Alright 'Aegon Dhalar', how are we going to change your sad sad pathetic life?"
Those were the last words of internal discontent Aegon told himself before getting to work.
Awakeners weren't allowed to go to regular school anyway and the awakening Academy wouldn't be accepting people for a few weeks.
That was all the time he had.
A few weeks to get this body in a somewhat decent shape.
First, he muted his phone to stop all distractions and especially the incessant calls from Micheal that bordered on stalking.
He cut his hair, changed his wardrobe and tried to hit the gym for a moderately good body.
He tried channeling aether but for some reason he had no idea what he was doing.
But by the time the letter of acceptance into the awakening Academy came, he was fully prepared.
His stepmother gave him a hearth hug before setting him on his way, suitcase in the truck of the car and backpack slung over his shoulder.
He entered the car and turned to the house, his stepmother and workers standing right outside, waving him goodbye.
His stepmother bore a smile on her face but had tears rolling down her cheeks.
'Oh this lady is way too much.'
He rolled his eyes and turned his head straight.
It wouldn't be the last time he'd see her but for now he had more important issues to deal with.
The drive was relatively long and silent.
Their drivers knew not to make conversations with the masters and Aegon whether or not he was truly a master, didn't care.
He preferred the silence over nonsensical chatter.
After what felt like staring out the window for hours the car started to slowly signaling the end of their journey.
"Wow."
Those were the only words Aegon could piece together whilst looking at the massive structures before him.
The main building directly in front of the sidewalk where registration was taking place was beautiful.
A symphony of cement and wood. Four giant cement pillar held the top up and on it read 'Aetherion Academy.'
The name of their academy, one of the only six in the nation of Veltharion.
The academy was built on top of an Aetherwell— natural spots in this world where the flow of aether was naturally much more powerful and vibrant.
The place was bustling with liveliness, newly registered awakeners swarmed the place with their luggage.
Aegon saw all this from the comfort of the car.
"..."
He spent quite a few minutes contemplating how to handle the upcoming situation, the only reason why he was even here was because the system stated it clearly: ALL TRIALS ARE MANDATORY.
He drew a weary sigh, grabbed hold of the handle and pushed it out.
The uproar of the students finally hit him like a wave.
But so did the aether, he still wasn't able to draw on it but he could just feel it thick in the air.
Like fresh air from a mountain top, it felt freeing.
The driver hurriedly got out of the car after him and got his things, placed them by his side as servants weren't allowed to go in with students.
He grabbed the suitcase and moved forward.
He reached the steps of the main building, pushing between clustering awakeners before finally making it to the receptionist desk in front.
She was an elderly woman evident by the lines on her forehead, sag of her cheeks and raspiness of her voice when she spoke.
"Name?"
She said flatly.
"Uhmm— Aegon Dhalar."
He stuttered slightly.
~Tat-tat-tat.~
She typed something onto the keyboard and turned back to him.
"Place your hand on the sensor."
Aegon rubbed his sweaty thumb against his jeans before pushing his finger against the glowing red sensor next to her monitor.
The sensor changed to green signaling him to take off his finger and he did.
She turned to the side— to the person beside her who brought his hands from under the desk and gave her a rectangular metallic card.
She passed it back to Aegon and said in a monotonous voice.
"That's your academy ID, it's also your key card to your room. It should also have the name of your dorm, and the room number on it.
In your room, you should have your standard Novus Aetherion Academy uniform on your bed, keep in mind your roommates also have a key to that room—"
"Roommates?"
Aegon snapped his head as soon as he heard those words, he hadn't had the best experiences with roommates in his past life.
Especially in college. Scratch that, especially in a harem college.
The lady didn't know this nor did she care as she continued.
"Yes, roommates, two others to be exact and it's co-ed..."
'of course it is.'
He faceplammed himself mentally but let her continue.
"So it could be boys or girls, it's all random but there will be regular room check to make sure nothing untoward is happening."
Aegon had already dismissed her in his mind. He knew that nothing and I mean absolutely nothing could stop teenagers particularly college teenagers from doing whatever they wanted.
But she continued to speak so Aegon decided to tune back in.
"... So get to the Nightwalker hall as soon as possible for orientation, it'll begin in a few minutes."
She lazily pointed out the window to another building, not far from their location like an auditorium.
So then again Aegon began logging his suitcase behind him like all other students as they made their way to 'Nightwalker hall.'
"..."
After a few long and excruciating minutes, he finally made it to the auditorium where bleachers rounded the small center stage.
He sat down with his box placed by his side and just watched as the newly awakened socialized amongst themselves.
The cliques were already formed and lifelong friendships had begun—
But Aegon, still sweaty from logging around his suitcase and bag while he whipped his head every which way in the direction of casual conversations.
'Oh I'm hopeless.'
He shook his head.
~THUNK!~
All the lights of the stadium dimmed in unison and condensed at the centre stage.
It seemed like a ploy to capture all the attention of everyone around—
And it worked.
All breaths hitched and eyes widened to the sound of heavy boots marching to the stage.
The figure finally stepped out of the shadows—
A tall lean man with shoulder length disheveled raven-black hair and perpetually half-lidded eyes that glowed a faint red.
He had a rather gloomy expression and a low crackly voice that seemed to drag each word than required.
"Welcome to Aetherion Academy, Novuses."