"Alright!" Cyrus called the group of weary mages once they were in the parking lot connecting the Dungeon and the small academy. "You can go inside and shower up! This was your last lesson, so rest up and relax! We'll be performing your graduation ceremony and feast tomorrow."

The ten mages nodded, then walked to the academy, entering it as Cyrus remained outside.

After giving himself a few months of rest after Lyda finished her quest, Cyrus found himself restless. He went through several Dungeons and ruins before eventually deciding to build the academy at a little-known Dungeon he claimed for himself.

He ran a ten-month general course on how to survive Dungeons, which included alchemy training, martial arts training, knife combat training, and magic training. The Dungeon he set up school by possessed all of the resources necessary for making the potions he had used with Lyda. Instead of only being able to make fire-based potions, he could make them for any of the six elements with the resources in his academy's Dungeon.

At first, he only trained one or two students at a time, a result of not many people wanting to pay for the academy. Then he changed his pay structure so that they only paid after they left, and anything they harvested in the Dungeon during their training could be used to pay part of their tuition. They could also keep extra resources they harvested, giving them money for when they returned to their lives, having not worked in ten months.

Two years after he made the change, his academy became famous when five of his former students teamed up and delved into the depths of one of the deepest, most dangerous Dungeons on the planet. The moment he found himself swamped with applications, he limited each course to ten students and picked only the ones he knew would both benefit for their magical power and use it to improve their lives. Anytime he had more than ten students, he would draw names out of a bowl until he had ten.

It was a successful business, and Cyrus enjoyed teaching others and training them, something he knew he wouldn't have discovered if it weren't for helping Lyda on her quest.

Once the last of his students from the current session entered the academy, Cyrus turned his gaze to a young man standing on the other side of the gate fixed into the wall which surrounded his property.

The young man was eighteen, with black hair and bright green eyes, a splash of freckles on his cheeks and nose. He wore white and blue sneakers, blue shorts, a white t-shirt, and a black and grey backpack. The man stood with his hands in his pockets, but pulled one out and waved when Cyrus looked at him.

Cyrus walked over to the young man.

"Hello, Russ," Cyrus said.

"Hey, Uncle Cyrus," Russ greeted him with a smile.

"Happy birthday," Cyrus said. "Shouldn't you be with your mom and dad?"

Russ was the eldest child between Lyda and Drake, the firstborn of their first set of twins. Cyrus visited them during the winters, mostly on his way down to the Silver Oracle for an annual visit he decided to start making.

"Probably," Russ shrugged. "But they gave me their blessing to come here. I told you that when I was eighteen, I was going to come."

"You did," Cyrus snorted. "How are your mom and dad?"

"Doing good," Russ responded. "Mom and Dad are still running their business guiding people to Aunt Lena or through the local Dungeon. The usual stuff."

"Come on in," Cyrus said, and the gate disappeared. "Working with me will be a lot of work, you know."

"I know," Russ entered the parking lot, and the gate reappeared. "The session ends tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Cyrus answered.

"How come you start it at the start of the year and end at the end?" Russ asked as they walked to one of the property's many yards.

Cyrus waited until they were sitting at a picnic bench to answer, setting food on the table between them.

"Even if it feels nice here during the winter," Cyrus told Russ. "That doesn't make it nice. There's about one month a year when the Dungeon's more dangerous than normal, even in the upper levels. That's the two weeks before and after New Year's, roughly."

"So you set the school schedule to match that," Russ said.

"Yes," Cyrus nodded. "That way, I can keep to a pattern. It also allows them to do their own thing in the coldest months of the year. I have to ask, Russ, are you sure you want to work with me on this?"

"I've practiced my magic and alchemy," Russ told him. "I'm prepared to help you teach them to survive Dungeons and make the potions necessary for the job. The books you gave me were quite extensive."

Cyrus had given Russ and his siblings various books over the years, so that they and their parents could train better. Most of them were written by him, giving tips that wouldn't be found in normal training manuals. He knew that Russ used them the most, as the boy had always been fascinated by Cyrus's job after finding out about it when he was seven and that he wanted to do the same thing.

"I didn't mean that, "Cyrus said. "You're here for ten months of the year, interacting only with my students, myself, and the golems Kylnar made to act as staff unless you're sent out to do a store run. Romances with my students are forbidden."

"I'm prepared for that," Russ told him with a smile. "Maybe one day, I'll get bored and go off and find love, but for now, I'm happy to help you."

"Okay," Cyrus told him. "I just wanted you to be aware of this."

"I was already aware of it!" Russ laughed. "Mom and Dad pestered me about it."

"I'm sure," Cyrus laughed. "Considering how much they love each other and don't want to stop making babies."

"Oh, jeez," Russ groaned. "Please tell me I'm not getting too many more siblings."

"Maybe," Cyrus grinned at him.

"So do you have a lover?" Russ asked. "A girlfriend? You've never mentioned one. Or boyfriend, Mom mentioned you were bisexual."

"No, I haven't," Cyrus shrugged. "Unless it's just for sex, I'm not going to get with another human. The only relationship I'm looking for now is with a god, and the only ones here are either blood family or Kylnar, who might as well be family."

"Okay," Russ said.

"So," Cyrus said. "Want to stay out here and chat a little more? Or want me to show you the room I set up for you?"

"Let's talk," Russ told him.

"Okay," Cyrus said.

They spoke until night fell, then Cyrus led Russ inside and introduced him to the students as his assistant for future lessons, arrived early to learn the ropes. The twelve of them ate dinner, then Cyrus led Russ to the suite prepared for him, before turning in for the night, himself.

When morning came, everyone ate breakfast, then Cyrus lined up his students in the back yard of the academy.

"For the last ten months," Cyrus said. "The ten of you have worked hard at passing this course. Each of you has gained at least one Tier in every element you have an affinity for, and some of you gained two Tiers. You've learned how to fight, how to tell what's safe and what's not in a Dungeon, what kind of gear you need based on the type of Dungeon you're planning on going in, and even how to make some of that gear yourself. After yesterday's session, you've each passed the course."

He stepped up to the first student in line, handing them a polished mahogany box, then stepped up to the next, handing them the same. As he moved down the line, the students opened their boxes, revealing the certificate of completion, a note written binding them with a geas in regards to the information on it, and a black token imprinted with the winged crest of the academy.

They would use their certificates to prove their graduation from his academy, earning them better jobs in any field relating to something he taught there. The notes were hints for the quest Rynovar gave out, even if he knew few of his students would ever complete it, even if he taught for centuries.

For the Academy Token, while it wasn't a part of the quest, he had them made and issued them to his graduates for a quest he himself created. It wasn't something he'd informed anyone of, and he awaited the day one of his students would realize the quest he'd made.

Once he finished handing out their rewards for completing his course, Cyrus returned to his spot and looked at his student.

"Congratulations," he told them. "Let us feast in celebration!"

The group walked to the tables outside, where food and drink appeared as they sat. Russ sat beside Cyrus, watching as the students talked and cheered each other for their accomplishment. It wasn't an easy ten months, but to them, the time was worth it.

As the feasting ended, the students collected their bags, thanked Cyrus for the education, then left. Once they were all gone, Cyrus ordered the golems to begin cleaning the academy, preparing it for the break so that he could rest and recover.

"There's a spa in town," Cyrus told Russ. "My students will probably flock today to it to reward themselves, but tomorrow, I'll be heading there. Want me to set up an appointment for you as well? I'm taking an all-day session."

"Sure," Russ answered. "So what do you do during the break?"

"I rest, I relax, and I prepare for the next session," Cyrus answered. "Though I also go and visit other Dungeons, the Forest Ruins, my visit down to Aunt Lena, which you know considering you accompany me to her every New Year."

"Yeah," Russ smiled. "I probably could have waited for your visit, but I was kind of impatient, wanting to see your place."

"Well," Cyrus stretched. "You've seen it. Want to go into the Dungeon?"

"Didn't you just come out of it yesterday?" Russ asked.

"Yeah," Cyrus shrugged. "I'm going to take you into it a few times over the next couple of months, so you can learn a bit about it, too."

"Is there a Dungeon Token in it?" Russ asked.

"No," Cyrus answered. "I had Father revoke the Dungeon's ability to spawn them when I claimed it for my academy. That way, my students don't get them during the session, and have to go elsewhere, attempting the quest on their own."

"Even with the hints?"

"That's mostly so that someone will figure out the trick to impressing the elementals," Cyrus said. "Speaking of them, there are a few that live here. Want to meet them?"

"Instead of the Dungeon?"

"We can go tomorrow," Cyrus told him.

"Sure," Russ responded.

Cyrus led Russ to another section of the property, where a pair of flame elementals were fighting with a pair of water elementals, a lightning elemental, a wind elemental, and an earth elemental floating nearby, watching.

"Uh…" Russ said. "Since when do elementals fight each other?"

"Since today," Cyrus told him. "They're trying to impress you, since you're considered my nephew."

"They know I can't communicate with them, right?" Russ ask.

"Yeah," Cyrus shrugged. "But working on the elemental sensing spell is one of the things I promised you, if you managed to last three years here."

"Yeah," Russ grinned. "I'm looking forward to figure out how to do that as a mortal."

"With the help of a god," Cyrus told him.

They watched the elementals for a few minutes, then Cyrus introduced Russ to them, assuring him that the teen would eventually learn to tell which one is which even without being able to sense the elements.

Cyrus led Russ back to the academy, and as they approached the doors, a woman appeared in front of them. She had long, black hair, dark orange eyes, and a smooth, flawless body concealed with no clothes. Her breasts were rather large, and Cyrus had to pull his gaze away from them to meet her own.

The amount of magic she possessed informed him she was a god, and he could sense her confusion, as well as Russ's confusion at how she made it inside with the barriers.

"Hello," Cyrus said, and could detect from her mind that she didn't speak a word of English. He projected to her using telepathy. "You aren't from here, are you?"

"No," she responded. "I was using a pathway, trusting in my magic of divination to guide me, and found myself here. It is not as I expected."

"What were you looking for?" Cyrus asked.

"A powerful god," she answered. "Who would make me his wife. Instead, I find myself before two mortals."

"I'm not mortal," Cyrus said. "I simply conceal my magical power. My mortal name is Cyrus, my god name is Cyrlun, son of Rynovar. I am the god of fantasy and reality."

"If you are a god," she stepped forward. "Then you are the one might power led me to. Will you make me your wife?"

Cyrus placed a hand on her forehead and gave her knowledge of English, so that they could converse with words so as to not leave Russ confused.

"I don't know how things are where you're from," Cyrus told her. "But here on Earth, we don't make people our wives, we get to know them, we love them, and then we marry them. If you are willing to allow us to see if we get along and actually do fall in love with each other, then I would be willing to do that. But I won't commit myself to a long-term relationship with someone I don't know."

"That will work for me," she told him, then looked at Russ. "Who is this handsome man? A consort?"

"What?" Cyrus asked. "No! This is Russ, the eldest son of an old friend of mine. He's like family to me, even if he's human."

"I see," she said. "Well, it is nice to meet you, Cyrlun."

"I go by my mortal name," Cyrus told her. "Now, let's get you inside. Here on Earth, people generally wear clothes."

As Cyrus and Russ led the foreign god inside, Cyrus peered into the future, seeing that he would, indeed, spend many years with her. He allowed himself a small smile, happy at the way his life turned out. Not for the first time, he sent a prayer to his parents, thanking them for their interference.

Passing by one of the tables with a decorative pot filled with flowers, an object caught Cyrus's eyes.

A book titled How to Make Love With a God (Female Edition).

Suppressing a groan, Cyrus made a note to return it to his father.