When Cadeus returned to the Academy grounds, he did not look for Nadav and Sing. Since he’s going to drag Nadav back into Tenebris Vacuum, he might as well get the clearance form from Educator Garth first.

That was why Cadeus first went to the Converse Hall instead of the dorms. Even though it may be 6:12 pm, Cadeus was highly confident that Educator Garth would still be in Tenebris Vacuum.

Stepping into the teleportation circle in Converse Hall, Cadeus went back to Tenebris Vacuum.

He headed straight to the Academia building and went straight up to Educator Garth’s office.

There was a reason for his confidence that Educator Garth would still be in his office.

Educator Garth had a double specialism. One of them was being a Conjurer. A Conjurer was a spell-casting Specialist who specializes in complex spells. They were the masters of spell casting, and experts in coming up with unique spell combinations. The life of a Conjurer revolves continuously around two phases, Spell thesis and practical experimentation. Hours were spent researching on countless possibilities in creating a stable formula suitable for practical usage.

Conjuration was all about stacking numerous smaller spells together to create a large versatile spell. This process was tedious, and it had to be studied and handled very carefully. This was because complex spell casting was extremely dangerous, as it adds in multiple casting factors and spell elements into one single process. Also, one had to be very careful to not exceed the Cast Limit.

It takes weeks, if not years, just to come up with a single formula, and it would take even more than that to finalize that formula in practical experimentation. Also, once they had finalized everything, they also had to put everything into paper, another long and troublesome process. If you were confused, think of them simply as one of Earth’s college professors who were extremely passionate in writing and researching on countless academic thesis.

In the many attempts to create a new complex spell, Educator Garth tends to be overly zealous in his research. When he hits a stimulating break through, he had the tendency to ignore his education duties like what had happened this morning. When that usually happens, he would stay in his office till late at night before going back to the Educator dorms. Sometimes, he would even put up an all nighters and then just sleep in his office until someone had to wake him up if he had a class to teach. Hence, since he was entirely focused on his thesis that was enough to dismiss a class, there’s a good chance that he would still be stuck in his office.

Although his efforts for his Conjuration thesis spoke volumes for his diligence, the students who were under him would not feel so appreciative since he had been neglecting his proper job of being an Educator.

As Cadeus walked towards the corridor, he could see that the door to Educator Garth’s office was opened along with the hints of artificial lights shining brightly from Educator Garth’s office. That’s already a good indicator that Educator Garth was still inside.

Once he entered the room, he could already see Educator Garth at his working desk in front of piles of papers filled with various markings and formulas.

As usual, Educator Garth’s room gave quite the scholar impression, and it purely defines Educator Garth’s ‘marriage’ to his

Countless stacks of research notes are all piled up behind his chair. Books of various subjects had completely filled up his bookshelves. There’s even a chalkboard to the side of the room filled with all sorts of symbols and equation notes. They all may seem to be impressive and purely intellectual, but Cadeus could only see nothing but gibberish that did not even make sense.

Interestingly though, there’s a classic metronome clicking away from side to side giving the room a sense of quiet feel.

Additionally, at the side of the room, there’s an exclusive desk where a considerable number of love letters were pilled up together, untouched and unopened.

When one occasionally got a chance to catch a glimpse at the numbers, two questions usually popped up in their heads.

How many times have students and adults alike had tried to hit on him per month? Also, what about the other letters that came before?

It was not easy to say.

In seeing Educator Garth too engrossed to the point where he did not notice Cadeus’s entry, Cadeus decided to move closer and start the conversation.

“Um… Educator Garth?”

Educator Garth raised his eyebrow slightly and tilted his head upwards. It seems that he really hates to be interrupted.

“Oh? Cadeus?”

He returned to looking at his research notes.

“What are you doing here at this hour?”

“I need to bring a friend to Tenebris Vacuum. He’s a Grey Mage.”

“Hm? What for?”

“I need to get his help to collect something from the swamps.”

“Are you sure you can’t ask anyone else from your class?” he double-checked.

“No.”

“I see… How long will he be there?”

“We’ll be done by 8:30 pm.”

“I see…”

As usual, he’s not interested of the current matter at hand. He’s much keener on solving whatever hypothesis he’s currently formulating in his head.

“Ok, just fill up the form over there and bring it to me for my signature.”

He pointed to the stack of escort forms. Cadeus simply took one and filled out the details both for himself and Educator Garth. Once he signed the form, Educator Garth gave him one last reminder.

“Remember, be back in your dorm by 10:00 pm. If you get caught past lights out it’ll be none of my business you hear?”

“Ok. Thanks.”

“Make sure you and your friend don’t get into any trouble.”

Cadeus smiled slightly. That’s a rather crude way of saying ‘don’t drag me into any trouble if you mess up’.

Now that the he got the clearance form, it’s now time for a good dinner.

TOA

When Cadeus returned to the Coral Hall, the crowd seemed to be lesser than usual. Flicking his pocket watch, it’s already coming to 7:00pm. He’d better clear his dinner fast if he wants to be out of Tenebris Vacuum by 8:30 pm.

Searching around with his eyes, he found Sing and Nadav at the usual spot.

“Hi guys. Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s ok, Nadav and I are only halfway through.” Sing said.

“Anything on your research on powder making?” Cadeus asked.

“I found an old book that my dad was using in my closet. It had some information, but I need more time to read.”

“I see. Well at least we have something to work on.”

“Oh right… I think you may need this.”

Sing reach for her bag and took out two new glass flasks and placed them on the table.

“Fill them both to the brim. We might need all the fluid we get.”

“Great. I’ll take one. Nadav, you take the other.”

“Geh! Why don’t you take the two of them?”

“My bag has enough space left for one. If I take both, there will be a chance that the two flasks will break.”

“You can just put one flask in your bag and hold the other.”

“Just take it already.”

Though Cadeus was late due to his call with his mother, it seems that Nadav and Sing were only halfway done eating.

Dinner’s menu was slightly different. Oh right… today was pasta day. Cadeus remembered just by looking at their dishes.

Nadav was having some sort of vegetarian pasta with linguini, while Sing was having a healthy pasta pesto.

As for himself…

Sing and Nadav had helped Cadeus chose some creamy dish made up of penny and mushrooms, probably some creamy chicken menu, a commonly popular choice amongst students.

“So, how’s your mother?” Nadav asked.

“She’s fine, doing well in fact. She got a promotion in her business corporation.”

“Wow. She’s really good isn’t she? I couldn’t imagine doing business myself.”

“That’s why you’ll never become a businessman Nadav.”

“Geh! That’s mean!”

Nadav jabbed his pasta with his fork.

“Damn it… now that we are eating pasta and talking about your mother, I am reminded of that explicit meal she made for us when we came over to your house for study session. Ah… I miss your mother’s cooking.” Nadav can be seen drooling in deep thought.

“Nadav, stop. I’m just about to start eating. That’s very inconsiderate and disgusting.” Cadeus said.

“Ah… her glorious shepherd’s pie and homemade roast salmon.”

What Nadav was pleasantly reminiscing was the time where Cadeus’s mother made dinner for the three of them. It was during the time when the three of them are still back on old Earth. Cadeus brought Sing and Nadav over to his house for a study session when his mother returned to make dinner. Her homemade meals really left quite the impression back then.

“Hey Cadeus. Is it possible for us to be invited over the next time your mother cooks something?”

“Well that will have to depend if you are available.”

“I’ll make myself available!”

“Nadav, you no longer have a house on Earth since your parents moved back to Zeffernon, so coming back to Earth is no longer a consistent luxury. How exactly are you going to teleport yourself instantly from Zeffernon to Earth?”

“It does not have to be teleportation. I just need to get permission from my parents. They know your mother, they will definitely allow it!”

“Sigh…”

“Come to think of it, when was the last time we went to your house?” Nadav asked.

“That was about five months ago right?” Sing followed.

“Yes. Oh wait! I really remembered our third visit! That was the most satisfying visit ever!”

Cadeus gave himself a face palm.

“Please… don’t remind me what happened.”

The events that happened back then were… well… not something Cadeus would like to remember.

The memory takes place during the third time Cadeus brought Nadav and Sing to his house, which was roughly around eight months ago. The original purpose was to study for their middle school final examinations. However, things got a little hectic when Cadeus’s mother came back.

For Cadeus’s mother, it was the first time she saw his friends. Due to her occupation as a businesswoman and a part time modeler, her schedule is pretty quite stretched. When Cadeus brought his two friends home for the first two times, she was never there. However on the third visit, she came back just when they were about to finish up mathematics. That’s when things start to get a little messy.

When Cadeus’s mother saw Sing for the first time, she immediately went into a mini frenzy, clapped her cheeks and started exclaiming embarrassing statements like ‘My son’s first girlfriend!’ or ‘my dear boy has finally grown up!’. Anyways, Cadeus really had to spend quite the effort to stop his own mother’s delusions, which surprisingly had quite an effect on Sing. After his mother had settled down and started treating his two friends like family, Sing ended up blushing throughout the rest of the study session, and to add on top of that, the next few days to come.

The remarkable thing though, was how well Nadav got along with his mother. They love to crack jokes and would often bombard Cadeus with nonsensical rants. The study session became from streamline serious to absolute chaotic, such that in the end, they did not finish everything. Cadeus need to bring his friends back again for another round of study session, this time making sure that his mother would be 100% out of the house.

Oh… and did Cadeus forgot to mention about his mother’s model magazines?

When she was introducing herself to Nadav and Sing, Nadav just had to ask if she had any other job before other than being a businesswoman. That was the catalyst that inspired her to bring out her magazines. Rather than simple sharing, it became a boastful show off session. Cadeus could remember Sing and Nadav’s expression when they first saw the magazines. Their eyes almost popped out when they saw the contents. The next thing Cadeus knew, they both gave him the ‘I don’t know you’ attitude the next few days whenever the magazines were brought up.

Thinking about this only made Cadeus feel slightly worse. If he’s going to get a girlfriend, how on earth was he going to introduce her to his mother? Would he get dumped instantly the moment his girl gets to see what kind of mother he has?

“Why are you looking so down? Did something happen with your mother?”

“Nothing happened, she’s still the same.”

“Any other new development other than her promotion and conference?”

“She’s still pestering me to get a girlfriend.”

With that answer, Nadav gave a face that went ‘Ho! Did I just hear that?’ while Sing started to blush frantically again. The two of them are probably further reminded of the episode they were just talking about, especially the part when Cadeus’s mother went ‘my son’s first girlfriend’.

“So… any developments for you?”

“You think?”

“Well, you have that Susan girl.”

“Sigh…”

Cadeus swung a non-lethal punch but Nadav managed to evade it.

“She’s a Lesser Noble. Do you think she would want to go out with me?”

“Well, you saved her and she gave you that sandwich box. Doesn’t that signal any interests she has towards you?”

“No, no and no. Besides, if she gets too familiar with me, it will not be good for her. The other nobles might pick on her.”

“Ah… because of your family name. I got it. Then why don’t you start asking around?”

“Are you kidding me? Who would want to go out with me?”

“She does not have to be a Dark Mage. Look, I know some hot looking Grey mage babes. You know what?”

Nadav wrapped his right arm around Cadeus’s shoulder.

“This weekend, once we are done with that Procona Board Quest, we should go hit on girls!”

Nadav threw his left fist up into the air as if he won a lottery.

“You guys…” Sing muttered.

““Hm?””

Sing could be seen clenching her fists on the chair. She also seems to be biting hard on her teeth.

“Um… Sing?” Nadav said.

Uh oh…

Sing instantly buried her fists on both their heads.

“Geh!” “Ouch!”

Cadeus and Nadav did not cry that loud. However, judging from how they struggled not to make it a big scene, it must have really hurt, a lot.

“W-What the heck is that for?!” Nadav exclaimed.

The answer should be obvious you idiot! Cadeus screamed in his head.

In seeing Sing the way she is, Nadav suddenly got a light bulb appearing on his head.

“Oh! I got it! Cadeus! Why don’t you ask Sing out?”

Sing dropped another karate chop on Nadav’s head.

“…”

Cadeus decided not to say anything in case he might add fuel to the fire. Things were currently fine since Sing was just slightly flustered. However, when Sing gets really angry, you really do not want to be the scapegoat for her wrath. Taking a peep at his pocket watch, the time is coming to 7:12 pm. Since he was aiming to get the fluid before 8:30 pm, Cadeus finished the last spoon of pasta and drained the gravy off the plate. Once he wiped his mouth clean, it’s time for the last work of the day. He turned his attention to Nadav.

“Ok Nadav, let’s go.”

“Hm? Go where?”

“Don’t play dumb. I got the approval form from Educator Garth.”

“GEH? Since when?!”

“Since I got back. So, are you going to get out of your seat or do I have to drag you to Tenebris Vacuum myself?”

“Um…”

Nadav started looking away frantically. It did not take long for Cadeus to see that he’s looking for a way to run.

“I just remembered! I got something to do so – ”

Before Nadav could make a dash for it, Cadeus grabbed his shoulder.

“Where do you think you are going?”

“Um… the loo?”

“…”

Cadeus simply grabbed Nadav by the side of his collar and dragging Nadav towards the direction of Converse Hall.

“NNNNOOOOOO!!!!! SING!!! SAVE ME!!!!”

Sing merely waved Nadav a happy goodbye without any sign of pity or mercy. It is very clear that she is in no mood to help him out.

“YOU DEMONS!!!!”

Cadeus simply hope that the surrounding eyes looking at them won’t be too judging.

TOA

“Cadeus, is there ever a chance of me convincing you to not let me go to Tenebris Vacuum?”

“Not a fat chance.”

“Damn it…”

Nadav’s resistance developed into a sulk.

“You sure are quite gloomy for a guy who’s being dragged.”

“If your best friend suddenly dragged you into one of the worst hells in the Academy you’ll be quite gloomy won’t you?”

“Don’t worry. Tenebris Vacuum is not entirely that bad.”

Well… maybe not as bad as it ought to be…

“Are you sure it’s not that bad?”

“True, Tenebris Vacuum had its dangers. But it can be avoided and put to its absolute minimum if we move fast and avoid provoking the animals. Isn’t it the same for your colour sector?”

“My colour sector, Rigor-atque Cinereon, is a natural little beauty!”

“All right, but doesn’t your colour sector has it’s own dangers?”

“Well… yes.”

“See?”

“But the dangers are absolutely minimum!”

“Is it?”

“…”

Nadav raised his hands up for a white surrender.

“Ok… you win this time. I’ll come with you to Tenebris Vacuum.”

“… Do you promise you won’t run away?”

“Promise.”

“Ok.”

Cadeus let go of his grip on Nadav’s collar, giving him some personal space to get up on his feet.

“So… the rumoured forests of Tenebris Vacuum eh?” Nadav said while dusting his robes.

“Rumoured?”

Cadeus frowned at the word.

“Yeah you know, there are tons of speculated rumours in Rigor-atque Cinereon about the forests of Tenebris Vacuum.”

“What kind of rumours?”

“Oh the usual. Some poor Dark Mages fellow went in and never got out, how the plants in Tenebris Vacuum can eat a person whole and digest the body in minutes, and how the forests is full of dangerous beasts capable of tearing up a person in seconds.”

“…”

Cadeus kept quiet. The rumours were… pretty much close to the truth.

“But above all, the most famous rumour is the story where Dark Mages who either got lost or eaten became ghostly wraiths, destined to haunt the forests for all eternity! WHA HA HA!”

Ok, now that last one was just plain hilarious.

“That’s so idiotic.”

“I know right?”

“I never knew the forests of Tenebris Vacuum would be a popular topic in your colour sector.”

“Oh trust me it is. Well… at least when it comes to speculating what Dark Mages do in there getting themselves killed.”

“…”

That last remark had the potential to become a sensitive discriminative statement, but Cadeus decided to let it slide. What Cadeus could do now was simply continue leading the way till they reached the end of the corridor leading to the teleportation circle. When Nadav saw the teleportation circle, he can only whistle in admiration.

“What?”

“Black marble with embedded purple tracings that glows along with gold. That’s really impressive.”

“It looks pretty normal to me.”

“That’s because you get to see it everyday. Do you know what the teleportation circle for Rigor-atque Cinereon looks like?”

“No. What is it like?”

“Oh it’s pretty plain, dull.”

“How so?”

“The circle is carved out of polished grey stone, and the circle tracing is embedded with some kind of bright blue glowing thingy… Not sure what that’s for though.”

“That sounds… pretty nice isn’t it?”

“Hey, at least your circle is carved out of polished black marble with glowing purple and gold. That’s already something worth noting.”

“Really? I always thought the teleportation circle for Beato Caeli is a lot more appealing though.”

“Sing’s colour sector? Oh yes I heard. Carved out of solid Gold, with white marble serving as the circle tracing. I’ve always wondered how they made it, whoever did made it.”

“I see.”

Cadeus stepped onto the circle and beckoned Nadav to follow, for some reason, Nadav remained rooted outside the teleportation circle.

“Come on. What are you waiting for?”

“Well, you see… This is my last chance to say no, and I think I will say – ”

Cadeus sighed. He grabbed Nadav by the shoulder before he can turn around and dragged him into the teleportation circle.

“Hell, is awaiting me.” He said it sarcastically.

Cadeus reached down and applied Dark Magic, and the teleportation circle beamed with bright purple light.

TOA

When the two of them felt their feet touch solid ground again, they knew that the teleportation was over.

Stretching to make sure nothing feels out of place, Cadeus stepped out of the teleportation circle.

“Are you ok Nadav?”

Nadav groaned, behaving as if he had a massive fit of stomachache.

“Oh no… I feel faint. I need the infirmary. I’m sorry Cadeus but you have to do this on your own – ”

Nadav immediately stopped his dramatic performance once he saw Cadeus flickering lightning around his fingertips.

“Ah ha ha… it’s a joke, a joke. I’m just pulling your leg.”

“…”

Cadeus dispelled the lightning and started walking towards the forest entrance.

Nadav got up and gave a look around the scenery in front of him.

“Wow… things look so deserted and gloomy as compared to Rigor-atque Cinereon.”

“Oh really?”

Cadeus turned to Nadav.

“I think I did not ask this before, what exactly is Rigor-atque Cinereon like?”

“Oh, it’s all nature and everything. It’s in the middle of a tropical forest. We had academic classes in old ruins.”

“…That sounds very run-downed.”

“Oh no. It’s not that as run-downed as you think. It’s just an ancient town, dating back from the Age of the Exquisite. Also, apparently Rigor-atque Cinereon is a home to a tribe of shamans who are working with the Academy. If you piss them off, you are pretty much in serious trouble.”

“The Age of the Exquisite is at least three thousand years back Nadav.”

“Hey, the place may be old, but it is surprisingly very stimulating.”

Cadeus raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Ah wait… I mean, coming from a Grey Mage’s point of view, our magic is mostly elemental right?”

“Yes?”

“So, being in a place full of nature and surrounded with an abundance of natural resources we can use to our advantage, it is a very stimulating environment to study our own colour of magic.”

“I see…”

“But hey, comparing the richness of nature, this place is really… dead.”

“Dark Magic is corruption magic. I guess it’s quite obvious that the very place used to study the very nature of something corruptive would be so gloomy and dead.”

“True… you got a point. So the forests… which way is it?”

“We need to cut through the Academia building.”

“Eh? We need to go through that gloomy place?”

“It’ll be quick.”

“Cadeus, a lot of people hate you in here right?”

“Do you have to bring up the painful and the obvious now?”

“Will we get picked on by other Dark Mages?”

“There is a chance.”

“Oh no! I’m going to lose my face!”

“Sigh… I’ve already said this Nadav, I have never heard of any Dark Magic spell that steal people’s faces. Yes, there are mimic spells that allow one to copy or alter the face temporary. But there is no magic that allows you to steal people’s faces whole for all eternity.”

“… Are there Dark Magic spells that corrupts the face that makes it disgustingly ugly for the rest of your life?”

“…”

Cadeus could not deny that possibility, and it seems his silence was not helping the current situation either. Before Nadav could make another break for it, Cadeus gave him one strict warning.

“Just remember Nadav, even if you run from me now, you need a Dark Mage to get you out of Tenebris Vacuum. The teleportation circle will not work unless I’m there to get you out.”

“Yeah right! Unlike you Cadeus, I’m a Mixed Blood! I’m not entitled to one colour of magic!”

“Hello? Are you forgetting something?”

“…!”

All of a sudden, Nadav’s face became slightly pale.

“… I’m a Grey-White. There’s no Dark Magic in my blood.”

“Precisely.”

“Damn it! I can’t activate the teleportation circle on my own!”

Cadues merely shook his head in annoyance. Even if Nadav had Dark Magic as his second colour, the colour concentration would not even be enough to activate the teleportation circle. Cadeus simply turned his head and start walking ahead. If they continue to stay here, they are doing nothing but wasting time. In order to make Nadav move his legs, he would have to take the lead, for now.

Once Nadav noticed that Cadeus was about to start without him, he could only hung his head down in defeat and rush to keep up.

TOA

“Relax.”

“Huh?”

“Just relax. If you are going to stare at everyone suspiciously like that, you are definitely going to invite needless trouble.

“Ha! Me? Invite trouble? Aren’t you the one who’s often inviting trouble since everyone hates you for your family name?”

“I’m not the one who is standing out looking at every other Dark Mage that comes at my way.”

While the two walked into the Academia building, Nadav became extremely weary of every Dark Mage he came across. Although Nadav’s apparent paranoia to the possible dangers around him was something understandable, it was something that’s also trouble inviting.

As usual, the other Dark Mages seem contented to just keeping to their own business. True, several Dark Mages saw Nadav and gave him the eyes of suspicion but they eventually left him alone. It’s indeed uncommon to see a Grey Mage in Tenebris Vacuum but it is not something too abnormal to make a fuss. If left alone, they won’t cause any issue. But if they get the signal that they were being under observation for the wrong reasons, some of the more sensitive ones could get pretty violent.

“Listen, you are not the first Grey to come into Tenebris Vacuum. Your Acolyte seniors popped by from time to time.”

“And exactly what kind of business they would have for them to come to this hell hole?”

“How would I know? Why don’t you ask them? They are your seniors.”

“Nah… that’s not a very good idea. Most Grey Mages who hang out with Dark Mages tend to not be very friendly.”

“What kind of stereotypical remark is that?”

“Isn’t it true?”

Before Cadeus could refute that last comment, a familiar voice called out to him.

“Cadeus? What are you doing here at this hour?”

Cadeus stopped immediately on his tracks.

That voice… Cadeus knows that voice. Why would she still be in Tenebris Vacuum at this hour?

“Susan?”

“Ho! It’s that girlfrie – ”

Cadeus slammed his elbow into Nadav’s abdomen, hard.

“Wha! Y-you…”

Nadav went to his knees in a dramatic fashion. His hands went to press the lingering agony in his stomach.

Ignoring the idiot who obviously brought this upon himself, Cadeus turned to where the voice came from. He can already see Susan coming towards him, but it seems she is not alone. Cadeus can see two other girls with her, judging by their appearances, the two of them are also students of the same year. Cadeus did not see them before, but appearances wise, they should be Susan’s close friends, Padrela and Jouna.

“Hi Susan.”

“Hi Cadeus. Oh right!”

She gestured to her two friends.

“This here is Padrela, and she’s Jouna. I believe this is the first time you’ve met.”

The one that she introduced as Padrela bowed her head slightly.

“Nice to meet you Cadeus. I’m Padrela, Padrela Izeicanus, please to make you acquaintance.”

Ho…

Cadeus was impressed. Rarely were there such well-mannered people around in Tenebris Vacuum.

Padrela Izeicanus… judging from the name itself, she’s a definitely Zeffernon local born.

“Padrela. Don’t steal the show with your manners. Who’s going to pay attention to me now?”

The other girl seems to be a lot more blunt and outspoken. What’s more, that accent… she’s an American?

The one that Susan called Jouna began to look at Cadeus from top to bottom.

“Heh… so you are the one who saved Susan from the Armugorus. I see, I see. So, finally I get to gaze upon the man who particularly got Susan’s interests. Not bad, not bad. You are quite cute yourself.”

Cute?

For some reason, Jouna seems to be sizing him up.

“J-Jouna!” Susan frantically rebuked her friend for her lack of manners.

“Oh sorry where are my manners. I’m Jouna, Jouna Smith. Nice to meet you.”

Smith, now that’s an American surname…

She brought up her hand for a handshake. That’s definitely something someone brought up on Earth would do.

Cadeus shook her hand.

“Nice to meet you Jouna. I’m Cadeus.”

“Oh wow! You actually shook my hand! Most people I met looked at my hand with awkwardness you know?”

“Jouna. You are from America?”

“Ho? You are also from Earth? Come on Susan! Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Eh? Cadeus is from Earth?”

“What? You mean you were in the same class as him for three months already and you still did not know he is from Earth?”

“No… I never asked.”

Cadeus rarely talked about his family background, and the reason why Susan never asked was because she did her best not to ask too much about it. Since she was well aware about how most in Tenebris Vacuum black marked Cadeus for his family name, it did not seem to be appropriate asking too much in an area where things might get sensitive.

Since talking about this might get ugly, Cadeus changed topics for discussion.

“What are you guys doing here? This does not seem to be a place to be doing Board Quests.”

“Hm? Ah yes. We were just done submitting our items to the commissioner. Padrela here needs to collect a book she left behind in Tenebris Vacuum so that’s why we’re back.” Jouna said.

“I see.”

“You know Cadeus? Technically speaking, this is not the first time we met.”

“Really?”

Cadeus had no recollection of meeting Jouna before.

When was the first?”

“Mr. Morrison’s Magic orientation at Flight IF001.”

“Oh right. Of course you would be there.”

“We all are. That is, those who are originally from Earth.”

“How many people were there again? It felt like over a hundred.”

“About three hundred and thirty-seven passengers, including adult personal.”

“Did you know about magic before Flight IF001?”

“Nope. I accidentally triggered a spiral of magical events back in my hometown in America. That’s where the magi authorities got the wind of me. Once they find out who I am, they offered a spot for me here.”

“Was the damage very bad?”

“It could get worse. But the mages from the Magical Awareness Society managed to handle the situation before I got extremely traumatized.”

“I see…”

The fact that she could openly talk about her near disastrous first hand magic experience just shows that she recuperated quite smoothly. That’s quite a common kind of background story one would hear from mages that suddenly found out about their magic abilities. Cadeus had one such background as well.

Susan appears to be at a lost. It seems that she has no idea about what they are talking about. Perhaps this conversation is getting a little too awkward for her.

“Come to think of it, Jouna is from Earth. So how did you three…”

“How did we get along? Oh it’s very simple. It was one of the early Board Quests we got at the start of school term the three of us wanted the same prize, but the quest criteria does not allow a lone student to take the job.”

“It was Susan’s idea to form a group. We were just there at the right time so we signed up for the quest together. A lot of things happened, we became the best of friends when everything is over.” Padrela said.

“I see. Sounds like you got two great friends Susan.”

Susan could only give Cadeus a ‘thank you’ smile.

“What’s the quest all about?” he asked Jouna.

“An Artifact Crafter wanted some gears. The reward is a set of pendants for girls. It had quite an elegant design.” Jouna said.

She then reached within her attire and brought out a silver pendant embed with amethyst gemstones. The carving was rich in detail following a symmetrical pattern of something medieval. Whoever made it must have used some inspiration from patterns and images used in Earth’s middle ages.

“Isn’t that magically amplified?”

Jouna moved up and leaned forward slightly.

“Do you want to know?” she whispered.

“Huh?”

Was it just him? Or was Jouna acting overly familiar at their very first meeting?

“Jouna. You are doing this at the wrong place and at the wrong time.” Padrela pointed out while looking at a very weary looking Susan.

“Opps, ha ha~. We better not get too familiar, or else someone might get jealous.”

Jealous?

Did Cadeus catched that word right?

Jouna just flashed him a friendly smile.

“Um… guys? Any special attention for the man in agony?” Nadav cut in.

The girls looked down on Nadav’s pitiful state.

“Who is that?”

“A Grey Mage? No way. In Tenebris Vacuum?”

“What is he thinking? Does he want to die?”

In response to hearing the condemning intent behind their voices, Nadav sank his head in further depression.

Cadeus sighed.

“Get up Nadav.”

“Leave me. No one cares for me. I want to die…”

“… I give up.”

Since Nadav is so unwilling, Cadeus began the introductions on his behalf.

“This Grey Mage here is Nadav. He and I grew up in the same town. The two of us are sort of like childhood friends.”

“Heh… so he’s with you. Are you sure he’s going to be fine in Tenebris Vacuum?” Jouna said.

“Well, he looks like someone quite capable for physical combat. If the worst comes for it, just use him as a meat shield.” Padrela said.

“Stop it you guys. You are not being very perceptive here.” Susan said.

Cadeus looked at Nadav’s sad state. Well… at least Susan was kind enough to show some pity on Nadav. Cadeus took another peek at his pocket watch. Jokes aside, the time has progressed to 7:25 pm. The two of them best move on.

“We’re headed to the swamps to look for an ingredient ourselves. Do you guys want to join us?” Cadeus asked, the more friendly mages, the merrier and the safer.

“Hm… I think we are all pretty much done for the day.” Jouna said.

“We haven’t had dinner yet.” Padrela followed.

“Well, Susan might not mind joining you, she seems to be free for the rest of the evening.” Jouna slyly added.

“J-Jouna!”

Jouna managed step back and managed to avoid a few hits coming from a blushing Susan.

“Just kidding, just kidding. Come Padrela, let’s go.”

“Eh? But I thought we need to go and check up with that theoretical assignment with Educator Norex?”

“It’s fine. I’ll just let him know in the next morning.”

Jouna just wrapped her right arm around Padrela’s shoulders and led her towards the teleportation circle. She then flashed a wink at Susan, who was frantically struggling to control her emotions.

Once her two friends are a few feet away, Susan immediately returned her attention to Cadeus.

“I-I’m really sorry about Jouna. She can get rather impolite from time to time.”

“It’s fine. It’s nice to see that you’ve got some fun loving friends.”

Susan stole at a glance towards her friends only to see them seriously walking ahead without waiting for her.

“I’ll find you tomorrow morning during breakfast at Corals. Bye!” Susan immediately ran to catch up with her friends.

Cadeus waved her goodbye.

He then looked back down at Nadav.

“Can you get up now?”

“Yes.”

Nadav got up, and they both started walking together.

“Why did you act so depressively? That is so unlike the Nadav I usually know.”

“Let me tell you what. I’m in an extremely hostile environment where I do not know what kind of fate awaits me. I met three hot looking Dark Mage babes who not only glanced past my existence, but they also treated me as if I’m really going to die.”

“You know that it is their version of saying ‘hi’.”

Nadav snorted at Cadeus’s last comment.

“Hi? Oh you mean ‘Hi! I’m a Dark mage and I wish you the best of luck surviving in Tenebris Vacuum where we Dark Mages also have a high chance of drying’. Right… as if I’ll buy that sort of welcome.”

“Well. You are here now. Welcome to the Dark side.”

“Oh! And I am Darth Vader! Wha ha ha!” Nadav struck the famous Darth Vader Force choking pose.

“Force choke is not going to save you here.”

“Ha… Force choke. We can’t even do that sort of thing.”

Nadav kicked a stone pebble out of boredom.

“Amongst the three girls, I’ll give Susan high points. Ten points upon ten points.”

Cadeus knew where this conversation is going to be headed.

“Don’t you dare start.”

“Oh come on!”

Nadav used his elbow to give Cadeus an encouraging jab.

“You got to admit it. She’s nice.”

“Yes. She is.”

“Then why don’t you go out with her?”

Cadeus gave Nadav the ‘can’t you see the obvious’ look.

“I mean of course. Family name, she’s a noble. But still, you can have a shot.”

“And what if her parents find out and they decide to have me killed?”

“Oh… then do it discretely. Like Romeo and Juliet.”

“Do you want me to die so badly?”

“Ah… poor choice of illustration. Let me think of something else.”

“Don’t. I won’t go out with Susan. End of conversation.”

“All right… got it. You really never thought of asking Sing out now did you?”

“ *Irritated sigh*… What does Sing got to do with any of this?”

“Well, you have known her for as long as we both remember.”

“And?”

“I don’t know… did the thought ever crossed your mind?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Why yes?”

“If you date Sing, you two might turn out to be a very good couple.”

Cadeus swung a fist, but Nadav managed to block it with an open palm.

“All right then Mr. Smart Guy. Since we are both talking about going out with Sing, why don’t you ask her out then.”

“Woah! Woah! Woah! I can’t ask her out.”

“Why not?”

“Er… Well…”

“Yes? Out with it?”

“… I can’t imagine it.”

“Imagine what?”

“You know what I’m talking about!”

“Then you better spit it out before I misunderstand.”

“You see… *Uncertain sigh* imagine me holding hands with Sing and going out on a date with her.”

Cadeus paused and gave a thought.

“It’s possible.”

Now it is Nadav’s turn to throw a punch at Cadeus.

“Sing’s one of the most brightest students of the Academy. Imagine a clown like me going out with her. I will look like an absolute idiot.”

“So you do admit you are a clown.”

“Yes, someone has to lighten up the mood – Wait that’s not the point!”

“I think it might be a good thing if you went out with Sing. Your brain still might have a chance of redemption.”

“Ah ha… funny… the clown Nadav and his near useless brain suddenly got fixed by dating his brightest and smartest childhood friend. Haven’t you consider the slightest possibility that I got someone else in mind?”

“The day Nadav officially gets a girlfriend will be the day I’ll promise him to be his wedding’s best man.”

“Aww… how sweet.”

“That’s because I’ll be expecting that girl to be your first and only choice.”

“That’s a lot of faith you are putting into me.”

“Nadav, you and I both know you are not the playboy kind.”

“Ah true… what the heck… We are both talking about being in a relationship when none of us actually are. Funny isn’t it?”

“I have a feeling that will change soon.”

“Why? You imagine yourself getting a girl by summer break?”

“I don’t know. What are the odds of my mother not letting me into the house, if she finds out that I have not approached a single girl all this while?”

“Well that will have to depend on your mom. I mean… Sing and I already saw what kind of a mother she is.”

“All right… since we are already talking about getting girlfriends hypothetically, do you think the relationship will last if Sing becomes my girlfriend?”

“What? Because of your mother? I don’t know… that will have to depend on Sing’s opinion of your mother.”

“Hm… oh well. Guess asking Sing out is already a no.”

“What? You are giving up already? You have not even tried.”

“I thought we are discussing a hypothetical scenario? Anyways, we’re here.”

“Eh?”

Nadav stopped in his tracks. By the time he realizes it, the two of them had approached the forest entrance. Nadav took a good look at the various booth tents and the ghostly looking trees and vines, he also noted the sinister air around the mages all round him. Nothing seems to encourage the thought of a pleasant evening in Tenebris Vacuum.

Nadav took a deep breath.

“So it really comes down to this.”

“Like I said before, the forest is not something to be absolutely fearful of. Most of the beast inside the forests are just territorial, they will not attack unless provoked.”

“Any singular beasts that we need to take note off?”

“There is a beast called the Warelock. It is some sort of canine chimera the Educators let loose in the wild. Recently it has been killing quite the number of students.”

“Eh? Your Educators let loose a killing beast despite knowing that there will be students going into the forests?”

“According to rumours, it’s a personal request coming from some Dark Mutator. It seems that the creator wanted to see if the chimera was lethal enough to count as an experimental success.”

“Is there a screw in that guy’s head?”

“There are also others like the Minby Garosceus or the Areagus. But we don’t have to worry about those, the Educators already placed warning boards around their lairs. There is also the extremely dangerous Conmaterus. But that beast is a catacomb inhabitant. It won’t venture out into the forest, maybe.”

Nadav gave Cadeus the look that totally says he extremely regrets setting foot in Tenebris Vacuum.

“… You sure that things will be fine?”

“Sigh…”

Cadeus went behind Nadav, grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him forward.

“Trust me. It’ll be fine. There will be nothing going about on the forest pathways.”

TOA

“Just ten minutes ago you said ‘Trust me. It’ll be fine. There will be nothing going about on the forest main pathways’. Well? Explain this!”

“Don’t move too much. It already has its eyes on us.”

“Oh yes it jolly well can see us. We are right in front of it! Duh!”

The time now is 7:41 pm.

Cadeus and Nadav found themselves staring at a canine beast.

Here’s… roughly what happened. Things started out quite fine when they entered the forest. The main path was cleared of any beasts, and there were no vicious packs of monsters lurking around. It was good to the point where Cadeus estimated that they would be done with the matter by 8:00 pm. But things got a little hectic when they started approaching the swamps.

When Cadeus and Nadav turned up the slope leading towards the swamp entrance they stumbled on a gruesome scene. They both saw a canine eating away at a carcass of a dead Criftoae, and that by itself already spoke bad news in two ways.

First off, the canine they are looking at is no ordinary beast. It had a few mutated features that do not seem natural. Its fur was unnaturally ebony black, its eyes are glowing green, and its claws and teeth are covered in some sort of green chemical liquid that was clearly something highly acidic. The beast was no doubt a chimera, and chimeras were always dangerous no matter the size or build. Based on it’s physical features, the canine chimera they were both looking at could be the Warelock, a chimera that has been well reputed recently for the deaths of several students in Tenebris Vacuum.

Second, the canine was eating away at a dead Criftoae. The area seems to be cleared for now, however, if a nearby pack of Criftoae saw the dead carcass, it will be a danger on a whole other level. Criftoae were fiercely territorial and they were highly protective of their own. Once they see the canine and the two of them near one of their half-eaten dead, they would attack every moving creature on site regardless of which man or creature was responsible. Such aggressive behaviour towards creatures of other species was the reason why the Criftoae were extremely dangerous to deal with, even for legitimate Mages.

What would actually be good for this situation would be for the canine chimera to scram away once it sees Cadeus and Nadav. The two of them could just proceed to the swamp quickly, get the fluid and return back to the teleportation circle before they could encounter any other sort of animal. All in all, Cadeus really wanted to avoid the second danger.

But sometimes, things just don’t go the way we want. The canine chimera was not intimidated by the presence of Cades and Nadav. In fact, it began to stare at the two of them as if they might be additional prey.

The swamp was just beyond the beast, and the beast just chose to stay there and stare at them.

“Shoo! Go away!” Nadav suddenly waved the beast away.

Cadeus stared at Nadav with bewilderment.

“What are you doing?”

“Shooing it away?”

“Have you considered the possibility that you are inviting that canine to eat you?”

“What can it do? Charge at me?”

“Careful, it could be the Warelock.”

“Could be? Cadeus, have you seen a Warelock before?”

“No.”

“Then how on earth would you know whether it’s a Warelock or not?”

“Based on eye-witness accounts of survivors who managed to escape its jaws?”

“And this is what a Warelock turns out to be? I was expecting something bigger, like a lion.”

“Don’t push your luck. It could well be one. We don’t how if it possesses the same level of ferocity.”

“Really, if the Warelock is such a vicious beast, why haven’t your Educators put it down?”

“…”

Cadeus really could not find a distinctive answer to that.

“Silence from Cadeus means that either he does not know the answer, or the answer is not one he can confidently give. Seriously… if this is Rigor-atque Cinereon, my Educators will deal with the beast immediately without second thought. Do your Educators not hear of the term ‘student welfare’?”

Nadav snorted, he dragged his left feet backwards to steady his posture. Soon, Cadeus could feel Nadav circulating a considerable amount of Grey Magic within his body enough to cast continuous spells.

Unlike what Nadav thinks, the Educators of Tenebris Vacuum had already considered the option of hunting down the animal in case the number of deaths escalated beyond reasonable. However, they eventually decide to let the matter slide for unknown reasons.

This was not to say that the Educators erre heartless teachers who’d care little for the safety of their students. Tenebris Vacuum long had the reputation of having student deaths. Given the dangerous nature of Dark Magic, a small number of deaths seem plausible, as it’s quite common for students to end up with unfortunate accidents that sometimes result in deaths. Whether it’s the case of backfiring spell casts, indirect deaths caused by student rivalries or disappearances in the forests, all are written off as common mishaps that made up the daily routine of life in Tenebris Vacuum.

In order to control the number of deaths in Tenebris Vacuum, the Archmage set up a yearly death count limit. If the number of student deaths is controlled within the limit, the Educators will not be entirely held responsible. However, if the number of deaths exceeds the yearly death count limit, the Educators will bear the blame and all will be sacked from the staff.

This was why the Educators spent an effort making sure everyone plays safe. They established disciplinary grounds in the Academia building, continuously encourage group work when it comes to making detours into the forests, and they even banned student entry into the catacombs. Anything beyond that was aautomatically considered out of their league. It might be the Educator’s responsibility to ensure safety, but if the students caused major trouble off on their own despite the warnings, that’s a different story.

If the Educators erre still contemplating to put the beast down, it was either they were confident in their student’s capabilities, or they were simply waiting for more results before they felt that the beast had gone too far. Either case, the Dark Mutator responsible for the Warelock’s creation must have gotten approval letters directly from the Archmage to allow the chimera to be set loose in Tenebris Vacuum. An agreement on a set of conditions must have been reached. Should the chimera get out of hand, the Educators would step in to deal with the situation personally.

From what Cadeus had heard, the Warelock already killed three students. Two of which were part of the six that already died from his class. Cadeus did not know what kind of magical traits this Warelock chimera processed, but it was indeed a major threat to students who were on the weaker caliber.

In seeing how his friend lacked the sense of wariness they’d normally need to survive in Tenebris Vacuum, Cadeus could not help but pay attention to Nadav’s body language. Surely he was not really going to provoke the beast? If the canine they were looking at was indeed the Warelock, it would do them both good not to rush into things especially when the canine they were looking at was showing no intentions of attacking.

“Are you sure you want to fight that thing?”

“It’s a freaking canine right? I seen wolves and other forms of canine in Rigor-atque Cinereon, even fought them too.”

“Perhaps if you can just pay extra attention to the physical features, you will find that beast to be no ordinary canine. Besides, if this canine is the Warelock we need to figure out what kind of magical traits it possesses.”

“Relax Cadeus. Its not even big. Plus it’s just one of it. How harmful can it be?”

It seems that Nadav was quite confident that he can handle the chimera all by himself.

“Sigh… if you are so sure that it won’t cause that much of an issue, you better do things fast. The thing that the canine is feasting on is a Criftoae. If a nearby pack of other Cirftoae sees it, we are going to have a stampede coming our way.”

“Heh! I’ll just have to scare it away. Easy.”

“Suit yourself. Oh and, see if you can bury the carcass into the Earth once you are done.”

“Bury the carcass? Ha! Piece of cake.”

While keeping an eye on the canine, Nadav knelt on one knee and took some ground dirt with his fingertips. He slowly rubbed the dirt on his hands before pressing his palm onto the earth.

“[Rock Fists].”

As he got up to his feet, Nadav ‘grabbed’ large portions of the earth out of the soil. The floating soil and rock began to compound together and form a distinctive gauntlet on both his hands.

In seeing the two gauntlets finalize their shapes, Cadeus recognized the spell. [Rock Fists] was a personal favourite of Nadav. It’s a [Point Spell] that allows a caster to absorb and compound elements of the earth into a distinct gauntlet. The toughness of the compounded minerals is comparable to that of a carbon fiber shaft. Cadeus had seen Nadav hit a person square in the chest with that fist before. The results were a couple of smashed ribs, and a severely punctured lung. You do not want to get hit by something like that.

Nadav got himself into a punching position, and made a punch in mid-air.

“Eat this!”

The [Rock Fist] on his right hand flew from his arm and smacked itself into the jaw of the canine beast.

The beast instantly got knocked off the ground and landed a few feet backwards. From the yapping sounds coming out of its mouth, it clearly was a clean hit.

Cadeus took a quick peek at Nadav. His mental state seems to be quite stable. Though it may seem to make quite the effort to compound a sizable portion of the earth into two hard gauntlets, Nadav was still well prepared to cast other spells.

Grey spells erre mostly rudimentary spells. Though its spells did not have solid raw power, they were not mentally taxing to cast as compared to Dark Magic. If Nadav managed to stack the right number of spells and cast them on a continuous basis, he could create a major environmental phenomenon he could use to his advantage.

As the canine got up to its paws, Nadav cried out a shout of triumph.

“Ha! Eat that! That’ll teach you to step in our way.”

But Nadav’s happiness was short lived. The canine beast instantly got back up and started giving savage snarls. Cadeus merely shook his head due to the expected failure. If there were a universal trait amongst all chimeras, it would be that they all have tough hide and bones. Even with a tough spell like [Rock Fist], it would take a lot more to deal damage to a chimera.

“… Ok. That did not work well.”

“You think? You made things worst.”

“Shut up! It usually works when I was in Rigor-atque Cinereon!”

The beast resumed snarling but after several more seconds, it suddenly closed its mouth and prowled low. It seems that the beast started analyzing Nadav carefully after Nadav sent a huge fist flying over.

“Ok, so that’s how you want to play it? Huh? Ok I got one fist left. Let’s just see how much pounding can you take.”

Cadeus did not seem to take the situation as simply as what Nadav think it was to be.

For some reason, the chimera was not looking directly at Nadav. It may not seem that obvious to Nadav, but Cadeus could see things differently from his position. The angle of the chimera’s gaze seems to deviate slightly off to the side. Instead, it seems to be looking at something behind Nadav. Following it’s gaze, Cadeus tilted his head trying to see what could have gotten the beast’s attention. He thought that there might be a secondary predator, but he soon became mistaken.

What the canine chimera ended up looking at is a group of five Criftoae that had suddenly stopped at their tracks to observe what was going on in front of them.

…

…

…

Cadeus could only give himself a face palm. They really have to land themselves in the worst-case scenario. In facing this new founded situation, the canine beast did what could be the smartest thing to do in this situation. It immediately turned around and ran.

“Yeah that’s right, run! Run like the scary cat you deserve to be!”

Thanks to his own ignorance, Nadav seemed to be the only one to be rather happy with this turn of events. If only he could just see the mess they had gotten themselves in.

“Ha! You saw that Cadeus? Guess your Warelock is not so tough after all!”

Cadeus simply pointed at the very reason why the canine chimera ran off.

Nadav gave Cadeus a look of confusion before turning his head to the direction indicated. It did not take long before he realized the severity of their situation.

Now that they were the sole moving creatures that chose to remain close to the half-eaten carcass, the group of Criftaoe perceived them to be the major threat responsible for the death of one of their own. They started stomping their hooves aggressively. Like what Cadeus expected, it seems that they were all getting ready for a stampede.

“Nadav, if you are thinking of facing that group, you will be the dumbest person I have ever met.”

“Even the dumbest person you have ever met will not be stupid enough to go up against that kind of force.”

The leading Criftoae moved forward slightly and stomped its hooves harder. Cadeus did not know if that’s a warning or not, but he was getting a very bad feeling that things would get worse if they don’t do something. It appears that Nadav was having the same idea as he turned to look back at Cadeus.

“Cadeus, you are the expert here. What do we do now?”

“When I count to three, we run.”

“Oh. Classic. Any other plans?”

“I am thinking of one.”

“That is not so comforting.”

“If I can’t formulate a good plan, we run all the way back to the forest entrance.”

“All the way?”

“All the way.”

“Do we have to? Is there like some hidden place near here where we can hide?”

“Do you want to run into something far more dangerous?”

The leading Criftoae began to charge, leading the rest of the angry beasts. That serves as the cue for the two of them to start running.

As he ran, Nadav opened his mouth wide and screamed.

“DAMN YOU CADEUS! YOU SAID THAT THERE WOULD BE NOTHING!!!”

“I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS TOO YOU IDIOT! JUST SHUP UP AND RUN!”

“YOU SAID THERE WOULD BE NOTHING ON THE FOREST PATHWAYS! YOU SAID THERE WOULD BE NOTHING ON THE FOREST PATHWAYS!”

The two continued to run as fast as they can. While they ran, Cadeus jagged his brain to come up with a plan. If the situation calls for them to run back to the forest entrance, they would just need to get back on the main path. That would be the fall back plan.

So, the question now would be if there a possibility for them to defeat the five trampling beasts behind them without the need to fall back to the main path?

Cadeus did a back track through the paths where they came from. Sooner or later, they should reach a section where the path splits into two different directions. As he formulated a plan, Cadeus ran faster and took the lead to ensure that Nadav do not start running into some unfamiliar part of the forest. If that happens, their survival chances would become extremely slim.

Hearing nothing from his friend, Nadav stole a glance towards Cadeus. In seeing how deep in thought he was, Nadav could not help but feel extra agitated.

“CADEUS! WE COULD REALLY USE A PLAN NOW!!!” Nadav cried.

Finalizing the would-be plan, Cadeus rapped up everything and turned his attention to Nadav.

“Listen, I got a plan. But I am not too sure if it might work.”

“ANYTHING! JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”

“Let’s split up.”

“…”

“…”

“… Huh?”

“I said, split up.”

“WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY? ARE YOU LEAVING ME HERE TO DIE?”

“Do you want to deal with all five of them at once? Anyways, look.”

As they ran, Cadeus pointed at the path in front of him, the path ahead splits into two different directions. If they both split up, the Crftoae would split up as well. It’s either that or… one of them was really going to die.

“Eh? Isn’t the path on the right the one we just came from?”

“You think?”

“ARE YOU NUTS? WHAT HAPPENS IF ALL FIVE OF THEM DECIDE TO GO FOR ME? AT LEAST LET ME GO TO THE PATH ON THE RIGHT!”

“No time to argue. We are splitting up now.”

“DAMN YOU CADEUS! I HATE YOU!”

“Don’t come haunting me if you die.”

“GEH! ARE YOU SAYING THAT THE RUMOUR WHERE LOST STUDENTS BECOME WRAITHS IS TRUE?”

Without replying him, Cadeus took the turn to the left while Nadav ended up taking the route to the right. The Criftoae split up as well, two followed Cadeus while the remaining three went after Nadav. Even though they were separated, Cadeus could still hear Nadav just around the corner.

“Eh? AAAHHHH!!!!! I GOT THE WORST OF THE BUNCH!!!” Nadav cried.

Nah, he’ll be fine.

Cadeus was long aware that if they both kept running, the two of them would eventually meet up again. He knew that the two paths will later re-converge into back one. If he could finish the two Criftoae that were chasing him, he would be meet Nadav at the convergent point and help him finish the other three. Timing wise, it should be just nice. The left path that Nadav took was a longer detour. It would take a moment before he reaches the re-convergent point.

Current Cast Limit estimation – about seven [Point Spells]

Taking a peek behind, Cadeus could still see the two Criftoae chasing him. It seems that they were still intent on crushing him for the misplaced blame of killing one of their own. Cadeus took another good look around them. The path is narrow, and they were all surrounded by thick canopies of tree trunks.

In considering the fact that they need to preserve their Cast Limit for the possible dangers they might encounter later, Cadeus resolved himself to use ‘that’. He might be highly reluctant to use ‘that’, but he really could use an instant kill spell that would get rid of the two beasts behind him. Besides, there should be no one here to see him use ‘that’. It should be safe to cast ‘that’, as long as he keep ‘that’ to a minimum capacity.

Perhaps this was what people would call an exceptional situation… but oh well.

Stopping in his tracks, Cadeus turned around and gathered the magical energies to his right hand. The two Criftoae continued to charge straight at him. Due to the narrow path, they were sort of in single line formation with one slightly behind the other. With ‘that’, this should be easy.

Despite the dangerous situation bearing down towards him, Cadeus closed his eyes and cleared his conscious. He thought back, back to the time he was on Earth, back when he became aware of ‘that’, back when he first used ‘that’ to kill another human being.

Slowly and steadily, the familiar sense of ‘that’ began to kick in.

Snapping back to reality, Cadeus opened his eyes just in time to see the Criftoae just a couple more meters away from him.

Bending down, Cadeus placed his right hand behind him. He positioned himself in such a way that looks like that he was preparing for a punch. Then, he waited.

The two Criftoae were still charging towards him.

twenty more meters, fifteen more meters, thirteen more meters…

When they were no more than ten meters away, Cadeus focused all of his attention on the two targets in front of him.

In the heat of the moment, as he cast ‘that’, Cadeus surrendered himself to the magic in his blood.

Out of all the three Colours of Magic, Dark Magic was the most dangerous and the most difficult to control. It’s wild, highly volatile and hazardous. There’s a saying that you could never tame or control Dark Magic, you can only unleash it. Any attempts to make a slight adjustment during the casting process would only increase the chances of a miscast, which will definitely result in things spiraling out of control.

That was why, Cadeus did not spare a thought about holding back.

He squandered a portion of his Cast Limit into this single spell.

As he moved, a thick phenomenal hazy black mist started forming around his right hand.

As Cadeus thrusted out an open right palm, he threw the black mist forward. He did not pause to think about reducing the amount of magical reserves he set aside for that one spell. He simply threw everything forward.

The black mist spread out and shot itself towards the rampaging two Criftoae that were both unfortunate to be in its direct line of fire.

The black mist enveloped the beasts and covered the scene in front of Cadeus in total darkness.

There were no beastly shrieks of surprise, no mad stomping to shack off the black mist. Cadeus even doubted that pain could be felt. But eventually what came out of the black mist were not charging lumps of living flesh, but bones that soon started disconnecting and breaking apart in mid air before crash landing into the dirt.

In seeing the fruits of ‘that’, Cadeus immediately clasped his forehead with his left hand.

He had always hated the aftereffects whenever he used ‘that’.

His brain and upper body ran hot with adrenaline. There was an increase sense of an exhilarated feeling, which urges Cadeus to continue surrendering himself to the nature of magic within his blood.

Clenching his teeth, Cadeus struggled to keep his state of mind in control. If he allows himself to be swallowed by this sensation, there’s no telling what kind of damage he can do to his surroundings.

Once he calmed down, Cadeus paused for a moment to observe the effects of his handiwork.

The bones that he saw before him had a pale brown-yellowish colour to it. Whatever remaining fragments of flesh that was clinging onto bone were now brown black and emitting a shrewd smell of strong decay. There was nothing else. There’s no more flesh, tissue, or separated organs splattered around with their various biological fluids. What came from living huge beast, were now reduced to mere heaps of decayed bone structures, rotten and separated.

Shifting his gaze beyond, Cadeus could see that the black mist he unleashed slowly dispersing. Once the spell was cast, the spell will gradually loose its magical energies and fade away.

Putting his left hand down and standing up straight, Cadeus decided that it would be best for him to leave this scene as soon as possible. The sooner he can put this episode behind him, the better.

Current Cast Limit estimation – about six [Point Spells]

TOA

Meanwhile…

“AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!”

Nadav was still running from the three Criftoae. He had been running for the past few minutes ever since Cadeus ditched him for the other path.

“Damn that Cadeus! Leaving me behind like this! Eh?”

The lead Criftoae was able to close their distance and made an attempt to ram him off his feet.

“OH NO YOU DON’T!!!!”

Back facing his palms, Nadav casted [Lightning Caste]. Ten forks of lightning exited from all ten of his fingers, and Nadav was hoping that it would deal some damage.

It was not a good hit.

Nadav was not paying attention to the position of his fingers. Things happened so fast that he did not have enough time to aim. Most of the lightning arcs casted from his fingertips landed just an inch right in front of the beast. Even though one or two lightning arcs managed to land a hit, it is not strong enough to bring down such a mighty beast.

But nonetheless, those lightning arcs that missed managed to cause an explosion off the ground, allowing Nadav to create more distance in between them.

“Geh! That did not work… then how about this!”

With a single stomp of his right foot, Nadav initiated [Board Quake]. This spell basically cause physical disruption to the earth in a specific radius, creating a phenomenon similar to a small temporary earthquake.

As he ran, Nadav looked back to see that the Criftoae were set off balanced. Two of them fell while the other struggled to maintain its centre of gravity. But once the spell had fully resolved, the three Criftoae merely got themselves ready and started charging towards Nadav again.

“What? They are not going to stop? This cannot go on!”

Nadav finally decided to fight back.

He immediately formulated three [Point Spells] in his head, all memorized after hours spent drilling in casting sequences.

“Fire, fire earth. Fire, fire earth.”

While muttering the elemental sequence, Nadav stopped and turned around. Both of his hands became covered in flames.

“[Flame’s Pulse]!”

Nadav punched out with an open palm and shot out a huge bolt of fire. He did the same with his other hand and instantly stomped his feet to cast one [Bed Rock].

Both fire bolts scored a hit and the [Bed Rock] unearthed one huge chunk of hard soil. From the force of the spell, the unearthed portion of hard soil flew up to the air before landing onto the running group of Criftoae. The scene in front of him exploded with grey dust as all three spells collided with their targets.

“Yes! Eat that!”

Nadav punched a fist into air to exaggerate his joy.

But what Nadav did not know was that the hide of a Criftoae was five times stronger than that of a bull’s. Before he knew it, the three Criftoae came bursting out of the ashy fog. Plus it seems that they were getting more aggressive than before.

For a second Nadav thought that they would fall into the huge gap of earth that now exists in between them, but the Criftoae did not stop. They just jumped past the gap and kept going on and on.

“Seriously?! They are not giving up? JUST HOW PERSISTENT ARE THESE ASSHOLES?!”

TOA

Just as he had expected, Cadeus was the first to reach the re-convergent point. Cadeus found himself looking at the main path leading back to the forest entrance. Looking beyond to the right, Cadeus could see a smaller road, where Nadav would soon be running out from.

Cadeus folded his arms and brought his bent index finger to his lips.

Now then, what would be good for Cadeus and Nadav would be to find a way to deal with the remaining three Criftoae all at once. This was assuming that Nadav failed to take down any of the beast before meeting to the convergent point.

In order to minimize the number of spells cast before they hit their respective Cast Limit, a more effective medium of spell casting must be used. Relying on [Point Spells] or even [Distance Spells] at this point of time would not be entirely effective. If they want to have enough magic reserves left to get out of this forest, they need to handle the three remaining Criftoae as swiftly as possible.

Well, there’s no need to stress oneself to come up with a perfect answer, for there were other convenient methods to cast magic.

Looking at the area all around him, Cadeus could see that the re-convergent point is wide and spacious. The paths might be narrow, but once Nadav and the beasts step onto the main road, the Criftoae would definitely spread out to get some extra space. When that happens, statistically, it would be harder to deal with all of them at once. What would be highly effective would be a single spell that could take down the Criftoae the moment they leave the narrow path.

It will have to be a wide ranged spell, plus it needs the power punch to take out three huge running Criftoae.

“Hm…”

Thinking of the various spells he had noted down throughout his three months, he soon found the answer that’s best applicable to the current situation.

Reaching for his sling bag, Cadeus immediately took out one particular notebook that was exclusively used for taking down notes regarding with spell guides and formulae of note. Whenever he’s attending a lecture or reading the library books, Cadeus penned down a few spell guides and other spells of interests that managed to catch his attention.

Flipping to the right page, Cadeus’s eyes gazed upon a circular runic inscription.

Runes are magical alphabets used to store magical energies. They were markings used to cast spells without the need of human interference. Runes were important in a magi’s life, as they were writings of magic embedded with the caster’s own magic energies. With the right knowledge, various types of runic inscriptions could help create extended mediums of magic; the most commonly noted examples were enchantments, curses, seals, and even the modifications of artifacts.

They were spells stored and prepared in advance, and like any extensive mediums of magic, runes have their own set of conditions. But what specifically distinguishes runes from other mediums of magic was that runes could be casted remotely in an instance that’s based on their caster’s will or when triggered by another party. Plus, the life shelf of a rune was a lot longer compared to spells that demand more human touch. Once written, runes could be left alone for centuries, and still be in peak condition for as long as the runes were not tampered with.

There were all kinds of runes that could be used in various situations. What Cadeus had decided to use was a runic series called interconnected runes, where two or more runes can be activated simply by triggering the effects of one. In this case, Cadeus was attempting to cast a dual series, where one rune would be the remote trigger, while the other would be the spell activator.

Following the instructions on the piece of paper, Cadeus proceeded to carve a circular rune out of the earth.

Looking at the intersection, Cadeus knelt on one knee. He moved his right hand forward and initiated a small [Thermal Crest]. As he watched, a small blast of flame shot out from his palm and started scorching the earth. Keeping the spell intact, Cadeus sustained the fire’s form and started marking a large runic circle around the re-convergent point.

There were a total of three processes to make a simple runic circle. First, there’s the circle. Runic circles need a circular structure in order to hold the magical energies for the rune to take effect. What followed next would be the inscription process that involves drawing a regular convex polygon within the circle and the writing of the runic letters. Last but not lest, there’s the invocation, where the caster had to invoke magical energies into the rune in order for the rune to function independently.

Cadeus had to be very careful with what he was doing. Technically speaking, he’s not supposed to be doing this alone. Educator Garth has yet to teach his class about runic inscriptions. Any attempts to cast a runic circle alone without professional assistance was unwise.

But despite all the precautions, Cadeus was confident that he could pull this off. The source of this confidence was not because of the mere interest to do something beyond what was currently required of him. Thanks to his readings in the Academy’s Library, Cadeus had gotten a rough idea of how runic inscriptions work. This all includes the writings, the inscription process and the activation conditions.

Once he is finished with the circle, Cadeus proceeded to draw the regular convex. According to his readings in the Academy’s Library, the convex polygon not only stores the magical energies needed to activate the runic spell, but it also serves as a measurement to determine how powerful one wants the runic effects to be. The higher the number of sides within the polygon body, the more powerful the activated spell will be.

Since Cadeus needed enough firepower to take care of three Criftoae, he decided on a pentagon. A pentagon should supply the rune up to three [Point Spells] worth of magic. Three [Point Spells] worth of magical energy, focused into one single circle. With the addition that Cadeus is supplying the rune with Dark Magic, the effects of the activated spell should be considerably painful.

After connecting all the sides of the pentagon, what remains for the inscription process were the runes. Cadeus returned his attention to the piece of paper on his left hand and started engraving the copied pattern at the very centre of the runic circle. He then engraved the smaller runic words in a circular fashion, making sure that they do not step beyond the borders of the circle and the pentagon.

Now, all that is left was the invocation. This was the part where the caster must invoke magical energizes into the rune in order to prepare the paranormal conditions. It’s a simple procedure, yet it’s also the most important part of making a runic circle. If Cadeus failed to do this properly, the rune would not be fully functional to achieve the desired result.

In order for this to work, Cadeus kept the notebook in a side pocket and stepped out of the circle. He knelt at the very edge, pressed all ten of his fingers on the scorched linings and simply ‘applied’ magic. As he watched, his fingertips began to glow in dark purple, and then the glow started spreading. It slowly illuminated the runic circumference, and then the pentagon within. In keeping the spell form in mind, Cadeus shaped the magic from his body and let it flow out of his fingertips. Once the purple light engulfed the entire runic outline, Cadeus knew he was finished.

Now that the activation circle was complete, Cadeus backtracked a couple of steps away from the intersection point and drew a second circle that would act as the remote trigger. When he was finished with that as well, it did not take long before he heard the explosive sounds of spells and the sounds of Nadav’s cries.

Nadav soon came into view.

He appeared at the far edge of the left path.

Waving towards him, Nadav caught his signal and instantly ran towards him in full speed. As Cadeus looked behind, he saw the three Criftoae behind him.

It’s a real pity that Nadav did not take down one of them, but at least there’s a considerable distance between them. Once Nadav passed the markings, Cadeus could activate the runic circles without any fear of Nadav getting caught inside the upcoming runic effects.

Cadeus got his Swiss Knife ready.

From the instance Nadav ran past him, Cadeus direct all his attention towards the group of Criftoae.

In realizing that his friend was not following, Nadav stopped running and turned his head back.

“Cadeus? *Pant* What *Pant* are you going? *Pant* ”

Cadeus waited.

He simply watched waiting for the right moment for the Criftoae to enter the circle. He must time this perfectly if he wants all three beasts to be in the circle.

Just a few more meters…

When he became confident with his estimates, Cadeus placed the Swiss Knife’s blade on his left palm.

“Sigh… This is going to hurt…”

He wrapped his left fingers tightly on the blade, and pulled. A sharp pain can be felt with a lingering sting, but Cadeus simply opened up his palm and let drops of his own blood fall on the triggering circle.

From the instance blood landed on the trigger rune, both runes began to glow in bright red.

The spell was cast and the instance the glowing light resolves, the three Criftoae became trapped in some sort of red barrier. As the barrier halted their charge, the runic circle’s magic started corrupting the minds of the Criftoae.

The eyes of the beasts started shining in crimson red, and they all started stampeding at the same spot wildly. Once the red barrier fades, the three beasts instantly turned and ran in a different direction. They crashed themselves into several trees, but they just continued running away as if they were fleeing from their natural predator.

With his work done, Cadeus spend a few seconds looking at the dripping red line across his palm. Nadav on the other hand, began staring at him with awe and amazement.

“What the heck… was that a runic circle just now?”

“Yup.”

“Has your Colour already started on runes?”

“Nope. I read it up on my own.”

“And you managed to successively cast something this big?”

“Well… it is three [Point Spells] worth of magic.”

Nadav took a look at his own hands.

“I doubt that I am capable of doing something like that at the moment… damn it! Is this the gap in capacity between Pure Bloods and Mixed Bloods?”

Nadav returned his attention to Cadeus.

“What rune was that anyway?”

Cadeus took out his notebook from.

“I don’t know the specifics, but it seems that if someone steps into this rune whilst chasing someone, he will gain intensive fear. The duration of which depends on how strong the magic is used to prepare this spell.”

“Ah… so that’s why they ran away. Smart thinking.”

“No. I got lucky. I was not entirely confident that the rune will work.”

“How’s your hand?”

Cadeus revealed it for him to see. The cut was long, but it’s not deep. However, they were in the middle of the forests in Tenebris Vacuum. If left untreated, there’s a high chance that the would get infected.

“Ok hold on. I think I might have a concoction somewhere.”

“Not another one of your funny solvents Nadav.”

“Nope! I did not make it this time. I got it from Sing.”

“Sing made it? Since when did you have it?”

“A couple of days. I asked her for it.”

Nadav took out a bottle containing some sort of deep brownish liquid. When Cadeus saw that he was reminded of the various Chinese herbal oil he saw back when he was on Earth. His mother once applied some of that oil when Cadeus bruised himself several years back. It was very effective in healing open wounds. But once applied, the herbal oil really burns and it could leave behind a yellow-brownish stain on your skin that would last for several days. Cadeus did not have good memories of the applicant process.

“Wait… before you use that, did you find out what Sing used to make that?”

“Sing did not make this. She got this from Earth.”

“Oh gosh… I think I know where this is going.”

“Relax. I used it before.”

“When you apply that, did your skin burn and leave behind a yellow-brownish stain?”

“… How did you know that? Are you an esper?”

“I used it before – oh never mind. Just pass me that bottle.”

As he felt the pain of the herbal oil running down the cut on his hand, Cadeus was starting to feel a slight mental strain within his temples. It’s all the reminder he needs to be watchful of his Cast Limit. If he casted anymore spells, it would not be long before the penalties started kicking in. If they are not out of the forests by then, they will be in serious trouble.

“We better get going. I’ll be counting on you for the rest of this trip Nadav.”

“… Huh?”

“I am approaching my Cast Limit. That rune took a lot more than what I could handle. If I cast two more [Point Spells], I will definitely face a penalty.”

Nadav made a grab for his own hair.

“Cadeus is running out of spells? OH NO!”

“Then I suggest we better hurry.”

“Yes. Hurry it is.”

Nadav made a move for the shorter path. But before he could move an arms length, Cadeus grabbed his should to stop him.

“Hold on. We are going by the longer path.”

“Huh? Didn’t we walked from that path just now?”

“Yes, but I did some damage to the path when I took out the two Criftoae that were chasing me.”

Cadeus lied. He knew that lying to a friend was bad but he did not want Nadav to know about ‘that’.

“But it should be fine. I can use the element Earth remember? I can clear the area easily.”

“Mm… nope. That won’t work.”

“Come on. Clearing boulders is basic training in Rigor-atque Cinereon.”

“Do you really want to see what I did to the beasts?”

“… Did you use some Dark Magic instant kill spell?”

“I left behind a curse.”

“Geh! I am so not good with enchantments.”

Nadav immediately about turned and started proceeding to take the left path.

TOA

When the swamp, finally came into view, the first thing Nadav did was to moan.

“What’s wrong?”

“Give me a second. I think I might puke.”

When Cadeus first heard that, the first thing that came to mind was that Nadav was being dramatic again. But as he turned around to look, Cadeus instead found Nadav leaning a hand on a nearby tree with a pale and sick face. He soon gave himself quick breaths, and began struggling to control his insides in order to prevent a major oral ejection.

“Ah… of course.”

Having seen the swamp so many times, Cadeus had grown quite accustomed to the swamp’s corrupted appearance. In fact, Cadeus so accustomed to the point where he can simply accepted the swamp for what it was and even come to appreciate its corruptive appearance.

But, a first time visitor like Nadav did not have the time to adjust. As such, he could only struggle to keep himself together.

Looking at Nadav’s sad state, Cadeus could sympathize with such a first hand experience. After all, he also had that kind of expression when he saw the swamp for the first time three months ago.

“Take your time. Time now is…”

Cadeus flipped his pocket watch open.

“8:10 pm. We got until 8:30 to start getting out of the swamps.

“Screw you.”

As Nadav stepped onto the mossy ground surfaces, he had to spend a bit of extra effort to lift his feet. Slowly, it felt that the green mulch of the forest surface was swallowing his boot. Trying his best to swallow the disgust he’s currently feeling, Nadav want to be done with the matter as soon as possible.

“So where’s this Draborg plant thingy?”

Cadeus pointed to the rocky edge where the Draborg plants are dangling.

“…They look like bloat bombs.”

“They are bloated bombs. Bloated bombs filled with Procona fluid.”

“How the heck can plants like that survive in such a hostile environment?”

“Who knows. It is either the swamp environmental conditions are ripe for the plant’s growth, or the plants just sort of adapted to their surroundings.”

“Yucks… no wonder the grey fluid you collected looks so disgusting. So we have to jump down and waddle across just to get to those plants.”

“Yes.”

Cadeus knelt on one knee and started taking off his sling bag, his outer robed blazer, and his smaller pouches. He placed them all to the side where he was sure that they would be easy to spot once he enters the swamp. While he was doing all of this, Nadav walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the swamp. From the instance he laid his eyes on the water, he immediately pinched his nose.

“Shit! What is with that smell? It’s a lot worse compared to the air.”

“You better get used to it now. Once you go down there, that stench will accompany you all the way back until you bring your clothes to the dry cleaners.”

“Geh! You can’t even see through the surface. Am I looking at a bog?”

“… I take it that Rigor-atque Cinereon does not have any swamps?”

“Are you kidding? We got swamps back in Rigor-atque Cinereon. It’s just that it is not at this level of bad. This is… it’s as if…”

“As if what?”

“What am I thinking? I am in the middle of Tenebris Vacuum. The swamp is corrupted by Dark Magic.”

Cadeus could not help but smile to himself.

“Just so to let you know, there are stories that this swamp used to be an old dump site for failed experiments relating to Dark Magic. Failed Chimera products, dark concoction wastes, along with various other things that will bring no good effects to their surroundings especially when you do not know what they are made of.”

“And you are going to step into that thing? Have you ever considered a possibility that your feet might get… decayed?”

Upon hearing the word ‘decayed’, Cadeus instantly shot a questioning glance up at Nadav.

“What do you mean?”

“Hm? You did not know the rumour?”

“What rumour?”

“There’s a rather popular rumour concerning Dark Mages amongsts White Mages and Grey Mages. They say that the Progenitor family of Dark mages have the ability to decay flesh and tissue.”

“The Prides are long gone.”

“True, but there are speculations that the books, artifacts and all the other stuff that they left behind had that dubious ability. One wrong move, and your hand will turn to bones.”

“Why is your head always filled up with all sort of gossips?”

“Call it social gathering information, it will come to serve us in some of our most crucial situations.”

“I feel that if you don’t collate proper studies into your brain, your block of social gathering information won’t save you in your exams.”

“Ha! Exams are a piece of cake. All I need to do is just memorize the answers!”

“Is there something wrong with your head? Let me remind you that we are no longer on Earth. There is more to it than just memorizing text contents when we are talking about magic.”

“Any way Cadeus, can you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Decay flesh and tissue?”

The lie was easily formed.

“No. That kind of ability is no doubt a Blood Gift. You have to be born a Progenitor if you want to have that kind of ability.”

“Then what about the nobles?”

“The nobles have their own Blood Gifts. It is highly unlikely that they can do that sort of thing. Not when all the Prides are dead.”

Once Cadeus was done setting his belongings aside, he took out his own glass flask and his Swiss knife before moving to the edge of the short cliff.

Cadeus leaped as he had always did and landed into the edge of the swamp. As his feet sank into the water Cadeus felt the familiar sense of thick swamp solutes sinking into his boots, socks and trousers. Trying his best to endure the sickening scent filling his nostrils, Cadeus waded across to the Draborg plants, keeping in mind not to step onto anything funny.

It did not take him that long to realize that Nadav was not following suit. When he failed to hear another splash, Cadeus could only turn around to see what Nadav was up to.

Nadav was just standing there back up at the edge of the cliff, staring at him with awe along with the base reluctance to follow suit.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“…”

“What?”

“You’re crazy. Do you know that?”

“I am just used to this. I’d prefer the word ‘daring’ though.”

“Damn it… even Cassandra should not be this ‘daring’.”

“Cassandra?”

In hearing an unfamiliar name, Cadeus asked Nadav the question.

“Who’s Cassandra?”

“Someone from my grandmother’s.”

“A relative?”

“… Something like that, she’s an Untouched.”

“An Untouched?” Cadeus frowned at the very word.

An Untouched, was a term used to refer to people on Zeffernon who never had the ability or gift, to cast magic despite having magic in their blood.

From the first rule of Zeffernon, Magic begins from the Blood. This means that all humans have magic in their blood. So the problem now comes down to whether one was born with the capability to use magic or not. In this case, an Untouched would not have the ability to use magic, no matter how much they learn or no matter how much they try. In short, they were the same as the majority of the people on Earth, normal humans who never had the ability to use magic.

It may seem ordinary and nothing much of a big deal being an Untouched. However, on Zeffernon, things tend to trend on a slightly different path for the Untouched.

In a world where Magic was dominant, to not have the ability to use magic was somewhat considered a taboo. Since the Untouched cannot use magic, they cannot cast magic or interact with the various magical artifacts mages use in their everyday lives. Naturally, this resulted in a gap of capabilities between mages and the Untouched.

As such, it’s quite common for mages to look down on the Untouched, as they were deemed ‘unproductive’ within a society that orientates around magic. Total disregard by Pure Bloods and Mixed Bloods alike forced the Untouched to be confined to a limited degree of professions and jobs such as administration clerks, maidservants and cooking chefs. As a result, those of the Untouched who failed to be employed under a mage usually moved to settle in regional outskirts or places that were not under the jurisdiction of the Magic High Council.

Also, if you had an Untouched in your family, it spoke volumes in a particularly negative way. This was because to mages, having an Untouched in your family means that your bloodline had a higher probability to lose the trait to use magic. Many magi tend to look down on families like that, a lot.

“How on Earth did you get an Untouched in your family?”

“You see… the thing is, Cassandra is not related to me.”

Cadeus gave him the look that totally says ‘I’m confused’.

“She’s not related to me at all. She’s adopted.”

“Ah… now that makes sense. Did your parents take her in?”

“Nah… it’s my grandmother.”

“I see. Aren’t you coming?”

“Are you kidding? The swamp stinks.”

“Nadav, we are already here. Please don’t make things even more difficult.”

“But what if someone steals our stuff while we are down there?”

“Night time is approaching, no one comes to the forests by this hour. If they are still in the forests by the time the sun goes down, they run a risk of being hunted by nocturnal beasts and chimeras. Trust me, you do not want to be in this forest during the night.”

“Geh! Then why are we even here?”

“We need to secure the Procona fluid remember? If we wait till tomorrow, there is a chance that someone might harvest the fluid before I can get some free time.”

“But how would they know that Procona is in there? They did not read your book… did they?”

“I’m not the first to read this book.”

“Aaarrrggghhh!!!!!”

Nadav grabbed his hair out of frustration. He then started taking out his own sling bag, his outer robed blazer and his smaller pouches before laying them right next to Cadeus’s belongings. Once he took out his own flask and Swiss Knife, he proceeded to the edge of the cliff. As Nadav took one last solid look at the state of the swamp, he several breaths to prepare himself.

Then, he leaped off the cliff.

From the instance he landed into the bog, he instantly cried out.

“OH SHIT! Why is the water so thick? This is like thick mud!”

“Don’t think too much about it. Just keep moving.”

“I can feel it getting into my trousers! I can feel it getting into my trousers! AAHHH!!!! I CAN FEEL SOMETHING WIGGLING AROUND MY LEGS!!!”

“Sigh…”

Cadeus decided to ignore the idiot and focus on the current matter at hand. He resumed wadding towards until he reached the Draborg plants. He repeated the same fluid extraction procedure he used yesterday as instructed by the book. He placed the very tip of the glass container at the membrane edge, and thinly sliced the membrane head.

It took a while for Nadav to keep up, as he was continuously grumbling about the current state of his clothes. When he saw the Draborg plant in front of him, he could only snort at the trouble he has to go just to get the disgusting fluid.

“So, how do I go about doing this?”

“Place the very tip of the glass container at the membrane edge, and thinly sliced the membrane head. Do it slowly. You do not want the swelling head to burst. If it does, the liquid contents will be contaminated.”

“How much fluid can Sing’s flask take?”

“Just enough for one plant. Look, mine is already almost filled to the brim.”

“Shit, shit, shit.”

Nadav started cursing as he thinly sliced his own Draborg plant. While holding the flask steadily, Nadav closed his eyes tight and did his best to ignore the state of his lower body. He really must have felt disturbed.

“Ignore, ignore, do your best to ignore. Hey Cadeus, do you know what the heck lives inside the swamp?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Are they lethal?”

“I have yet to come across anything lethal.”

“Ok that’s good.”

“Just stop thinking about what is in the swamp and focus before you spill any precious fluid.”

“Right. Got it.”

Once Cadeus’s Draborg plant is fully drained into a soft lob of membrane skin, his flask is already filled to the brim. Releasing his hold on the plant, Cadeus cocked his flask while watching the soft lob of membrane skin dangle down. He waited for Nadav to do the same before they both waded and climbed back up to where their belongings are.

Now that they had secured the fluid, all they need was to return back to the dorms to hand the flasks to Sing. Hopefully she would have already done something to the first flask Cadeus gave her earlier.

TOA

“Cadeus, for some reason, we have become the center of attention. Every girl is looking our way! Achievement unlocked!”

“You idiot. The reason why they are staring at us is because guys don’t come to the girl’s dorm by this hour.”

The time now is way past 9:30 pm.

Cadeus and Nadav were currently in the girl’s dormitory.

Looking around, Cadeus could see the girls stealing glances at the two of them. Some are already even starting to stare at them with accusing gazes. Well obviously they would, most of the girls around them had already changed into their night attires. It felt extremely awkward for a guy to be in this situation.

Technically speaking, lights-out timing is at 10:00 pm, so it’s not entirely wrong for Nadav and Cadeus to still be in the girl’s dormitory. However, still being at the girl’s dormitory past 9:30 pm is not something commonly practiced, as the girls tend to want to have their own private time before going to bed. Also, by 9:30 pm, most of the girls would have already changed into their night attires. Even if it is just the first level, where boys are normally restricted to, there would be still girls walking around in their night attire or gowns. So if you were a guy and you were walking around the girl’s dormitory by this timing, some girls might perceive this to be a crime. And if you were unlucky enough, the girls will complain to a female Educator, and you might get some sort of punishment.

Thus, it became a rather unspoken rule for males to not be in the girls past 9:30 pm.

Why not make it a rule that boys can’t come into the girl’s dormitory at 9:30 pm?

It’s not totally wrong for a guy to come to the girl’s dormitory just before lights out. Boys often come to the girl’s dormitory to check up with their female partners regarding Board Quests or Academic assignments. Plus, they were already restricted to the first level. As long as they do not go beyond the first level, they should not run into any sort of funny situations.

However, there have been several cases in the past where there were boys still being around when several girls come down to the first level in scantly nightgowns. Now technically speaking the boys were not totally in the wrong here, but it’s still widely considered to be very inappropriate to the girls, as it’s their dormitory in the first place.

Thus, out of courtesy and respect for the girls’ privacy, the boys will always avoid coming to the girl’s dormitory after 9:30 pm.

In seeing almost every girl in their nightgowns, Cadeus felt extremely awkward. All he wanted to do now is to pass the flasks to Sing fast and get out before they cause some kind of misunderstanding. It is just fifteen minutes till lights out. He did not want a roaming female Educator to catch them and question their presences.

Well, at least they had already bathed. Once they got out of the teleportation circle in Converse Hall, the two of them immediately head for the baths, changed and quickly head to the girl’s dormitory to pass Sing the flasks. If they came straight to the girl’s dormitory from Tenebris Vacuum with their stinking clothes, it would not be a very good sight for the girls. This was why they came at a very late timing in the first place. Hopefully, their late coming would not spark any issues.

“Sing’s not here at all.”

“She’s probably in her room right now.”

“Hm… Sing should be staying on the fourth level. Should we ask someone for help?”

“You can try.”

“Ho? Did I just hear hesitation on your part? Why don’t you go and ask for help?”

“Which sane girl would want to help a Dark Mage?”

“What’s this Cadeus? Look at where we are, the girl’s dorm! Almost every girl here is going to be in her night gowns! This is a rare chance to hit on some girls~, and you are going to let this chance slide like that?”

Cadeus simply clench his hand into a fist and gave Nadav a soft punch.

“Well, she could be Dark.”

“Then all the more reason for her to avoid me. Did you forget my family name?”

“Oh shucks… I keep forgetting.”

“Right, let’s stop discussing about hypothetical scenarios and focus on passing our flasks to Sing.”

“Ok let’s pause here for a second.”

“Why?”

Nadav took a sniff at his elbow.

“Do I still smell?”

“No? Why?”

“You should know better. Girls hate it when boys stink.”

“Ok?”

“You are missing the point. I still smell of your disgusting swamp don’t I?”

“Sigh… you are being paranoid.”

“Paranoid? Have a sniff at th – ”

“Ok, you better stop now before any girls around us get into some sort of misunderstanding.”

“But still!”

“Nadav, you don’t stink. It’s all psychological. I used to have that kind of thoughts when I first got out of the swamp. But after a bath, you and Sing failed to smell anything funny. Plus this did not happen once. Have you or Sing smelled anything funny on me?”

“… No.”

“See? So stop thinking about the swamp and just start asking for Sing’s whereabouts.”

“Ok… I’ll guess I have to do the asking. Let’s see… Um… excuse me?”

And with that, Nadav left Cadeus’s side and started asking the nearby girls for help. It seems that the girls were capable of welcoming Nadav, but when they stole glances at Cadeus they gave him the expected stares full of wariness. Once it’s obvious that he won’t be well received, Cadeus retreated to a corner and simply waited. Feeling both physical fatigue and mental tiredness due to the extreme usages of magic, he could only lean back against a pillar and rest his body. Ultimately, Cadeus started scanning the area around himself, quietly absorbing information that he knew would be of little relevance. He did it purely just for the sake of passing the time. But it did not take that long before someone interrupted his thoughts.

“Eh? Is that Cadeus?”

“Yes it is. What are you doing here at this hour?”

It’s Jouna and Padrela. They were already dressed in their nightgowns.

Once they started to walk towards Cadeus, Cadeus mentally gave himself a challenge not to look at anywhere that counts as sensitive. These two girls may not be wearing anything suggestive, but their nightgowns alone are enough to expose a decent amount of skin. If he’s careless in where he’s looking, he will definitely cause an unfavourable scene.

“Fancy seeing you here.” Jouna flashed Cadeus with a mischievous grin.

“Guys aren’t supposed to be here past 9:30 pm you know.” She added.

“Yes I know.”

“Then what are you doing here? I did not take you to be the peeping tom type.”

“Who says I’m peeping? I’m looking for a friend.”

“A friend? Who is it?” Padrela asked.

“We are looking for Sirena Delnarius. Do you know which room she is in?”

“Sirena?” Padrela tiled her head in response to the unfamiliar word.

“Sirena? Where did I hear that word before?” Jouna pondered.

“Oh! I think I remember who Sirena is. She’s your friend right Cadeus? The one Susan has been talking about.” Padrela said.

“Oh! That one.” Jouna finally recalled the name.

For a second, Cadeus thought that it would be obvious that these two failed to recognize Sing’s name. Well that’s to be expected, Sing’s a White Mage after all. It’s not that surprising to find that Dark mages would fail to recognize the same. But if they heard her name from Susan, it becomes a different story altogether. However, at the very instance the two of them registered Sing, things suddenly changes due to some unknown reason. Jouna and Padrela both instantly gave Cadeus stares of uncertainty and took two steps back. It is as if they just saw a different of Cadeus and are reacting to it negatively.

“What?”

“Why are you hanging out with a White?”

Ah… the usual anti-sentiments…

“There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s just a childhood friend. I’m rather comfortable around her.”

“Ah… childhood friend. Well I guess that makes sense. Childhood friends tend to stick together regardless of colour.” Padrela said.

“Hm… Hold on a sec. Cadeus” Jouna interrupted.

Jouna suddenly placed her right hand on Cadeus’s left shoulder.

“Yes?”

“I’m going to ask you a serious question. Can you reply this question honestly?”

“What’s with the sudden seriousness?”

“Can you answer honestly?”

It seems she is rather insistent on the ‘honest’ part, though Cadeus do not the reason why.

“Um… sure?”

Jouna shook her left index finger.

“If a girl asks for you to answer honestly, you should say ‘Yes, I promise that my answer will be the truth’.”

“Ok. Yes, I promise that my answer will be the truth.”

“It must be the truth.”

“Yes the truth.”

Her sudden seriousness really made Cadeus feel uncomfortable. What exactly does she want from him?

“So here’s my question. Are you currently seeing anyone out?”

…

…

…

“Huh?”

Cadeus suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

“Why are you asking me this?”

“Just answer the question.”

“No.”

Jouna stared at him for a couple more seconds, trying to analyze him before she can take his answer.

“Really?”

“No. I do not have a girlfriend. I never had a girlfriend and I don’t think I will be getting one for now.”

For some reason, Jouna and surprisingly Padrela both gave satisfactory smiles.

“Ok. Safe.” Jouna said.

“Yup, totally safe. But if she still does not push herself, she might miss this opportunity.” Padrela followed.

“Huh?” Cadeus can only stare in confusion.

“What exactly are you guys on to?” he asked the two of them.

“Oh nothing. It’s not really a problem for you.” Jouna said.

“Why do I get the feeling it is? Also, what’s with the question whether I am seeing anyone currently?”

“Nothing. That part is just for my own curiosity. Oh Padrela, come, we need to re-discuss that part of our theoretical assignment.”

“Ok. Got it. Let’s head back to my room. My materials are there after all.”

And with that, the two deviously retreated away. They did it quite skillfully before Cadeus could say another word. Before Cadeus had the time to think about what just happened, Nadav came back in the nick of time.

“Ho! Aren’t those the two Dark Mage girls we saw back then?”

“Yes.”

“What did they want?”

“Nothing, just saying hi.”

“Bullshit. That Jouna girl placed her hand on your shoulder. There is more to it than meets the eye.”

“You would not want to know what she asked anyway.”

“Um… no I don’t think so. My investigator switch is switching. There’s definitely something!”

“Sigh… Why are your senses so acute in this sort of scenarios?”

“So spill it out! What did she say.”

“Jouna asked me if I am seeing anyone out right now.”

Nadav immediately jump.

“What?! Are you serious?!”

“Yes.”

Nadav instantly laid his left hand on Cadeus’s shoulder and acted as if he was crying tears of joy.

“Cadeus, you did a very good job. Your mother will be so pleased.”

“Now hold on a second. Jouna is not asking me out.”

“No, no, no, no. The only motive a girl has to ask a boy if he is seeing anyone currently, is because she wants to ask him out.”

“Since when you became the love expert? Besides, I did not get any implications from her that states that she is interested in me.”

“Well, she did call you cute earlier right?”

“That alone is not enough.”

Nadav flashed a look of disbelieve. He really could not see how Cadeus would be so pessimistic.

“Oh come on! Just go out with her already!”

“No. There is something not right about this.”

“Now’s not the time to be concerned about whether things are right or wrong. She has set the opening for you, all you have to do is to cross that margin.”

“I think that if I cross that margin now, I might regret it for the rest of my life.”

At the midst of all this, the two of them are unaware that the person they are looking for finally came down only to see this funny scenario.

“… What exactly are the two of you doing?” Sing asked.

The two of them instantly stopped what they are doing and immediately returned their attention to Sing. Like most of the girls around her, Sing is also dressed in her nightgowns. However, she added an overlaying jacket to

“Oh hey Sing! Where have you been?” Nadav said, clearly an attempt to turn Sing’s attention away from their topic of conversation.

“Sigh… I guess you two are going to keep your little secrets after all. Anyways, I found my dad’s notebook.”

“How did it go?” Cadeus asked.

“You mean reading up? I think I am getting the idea how to handle the making process.”

“Sweet! Will you be making any samples anytime soon?” Nadav asked.

“I might get a bit out by tomorrow breakfast. We’ll see how it goes.”

Now that’s good news indeed, perhaps the best news they ever had in such a crucial period of time.

“So Nadav, you really went to the swamps of Tenebris Vacuum?”

“Please… don’t ask me about it. I don’t want to remember…”

“Did something funny happen?” Sing asked Cadeus.

“You want the long story or the short story?”

“I’ll take the short.”

“We came across a canine chimera, we both got chased by five Criftoae and Nadav had problems entering the swamp.”

Sing simply stared back at Cadeus in dazzlement. It took a while before she managed to process the information accurately to get the overall picture.

“You guys managed to get out of that?”

Cadeus shrugged his shoulders.

“We have our ways. Come one, I still think the worst we’d ever face was that last part of the Mystical Box Quest.”

“Ah… true. How did you guys get by the first two obstacles?”

“Well… the second obstacle scared away the first. Then we both got chased badly until we decided to split up.”

“Wait… The two of you split up?”

“Yes! It was this guy’s idea!” Nadav pointed an accusing index finger towards Cadeus

“We were running, and then this asshole here deserted me!”

“The two paths will re-converge again into one when it hits the main road. That gave me plenty of time to deal with my share of Criftoae before coming to save you.”

“But still! You could have allowed me to take the path to the right!”

“The path on the left is longer than the one on the right. If you took the path on the right, you would have continuously ran way past the re-convergence point up till to God knows where. If I was the one who came out of the left path and you weren’t there, not only am I rendered incapable of helping you, we both would have serious trouble trying to get out of the forests once we are separated. No one travels alone in the forests of Tenerbis Vacuum.”

“Tch! That is such a cheap come about! You are just taking advantage of the fact that I can’t debate logic aren’t you?”

“Stop complaining Nadav. Cadeus saved you, you owe him one now.”

“Geh! Now Sing is against me! You two are such heartless friends!”

The two of them merely shrugged Nadav’s sarcasm away. In seeing such a response, Nadav gave a dejected face. Smiling to herself, Sing turned to Nadav and gave him a light pad on the back.

“Well Nadav, look on the bright side. At least you’ve seen the infamous forest and made it back alive. Isn’t that already a big achievement?”

“It jolly well better is.”

“Besides, I am sure that now you got some stories to tell your other Grey Mages.”

Cadeus instantly gave Sing the look telling her not to give Nadav any weird ideas, but he is already too late.

“You’re right… Ha! Now I got something to boast to the girls! Wha ha ha! The next time Cadeus is my wing man, I can get to enchant girls with my story of bravado!”

Nadav instantly used his left hand to highlight an invisible title in the air.

“The brave story of Nadav being forced to enter the forests of Tenebris Vacuum!”

“Ok… I am starting to regret what I just said. Nadav, you are extremely lucky to get out of there alive, so let’s not – ”

“Ah! Excellent line there Sing! I’m extremely lucky! A nice line to get the attention of the girls. I’d better write a note before I forget.”

“Cadeus, now he’s getting too carried away.”

“Who asked you to plant that idea into his head?”

“All right, my fault. The next time you bring him into Tenebris Vacuum, dump him alone for a couple of minutes to scare him.”

“No, I got a better idea. I’ll feed him to the Warelock.”

The dormitory clock began ringing the alarm. It is already 9:45 pm. Students are expected to return to their rooms before the Educators come to do their spot check to ensure that everyone obeys the lights out timing.

“Anyways, did the two of you get what I needed?”

Cadeus and Nadav took out their own flasks of grey liquid and handed it over. When they revealed the flasks, Sing’s eyes widened slightly by the sight due to partial amazement.

“… You really filled the two of them to the brim.”

“We had to. We might need all that we can get.” Cadeus said.

“All right. I’ll just take these, you two better get out before Educator Giselle comes.”

“Hold on Sing.” Nadav interrupted.

“Hm?”

“Before we go, can you heal Cadeus’s hand?”

“His hand?”

“There’s no need for it Nadav.”

“Just show it to her already.”

Cadeus showed Sing the cut on his hand.

“What did you do?”

“It’s just a small cut. Nothing more.”

“This looks very recent. What would cause such a cut?”

“Nothing. Just a scratch.”

Sing wanted to ask more, but due to time constrains, she simply healed the laceration without saying another word.

Nadav wanted to open his mouth to tell Sing about Cadeus’s successive rune. But one quick look from Cadeus silenced his attempt. It is too late into the night for another lengthy conversation. Besides, Sing said tonight’s spot checker was Educator Giselle. They had best get out of the girl’s dormitory if they want a peaceful night.

TOA

Around the same time Cadeus and Nadav were passing their flasks to Sing, another interesting episode is happening in another part of the Academy.

“AAAAAHHHHHH!”

Davian started tearing his hair.

Slamming his head on the table, he could not help but tilt his head up to look at the numerous piles of papers on his desk. Ever since he got back, he was welcomed once again with the demoralizing scene of a table that is filled with countless pile of damage fees and letters of complaints both from inside and outside the Academia. No matter how much work he poured into, once he cleared a document, ten more pieces were stacked to take its place. This never-ending cycle of handling complaints and damage reports is slowly starting to eat him away.

In the hopes to resolve these issues, Davian thought that doing a little patrol around the streets might be helpful to keep his problematic peers in check. However, he noticed a new stack of documents arranged neatly and placed carefully at the edge of his desk, contributing to the endless stream of papers stacking around his office space.

It seems that patrolling around is not that as effective as he thought.

“The moment I thought that patrolling around the problematic areas would help reduce problems. Sigh…”

“It looks like you are having the usual rough time.”

Davian looked towards the voice that came down towards him. Thought she is an extremely important character within the Student Council, Davian knew her long enough to bypass the formalities.

Wearing a normal student uniform with some slight customizations, bearing that legendary crest of the Grey Orb. Hailed as the ‘Absolute Queen’ amongst her Grey Mage peers, as well as the current Student Council President.

Cordelia Quake ve Douvalmni

She’s the current heir to the Progenitor family Quake ve Douvalmni, the Progenitor family of Grey Magic. That means that if she’d wanted it, she will the next in line to inherit the leading position of all Grey Mages.

Unlike Davian who just started in his first year into the elementary curriculum, Cordelia is already into her second year. That means that she is already one year his senior.

“Hi Boss.”

“How’s the patrolling?”

“I don’t think I will be making more in the future.”

“Why not?”

Davian made an indirect gesture to the new stack of documents recently added to the extreme side of his desk.

“Well, at least that new pile is shorter than the rest.”

“No… it’s still the same as it is.”

In the midst of all the negative mood towards the endless stream of complain forms, Davian suddenly thought of something. Cordelia is a model student. What exactly is she doing here when lights out is only about thirty minutes away?

“Why are you here at this hour boss? You need something? Lights out is just half an hour away.”

“Just checking up on my junior. Making sure he goes to bed on time.”

“How did you know I was still here?”

To answer his question, a white cat jumped onto his table desk, accidentally knocking off a few stacks of paper.

“Shantae!” Davian moaned.

The cat was Shantae, Cordelia’s familiar.

Though Davian showed disapproval to the cat’s actions that resulted in creating another mess, the cat simply ignored him and rested its body at one corner.

“Shantae told me that there is still someone in the Student Council this late in the evening.”

“Quite the wanderer, your familiar.”

“Be happy that it saw you. Things will be bad if the only Dark Mage in the Student Council got punished just because he is still wandering around the Academy well past lights out.”

“I see.”

Davian took a glance at Cordelia’s familiar.

“Sigh… it looks like I got myself a babysitter, yippee.”

Cordelia took a small moment to look at the general state of his desk. Her current thoughts are easy for Davian to see. Whatever thoughts she is currently formulating in her head, Davian can expect the next three words she is going to say.

“You need help.”

There we go.

“Hm… This is the part where any normal guy in my situation will say ‘I can use some help’, but I’m going to stick with ‘everything is all right’.”

“You clearly don’t look all right.”

Davian could only sigh.

Curious, Cordelia took a random piece of document from a lesser pile and read it.

“What’s this?”

Davian answered her without the need to look at what she’s holding.

“That’s a damage report filed with an additional complain. Two groups of Dark Mages fought each other in a tavern near Derithmodule’s Monument. The tavern boss wrote me that.”

“Damage repair costs… wow, 2300 Duches.”

“Tell me about it.”

“And you compensated the tavern?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“The full price.”

“Using?”

“My own allowance?”

Cordelia eyes widened slightly in surprise. As the Student Council President, she is well aware that Davian had to deal with a large number of problems since he is the representative of the Dark Mage students. But compensating for the fault of others using his own money?

“You are paying for the mistakes of others with your own money?”

“Do you have a better idea? I don’t want to use the Student Council budget.”

“I take it that the warnings issued by the Educators aren’t so effective.”

“Oh it is effective, but only when they are within Academy grounds. When they are out, for some reason the warnings seem to slip out of their brains. Oh and, don’t bother suggesting banning Dark Mage students from leaving the Academy. My peers will only cause more trouble than what we think we can prevent.”

Cordelia can only give him a smile. She really feels for Davian’s problematic situation.

“If the Educators are not helping, why don’t you bring up this matter to Viegra?”

“And what? Let the Discipline Committee President lead an army of disciplinary committee members into Tenebris Vacuum? Do you want to start a war between the Dark Mages and the Discipline Committee?”

Cordelia merely shook her head to ward off Davian’s sarcasm.

“You know that we don’t do things that way. I’m actually thinking about getting Viegra to help you do some patrolling.”

“… Things have not deteriorated to that level of bad.”

Cordelia made a gesture to all the stacks of papers in front of Davian.

“Then how can you explain the never ending cycle of… this?”

Davian can only shut up and rest his head on the desk in response. In seeing how she is not really helping the situation, Cordelia could only give him a sympathetic smile.

“You have been handling all of these for the past three months. Why don’t you get someone to help you?”

“By ‘someone’, you mean another Dark Mage right?”

“Who else?”

“Hm… no. Not one idiot in Tenebris Vacuum is interested in the Student Council.”

“What about the other nobles?”

“Who can I ask? Our Necro friend’s attendance is zero, Claire and Acriscius are better off competing with each other than messing up my work, and who would want to ask Seymour?”

“I am not just referring to the Greater Noble Families. Have you tried approaching the Lesser Nobles?”

“I did. But as usual no one showed any interests. Sigh… I wish senior Valadar is still around.”

“Yup, if only he were just one year younger. But too bad, he is already at the other island doing his tertiary curiculum. It is a real pity that only the Acolytes are the ones who remember the proper code of conducts Valadar established.”

“True… I wish I had his charisma.”

“It’s ok Davian. You are doing all that you can. I have not seen a guy singlehandedly clear his work effectively. I really wish that there are more Dark Mages like you.”

“I wish that too, really.”

In seeing Davian once again in a dejected mood, Cordelia took a deep breath and finally came to a single conclusion.

“Ok, this cannot continue.”

“Huh?”

“I am going to initiate a Dark Mage recruitment program to join the Student Council.”

“This again? Haven’t we tried that just after my enrollment?”

“We’ll try again.”

“Wait… please don’t tell me you are going to use special privileges as a form of promotion? That does not really help you know.”

“We’ll think of something.”

Davian gave a thought for the other members of the Student Council.

“Nah… I really doubt the others will be of much help.”

“They might not be, but we are going to start talking seriously about getting another Dark Mage on the Student Council.”

Davian moaned slightly. He had already tried talking to his peers to join the Student Council. But none of the others are interested. In fact, most of his peers see the Student Council as nothing but extra work burden.

If he is unsuccessful, he doubt that Cordelia herself can make a difference. She may be a Progenitor, but at most, she can only get the Greys and the Whites to listen.

The Dark Mages on the other hand tend to respect their own Progenitor, and everyone knows that there are no more Pride ve Lus.

In seeing how debating about this now won’t be much of any help, Cordelia sighed.

“Come Davian, enough of this. You have worked enough for the day. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”

“Ok boss. Give me a moment to grab my things.”

Cordelia decided to wait for Davian outside the Student Council Office, she just about to turn away when she caught a glimpse of something at the corner of her eye. Amidst all of the stacks of papers at Davian’s desk, there is a specific section where Davian isolated a few documents. These do not look like the usual complaints and compensation forms. Instead, they seem to be documented files on an individual’s personal data. But what caught Cordelia’s attention is not the documental specifics, but a certain portrait that seemed entirely unusual to her.

Reaching out her hand, Cordelia took up the document and focused on both the portrait and the name of the boy labeled underneath the portrait.

“Davian, what is this? Who is Cadeus?”

“Huh? Oh that… GEH! YOU SAW THAT?”

Davian instantly tried to snatch the document away from her hands, but he was not fast enough. In response to this sudden would-be attack, Cordelia, still looking at the document in interest, merely casted a strong wind spell with just a flick of her right shoe heel. The strong current of wind hit Davian by the ankles. Before he knew it, Davian’s face fell flat onto the floor.

Once she is satisfied, Cordelia looked down at Davian and flicked the document in front of him.

“Why the sudden secrecy? Is this what I think it is?”

“I don’t know. The masters do not know, even the Archmage did not know.”

“Are they at least aware of this case?”

“Yes."

“Have they done something about it?”

“No. From what I hear, the High Council told them to put this issue on hold.”

“The High Council? What does the High Council got to do with this? Are they investigating this case?”

“They are, or at least the Thermos Ministry is. Word is, they got someone to investigate the issue.”

“I see, typical. So why am I only hearing about this right now?”

“It was the Archmage’s idea! He wanted to minimize confusion!”

“Sigh… Royce’s old geezer. I can’t believe he would hide something like this from me.”

Davian got up.

“Actually, it is not that much of a big deal – scratch that he is a big deal. You wouldn’t how many fights this guy instigated.”

“He started fights?”

Davian took the document from her and placed it neatly on his table desk.

“No, not directly, at least. Well thank goodness Acriscius had not make a move on him yet. Everyone hostile to Cadeus in Tenebris Vacuum is calling him an ‘imposter’.”

Cordelia gave a look that is partly full of confusion and partly full of concern. Believing that he knows what she is thinking, Davian reassured her that this small issue is not something worth fretting about.

“Relax. Nothing major is going to happen. Besides, I would not call Cadeus a bad person. He is not some flaunting impersonator who abuses the family name. He has always insisted that the family name is pure coincidence. In fact, it seems that he does not want to have anything with the name. Funny isn’t it?”

“It can’t be a coincidence. Not with that name.”

“That is why everyone is confused. From as far as I know, Cadeus does not believe that he has an ancestor that has any ties to magic.”

“Does he have a family tree?”

“… I never heard of it. But I don’t think so.”

Cordelia raised her spectacles, a sign that she’s thinking about this deeply.

“Why not?”

“Think about it. A family tree coming from a guy who is not aware of how powerful lineage can be? He’s not even a noble.”

Davian collected his sling bag and started heading out of the Student Council office. Cordelia spend several seconds pondering possible implications. Shantae merely leaped off the desk and started muzzling her leg.

“Are you coming? Lights out is in five minutes.”

Cordelia took one last glance at the document before leaving, Shantae following her behind.

As she walked with Davian back to the noble’s dormitory, she made a mental note to see Cadeus personally the next time she is free, just to see what kind of person he is.

TOA

Once Cadeus went back to his room, he changed into his night gear and dropped into his bed.

Now, he’s dead tired.

As he lay down on his bed, he could not help but think back about the events that happened today. Despite all that he did, the morning with Claire, the afternoon in Infinitas, the evening with Nadav, life just went by in a glance.

Wanting to think of nothing else, Cadeus’s hand reached for the room artifact at the side of his bed and added a bit of light. Once he is satisfied with the low level of brightness his hand indirectly reached down to his bag. As he used his sense of touch to search around, his fingers finally wrapped themselves around the book that he was looking for. Taking it out and holding up the book high, what Cadeus ended up looking at is the black-leathered book he got from Demerith’s Street.

Oddly enough, from the moment he bought the book, Cadeus already memorized the exact length, width and thickness of the book. It feels strange that he felt such a close bond to the book despite never reading it once.

From the black leather cover, the author of the book is called Zelnarius Pride ve Lu.

Flipping to the preface page, the book was written and published in 1423.

1423… the book was published in the 1400s?

That was the century where the Progenitor family of Dark Mages got wiped out.

The 1400s, the end of everything and the start of everything.

That was how Dark Mages referred that period of time. Cadeus had heard that saying in the tavern in Demerith’s Street, in Tenerbis Vacuum, as well as any other places where Dark Mages would gather in conversation.

Gently laying the book right next to him, Cadeus stretched his arms to his sides. He was too tired to read the book, maybe he shall do so if he’s free tomorrow. Tomorrow’s schedule was Colours again for the whole morning, and then the afternoon was off. It’s the same as today; just that finally Educator Garth had something for them.