Emil tugged on the tight tie around his neck, showing a peeved expression.

“Quit messing!” his teacher snapped at him, adjusting it back.

The youth wrinkled his nose. “I feel like a stuffy elitist in this uniform.”

As someone who always dressed in a comfortable manner and had never worn a tie in his life, Emil wasn’t pleased by the formal uniform given to the Silverblue Academy students. Most of the students that came to the school were the children of high-status families and it was reflected in nearly aspect every of the place.

Instead of awe-inspiring and beautiful, Emil thought that the academy’s architecture was pointlessly grandiose

Emil felt like he was once again a servant boy and knew that he did not belong in this place. He glanced over at his father who was smiling lightly at the two as the Night Sage continued to fuss at Emil, reminding the boy to watch his rough speech.

The Night Sage had long ago taught Emil proper etiquette, but Emil didn’t care much for it. Emil would be polite to those in the same class as him, but when it came to the elite, he didn’t hide his contempt. He could not forget the life he endured before he met the Night Sage.

“Emil,” Felix said. “Listen to your teacher.”

“I’m not like them. I don’t want to be like them,” Emil retorted. His goal here was to become more powerful. Mixing with… them wasn’t on his priority list.

“At least, put your attitude away when we meet the headmaster.”

Hearing this, Emil clicked his tongue. He knew that the Night Sage was right. He was already slightly nervous to face the headmaster in case he somehow found out the truth. His teacher had assured him that this wouldn’t happen, but since the Night Sage was one of the headmaster’s personal students of the past, it wasn’t possible for them to avoid him. It’d be more suspicious if they did, really. Emil didn’t want to offend the Demigod, nor did he want to ruin the Night Sage’s reputation in front of his old teacher.

“Fine.”

Felix patted his son’s head. “Good luck, Emil. Be sure to visit during your school breaks.”

“I will.” Emil didn’t bat away his father’s hand and smiled brightly.

The two mages climbed out of the carriage and it pulled off.

“Come on, fool.” The Night Sage began to walk up the polished stairs to the Headmaster’s Tower.

Emil looked up at the blinding white structure that seemed to span into the heavens. “This is where you used to train, Teacher?”

“It’s been a couple of centuries, but yeah,” the Night Sage answered. “The headmaster’s students are the elite of the academy. They don’t have to attend regular courses like the others and receive his personal teaching. He selects those who are worthy no matter of their background. That’s how I got it.”

Emil made a sound of amazement. It was weird for him to picture his lazy teacher as the protege of a Demigod. He tried to picture the Night Sage--who never seemed to know how to wear clothing properly--in this stiff uniform.

The two strolled into of the tower without any difficulty, causing Emil to look around for guards. “No one’s protecting it?”

“Only those with special access can enter. It’s guarded by a Demigod’s magic already. What more does it need?”

Hearing this, Emil couldn’t help but laugh a little. Right. That made sense.

“Get ready,” the Night Sage said as they continued to walk across the empty floor.

“Huh?”

Just as he blinked, Emil felt the sensation of teleporting and stopped walking. Then, he found that they had changed locations. They were inside of a dimly lit library.

What’s with these people and transporting people without warning? Emil wondered as he regained his footing.

“So, this is your student, Damien?” a male’s voice sounded next to Emil and he felt someone pinch his bicep. Just as he turned his head, he felt someone yank a strand of his hair out. “Good quality.”

Emil shifted his gaze again in exasperation, seeing a man was now sitting at the desk while holding Emil’s hair. He twirled his finger around the strand twice and it began to emit a bright light before changing shape. It slowly morphed into a thin, glowing rectangle before dimming.

The old man tossed the object towards Emil and the boy caught it. He glanced down to see a card made of a stiff but semi-flexible, glossy material. There was a photo of him on it along with his name and a series of numbers.

“This is your ID card. Don’t lose it. If you want another one made, you’ll have to pay a fee.”

Emil raised his gaze again to see that the man was standing in front of the duo again, his arms crossed behind his back. He looked to be younger than the Night Sage, and everything about him was ordinary from his height to his appearance.

Who’s this guy?

“Headmaster Seth,” the Night Sage greeted. “You seem well.”

“Pah. Not that you’d care.”

Emil didn’t express the shock he felt inwardly.

This is… He’s a Demigod.

There was nothing special about the headmaster and the aura reflected through his anima reminded Emil of Ilya. It was so plain that it was destined to be forgotten.

Is that a characteristic of a Demigod? Even the Night Sage can’t fully mask all his power from my eyes… How scary. I wonder what type of magic they’re using to do so.

“Honestly,” Seth continued to complain, “After five years of silence, you come out of nowhere with a student and you want me to let him into my academy and that tests aren’t necessary. You think that I’m a joke, don’t you? You’re lucky that I like you.” His too-blue eyes focused on Emil. “And, he does seem to be interesting. Good, good. Very good.”

Emil remained quiet as the man continued to poke and prod his body.

“How much does he know?”

“Only a little,” the Night Sage answered.

“What’s your attribute, boy?”

“Space and time.”

Seth nodded in approval. “Cast Time Lock, extend it as long as you can within your highest radius.”

Emil raised his thumb and bit down onto it, drawing blood. In a swift movement, he pressed his bloodied thumb against his lips and activated the magic. Without the full ritualistic magic, he could only maintain a two-hundred-meter radius frozen in time for one and a half seconds.

To his surprise, once he activated his magic, the Night Sage and Seth showed no sign of being affected. They were both staring at his thumb. The Night Sage seemed shocked while Seth was excited.

“Marvelous!” Seth said, clapping his hands together. “You taught him this?”

“No.”

“I learned it on my own.”

“How interesting!” Seth spoke, patting Emil’s shoulders while wearing a broad smile. His eyes were glittering with an unreadable expression, but it gave Emil and instinctively bad feeling.

He pushed back the discomfort. The voices weren’t responding to Seth’s presence, so it probably wasn’t anything too serious… The Demigod had no reason to hold back any malice, after all, because no one other than another Demigod could pose an issue for him.

“Cast Gravity Shift now on that desk.”

Emil obliged and directed his magic towards the desk while still holding his bleeding thumb to his mouth. The wood began to creak loudly before the desk shattered underneath the pressure.

The Demigod appeared to be greatly satisfied. “I suppose I could accept you as my disciple as well!”

“Huh?”

That easily? Was there something wrong with Seth? The Night Sage had said he was a man who hated wasting time but wasn’t this a bit too much? He only cast two spells, and Emil was being offered an apprenticeship? He had been ready to endure a harsh test.

The boy blinked, completely dumbfounded.