1 month passed.

My reputation in the school has drastically changed. Countless students approached me to get acquainted, even fifth years.

Arielle’s age of coming ceremony is coming in two months so I haven’t spent so much time with her.

She’s apparently too busy dealing with matters of their house. She’s also been travelling a lot lately. Arthur sends me letters almost every week so I always know what he’s up to. He never forgets to say he misses me either.

It seems training to become a knight has been going well for him. We’ll be meeting each other before the academy reopens again.

“What the fuck is this…?”

I cursed and cringed when I saw the package my mentor sent me.

It was a white mage robe that had a lot of pockets. It was decorated in many ornaments and runes to strengthen its defense.

It had this chuuni vibe to it. I get that this is normal for a fantasy world but still…

I picked up the letter that came with the package.

-I heard how everyone has been calling you the white mage. With a little persuasion to a certain tailor I managed to get him to make you this. I hope you like your birthday gift. Even if it’s a little late…

My heart was touched when I read the letter. How could I toss this out of the window?

I needed a robe for adventuring anyway. The Academy announced that in a few months, we would be entering a dungeon. Dungeon exploration is one of the most profitable tasks around. For most people, guilds and companies, it is one of their sources of income.

There exists millions of dungeons on this world. Lots are undiscovered while others are well known. The biggest and most difficult dungeon to explore is ‘Red Abyss’. It’s not surprising since they say that the grave of the Demon King is buried there. It’s just speculation since a lot of demonic creatures are in the dungeon.

The World Serpent is the boss of the dungeon. I know this because it is written down in books that the monster frequently travels the upper floors and even the surrounding mountains when its sources of food run out. It mostly eats giant fish and sea monsters.

“Alright!”

“Ugh… why are you screaming so early!”

Nate threw his pillow at my head. The time was currently 5 in the morning.

“Ah, sorry.”

“Where are you going so early in the morning… dressed like that?”

He looked at my white robe.

“I’ll be trying out adventuring today. You want to come register with me?” He shook his head and yawned.

“Maybe another time. For now I want to sleep so get out.”

“Alright, alright~”

I left the room in light steps.

The vacation will last two weeks so I have plenty of time to explore the world out there. After I’m done, I might visit our village.

◇

“Ah, this is really a fantasy~”

I smelled the fresh outdoor air and put on my hoodie after I shivered at the coldness.

The aunties and uncles who were busy setting up their stalls, greeted me when I passed by. It seems this white robe is quite noticeable huh…

“Fufufu. I can’t wait to slay some monsters~” Even if I am an adult in mental years, my excitement to explore is that of a child’s.

I checked my gear and nodded with a wide smile. My preparations were done.

When I passed by a lamp pole, I noticed a poster hanging there.

-The wedding between the third princess, Charlotte and Marquis Rosenberg’s son has been announced!

‘Ah, it was true after all…’

Just two weeks ago, Charlotte told me about her political marriage which was arranged by her father. She looked so unhappy and was unapproachable to talk to. Even Eris found it hard to talk to her.

As her future “Knight”, she wanted me to cheer her up. We spent time together the whole day which somehow lifted her mood.

I haven’t seen her yet since last week so I’m kind of worried.

Ting

The adventurer guild front door’s bell rung when I walked in.

“Hm…”

I only saw a few people in the guild when I looked around. The ones here must be those that can’t afford to pay for an inn so they used their Adventurer ID to book a night for a discount.

“Welcome~” A cheerful greeting came my way. I looked to the front desk and saw a beautiful young woman–probably in her twenties–waving at me.

I came up to the desk.

“Are you lost, little one~?”

“Ah, no. I want to become an adventurer.”

“I see. Usually when people go adventuring at such a young age, they’d have companions. Are you confident in your strength, little one?”

I took out my first year badge. This is to show I have an ample amount of experience.

Her pupils shook when she saw the card.

“O-Oh? I apologize for my rude behavior. I didn’t know you would be from such a famous academy.”

Her tone turned polite and kind of stiff. I just smiled and let it go. I’m not a noble so I’m not one who enjoys being flattered so much or having my ass kissed by people wanting to gain favor with me.

“Ranking up is simple,” The lady proceeded to explain to me. “Increase your merit in the capital, hunt stronger monsters or undertake escort missions for nobles and merchants. Now, hunting monsters is the most important job for an adventurer. By getting rid of these threats, you protect the surrounding regions while also improving your reputation. It’s not like killing monsters is the only way to rank up, so consider doing the other quests as well.”

She brought out a book.

“Read this before going out of the field. It’s important to have a little knowledge before starting a quest.”

‘Nah, I’ll just ask Undine. As a spirit, she should know more than the writers who wrote this book.’

Despite what I thought, I took the book with a smile.

“If you feel confident enough and you’re at least B-rank, head to the HQ located in Pira City.”

Pira city is located in the center of the whole Kingdom. The kingdom has five regions. It’s almost like a circle that has a curved square inside of it. The outer mini half-circles would be the other regions namely; Zluxford, Calo, Prester and Storvine. The center where the square is would be Pira.

“Have you understood so far, sir?”

“Yes. Thank you for the information.”

The girl smiled and took out something which resembles a card.

“Documentation is needed for normal people but since sir has an academy’s card, that won’t be needed.”

It was a copper plate. I showed my student id and she copied the name and affiliation on it.

“Done. If you would like comrades, come in the afternoons. The guild is packed with people by then. Maybe you might find yourself lucky.”

I left the guild after throwing the book in my storage dimension ring.

Undine appeared next to me. Thankfully no one can see her.

“Undine. Can you tell me about dragons?”

She looked surprised when I asked.

“What?”

“Ah, nothing. That was an abrupt request. But it is expected since master is from another world.”

Undine started to speak. True Dragons Lords are the highest existences in this world. Only demons and gods are of the same rank as them. As with any race, there is a more superior species, namely true dragon lords as I just mentioned.

They have the strongest physical and magical abilities on this world. Their magic could even destroy an entire nation if they’re serious.

“There are seven dragon lords at the moment. They served the Spirit King thousands of years ago after coming to this planet."

“They’ve been alive that long?”

We were conversing through telepathy. It would look strange to others if I spoke to myself.

“Yes. As with all mana born beings, dragons are immortal and never die unless they are killed.” (XD)

“Who would even have the guts to take on a dragon.”

Undine was quiet while looking at me.

“Don’t tell me it’s that old man.”

“He did cause destruction on the continent, after all. It’s only natural that dragon lords–who protect the seven countries–would interfere.”

Protect the seven countries? Those arrogant species?

Our conversation was interrupted by a large explosion.

I was already out on the plains and was about to head into the forest.

“What the–“

A beautiful young woman, wearing our official academy clothes was decimating a Mountain bear that seemed to have followed her.

“Eugh… it’s that prideful high elf.”

I frowned when I saw that familiar white hair. It was indeed the first princess of the Elven Kingdom, Miya.

“Hm?”

‘Crap.’

I told Undine to mask her presence. If this elf found out I was contracted to a True Monarch spirit then all sorts of troublesome things will come my way.

I was about to stealthily leave her alone but due to Undine’s massive amount of mana, I was seen.

She came up to me.

“It’s dangerous here. Monsters are–“ She then stopped her movements. “T-The boy with the spirit–“

I hurriedly covered her mouth and looked around. Thankfully, no one was around.

“Could you like, not talk so openly about this?”

I sighed.

“Anyway, what are you doing out here? I thought your highness would go back to the Elven kingdom once vacation came.”

“I came out here to get stronger…”

She said and clenched her fists.

“Get stronger?”

“Yes. If it wasn’t for you last time, I might have killed the third princess. I would’ve been condemned by my race. I’m one of the few high elves that live today but I couldn’t even cast a spell correctly…” She dusted off her hands. “For some reason, even the higher spirits are ignoring my calls. Heat and Depth are nowhere to be seen…” her tone was sorrowful.

‘Ah, that’s probably because of me.’

She seems to have made a big misunderstanding thinking that the spirits lost their love for her. These spirits are just like gold diggers. The more money you have the more gold diggers flock towards you.

“What’s up with your robe, though? Living up to your name now, I see.” She chortled.

“Ah, this was a gift. I stopped myself from throwing it out of the window when I read the note that came with it.”

We decided to hunt monsters together. Even if the higher spirits are ignoring her, her spells are still incredibly powerful. If she couldn’t take out an orc with the lesser spirits then I would be backup.

We were completely in sync the whole time. It was like we could tell what the other one is about to do. To what I said, she told me:

“Spirit mages and elves are connected by a link. That link is the spirits around us. This is how I noticed that you were a spirit mage when you stopped my spell back then.”

The sun was at its highest when we were finished hunting this region of a certain Count’s.

“By the way, do you plan on hiding your spirit magic forever? As an elf, I can understand why you’d want to hide it but…” Feria spoke to me from behind. We were about to split up since the boys dorm is on the right while the female dorm is on the left.

“Not forever. The senior at the magic tower said that it’s dangerous to show it in my growing phase. I might attract unwanted attention. I masked my spirit mana that time.”

“Wait, so what you did last time wasn’t spirit magic?”

She must mean when my arm glowed white.

“Nope. It’s a technique called spirit arts. I use my normal mana to fuel the technique.”

I showed my white arm. Mages can feel whether you are using normal magic, anti-magic or spirit magic. The properties are different. By doing what I just mentioned, I can avoid attracting the eyes of many people.

“Wow… you’re really a genius to be able to create your own technique… to think you’re just 12 years old.”

Miya’s eyes were shining in awe. I averted my gaze. Gazing into a beautiful girl’s eyes for too long is impossible for me.

“Ahem… I better get going then.”

“T-Then can we do it again? You know, what we did today.”

“Oh, sure. I enjoyed it too.”

“Me too!”

Miya then hugged me. Since I’m shorter than her by a head, my face was pushed into her bosom.

“Bye~”

She waved at me and skipped to her dorm room.

I also left towards the male dorm.