Don't Mind Me, I'm Just A Mystic arts Major

As Zach stepped into the blinding beam of light, it felt like his body shattered into countless fragments and then merged back together.

Zach walked out of the beam of light to find himself in a wide grass field where he spotted Alfred in the distance.

Alfred walked up to both of them with a warm smile.

"Welcome to the Highest Realm, Zach," Alfred gestured around.

The skies were a bright shade of blue, almost like the ocean, different from the ash and red clouds they had back home.

The air flowed through his lungs better, and the scenery was a jaw-dropping sight of glamour.

Tall skyscrapers made of glass; flying cars zoomed past them with a soft hiss.

Stretched as far as the eyes could see, it was nothing but clean roads and skyscrapers.

Above the ground, numerous floating islands loomed, with houses nestled on them.

"The Highest Realm is not like down there, so please make sure not to offend anyone, okay?" Alfred strolled to a nearby car.

As the car screeched off, Zach saw the glorious streets of the Higher Realm; everywhere was silent, like a graveyard.

The roads were desolate, like no one even lived here.

The car drove off-road until it stopped near a cliff.

Zach stepped down, and the car behind him drove off.

Zach looked at the huge red gates of the academy. Iris placed her hand on his shoulder.

The place they stopped was a cliff with numerous floating islands below.

The Highest Realm was actually a bunch of floating islands.

The cliff was connected to a rope bridge leading to the gates of the Saint Academy.

Iris walked first, casually, like she owned the place, while Zach trailed cautiously behind her.

The large gates groaned open, greeting the duo. Multiple guards rushed to their aid.

Zach looked at the guards in astonishment.

'Curiosity...?' These guards had reached the stage of Curiosity.

The guards all rushed to him, scanning him with some sort of strange device.

"Clear..." one said, allowing the duo to pass.

As Zach passed through the vast garden-like scenery, he spotted massive buildings, bridges over calm streams, and flowers everywhere.

On the way here, Zach spotted students wearing different colors of uniforms.

Zach and Iris continued walking until they got to an isolated building.

"Well, this is where I stop. Have fun, Zach, and whatever you do, don't try to make too many enemies." She smiled, then walked off.

Zach looked at her figure disappearing slowly. He took a deep breath and stepped inside the door.

The place was crowded with noise and students, wearing different enterprise uniforms.

Some sat on chairs, while others stood, talking and chatting away.

No one even noticed Zach as he stepped inside, which was kind of a good thing.

"Wow, really?" some girls giggled.

"Of course," a rough-haired cadet stood proud.

"I was the one that led the expedition into the Delta Cataclysm," he spoke proudly.

This bold claim actually attracted a few cadets' attention.

"Really, I heard that those guys are crazy strong," one of the girls grabbed his arm.

"Yeah, I was!" He laughed, his voice loud as ever.

Zach looked at this guy; it was obvious he was lying, but Zach found it funny, so he just watched in silence, sitting across the room on a vacant bench.

The kid puffed out his chest and raised his voice so half the hall could hear.

"Listen up, rookies, you see these scars?" He raised his sleeve, showcasing a few marks that looked more like a kitchen accident than a battle wound.

"I got this leading the glorious charge as I led my team in the Delta Cataclysm. 2000 cadets went in, and only more than 50 came out." He paused, smirking.

"And guess who carried the banner?" He pointed to himself.

"Me..."

The students all were silent; some were dazed, some were astonished.

"How did you make it out alive?"

"What did the final boss look like?"

"I heard a guy named 'The Eclipse Reaper' was there; did you see him?"

"There were heroes like 'The Sunfire Saintess'," he winced, sobbing exaggeratedly.

"She was my partner in crime, and the Eclipse Reaper was my right-hand man."

'What?' This lie just got more and more exaggerated.

"What did the Eclipse Reaper look like?" One of them asked.

"Oh, that." The guy pondered for a bit.

"He looked like a shadow dipped in flames, a formidable foe. I would know because I once fought him myself."

"Woah..." The crowd was stunned.

Zach just leaned back as the banter in the hall continued.

His mouth twitched.

'You led... huh.' Zach suppressed a chuckle.

The boy's voice boomed with so much confidence it almost sounded convincing. Almost.

The images that played in Zach's mind weren't the heroic nonsense the guy was spitting.

No, it wasn't.

Zach's faint smile disappeared as he recalled.

The blood-soaked screams of cadets losing their sanity, bones being crushed under pressure. He remembered the paralyzing fear he felt as the knight inched closer.

But this idiot was disrespecting his memory.

Well, it doesn't harm him in any way, so he just let the dude have his fun.

A figure stepped on an elevated platform in front of the cadets; a silent aura made the hall fall quiet instantly.

The door creaked, and a few late cadets entered the hall.

Everyone rushed to their seat as whispers traveled through the halls.

"Wait, is that Aurora, the Third Princess?"

"Yeah, bro, I heard she was in the Delta Cataclysm."

"Damn, she's also a chosen."

The man above cleared his throat.

"Damn." Zach looked above.

The man wore a black robe, laced with blue outlines, with a bulky physique. His aura carried that of a mystery, but something screamed that this guy was powerful.

"That's Professor Allen," the girl beside him said.

He turned to the side, surprised to see a girl with a short haircut sitting next to him, arms crossed, all serious.

His heart beat faster; this was the moment he dreaded.

Human interaction.

"Welcome... to the Saint Academy."

The man's voice boomed around the hall.

"You've all clawed, bribed, or bled your way into these gates, but make no mistake, your journey has only just begun."

He moved around the pavement; his eyes scanned every single one of the cadets.

"The academy isn't a playground; it's a furnace. Those who can't resist the fire get cast out."

Murmurs ripped through the cadets, but he continued, unfazed.

"In here, everything you are will be measured; your strength, your will, your mind, even your arrogance."

He stretched forth his hand, and six holographic rings appeared in the air.

The rings were in one another, spinning like a gyroscope before stopping to reveal rings in rings.

Black, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and Crimson.

"I don't deem black a rank, so if you're in this category, it's better to just go home," he paused.

"The lowest in the rankings is black, the outer shell."

"This signifies the majority of you will be in this color."

The silver ring lit up.

"Then we have silver, survivors, but nothing more," he continued.

"Gold means you're skilled, definitely worth some investment. And diamond? Diamond is where things get interesting."

His stick floated in the air.

"This is the rank of the geniuses in this generation. Only one or two of you will graze that level."

"And finally, we have the crimson."

"These people are one-in-a-century kind of talents, capable of achieving what it could normally take people to achieve in ten years. It only takes them ten days."

Zach nodded as the professor continued.

"Tomorrow we'll be ranking you all, and in the meantime, you lot can stay here."

The professor stepped off the platform and disappeared.

The hall erupted into noise once again, acting like the professor had never been there.

"So, what rank are you going to get?"

One of the cadets asked the brute.

"I think gold is going to be appropriate." He folded his arms across his chest.

Zach just sighed and leaned back on the chair.

Girls and boys alike stormed the front seat, all dying to talk to the princess.

She looked breathtaking; her red attire complemented her ruby eyes perfectly. Her pale skin glistening under the light could make any man fall to their knees, begging to see where that smooth skin lead.

"Your highness, please, an autograph."

"I'm your biggest fan, my princess."

"Please, your highness, can I touch your feet?"

Even the brat that was bragging a few moments ago was in the front.

"Tch... why does she get all the attention?"

Fortunately, not everyone was crazy about the princess's presence.

The short-haired girl beside him hissed, crossing her arms in a pout.

Zach just leaned back, thinking about all the drama.

"Wait, you aren't going to talk to the princess?" The short-haired girl asked.

"Nah, sucking up to people is not my style," Zach relaxed.

"Wow, I'm Angie. What's your name?"

"Zach," he answered.

"ZACH!!!"

Zach's heart fell into his stomach as he heard Aurora shout his name loud enough for everyone to hear.

The hall went dead silent.

'Please don't refer to me.'

'Please don't refer to me.'

Zach prayed internally.