Chapter 35 - 34: The New Students

Chapter 35: Chapter 34: The New Students

Chapter 34: The New Students

Noah followed the road from the registration area to the new students’ homes. This was still part of the outer reception station, not the Academy itself, so the buildings looked temporary despite how smoothly they were arranged. But they weren’t equal, either. There were a few small stone buildings with single rooms on the front. Behind them were longer residences with more than one student in each. And off in the far part were fewer buildings, better fitted out, and one look was enough to tell they hadn’t been set aside for everyone.

Noah checked the number on his card and kept walking. He didn’t get to his room before a voice came from his side.

"You’re from the caravan that arrived today, aren’t you?"

He turned. A boy about his age emerged from one of the stone buildings. His clothes were well-made, and on his chest was a crest Noah didn’t have to wait long to place. Not the crest of a small Golden house, but one of the crests under a larger house, though the difference in its details made it a side branch rather than the main line.

The boy came closer.

"Ethan Jolnach Isle."

He gestured lightly at the crest on his clothes.

"From one of the Jolnach branches."

He said the name as though it were enough on its own, which wasn’t strange. Jolnach was one of the Platinum houses, and even its distant branches could carry well above many small noble houses.

Noah said:

"Noah Lupton Charlemagne."

Ethan’s eyes held on him a moment longer.

"Charlemagne? It looks like we’re both from Platinum branches. Are you from the caravan that came in late?"

"We ran into some trouble. Unfortunately."

Ethan waited for a moment, but he caught on quickly that Noah wasn’t going to add anything. He laughed.

"Good. I was going to ask you to meet the others anyway. Since we’re stuck here until the transfer to the Academy is sorted, better to know who we’re sharing the place with."

Noah had no interest in making friends to kill time. But meeting the other students wasn’t without use, so he walked with him to a wide space between the buildings where a number of students had gathered.

Not one of them was a commoner. Even those who seemed lower in status had noble origin, whether in how they spoke, their clothing, or the names they gave. Some, however, were of mixed blood. Illegitimate children, or descendants of branches where the noble blood had thinned over the generations. They didn’t get the same treatment as the full-blooded nobles, and they lived in the shared buildings behind the front row.

Noah saw it without asking.

Even here, the divisions he’d known outside the Academy hadn’t gone anywhere.

Only the way they were measured had changed.

Ethan said when they arrived:

"This is Noah Lupton Charlemagne. Arrived today."

Several heads turned towards him, and the people in the room began to introduce themselves, briefly. Most of the single-room holders were children of noble branches or people with good test results; the mixed-blood ones were more guarded about what they said, but not worse. They’d been accepted at the Academy because they had enough noble blood and talent. But they hadn’t yet settled into the Academy’s air, and the marks of how they were treated outside still stuck to them.

Noah noticed that for a few minutes a few students weren’t looking at each other. They were looking at a small, separate building at the edge of the area.

It was clearly better than the rest of the housing.

Ethan caught Noah’s expression before he could speak.

He looked toward the building, then went on:

"That’s a house for a illegitimate scion of the Jolnach main line. Best not to mess with him."

An illegitimate son was usually in a worse position than an adopted one. Was the treatment different in House Jolnach?

As if Ethan knew what he was thinking, he added:

"The truth is, his fragile background and his test result pushed the Academy to treat him generously. I even heard the examiner ran the test twice. Not like us, the ones who belong fully to our houses. He can never get any official position because of his illegitimate birth. He’s raw material, no use to anyone but the Academy."

"His result was high quality. Close to azure, unmatched close."

From what the sorceress told him about the test, supreme quality hadn’t emerged since the fall of the Six Great Mages. Unlike Noah, the true heir of House Lupton, this boy had no tie to anywhere except the Academy.

Right then the door of the separate building opened.

A boy in dark clothes came out. His face was calm to a degree that made the others’ stares look all the more obvious. He looked at the group only once, and then went on his way as though not one of them was there.

One of the students said after he’d gone:

"Talented or not, he’s just a bastard."

Ethan looked at him.

"Say that in front of him when classes start."

The student went quiet.

Noah watched the boy until he disappeared between the buildings. He didn’t care whether he was legitimate or illegitimate. What caught his attention was the blood result itself. Someone that close to supreme quality wouldn’t be ordinary, and if the Academy had already started treating him specially before they’d even entered its inner lands, that meant unlimited resources.

Ethan turned back to Noah.

"And you? What was your test result?"

There was nothing to hide that had become official record.

"High quality. And a high affinity for ice and frost."

Surprise showed on Ethan’s face.

Some of the others’ looks changed, especially the mixed-blood ones who’d treated Noah as just another new student moments earlier. The shift wasn’t big, but it was clear enough.

Noah noticed and didn’t care.

He’d managed to hide the true mana level he’d reached, but his blood quality wasn’t something he could hide once it became part of his record. So he had to accept a certain amount of attention.

The talk among the students continued for a while. Some talked about the caravans they’d come with and the dangers they’d faced; Noah generally listened. What he found more useful than the stories was how quickly the relationships formed. The children of strong branches got to know each other. The mixed-blood ones kept close to each other. And the one with the highest talent stayed apart from everyone.

Even before the real entry into the Academy, the ranks were starting to form. All of this mattered a lot for building his own power sooner or later. Talent, resources, relationships. All of them were necessary for building strength.

After a while, Ethan gestured at the card in Noah’s hand.

"Your room should be in the front row. High-quality holders get a single room here. Mixed-blood ones tend to be in the back rooms. Don’t get attached, it’s just temporary housing until we move to the Academy."

Noah nodded.

That explained the differences he’d noticed on his way in.

Ethan went on:

"There are exceptions too, as you saw."

He tipped his eyes toward the separate residence.

He didn’t need to say more.

This place was merely a waystation, so Noah didn’t really pay much attention to the details. The registration would soon end, and the group would leave for the inner lands where the real Academy began.

He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes for a while.