For the headmaster of Floating Air Barracks, Weruh Sesanti, the day of the school entrance exams began in a manner similar to chaos. Or rather, it was arranged in a manner similar to chaos. Which was not at all strange to him, anyone who knew him knew exactly that the headmaster could never be found where he was supposed to be and that he always appeared when he wanted. Although this made it very difficult for anyone to talk to him about serious matters on time, somehow everything always worked perfectly in the end in Floating Air Barracks.
As Weruh had previously arranged, he would have two meetings in the morning. One with the headmaster of another Itaguyn school, and the other with an envoy from the western border. However, these were only such simple things on paper, as the man started the day early in the morning by using soul magic to find the group of cultivator apprentices that he had known for weeks were coming to Floating Air Barracks.
Of course, he didn't show up for the morning opening ceremony or even for the first assignment. After all, the school teachers knew he was busy. However, when the two teachers who were conducting the tests underestimated the team, who were clearly way ahead of their age group, he couldn't help but speak up and also remark that he really shouldn't be where he was right now.
Eventually, however, his assignments caught up with him. More accurately, when he tried to sneak out of the testing venue, the principal of the other school literally grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him into his office for their meeting, which had officially been going on for three quarters of an hour. Such incidents are the disadvantages of being a principal. Especially when said principal has no desire to do his assignments.
For example, he couldn't make time for his second missed meeting until late in the afternoon, when the entrance tests were already over. And it wasn't because he wanted to see where the cultivator team finished in the queue. To his great joy, he was not disappointed in the team, all of whose members finished in the top group. With this knowledge, it was a little, but only a little, easier to listen to the Western envoy's hysterics, so to speak.
Of course, Weruh couldn't relax until the end of the day. After all, just when he was about to retire for the evening, Emma and Mark caught him for a conversation. Concern shone in the eyes of the two teachers as they led the man back to his office.
"Okay, what's this about?" Weruh asked.
"About the group of students who finished at the top of the entrance tests." Emma said seriously.
"They're the protégés of an acquaintance, he said, but there's something wrong with them." Mark shook his head.
"Why is that?" The director tilted his head to the side and blinked at the pair.
"Because they should be weak, but they're still at the top of the list." The female teacher explained.
"Why would they be weak?" Weruh blinked in confusion.
"The crystal didn't flash for them when they signed up." Emma said seriously, as the director picked up the crystal ball on the corner of his desk.
"Do you think I'm weak too?" Weruh raised one eyebrow.
"Of course not, but..." The woman began.
"Just because the crystal doesn't flash, they might still be strong. The crystal doesn't light up if someone's too weak or if someome has too much soul magic." The director explained, as if he were speaking to first-graders.
"The three of them made light surrounding the gate." Mark interrupted.
"And?" Weruh looked at the pair in confusion.
"And?! It's never done anything like this before!" The deputy director was stunned.
"The gate is made of soul magic-sensing stone. Their energies may have resonated. You shouldn't see any horrors right away." The headmaster shook his head, then sent the pair away so he could sleep off this long day.
The next morning, after his headmaster duties had been thrown aside again, Weruh took on a younger form and, changing his features, mingled with the students of his school. It was customary at Floating Air Barracks for first-year students to be shown around the school by an older student before they were placed under the protection of a senior.
Weruh wasn't surprised when he noticed in the courtyard that morning that all the students of the school were at a decent distance from the eight-person border team, as if they were surrounded by fire. After the conversation last night, he had expected to encounter something similar. That was why he had taken on this young form with the help of soul magic.
Since shapeshifting was the principal's specialty anyway, and very few people knew about it, he could safely use this ability in his school without being noticed. So now he walked confidently towards the group of eight, who looked at him in surprise when he reached them.
"Welcome to Floating Air. Congratulations on your results. I'm Joan, I'll show you around today." He said with a smile and his hands behind his back. "What can I call you?" He asked the question, and the boys looked at the pale orange-eyed boy as one person.
"I'm Razvan." The boy nodded, with a faint smile on his lips.
"Rahul!" The one standing next to him waved.
"Suk, and he is Teveli." The boy with the yellow gloves spoke, then pointed to the one standing next to him.
"I am Benkó." The boy in the blue clothes nodded.
"Achilleus!" The boy next to him raised his hat.
"I am Wandi." The palest-skinned boy introduced himself, but when his gaze met Weruh's gaze, the director's blood froze for a moment, the child had a stronger aura than he had expected.
"And my name is Citar." The last member of the team smiled kindly, to which Weruh nodded.
"Have you had breakfast yet?" He asked, and when the team answered no, he continued enthusiastically. "Then come, I will show you the dining room." With that, he waved at them and turned around, then repeating his usual rhyme on such occasions, he led the team to the dining room, then through the most important parts of the school.
It's true that the tour ended much faster than average, as the principal quickly realized that the usual school rules and "where to find the bathroom" conversations, which usually have to be repeated ten times to the new students, were perfectly understood by the team the first time around.
It was a pleasant discovery for Weruh that the eight-member team was aware of basic rules such as "We don't talk back in class!", "We don't attack our classmates just because!", "We don't abuse what we've learned!" and so on. It seemed that the team had been aware of such rules for a long time. So after the school tour and the handover of their schedules, the disguised principal calmly left the border team alone to explore the school on their own for the rest of the day before their classes the next day.
"I'll be curious to see how they perform in class." The man chuckled under his breath, as he now returned to his office in his own form, only to find himself facing a very grumpy deputy principal.
"Where have you been all morning again?! I've been looking for you everywhere!" The man growled, forgetting politeness, which meant he was already very angry, but Weruh just shrugged with a grin.
"Here and there." The principal finally said indifferently.
"Just not where you were supposed to be!" Mark held his head. "There's a document to sign on your desk and the visiting principal says he wants to talk to you tonight. You can't drag it out forever, because in the end they'll take away our right to host, and you were the one who wanted us to do the competition this year!" The man pointed at Werug with angry eyes.
"Okay, okay, I give in. I'll sign the papers and go to the meeting." He raised his hands defensively.
"I'll look at you in an hour and if you're not at your meeting, I'll take you away!" Mark threatened, then left him alone.
"Yes, that's exactly why I hired you as deputy director." Weruh chuckled as he sat down behind his desk to do that terribly boring paperwork.