Hunger greeted Dallion when he returned to the real world. In Nerosal, or even in the wilderness, that wasn’t an issue, since he could always go find some food. Here, though, things were different. Academy rules forbade food to be kept in the personal rooms, and novices weren’t allowed to wander about the corridors during the night. After two months of hunger, though, Dallion decided to take a chance.

“Ruby,” Dallion said while drawing silence symbols on the soles of his shoes. “Want to go out a bit?”

The shardfly fluttered off the roof and onto his shoulder. After spending weeks in a closed room—even if it were artificially enlarged—he was eager to stretch his wings.

“No drawing in the corridors.” Dallion put on his shoes then jumped a few times on the floor. No sound came out. Pleased, Dallion stepped out of his room.

There was always the fear that the seal would somehow prevent him from proceeding. Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened. Dallion slowly closed the door, then rushed along the corridor towards the apprentice dining hall. From what he had heard, food was served there at all times, and no one bothered to keep an eye on who went in or out.

Even at this time, there were plenty of people in the street-like corridors. Apprentices knew no rest, pretty much like university students back on Earth. The difference was that none of the apprentices Dallion had seen looked like partiers.

Humming a tune to make himself inconspicuous, Dallion made his way to the nearest apprentice section of the building. The apprentices were already swamped with tasks, rushing to do the bidding of their mentors. A touch of distraction, thanks to Dallion’s music skills, made him virtually invisible.

At the second corridor, Dallion turned left, then after a few hundred feet left again. The smell of food coming from the dining room was more than enough to let him know exactly where the dining room was. His stomach groaned, rebelling against the hunger it had been subjected to.

Quickening his pace, Dallion rushed into the room. The place was large and practically deserted. A pair of apprentices rushed to grab some plates with food from one of the tables, then exited just as quickly as they’d come in. Unlike novices, apprentices were encouraged to take their food with them, to be able to work more.

Dallion piled the contents of one plate onto another, then—after shoving a sandwich in his mouth—took it and made his way out. So far, so good. All that was left now was to make it back to his room and—

“Hey, you!” a sharp female voice said behind Dallion. “Come here.”

Calmly, Dallion turned around. A mage in a blue robe was standing there. Based on the Academy hierarchy, she had to be a full Academy mage, which meant she could cause a lot of problems for him, should she decide.

“Yes, mage.” Dallion walked up to her. Her magic was so bright that it filled her body completely. Music wasn’t going to work on someone like her. The only chance Dallion had was to try and be convincing enough in his explanations.

“Do you know what time it is?” The woman looked down at him. Small wrinkles around her eyes and mouth made her look ancient from Dallion’s current perspective. The perfectly hazel hair and the lack of runes suggested that she had to be somewhere in her thirties.

“Yes, mage,” Dallion replied.

“Don’t be cheeky with me!” the woman snapped. “You’re not supposed to be in the corridors, let alone here. Don’t they feed you enough in class? Who’s your instructor? I’ll have a word with him regarding your future at the—”

“I sent him to get me some snacks,” a new voice said, one that instantly sent chills down Dallion’s spine. He knew that voice more than well. “Is that a problem?”

A new mage approached along the corridor. Judging by her outfit, she too was an Academy mage. It was not the robe that frightened Dallion, but the otherworldly shimmering that surrounded her.

“Katka,” the first mage said with pursed lips. Dallion could tell by the emanations coming from the two that there was no love lost between them. “Fallen so low that you’d have novices do your chores?”

“No, but I’d make an exception for a hunter.” Katka smiled. “And an old friend. We go way back, don’t we, Dal?”

The mage narrowed her eyes. “Otherworlders,” she said in disgust. “I won’t stay quiet about this.”

“When have you ever? If that’s all, I have some catching up to do.”

With an audible hiss, the woman turned around and continued along the corridor. Her footsteps were loud enough to suggest that she was deliberately stabbing the floor with her heels.

“Pissing her off is always fun,” Katka whispered, looking as the form of her colleague disappeared down the corridor. “Lucky that I showed up. She’s unmatched when it comes to raising a stink.”

“Thank you, mage.” Dallion felt like vomiting in his mouth upon saying that. She had tried to kill him several times, not to mention maroon him in a foreign world. As far as the Academy was concerned, though, she was a respected superior.

“No need for that. It’s just the two of us.” She looked at the plate of food. “Having a case of the munchies?”

“I did some training in my realm.” There was no point in lying. “And lost track of time.”

“Looks like you’ve spent over a week there.” The woman took a few steps forward until she was a foot from Dallion. “Level seventy-seven. And a full hunter? Impressive. You might even cause some damage in a fight. Tell me, were you the one who killed Gassil?”

Dallion felt a block of ice form in his stomach. He knew from the rogue mage’s memory that he’d been in the same faction as Katka. There was no indication that the two had been close, but he couldn’t be sure based on a brief snippet of the man’s life.

“No,” he replied, doing his best to maintain a façade of calm.

“No, you probably didn’t have the skills back then. He was a complete loser. I don’t know why the old hag liked him so much. He’d go on and on what a genius he was back on Earth, but always messed up when it came to doing stuff here. To think he’d form an alliance with the Star.” She scoffed. “And he even messed that up.”

Dallion remained quiet. All he wanted right now was the conversation to end as quickly as possible.

“So, what have you been up to? You look a bit younger since we last talked.”

“Learning symbols,” he mumbled.

“Going through that? Poor you. It drove me crazy back when I was a novice. I was almost thrown out of the Academy.”

The statement caused Dallion to arch both brows.

“Well, not quite. It felt like hell. Then, when I got to spellcasting, they said I was a prodigy. Fancy that?”

Dallion had serious doubts, but he couldn’t downplay her skills. By all accounts it was her self-confidence that had caused her to lose against him Ji and Eury. If she hadn’t toyed around, she’d have almost certainly won.

“What do you want, Katka?”

“Is that a way to treat your superior?” she smirked. “I just came to see you. The old man will be pissed. He was against any of us coming into contact with you, but where’s the fun in that? I must say you’ve ended up in quite the cohort of monsters. Several prodigies, several extremely well connected, and then there’s you—an official hunter and what was it?” She paused, pretending to search for the term. “The Hero of Nerosal.” Katka’s smile was so large that one might think she’d bite Dallion’s throat out. “A pity that she chased you out because of that thing with the phoenix. Although, there’s a good chance you’ll be vindicated.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wetie province has entered open civil war. Both the Archduke and Countess Priscord have assembled their allies and have gone against each other. Since neither side is willing to hold the traditional one-on-one fight, it’ll be another bloody and prolonged war during which both capitals will suffer.”

No! Dallion thought. He’d heard rumors that things weren’t going well on the outside, though nothing of such magnitude. The Academy had managed to block any news coming from the outside, which was quite impressive considering the amount of mages flying about in search of vortexes. Most probably, they felt safe enough not to care.

If the rivalry in the Wetie province had turned bloody, there was no telling how many people would die. Dherma and Dallion’s family were safe all the way south. However, his friends weren’t As fate would have it, most of them were in one of the two capitals, suggesting that they might face one another in battle.

Nil, Dallion hissed. Why didn’t you tell me?

What would that accomplish exactly? The echo asked unapologetically. You’d rush out of here and stop the war singlehandedly? Or maybe you’ll pick a side? Tell me, who are you going to go with: your childhood sweetheart, or her great aunt?

If Katka weren’t here, Dallion would have clenched his fists. The sudden news had made him feel so helpless. Worst of all, Nil was completely right. Despite his current level, he was too weak to change the outcome of the war. At most, he’d be a valuable pawn to one side, yet there was no obvious side to choose. Both nobles hated him, and at the same time, he had friends associated with either.

“Why doesn’t the emperor do anything about it?” he asked.

“The emperor has his own problems. He’s already lost half a province. Archduke Dreud has joined the fighting himself, along with a few other notable nobles. If the province falls, the imperial capital will be exposed. Compared to that, a few squabbles are nothing.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Why not? We’re both from Earth.” She took a sandwich from Dallion’s plate. “Better get back to your room, novice. You’re not allowed out so late.”

With a chuckle, Katka walked off. After a few moments, so did Dallion. This was a meeting he was hoping to avoid.

She wasn’t here by accident, Nil said. High-level mages avoid the Learning Hall if they could get away with it.

“She came to give me a warning,” Dallion whispered. The timing was too perfect. Until now, Dallion had hoped that the White Eye were the only faction keeping tabs on him. That was naïve. Given his special circumstances, others had to be doing so as well. “And to mess with my head.”

Good thing there’s no chance of that happening, eh?

“One thing’s curious, though. She didn’t say anything about Eury.” Dallion turned the corner. “And neither did you. What are you hiding?”

No, I’m not getting into that. The gorgon seems to be fine and well, and not associated with either side. That should be enough for you.

“Nil…”

The information won’t help you either way. And if you think not knowing affects your performance, trust me that telling you will make things worse.

“Good thing you’re not the chatty type.”

Focus on your current problems. You’ve still to learn several dozen more symbols, not to mention raise your magic by a few levels. I know you still feel you need to be involved with everything going on, but that’s part of another life. As you are now, you’re not strong enough to let both lives merge.

Damn it! Dallion thought. If only he had passed those three awakening trials earlier, things would be different. The Academy had the power to protect him from the outside world, but in doing so, it was also keeping the outside world from him.

“Ignorance is bliss, is that it?” Dallion asked.

Knowledge is like prophetic powers: you only want to have it if you can affect change. Without that, it’s pure torture.