[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/LSubMXs.png[/img]
[/center][hr][INDENT][sup][COLOR=silver][b]TIME:[/b] [i]Present Day - Morning[/i] | [b]LOCATION:[/b] [i]Hikari Academy - Front Steps[/i] | [b]INTERACTION:[/b] [i]None[/i][/COLOR][/sup][/INDENT]
Aster stood atop the steps leading up to the doors of the Academy. Or rather, he had positioned himself just off to the left where he was leant against the wall, fully immersed in his newest smartphone game; EvoMon III, of which the volume was on full and blaring out some random [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks3RNLNvpCg]chiptune battle-theme.[/url] He had been chosen as the one to usher the new arrivals into the Academy and lead them to the Great Hall for the Head Magister's welcoming speech, a punishment for the destruction of his classroom that occurred some weeks ago which had also endangered the lives of some of his students. Whilst the Head Magister had been furious at the time, they had decided against firing him from his teaching position. It was a decision that Aster had actually found himself grateful for, which came as a surprise for him since he'd never really intended to teach at the Academy.

The only reason as to why he felt grateful was naturally because of his students. Whilst he held no time for those who didn't want to learn, Aster was deeply committed to his pupils. They each shared his own passion after all; the urge to study and discover new properties of Mana. Mana itself was the basis of all abilities, so to study it's properties was essentially to study everything else that remained tied to it. The spectrum for new discoveries was vast beyond compare and Aster, followed eagerly by his students, was determined to unearth them all.

So far, Aster's [i]punishment[/i] had been rather uneventful, he'd paused his game by now and was watching people milling about all over the place. The new members of the Academy carried on around him without interrupting Aster from his video game at all, although this was probably due to his complete lack of interest in being there. Just because the Head Magister had ordered him to be an usher doesn't mean he had to like doing it. In fact, he hated it. The majority of these kids probably didn't have the faintest clue about Mana and would more than likely prefer to spend their time here banging their heads against one another in the Combat Arenas. Now Aster appreciated the importance of Combat training for potential Dawn Slayers, but training without study wouldn't amount to much. Practicing a technique a thousand times sounds great for most people, but studying the technique in-depth, learning its strengths and weaknesses, developing new and more efficient ways of performing it was what interested Aster more. With his methodology and approach to studying, even a mere human could become a great Martial Artist.

Aster had beseeched the Head Magister many times to promote his class: Mana Manipulation 101, to a mandatory class for new students but his request had always been denied over the years. And after his most recent reprimanding still fresh in the Magister's mind, he very much doubted that things would change this year too. He sighed quietly, before pocketing his smartphone and pushing himself away from the wall. [color=662d91][i]'Time to usher these kids inside, I guess...'[/i][/color] He thought.

[color=662d91][b]"Good Morning everyone!"[/b][/color] He began, raising his voice to address the crowd of new students that hadn't yet ascended the stairs. [color=662d91][b]"If you would like to start making your way inside. Please follow me to the Great Hall."[/b][/color] Without waiting to see who followed, Aster spun on his heels and strode towards the large wooden doors that stood as the entrance to the Hikari Ryodan Academy before coming to a stop just a few feet in front of them. He then began to raise his arms in an outstretched fashion towards the doors and used his Mana to do the rest. Raising the density of his Mana so that it would become visible and morphing it as he did so, Aster conjured what looked to be a flaming, sapphire giant that stood nearly as tall as the entrance. Then with relative ease, Aster puppeteered the giant to force open the doors which enabled the new arrivals to finally catch a glimpse of what lie in store for them. With the heavily lifting done, Aster dispersed the giant into a display of brilliant blue flames in an attempt to wow his audience before carrying on inside the Academy.

[color=662d91][i]'A little bit of flare never hurt.'[/i][/color] He smiled to himself.