Draco Hall Dormitory

          Adrion sits on his bed. His room is dimly lit by two windows, one on either side of his bed. He feels arms wrap around him from behind with a hand holding his chin. "My my. Do you really think this will be enough? You have to get much stronger," Adrion hears a whisper in his left ear. Adrion opens his eyes as the whisper continues, "Make them into stepping stones for your use to keep progressing." Adrion slaps his cheeks with his palms and see's the arms disappear.

       "Just my imagination," he sighs. "In any case, now that I'll be leaving home, it's going to be a while until I can be myself again."

          There is a knock on Adrion's door. He gets up from his bed to open the door. "Your father just returned from work. Get your things ready and join us for dinner before you head out," Yulia, his mother, says.

          "Alright, I'll be down momentarily!" Adrion says with a cheerful smile. It may seem like a drastic personality change, but this is his true self. He is only like this around his family. His close friends, Kazuo and Ringo, see both sides depending on where they're at. Adrion walks out of his room with three suitcases in hand and a backpack on his back. He closes the door and then grabs his luggage before heading down the stairs. He leaves his things by the front door and then walks away to join his family by the dining table. His mother just finished serving food as he takes his seat. Yulia made Adrion's favorite, a rich breaded pork chop with creamy mushroom gravy and small roasted potatoes. They all enjoy the home-cooked meal as they chat.

          "It still hasn't sunk in that you'll be moving away so far just for school," his brother says.

          Adrion laughs a little, "same here. As nervous as I feel, I won't be completely alone."

          "Honestly, the most surprising thing is your friends passing the exam. Didn't think they were capable," his sister mentions.

          "Hahaha, you three are strong boys. I'm sure you'll handle yourself well," his father says. Henry adds, "Though even if you get expelled, you're always welcome to join your brother and me to help with work."

          "I can help, but it'll be after I finish school. I don't plan on getting expelled," Adrion says with a large smile.

          "You better not get injured then. If I hear that you're in danger, I'll storm into that school and bring you back myself," says his mother, and everyone laughs.

          Once the dishes are cleaned and put away, the Engels walk outside. Henry helps Adrion load his suitcases in the back of his pickup truck amidst the lumber. Henry hops into the driver's seat and turns on the roaring engine of his truck. Adrion hugs his siblings and his mother. "Be sure to call often and visit whenever you can," his mother says.

          "Will do!" Adrion replies, then hops in the truck. Adrion straps on his seat belt while Henry shifts into reverse. He backs up from the parking lot and turns the vehicle. Once he shifts it into drive, he drives off to pick up the other two. After a couple of miles, Henry pulls to the side of the road next to a house.

    Kazuo steps out of his house, shouting back into the house with a large grin, "Alright, I'm heading out! Don't miss me too much, everyone!" Kazuo walks down his steps with two large suitcases. He loads them into the back and hops in. "How are you two fine gentlemen doing," Kazuo says.

          "No different from yesterday," Adrion replies.

          "Should have expected that," Kazuo says.

          "You seem to be in high spirits, Kazuo," Henry tells him.

          "Sure am. I'm one of fourteen from the Emerald Woodland region to pass the exam and one of four from our town specifically. It's a pretty good feat if I say so myself."

          Henry laughs, "haha, the rest of the town may have thought of you guys as underdogs, but I always knew you three were stronger than that. Still, who would have thought an exam would be held way out here? Maybe this place is finally starting to flourish." Henry slows down and parks near Ringo's house. After waiting five minutes, Ringo steps out.

          "Bye, everyone," he waves at his family and closes the door with his luggage in hand. Ringo rushes down the steps and path to reach the truck. He loads two suitcases and two duffel bags before getting in the truck. "How are you guys," Ringo greets them.

          "Doing good my man. And you?" Kazuo returns the question.

          "Nervous as all hell, but I'm hanging in there," Ringo says.

          "It sucks we're in different dormitories, but what can you expect from those exam results," Kazuo mentions.

          "Well, you better get used to it. We've got three years to go," Adrion says with a smile.

          "Yeah," the other two reply.

          The pickup truck does a right turn and finds the nearest spot to park in. All four of them hop off. Adrion and his friends gather their things, and Henry escorts them into the train station. After a fifteen-minute wait, the train arrives. Kazuo and Ringo get their bags and board the train. Adrion reaches for his bags and gets ready to move forward. "Adrion." After hearing his name, he turns around to his father. Henry places his fist on Adrion's chest. "Remember everything I thought you, son. Don't give up without giving it your all," Henry says with a smile.

          Adrion smiles back, "you bet." Adrion picks up his things and boards the train. He turns around and faces his father. "I know you didn't want me to enroll in Cacumen, but it's a stepping stone for me. I have to go…."

          Henry nods his head a few times, indicating yes, "I'll see you around, son. Good luck." The doors close and Adrion looks for his friends who are sitting nearby. Once he puts his luggage into a storage compartment, he takes his seat.

- Two Days Later

          It is a Saturday morning, and Adrion is walking down the sidewalk with his bags. He got off the train half an hour ago and split from his friends ten minutes ago. He turns left and stops about 12 meters out. He looks left and reads the sign. "Draco Hall Dormitory," it reads. He checks his phone, "This is the place." Adrion approaches the door and knocks. After a bit of a wait, the door opens up. A beautiful woman in her mid-twenties stands at the other side.

          "Hello, can I help you?" she asks in a soothing voice.

          “My name is Adrion Engel. I was told this would be my dormitory." The woman looks to her right at a clipboard of names.

          "Oh yeah, one of the 1st-years. Welcome to Draco Hall Dormitory. My name is Emiko Sekiryu. Please come on in." Adrion steps in while Emiko closes the door behind him. She reaches into a cupboard and pulls out a keyring with two keys. "This larger one is for the front door, and the smaller one is for your room." Adrion takes the key and sees a number three on it. "I cook breakfast and dinner. You can see the times on the clipboard in the kitchen. Of course, you can also use the kitchen whenever you'd like. There is a training field out back near the bathhouse. Just be sure not to be too reckless. Be sure to behave within this dormitory. As the matron of this place, I will enforce the rules and will not hesitate to get a little physical," she says with an innocent demeanor.

          Despite seeming not threatening, Adrion still looked a little worried, "I'll keep that in mind."

          Adrion walks over to his dorm room and unlocks the door. He notices a desk by the window across from where he's standing. There is a bed to his right and an empty bookshelf at the foot of his bed. A wardrobe stands to his left. He places his backpack on the desk and walks up to his suitcases to unpack. In the middle of unpacking, Adrion feels a glare watching him. An ominous stare is watching his every move. Adrion turns to look at the window and sees a large smile. It belongs to someone who appears to be a Cacumen student. His eyes seem to be shut as he faces Adrion through the window. Adrion is creeped out at first, then walks over to the window. "Can I help you?" Adrion asks.

          "I'm just getting to meet the new students living in this dorm," says the mysterious student.

          Adrion replies, "and you are?"

          "Oh, sorry. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Ichiro Sekiryu, a 2nd-year student over in room four. You must be Adrion. Correct?"

          “Yes, I am. Wait, Sekiryu?”

          "Yes. Emiko is my aunt. My father is her brother despite a 20-year gap. In any case, welcome to the dormitory. I hope we can be friends. Out of the six students in this dorm, we're the only guys. We have to stick together!"

          "Right…" Adrion replies.

          "It was nice meeting you, but I must get going now. There's one last student to meet. I'll be seeing you." Ichiro says as he walks away.

          Adrion resumes unpacking his things. Once he puts his last shirt away, he hears a loud bang. He steps out of the room and sees three girls run towards the living room next to the kitchen. He follows them as they open the glass door in the back of the dorm. Once Adrion steps out, he sees Ichiro getting up from the ground. A gorgeous girl hops out of a window with hair and skin as white as snow and violet eyes. Adrion immediately thinks of Uriah from her appearance. She creates an orb of light in her hands and proceeds to get closer to Ichiro. She aims at him and fires. The light travels swiftly, but just before it hits Ichiro, something flies towards it to deflect it. The other three girls look at Adrion, who has his arm extended out. The light-skinned girl turns to look at Adrion and turns back to Ichiro. She forms ten orbs of light around her. "Well well. You certainly are a tough one. Sorry but there's some sort of misunderstanding. I'm a student who lives in this dorm. I'm just trying to meet all the new students." Ichiro says with a smile, and his eyes closed.

          "I told him he shouldn't be looking through the window," one of the other girls says.

          "Serves him right. Maybe he won't think of doing creepy stalker things again," another girl says.

          "Would you look at that? All of us are gathered around now. How about we all introduce ourselves? I'll start," Ichiro continues. The girl with white hair aims at him and fires her shots. All ten light orbs turn into rays and travel towards Ichiro. All ten hit their target as the light intensifies. The girl who threw the attacks makes a face as if she's shocked. Adrion looks back at Ichiro and notices he doesn't move or react to the hits. The light dims and almost looks like it's being absorbed into Ichiro. "I'll start first. I'm a 2nd-year student. Ichiro Sekiryu from the High Taryx Plains region. I'll be sure to watch over you 1st-year!"

          "Just make sure that doesn't include you stalking at us," says one of the girls with a creeped-out face.

          "I'm sure he didn't mean trouble. He was watching me too. He's probably some eccentric type," Adrion says while everyone looks at him. Adrion continues, "I'm a 1st-year. Adrion Engel from the Emerald Woodlands." The white-haired girl seems particularly interested in Adrion once she hears his name.

          "Oh my, what's going on here?" Emiko steps out into the backyard.

          "It's nothing, aunty. Just a little misunderstanding," Ichiro says with his usual smile.

          "Oh, I see what going on. Girls, don't take it personally, but he acts a little weird when he wants to introduce himself to people that pique his interest. Of course, that includes all of you since you were placed in this dorm in particular. I can assure you he's only like that for introductions and won't do it again," Emiko tells everyone.

          "Particularly those in this dorm? What does that mean?" asks the tallest of the girls.

          "Known strong students are placed into strong Dormitories. Draco Hall Dormitory is for students with high potential. Basically, students who got a higher score than proctors expected," Emiko responds.

          Ichiro steps in, "Though it doesn't always mean they're strong. Out of the six students placed here last year, only I advanced as a 2nd-year." Three of the girls look concerned after that statement. "Don't worry, though. You guys already show more promise than they did. Let's continue with introductions." Ichiro says.

          "Eh? Well, my name is Ivika Linna from the Frost Soro Lake region," the girl who's taller than the average 10th-grade girl says. Ivika has long light blonde hair and blue eyes. Another of the girls steps forward.

          She is relatively short, with red hair tied behind her head and greenish eyes. "I'm Harper Cadogan. I come from the Usrion Waterfront region."

          The third girl is next. She has long black hair and brown eyes. She appears nervous, "Uhm, I-I'm Sylvie Leroux, and I'm from the Kito Forest Region." Everyone turns to look at the beautiful white-haired girl.

          She maintains her tough appearance, "I'm Alia Leoh from the High Taryx Plains." Alia turns around, hops back through her window, and closes it.

          "Did she say Leoh, as in the Leoh family?" Ivika says.

          "I can't believe I'll be sharing a dorm with someone from royalty!" Harper exclaims.

          Sylvie appears stressed out, "I'm going to have to keep up with someone like her? I don't think I'll be able to take it!" Emiko grabs her shoulders and helps her walk indoors. "Come on. It'll be alright." The other two girls also step in.

          "Though, why would royalty be in this dorm rather than a strong one?" Ivika tells Harper as they step in.

          Ichiro walks forward to enter the dorm, but Adrion stops him. "Hmm," Ichiro turns to look at Adrion.

          "I'm trying to take the top spot in this school. Is it alright if we spar? I'm curious to see how strong my upperclassman is who passed the advancement exam," Adrion explains.

          "Oh? Sure why not." Ichiro walks over to the training field. "We'll do one round. Will that suffice?" Ichiro tells him.

          "Yes," Adrion replies.

          "Let's see what you got," Ichiro says while opening one eye. Adrion takes a deep breath and focuses on his ability. Adrion quickly aims with his right arm and fires a mysterious liquid shot. Ichiro takes the hit without being fazed as it absorbs into him like the light rays earlier.

          "I figured. In that case…." Adrion says. He runs in to close the gap and throws a couple of punches toward Ichiro's chest. When the punches land, Ichiro's face changes to surprise. Ichiro gets pushed back a meter.

          "You have more strength than I originally thought. Just what kind of ability do you have? First, you throw a mysterious liquid and now some sort of super strength. I've never heard of dual magic properties," Ichiro says.

          Adrion charges in, "well I guess I'm a first." Ichiro fights back this time. Adrion sees Ichiro's fist heading for his face and reacts to block the hits. Before Adrion could blink, Adrion was punched three times in the chest. Adrion falls back to the ground. Ichiro opens his eyes, and Adrion faces him as he gets up.

          "Let me clarify that I didn't pass the advancement exam by the skin of my teeth. I was scouted out afterward and joined the Golden Plate league," Ichiro explains.

          "Golden Plate?" Adrion asks.

          "You don't know much about this school, do you?" Ichiro tells him. He continues, "There are two leagues in this school. There are the Golden Plates and the Platinum Plates. There are five positions in each, primarily taken by 3rd-year students. I'll let you know I took 1st place in the Golden Plate." A powerful aura emits from Ichiro. "So, do you want to continue?" Ichiro adds.

          Adrion smiles slightly. He creates a massive amount of fluid surrounding himself and some to attack Ichiro. The liquid around himself is dark compared to the one meant for attacking. Ichiro quickly absorbs the liquid and goes for a punch to hit through the dark liquid and absorb it. When his fist makes contact with the water, it feels solid. Not only that, but he also couldn't absorb the magic. "So you can only absorb things made of magic. Once it changes properties, you can't anymore," Adrion says.

          "Well, at least I had my fill already… Burst!" Ichiro shouts. An outburst of pure energy erupts from Ichiro, destroying Adrion's defensive dark fluid as if it were glass. Adrion is sent flying back from the burst of magic power as Ichiro closes the gap. Before Adrion could get back up, Ichiro delivers the finishing blows.

          Alia stares out of her window. Once Adrion drops to the floor, she closes her eyes, draws the curtains, and walks away. Ichiro extends his arm out. Adrion stares for a second and reaches for his hand. Once Adrion is up, he pats the dust on him. "Do you understand the weight of the words you said earlier? Taking the number one spot will not be an easy feat. In any case, you did well." Ichiro proceeds with his usual face as he steps indoors. Adrion looks at the palm of his hand and turns it into a fist. He gives off a large smile of excitement.

          "Do you want a drink or snack?" Emiko says, sticking her head out of the glass door.

          Adrion turns around with his neutral face, "sure."