Chapter 1: Ardentia Magic Academy

Ardentia Magic Academy stood as the preeminent bastion of arcane education within the Ardentia Kingdom, and the most formidable center for magical evaluation on the continent.

For over four centuries, this institution had birthed legends: Archmages, Saintesses, Royal Enchanters, and peerless Summoners. Their names were not merely etched into history books; they were woven into the very fabric of modern magical law that governed the world’s order.

Yet, Ardentia was far more than a mere school.

Behind its pristine white stone walls and crystalline spires that pierced the heavens, Ardentia functioned as a social filter. Here, the kingdom’s elite structure was forged—not solely through noble lineage, but through a rigorous ranking system powered by an ancient artifact.

Every student who passed through its colossal gates carried more than just personal ambition. They bore the weight of family names, the reputation of their territories, and unspoken political expectations. At Ardentia, potential was no longer an abstract talent.

It was a number. It was calculated. It was ranked.

This was made possible by the Astral Codex Pillar—an ancient artifact situated at the academy's heart. The pillar was linked to every classroom, duel arena, and summoning circle. It read the very structure of a soul, identified magical classes, and updated student rankings in real-time. To Ardentia, power was not a mystery; it was data. It was a position. It was a recorded destiny.

Throughout its history, the academy had graduated titans of the craft: Merlin Ambrosius, the Grand Architect of Arcane Law; Arthur Pendragon, the Sovereign of Radiant Oath; Solomon ben Davir, the Sovereign of Sealed Dominion; and Aurelian Stuart, the First Luminary of Sacred Covenant.

They had walked these same corridors. They had stood within the same summoning circles. And they had been judged by the same system. Their legacies formed the foundation of modern magical theory—from official duel protocols to the intricate structures of entity contracts and the sacred resonance rituals taught to the new generation.

Now, that next generation had emerged.

Vivian Ambrosius, descendant of Merlin. Elowen and Caelia Pendragon, successors to the Radiant Oath bloodline. Azrael Solomon Davir, heir to the Sealed Dominion. Seraphina Aurelia Stuart, the High Priestess of the Sacred Cathedral.

They were celebrated as the "Golden Generation." Yet, among them, one name remained obscured from the public eye.

Vivian Ambrosius rarely appeared in the grand halls or the duel arenas. She spent the vast majority of her time in the Astral Observatory Tower—the academy’s highest peak, connected directly to the Astral Codex Pillar. Unlike other students who chased rankings through public displays of power, Vivian studied the architecture of the system itself. She read the flow of mana as one would read a complex mathematical equation. Though the measuring artifacts occasionally pulsed with instability during her resonance experiments, no one dared question her, for her results were always valid.

Her rank was high, yet she seemed indifferent to it. She did not seek a position; she sought understanding.

This legacy was displayed via a grand hologram of the Academy Head, Archmage Alistair Vaelorian, in the main hall. His voice echoed with a calm authority as he detailed the history and the expectations for the future.

Among the hundreds of listening students, one girl let out a soft, weary sigh. Her name was never mentioned as part of the Golden Generation.

Olivia Aurelia Stuart.

On paper, she was a nearly flawless student. Her academic scores were consistently at the top. She had mastered the theory of Sacred Resonance without error, and her purification mantras were remarkably stable. She had even exorcised an Undead Skeleton in a Synchronization Dungeon entirely on her own. Her mana synchronization was high and pure—the quintessential trait of the Stuart bloodline. In every written exam, she earned a perfect score. In every basic ritual, her circles never wavered.

She was the pride of House Stuart. Or at least, she was supposed to be.

But Ardentia did not judge the future based on theory. Ardentia judged based on the Summoning. And in that, Olivia had always failed.

In the late afternoon, the chime of the dismissal bell rang out. Students filtered out of the classrooms, their faces bright with relief.

"I almost messed up my staff's accuracy alignment today," one student laughed. "You almost hit me, you know!" another teased.

Olivia walked several paces behind them, her long silver hair swaying gently against her back. Her crimson eyes were fixed forward, but the conversation reached her ears nonetheless.

"Oh, right—the Summoning Exam is tomorrow, isn't it?" "Of course. I’m more than ready."

Then, one of the girls turned back. "Olivia-san, are you ready too?"

Olivia blinked, slightly startled. "O-of course. I will pass this year for sure."

The girl offered a thin, pitying smile. "I hope so. Just... don't do what you did last year. You ended up summoning a frog, remember?"

A few stifled giggles rippled through the group.

"I-I can do it. I don't want to be everyone's laughingstock anymore," Olivia replied. Her voice sounded certain, though her grip tightened on her books.

Last year. The Grand Invocation Hall had glowed brilliantly. The runes had ignited perfectly. Her magic circle had rotated without a single flaw. Everyone was certain she would summon a high-tier holy spirit—a guardian angel, a light entity, or a divine familiar reflecting the Sacred Covenant lineage.

Instead, what appeared was... a frog. The laughter that had echoed that night was still vivid in her mind.

That evening, Olivia lay in her bed. The dim crystal lamps cast a soft glow against the walls of her room. She closed her eyes and, without realizing it, drifted into sleep.

She woke up in a wasteland of ruins.

The sky was a dull gray. The earth was cracked, scarred by the remnants of a great war. The very air felt alien.

"Where am I?" she whispered into the desolation.

Before her stood a man. His hair was silver-gray. His eyes were a piercing golden-yellow, sharp yet devoid of excessive emotion. He wore clothes Olivia had never seen before—a white jacket with simple black lining. It wasn't a mage's robe, nor was it an academy uniform.

Suddenly, shadow creatures surged from behind the rubble. The man moved with fluid grace, evading the attacks effortlessly. But then, one of the monsters leaped toward Olivia.

She froze. She hadn't even time to raise her staff. The attack was inches away—

Olivia bolted upright, gasping for air. The dormitory room came back into focus.

"Just a dream..."

Yet, the image of the man was too vivid to be a mere trick of the mind. It felt as though he truly existed in another world.

She lay back down, and when morning arrived, the day of the exam finally came. Olivia stood before the mirror, clad in her formal Priestess attire: a long white gown with deep blue accents and gold embroidery. Her silver hair fell perfectly down her back.

Her crimson eyes met her own reflection. In her hand, she grasped the golden staff, its large rings and central crystal glowing with a soft, expectant light.

Today wasn't just an exam. It was her final chance. She took a long, deep breath and stepped out.

Toward the summoning circle. Toward her destiny.