Leo was given no choice. He had to stay in the Recreare. He had to. As much as he preferred to return to his daughter and then go to Arche Hamlet, there wasn't much he could do when his hands were tied and his ribs were broken.
"Grigori Durov…" Leo stared at the reflection of himself, the tunic and jerkin raised. The flesh of his ribs were a twisted, mangled mess. An ordinary man would vomit at the sight.
A small price to pay against that monster of a warrior. The General-polkovnik had been no slouch even without his arms. Although that did beg the question—who the hell took away the general's arms?
Oh well. He grabbed the garbs and slipped over his head. He didn't have time to think about the matter. Right now, he had to wear the uniform. He was at the scheduled appointment at the hamlet with Professor Eury: Hartwell's Tailoring & Uniforms, the shop was called, and the professor had been inside, casually browsing a display of sewing needles. She looked up and waved when she spotted him. Leo followed her toward the counter, where an elderly tailor with a measuring tape draped around his neck greeted them. Without wasting time, he handed Leo a neatly folded set of robes.
Now…
"Wow."
He couldn't believe it. A uniform. He was wearing the uniform of Arcadia Academy.
'Because of fraud. I frauded my way through.'
When he emerged, he examined himself in the shop's tall mirror. The Arcadia Academy uniform was a long, black robe, the fabric flowing smoothly over his frame. The cuffs, ankles, buttons, and collar were all a stark white, giving it a formal and almost ceremonial appearance. The material was surprisingly lightweight, though it felt durable.
'Did they weave this enchantments?'
Leo adjusted the collar and blinked. "Huh. I swear…weren't these red? At least on Ashen. No, wait, I remember seeing other kids with the cuffs being green…"
Professor Eury caught his expression. "Something wrong?"
"I swear I saw red some of the others having different colours," Leo said, frowning slightly. "At least on the cuffs and ankles."
"Ooh, good observation. That's normal. Once you're assigned to a dorm and given your dorm pin, the white will change to your dorm's colour."
Leo glanced at her. "Dorm colours?"
"Yep! Luminara is red, Noctis is black, Terranova is green, and Chelys is blue."
Leo hummed in thought, looking back at his reflection. His uniform would stay black and white until the first day of school when he was officially placed.
"So can I pick my dorm based on my colour preference?"
Professor Eury burst into laughter. "Based on colour!? That's the first time I've ever heard anyone say that. No, no, it's more than just colour. There's history, there's competition, there's rivalry! Come on, haven't you heard of the legendary duels between Luminara and Noctis students?"
"Yeah, yeah, of course. They are super legendary. Even I've heard of them."
Leo had never heard of them.
Professor Eury stepped back and gave him an exaggerated thumbs-up. "Anyway, you look great! Very student-like."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should," she said brightly. Clapping her hands together, she gestured toward the wooden table near the counter, where a stack of papers awaited. "Now then, sit down and fill out those papers." She was already behind him, pushing him by the shoulder. This lady did not seem to know about boundaries. "This is super, super important info for us. Where you live, emergency contacts, parents, siblings, all that fun stuff. Think of it as practice for exams!"
Leo sat down, picking up a quill.
"Oh, but the exams won't ask you about exams. It'll be course-material related." Professor Eury grinned and sat down opposite to him. "Don't take too long. I still need to show you the academy's food stalls after this."
A sigh from the elderly tailor. "Weren't you complaining about having not completed your classes first assignment?"
"First assignment? What are you...oh crap!" Professor Eury stood up, accidentally slamming the table. "Okay, uh…Leo, you stay here. Hand the papers over to Mr. Hartwell when you're done. I'll pick them up later in the day."
Mr. Hartwell snorted. "Might as well just deliver 'em to the Headmaster myself, you lazy bum."
"H-hey, no! I'll come back soon! I, ah, it's an emergency. New emergency." The young professor bounced on her feet, looked over at Leo, and forced a smile. "Just don't tell anyone. Okay? Okay, bye!"
Professor Eury ran out. Leo blinked rapidly and watched as the door flipped-flopped from the hinges.
"Sorry about her," said Mr. Hartwell. "It's not easy. She's only in her second year of full-time teaching."
"It's no biggie."
"I remember you. The professor mentioned trouble regarding your arrival?" Mr. Hartwell said. "Do you mind my asking?"
"I'm…not sure if I'm allowed to say."
"Of course."
'...he sells information off on the side, doesn't he?'
An innocent old tailor. Ha. For somebody raised in the Dark Sector, it was easy to tell innocent from info broker.
"Can I ask something?" Leo said in turn. "The Candidate Orientation, what does it consist of?"
The elderly tailor twirled the ends of his perfectly white moustache. He was a tall, energetic old man. "Hoho, I am allowed to say either."
A quick glance at the door. Leo put down his quill. "How about for a silver coin?"
Mr. Hartwell stared him down until a smile appeared. "Hoho. I think you will fit right in."
Leo was a cheapskate. He was also desperate and walking into an event he had no knowledge of. Better to be safe than sorry.
"The Candidate Orientation," Mr. Hartwell began, "is Arcadia Academy's way of peeling back the layers of its students. It's not just about what you know—it's about who you are. They'll test your magic, your wit, your resilience, and your heart. And based on what they find, they'll assign you to a class: F, the lowest, to A, the highest."
"Right, right, but how do they decide? Is it just a written exam? It can't be that over the top."
"Have you not been reading the papers you are signing? Arcadia Academy is not responsible for any damages up until you have completed at least two semesters."
Leo snapped his head down and rapidly read through everything. "Oh. Oh, it specifically talks about the orientation too. They are not responsible for any damages caused during the orientation..."
Mr. Hartwell smiled. "The Orientation changes every year, you see. Different professors are chosen to design and oversee it, and each one brings their own… flair. Some years, it's a gauntlet of physical challenges. Other years, it may be a lost and found game. And then there are the years when it's something entirely unexpected."
"Like what?"
He tightened the end of his moustache, chuckling. "One year, Professor Thorne—he teaches Alchemical Transmutation—decided to walk the students to the Forest of Light and proceeded to turn the forest into a living puzzle. The students were dragged in and divided up into teams. Together, they had to solve their chosen puzzle. One team had been found fainted, having been lifted upside down and hung by a tree. Another year, Professor Kelara elected for simple target practice. Pick up a wand and blast magic. The wands were of a special calibre that autotuned any type of mana into a selected element."
"That's a thing? So someone with, say, wind magic could suddenly send out a blast of fire?"
"Precisely. Frankly, it was more of a test for her invention. Professor Kelara no longer works here. After catching wind of her invention, a Lord of the Old Mage Tower called her over to be their right-hand. She accepted. that girl." Mr. Hartwell laughed. "She was always quite uninterested in being a teacher, you see."
"Do you know if the professor for mine is going to be easy like that?"
"The professors look for potential, not perfection. They want to see how you think, how you adapt, how you handle pressure. And they're not just watching—they're testing for patterns. Every professor has their own style, their own preferences."
"Okay, so the professor is that bad, huh?"
"He is," Mr. Hartwell admitted. "This year, it's Professor Jovic. Many of the students call him the Joker."
"The Joker...?"
"If you want to know more, that will be another silver coin."
"It's fine." Leo folded his arms, thinking. "The Joker, huh? I can already imagine the trouble from the name alone."