Feeling the man''s sharp, grey gaze scanning his body, evidently perceiving it, Adam looked back into Shepard''s eyes with unconcealed panic.


    Despite his dread, he couldn''t help but specte about the man''s ability to perceive him. After all, even Vikram, a tier-four mage, could only vaguely sense something when Adam used mana. Did this imply that Shepard was even stronger? Was he one of the rare elite who had reached the fifth tier?


    His breathing became ragged after theorising this terrifying scenario. He could almost envision the man raising his staff, ready to obliterate him as effortlessly as he had done with the dragons during the show.


    Subsequently, Adam closed his eyes as Shepard raised his staff, fearing the worst. Despite his unyielding nature, he knew that trying to resist such an expert was pointless. It would take Shepard two seconds at most to end him.


    However, as the torturously slow seconds passed without incident, Adam cautiously reopened them. He noticed that Shepard had raised his staff only to make his movements more dramatic and keep the atmosphere heated.


    Adam sighed in relief. However, he knew that he was far from safe. After all, Shepard could have been unwilling to act during the ceremony and might have been waiting for it to be over before erasing his existence.


    Thinking to this point, he watched as Shepard brought his staff down, causing an inferno of raging mes to appear, from which a familiar silhouette slowly emerged. Vikram''s grand entrance astonished Arun as he found it stylish like many other kids.


    Following Vikram''s impressive performance, several more figures emerged from various elemental disys, such as tsunamis and tornadoes, keeping the students engaged in the spectacr ceremony.


    Among them, Adam spotted a short, burly man and a beautiful woman with pointed ears. He wondered if these physical traits were gic defects or if they were dwarves and elves with confusion-filled eyes.


    "These ten people are our college''s esteemed teachers," Shepard announced with a warm smile, gesturing towards them, "Miss Beatrix will be assigned to your ss. She''ll guide you on your educational journey. Feel free to contact her if you have questions or require help."


    Following his words, a tall, ck-haired woman separated herself from the group of teachers and walked towards the group of freshmen with a bright smile.


    She took a moment to gaze warmly at each of her thirty new students, her light blue eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. With a smile, she dered, "I''ll be your headteacher for the next nine years, and I hope our journey together will be filled with growth, learning, and wonderful memories."


    As the young students looked at Beatrix excitedly after such an epic spectacle and entrance, Vikram approached them, smirking at Arun and making him realise that his father would monitor him. "The weing ceremony is now over. Today, I''ll be apanying Miss Beatrix as an honorary teacher. Follow us to the ssroom."


    In response, the new students quickly stood up and followed the two teachers, impatient to witness the other surprises the college had in store. The group left the amphitheater under the weing gaze of the other teachers and older students.


    ***********


    After entering their ssroom, located on the same floor, the kids quickly ran to the desks, eager to sit and begin their journey in the world of alchemy, making Beatrix chuckle. She was as impatient as they were. After all, just like them, she embarked on a new journey too, as it was the first time she would be a headteacher.


    Julius and his group quickly secured two desks at the front of the ss, with Louise and Asha at one while Julius and Arun took the other.


    Subsequently, Julius witnessed Beatrix take out a familiar round crystal from her pouch with a smile.


    He recognised it as he had used one simr a few years ago, during the naming ceremony at the Riverwood manor.


    Beatrix ced the crystal on her teacher''s desk and said, "I''m sure most of you are familiar with this device. We''ll first test your mana, then your elemental affinities. Next, we''ll look for apatible technique for you to progress through the tiers."


    Following her words, Vikram called students one by one with a notebook in hand, starting with Arun.


    As the boy walked to the measuring device, he heard his father murmur ominously, "It''s been a while since Ist checked your progress. I hope you didn''t ck off.


    Arun''s face paled in response. Why did his father have to teach his ss and monitor him? He understood that Vikram expected him to rank at the top of the ss from the very first day and make ten strands appear inside the measuring crystal.


    Initially, this event was meant to keep track of each student''s progress every six months. However, it quickly became a hiddenpetition between noble families. Each wanted to show that their heir was the best and boast about it publicly.


    Upon writing down Arun''s score in his notebook, Vikram shook his head, disappointed. His son had only made eight strands appear. It was good enough to bebelled a talent with good prospects, but it wasn''t for him. He wanted his son to be the best of the best in the academy and inherit his mantle in the future.


    After evaluating Arun''s performance, Vikram called Asha, smiling brightly at her. Despite knowing that the little girl''s true talenty inmerce rather than magic, he was surprised when the crystal manifested six strands after she touched it.


    This time, Vikram nodded in approval and pride after understanding that his future daughter-inw had put in considerable effort to improve herself, reassuring him of his choice to engage his son with her.


    Soon, more and more students got their turn. Their average score hovered between three to four strands, with only a handful of kids surpassing that number.


    Soon, it was Julius'' turn. He walked confidently to the crystal, impatient to surprise everyone. After all, his big brother could already make sixteen strands appear four years ago. His score surely improved after all the time he spent training.


    He gazed at Vikram mischievously as he ced his hand on the crystal, wondering if more than twenty strands would appear.


    After a short moment, a first strand appeared, then a second, and then... nothing more.


    His confidence deted, and his eyes bulged at the results. He turned to Adam, only to realise he wasn''t nning to move. In response, he gazed at his brother with pleading eyes, questioning his inaction and hoping for him to fix his embarrassing situation.


    Unfortunately, Adam shook his head before exining, "As a ghost, I can''t improve my mana without external tools. We''ll look suspicious if, after showing great talent, we don''t make any progress."


    Julius nodded, understanding his big brother''s concerns and the logic behind them. However, he couldn''t help but lower his gaze in shame with a reddened face after showing such mediocre results.


    After recording his result, Vikram looked weirdly at Julius and said, "It''s ok. Your reserves will quickly expand now that you enrolled. Be sure to choose a good technique when given the opportunityter."


    With his mind preupied with Shepard, Adam forgot that he disyed his magical prowess in his retaliation against Vikram the previous day. It made no sense to the man that Julius manifested only two strands.


    Vikram cast his doubts aside for now, nning to investigateter while calling the short, red-haired girl.