It had been a dream of Ajax's to attend the same academy as Arrow, but Athena couldn't bear the thought of constant comparisons between them.
Enrolling Ajax at an academy in Aegisville, would trigger her desire for constant visiting. Moreover, she had high hopes for Ajax and wanted him to have multiple opportunities, so she enrolled him at Terra Academy, at Bizville City.
An academy that emphasizes diversity in business. The academy provides a variety of courses on research, mana manipulation and enhancement, spellcasting, history, swordsmanship and combat.
Students take these courses to expand the chances of survival. It was meant for all—people with enough mana, and the ones with few to even light a candle.
As the nightfall approached, Ajax arrived at his academy. The sprawling campus should have inspired an awe but it only made him feel overwhelmed.
The grandeur of the campus paled in comparison to his comforting home.
"Where's the courage? Disappointing!" He sighed.
Ajax couldn't tour the campus due to the late hours.
He was escorted by staff to the accommodation office for a room.
Questions swarmed in immediately he entered the office,
"What's your name?"
"You seem young, you must be a prodigy."
"How old are you?"
Ajax looked at them with his eyes zoning out—he seemed tired.
The staff suddenly realized Ajax's disinterest in their chatter. She handed him a key and asked a subordinate of hers to take him to his room.
He lay in bed, his thoughts swirled with uncertainty. The unfamiliarity of everything weighed on him.
Then, something strange happened.
After just a blink, he was in a void of nothingness. God appeared.
"You've grown," God said cheerfully.
Ajax stood still without a body but a wavy smoky light.
"Have you already forgotten about me?" God asked.
"No."
"I'm here to tell you just one thing," God said with a firm tone. "Your journey starts here—be thoughtful."
Ajax raised his voice before God could end their meeting.
"Do you know anything about my strange dreams?" Ajax asked curiously.
God took a brief pause before answering, "Yeah, I think I do."
"Can…Can you tell me about it?"
"Sorry kid, I'm not in the position to answer that," God said calmly.
Before Ajax could utter another word he was in his room.
Ajax stared at the ceiling. "Who are you, Teo?" He murmured.
The night was short-lived. Before long it was morning, and Ajax needed to visit the administrative office for a sign-in before heading to class.
Fortune smiled upon him that morning. His professor happened to be at the office. After his task, he was introduced to his classmates.
"This is Ajax Romanov, son of the heroes Athena and Alex."
He braced himself for hushed excitement and envious whispers.
But instead…nothing.
"This wouldn't be bad after all." He thought.
He was instructed to take his seat, and with a quiet nod, he got seated.
Back in Aegisville, the name Romanov alone commanded respect. He hadn't used the trick himself, but he did see the reaction of others whenever his parents mentioned it.
Before long they delved into history.
Incantation spells and why they had nearly vanished from modern magic.
Ajax already knew it, so he hardly paid attention.
Centuries ago, the Unbraxis were well known for casting spells without incantations. Their magic flowed naturally as breathing, which made them nearly invisible in battles.
After the Rebellion War to save the nations from the shadow-possessed tyrant, the three nations realized their greatest weakness—incantation spells.
While powerful, incantation spells took time. The time they didn't have.
Determined to overcome their flaw, they studied the Umbraxis for decades, seeking to wield magic without incantations.
Through countless experiments and research, they developed a technique called mana circulation.
'Allowing mana to flow through their body by manipulating their mana pool.' With this and more understanding of the mana, mana core, and mana pool, they were able to create smaller techniques like concentration and focus and bypassed their flaw.
While incarceration spells remained the strongest in sheer power, the efficiency of casting without incantation was more suited for combat.
Ajax barely listened, his mind wandering—from how to get to his room to Emy, and to where he would find food.
He stared at the floor attentively and created an army of minions using his Creation, outofboredom.
"Ajax…Ajax," the class called out.
The professor realized Ajax's lack of concentration and decided to ask him a question. But Ajax was too lost in his little game to the extent that he didn't hear his name being called out.
Ajax turned around in confusion as the class stared at him. His nervousness peaked, but the professor intended to make the disgrace even worse.
He asked Ajax to explain to the class everything he said on incantation spells or leave his class.
"Dude, chill; this is my first day," Ajax thought.
Nevertheless, he stood up and explained everything the professor thought, with his description more detailed than the professor's.
Thankfully, the history class ended. Initially, Ajax wanted to follow his mates for lunch so he could see where the cafeteria was located, but with the humiliation he faced, he couldn't bring himself to get up.
He tried to relax his nerves and suddenly there was a voice,
"Hey, you seem pretty cool. I want you to be my disciple." It said, with a prideful smile.
Ajax turned and looked at him with a confused expression, "What the…? Such Ego." Ajax thought.
"Over here, the strongest gets the best. Follow me, and you won't regret it." He said. "I'm Steve Celestine but call me Steve."
Without a word, Ajax got up and left for the entrance of the hall.
He had nowhere to be, but he wasn't going to sit there and listen to Steve's egoistic speech.
Ajax's action hit hard at Steve's pride. He tried to confront Ajax, but already saw that coming so he approached his professor claiming to have questions for him.
Not long after, it was time for the second class. Steve was filled with rage as he watched Ajax enter the class with their professor.