Had I not seen it with my eyes, I would not have believed what he was hiding underneath his robes. The belt had one scabbard on each of his sides with gilded pommels protruding from them.

Item : Ever-ready Scabbard Belt

Type : Magic Item

Durability : 1895/2100

Grade : D Grade

Weight : 160st.

Description : A belt made of wyrmling leather that has one scabbard on each side. The scabbards have been enchanted in such a way that the swords they hold will always be ready for battle at their peak condition. All sword sizes can fit in them while every time swords are drawn, they will be completely shard and clean.

“You have talent in dual wielding Adel. It’s time your swords found their home on you,” he said, as he removed his swords from the scabbards. Seeing my face, he quickly added, “Now, I will not take no for an answer so just save it, ok?”

“I… thank you, Man. You’ve been such a great help.”

“Ah, don’t mention it,” he answered as he waved his empty hand once toward me. “One of our merchants purchased this belt for me as a present from Elysia. Their enchantment takes away some of the more tedious aspects of sword-keeping. It’s also very discreet and comfortable while horse riding.”

I put Man’s gift on and marveled at how comfortable it was. We soon reached the docks and he was greeted by quite a few of the workers as we made our way to the end of the marina. Once there, Man jumped off the cart and signaled us to wait in front of a large galley while he climbed up to its deck and had a talk with some of the people on board.

Not five minutes later, he returned with a big smile on his face.

“The captain will be honored to carry us without the need for compensation,” he said, proudly puffing his chest. “As long as we use none of his provisions and no more than ten of us are on his decks at any given time.”

“Those are extremely good terms,” I replied, pleased at what he managed to arrange for us, though I had no doubt he had taken advantage of his lineage and status. There was no way he had convinced the captain to let us on his ship free of charge, just with his charming personality. In any case, Ι could not hold it against him since we got exactly what we needed.

I oversaw the loading of our cargo onto the ship’s hangar and had a short chat with the captain. He seemed like a decent man and was quite surprised to hear that I would be joining them sometime later even though I would not embark with them. He was polite enough to not question the means through which I would achieve such a feat nor did he ask the reason why.

Having ensured that everything and everyone was loaded and ready to go, I waved my friends goodbye and got off the ship. I saw the galley leave, with some of my people watching me from its sides, Man, Kard and Krysha among them. I smiled and waved at them, before I turned my back and made my way toward the east exit of the city.

It was getting dark but I preferred not to spend the night in Leskia, especially after all the stories Man told us of just how dangerous it could be for outsiders. On my way out, I noticed some inns and taverns like the ones that so many of Man’s stories started in. I quickened my pace and tried to stay on well-lit and busy paths as much as possible.

Once I reached the city gates, I managed to leave along with a group of four merchants who were directed by the city guards to the left of the city gates, where their horses were kept. Not wanting to attract any attention by leaving on foot, I followed them and as soon as I was able, I slipped in the shadows of a large bush, put my straw hat, flicked its top and instantly vanished.

I walked for about thirty minutes on the side of the road before I felt that I had gained enough distance from the city and I dropped my invisibility. Blowing my dark red horn, a grand black horse materialized in front of me and I was momentarily taken aback by its size and beauty.

Not only was it beautiful and strong-looking, it was also tame and patient enough to allow me to climb on it and obeyed my commands immediately. I wasted no time and took the road that would eventually lead me to the university and to my sister, Seika.

***

Riding quickly and without stopping, since my steed did not tire, proved to be a greater challenge than I had expected. After the initial struggle of getting the hang of balancing on the horse’s back, I realized that occupying my mind with other thoughts helped with the burning sensation of my muscles.

In times like this, when my mind was free to wander off on its own, I always fell into the same loop of thinking about how I would never become a wizard and that all my years of study were for naught.

And yet if my parents had been here to guide me through it, I was certain that everything would have been easier. This complete absence of order was something that I had never encountered before and had no idea how to live with.

I soon rationalized that I was overthinking something that I had absolutely no power over, and so instead I thought of Seika and how great of a spellcaster she was. I still regularly wondered how much she had progressed as a wizard and was always curious to see what the university looked like.

I remembered the lessons that she gave us on the top of the hill and how she expected me to continue delivering those lessons once she left Nara. In the end, Myriam had taken over as I was not particularly keen on, or capable of, teaching people. And if I was being honest, she did a much better job than I would.

Where was she now? How was she involved in all of this and why would she flee? I felt a tingle of cold air down my spine as I realized that she probably meant to protect Kai from the rest of us.

Oh, Myriam, this is not something that you should have to handle alone.

I tried to make haste and stopped as few times as my body would allow, hoping that I would make it to the university by sunrise and still have enough energy in me to find my sister in the premises.

The road was relatively straight and the sea was visible at all times, though sometimes not as easily reached as it was in Leskia. It was fortunate that I had taken an extra cloak with me, as it got awfully chilly a couple of hours after midnight though I was lucky that at least no clouds were threatening me with rain. I didn’t encounter anyone on the road apart from a single convoy of merchants that, oddly enough, didn’t stop to try and sell anything to me but rather seemed to be in haste.

The sky on the horizon behind me had already started taking a brighter hue when I finally reached the outskirts of the university grounds. I had only heard descriptions of how it looked, since my first visit was supposed to come only after I’d received my mana. But no description or fact that I could memorize could ever have done justice to the sight that was before me now.

Two giant statues marked the entrance into the university area, though there was nothing but green fields beyond them.

A statue of a female spellcaster on the left side of the road stood three hundred feet tall, or something like that, if I remembered my sister’s lectures correctly. In her left hand, she held a great staff with a giant crystal on top of it, and she was pointing in the direction I had come from with her right hand.

On the other side of the road was an equally large male spellcaster who was hunched over a book he held in his left hand while his right one pointed toward the university. It was such a majestic sight, and the morning light made their white marble shine all the brighter.

I quickly recalled my magical beast and made my way forward on foot. As soon as I reached the center point between the giant statues, the infinite green fields in front of me were replaced by massive temples and towers, whole islands floating in the sky, paths that intertwined with each other and hundreds of people going about their business. There were no guards stationed here but there was no need for any, as this was the place with the most powerful and wise spellcasters.

Granted, the capital had many legendary priests and wizards, but the brightest in their craft ended up here, to push the limits of our understanding of divine mana and to prepare the next generation of spellcasters. As I walked, I wondered what was going to become of this place now that there was no new generation of spellcasters.