The Stargazer Read online

  On the side of the island, one could see the signs of human colonization. It was the final destination of the trip: the Earth Academy.

  ...

  "Welcome, welcome. Boys, please follow this officer. He will lead you through the security processes and you will be guided to your room. Girls, please follow this lady right here, you also have to go through some security checks!" exclaimed the soldier.

  'As expected of a military zone. I forgot that we had to do some many security checks. Well, those will all become irrelevant in the future when we become second years,' said Alexander to himself.

  Alexander quietly followed the other students and began a series of tests to check his identity and medical condition. The Earth Academy was one of the most protected areas on Earth as the main institution whose goal was to nurture mages, it could not risk being infiltrated easily.

  As a result, the Earth Academy was built on the world's most secured island. Although it sounded irresponsible to set up a university right next to a military compound, joining the Earth Academy was not very different from joining the military.

  The contract they signed stipulated that they would work for the UN for a minimum period of five years after they graduated. The only difference was that instead of fighting people, they would focus their attention on other existences.

  Seeing the long queue of students, Alexander complained internally. 'These tests are such a waste of time. I did not remember them taking so long. Eye scan, blood test, and urine test. I wonder how just how long it is going to take.'

  After what seemed like an eternity, Alexander was finally given the green light and allowed to finally enter the island. Just outside the security checks, a few instructors were waiting for the students to give them their room keys.

  "Here you go, young man. The Colony, room A166. There are several maps scattered through the city. If you ever get lost, just ask someone for directions. You are free for today but report tomorrow at twelve for the awakening ceremony," said the instructor.

  Alexander nodded and quietly walked out of the room. As soon as he exited the stuffy building, Alexander felt a breath of fresh air blowing against his face. "Ahh, it has been so long since I've been here. So nostalgic..."

  He looked around him, reminiscing his past life. "UNEA looks exactly how I remembered it. The barbecue seller is even there," said Alexander as his nostrils quickly detected a waft of grilled meat.

  UNEA was the name of this city; it simply stood for United Nations Earth Academy. As the academy also acted as a university, the governments decided to not completely isolate the students from civilization. The island was divided into two major parts: the military compound and UNEA.

  While Alexander complained about the security checks to enter the island, if he wanted to go to the military compound, he would have to go through an even more severe procedure.

  UNEA was a city built explicitly for the academy. There, the students could find various means of entertainment and purchase a large variety of items. As for the academy, its main offices were located right in the middle of the city while the rest of the departments were scattered around the city.

  "I miss this place. It's just too bad I can't buy anything yet," said Alexander with disappointment before quietly making his way toward the Colony.

  Alexander walked through the familiar streets with confidence. He already knew the general area where the Colony was located and as he walked down the streets, after a quick look at the map, he quickly remembered its exact location.

  Along the way, Alexander saw several groups of students, wearing the academy's jacket, strolling around and enjoying themselves. The academic year was about to start and most students were enjoying the few days of carefreeness they had left.

  After walking for a few minutes, the Colony building finally got into view. Alexander smiled as he looked through the glass of the reception.

  "Hello, I would like to sign in today. My name is Alexander Vagras, I have been allocated room A166."

  "Hello, sir and welcome to the Colony. Please sign this document and I will call someone to lead you to your room," said the receptionist with a warm smile. He placed a tablet in front of Alexander, indicating him to sign with the electronic pen. At the same time, the receptionist looked behind him and signaled one of the students there to come and help.

  "Hey man, I am Damien, nice to meet you." The student quickly approached Alexander. When he saw that Alexander had finished signing the entry form, he smiled and introduced himself.

  "Hey, I'm Alexander."

  "Cool, let's go, I'll show you the way to your room. Follow me."

  Damien and Alexander walked through a series of corridors while chatting. Damien was a second-year student who was currently residing at the Colony; he was one of the few volunteers who were happy to show the new students around.

  They chatted briefly and Damien did not forget to show the building's facilities like the laundry and the gym. He also explained the basic safety measures and emergency protocols.

  The Colony was one of the many apartment complexes scattered around the city. It was specially designed to accommodate students and would not lose to any modern hotels. Alexander remembered how amazed he had been the first time he walked through those clean white corridors but now, he remained unfazed.

  ...

  Alexander closed the door behind him and let out a sigh of relief. "Ouf, Damien is very nice and friendly but he can be a little too chatty. Well, I can't blame him..."

  "Good afternoon sir!" A robotic voice sounded.

  "Hello Alpha, I would like to take a nap for the rest of the day but please set another alarm for tomorrow..." Alexander looked at the small android waiting patiently next to the desk.

  "The alarm has been set."

  Alexander smiled as he briefly looked at his room. He would spend the rest of the year here. The room was rather spacious and clean; it was an en-suite and looked like any modern hotel rooms and even had a small balcony. The room was equipped with both an air-conditioner and a heater for the comfort of the students and even had a huge TV screen embedded inside the wall. In the corner of the room, Alexander's two large suitcases were neatly arranged, just waiting to be unpacked.

  However, Alexander was not interested in doing so yet. Instead, he walked to the desk where he found what he was looking for. It was a smartphone. To be more specific, it was a special type of smartphone, the X-Driver; it was designed for the Earth Academy's student. When passing through the security checks, the students were required to give up their current smartphones as a new one was waiting for them in their room. All their electronics had to be submitted for inspection but in exchange, the students were also provided with a laptop.

  Nobody complained about this procedure as the X-Driver was far more powerful than any other phones on the market. Furthermore, an X-Driver was an absolute necessity in UNEA as it was the only way to make payments there.

  Alexander briefly looked at the X-Driver before tossing it on the bed. He quietly took off his shoes and jacket. He gently patted the small Android Alpha like a pet before jumping onto his bed to take a nap.

  "I guess I have become lazy after all these years of doing nothing. I will need to change that but it can wait for tomorrow. The awakening ceremony should not be a problem and we'll have a lot of free time for the rest of the day for our body to adapt but coincidentally, tomorrow will be a full moon. It will be ideal for me to test that out."

  Chapter 3: Awakening

  The next morning, the main hall of the Earth Academy that usually remained empty, was bustling with life. To call it a hall would be an understatement; it was more accurate to call it a small stadium as it could actually accommodate a whole batch of students. All ten thousand new students were waiting in the hall, chatting with each other and making new friends.

  Alexander smiled at his neighbors and briefly chatted with them. Despite his initial reluctance to speak to anyone, when he was accosted by a group of fo
ur students, he quickly let down his guard and joined the conversation. Humans were social creatures; even if he spent the last few years of his life in solitude and preferred to be alone when surrounded by energetic young people, he was happy to chat with them.

  The students were called Jack, Emily, Stephano, and Feyaz. The first two came from America while Stephano came from Italy and Feyaz came from India. The Earth Academy literally belonged to the planet and students from all other the world were allowed to join as long as their results were good enough. It was different from other universities that had to accept a quota of local students; the applications were reviewed solely based on the students' results. Naturally, a few were able to get through the backdoor but those numbered less than 1% of the student population.

  Emily, the cute little blonde from America spoke with a worried look, "I hope it is not very painful. I heard that some people have died during their awakening. "

  "Yes, I have a friend who warned me about the awakening ceremony. He told me I will feel like my entire body is burning and that I should try to resist that feeling for a short while but not for too long. If I ever lose consciousness in there, there is a high chance of failure or of my awakening being defective," said Stephano. He played with his glasses making him look like a nerd.

  Jack acquiesced with a severe expression, "No matter what, do not exceed your limit. It is better to awaken as a weak mage than to end up dead, right?"

  "Yes, I hope my Performance Index will be high," answered Emily with a face full of anticipation.

  Seeing his newly made friend discussing the awakening procedure, Alexander eventually decided to join their conversation. "There is no need to soak in the liquid for too long. The important part is to soak your entire body in it. Even your face and hair should be completely immersed to absorb as many nutrients as possible. If you can, try to also open your eyes. The average time is eight minutes. Don't be scared if you take longer or shorter than that; it does not mean anything."

  "Soak our entire body? What's the difference? But I guess we can give it a try," commented Stephano with a doubtful expression.

  At that moment, a bright light suddenly flashed at the front of the hall, attracting everybody's attention. On the stage, a tall woman wearing a thick scholar robe was holding a microphone, looking at the students. The woman had a cute oval face and short brown hair. She had an imposing aura such that anyone making direct eye contact with her would instinctively lower their head. Alexander searched through his memory but failed to remember the woman's identity.

  "Good morning everyone and welcome to the Earth Academy. I am the headmistress of the academy, Carmen Ashmore. In any other universities, you would probably be greeted by a long boring speech, but the Earth Academy is different. I would just like to say, Earth Academy is different from the other universities. By joining us, you agreed to be treated like soldiers; the rules here are strict. We put a lot of importance on our students' discipline. Without further ado, we shall immediately begin with the awakening ceremony."

  The headmistress swiftly raised her hand and a bright screen was suddenly switched on. "Unfortunately, there are only 250 pods available. You will have to wait for your turn to enter the pods. Check the screen above my head at all time. When your student number appears, please proceed to the allocated room where an instructor will provide further guidance. You will be free this afternoon but report to the necessary department tomorrow. You should all have received your timetable via your X-Driver. You should know that the punishment for skipping classes is quite severe. That is all I have to say."

  As soon as she finished speaking, Carmen Ashmore did not hesitate and left the stage. For many, it was the first time they witnessed such a welcoming ceremony, but no one dared to complain. The headmistress was a hot-tempered woman who rarely wasted time giving speeches. She was cold and indifferent but this treatment was better than those received by recruits at military camps.

  "Carmen Ashmore... I don't remember her much from my past life. I guess she is not an important character, or she only appeared on ceremonies such as this one."

  While Alexander was trying to recall the events of his past life, Emily suddenly exclaimed, "It's my student number! I'm one of the first. Wish me good luck!" The little blonde hurriedly left the group under the jealous stares of many.

  "There is not much difference in being called first or last anyway," said Alexander. He looked at the screen but did not see his own student number.

  Jack held his deep blue eyes fixed on the screen. Like many, he could not wait to go through the awakening ceremony. Only Alexander appeared to be completely unrelated to the ongoing event.

  "Mmmm, it might take a while. I don't remember when it was my turn or what my performance index was exactly. All I remember was that it was average."

  Alexander, Jack, Stephano, and Feyaz sat on the floor as they stared at the screen. They did not know how long it would take them, but they could very well be staying here for a couple of hours if they were unlucky. Refreshments and snacks were provided on the side by some members of the staff, but Alexander had already prepared for this situation and had an early lunch.

  Eventually, one of the student numbers on the screen finally flickered and was replaced by another one. At the same time, another set of information appeared on an empty screen:

  [Student ID: gcm29 Performance Index: 6.4]

  "Although not the best, 6.4 is considered to be above average. If I end up with anything above 6, I will be happy," commented Stephano.

  As he spoke, the screen continued to change as more and more students were added to the list of performance indexes.

  Alexander stared emotionlessly at the screen. Everyone was excited at the idea of becoming a mage. It was an exciting profession with the possibility of accomplishing miracles but what they did not know was that walking down the path of a mage also meant drastically shortening their life span.

  It was precisely how Alexander ended up passing away in his past life. He died a natural death at the age of twenty-nine. He did not die from any disease but instead due to complete depletion of his mana. Magic was different from many people's dream. Novels depicted mages as possibly becoming immortals, but they were completely wrong.

  First of all, there were no such things as power levels. A beginner mage casting a specific spell would have the almost result as a senior mage. The only difference was the amount of mana used, the casting time and the control exerted. Furthermore, a younger mage might prove to be stronger than a senior mage as the number of spells one could cast during a lifetime was limited.

  In the universe, everything has a price including the use of magic. The price was people's life force, also more commonly known as mana. Depending on which spells they used, the mages would end up spending a few seconds of their life, a few minutes or even a few hours. It did not seem like much but with the number of spells used every day, the usual life span of a mage did not exceed thirty-five years.

  Magic was a relatively new field of studies and had only been here for a little over a decade, but the people had yet to realize that they were draining their own life to use spells. In his past life, Alexander had been an innocent hard-working student. Spending a lot of time training and as a result, his life span drastically went down. It was only later in the future when he went through the rift that he learned the truth about magic and since then he limited the spells he used but it was already too late.

  It was not that the governments were deliberately harming the people but rather, they themselves were unaware of the side effects of magic or maybe they knew about it and were trying to monopolize the positions of power.

  Even if he knew the truth, Alexander had no intentions of spreading rumors around. In any case, even if it would affect their life span, people still needed a certain degree of training to master the use of magic. It was essentially a trade-off between mastering the spells and the total number of spells they could use. Even if they could use an infini
te number of spells, what would be the use if they always ended up failing? The key was to balance those two factors.

  As for the performance indexes, they were simply a way for people to measure their mana source. Humans always liked to quantify everything and to compare themselves. As magic was discovered, they quickly tried to master the arts and needed to compare each other. And so, some brilliant scientists came up with a performance index in order to measure people's mana source. It was an arbitrary scale ranging from 0 to 10. The higher someone's performance index was, the brighter his future would be. It was not a wrong statement as the greater the mana source, the more spells one could cast during a lifetime but that was not the only defining factor to being a good mage.

  As for the mana source, it was a mysterious source of energy hidden within the human body. For mages, the human body's magical components could be divided into three main parts: the mana source, the mana reservoir, and the spirit circuits.

  How big the mana source was could represent how many spells one mage could cast in their lifetime but unfortunately, they could not cast all the spells at once. This was because mages only had immediate access to the mana in the mana reservoir. One could think of the mana reservoir as the stamina of the mages, representing how many spells one could use in a short period of time. Mana would naturally flow from the source to the reservoir but alternatively, one could also meditate to replenish the reservoir at a faster rate.