The Academy's Time Looper

Brushing the dust off his pants, Athen stood up like nothing had happened and continued walking forward without looking back.

Giant, bright lights hung from the overhang, illuminating the train station and the hundreds of people under it.

Glancing around the station, Athen moved through the crowds of people, eventually finding his way to the platform ledge.

In contrast to Athen's grim mood, almost every other student wore smiles as they eagerly talked among themselves about their future at the academy.

After all, thousands of people from all across the nation had gone through an extensive screening process and countless tests to apply, so getting in was nothing short of a miracle.

The acceptance rate to Aetherhelm Academy was extremely low, with around 75,000 applicants applying each year and a grade size of around 500 students.

For them, this was the climax of their entire life.

All their years of schooling and grueling hours of studying had led them to this moment.

But...on the other side of the spectrum, those who weren't so lucky to get in now had to endure another round of applications in hopes of getting into a lower-ranked magic academy.

While this happiness among the students may seem like a good thing for the academy...it was actually quite the opposite.

These students, now away from their parents for the first time, now had the ability to break loose and act however they wanted.

Most of the students here had attended private academies that enforced strict regulations and required hundreds of hours of studying.

Their entire lives up to this moment had been dedicated to entering the academy, so now that they had achieved their goal...they were lost.

What was next for them?

All the rashness and feelings of these students, which had been bottled up in their private academies, were now starting to burst out.

In the back corner of the station, a familiar figure began to bite his tongue and scowl as he stared at the jolly scenery in the station.

The usual smiling and optimist Alaric stared at the floor, his eyes filled with disappointment and sorrow, and muttered.

"They don't know...do they?"

And, the normally strict and stern Caldris looked at the students around him with a smile filled with joy and delight.

"They don't."

After tens of years of teaching and testing, the academy had developed the perfect way to get these students back on track.

A test so private and secure that students and faculty were forced to sign a magic oath that prevented them from revealing the method to anyone.

Athen, unable to realize his privilege because he had stolen the invitation diamond, awkwardly stood and awaited the train's arrival.

Every second that ticked by for Athen was a second closer he was to receiving his punishment.

Scanning the students, Caldris's jet-black eyes eventually paused on Athen's crumbling and alone figure.

Tapping Alaric's sorrowful shoulder, Caldris pointed at the lone figure and said.

"I'll bet you a day off that the kid over there passes the test."

Lifting himself up from the ground, Alaric followed Caldris's figure, finding the figure of Athen.

His clothes were clearly too loose, with his tie not even on correctly, and his posture made him look like a hunchback.

From Athen's appearance alone, Alaric could tell that the kid was not from a private academy or a wealthy family.

Getting into Aethermhelm Academy while hailing from a public academy was a feat in itself as they had lower budgets and worse educators than privates, making them less ready for the academy's application tests.

And, more often than not, these students were significantly less prepared for classes in the academy due to their poor educational background.

Thus, Alaric was confused as to why his colleague was betting on such a poor student.

Unable to resist the offer of a workday off, Alaric nodded his head and accepted Caldris's bet.

Rubbing his eyes, Athen looked left and right, not sure which direction the train would come from.

*RUMBLE*

As Athen looked towards the right, the entire platform suddenly shook, almost throwing Athen and countless other students off the edge and onto the railroad tracks.

Barely catching himself, Athen immediately backed up, watching as a clean, steel train entered his vision.

*WHOOSH*

Speeding right past them, the train blew the crowd of students near the edge onto the ground.

Still standing, Athen gripped his tie, which had almost fallen off, before watching as the front of the train slowly came to a stop a couple of meters in front of him.

*Whirrr... shhhht... click*

Within seconds, a pair of doors slid open right in front of Athen, revealing the clean and empty interior of the train cabin.

Rushing into the cabin, Athen immediately found a seat and watched as dozens of students entered the train.

The train featured two lines of seats that faced each other on the vertical walls of the train with a couple of hooks hanging from the ceiling.

Behind each line of seats was a gigantic window that stretched from the front of the cabin to the end.

*Whirrr... shhhht... click*

Just as one last student stepped on the train and grabbed a hook, the doors closed, and the train immediately began surging forward.

Looking past the student across him, Athen stared out the opposite window, watching as the lights of the station faded and descended into the darkness of the night.

Unfortunately, Athen was facing the hangar, not the capital city behind him, so his windows only revealed the pitch-black sky.

After a couple of seconds of silence, the students once again began talking to each other; however, Athen did not mind it as it distracted him from coming up with painful scenarios.

"Did you get your dorm number yet!?"

"Yeah, my diamond said I was #45!"

"Well, I'm #219, but at least all first-years are in the same building."

"What about orientation tomorrow? 

"I think they said 8 AM wakeup?"

"Damn, why do we even need orientation? Let's just get to the magic and cast fireballs and kill goblins!"

"People like you are the reason why we need orientation."

As if responding to Athen's desperate boredom, the train suddenly halted, causing a loud voice to sound from the speakers in the cabin.

*DING*

"Aetherhelm Station."

*Whirrr... shhhht... click*