Oliver felt his cheek twitch in annoyance as Cadmus spoke with Mark Tempor and Gale Holland. He could understand why Mark had dismissed him and Candice so easily (Mark had managed to create time magic after all) however, that didn’t mean it wasn’t annoying being looked down upon and called a “nobody”.

Still, Oliver wasn’t sure what to say in his defense. He didn’t know much about the students from the Institute since they were situated all the way on the continent of Gaia, but even he had heard of Gale Holland’s name. Apparently, Gale was to the first years in the Institute, what Ardea Regis was to the first years here in the Academy: powerful beyond anyone else.

How was Oliver supposed to defend himself against someone like that? No matter what he said, he would only end up sounding desperate or whiny.

Which was why he was grateful when Alice scolded them for ridiculing them so nonchalantly like that. He thought something would come of it, but then the topic moved on to how Mark wanted to defeat Cadmus in the tournament, and the previous insult Mark had sent their way was forgotten.

But, well, while Cadmus had been acknowledged as someone worthy of attention, Oliver could see that Candice and he were still being sidelined, which kind of stung. So, he wasn’t in the best of moods when Cadmus stood up and led the students from the Institute to Ardea. Oliver automatically followed after them, and a downcast Candice—after a moment of hesitation—did the same.

Ardea was still sitting at her table, accompanied by her ever-loyal friend, Elise Auxil. There was only one other person at her table besides them: a refined-looking man with sharp grey eyes even narrower than Cadmus’, and long black hair tied up into an elegant ponytail. The maroon cloak he was wearing easily allowed everyone to know that he was a student from the Carmenian Institute of Sorcery.

As Oliver and the rest approached the table, their ears picked up bits and pieces of their conversation.

“…Victory or loss—” the man said in even, measured tones, “—It will be an honour facing you, Ms. Regis.”

“I’d prefer it if you possessed a greater degree of hunger for victory, Ito,” Ardea said, frowning slightly.

Ito nodded, “You need not worry. I do possess a hunger for victory, however, a calm mindset that can accept failure is also something every warrior must possess. That is why, I repeat: victory or loss, it will be an honour facing you.”

“So you won’t mind even if you’re defeated in the qualifier round—before you even get the chance to battle in the coliseum?” Elise asked.

Ito nodded without hesitation, “Indeed, if I lose in the qualifier rounds, then it will only be my fault for not polishing my abilities to the degree that I should have. There are only a few battles that I cannot afford to lose, and none of them have anything to do with this tournament.” He glanced Oliver and the rest’s way, “It seems you have guests, so I will make myself scarce. Goodbye.”

He dipped his head and made to leave. Although, as he did so, Oliver noticed Gale and him locking eyes with each other for a split second. There was no fondness in their gazes, but no animosity either. It was as though they barely knew each other, but still thought that the other was worthy of acknowledgment. But, their interaction had been so brief that Oliver couldn’t be sure if he had seen correctly, and Ito simply left in silence, so he had no other clues to work with either.

Conner tapped on Gale’s shoulder, “Hey, Elis and I are leaving as well. We want to explore the campus, so we’ll meet you once you’re done here, okay?”

Gale nodded, and his brothers exited the main hall as well, looking curious to see what the Academy had to offer. With no one to distract him anymore, Gale silently stared at Ardea, almost as though he was analyzing her and trying to form an impression of her.

“You’ve brought me a strange guest, Guiles,” Ardea said, not taking her eyes off Gale, “What do you want?”

Gale’s lips curled into a small smile, “Yes… you’re definitely the Dragon Princess. Your bearing is entirely different from your cousin’s.”

“Of course,” Ardea said, looking a little offended that she had even been compared to Candice, “However, that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

Gale grinned, “I just wanted to see what the famed Dragon Princess actually looked like. To many, you’re the most talented mage of our generation, and our Institute especially loves elven artifacts, so you, who possess such a high concentration of ancient elven blood, are considered to be an amazing existence in Carmenia.” The excitement on his face flared, and Ardea’s eyes narrowed warily, “Defeating someone as great as you will be the perfect way to prove my power!”

“And what makes you so sure that you’ll be able to defeat me?” Ardea asked, a small smirk playing at her lips. When Cadmus had offered to create a guild with her, he had stated that her wish was to face the “best of the best”. Seeing the expression currently on Ardea’s face, it was now clearer than ever to Oliver that Cadmus had been right.

“I have heard of your speciality,” Gale said, “Fire. It’s a good element to specialize in. However, my speciality is the strongest element of them all: lightning! With the most powerful magic at my side, no matter what abilities you have, I will still be able to defeat you.”

Perhaps it was annoyance he had felt at being sidelined and ridiculed, but somehow, Oliver felt his strange combination of respect and fear of famous people suddenly vanish, and he scoffed,

“Seriously? The ‘most powerful magic’? Sure, lightning is probably strong, but there’s no such thing as ‘the most powerful magic’. Even in combat, different spells are suited for different situations, and it’s the same with lightning magic.”

He saw Elise nodding slightly, indicating her agreement, and Alice did the same, only vigorously, and she made sure to glare at Mark while she was at it. For a split-second, their support filled Oliver with confidence in his words.

Gale looked as though he didn’t even consider Oliver’s statement valid, and Mark’s face twisted in amusement, but that wasn’t enough to shake him, as he had argued against their viewpoint in the first place. It was expected that they wouldn’t agree with him.

However, all of his confidence instantly evaporated when he saw the looks on Ardea and Cadmus’ faces. Ardea glared at him as though he had just embarrassed her in some way, and there was a troubled expression on Cadmus’ face.

Doubt flooded Oliver’s body, and Mark laughed out loud. It took a moment for Mark’s laughter to die down, but he was still sniggering when he looked towards Cadmus and said,

“Hey, who is this guy? Why’s he here?”

Oliver’s ears burned, “D-did I say something wrong?”

Mark opened his mouth, but Cadmus spoke first,

“No, you weren’t incorrect, Oliver,” he paused, seeming to struggle to find the correct words to explain, “But… what do you know of spell theory?”

Oliver searched his memories, “I… don’t think I’ve ever heard of that term.”

“I see,” Cadmus said, “It’s an advanced concept that isn’t really necessary to using magic, so I’m sure you’re not the only one in our year to not know of it. Essentially, spell theory refers to the origin of the symbols that we draw inside our magic circles in order to cast spells.”

He drew in the air a rather simple symbol that resembled a lyre.

“For example,” he said, “This is the most simplified variation of the symbol of Apollo. Depending on how it’s used, it can help create a spell that affects sound, mobility, or luminosity—generally speaking, of course. Spell theory speculates on how these symbols came to be, and it’s heavily related to the myths behind these symbols. You at least know about the myths behind symbols, right?”

Oliver nodded, grabbing at any chance to prove that he wasn’t incompetent, “Yeah, as in every symbol has a myth behind it. Like—um—the symbol of Apollo refers to the myth of Apollo: the God of music, the sun, chariots, and prophecy. Right?”

Cadmus nodded, “Precisely. There are two commonly accepted theories that mages refer to as ‘spell theory’.” He raised his index finger, “The first one is that these Gods truly exist, and a long time ago, they bestowed magic and the symbols to use it upon us as a gift,”

He raised his middle finger as well, “And the second one is that these symbols are something akin to laws of nature. As in, it has simply always worked this way. And so, people experimented with them, slowly figuring out what each one did in different contexts. And then, as time passed, people assigned myths to these symbols based on what they did. No one can be sure why, but some say we did so because we wanted a way to help us remember what each symbol did—sort of like a mnemonic device—while others say that it was simply because people admired these symbols’ power, and so they deified them.”

Oliver had to admit, even if it was in a crappy situation, it was kind of interesting learning about this. Sure, this was probably all just a really simplified explanation, and the real topic was probably way more complicated, but the explanation he was currently receiving was really helping him understand why some people loved magic so much.

And, listening to Cadmus right now, a stray thought crossed Oliver’s mind. Cadmus had said that he had lost interest in magic, and that, to him, it had simply become the ‘most effective method for achieving his goal’.

Oliver wondered if Cadmus would be able say the same thing again if he could see the expression on his own face right now…

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. They’d lost sight of the main argument!

“What does all this have to do with lightning being the ‘most powerful magic’?” He asked.

Cadmus said, “Think carefully about the many different myths in the world. Even just a cursory glance will reveal that many of the most famous figures are Gods of lightning. For example, there’s Zeus, the King of the Olympian Gods. And then, there’s Thor, the most famous of the warrior Gods of Asgard. They’re both a part of different pantheons, and yet, they are considered to be the most powerful figures in their respective myths, and their names are known far more widely than their peers.”

“And that’s where spell theory comes in. If you believe that the Gods gave us magic, then this information tells us that many of the most powerful of Gods gave us lightning magic. And, if you believe that we made up the myths ourselves, then this information tells us that people have acknowledged that there is nothing more powerful than lightning. In either case, Gale’s statement that lightning is the most powerful of all magic isn’t without basis.”

Gale spoke up, sounding enthusiastic for some reason, “Besides, have you ever seen lightning with your own eyes? Faster than anything else, louder than anything else, and more powerful than anything else! Lightning is overwhelming beyond anything in this world!”

Oliver felt lightheaded. Lightning magic was the most powerful of all magic? Seriously? What was the point of learning anything other than lightning magic then?

Cadmus, perhaps having sensed his questions, said,

“Although, as I stated before, you aren’t wrong, Oliver. Different spells are suited to different situations, and certainly, there are only hints that lightning magic is the most powerful of them all. It isn’t firmly considered a fact.”

Well… that did make Oliver feel a bit better. However, to think that the myths behind magic were so interrelated to the spells that mages cast… he honestly felt a little overwhelmed at being made aware of just how shallow his understanding of magic was.

Oliver glanced at Elise, and noticed how she looked a little ashamed at herself, probably for having agreed with him before Cadmus had explained everything.

“In any case, I have met the person I wanted to,” Gale said, “It’s time I joined my brothers in exploring this campus. I will see you all later.”

He dipped his head in farewell, and exited the hall. Mark followed after him, but not before he sent Cadmus a smirk and a wave.

Cadmus unsurely waved back.

Elise stayed quiet and followed after Ardea as everyone dispersed. They had spoken with the students from the Institute, and now that those students had left, none of them had any reason to stick around either. They all had their personal training to get to, after all.

Elise too had some training to get in today, but there was still a question roaming around in her mind that she wanted to know the answer to first, which was why she was still just following after Ardea as the latter strolled across the campus grounds, instead of heading to one of the training rooms that she had reserved for today.

It was a simple question, but Elise hesitated in asking it. She had already embarrassed herself a few times in front of Ardea now, and she didn’t want to do the same again.

But of course, Ardea was perceptive, and she wasn’t one to beat around the bush.

“Yes?”

It was only one word, but as usual, Ardea’s voice was packed with so much authority that Elise found herself answering before she even had a chance to realize what she was doing.

“Your Highness, if what Guiles said was true, then why did you not pursue the path of lightning? Why did you choose to specialize in fire?”

Ardea came to a stop. Then, she pointed up at the sky,

“Tell me, Elise: what is up there right now, so blinding that it lights up our whole world?”

Elise looked up. It was a day bereft of any clouds, which allowed the pleasant blue sky to perfectly frame the great big shining yellow orb that no one could even look at directly,

“The… sun?”

Ardea nodded, “Exactly. And did you know? It is hypothesized that even the light of the moon is just the light of the sun reflected on the moon’s surface.”

She stopped as though that explained everything, and Elise, not wanting to admit her own incompetence, said,

“I-I see…”

“It seems you don’t. At least not fully,” Ardea said. She didn’t sigh disappointedly or anything, but Elise still felt the sudden urge to be anywhere but here for some reason, “Yes, lightning is overwhelming, however, it is also fleeting. In the end, it is the sun that rules all—it is fire that rules all.”

“B-but all that stuff that Guiles said? About how spell theory proves that lightning is the most powerful and everything…?” Elise asked.

Ardea’s lips curled into a slight smile, and Elise hated how her ruby-red eyes seemed to spark with life at the mention of Guiles’ name, “Guiles was not wrong—spell theory does indeed support the view that lightning is the most powerful of all magic. However, notice that his explanation was interspersed with the word ‘many’. Yes, many myths suggest that only the strongest and greatest of Gods were Gods of lightning. However, do you really think that people have not realised the true power of fire as well? Think carefully. For example, there is Ra—the sun God, and king of all Gods in his pantheon. His symbols usually serve as the focus for most of my spells. Another example would be Amaterasu, queen of all Gods in her pantheon. Perhaps they are not always considered to be the strongest of their respective myths, but they are certainly considered to be the greatest.”

Elise blinked, feeling a little taken aback. Had Ardea thought so deeply about all this when she had first started learning magic? It gnawed at Elise’s confidence a bit to realize that Ardea must have been far younger when she had come to learn all this, and Elise probably still didn’t know as much as Ardea did back then.

“Although,” Ardea spoke again, and the way her eyes shined was already more than enough to tell Elise that whatever Ardea was going to say, it would undoubtedly involve Guiles, or Du Lac, or Pendragon, or any of the other scholarship students, “I do find my choice of largely using Ra’s symbols as the focus of my spells a little vexing now. Indeed, Ra’s symbols are most likely the best choice to use as a focus for combat-based fire spells—however, had I known Guiles’ preferred focus beforehand, I would have most likely branched out on my choice of foci a little more.”

“…Why?”

Ardea’s cheek twitched in a manner that Elise knew from experience indicated that she was at least a little annoyed, “Because Guiles prefers to use Osiris’ symbols as the focus for his spells.”

For the entirety of the next week, the students from the Carmenian Institute of Sorcery accompanied the Academy students to their classes.

From what Cadmus had heard (from Oliver, of course), It was supposed to be a method to have the students from the two schools bond, but Mark Tempor had been one of the students from the Institute assigned to Cadmus’ class, and he wasted no time in complaining about absolutely everything.

And, for some reason, he seemed to always want to voice his complaints to Cadmus. It was as though he believed that the failings of the Academy were Cadmus’ own personal failings, and the successes of the Institute were his own personal successes.

Some of Mark’s complaints seemed at least a little valid:

“Seriously? You guys still haven’t learned the quadrant theorem yet? So, you guys learn spells and learn how to use them, but still have no idea how the internal components work, huh?”

Some of them were just petty nitpicks:

“Man, having no carpets in some of the classes makes it feel like such a harsh environment. It actively hinders the students’ focus!”

And some of them Cadmus didn’t even understand:

“This doesn’t even feel like a magic school! It just feels like a school where they happen to teach magic! Where’s all the, you know, magic?”

Thankfully, Oliver was usually there to explain those types of complaints, “The Institute apparently has a lot of elven artifacts that they use to make their school feel more magical. For example, they have the inverted gardens, the transportation tiles, and basically a whole bunch of other ‘magical’ stuff. In contrast, our Academy focuses more on human-based magic which makes our school feel a little less flashy.”

For the most part though, Cadmus was able to go through the week without any major issues. And when Friday night finally arrived, he felt anticipation swell up inside him like a balloon. Tomorrow was the day that the first qualifier round of the Twin Peaks Magical Tournament would finally take place. Just a single night of rest, and Cadmus’ chance to earn a tremendous amount of points would finally arrive.

The energy inside the campus had hit a whole new high, and no matter where you went, there were always at least a few people talking about the tournament. That’s why, even though it was night, the area outside the dorms were filled with students still milling about, excitedly gossiping and speculating with each other.

Cadmus was going to ignore them and simply go to sleep (Alice was already snoring away peacefully), but as he was getting ready to turn in, a polite set of knocks on his door interrupted him. He curiously opened the door, and strangely, found Arthur Pendragon standing there.

“Hello,” Arthur said, smiling politely, “May we talk for a bit?”