The following Monday, Cadmus was about to make his way to his first class of the day, Magic Fundamentals, as usual, but then he remembered that there were no classes today. Instead, everyone had been told to gather in the main hall.

And from what Cadmus could tell, everyone meant everyone. From first-years to fourth-years, and from students to professors. The only people exempt from this order were Academy staff such as the cooks, janitors, or guards.

This was because the students from the Carmenian Institute of Sorcery were arriving today, and the Academy wanted everyone to be there to greet their guests.

Professor Mackenzie had made all this explicitly clear when she had threatened him with intense pain if he didn’t show up on time.

When Cadmus got to the main hall, he saw that it looked a little different than usual. Sure, it still had that incredibly grand feeling, with the large tinted windows adorned with elaborate designs, the gleaming chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, the rows upon rows of long tables made of fine wood arranged in a horizontal fashion, and the beautiful wooden podium at the end of the hall. However, now, it also had colourful, celebratory banners hanging everywhere. And, everything looked as though it had recently been polished with immense care—Cadmus eyed the plaque with his sister’s name on it, and smiled at how it shined.

And of course, one would have to be blind and deaf to not notice the unusually tremendous energy of anticipation buzzing throughout the room. It seemed that this was a really exciting time for many people…

He spotted Candice sitting by herself at one of the tables, and made his way to her.

“Hello,” he greeted as he took a seat.

“H-hello,” Candice greeted back shyly.

Alice popped out from his breast pocket.

“Hi Candice!” She waved cheerfully.

Candice’s face visibly brightened up, “H-hello Alice. How are you both doing?”

“I’m so tired,” Alice said, yawning slightly to accentuate her point, “Cadmus has been doing nothing but preparing for the tournament since the past week, so I’ve barely gotten any rest. It’s just been one activity-filled day after another.”

“Oh yes, I heard yesterday that you were sent to the infirmary, Cadmus,” Candice said worriedly, “Is that true?”

Cadmus nodded, “Indeed.”

“Oh no!” Candice gasped, “Are you alright now?”

Cadmus nodded again, “Thanks to the potions that Doctor Valentine gave me, I didn’t have to spend too much time in the infirmary. Better yet, I’ve already healed most of my body by now.”

He demonstrated by stretching and showing how he had regained most of his body’s motion.

“Though, I am still incredibly sore,” he added as an afterthought.

Candice smiled, “I-I am glad to hear that you’re doing well.” She hesitated for a second, “I… am sore as well, as I too have spent a majority of my time training for the tournament.”

Cadmus tilted his head curiously, “You’re taking part as well? I didn’t think you had an interest in these kinds of things.”

Candice’s smile turned a little melancholic, “I-I don’t, but… I want to show my father how much I’ve changed, so… I’ve decided to take part in the tournament as well.”

There was probably a story there, but Cadmus didn’t really care, so he didn’t dig any further.

For the next few minutes, Alice and Candice simply chatted with each other about how the last few weeks had gone in greater detail, and Cadmus occasionally joined their conversation. This went on for ten minutes or so, before finally, the headmaster, with his thick black handle-bar moustache and portly belly, went up to the podium and said,

“Hello everyone!”

He had his voice-enhancing magic circle activated, so his voice carried throughout the whole hall. And in response, the noisy chattering that filled the hall slowly died down.

The headmaster smiled, “In a few minutes, our good friends from the Carmenian Institute of Sorcery will be arriving. When they do, I ask that you welcome them warmly, and show them the utmost courtesy for the duration of their stay. You will all be representing the Laurucian Academy of Magic, and I hope that you will all do credit to our name and history.”

Everyone clapped politely, and at that moment, a great shadow darkened the entire main hall. At first, Cadmus thought it had simply been a cloud that had covered the sun, but then, some people looked out of the large tinted windows, and cried out excitedly,

“It’s an airship!”

“They’re here! Those guys from the Institute are here!”

“Man, the people over at Carmenia really know how to make an entrance, don’t they?”

The hall quickly devolved into a flurry of conversation, and feeling curious himself, Cadmus also took a look.

And there it was, a magnificent galleon longer and larger than any vehicle Cadmus had ever seen, soaring through the sky like a graceful eagle. Everything about it—the massive canvas sales decorated with a white owl on a maroon red background, the colossal hull made of glossy wood, and the figurehead of the owl perched under bow—indicated that it was a ship built for seafaring.

And yet, it was up there, soaring through the sky as clear as day.

The airship circled the Academy a few times, as though showing itself off to them, before it finally headed off and landed in some other area of the city.

Since the landing spot hadn’t been inside the campus, Cadmus got the feeling that the airship had merely flown above them as some sort of a boast or something.

“An airship, huh…?” He mused, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one, and never one as large as that…”

“It’s so huge!” Alice exclaimed like a child, stars present in her eyes, “And—and it’s flying! How is it doing that!?”

“Oh, you’ve never seen an airship before, Alice?” Oliver’s voice came from behind him.

He took a seat at their table, and Cadmus shot him a questioning look.

“I accidentally overslept,” Oliver explained, chuckling sheepishly, “But hey, I’m here in time for the important stuff, and no one even noticed me coming in late because of all this commotion, so it’s fine.”

“Congratulations,” Cadmus said genuinely, “As for your question: Yes. Alice has only ever lived in Benig, and since airships are so rare, she has never seen a single one.”

He gave Alice’s question some thought, “It’s been a long time, but I think I once read that airships fly through the use of ancient elven magic…? I’m sorry, I’ve never really pursued this field of research, so I don’t know much about it either.”

“A-airships can fly because they’re technology left over from the time of the ancient elves. A-apparently, there’s an orb of magic inside each one that casts all the spells that allows them to fly, but we humans don’t really understand it yet,” Candice explained.

Then, she blushed when she noticed that everyone was looking at her with surprised expressions on their faces.

“I-I like to study history…” She offered shyly.

Cadmus put a hand on his chin, “Sounds about right. From what I remember reading, humans are only capable of casting magic with two-dimensional magic circles, but apparently, the ancient elves were so good at magic, that they could cast spells with three-dimensional magic spheres. We still have some of those spheres left over. It still doesn’t explain why their airships look exactly like seafaring ships though…”

“I-it’s because the ancient elves didn’t have magic for all of their existence, either,” Candice explained, “They discovered magic during a time called the ‘enlightenment age’, and during that time, they wanted to create a vehicle for mass transport that could fly through the sky. So, they took the largest public transport vehicle they had—a ship—and applied magic on it that would allow it to fly.”

She seemed to find confidence in speaking about her preferred subject, and her timid tone had gradually disappeared by the time she had finished her explanation. However, when she realized what she had just done, her cowardly nature came barreling back.

“I—I mean, that’s just what I read. S-so maybe I’m wrong…” She said, nervously wringing her hands.

“No,” Cadmus said, “Unless you’ve been reading the wrong books, you’re probably right. Historians extract this information by teasing it out of the energy of the world after all. There is no record more accurate than the imprints in mana that the ancient elves left behind.”

Candice looked a little confused, but she nodded all the same,

“I-I see…?”

Before the conversation could progress further, the grand doors to the main hall opened, and a procession of students in maroon-red cloaks entered. At the head of the procession stood an old man with more wrinkles on his face than Cadmus had ever seen in his life, a long white beard, and an equally white set of bushy eyebrows that covered his eyes.

The old man walked up to Headmaster Capitis, and grinned,

“Conan, my old friend! It’s good to see you again!”

They embraced, and Headmaster Capitis grinned back,

“You as well, James!”

James took a look around, and his grin turned a little mischievous,

“Hm… I see that your Academy is still as plain as ever. Can you really call this a magical academy?”

Headmaster Captis’ grin grew a little strained at his words,

“And I see that you’re still showing off old works of the past as your own. I wonder why you’re so proud of that airship of yours when you don’t even understand how it works?”

The two glared at each other, their smiling faces twitching. Cadmus honestly felt like he was watching two children arguing.

Then, the tension between them broke when they chuckled good-naturedly, and Headmaster Capitis turned to address the room,

“A warm welcome to our new guests from the Carmenian Institute of Sorcery! For those of you who don’t know, I am Conan Capitis, the headmaster of the Laurucian Academy of Magic,” he gestured at James, “And this is James Veterai, the headmaster of the Carmenian Institute of Sorcery. To our guests from the Institute, please choose any table and take a seat.”

The students from the Institute whispered amongst each other, and then began splitting up to choose their seats. A group of four caught Cadmus’ eye when one of them pointed excitedly at Candice, and made their way over to them.

They took a seat at their table, and the one who had pointed at Candice seemed eager to speak, but before he could, Headmaster Capitis spoke again,

“Now, I’m sure that you’re all eager to meet your new peers, however I have some words to say before you can do so. First of all, to our esteemed guests, please respect the rules of our Academy. Two years ago, three students were pulled out of the Twin Peaks Tournament because they refused to accept that they weren’t allowed to enter the upper floors of the library. I hope such an incident won’t occur this year.”

“Secondly, I request that you inform a member of the faculty if you wish to step out of the campus and explore the city. Doing so will help us keep a track of where everyone is, and should you happen to get lost, we will have a far easier time finding you.”

“And finally, though you will soon be in competition with each other, I hope that you will treat each other with respect and courtesy. You are all fellow mages in training after all. Now, you are free to do what you wish today, and should you require a guide to explore the campus, just ask any of our students, and they will gladly lend a hand! I hope from the bottom of my heart that you will enjoy your stay here. Dismissed!”

Headmaster Capitis erased the voice-enhancement magic circle, and stepped to the side to converse with Headmaster Veterai.

Seeing that they were free to do as they wished now, people all across the hall began speaking to each other or getting up to leave. The one who had pointed at Candice began speaking as well,

“Hey, my name is Mark Tempor! Nice to meet you!”

Mark Tempor had short brown hair, a decently handsome face, and a healthy build. Strangely enough though, he only seemed to have eyes for Candice, having barely glanced at Oliver and Cadmus, before dismissing them.

In fact, all four of them were only looking at Candice, and Candice seemed wilt under their gazes. Then, the most unusual-looking of the four spoke next. He was well-built, and had spiky blonde hair that was so light, that it almost looked white. His eyes were so strikingly blue that Cadmus almost wondered whether they were artificial, and there was a faint scar resting on his toned cheek.

“Hello, my name is Gale Holland,” Oliver made a sort of noise as Gale pointed at the other two who still hadn’t introduced themselves, “These are my brothers, Connor and Elis.”

That fact came as a surprise to Cadmus because his brothers literally looked nothing like him. Connor had straight brown hair that he kept short, and wide eyes of the same colour, while Elis had long and rough black hair that he let hang free, and brown eyes lighter than Connor’s.

They both waved as they were introduced, but didn’t seem interested in speaking further.

“I have heard of you, Dragon Princess,” Gale continued, “They say you are one of the most prodigious mages in all of human history. If so, then—”

“Excuse me,” Cadmus said, raising his hand, “But it seems you have the wrong person. She isn’t Ardea Regis.”

Candice gave him a grateful look, as the four turned as one toward him. Then, Mark asked,

“…What?”

“Her name is Candice Regis. She’s Ardea’s cousin,” Cadmus explained.

The four blinked, taking his words in, before Mark groaned and collapsed onto the table.

“Oh man…” He whined, “That means we ended up sitting with a bunch of nobodies! Come on, Gale, let’s see if we can still find her. Maybe she hasn’t left the hall yet.”

They made to get up as Oliver scowled and Candice’s head drooped, but then Alice popped out from his breast pocket and spoke, glaring,

“Calling people you haven’t even given a chance to respond ‘nobodies’ is a little rude, don’t you think?”

The four froze, and Mark especially looked far more surprised than his friends. He looked Cadmus over and furiously muttered,

“Curly black hair, unhealthily pale face, narrow green eyes…” A wide grin threatened to split his face as he snapped his fingers, “You’re Cadmus Guiles, aren’t you—the Necromancer?”

Cadmus tilted his head curiously, “You know of me?”

Mark settled in his seat again, and the rest of his friends followed suit.

“Of course! You’ve thrown the entire magical community for a loop by creating that homunculus of yours,” he pointed at Alice, who glared back at him. Curiously enough though, he didn’t really seem too interested in Alice’s existence, choosing instead to lock eyes with Cadmus, “Oh man, I’m so lucky! Gale wanted to meet the Dragon Princess, but I wanted to meet you!”

“Why?” Cadmus asked.

A challenging glint shined in Mark’s near-black eyes as his grin turned predatory,

“It’s not too complicated of a reason. I just want to defeat you in front of everyone during this tournament!”

Cadmus blinked, sensing some hostility in Mark’s tone, “Have I done something to offend you in some way?”

“Not you, per se. But, unlike Gale and the Dragon Princess, we’re both mages who focus on research rather than combat. And, even more similarly, we both developed new, groundbreaking magic near the start of this school year.”

Actually, Cadmus had created Alice a year ago, so Mark’s comparison was wrong. However, Mark seemed to be on a roll, so Cadmus didn’t interrupt to correct him.

“And yet, only your name was spread through the magical community, while I was barely mentioned, despite having created just as innovative magic at the exact same time!”

A flicker of annoyance flashed across Mark’s face as he said this, but he controlled himself quickly enough.

“What magic did you create?” Cadmus asked curiously.

Mark puffed out his chest proudly, “I won’t go into too much detail since I want to keep my abilities a secret for the tournament. However, I will say this: unlike you, who focused on the magic of life, I focused on the magic of time.”

Cadmus tilted his head in confusion, “Time magic has already been done though?”

Mark seemed to take offence at his words as his face twisted into a snarl,

“Only by the Lady of the Lake! And she refuses to share her secrets! Everything I accomplished, I accomplished myself!”

Cadmus warily leaned a little away from Mark, but Mark didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he continued ranting,

“And I’ll prove the value of my magic by defeating you in this tournament! Just you wait!”

He was breathing deeply by the time he was done, and seemed to be waiting for a response from Cadmus. Cadmus didn’t know what he wanted to hear though, so he tried for a simple,

“…Okay?”

That only seemed to annoy Mark even more, but Gale put a hand on his shoulder before he could say anything.

“You’ve said what you needed to, Mark. Let’s go find the Dragon Princess now.”

Mark frowned, but after a few seconds of glaring at Cadmus, he nodded,

“Alright.”

Gale turned to Cadmus, “Would you happen to know where she is?”

Cadmus took a look around the room, and spotted the distinct shock of bright red hair tied up into a ponytail.

“Yes,” he said with a nod, “I can take you to her.”