A month passed. Kat’s class had several more training sessions, but Damien only participated in some of them. To his great amusement, Xil ended up in more of them than he did.

She and Venus spent more and more time together, training their magic. Henry donated all the resources Kat had lost to him to Xil. With their aid, she was able to reach and evolve her core after just a few more weeks.

Venus watched over her during her evolution, claiming that she was only interested in making sure all the hours she’d ‘invested’ on training the other girl wouldn’t be lost. Damien hadn’t seen her since due to his intensifying training regimen, but Quinlan told him that Xil had been successful in evolving her core.

His control over the Void continued to improve, as did his ability to fight together with Henry’s Full Manifestation. Kat seemed to grow more distracted with every passing week, and by the end of the month, she was clearly only half paying attention to classes.

“It’s about time, don’t you think?” Henry asked Damien one morning as he got out of bed. They’d spent the night in his mindscape, training, but his progress was starting to slow down once again.

“Time for what?” Damien asked.

“You’re reaching the end of what normal training is going to do for you. You need some real fights again,” Henry replied, his little blobby form popping out of Damien’s shadow. “And I think we’ve gotten a lot of what Mountain Hall has to teach us.”

Damien grunted. “Can’t say I disagree. I don’t care for the school much, but I’ve come to appreciate some of the students here. You have too.”

“Bah. Don’t put it like that.” Henry gagged. “I just felt pity for their pathetic existence.”

“Sure you did,” Damien said. He paused, a small grin crossing his face. “I’d love to see Sylph again, though.”

“Ugh. I’m going to go have to bother the goats again, aren’t I?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Damien replied, warming to the idea even more. He’d spent far too much time here. “Don’t pretend like you aren’t looking forward to that. Do you think we could get Mountain Hall to excuse us early so I can go to Kingsfront?”

“I don’t think they’re going to say no to much of what you ask,” Henry replied. “Kat’s on your side and Hawk just doesn’t want Mountain Hall to look any more pathetic than it already has.”

Damien strode out of his room. The sun had still yet to rise in the sky. Night blanketed the sharp mountains surrounding the school. Kat’s class probably wouldn’t start for at least another hour, but they’d been meeting early to get extra training in.

He reached the arena a few minutes later. Kat was supposed to arrive about thirty minutes ago, which meant she was probably just about to –

“Ah, Damien,” Kat said, walking up behind him. “Glad to see you’re on time.”

“Likewise,” Damien replied dryly. “You do realize I’ve just started giving you a time that’s half an hour before when I actually show up myself, right?”

“Hey, if it works.” Kat shrugged, not embarrassed by her inability to show up on time in the slightest. “What are we working on today? More physical combat training?”

“No,” Damien replied. “Actually, I don’t want to train at all today. I had something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

Kat arched an eyebrow. “I was worrying about this. I’m not interested in guys younger than me, sorry.”

Damien choked. “What? No, not that.”

“Oh,” Kat said, scrunching her nose. “Damn. What was it, then?”

“Why would you even think – never mind,” Damien said, shaking his head. “I’m thinking about visiting Kingsfront. I think I’ve gotten what I wanted to from Mountain Hall.”

“Interesting. You think we’ve got nothing else to teach you?”

“I’m sure there’s probably still something,” Damien replied. “But I’m not improving at the rate I was when I get here. I need a bigger challenge, and the Corruption is concerning me. I haven’t heard anything about major attacks recently, which means its preparing for something.”

“Just how wrapped up are you with the Corruption?” Kat pursed her lips. “More than most, I think.”

“More than most,” Damien agreed. “And you can’t say I’m wrong, can you? None of the other students in the class can pose a real challenge to me if I use all of my strength. I need to find a stronger opponent.”

“You think you’re stronger than me?”

“You haven’t sparred against me recently. Every time I check, you’re busy. Something tells me you’re caught up with your own problems, Professor.”

Kat opened her mouth. Then she closed it and sighed. “You got me. I’m putting a transfer request in with the school.”

“What?” Damien asked, blinking. “Why? I mean, aside from the fact that Mountain Hall is a miserable place. I guess that’s a pretty good reason.”

Kat snorted. “That too. But no. I need to talk with Delph. Now that I know he’s at Blackmist, I’m going to follow him.”

“Why?” Damien asked.

Kat cleared her throat and glanced away. “That’s my prerogative, but I’ve been hunting the bastard for a while. I don’t think you understand how hard it is to track Delph down. Now that I know he’s actually got a place he’s tied to for a little, I need to take this opportunity.”

“Fair enough.” Damien shrugged. “I’ll probably see you at Blackmist, then. But what about your students?”

“I’ll figure something out,” Kat replied. “I don’t want to abandon them. But as for being released from your transfer to Mountain Hall – that usually doesn’t happen until the end of the year, when you return to your normal school. Not unless you’re booted out, anyway.”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Mountain Hall, it’s that you make exceptions for people who are strong,” Damien said, crossing his arms.

“Okay, that’s true,” Kat said. “It probably won’t be very hard to get that taken care of. I’ll speak with Hawk and get it taken care of. What are you going to do at Kingsfront, though? You can’t just walk up to the school and say you’re joining.”

“I have no plan to. I’ll just be visiting before I return to Blackmist. Whisp won’t have any problems with it.”

“Hey, if you’re sure.” Kat shrugged. “I’ll see you at Blackmist, then. Are you going to class today?”

“No,” Damien replied. “There’s no point. Venus and Xil are still out because Xil is recovering from her Core Evolution. Quinlan told me she’s taking today off to spend time with Alina, so there isn’t anyone for me to even try against.”

“What about – oh, never mind. When are you leaving?”

“I’ve never been one to draw things out. I’ll go today,” Damien said. “It sounds like we’ll meet again shortly at Blackmist anyway.”

“So we will,” Kat said pensively. “Don’t worry about Hawk, then. I’ll get everything hashed out for you. Good luck with whatever you’re doing at Kingsfront. Try not to beat the shit out of a bunch of their students when you arrive.”

“When have I ever done something like that?” Damien asked with an innocent smile. “Thank you for your tutelage, Professor. It made this transfer worth more than I expected it to be.”

“Get out of here. You’re going to make me blush.” Kat waved him away. “I’m going to go back to bed. Class isn’t for another thirty minutes.”

“You’re going to be late.”

“Don’t care,” Kat said with an evil grin. She blurred and vanished, leaving behind a gust of wind that buffeted Damien’s hair back.

Damien turned and walked off as well. He didn’t want to leave before letting his friends know where he was going. His first stop was Quinlan’s room, and he rapped on the door when he arrived.

Quinlan cracked the door open, then stepped back and opened it the rest of the way. He could hear the shower running in the background. “Damien? Did something happen?”

“No, I was just swinging by.” Damien rubbed the back of his head. “Do I really only come by when something is wrong?”

“Or when you want to train.” Quinlan laughed. “It’s fine, I’m the same way. What’s going on?”

“I’m leaving Mountain Hall today,” Damien said. “Henry pointed out that my training was slowing down, and I think he’s right. I also miss Sylph, so I’m going to head over to Kingsfront.”

Quinlan didn’t look too surprised. “I saw that coming, I think. I’m honestly surprised you stayed this long.”

“Me too,” Damien admitted. “I really only came here to help you out, but I’m glad I did.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly thank you for that,” Quinlan said, her hands tightening at her sides. “It’s hard to believe all of this happened because your companion stalked me.”

“Hey, that makes me sound weird,” Henry said, poking his head out of Damien’s shadow. “Think of a better verb.”

“No,” Quinlan said, a tiny smile flitting across her face. “You’re a good person, Henry. Even though you try to hide it. Thank you as well.”

Henry gagged and retreated back into the shadow.

“He likes to pretend that he doesn’t care about people,” Damien said.

“I know,” Quinlan said. They fell silent for a few moments. Then she cleared her throat. “I’ll keep training. There’s a lot I know I can improve on, and I think I’m going to need it to help fight off the Corruption. When things start to pick up, I’ll be there.”

“I’m counting on it,” Damien said. “When I go back to Blackmist, I was thinking about talking to Whisp about letting Xil into the school. Do you know what Alina wants to do?”

“She hates Mountain Hall, and I don’t blame her. I do too.” Quinlan bit her lower lip. “You said you could talk to Whisp about letting Alina in too, right? Do you think you could do a third person as well?”

“Who?” Damien asked.

“Me,” Quinlan replied. “As an assistant instructor or the like. I don’t have that much long left in school, after all. I’m a Year Four. I just don’t want to leave Alina so quickly. Is that weird of me?”

“I’m the wrong person to ask about that, but I don’t think so,” Damien said. “You’ve got a lot of time to catch up on. I’ll talk to Whisp, but I can’t promise anything. She’s kind of hard to predict.”

“That’s all I can ask.” The shower shut off and Quinlan glanced over her shoulder. “Ah, Alina is done.”

“I don’t want to interfere in your day, and we’ll meet again pretty soon,” Damien said, raising a hand in farewell. “I’ll go talk with Xil and Venus now. Have fun with Alina.”

“I will,” Quinlan replied. “Good luck at Kingsfront. Not that you’ll need it.”

Damien laughed and headed off, making for Venus’ room. He was already starting to feel antsy. He’d been at Mountain Hall for too long. He reached his destination a few minutes later and approached the door.

It swung open before he could even knock. Venus narrowed her eyes. “I thought I sensed you coming.”

“Since when could you do that?” Damien asked.

“I started learning after you showed up on that first day,” Venus replied. “It’s pretty difficult, but knowing when a strong opponent is approaching is a very valuable ability. Are you coming to check in on Xil?”

“Among other things,” Damien said. Venus stepped to the side and he entered the room. Xil was sitting in Venus’ bed, her nose buried in a book and her features creased in concentration.

Venus cleared her throat and Xil jerked her gaze up. Her eyes widened when she saw Damien and she set the book down. “I’m sorry! I didn’t realize someone was here. I was really caught up.”

“It’s fine.” Damien laughed. “I’ve done that a few times myself. I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to check on you earlier. How’s everything going after the Evolution?”

“Really well,” Xil replied, her eyes lighting up. “I’m so much stronger! Venus lent me her old books, and I’ve been going through them and practicing so many new spells. It’s incredible.”

Venus glanced away, her cheeks reddening. “I didn’t need them anymore. They were just being wasted.”

“The resources you gave me helped more than I can ever say,” Xil said. “Thank you so much – to both you and Venus. Attacking you was the best thing I ever did. Wait, that came out wrong.”

Damien burst into laughter. “I’m glad you see it that way. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be able to do much other than help Quinlan when I came to Mountain Hall, so I’m happy to know that I’ve had more of a positive impact than I expected to.”

“That sounds slightly melancholic,” Venus said. Her eyes narrowed. “You’re about to leave, aren’t you?”

“I am,” Damien admitted. “I’ve already talked with Kat. It’s about time I got moving again, since my original goals here have been accomplished.”

“I see,” Xil said, glancing down at the book in her hands.

“I think I can convince the dean of Blackmist to let you in, if you want,” Damien offered. “But I won’t force you.”

Xil glanced at Venus, who gave her a slight nod. Damien pretended that he didn’t notice it.

“It’s not like Mountain Hall?” Xil asked.

“Nothing like it,” Damien replied. “It’s far from perfect, but people are treated like humans. Most of the time.”

“Then I’ll be in your debt even further if you can,” Xil said. “I want to get stronger, and I’ll take any opportunity I can get.”

“Quinlan might be at Mountain Hall too,” Damien put in. “And Kat is probably going to take a trip there as well.”

“Seriously?” Venus asked. “Are you just bringing half of Mountain Hall back with you?”

“Well, I’m not going straight to Blackmist. I’ve got another stop on the way, and it might be a little while,” Damien said. “Venus, do you think Xil can stay with you until I get the okay from Whisp? I don’t want any repeat incidents.”

“Sure,” Venus said. “It’s nice to have a roommate, I guess. And don’t you worry about that – nobody would be stupid enough to try someone in the Advanced Class.”

Damien grinned. “Perfect. I’ll try not to be too long.”

“Just don’t attack me the next time you show up,” Venus muttered.

“No promises,” Damien said. “Take care, you two. I hope I’ll see you both at Blackmist at some time in the future.”

“Me?” Venus asked. “What would I do there? I’m about to graduate!”

“Quinlan is thinking about becoming a teaching assistant or something,” Damien replied. “I don’t know what your goals are. If you’re going to the frontlines, I think we’ll meet there too.”

Venus shuddered. “You’re saying that, no matter what I do, we’re still going to run into each other?”

Damien grinned. “See you soon. Take care of each other.”

“We w– wait, what?” Venus asked, choking on her saliva.

Xil laughed. “See you soon, Damien. Thank you again for everything.”

“You might not be thanking me when you get to Blackmist,” Damien replied, waving as he walked out of their room and headed down the mountain.

“Eugh,” Henry grumbled. “I’m going to need to find some goats when you visit them too, aren’t I?”

“At this rate, you’re going to need a lot of goats.”

“Say it like that and I’m going to want you to start spending more time around them or Sylph.”

They chuckled, and Damien picked up his pace. There was a portal he needed to get to, and he didn’t want to wait a second longer. It was time to visit Kingsfront.