"No way! I'll be taking those same classes Soran!" Lydia called out in a sweet and lively tone.

Art and Soran turned to see the overly excited Lydia bouncing over, her whole body emitting warmth and affection as she casually intruded on their conversation. The observing students could only release sighs at her shamelessness, although there were a number of sighs of jealousness mixed in as they wondered why she wasn't so eager to talk to them...

Slipping in between the two boys, she cast a dark glare of warning towards the confused Art. She quickly turned to Soran, her dark gaze immediately transforming into a seductively sweet look of adoration as she ignored the obvious look of annoyance on Soran's face and reached out to take his arm.

"Hey Lydia. That's great, I look forward to having classes with you." Soran said with a forced smile.

"Yes! Me too!" Lydia replied in an obviously fake voice that way too high a pitch to be produced by a normal human.

So saying, Lydia finally succeeded in grabbing the edge of Soran's red shirt, after which she sent a gloating look of triumph towards Art, even as Soran's eye began to twitch in annoyance.

Before the awkward interchange could play out any further, a dark figure appeared in front of the group, blocking their path.

"This isn't over, Soran. You don't deserve to be rank one! Enjoy the position while you can." Kane taunted with a menacing sneer. Looking over towards Art, he opened his mouth as if to say something more, but after a moments hesitation, only sounded out a light "Hmmph," a mixture of anger, combativeness and something else Art couldn't quite identify swirling in his black eyes.

"I'll be taking those same classes as well. We will quickly see who stands at the top at that point." Kane menacingly enunciated, before quickly turning and proceeding to proudly stride forward into the administration building. A conflicted look arose on Kane's face, as he wondered why he was unable threaten that scumbag pretty boy who dared sneak attack him. The sight of those enchanting blue phoenix eyes surfaced in his mind, a faint blush coloring his pale cheeks... "No!" Kane mentally screamed at himself. "I will not tolerate such weakness in myself!" A mixture of rage and shame quickly overtook his other emotions as he thought of the effect Art had on him.

Soran narrowed his shimmering golden eyes, an unidentifiable light flashing through them as he remember the look on Kane's face as he turned to Art. "I am not worthy? You're not even fit to clean the shoes of my Art. Indeed we will see who deserves to stand by his side. And at that time, prepare yourself to suffer the greatest humiliation of your life, Kane Orin." Soran thought with a mocking smirk.

Art was having similarly dark thoughts as he observed Lydia attempt to cling to Soran's muscular arm. "Lydia Fior. You dare touch my Soran? You bouncing ball of fluff, see if I don't bounce you off this continent. You think you are worthy of him?" Art shocked himself at the rain emotion behind his thoughts, unable to suppress his anger and jealousy as he observed Lydia's antics. "There will come a day," Art assured himself, "when the whole world will know that you are mine, Soran. Anyone who dares touch you should do so while only while carrying a ticket to heaven." At this point, Art was truly frightened by the loss of control he seemed to suffer around Soran. He quickly revolved more ice energy around his body according to the Jadeheart technique, regaining his calm and clarity. He had long since forgotten about the odd look in Kane's eyes.

As for Lydia... no complicated thoughts arose in her mind. Although she did feel a hint of anger at Soran's apparent warmth for Art, she attributed it to being nothing more than a part of Soran's outgoing personality. And so while she did not like the way Art looked at her Soran, her heart was filled with an unshakeable confidence in her charm and ability to ensnare Soran's affection. She even decided to tell Soran to stop associating with Art, believing he would listen to her for some deluded reason... Perhaps it was a symptom of growing up in a rich household with an indulging father...

Entering the administration building, Art and the others were greeted with similarly pristine white jade walls and a tiled floor. Farther into the building, three dark mahogany bureaus were set up. The center one was a general information desk, the one to the right used to reserve dueling grounds and practice arenas, and finally the one to the left was a mission center where one could exchange mission points for resources from the school. At the moment, however, they were all covered in badges, with the attendants holding rosters to check off the new students as they acquired their badges and were assigned housing.

Students were housed in large dorms, with the male housing area being on the right side of the central lake slightly farther than where the practice areas where, and the female housing being on the left side past the libraries and theory classrooms, with quite a distance separating them, to Lydia's dismay and Soran's joy.

Mechanically looking up at the approaching group, the center attendant indifferently asked Art, who was in the lead, to state his name and the element he used. Kane was already registering at the desk to the left, but his arrogant attitude had clearly already put all 3 attendants in a bad mood. However, upon hearing Art state his name, the attendant let out a small gasp of shock and put on a much more respectful and fawning face.

"Ah, do forgive me. I was unaware that it was you, Mr. Vale. Here, please take this badge."

The attendant handed Art a badge from the pile. The badges were all palm sized replicas of silver dragons that students were to pin or attach to their clothing to signify their identities as students of the academy. The dragons were seen from a side profile, with their wings outstretched above them, as if the dragon was getting ready to release a heart-shaking roar. The badges all shimmered with a dim shimmering silvery halo. The eyes of the dragons came in varying colors which represented the dominant element of the possessor, so Art was given a badge with deep, ocean blue eyes while Kane, for example, was given a dragon with pitch black eyes.

"Additionally, please take this armband. It represents your status as student president of your year.

Art was then given a blue and silver armband with the depiction of a roaring dragon ornately stitched into it.

"Finally, for you housing... well you already have been assigned a location by the headmaster. That completes your registration. I wish you all the best at Silver Dragon Academy."

Art was now put in a rather awkward situation as Soran stood closely behind him as he registered, shamelessly eavesdropping on which dorm Art would be place in for purposes that should not be mentioned, when of course Art would not be placed in any, seeing as he already had his own mountain to live on.

Ignoring the suspicious look on Soran's face, Art could only make excuses as to how the headmaster assigned him his own living area as he was a special entrance student, which Soran had no choice but to reluctantly accept. Soran then stepped forward to register with the same attendant, whose respectful attitude did not diminish in the slightest upon learning that Soran was the top ranker of his year's entrance exam. As it turned out, Soran was also assigned his own housing, set apart from the rest of the students, a privilege only obtained by the top 3 of each year's entrance exam. Upon hearing this, a knot that had slowly been building in Art's heart quickly untwisted. He was not sure of what exactly he was feeling, but he knew he was happy to hear that Soran would not be sharing a room with any other students... His poor heart immediately twisted up again, however, when he heard that Soran's house was at the base of the mountain he lived on.

Art and Soran quickly walked out of the administration building, their bodies occasionally brushing as they avoided the entering students, and leaving behind a flustered Lydia who tried to complete her registration with the utmost haste.

The previous respectful look of the attendants rapidly was replaced by one of dismayed resignation as they watched more and more new students crush into the hall, eager to complete their registration....