This withering white tree with orange leaves will die in about 5 years from now on, taking Amelia in the process as well. Long story short, her life was connected to this tree, or more like she wasn't exactly a human but an embodiment of the tree.
How can something like that exist? Well, the answer lies in the man who experimented on this particular tree. This tree, or also known as the Lignum Vitae, brimming with life energy and natural mana.
That man, Aidan Williamson, found a way to create a natural body, however that required a lot of effort and the results weren't fruitful either; albeit he was able to create a perfect body but he failed to bring it to life and Aidan was at a stump on what to do next.
Somewhere along his journey, Aidan found this tree, and an idea came in his mind. He then connected a newly created body to this tree and, by some stroke of luck and nature, Amelia was born.
However, despite looking human, Amelia was much different from the others. Her hair and eyes changed colours according to the leaves of the tree and her age was… well, her body never aged, it remained frozen in time. A normal 19 year old girl, who looked exactly like Aidan's daughter.
Her powers depended upon two factors: the trees' strength and time. The more time passed, the stronger she became, though that was stunted when one day Lignum Vitae started dying and became reduced to what it was today.
This secret was later revealed by Aidan himself, when he came back as a monster and was searching for the remains of Amelia. He told the secret to Lucas, who later told Elle about it, from whom I got to know the story.
Elle didn't know Amelia that well, but Lucas kind of knew everything about her. Nobody knows how he ended up knowing so much, but it was probably related to the time when the Vanguard was attacked by Lucas and Amelia came to stop him.
…
Looking at me touching the tree, Amelia made a slightly horrified expression before I spoke,"Life Magic: Aura of Life."
The tree slowly started healing as its life signature became better. It wasn't really much or perhaps too less to be accounted for, but it should extend her life by a few months at least.
"Looks like it did the trick,'' I thought as I observed Amelia's shocked face and smiled before walking away from there,"I am going to stay in this Academy for quite some time, so we will have enough time to talk about it. See you later, Amelia."
Amelia just kept observing me blankly before she spoke,"what exactly do you want here?"
At this I stopped and pondered a little before speaking,"I am going to collect some people and groom them. Hope you don't have any problem with that?"
She looked at me with a slight complex gaze before speaking,"as long as it is all that you do."
I then chuckled a little before moving out of there under Amelia's gaze. I moved outside, and reached back to where I came from, this time much faster as I was running and not simply walking.
Reaching back to the entrance test area, I saw my name on the top of the Unorthodox list and looking at the score; I doubt many people could beat me to it. So that probably confirms my ticket into the Academy.
'The classes should start in about 3 days, so I have plenty of time to check around the perimeter,' I thought as I observed everything around me before I decided to check up on some people whom I already knew here.
…
Arcadia Academy is a massive circular academy with many activities promoted all around its corners. Everything you can ask for is available here, given there are rules for everything. While the core of the Academy is allowed only for the students and selected staff members, the inner, middle and outer area is available for the public. Though you need to have some authority in order to enter the middle or the inner area.
For example, people who have a high position in the society can enter up to the inner area, while the guardians and parents can enter up to the middle area. As for the outer area, you need little authorization. As long as you are not a wanted criminal, you can freely enter or exit the outer area.
Currently, the entrance test was being conducted in the corners of the outer area, before further evaluations were to be made. While the Unorthodox members were tested only once, unless and until there was a tie, the Orthodox members were tested three times in total and everyone from Eliza to Bernette was going to take the three tests before they could enter the Academy.
Describing the outer area would be exactly similar to describing a city made on a circular disk. On the inner side there is the middle area, on the outer side there is the outside world.
Within the disk, from the outside to inside, the mana density increases, and so does the power level of people who stay there as guards and security members, which also includes the staff members. A cleaner with not enough skills in its abilities will be placed more towards the outer circle than the one with skills.
Other than that, there is an increase in pricing of materials, hotel costs, entertainment costs, etc as well when you venture deeper into the circle. As for any other disparity with the inner circles, the outer circle lacks regularity. It doesn't have a definite place where you can only stay, or where you can only train or only enjoy.
Meaning, you can find an entertainment building 100 metres to your right and a training area to your left. There would also be an eatery, along with shopping complexes and car showrooms, and a weapon shop right at the corner. Though, this irregularity in the placement of shops, hotels, etc actually attracts people more to the outer area. Cause well, everything is available to you, no matter where you are staying.
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on fre(e)webnov(l).com