street before he answered Valar’s question. “Look, I don’t own any copper coins, alright?”

  He… doesn’t own copper coins? How rich can someone be that copper coins are so worthless to him? The whole idea was preposterous to Valar. He had grown up with the idea that he would be earning a couple dozen silver coins per month at most, but this adventurer didn’t even own copper. He was rich enough to overpay ten times for food and give random street kids the same amount.

  “How can you ever afford this? I get that you’re at a high rank and all, but that doesn’t explain wealth like this.”

  “Actually, it kind of does. People at my rank receive absolutely massive amounts of money for city protection, dungeon clearing and other things,” Viktor explained. “We are rare, especially in a relatively new country like Leoria.”

  “Relatively new? Isn’t Leoria centuries old?”

  “The fact that Leoria is centuries old doesn’t matter when other nations like Khatesh have been around for millennia. Leoria isn’t the youngest country around by any means, and many newer states have risen and fallen during the centuries, but we are still young for gold and onyx rankers. Higher ranked people live longer, many onyx rankers being thousands of years old.”

  Valar had never really thought about his lifespan. To his knowledge, bronze rankers lived longer than iron ranks, but the difference was only in decades, not centuries. That curve seemed to steepen when rising through the ranks. Wait… It can’t be.

  “Does that mean that I’m talking to a centuries old codger?

  “Oh gods, no. I’m still in my 20s, although just barely,” Viktor laughed. “Usually, the older gold and onyx rankers look like they are in their 30s and 40s, as that would be the time they ranked up. The aging slows a lot, but it doesn’t stop. I can’t really comment on diamond rankers or gods though, as they are quite secretive about anything related to their abilities.”

  They are secretive? Does that mean that he’s talked to them?

  The pair continued their way across the capital, moving at a relaxed pace through the main street. Unlike the orphanage in Lyndale, their goal wasn’t out of the way in a poorer district, just the opposite. The academy was almost right next to the palace itself as it was, well… royal.

  That didn’t mean that their walk was short by any means. Luckily, they had entered the city around noon, so they had time to walk in peace and without hurry. Valar was an iron rank and a malnourished child, so a high pace wouldn’t have even been a choice, although the bigger portions during the trip were starting to make their mark. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t skinny as a ghost, but at least he didn’t look like he would pass out from malnourishment at any minute.

  As they neared the academy, the houses started to slowly change too. They were entering the affluent area of the capital, and rich people didn’t like living in apartments.The tall imposing buildings were replaced by smaller one- or two-story houses that had small gated courtyards often hidden by the vegetation planted along the iron fencing.

  “Are these the houses of nobility?” Valar asked. “The houses seem to be really luxurious!”

  Viktor chuckled, shaking his head. “These houses are generally for well off adventurers or merchants. A silver rank could own a house like that if they worked a lot. You’ll see the noble estates a little further along.”

  These houses aren’t for the nobility, but for adventurers? How much does an adventurer even make to afford a house like this? Even the idea of a more luxurious house than these ones boggled his mind. These houses were significantly bigger than the orphanage, and there were even bigger ones right in the capital?

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “It just seems… Excessive. This kind of space could be used in so many ways to actually house and help all the people in the kingdom.”

  “That I agree on,” Viktor said. “Unfortunately, the situation isn’t as simple as you think. Who do you think funds the military, academy, and all such institutions? The royal family is incredibly wealthy, but even they can’t sustain that level of spending for centuries without end.”

  The answer was quite obvious, but Valar didn’t want to admit it to himself. Obviously the noble families supplied the country with something of value to receive such luxury in return. It still doesn’t feel fair though. Commoners have basically no chance to reach the heights of nobility because they don’t receive the same level of education or training. How is a lowborn mage supposed to even challenge one from nobility—hundreds of gold spent on their growth before they even awaken?

  The topic soured Valar’s mood somewhat and the next city district didn’t help either. Sure, the noble estates were absolutely massive, some even bigger than city blocks, but it just amplified the feeling of unfairness Valar felt. Even worse, he was being lifted out of that state of poverty, be it by his own potential or not.

  He was not lifting himself from the bottom. Viktor was.

  Although still sour, Valar’s mood was lifted significantly when he saw the academy. Sure, he had seen it for a while already, its high towers reaching far further into the sky than the noble estates, but it was different up close. The academy differed from the city’s other buildings with its uniqueness more than with its size. Sure, it was big, but so was the church and royal palace in the distance. More impressively, the structure was an absolute architectural wonder. Unlike Valar had initially expected, the academy’s towers were not some peaks far above the rest of the complex. Almost until the very top, stone walkways and structures crisscrossed between the towers, creating an almost spider web-like image in his head.

  “How does that structure even keep together?” Valar could not help but ask.

  “Honestly, it’s mostly runic enchantments. Some of it is that the stone is fortified with both mana and steel from the inside, but those 'skybridges' as the designers calls them, are mostly upheld by force magic,” Viktor explained. “In my opinion, it’s impractical and expensive to maintain, but I guess the academy has a reputation to uphold. It really is wondrous though…”

  The spider web of skybridges connecting four towers—each representing one of the basic elements—reached far into the sky. There was an even higher central tower too, acting as a connection between the other towers. Valar could see humans walking through some of the skybridges, as a small portion of the constructions were covered in glass instead of stone.

  “How many students does the royal academy have?”

  “Currently, I have no idea. The student body is in constant flux, students finishing and starting the studies specific to their rank. The academy is expecting approximately five hundred iron rank students this year, and that’s really the only metric that matters. Mages of every other rank can come and go essentially when they want. They rank up and need teaching at different times, you see..”

  Valar stewed on that information for a while, just standing there and looking at the academy. Five hundred other iron rank mages? How many of them are nobles? How many are commoners like me? He feared that the amount would be low…

  Staring at the academy was fun though. In addition to the skybridges, each of the four outer towers were interesting in their own regard. The tower representing earth was easily the most boring, but the crystals decorating it were at least shiny. The water affinity tower was more interesting, as it had numerous waterfalls falling down to other floors or even the ground. It was surrounded by a lake, because of course it was.

  The tower representing wind took second place in Valar’s eyes. The tall structure was the eye of a storm, a narrow cyclone surrounding its whole length. Rocks, trees and other random objects spun around the tower.. Amazingly, none of the objects hit the skybridges. Valar suspected it was because the bridges were enchanted. Maybe the force magic keeping them up repelled the objects too?

  The number one spot in Valar’s ranking was the easiest choice of his life. In all honesty, the teenager thought that the fire tower kicked ass. The designers of the tower hadn’t gone in the boring direction of setting the whole tower on fire, instead shaping it to look like a dragon’s head pointing up into the sky. It was breathing fire. That was awesome.

  “How did I not notice that from further away? The fire is going way up, and the towers are high enough to be seen from far away anyway. I should’ve been able to see them from further, even outside the city!”

  “Look a bit away from the academy,” Viktor pointed to the side. “You should be able to see a shimmering outline surrounding the whole structure.”

  Valar looked where Viktor pointed and squinted his eyes. The outline that Viktor pointed at wasn’t easy to locate, but it was easy to follow after spotting. The line drew a large dome over the whole academy, covering some of the more luxurious estates around the school within its domain.

  “That dome has two purposes,” Viktor explained. “First, it’s an illusion array, created by light magic enchantments. Secondly, force magic can be extended across the dome if the academy came under attack, blocking anything physical from leaving or entering during the danger. Also, the estates that are inside the dome are the most expensive, as they are highly protected if the city is attacked. You can assume the most influential noble families have their homes near the academy.”

  “Does the royal palace have a similar protection? The outline of light doesn’t reach it.”

  “The palace has the king. He is enough…”

  On that note, the pair walked through the entrance of the academy. The large iron gates were wide open, leading to the entrance building—this one much more normal than the other structures. The building was expertly designed and crafted, looking similar to the estates of the nobility. It was made out of smooth stone and colored different shades of brown, beige being the most prevalent color. Windows were placed all over, giving the large building some flair, although the numerous decorations helped too.

  Valar entered into a large hall, Viktor following close behind him. The whole floor was covered by white carpet, numerous doors leading out in different directions. Each of the corners had staircases, leading to higher floors. The most interesting part of the hall was the chandelier hanging from the roof of the whole building, the decorative crystal ornament casting light to the whole entrance hall. There were people bustling around, but they seemed more like faculty than students.

  At the back of the hall lay a large table, the space behind it seemingly reaching to another room meant for the faculty. Five workers were sitting at the table, processing paperwork and ready to assist any newcomers.

  Viktor pushed Valar’s back lightly, encouraging him to go to the desk. Apparently, he had been standing still for quite a while, as the faculty had started to walk around him instead of waiting. The boy stepped forward to the desk nervously, and looked at the woman sitting on the other side. They were eye-to-eye.

  The stern-faced woman lifted her gaze from the mountain of paperwork she was handling and looked at Valar.

  “Are you lost, boy? This desk is for academy newcomers.”

  Valar blushed, managing to not run away immediately just barely.

  “I’m an academy newcomer… Although I haven’t gotten the place just yet.”

  The woman scrunched her face in an annoyed manner, almost starting to berate Valar. A younger, maybe not so stern, coworker’s eyes flashed a golden brown, and she quickly hurried over.

  “Karen, could you inspect him please?”

  “What are you talking about Mary? This child is-”

  The younger woman practically forced Karen’s head towards Valar, waiting for the older woman to inspect the boy in front of her face. Eventually, she did. The reaction was similar to all the ones before it. Luckily, that’s when Viktor decided to give voice to his presence.

  “I’m sponsoring Valar here to the academy, but we need to get him an interview before the semester starts, preferably right now.”

  “And who are you?” Karen asked, her tone fluctuating between shock and indignation.

  “I’m Viktor." the man smiled congenially. "You should be able to find me from the records with just my first name, as hard as that may be to believe. I've done a research paper or two for the school, you see...”

  The older woman was once again starting to launch into a tirade, but Mary managed to find Viktor’s record from an enchanted stone tablet.

  “I found it… Viktor, no last name. Onyx-” the young woman’s voice caught. “Of course sir. We’ll find an interview slot for the young prospect immediately. You can go sit there on the side, and I’ll come inform you promptly.”

  Valar and Viktor thanked the young woman and went to the side, where some sofas were set up for those that had to wait for service. Mary promptly ushered the older woman to the back room, whispering furiously as she almost threw her from the desk. After that, she got to work—stone tablet in hand and papers on the table.

  The pair knew that their wait would be short as the young iron rank woman’s work ethic was admirable. Valar wondered why she was manning the desk though, as she was clearly an earth mage.

  “Why is she working at the desk when she’s a mage? She should be studying, right?”

  “Either she didn’t get in or doesn’t have the money,” Viktor sighed. “These academy jobs pay pretty well and give better chances to get to study here. What a waste of young talent…”

  The rest of their wait was spent in silence.