《Elite Mages’ Academy》Elite Mages' Academy
Advertisement
Chapter 26: 26
Only when Xiao Lin left the swordsmanship hall did he notice a partitioning of the training halls. Swordsmanship belonged in Zone A: the same zone as sabers, axes, and other physical weapons. Zone B and Zone A were very close to each other, and–although the number of training halls in Zone B was relatively small–the size of each training hall was rather huge.
Following the tutor’s directions, Xiao Lin quickly found himself in the first row, standing before Classroom Three. A sign displaying the words ‘Basic Meditation’ hung at the door.
“It’s probably here. I hope I didn’t take too long.” He tried pushing the door, but it was locked from the inside. He raised his hand to knock on the door and it immediately opened with a creak. Xiao Lin had already stretched out his hand; it was past the point of no return. He could only watch as his hand gently rapped against a beautiful girl’s forehead.
3
She was a delicately petite girl with short hair, neat bangs, and a pair of spectacles. She gave off the impression of a cute, petite girl-next-door.
3
“You’re not the teacher, are you?” Xiao Lin blurted out.
“I’m the teacher for Basic Meditation for this batch of freshmen. Is there a problem?” The woman’s voice was very sweet, but was not as pleasant coupled with her cold look of superiority.
1
Xiao Lin retracted his hand in embarrassment and laughed dryly. “That was a misunderstanding… I really didn’t know you’d open the door so suddenly.”
“If a mage like me fails to sense an ordinary person’s presence within ten meters, then I might as well quit this school and head back to Earth to sell tofu! Don’t you think so?” The girl’s words were very cutting and she was not as sweet as her voice suggested. With that, Xiao Lin’s impression of her as a charming girl-next-door crumbled all at once.
2
Xiao Lin repeatedly said no and tried to explain himself.
Nevertheless, the girl irritably waved her hand, as if swatting a fly. “No need to explain. I understand! Come on in!”
Advertisement
Xiao Lin was on the verge of tears seeing the girl’s disgust toward him. He wanted to ask her, ‘Big Sis, what exactly do you understand!’
1
Having experienced lessons in history and swordsmanship, Xiao Lin could sense the paramount importance the school attached to the present batch of freshmen. Even though the girl in front of him looked petite, Xiao Lin guessed that she was a graduate, who might even be centuries old, like Professor Dai.
The girl spoke as she walked. “Senior Sister Cheng Na called me. You are Xiao Lin?”
“That’s me.” Xiao Lin nodded and sighed. He finally found out that the violent beauty’s name was Cheng Na.
“You’re interested in cultivating both magic and martial arts?”
“Yes!”
“You used underhanded means to make Senior Sister lose the bet and force her to agree to your unreasonable request?”
1
“Mmhmm! Hm?” Xiao Lin was subconsciously nodding and quickly waving his hand. “Wait, what do you mean by underhanded means! I did everything fairly, but your senior sister didn’t keep her word. I’m glad she eventually did, though.”
1
The disgust on the girl’s face increased even more and she waved her small hand. “No need to explain. I understand perfectly!”
2
‘Again, what exactly do you understand!’
Xiao Lin sighed helplessly. He felt that his words fell on deaf ears, regardless of how much he explained, and so finally gave up talking. In any case, the important thing was that he be allowed to listen well in the class.
The meditation hall was very empty and there were no windows around, like a sealed dark room. A couple of white headlights made the room bright as day, and rows of cushions were neatly arranged on the smooth floor. Students of both genders sat on those cushions and curiously looked at Xiao Lin.
“My surname is Li. I’m a fourth-year senior. You can call me a teacher or Senior Sister, but frankly speaking, I really don’t want to hear your voice. If it weren’t out of courtesy for Senior Sister Cheng Na, I wouldn’t have allowed a despicable person like you to enter my meditation classroom!” the girl coldly said to Xiao Lin.
Advertisement
6
The girl raised her head. She had to look up to see Xiao Lin’s face because of the height difference. Xiao Lin’s nonchalant expression seemed to irritate her a little and she added, “This Basic Meditation course is three-months. If you fail to meet the requirements after the duration, I hope you’ll get out of the way immediately. Staying here is just a waste of both our time!”
‘God knows what Senior Sister Cheng Na said to this Lolita to make her hate me so much,’ Xiao Lin thought helplessly. Even though he was an acting class monitor, all he could do was nod earnestly and answer ‘yes’ whenever he faced seniors or graduates.
4
Xiao Lin’s attitude was submissive and the girl seemed irked for not being able to find fault in him. “Although I won’t stop you from coming to my class, I’ve been lecturing for almost an hour. I won’t repeat it again just for your sake. You ask your other classmates and see if anyone is willing to help you!”
1
Xiao Lin felt a headache coming on. “I’ll ask my classmates.”
Xiao Lin’s gaze swept across the hall and everyone immediately avoided it. They could clearly see that the girl did not like Xiao Lin and so no one was willing to take on a thankless job.
1
After about ten seconds however, Xiao Lin’s eyes lit up when a familiar figure came into view. As a genius with an intelligence of 36, Gu Xiaoyue had no reason not to apply for the Basic Meditation course. As always, the silent girl kept a low profile and chose the corner-most position in the room.
1
Gu Xiaoyue did not disappoint Xiao Lin and simply said, “I’ll do it.”
2
The teacher was just about to watch Xiao Lin make a spectacle of himself, but was left with a stiff expression. She had a helpless look upon seeing that the person who spoke was Gu Xiaoyue. Despite not being a talented student, Gu Xiaoyue was the one who stood out the most among that batch of freshmen. Indeed, she was none other than the person whose individual intelligence broke a record that dated back to when the school was founded!
The teacher was a senior, but she found it imprudent to say anything to Gu Xiaoyue. In the end, she nodded and agreed. “You can sit next to Gu Xiaoyue!”
Xiao Lin went to Gu Xiaoyue’s side and sat cross-legged on the cushion, just like everyone else. He then whispered to her, “Thank you!”
1
Gu Xiaoyue nodded.
Xiao Lin noticed a notebook beside her and felt a rush of joy. He remembered that she had a good habit of taking notes in class and was just about to suggest that they not waste anyone’s time by just having her lend him her notebook.
Gu Xiaoyue did not plan on doing that at all and adjusted her spectacles. With her voice still as crisp as an oriole, her bright pupils looked at Xiao Lin as she said, ” Do you know anything about computer programming?”
Xiao Lin did not understand why she asked that out of the blue, but he nodded and replied, “I don’t, but I definitely know what programming is.”
2
Gu Xiaoyue explained, “There are four major elements in the world—wind, fire, water, and earth. Those elements are used as codes, and casting spells follows the same principles as programming. It is the process of rewriting the element’s codes through a certain pattern, then finally executing the corresponding magic spell.”
7
“Then what’s meditation?” Xiao Lin asked again.
“Do you know what monks are?”
“Of course…”
“Well, simply speaking, meditation is to meditate and recite sutras.” After that, Gu Xiaoyue closed her mouth and with no intention to speak further.
1
Many people, including Xiao Lin, were speechless. From their viewpoint, magic was like a beautiful woman wearing a lace veil, but Gu Xiaoyue’s explanation completely removed all the mystery from it.
1
She had always been a girl of few words and Xiao Lin was all too aware of that. Even so, her summary was so extremely simple, nourishing doubts as to whether it really was that simple.
However, Xiao Lin soon discovered that many other students who had attentively listened to her wore looks of enlightenment.
1
Advertisement
- In Serial57 Chapters
The Abandoned Sorcerer
Orion Zakari is an Ice Sorcerer, the last of his lineage. He's got no clue where he is or how he got there, but he knows one thing for certain: he is being hunted. His home and family are gone: razed and massacred. He will be next when the hunters find him. But if he can put enough pieces together, maybe he won’t have to follow his family down to eternal damnation. Maybe he can avenge them. And maybe, just maybe, he’s got a destiny waiting past that. Monsters and men, merchants and mages, hunters and the hunted. This is the story of the abandoned Sorcerer. What is the Pledge? Release schedule: Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 16:00 UTC. I created the cover using Adobe Illustrator.
8 164 - In Serial63 Chapters
Dominion Expansion (a 4X LitRPG)
Clay is one of the world's top players of 4X games, a genre where the goal is to eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. He's also one of the only players in the world to so stubbornly stick to the one city strategy, a favorite tactic of his that involves only ever using a single city or planet depending on the game's setting. All that matters to him is winning with his favorite strategy, but earning the respect of his fellow players for taking a sub-optimal strategy to its highest level has always been a nice bonus. And now it is because of his skill and entertaining determination that he has been chosen to represent a higher realm in a strategy game where the fate of Earth and dozens of other worlds are at stake. To the victor goes the spoils, and the spoils include entire worlds and billions of lives. That's how he ends up representing the ascended realm of Hell in a grand "game" between an entire pantheon of godly beings and other higher powers. But while it may just be a game to those overseeing it, it is a genuine war for survival to those participating in it where billions of real lives will go to the victor of whoever wins, and many will die before the game is over. Quick Author's Notes: System inspired by Civilization, Endless Legend, Stellaris, and Crusader Kings 2. Combat mechanics inspired by the Total War series. Slow-paced with many long-term plans. Protagonist has a personality heavily inspired by Ron Swanson. Know who that is and love him? You should like Clay. Know who Ron Swanson is and hate him? You'll probably hate Clay. Planning on writing every single day (turn). Days with important things happening will have the system/game mechanics be the priority of the chapter. Days where there isn't really anything important happening will be more slice-of-life and focused on character interactions. Designed a dice-based randomized map generator to create the world as the story goes on, so I don't even know myself exactly what's going to happen as a lot is dependent on world generation. Tech tree with hundreds of technologies already designed. There is a "harem," but it's not the main focus, the girls won't be cardboard cutouts, and I'm not going to completely forget about any previous women in the relationship whenever a new one comes along. One last thing. The "game" starts off with primitive technology level. The current plan is for the "endgame" tech level to be equivilent to WW2-era technology. After that and war just gets boring until you end up in space. Cover is temporary and made from royalty-free stock images while waiting for the real cover's commission to finish.
8 129 - In Serial7 Chapters
Armor Corps
The Nek'var Empire marches across the stars. Their ruthless campaign to purge all life from the galaxy has crushed a thousand years of peace. Fires rage in cities all across the Galactic Union. Their grand armies have been crushed, cities conquered. Nothing stands between a sweeping Nek'var victory but the battered remnants of a mauled fleet. If they fall, the galaxy falls with them. Meanwhile, humanity is an unknown power emerging from their little speck of space when they are inexplicably attacked by a powerful alien fleet, forcing the ever squabbling nations of Sol to form a grudging alliance in the face of annihilation. Corporal Erik Shields finds himself far from home, embroiled in a life or death struggle on the surface of a colony world known as MX-01, battling for humanity's future against a seemingly unstoppable force. But there is a glimmer of hope when Fleet engineers develop a miniaturized reactor core capable of fully realizing the power armor program's vast potential and a desperate mission is cobbled together to deploy the newly formed Armor Corps to the surface in hopes of defeating the enemy invasion. This is a tale of defiance in the face of annihilation, the soul-crushing horror of interstellar war, and the death of dreams.
8 91 - In Serial29 Chapters
Mana Wall: Book One
Have you ever wondered what goes through the minds of your RPG characters? Billington, the dwarf gadgeteer, loots a legendary item, though he doesn’t' know it at the time. It isn't until he meets the human bard Hendrix that he learns of its importance. The Dark Lady Kaloriann has constricted the world in a deadly ring of energy. The Mana Wall, as it is called, has entrapped the capital city and the royal family with it. Countless guilds have searched for answers on how to save them to no avail. The answers, however, seem to be hidden in Billington's new item… in the hands of a noob. These characters don't know they're in a game. To them, it is a matter of life and death, and the probable end of their world. Hey everyone! Hope you all enjoy my story. It's still in beta form so any feedback would be very much appreciated. New chapter every second day. Thanks for reading :)
8 178 - In Serial9 Chapters
My Life as a Dragon's Assistant
Sealed away in the back of a remote church, he was raised to be the offering. Every few generations, the dragon required an assistant. He wasn't ready.
8 79 - In Serial63 Chapters
We Fall Like Ashes | Wildfire Series
{18+ COLLEGE ROMANCE COMPLETED}What sucks more than being rejected by the girl of your dreams? Finding out afterward that she's moving in with you. ****The night that Beau Martin spends with Collins Bryant is the best one of his life. He wants to repeat it. Over and over and over again. Collins, on the other hand, is all too eager cut ties when the sun comes up. But cutting ties becomes impossible when Beau and his friend, Nessa, are looking for one more roommate in their three-bedroom off-campus apartment. And Nessa-oblivious to their history-suggests the one person that Beau knows will kill him to live with: Collins Bryant.He should say no. He really should. But even with knowing she doesn't want him, Beau would do just about anything for Collins. Including giving her the open room in his apartment-because he knows she isn't going to find another one, not this close to the start of the college semester. But as Collins moves in and unpacks all her art supplies, all her secrets, Beau starts to wonder if maybe...maybe she wants him after all. And maybe getting the chance to be with her is enough to risk everything. Enough to tip the hidden scales, the ones he's been keeping underwraps.
8 191

