Ernst Institute was the foremost academy of magic on the Yulan Continent.

It stood amid the mountains more than ten kilometers south of the Holy City, Fenlai City. Built and funded by the Radiant Church, the Institute possessed immense wealth. Its grounds stretched nearly five kilometers across, making the academy almost a city unto itself.

The surrounding hills were empty and uninhabited. Restaurants, clothing shops, taverns, and every other service could be found within the grounds. The students of Ernst Institute lived their entire daily lives inside the academy.

“Now this is impressive.” Linley stood before the main gate, gazing up in wonder.

The entrance spanned fifty meters. Above it rose an enormous crescent-shaped structure covered in intricate magical runes. Their complexity alone revealed that the gate housed a large-scale Magic Formation.

The entrance bustled with new arrivals. A row of staff members processed admissions, and one boy was already presenting his acceptance letter and identification. Linley took out his own documents and joined the line.

Classes officially began on February 9, and today was February 8. The acceptance notice required students to arrive before opening day. Since the boy ahead of me is only registering now, his home must be fairly close to the Institute.

The boy was really still a child, half a head shorter than Linley. An elderly man stood beside him.

Without warning, the boy turned and greeted Linley warmly. “Hello! I’m Reynolds, from the O’Brien Empire.”

Linley’s eyes widened. “The O’Brien Empire?”

One of the Four Great Empires, it lay east of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, while Ernst Institute stood to the west. Travelers had to circle around the range at its northern or southern end. Aside from Ninth-rank and Saint-level experts, few dared to cross it directly.

The Mountain Range of Magical Beasts stretched for more than five thousand kilometers. A journey from the O’Brien Empire to Ernst Institute could approach ten thousand kilometers—and farther still from the empire’s eastern territories. Covering that distance might easily take an entire year.

“I’m Linley, from the Kingdom of Fenlai,” he replied politely.

Reynolds blinked his large eyes. “Fenlai? Then you have it easy. Traveling from my home to the Kingdom of Fenlai took a full year. Your journey must have been much shorter.”

“Yes. It took half a day,” Linley answered honestly.

“Uh...”

Reynolds’s expression became wonderfully complicated. One of them had traveled for a year; the other, half a day.

“Candidate, hurry up,” a tester called.

The admissions process included a second aptitude test. Ernst Institute had no intention of admitting someone who had stolen another person’s acceptance letter.

“Coming!” Reynolds hurried forward.

His results startled Linley. Reynolds possessed high-grade elemental affinity, while his Spiritual Force was even more remarkable.

“Reynolds, age eight. Spiritual Force: thirty-two times that of his peers, superior.”

Linley stared, but the testing staff remained perfectly calm.

“What, Linley? That surprises you?” Reynolds asked with a shrug. “This is Ernst Institute. It admits only one hundred students from the entire Yulan Continent each year. Every student here is a genius. At my level, I’m only average among them.”

Then he sighed. “The Institute favors the Holy Alliance. It takes fifty students from the Alliance alone, while the Four Great Empires and the Dark Alliance have to share the other fifty places. It’s hardly fair.”

Linley smiled. Ernst Institute had been founded by the Radiant Church; naturally, it favored the Holy Alliance.

“My turn.” Linley went to take the test.

Reynolds wrinkled his little nose. This Linley came from the Holy Alliance and enjoyed a much easier admissions path. His talent probably wasn’t as good.

Then the examiner read out Linley’s results.

“High-grade Spiritual Force and superior elemental affinity in both Earth and Wind.”

Reynolds fell speechless.

Even superior affinity in a single element was exceptionally rare. Linley possessed it in two, making him a genuine genius—and a little more talented than Reynolds. Dual-element magi were formidable.

“Reynolds, stop staring. Let’s go.” Linley smiled.

“Oh.” Reynolds was only a year younger than Linley, but looked two or three years younger.

They collected their student identification and dormitory keys. Regardless of wealth or status, every Ernst Institute student had to live in the dormitories. For students from the Holy Alliance, both tuition and lodging were free.

Then Linley noticed the old man beside Reynolds paying a fee. “You have to pay tuition?”

Hillman smiled. “Linley, the Institute waives tuition and lodging only for people of the Holy Alliance. Students from anywhere else must pay a considerable fee.”

Reynolds nodded.

“That is correct,” the old man said kindly. “The O’Brien Academy, the finest warrior academy on the continent, follows the same policy. Its own nation’s students attend without charge, while outsiders pay heavily.”

The reason was obvious once Linley considered it.

“Linley, my young master has been given the same dormitory key as you,” the old man continued. “You two will be roommates. I hope you’ll look after each other.”

“That’s enough, Grandpa Lum,” Reynolds complained. “I’ve reached Ernst Institute. You can go home now.”

“Uncle Hillman, you should head back too,” Linley said with a smile. “I can take care of myself.”

Hillman nodded, reassured. “Then I’ll be going, Linley. Train hard.”

Linley grinned and nodded.

“Come on!” Reynolds caught Linley by the hand and pulled him toward the campus.

“Goodbye, Uncle Hillman!”

Hillman and the old man watched the two children disappear inside. Only after a long while did they turn and leave.

Beyond the gate, ancient trees shaded the Institute. Lakes, stone bridges, and weathered academy buildings gave the grounds an air of deep history. Some of the trees were broad enough that seven or eight adults joining hands could barely encircle them.

“This place really is different.” Reynolds’s wide eyes darted everywhere. “None of the gaudy display you see at newly built academies. This is what true heritage looks like.”

Signposts had been placed throughout the grounds to guide the arriving students.

“Let’s find our dormitory,” Linley said.

Their key was marked 1987.

Students who registered one after another were usually placed together, with four students assigned to each dormitory. When Linley and Reynolds reached the residential district, they stopped in amazement. Thousands of individual courtyard houses stretched before them, along with a much smaller number of two-story apartment buildings.

“1987... 1987...”

They followed the numbers south. The layout was regular: the houses began at 0001, with one hundred in each row. Only when they reached the twentieth row did they find 1901. From there, they ran east until Reynolds was panting for breath.

At last, the two boys stopped before the private courtyard house numbered 1987.