Fragments of glass flew in all directions. However, regardless of the number of mirrors that Dallion would shatter, the platypus would restore them moments later. Neither line attacks, combat splitting, or even the spark were able to do anything about that. Even when Dallion managed through the combination of five skills to destroy half of the mirror maze, only one mirror failed to get repaired.

“Why aren’t you attacking?” Dallion asked as he sent a magic projection through a mirror once more.

Why should I attack? The guardian asked in turn. You’re the one who needs to continue forward. I just have to stop you.

That was one of the worst answers Dallion had heard, but at the same time he could understand the meaning behind it. The guardian wasn’t interested in fighting, so he did everything possible to avoid fighting. Normally, that would give Dallion the opportunity to hunt him down until cornered. Magic changed all that. Not only was the platypus untouchable and unreachable in the mirror maze, but he also used spells to repair any damage done to the realm. Even after fifteen minutes of intense fighting, one could barely tell that any fighting had taken place. In contrast, Dallion was on the brink of exhaustion.

I told you you were weak, the guardian said. Just go and come back in a few decades when you’re strong enough to handle the pressure.

Without warning, Dallion dashed further along the corridor. Reaching the vertical mirror blocking it off, he then turned around.

“Line attack,” he whispered as leapt towards the right wall.

His harpsisword split the air, but this was more than a slash attack. Dallion pushed himself off the wall to the ceiling, then the other wall, all the time maintaining the attack. Strictly speaking it remained a line, but as Dallion was caught back in school, the spiral could also be a line, just not a straight one.

Mirrors exploded almost in unison as the destruction went down the corridor. But that wasn’t all. The moment Dallion set foot on the ground, he took a step backwards until the back of his head touched the final mirror. The magic within him swelled, spreading through his head to create a projection.

REALM DAMAGED!

Overall completion 1%

“What about now?” His projection thrust forward.

A single platypus stood on the other side of the mirrored corridor—the only one remaining. All the rest had gone along with the branching corridors of the maze. Now that all but a mirror had been destroyed, there was no maze, and the guardian had no time to fix it.

Before even a targeting marker could appear, Dallion struck at the guardian’s head. The moment the hand of his project made contact… if popped out of existence.

What the heck?! Dallion turned around and looked into the mirror.

The platypus was still there, standing innocently on the far side of the corridor behind his reflection, as if nothing had happened. There was no trace of the magic projection Dallion had created. Something told him that if he were to make a second attempt, the outcome would be no different.

Nice try, the guardian said and slid the entire mirror forward, slamming Dallion in the face. When Dallion blinked next, he suddenly found himself back in class, holding the artifact.

“Is anything the matter, Dallion?” the fury instructor asked.

Dallion looked up. To some degree he could tell that he was back in the real world, but it all seemed somehow fake, as it was the final moment of a dream.

“You’re bleeding.”

Bleeding? Dallion wiped his nose with his left hand, then looked at it. There was a visible trail of blood on it. Moments later there was more, as droplets fell from his nostril into his palm.

“I’m bleeding,” Dallion agreed, then collapsed forward.

Everything went dark. In the last few moments Dallion heard a huge commotion fill the class. The fury must have loosened his silence grip, for children’s voices were everywhere. There was no way to tell what exactly they were talking about, but they were scared.

Talk about embarrassing, Dallion thought before completely passing out.

The next time Dallion opened his eyes, he was back in bed. At least it felt like his bed. Everything else in the room was completely different. Ten-foot windows covered all walls, flooding the room with sunlight. Dallion’s initial reaction was to shield his eyes, but after a few seconds, he found that he didn’t mind. The light was warm and soft, and for some reason, didn’t seem to bother his eyes in the least.

“You’re awake,” a stern voice said.

Dallion looked to the side. A mage in a simple white robe was standing just by the bed. Strange that Dallion hadn’t noticed him earlier.

“When they told me you’d come, I’d hoped it would take you a few weeks before you unleash your chaos.”

The man didn’t seem overly imposing, but his magic definitely was glowing to the point that it almost went beyond his body. Even so, Dallion was able to see the mage’s physical features, along with the faint shimmering covering them.

“You’re an otherworlder,” he whispered.

“Since you’re new, I’ll let that slide. My official title is Great Mage Enroy, which you’ll be using should we ever meet.”

Careful, dear boy, Nil said. That isn’t someone you want to see the bad side of.

Dallion didn’t need any reminding to know that. Rotten attitude aside, he already knew that there was only one fraction of otherworlder mages in the Academy. He had already faced three of them. This had to be another, and there was no way he’d be pleased with everything Dallion had done in the past.

“Why did you enter a magical artifact during class?” the mage asked.

“That was the task of the assignment.”

A flash of anger emanated from Enroy. Without explanation, he drew an intricate pattern in the air. The speed of his fingers was so great that Dallion couldn’t even follow the symbols he was drawing. All he knew was that there were over a hundred of them.

A ball of purple light appeared in the air, quickly falling to the ground. Moments after he did, the fury apprentice emerged a step away from him.

“Palag, what assignment did you give the novices?” The man crossed his arms.

“We’ve reached the consuming phase with his group, sir,” the fury replied in apologetic fashion. “I was of the opinion that some practical meddling would—”

“Magic consumption,” Enroy said loudly, turning back to Dallion. “Not entering artifacts.”

“I thought that was the way to do it, sir.”

The silence that followed felt like an arctic chill. Rendered incapable of speech, the white-robed mage glanced at the fury, then back at Dallion, then just left the room. Several seconds later, Palag used an air current to close the door.

“I’ll talk to admin to shuffle your classes a bit,” he said after a while.

“That bad?” Dallion closed his eyes.

“Yes, and no. You made a mistake so basic that there aren’t rules concerning it. No doubt that’ll change now. You don’t enter magical artifacts until you’re level twenty.”

“I passed that ages ago.” Dallion smirked.

“Not your awakening level. When someone says level here, it’s understood it’s magic level. To go for such an item at level two… You’re lucky to be alive.”

Dallion still had his hunter’s emblem on, but decided to remain quiet. For someone so high up in the hierarchy to come check on him, this had to have been a serious blunder. Either that, or they were wondering whether the aetherbird hadn’t given him some special abilities.

“My Moon vow forbids me from saying the solution to the task, but what you did’s definitely not it. Next time, try something simpler.”

“Yes, instructor Palag.” Dallion’s normal voice made the response earn him a chuckle. “Did the item survive?”

“It’s in your room, along with your other belongings. I’ll give you a new one in class tomorrow.”

“Why a new one?” Dallion opened his eyes.

“That’s not something I can say, but you better keep it close at hand. Consider it some friendly advice. Now, get some rest. I must head back to class.”

The door opened and closed again, leaving Dallion completely alone.

He was lying, you know, Nil said.

“The mage?”

The apprentice. The reason you get to keep the item is because of Academy rules. Of course, you need to be a mage, or at worst a high ranked apprentice, to know that, so it’s better just to keep you in the dark and not say anything.

“Is it some special honor thing?”

It’s definitely special. Aetherizers are magic keys that grant a mage access to magic domains. You don’t have anywhere the skill or even the imagination to know what that means, but since you managed to unlock a level, the key is considered yours.

The explanation was enough to make Dallion attempt to sit up. The pain and exhaustion resulting in that forced him back down in his bed. He was perfectly aware that he wasn’t even close on clearing the item, let alone use it, but the mere suggestion that he could enter magic domains filled him with enthusiasm, as if someone was urging him to go on this journey, consequences be damned.

“What’s beyond the lock?”

I think I’ve told you enough for now. Get some rest, get better, and never try what you did again. And no, none of your guardians will help you out on this. Feel free to ask if you think I’m lying.

“I trust you.” Dallion adjusted his head on the pillow. “So, back to class tomorrow?”

Back to class. And prepare to be ridiculed. While the way you fainted was impressive, it’s nowhere near as impressive as the taunts that it could generate.

Alas, Nil’s prediction turned out to be quite true. When Dallion returned to class the next day, he was instantly greeted by a combination of mockery and whispers. Phoil and his group were quick to make up for their humiliation at lunch by pouring insults as fast as possible before the instructor arrived. The rest of the students whispered amongst themselves, speculating on what could have caused him to bleed and faint in class. One interesting change was that the black-haired noble was no longer present. After a while, the reason for that became clear. Apparently, two of the children had managed to consume the magic of the artifact in Dallion’s absence, earning them a magic level, as well as the rest of the week off. Meanwhile, everyone else was back to doing the usual task.

As few artifacts were handed out, Dallion couldn’t help but feel a sense of anxiety. He knew that he was in the real world, but at the same time he also couldn’t forget the power of the guardians within. It took reciting the names of the Seven Moons for him to calm down enough to pick up the artifact. A few minutes later, the pondering began.

Going through everything he’d learned about magic, Dallion placed his hand son either side of the disk, then extended the magic from his hand to go inside. Unlike before, though, he was no longer using it as extensions of his fingers, but as a projection of his entire arm that grabbed hold of the magic thread and pulled it within him.

A deep purple glow surrounded him for a split second, along with a purple rectangle.

MAGIC ABSORBED

Your MAGIC trait is now 3

That was it? Dallion thought in disbelief, as the artifact in his hand lost its glow and started to slowly crumble to pieces like a dried up cookie.

I told you this was meant for ten-year-olds, Nil laughed. Think simple, at least until you become an apprentice. Then you’ll have more than enough challenges to keep you occupied.

“Well done, Dallion.” The fury went up to him with a nod. “Keep in mind what you’ve learned today. This is the immediate way to increase your magic. You’re free to have the rest of the day off. I suggest you spend it in the library reading everything you weren’t able to before.”