Legend of the Immortal

Friend

Gracie nodded her head, bowing to the representatives,"I will make my choice by the end of the selection. Thank you for your understanding."

The representatives nodded in reply, satisfied by her reply,"Then young lady, we look forward to your answer.

"Well? Shall we?" Arceus asked as he looked to Gracie.

"Thank you, your highness."

"Don't be so formal! I truly wish to be your friend! Call me Arceus!" He jovially replied in good humour.

Leading Gracie to the carriage, he had a small chat with her.

"So, where do you hail from?"

"Just a small city a few days' ride north of here. It's nothing much really."

"Well is there anywhere you'd like to visit?"

"Actually, i'd like your suggestions..." Gracie humbly asked.

"What is it?"

"Which school should I choose?"

Arceus thought long and hard,"What do you aspire to be?" He asked.

"I made a pact. A promise, to someone that I would protect the people I wish to protect. I need to get strong. Strong enough to protect myself. Strong enough to do what I need to." Gracie replied.

"Hm...If you want to get strong then you should join the Grand Magistrate. They have the highest selection of materials and the teachers there are good but the restrictions are extremely high. You see, the Magistrate follows a strict code of conduct that says and I quote 'A student must fulfil all duties given to them and example being: One must complete a monthly mission or will be demoted or- if rank has become too low, possibly be expelled from the Grand Magistrate as a whole. The Grand Magistrate welcomes only the elites of the youths and values bravery and courage above all. A sense of daring must be imprinted within the students' minds. If not, the Grand Magistrate's reputation will be for naught.' end quote."

"Hm...What about the others?"

Arceus sifted through the memories in his mind, bringing up the things he had been forced to by his pops.

"Well let's see here...which academies do you want to know about?"

"All of them."

Arceus nodded,"Well let's start with Zeal Royal Academy. It focuses on honing instinct and fighting ability above all, making magic something you use to enhance the ability. In the seven schools, Zeal Royal is fourth."

"Next up, St. Florenst. It only accepts students with earth, fire and light affinity. It focuses on healing and spreading good across the world. As such, they're last."

"Legendary Smithing focuses on using these things called divine armaments."

"Divine armaments?"

"Yes divine armaments. They're extremely expensive, to the point where only one of great nobility or great power can obtain. Usually they only accept students from high social standings or those who show extreme potential. They stand at third place."

"What's next?"

"Let's see. Constellation Academy. Honestly there's nothing special about it. It's probably the most ordinary out of the seven, showing potentially strong students once every few years, as such they don't have much to show with them being ranked second last. and all."

"The next one in line would be the Millitarum. They focus on strategy and weapon play most of the time, honing their skills first, magic second. They follow a strict code of conduct. Due to this, they have solid foundations but no where to head to after unless they choose to join another school later on. As such, they stand at fifth place.

"And finally, we have Emperyus Academy. In the past, they cleared the floor with the other academies, leaving the rest in the dust. However, at that point in time, a few years back, they started to lose momentum to the Grand Magistrate due to over arrogance and prideful behaviour. In the end, they never managed to recover from the loss, perpetually stuck in second place. Even a mocking jingle was made by the Magistrate to make the academy lose more face so as to gain more students in their school."

"Emperyus, Emperyus a kingly school, led along by others and played a fool. Emperyus, Emperyus second to us, many join us as Emperyus they pass."

"That's horrible." Gracie wrinkled her nose at the thought of something so vile,"rubbing more salt into their wounds."

Arceus shrugged,"Yeah well they had it coming with their arrogance and all. So," he stared at Gracie curiously,"Which one are you going with?"

Gracie furrowed her brow as she contemplated with the information she had been given,"Well I have morals so Grand Magistrate and Smithing are a no go."

"Okay...That leaves you with five more."

"I want to focus on getting stronger and want to fight, not stay in the back lines so I'll pass on Florenst, Millitarium and Constellation..."

"Then Zeal Royal and Emperyus remain."

Gracie looked to Arceus,"Which one are you choosing?"

"Emperyus. Pops made me." Arceus spoke.

"Well I'll enter with you then...it'll be nice with a friend around..." Gracie said honestly, making Arceus blush at the thoughts that race through his mind upon her saying those words.

"Why are you..." Gracie stared intrigued by Arceus' reaction when she realised the double meaning behind her words,"...idiot!"

She lit up a bright stoplight red and turned her head away from him.

"I swear! It isn't what you think! I wasn't thinking lewd thoughts!" Arceus scrambled to find his words.

In the end, all he could do was apologise profusely,"Forgive me!"

Gracie looked at the boy bowing to her,"If you mean it...then treat me...to food."

"Absolutely!" Arceus stuck his head out the carriage and asked the driver to stop.

They got off and Arceus led Gracie to a small coffee shop in a less popular part of town.

A young lad with chestnut brown hair greeted them at the entrance,"Yo Arcie! Back again? Oh! Has my prince finally found a beautiful lady to replace his best friend for ever and ever?" The man said as he turned his eyes to stare at Gracie, taking in her figure.

"Oh my, a fine lady might I add. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Maxwell at your service." Maxwell said as he bowed lowly to Gracie, winking at Arceus when Gracie wasn't looking.

"Pleased to meet you Maxwell." Gracie replied amiably.

"Max! Stop it! She's a...friend of mine." Arceus hissed lowly as he brought Gracie into the store.

"Sure...sure..." Maxwell mocked,"Well enjoy your totally platonic meeting with a girl who's just your friend. Don't let me catch you kissing desperately like passionate lovers in the back of the restaurant okay? I'd have a heart attack if the prince gets a woman faster than me." Maxwell said.

Arceus rolled his eyes and walked in, swiftly walking to follow Gracie's pace, blushing as he looked at the floor...