Chapter 35 - Magic School. Great.

After a hot roast dinner with the Harding family, I immediately headed to my room for an early night’s sleep for a few reasons. One, I didn’t want to hang around and bear the awkward conversation that was sure to ensue. Two, I was deadbeat tired. Even though I didn’t feel physically tired in my potato body, my human one still felt it. Also, I was mentally fatigued. Thirdly, I hadn’t slept in a bed in ages. Special thanks to the Haven guild for that.

The next morning, Cle’de woke me up with a scowl that didn’t really suit her otherwise pretty features. Even at seventeen years old, she had a well defined jawline and nose that brought out her piercing green eyes. Her silky black hair flowed down to her hips.

I didn’t understand what I’d done for her to dislike me so much. I was only a little bit of a slob.

Once dressed in one of the sets of uniforms the mayor Mowzero had so kindly prepared for me, I strode out into the dining room.

And guess who was waiting for me.

If you guessed Red, you would be correct.

“Hello, June.” He said, his voice as cold as ever. “I see you’ve already changed. Do you like it?”

I scowled and mimicked the hostility in his tone. “It’s nicer than your robe, at least. So, care to explain?”

A genuine look of surprise crossed his face. “I thought you would’ve already determined my intentions. For an SSS grade threat, you sure are a little on the slow side.”

“An SSS what?” I burst out.

He sighed. “Never mind. Just have your breakfast and we’ll talk on the way.”

“On the way to what???”

I had a bad feeling about this.

It turned out that my bad feeling was wrong.

Red merely brought me out for a stroll through the town.

A few minutes after leaving the Harding’s residence, he began to explain.

“As you’ve probably already realised, I’m sending you to school.” Were his first words.

These were mine. “Are you crazy? I’m thirty-fucking-two years old! I’ve already been through school!

He cocked his head to the side and stared at me, not stopping. “Do you want to master void magic?”

What did school have to do with void magic? “Yes, why?”

“Because the school you’re going to is not just any school. It’s a magic school.”

Oh. Oh. Oooooh. Well that made more sense now.

Embarrassed, I looked down, around, up- anywhere but at Red. While I was doing so, I noticed something odd. The people of the town- demons, skeletons, elves, dwarves, they all stared not just at Red anymore, but also at me. We were also heading away from the town centre.

“Um. I’m… sorry.” I mumbled, still not looking him in the eye.

“Don’t be. In fact, I’m the one who should be sorry. I was having a little laugh at you just now for being such a dumb SSS threat.” He said without a single change in expression.

Laughing? I decided not to question it. But there was something else I wanted to ask.

“What’s an SSS threat and why do you keep calling me one?”

“Like I have said before,” Red began. “This dimension is quite different from what you know. In a normal human society, you have ranks to determine strength, correct?”

“Of course.” He was referring to adventurers and mages. Registered guilds and adventurers were all given a rank based on their magical power.

“The same thing happens here, except we judge strength based on threat. Your ‘adventurers’ in this world are people with the power to destroy or disrupt Erobeus- if they were ever to go there.” He explained. “Your threat to Erobeus is SSS, one of three in Flurisburg. It is only given to someone with the potential to destroy the entire world.”

“Hang on. What?” Did he just say what I thought he said…?

“What?”

“Threats? Threats? What exactly do you mean by… threats?”

Calmly, he pointed to an old woman- one who I presumed was an elf due to her pointy ears and green hair. She was hunched over in her garden, wearing a straw hat and dirty overalls. She seemed to be doing some work in her garden. I spied a basket of carrots next to her, though she was mostly obstructed by a wooden fence lining the path.

“Her name is Linda. She is a B ranked threat, capable of destroying the whole of Agridia.”

There was no way. “Surely you’re kidding, right?”

Once again, his expression didn’t change. “I do not ‘kid’ around. Everything I say is true. What do you think this place is for?”

I could not believe my ears. “So you’re saying that this ‘town’ is a prison.”

“One of sorts, yes.”

Great. He had just gone out and admitted it.

“It gives the anthropoids a chance to assimilate into the human lifestyle without having to restrict their abilities. Since the human population takes up the majority of the land, I was instructed by God to create this plane where the anthropoids can roam free. It is more of a haven than a prison, if I say so myself.”

I gazed around myself, looking at the peaceful streets with no sign of poverty, the children happily running around, their doting parents having a chat or working in the kitchen or garden. Red was right. This was the epitome of happiness. It was serene. Calm. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to live here forever, after all…

‘No, June. Don’t think such things. We have to go back. Kearan and the others are waiting.’

Before I could apologize to Red again, a loud squeal interrupted me.

A small furried creature, about the size of a soccer ball burst out of the forest. It had two thick arms and legs and it bounded forward like a monkey of some sort. Its fur was blue, spotted on white. It only had a large mouth that stretched the entire length of its face, ladened with sharp teeth. There was no doubt about it. This was a monster of some kind.

Calmly, an elf father stretched his arm out and uttered an incantation. A massive fireball materialized at his fingertips and blasted towards the monster.

It had no chance. All that was left of it were charred embers.

The rest of the villagers didn’t even seem fazed and I watched the little girl whose father had saved tug on his trouser pants. “Papa! You’re so cool!”

My heart panged. Where had I heard that phrase from before…?

I took a deep breath and buried the emotion deep, deep into my heart. Now was not the time.

“Red. Why are there monsters in this realm? I thought this was on an artificial dimensional plane?” Not to mention why the hell everyone had been so calm about it.

“June, you have a lot to learn. Monsters are the very life of the land. They are the traditional owners of the environment and have existed long, long before us. ‘Where there is land, there are monsters’ is the saying.”

“Said by who?”

He shrugged. “How should I know?”

I raised an eyebrow, but chose to ignore it. I guessed there were some things Great Beasts didn’t know, after all.

“Anyways, you’ll be starting school tomorrow, so take the rest of today to mentally prepare yourself. You might have a hard time… adjusting to the school’s schedule.”

“And what exactly do you mean by adjusting?”

“You’ll find out tomorrow.” Was all he said. “For now, memorise this path, as it’s the one that you’ll be taking to school every morning. I’ve already arranged with the Hardings that Cle’de will show you around.”

“School?” I asked. “There is no school here! Can you stop speaking in goddamn riddles for once-”

Zzzt.

A strange, electrifying energy passed through my body as we reached the edges of the town and stepped into the forest. The peaceful chirps of the birds disappeared, replaced by loud chattering and distant explosions that rocked the earth.

The ‘forest’ was gone.

In its place was a magnificent castle-like building, made of white brick and decorated in gold lining and blue banners. The same ten-element-ringed crest circled each banner with the name ‘School Of Anthropoids’ in the middle of them.

“Sorry miss,” A tall boy wearing the same uniform I wore- except he wore a red metal wristband instead of a silver one. “I won’t let it go again.”

He was talking to a smart-looking lady with impeccable bosoms and long grey hair. She sighed and strode into the building, her hips shaking from side to side. “Whatever, Martin. Let’s just get the area set up before lunchtime, alright?”

The two walked down the pathway together through the castle gate, before turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

I couldn’t stop staring. And if you mean at her breasts, then you would be wrong. It was like we’d been transported to another world. And we were already in another world. Like. Damn. Seriously?

“That was a third year and one of the teachers, Miss Irene Klaon” Red said. “A magical space barrier surrounds the school and hides both sound and sight from the outside world. It is something like the dimensional plane we are currently in, but different since we can enter. It’s set up to make sure the school’s operation doesn’t disrupt the villagers or town.”

That was actually kind of smart. Very smart. If I’d known about such a thing back in my baron days, would I have…? Bah. What had passed had passed. Magic was something I was no longer unable to do. But the thought still lingered in my mind. If I hadn’t been gifted with this magical power, would I still have my head in my ass? Would I still reject it?

It was a question I’d probably never find the answer to.

I’ll admit, though. I was excited. Excited to finally be officially taught magic and live my childhood dream.

And I’d be one of the strongest.

Or at least, that’s what I thought.