“Tell me Jinx, what do you think will be the strength of a Spellblade?” Professor Oak asked.

“Obviously it will lie in the fact that a Spellblade can use both magic or weapons right? He is both a mage and a warrior so he will be able to utilise the strengths of both simultaneously!” I replied.

“Wrong. If you think a Spellblade can be both a mage and a warrior you are wrong. Just imagine. A warrior is one who walks the path of attaining physical epitome, through gruelling training of both the body and skills, in order to be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. A mage is the complete opposite, one who does not usually pay much attention to the body, but utmost importance is placed on the mind instead. Comprehending and utilizing mana to their fullest potential. Both these paths are hard to walk are in completely opposite directions. Are you telling me that you are able to walk down these two paths simultaneously? Can’t you see that it is impossible to be both a master mage and a master warrior?” He questioned me back.

I thought further. The argument that Professor Oak made was undoubtedly true. Warriors are spending 16 hours a day training their body and skills to better themselves. Magicians are doing the same thing but concentrating on mana. A Spellblade would then only have 8 hours for body and 8 hours for mind right? Doesn’t this mean….

“Wait! Does this mean that a Spellblade will never be able to be better than a Warrior or a Magician at the same level??” I questioned, after realising the dilemma of this situation.

“Exactly. If a Spellblade, Magician, Warrior were all equally well trained, the magician would be better at magic than a Spellblade and a Warrior would be better at fighting than a Spellblade as well. Doesn’t this sound like a shitty class then? However I assure you that it is not the case. You will be able to appreciate the future opportunities of this class as long as you are able to pinpoint the greatest strength that this class has.” Professor Oak urged me to continue thinking.

If you can’t be the best in one aspect… Won’t this class literally be a Jack of all trades? Just like the me now? What can possibly be a strength of a Jack of all trades? There is always someone better out there even though I can do a lot more things compared to other people. Hold on a minute. A lot more things? Could it be?

“Is it.. Versatility?”

“Well done!” Professor Oak broke into a smile.

“Just imagine. It is true that you are unable to compete based on raw strength or magic compared to the other two classes. But the advantage lies with you being able to use not just one but both. Of course a warrior who has passed the magic examination can use some spells if they want but their proficiency in spells is very low. Some magicians also possess quite a good physique but of course they do not specially train in it. Spellblades have both and the most important thing is to keep them in balance.” Professor Oak explained.

“Let me give you certain scenarios. Imagine if a monster has weak physical defence but strong magical defence, a mage will be unable to deal with that monster well. A spellblade on the other hand will not have that problem. If a monster has weak magical defence but strong physical defence, the warriors will have a problem but the spellblades will still not have one. If a monster is balanced in both, if the spellblade is proficient in a type of magic that the monster is weak against, he or she will still be able to get an advantage for example using water magic attacks and even magically incorporated water physical attacks against a fire type monster. This is what it means to be a spellblade. The ability to adapt.” Professor Oak elaborated.

“Why I shouted seven just now was not because your entire report was filled with sevens, which is not a bad thing I would like to add. It is because you have 7 elemental affinities. For short, you are capable of calling any of the 7 elements equally well. Do you have any idea how priceless that is for a Spellblade? As long as you learn at least one spell of every element, which will not be hard for you because of your affinity, you will be able to gain a definite advantage over every type of monster there is. Unless the monster does not have any elemental type which is quite rare but still possible. They are called neutral monsters. Humans are also of the neutral type so in Kirin Academy, you may be more disadvantaged in the inter-school competitions but ultimately, you will be a force to be reckoned with against monsters in Xector. I plan to take no more than 20 people in this pioneer batch of Spellblades because it is an entirely new curriculum that I designed. I need to produce results before the school will allow me to continue this specialisation. As such, I plan to keep the class size small in order to fully concentrate on all of you to mentor and guide you to greater achievements. I can think of no better candidate than you to be a Spellblade. You are unequivocally accepted into the Kirin Academy under the new Spellblade faculty. I expect great things from you.” Professor Oak ended his speech with an expectant look.

“Thank you very much Sir. I will not let you down.” I replied, joy obviously showing from my face. In my whole life, I have always been looked upon by teachers as someone who was a good student. Not great, not bad, just good. However, here is a Professor of Kirin Academy telling me he expects great things from me. This feeling was something I experienced for the first time and I knew, this was a feeling I wanted to experience more of no matter what.

I left the faculty room and made a beeline straight for the North-east exit where Chippy should be waiting for me by now. As I ran down the many flights of stairs, Who the fuck designed this place I bet he/she could fly because it was insanely tiring to climb the stairs, I accidentally collided into a girl while I was cursing the architect of the East Spine.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry.” I quickly said as I bent down to help pick up the book that the girl dropped.

‘Qualifying Examination Report’ was the title of the book.

Oh she is an applicant too!

As I recovered to return her the book and to apologise yet again, I looked at her and my mouth fell open.

She was one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen before in my life. She had long, flowing red hair and an extremely fair complexion. She was quite tall for someone who was my age as well. Her brown eyes were neither big nor small and she had a look of concern on her face.

“Are you okay? Sorry, I wasn’t looking either!” She said with the voice of an angel.

I could feel myself blushing so I tried not to make eye contact with her.

“Oh I’m fine! Here’s your report back! Are you taking the interview for Kirin Academy as well?” I said sheepishly, wanting to find out if there was any chance I could see her again.

“Yes I am! I’m here for the Spellblade interview. By any chance are you also here for an interview?” She asked after looking at the report I was holding in my hand as well.

“YES! I mean yes. I just finished my interview and I got in! I hope you will as well!”

MY GOD! WHY JUST WHY DID I SOUND SO OVER-ENTHUSIASTIC. WHY DID I BRAG ABOUT GETTING IN THE SPELLBLADE FACULTY. WHAT IF SHE FINDS ME SNOBBISH. WHAT IS I HOPE YOU WILL AS WELL?! ARGHHHH JINX

“That’s great! Okay I shall go in now I think I’m about to be late!” She said as she waved and went up the stairs.

Ask for her name, ask for her name, ask for her name!!!!

As much as my brain yelled at me to do the obvious thing, some invisible object seemed to have stuck itself into my vocal cords and the only sound that was coming out of me was a sound that seemed to usually come out from suffocating pigs.

After that embarrassing encounter, I went to the NE(North-east) entrance and met with Chippy.

“Did you not get in?” He asked with a concerned look on his face.

“No? I got in! Why??” I replied.

“You looked like you just had a depressing encounter.”

I was about to tell Chippy the truth when I decided not to because NO ONE NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT EMBARRAJINX.

“Oh it’s nothing. I got in!! *Inserts happy face here* And I assume you didn’t even need an interview?”

“Das Right.” Chippy winked.

I punched him in the stomach and we went back home together.

After we received our acceptance letters which came about a week after the interview, we were informed that the school term would start in a week. Students of Kirin Academy needed to live in the academy itself because the school felt like staying on campus would be the most convenient and appropriate thing to do. The competitive environment filled with bright potential Legionnaires would drive each other to work harder, even after school.

My parents helped me to pack all my necessities needed and nagged at me to do so many things. Finally, when the day came, I felt a bit sad to move out from my parents, especially at such a young age but yet I also felt excitement, from what was to come as I embarked on my journey to become a Legionnaire.

Chippy and I went to school in a cart again, this time filled with all our clothes and necessities and we went straight to the Medial where the dorms were located. After arriving in the lobby of the dorms, I was amazed. It looked like a five-star hotel room where everything was intricately and impeccably designed.

“Are you checking-in?” A lady at the registration counter asked us, after looking at our luggage.

“Yes.” We replied simultaneously.

“Student name and ID” She asked.

“Chippy. 0009” He answered.

“You are residing in Odin hall, floor 3, room number 310. The door is already matched to your magic signature. Touch the door and swipe left to unlock it, touch the door and swipe right to lock it.” She said.

“Roger that~” Chippy chirped.

“Jinx. 1111.” I said.

“Loki hall, floor 5, room number 511. Similarly, the door is already matched to your magic signature.” She said.

“What’s the difference between the different halls?” I asked.

“Well, there are 4 different halls, each with their own culture. All of the amenities are similar but the people in each hall are different. Odin hall usually house the elites, the top 100 candidates from the exam based on total exam scores. Freya hall usually houses the magicians and archers, Magnus hall usually houses the warriors and assasins and Loki hall is usually the hall where the bottom entrants usually reside in.” She explained.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Chippy roared with laughter as he pointed at me.

“Bot-Bot-Bottom HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”

I gave one well aimed kick in between his legs and soon, Chippy was rolling all over the ground from pain instead of laughter.

“We still share a common lobby so I can still see you around.” I said and I proceeded to take my luggage to my room.

The room was not very spacious, with just a table, wardrobe, bed and shelves which all fit snugly into the design of the room. The walls were all white and clean. Even though it was not spacious, it gave quite a warm and cozy feeling so I liked the room quite a lot from my first impression. I opened the wardrobe and found that my school uniform has already been provided for me. It was a white shirt with one front pocket at the right breast and black long pants which were made from a stretchy and comfortable material. The blazer was also inside which was also black with purple designs on it. There was also a collar pin on my table with a note below.

“This bade is to be pinned to the left collar of your shirt. It serves as a location tracker in case you go missing, identification tag as each badge is unique to your student ID and a security pass, to let you gain access to certain parts of the school depending on your title, strength, year of schooling etc.”

The design of the badge was of course the head of a majestic Kirin, the emblem of the school. There were 2 sets of jackets, 4 sets of shirts and 4 sets of pants so I did not have to worry about having to do too much laundry.

School officially starts tomorrow but suddenly, I heard an announcement which came from the clock in my room which also had a Kirin design.

“Spellblades, this is Professor Oak, the dean of the faculty of Spellblades speaking. Please proceed to the East Spine Grand Lobby for a briefing before the term starts tomorrow.” He announced.

I immediately rushed over to the East Spine because I remembered a particular red-haired girl that caught every single fibre of my attention that day. I was the first one to reach as I recognised Professor Oak sitting down in the lobby but with no one near him. He saw me and waved and I was glad that he remembered me.

“I said I expect great things from you but you don’t have to run to attend every single briefing or meeting I call for okay?” He joked.

“Yes Sir.” I said sheepishly, embarrassed because I had an ulterior motive of coming so fast.

Soon, more and more people came before Professor Oak and I was patiently waiting for the girl of my dreams, waiting to hear the voice of an angel yet again.

“Alright that’s everyone!” Professor Oak announced.

NO!!!!!!