Lucas blacked out for a moment, and suddenly found himself in a massive open-air plaza. The transition was disorienting, but as his senses returned, he took in the breathtaking surroundings.

Looking around, he could see a beautiful spire in the distance, its facets glinting in the soft, ethereal light. The spire stretched high into the sky, seemingly put together from a single crystal that refracted and reflected the warm afternoon light.

As he gazed at the spire, Lucas noticed figures materializing around the plaza one by one. Tens of Beastkins, with their animalistic features and loose attire, emerged sporadically. Seeing them standing rather tall with each of them easily over two meters tall, Lucas thought with a slight smile.

'Seems Sasha is on the shorter end rather than the norm as I thought.'

He also noticed numerous Prismaris as well. Their small frames, utilitarian outfits, and distinctive hair colors were obvious markers. Figures continued to materialize. In no time, the plaza was filled with hundreds of students.

'Hmm… should I wait for Evélyne and Sasha? Or should I head for the tower?'

After thinking about it for a few moments, he decided to move towards the spire. He guessed that with his senses, he should be able to spot the two women rather easily from the crowd.

With his tail lazily whipping behind him, he walked towards the spire. When the other students gained their bearings, some headed for the spire as well. As he moved forward, he sent his [Spirit Sense] out in subtle waves.

Almost all the students these waves touched turned to him with a frown. One particular dark haired Prismari student gave Lucas a bone chilling glare, their eyes brimming with a dark, electric Spirit energy. However, their expression swiftly faltered when their gaze fell on Lucas.

'Whoops… I should probably stop.'

He carefully retracted his perception and kept moving ahead, acting like he didn't notice the angry gazes and death glare. Looking ahead, he saw a small gathering of students standing close to the spire. The vast majority looked up in wonder and excitement.

Above them, six figures floated in a loose arc like silent sentinels. They radiated a quiet, undeniable pressure. These were some of the academy's administrators: three Beastkin and three Prismari, each distinct in their presence. Each bore the emblem of the One world academy on their shoulders.

On the far left floated a towering Beastkin woman cloaked in loose white combat robes. Her hair, a dark chestnut shade streaks with silver that matched her dull pupils. A crown of antlers curved elegantly from her skull, framing her long hair and adding a lay of beauty to her features.

Beside her stood a stocky male Beastkin in ashen gray robes. Two spiraling horns curved beneath his braided hair, while his hoofed feet remained bare, floating effortlessly with the others. Despite his casual pose, with arms crossed, his muscles were visibly developed.

The third Beastkin was lean and wolfish, his long, black, bushy tail wrapped around his waist. A vicious scar ran from his missing left ear down diagonally to the other side of his face. He wore a set of smooth black and gold armor, his single golden eye constantly scanning the students below.

To their right hovered the three Prismari. At the center an androgynous Prismari floated. They had a tall, slender figure clad in a fitting black pants and jacket. Their short platinum hair slicked back, revealing their smooth facial features and a piercing stare.

To their left was a woman with short-cut cyan hair and a high-collared lab coat glowing faintly. Paying closer attention to her you could see the light around her distorting strangely and shifting her color to strange hues.

The last was an elderly Prismari man who floated with quiet authority. His silver hair was thinning while his eyes glowed with wisdom and deep understanding. His attire was a simple black outfit, yet to didn't take anything away from his powerful presence.

/Sir Lucas, over here./

With that mental transmission and a mental nudge, Lucas' attention was broken from the floating figures. He turned to see Sasha in the distance waving frantically. With a smile, Lucas walked over to her. Evélyne stood quietly behind her, her gaze on the levitating people.

When Lucas finally reunited with the women, Sasha gave him a firm hug to his slight surprise. Lucas reciprocated before letting go.

"So how was the test?"

He asked. Sasha became slightly dazed as she said,

"I… don't remember completely. I know I had to fight a golden person but… I can't remember if I won or not…"

Lucas and Evélyne frowned simultaneously, Evélyne turned her attention to the Beastkin and passed a hand between her ears.

"It's fine Sasha, it will come back to you."

She reassured, the Beastkin nodded softly, clearly dejected.

'Is her memory getting worse?'

Lucas thought as he corrected his expression,

"Yeah it's fine, Sasha. It happens to the best of us. How was the test for you, Evélyne?"

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Evélyne thought for a few moments before she said with a bright smile.

"Enlightening."

Lucas was surprised by her expression before regaining his smile,

'Of course it was.'

"What about you sir Lucas?"

Sasha asked, her ears finally liberated.

"Pretty fun. I finally went all out with my flash fist technique! But… the examiner ate it for breakfast…"

Lucas' expression shifting from pride to awkwardness drew a smile and chuckle from the women even though they had just a vague idea of what breakfast actually meant. Surprisingly, Evélyne spoke up.

"I didn't land a hit as well. The threshold beyond level 5 is almost insurmountable."

Lucas' eyes widen slightly,

"You're saying the examiner could just be a level 6?"

Evélyne nodded,

"My examiner was at least. Their Spirit—"

Before she could continue, a baritone male voice cut her short. It was the regal old man.

"Attention students. The assembly is about to begin."

All the students turned their attention to the floating figures. A low hum rolled through the air as the six floating figures descended, landing upon a raised platform that shimmered with etched Runes. The center figure stepped forward, the tall, androgynous Prismari. Their voice echoed throughout the plaza as they spoke calmly.

"Welcome, pioneers of the One-World Academy."

They paused, letting the crowd settle. A few Beastkin twitched their ears, while some Prismari students straightened their posture in anticipation.

"You are not here by accident. You are not here by tradition. You are here by choice and by capability."

The speaker paced slowly across the platform, making eye contact with several students as they spoke.

"For decades, our peoples have lived in parallel. We built our strengths separately. We fought our battles separately. And for all that time… we remained incomplete."

A quiet murmur moved through the crowd.

"Strength, without connection, breeds monsters. Unity, without strength, breeds weak societies. And now, we stand at the edge of a new age—one where we must be both mighty and bonded."

They gestured to the sky, where flickers of Spirit energy danced above the spire.

"This Academy is not just a school. It is a crucible. Within it, you will be tested, not just in power, but in will, in understanding, and in restraint."

"You will clash. You will disagree. Some of you may even hate each other. That is fine. What is not fine… is staying unchanged."

They let that hang for a moment.

"Our goal is simple. To help you break past the Level 5 wall. But true growth demands more than just power. It demands that you evolve. Physically, mentally, and spiritually."

Then their tone shifted, becoming slightly more relaxed.

"Here, you will train with those you once considered strangers. You will solve problems together. Bleed together. Succeed and fail together."

The speaker nodded once.

"You are the experiment. You are the future. You are the risk."

A final pause.

"Welcome to the One-World Academy. May you all survive the lesson."

The crowd was silent for a long moment—then a slow, spreading ripple of cheers and howls erupted, Lucas felt a twinge in his chest, equal parts excitement, anxiety, and something he couldn't quite name.

Turning to his companions, he could see Sasha's tail wagging frantically. Evélyne softly petted her while her ruby gaze bore into him. Lucas, feeling a bit mischievous asked,

"Is there something on my face?"

Evélyne smiled slightly and just pointed behind him. Lucas turned to see his tail wagging even more frantically than Sasha's. His face immediately brightened but before he could say anything, a hologram appeared in front of his face. No just his, but for every student. The Prismari speaker spoke once more.

"Every student has been registered into the academy's data base. As most of you have guessed by now, the academy is a domain, it will direct you to your domiciles."

"The first week at the academy will be a free reign period. You can use this time to explore all the facilities and courses the academy has to offer. Please use this time wisely. That is all for now students, now you may leave."

With that, the six figures vanished. Students began slowly siphoned out of the forum. Lucas focused his mind and tried to ask the domain school for directions. The moment he made his intentions clear, a stream of information was beamed into his mind.

'Woah…'

What made him exclaim was the apparent architecture of the school and size of his room. Even though he had not processed all the information, at a surface glance, the school's design was very elaborate.

This open plaza laid at the center of the school. Several paths lead out of the school to its other structures like; classrooms, laboratories, training yards and so on.

With this information in mind, Lucas turned to the two women and asked,

"Where are your rooms located?"

"Somewhere in the west wing."

Evélyne said.

"Mine is at the north wing."

Sasha added.

"Oh, mine is at the south west wing. Guess we are quite far from each other."

He looked towards Sasha, it would be a lie if he said he wasn't a little worried about her. Evélyne looked towards Sasha as well, all the looks caused Sasha to tilt her head,

"Is something wrong?"

Evélyne walked over her and petted her a bit.

"No. Nothing is wrong Sasha, I just wish we lived closer."

"Don't worry mistress. We will have all the time in the world."

She said softly as she blushed. Lucas just shook his head, saying.

"How about we go check out some Locations?"

Evélyne's eyes brightened as she nodded firmly. She let go off Sasha and they both turned to Lucas.

"Let's see where we can have some fun…"

He scanned through the information he had received from the school. He easily gather a list of spots to go for sight seeing and lead the two women along.

The trio spent the majority of the day just slowly moving throughout the school and chatting. As evening approached Lucas gazed up at the sky through a window then to his friends,

"I will leave you love birds to it then. Catch you later."

"Goodbye, Lucas."

"Goodbye, Sir Lucas."

Waving Lucas off, the two enjoyed each other's company as Lucas walked away, eventually fading as he branched a corner.

'Now… where am I heading to…'

Focusing his Mind, he quickly fished out the directions to his domicile. Walking through the halls, Lucas gazed out of the windows to see a light violet sky above, he also saw various statues and facilities of interest.

'Hmm, I wonder why there're so few students around.'

He thought to himself as he saw very few students moving through and fro. Focusing his Mind once more, he came to an understanding.

'Only recommended students who passed the exams can attend this first week? Interesting.'

Lucas mused as he kept walking, he absorbed the school's information bit by bit as he made it to his domicile. In no time he got to his room.

The featureless black door smoothly synced with his mind as he opened it with a mental flex, revealing a far more refined space than he expected.

It was much less of a room and more of an apartment. The living room was quite polished and had a large window which gazed out into the violet sky and the wilderness in the distance. Ergonomic furniture was laid around in it giving the living room a homey feel.

With a quick sync with the room, it "told" him the other rooms were his bedroom and his meditation room. He casually walked into his simple bedroom and crashed into the large bed, his lengthy tail rolling on the floor.

'Why am I so exhausted?'

Lucas assessed himself. The fight with Frant had been intense but was certainly not something above his regenerative capabilities. But his drowsy mind could not think on it further as it derailed.

'Tomorrow's going to be the official first day Crash. We might finally have a chance at getting out of this pact…'

With that, he sank into slumber.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.