Thread: Vanguard Academia

Demi stood to his feet slowly, holding onto the wall. He didn't dare look to the figure at the end of the cavern. It stood in wait, as if anticipating the students to attack it.

The boy simply adjusted himself, keeping his eyes closed. He opened his ears, hearing James' yell of warning to the other students who'd made it into the cavern. The blond-haired ninja shot forward, rushing toward the creature blind. He held his hand in front of him, firing a multitude of fireballs at it.

The creature, in question, simply stood there are the fireballs hit it; moving only the tiniest bit from the impact of the attacks. However, it was when Demi had made it into the cavern clearing that it disappeared. The creature's body shot into the air, turning into nothing but a mere sliver of darkness that went out of the gaping hole in the ground above them.

Demi didn't feel any type of resistance, making an effort to open his eyes. It was gone. Did he kill it? He couldn't tell.
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Lucille, on the other hand, was gripping the bars of the platform. What the hell was that thing? It wasn't... in the test.

Silver remarked on it. "Wow... nice effect, ma'm," he believed it to be a part of the test. "Where on earth did you train something like that?"

The blond didn't answer. That, alone, was enough to tell the School Champion all he needed to know. "That... wasn't in the test was it?"

Ouroboros spoke up,loud enough for all to hear,"That beast...it's gone..but the energy signature was different than the other monsters..which
means it must not have been part of the test!"

James' eyes widened,"Are you serious?!"

Will continued on. "What's with all the racket he?" He though aloud as the Artemis Lanturn light flickered and danced. What felt like a powerful breeze hit him.

"What the hell?" He shouted as Marley had just ran passed him at tremendous speeds, creating a powerful wind as she passed him.

Marley made it to the place where Demi was and stopped, after seeing Demi.

"What caused so much damage?" She asked as she straightened her pigtails.

Will finally caught up. "What's the hurry lady!" He panted after he'd sprinted to catch up.

(OOC: If you guys did not pick up a metal slab, it's too late to go get it now. They were needed for this.)

Demi looked up out of the hole, letting the sunlight beam down on him. He sighed inaudibly, listening to the message Ouroboros sent to the others. Yeah. He'd sensed its energy. That thing wasn't one of the garden-variety creatures; but that didn't mean it wasn't a part of the test. Maybe it was just... unexpected.

In any case, the boy looked back to check on Leo and Sam. He would then turn, leaping from the hole. Whatever it was, he'd need to face it head-on.

Coming from the hole, however, he was only greeted by large stones. Each of the stones separated larger slabs from one another. They seemed to emanate energy from them. Ethereal essence that trickled from their entirety.

'Must be the end...'

Demi began to walk over a stone slab, standing in front of it. He made sure to examine it, first. He then lifted a hand, preparing to feel it. As he attempted to, a circle of energy came from the door, buzzing as it began to form into something.

From the energy was a... keyhole. A keyhole? So, these were doors. 'Probably leading out of this place...' But, he didn't have a key.

James saw Demi walking onward so he followed him onward to the hole and beyond, he arrived at the slab of stones. "Huh...is this the end?"
He walked around them until he found one with a keyhole."Hmm..." He looked at the metal in his hand and noticed it was malleable,"Yo,Demi right?"
He motioned to the metal,"This stuff is malleable...think we can shape them into keys?"

"I can help." Wild said. "I might be able to form a key to open it."

"Aedemi," the boy merely stated toward James. He wasn't one to usually let people call him by his nickname unless he... well... trusted them.

The boy held out his metal, thinking about what James said. He was right. It probably could be fashioned into keys. The boy held up his metal, twisting and turning it. The result was a slight deformed, defective-looking key. It was rough, but it would serve its purpose.

Sliding it into the lock, he twisted it. The result was a loud creaking and clanging, complete with the door opening up. On the other side of the door was nothing but white, causing the boy to cover his eyes. The light was blinding. However, he knew he needed to walk into it.

With this in mind, the boy progressed through the door; it shutting behind him.

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Lucille looked up to see something materialize in the air. "Aedemi Yura..."

Demi began to come into being above the sphere. The test was done. They'd reached the end.

The boy began to float down, his eyes closed from behind his scarf. He descended to the ground, the light dispersing from him. He opened his eyes, blinking. His vision was blurred for a moment, before focusing in on ground. 'What?' Looking up, he was greeted by the cheers of the crowds and the voice of the Headmistress.

"Aedemi Yura! Welcome back into the world! You and your companions are the first to finish!" His companions...? Looking up, Demi made to see who else came from the Infinity Dome.

James molded his metal into a key and inserted it into a seal, it flared with light and engulf him, causing
him to rematerialize in the Infinity Dome. He floated down beside Demi,"..We're..back?"

Marley and Will molded the metal slabs into keys. Marley's looking rather terrible after being molded while Will's looked like it was made by a profesional locksmith. The two unlocked the doors before appearing in the Infinity Dome.

"Thank god that's over. Any longer and i would've started to panic." Marley thought aloud.

"Awe, all the good stuff is over. I guess I'll have to entertain myself some other way for the time being." He mused as he returned Artemis into it's key form.

The Headmistress looked to see Will, Marley, and James all make it back safe and sound. "Welcome, Marley Walker, Will Akabara and James White! You have successfully completed your Infinity Dome challenge."

The scores were finally set in stone. Once everyone came into the Infinity Dome, they would receive their rankings.

"They already left." Leo panted as he and Same caught up to the door. Sam closed his eyes before he began to shape his own keys with gravity as well as his brother. "We should hurry."

"It wouldn't hurt you to do better next time." Sam pointed out suddenly, causing Leo to stare at him for a moment. "You know how to fight too you know, no need for you to get so scared."

"Sorry." Leo chuckled nervously while ruffling the back of his head. "But you showed them your talents and that's good enough I mean, if you get into a really high ranking at this academy that would mean a lot for your future right." he pointed out with an eager smile. However, Sam just stared back to the keyhole and opened the door.

"Rankings are just titles, they don't mean a thing when it comes down to it." he stated coldly as he walked in before being followed by his brother. Once they had gone through they reappeared along with the others, with Sam pocketing his hands and Leo strapping his staff back onto his back.

Once Sam and Leo both made their ways back into the academy, the two were instantly greeted. "Welcome back to the world," the Headmistress said. The crowd began to cheer for the two.

(OOC: Skipping and assuming that @AlphaMouse;, @Grit;, and @Little Miss Eevee; are here as well.)

The nine students stood in a slight cluster, all turned towards the screens as they watched their scores. Silver's voice rang out. "Now, the scores shall be tallied up; showing all of the performance records!"

A lady chirped in, adding some more details. "Remember all; the points do not denote your ranking. While you may have a high point amount, your ranking can still be low!"

The crowd all cheered as the points came to a halt. The students all saw their scores. They were each listed in order.

1. Samuel Strike - 459 Points
2. James White - 278 Points
3. Aedemi Yura - 264 Points
4. Jean Kubin - 242 Points
5. Will Akabara - 228 Points
6. Marley Walker - 215 Points
7. John Ulthridge - 201 Points
8. Luna Rossi - 181 Points
9. Leonardo Strike - 157 Points

With all of their scores displayed, Demi simply nodded to himself. Third place... not bad.

"There are your scores folks! In an overwhelming lead position, we have Samuel Strike!" the crowds began to cheer. "Now, we move onto the rankings!"

Lucille stepped up to the podium, holding up a hand. "All of you shall be given your student rankings, now," she said, energy pooling at her palm.

Going down the list, the rankings began. "Samuel Strike shall be given the status of 'White Ranking'," the boy was immediately encircled with energy, transforming his uniform into a white colored jacket, leaving his pants in tact. @Stellar Gale;

"James White, you shall be given the status of 'Red Ranking'," said male was encircled with energy, a red jacket coming to him. @GamerGX;

"Aedemi Yura, you shall be given the status of 'Silver Ranking'," the scarfed male was circled in the energy of the others, a silver jacket coming above his clothing.

"Jean Kubin and Marley Walker, both of you are rewarded with the 'Red Ranking'," the two of them were circled by the energy, red jackets coming to them. @Grit; @Wild Candy;

"Will Akabara, you shall be rewarded with the 'Silver Ranking'," in a flash of circular energy, a silver jacket was upon his torso.

"John Ulthridge and Luna Rossi, your rankings shall be 'Blue Ranking'," the energy funneled around the two, giving them blue jackets upon their torsos. @AlphaMouse; @Little Miss Eevee;

"Leonardo Strike, you shall be given the 'Black Ranking'," energy pooled around him in a circular motion, a black jacket coming to the boy's torso.

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It had taken about a few hours, but all new students had finally finished their runs through the Infinity Dome. They had been christened their new rankings, and now awaited to see which houses they would be in.

"Now, house placement begins! Once you receive your house, you will find your luggage within a containment scroll in any room you so choose," Lucille stated. This was her favorite part.

The students all directed their attention to a screen that displayed them, powered by Broadcasting Magic. The magic showed the four houses, and finally, the students who would be within.

Draconea: Will Akabara, Marley Walker, Leonardo Strike
Serpenta: John Ulthridge, Luna Rossi
Aves: Jean Kubin, James White
Panthera: Aedemi Yura, Samuel Strike

"And there you have it. The houses have been chosen; thank you for a very successful orientation day, and please return to your houses. You will have two days to gather yourself in your rooms and houses. For directions to your dormitories, please report outside to your designated Guardian," the Headmistress stated.

Demi began to leave with the others. However, he immediately stopped himself as his eyes widened. Standing in front of the Infinity Dome were the prides of the Academy. The Guardians. The Four Great Animals of Vanguard.

The Black Dragon, Volcano Lion, Forest Basilisk, and Cloud Hawk all towered above the students; reaching nearly six to seven times their heights. One was able to make an inference on who they were to follow.

Draconea - Black Dragon
Serpenta - Forest Basilisk
Aves - Cloud Hawk
Panthera - Volcano Lion

"I guess we didn't get th esame ranking or dorm huh?' Leo chuckled and ruffled the back of his head as he looked at Sam, who seemed to be rather unmoved by his ranking. He knew that if it hadn't been for that stroke of luck he wouldn't have been able to get rid of all those creatures and that in itself was something that seemed to make him uneasy, though Leo couldn't understand why. Ever since they were young Sam had always had talent in magic yet he always refused to accept compliments or prices, almost as if he didn't deserve them.

"That may be true, but I still have a lot of work to do." Sam stated simply as he crossed his arm and looked at Leo. "Don't you give up either okay." his expression became more determined now. "You can increase your rank so I don't want you to get lazy or I'll make you pay myself, we promised we would become great mages together."

Leo actually felt a bit intimidated by what he had just said but instead he just chuckled and scratched his chin. "I'll do my best." he nodded his head before looking around at the others. He really had gotten the lowest rank among them all, though he couldn't blame it; after all he had relied on Sam but it's not like he could've done much if he was on his own. He looked down at the floor for a moment as a gentle smile crossed his face; he didn't need to be at the highest spot as long as he knew that he could at least be of some use.

When the dorms were assigned Sam instantly turned to look at Demi once more. He didn't go talk to him immediately though; instead staring at Silver for a moment. He would definitely want to talk to the man personally, not to challenge him or see what he's worth but for advise, to see his strategies, his ability and his talent first hand. He then turned to Demi once more. "I guess it'll be you and me from now on."

Leo looked at Will and Marley and smiled as he walked over. "Um...hello." he grinned and waved at them. "I know it's kind of sudden for someone to just talk all of a sudden." he scratched his cheek while chuckling nervously. "But I hope we can all get along."

Will saw that he was paired with Marley in the Draconea House and finally introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Will" Marley was a little shy but introduced herself firmly and confidently. "My name is Marley Walker, it's pleasure to meet you." She then stared at the large guardians. "There huge, I think were supposed to follow the dragon." She said. "Sounds about right." Will replied. Marley then bowed her head and said. "Congradulations on you Silver Rank." Will chuckled. "It's nothing special, it's probably just some fluke or something. You should pretty proud of yourself. Red Rank is pretty good, A very firm building block to get to other ranks." Will said. "I know, I'll make you some food when we get to the Dorm." Marley said. "That sounds great." Will replied with a smile, unaware of the horrors that awaited him through Marley's cooking.

Leo looked at Will and Marley and smiled as he walked over. "Um...hello." he grinned and waved at them. "I know it's kind of sudden for someone to just talk all of a sudden." he scratched his cheek while chuckling nervously. "But I hope we can all get along."