The Academy's Only Human Summoner
The entrance ceremony began. "We will now commence the enrollment ceremony for the 148th class of Aethernoa Academy," the Dean's voice rang out, amplified by magic and echoing across the circular amphitheater. The restless chatter among the crowd died away in an instant, like a wave receding. The Dean stood at the center of the stage, his half-white beard framing a slow gaze that swept over the new students. "First, I extend my congratulations to every new student standing here today." A grand silence followed. His eyes traveled the line from beginning to end, then settled on the special-admission section where we stood. "You each arrived here after intense trials in your own ways and on your own paths. Whether you entered as the top scorer or through the special program, the weight of that journey is no different." The Dean paused. In the viewing stands, parents nodded their heads. "Aethernoa Academy does not discriminate. Origin, bloodline, or the level of your mana mean nothing here. The only scale by which we measure a summoner's worth is growth. Whether you have advanced even a single step beyond yesterday's self. This academy asks only one question." The Dean's voice carried genuine warmth. At least, that was how it was meant to be. "Aethernoa Academy is a place for those who wish to become the greatest. If you believe in yourselves and are willing to put in the effort, and if you do not waste the time you spend here, I have no doubt you will one day become the foundation of the empire." Cheers erupted from the stands. No discrimination, I thought bitterly to myself. I had been seated in the admission score order, with the special program isolated at the very end. The mockery from the regular students who had sneered at us while crossing our path just moments ago, before the speech had even started, was nothing compared to this grand speech. No discrimination, indeed. The combat ring had at least been honest. There, the weak lost and the strong won, and the numbers clearly defined value. No one wrapped that truth in beautiful words. The raw cruelty was cleaner than this hypocrisy. "Next, we will proceed with the new student oath. The top-scoring new student, please come to the stage." Following the Dean's guidance, the male student at the front of the line climbed onto the stage. Straight back, unhurried steps. While all eyes were on his retreating figure, I glanced sideways. Yustia stared straight ahead. *** The last applause of the entrance ceremony scattered between the stone pillars, and the new students scattered in every direction for class assignments. "New students, please proceed to your assigned lecture halls. Class assignments and orientation will take place in each classroom." The amplified announcement echoed across the plaza. And right after, the familiar phrase followed. "New students accompanying summoners, please follow the guidance. Until class assignments are complete, summoners will be gathered at the Summoner Waiting Room on the first basement floor of the main building. Please leave your summoners there after confirming their registration bracelets." Here we go again. Exactly the same as when I took the intelligence test. The summoner took the test, and the summoner was locked in the cage. The memories returned vividly. Sitting among the beasts, receiving the humiliating treatment of an "insane" from the patrol guards. "Taesan, sorry, but again..." Yustia looked up at me with an awkward face. Her lips trembled, then she trailed off. "I know. Go." "I'll come back as fast as I can. Really." Yustia kept glancing back until she vanished toward the lecture hall. I watched her retreating back for a moment, then tapped the head of Whisper, who let out a worried whine from my shoulder. "Let's go. We're in the same boat." The first basement floor of the main building. The Summoner Waiting Room. The moment the door opened, the familiar scent flooded in. The musky, damp air thick with the unique scent of beasts and mana. The vast space was divided into cage-like partitions, and in each compartment, all kinds of summoners crouched or paced. A scaled lizard-like creature, a wolf-type summoner with only red eyes glowing in the dark, a bat-like thing hanging upside down from the ceiling with wings folded. The only difference was the scale. Bigger, more of them, and louder. "Ah. So those are the human-type summoners I've only heard rumors about." The guard at the entrance caught my wrist and scanned the bracelet. He looked up at me. When our eyes met, his pupils trembled. "I've heard the stories. I've set aside a spot at the very end compartment. You can go now." The very end. As expected, the corner. The assigned compartment was unlike the others; it was an open space divided by low partitions instead of bars. At least, unlike the intelligence test, I hadn't been shoved into a beast pen. I suppose that counted as consideration. A wooden bench and a water bowl were there. "I even brought the chair you used before. If you need anything, just let me know." "Thank you for your consideration." I sat silently on the bench. Whisper flew up from my shoulder, landed on the backrest, and blinked his round eyes at me. The little one seemed to have no complaints about the situation. Why would he? This was his normal place. Only I was the problem. I leaned against the bench and looked up at the ceiling. For some reason in the basement, the magic lights cast a faint glow, but even that light felt damp and oppressive. "Hey." I turned my head, and the guard from earlier was leaning over the partition, clipboard in hand, eyes fixed entirely on me. An expression of curiosity he couldn't quite suppress. "But... are you really a summoner?" "Yes." "For real?" "Yes. Really." The guard slid the clipboard into his armpit and took one step closer. His voice dropped a tone. "I know this is rude, but there's been some chatter from the waiting room lately." "Chatter?" "How did you become a summoner? There's a rumor you were kidnapped and forcibly bound to a summoning ritual. That Rosenheart family secretly revived a forbidden human summoning ceremony and offered you as a sacrifice to create an artificial summoner..." The guard's eyes sparkled. He was more excited than telling the gossip. "Really? They say such rumors exist." I let out a snort of laughter at the absurdity. Artificial summoner? Reality was far more mundane and simple. "No. It's not that. I really was summoned. I wasn't from this world originally." "..." The guard's eyes widened even more. "So you came from another world? Not a monster, not a spirit, just a person?" "Yes. Just a person." The guard set the clipboard down completely, completely forgetting about his duties. "Wow... so what did you do there? A knight? Or maybe a magician?" "I fought as a fighter." "Fighting? There people battle each other? Why?" "I don't know why they like it so much." The guard tilted his head. The concept of fighting with nothing but body and magic without weapons didn't seem to resonate in this world. "Then how did you even get into the academy without mana? This place isn't a joke." "Well, here the gravity is weak." I hesitated, then explained as simply as I could. "In my world, gravity was much stronger. So when I came here, the same effort produced different results. My body became lighter, and my strength hit harder." "Ah... so in your original world you were normal, but here your body became stronger?" "That's the idea." "Wow... so you passed the special program purely with your body, without mana? The rumor that the professors unanimously accepted you must be true." "I don't know if it was unanimous, but I did get in somehow." "Oh, you're being modest." The guard clicked his tongue and sighed. Then, as if something occurred to him, he lowered his voice and leaned in further. The posture of a gossip getting to the main point. "But in this special program class, apparently a bunch of weirdos got in." "Weirdos?" "Even among the faculty, there's talk. When you work in the waiting room, you hear all kinds of rumors." The guard glanced around and lowered his voice as if leaking state secrets. "One, there's a kid with mana values off the charts, higher than the regular top scorer, but he tanked the intelligence test and got dumped here. And there's a crazy person who registered himself as a summoner by carving a summoning contract into his own body..." "What?" "I don't know either! Rumors are rumors. Oh, and there's a noble who transferred from the kingdom. His family doesn't get along with the empire, so regular admission was blocked." The guard started listing on his fingers, then suddenly looked up at me and grinned. "Anyway, even if you count all that, human summoners are the most special, right?"