Silver and the headmaster were lost in thought for a long time. The headmaster was thinking of what to do with the information he had just gotten, he now knew Elsa Decorus was most likely weakened. Attacking her instead of the Decorus school now became an option.
Silver was also thinking of all the implications. She rethought the reasoning behind the merging of Decorus and Mafoli. She also thought of the actions The Academy might take. She knew very well that they were in a bad position currently. Over the last year, they had lost most of their fights, they had clearly be dethroned as the number one school and the fighting didn’t show any sign of stopping.
When they finally thought through the urgent matters, they once more looked at the glass ball. It seemed that the Kitsune’s fear was coming to an end. She was being operated into Villin, showing the source of the second consciousness and she had accepted it, knowing that she would be free to remain within the mind in this new body.
When the headmaster once more probed the glass ball, intending to see what was going on with Villin, he noted that he had already left the curtain of fear. Still, knowing where the second consciousness came from, he didn’t think the chances of Villin being a traitor were high. Even though there was still some mystery behind him, there was nothing he really cared about. Every talented youth had their own mysterious tale. He had it, as did all the geniuses he had seen in the past.
Strength in this world was formed by experiences. There were very few true experiences that were simple in nature.
With the new information he had gotten, The Headmaster was no longer in a playful mood, he spoke some words to Silver before quickly parting ways. Silver also knew she shouldn’t push anything noticing the pressure that the headmaster was once more emitting, and she quickly walked through the small door that had appeared.
Villin paused when he came through the curtain of fear, he looked at the wall with intrigue, but still felt something was missing. A few minutes later, that which was missing returned, as Ashera had returned to his mind. Villin continued to inspect the ‘curtain’ without touching it. He couldn’t feel any magic radiating from it, something that felt odd to him.
“Villin! Come here!”
When Villin heard these words he turned around, Silver was on the other side of the large room.
He quickly approached her but didn’t say a word. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt lighter, a lot lighter. It was like a big weight was taken off of him and he felt more capable of being himself.
Silver looked at him in hesitation before saying what the headmaster had told her to say.
“Villin, since you created Athena’s Forge and your knowledge is at the peak level of the third grade, you have been allowed to enroll in the fourth grade immediately. This way you can continue to keep close contact with the upper echelon of the organization you created. Just like what happened on the cannibal island so long ago, you will once more receive a high percentage of the items gained on the raid of the Decorus research facility.
“The headmaster appreciates your loyalty, and you have most certainly deserved a large number of contribution points as well. You will find the use and number of the contribution points you gained once school starts, tomorrow.”
Silver said all of this with a neutral face as she didn’t want Villin to see her own emotions on the matter. When he nodded, it was time for them to say goodbye.
A new door had once more appeared and Silver knew that this one led to the fourth grade. She also knew how much more dangerous it was compared to the second grade. The fourth grade was no place for games. Once you reached there you would truly become a part of The Academy’s forces. They would protect and guide you more properly compared to previously, but you would also be in a lot more danger since you would begin accepting proper missions.
You would no longer be locked up within the grade. You would be able to go outside, to other places within the magi world, and help various groups and individuals with their problems.
Still, she didn’t say any of this as she said her goodbyes. She simply smiled and wished Villin good luck, before watching the boy enter the door that would bring him to his destination.
Saying goodbye to Silver, Villin hadn’t been sure how to act. She had helped him out greatly but he didn’t see how he could repay that favor. He decided to see what he could do after the year’s end. Slowly but surely he was becoming a powerful magus. His mental attacks were already extremely powerful, and he would only become stronger. His skill in transfiguration was extremely high for someone who only began using it recently and he had multiple types of magic that he had never heard of before. This included runic puppets and spying using transfiguration.
And so, Villin walked through the door, and he was once more teleported to a distant location. When Villin arrived in what would be his new grade, he immediately felt stunned.
He felt grass beneath his feet and there were trees all around him.
With a frown, Villin began moving, he hadn’t gone into the wrong teleportation array, right?
When he looked up, he was sure he hadn’t though. Even though he saw a blue sky with clouds above him, he could see through the illusion with some effort, he was most certainly underground.
Curious about the current situation, Villin began moving.
He easily moved through the forest, he jumped over roots and bushes, and sometimes vines would pop out of the ground, helping him jump farther.
One of his strongest spells was used to help him move about instead of tying down and choking enemies. It was a very unique way to use the spell.
This was what Villin was most skilled in when it came to spells, derivatory versions. The vines that popped out of the ground were too small and weak to properly take down a magus but they were perfect for a situation like this, when he quickly wanted to cast the spell without wasting much magic power.
Transfiguration was also regularly thrown in as he moved about but he used it sparsely as he didn’t want to make a clear path within the forest.
It was only after moving for a full ten minutes, that Villin actually got some proof that he was at The Academy.
The forest promptly ended as a large stone building was revealed. The building was about five meters high and the forest around it was somewhat cleared out. Villin saw a couple of windows, a voice came from one of them.
“Halt! What business do you have here?”
A voice sounded from one of the windows on the ground floor. Villin was surprised since he couldn’t see anyone when looking at the space but still promptly replied.
“Villin Grey, student of The Academy. I believe I may be lost.”
For a few seconds no sound was heard, until finally, the voice came again.
“Alright, enter. Don’t try anything or I’ll knock you out.”
After these words were said, one of the walls began opening, creating an entrance. Villin’s eyebrows raised as he looked at the effect surprisedly.
He knew that transfiguration was taught in the fourth grade of The Academy but he also knew it was rarely chosen since it was mostly associated with Decorus.
When Villin further approached, he made sure to make himself seem harmless. The inside of the building seemed well-furnished, there were a bunch of closets, wardrobes, and workstations. When he completely entered, the person living here was also revealed.
At this point, the students mostly consisted of adults. The person here was no longer a kid but an actual man. He held a wand in his hand and vigilantly looked as Villin entered the building.
“My god, what happened to your face?”
Villin frowned in a confusion for a moment before realizing he forgot to recast the small illusion spell that would hide his scar.
He offhandedly pointed towards his face and the scar disappeared once more.
As soon as he had done this, Villin realized it hadn’t been the smartest move showing this stranger he could do wandless magic, and he was capable of changing how his face looked, at least somewhat.
Before the man could make a comment, Villin spoke his part, “Please, I only just joined the fourth grade and don’t really realize what’s going on. If I could get a map showing me to the main section of The Academy, I’ll be satisfied.”
Hearing his words, the man frowned again, he wasn’t sure what to think of this stranger. He seemed too young to be a student from The Academy and seemed capable of wandless magic.
After thinking for a moment, he decided that helping him out would do no real harm.
He lowered his wand slightly while still remaining on full alert.
“New students are supposed to arrive at the mission board, then again, you did seem to have come a day early. This is the headquarters of ‘The Dwarf’s Fortress’ we are in F7 currently. I can spare a map for a hundred crystals.”
Villin nodded when he received the information. He had heard of ‘The Dwarf’s Fortress’, it was a guild that focused on transfiguration. Dwarves were long since extinct but it was rumored that the guild leader holds a dwarven bloodline.
Villin was about to nod and pay when he realized he didn’t have any magic crystals on him. Hell, he didn’t have anything on him other than his clothes.
After some hesitation he spoke again “Ehh, can I put it on the tab of ‘Athena’s Forge’? I don’t have my crystal holder on me.”
Hearing the unexpected answer the brown-haired boy lowered his wand further, “You’re a part of Athena’s Forge?” he asked, with a complicated expression.
When Villin nodded, he quickly continued, “In that case, please feel free to take a map, I’ll give you a set of iron armor as well to help you remain safe!”
Villin felt shocked when the boy completely lowered and sheathed his wand again. Why did he react that way when he heard of his guild and why did he not question his identity? Just what kind of reputation did Athena’s Forge have?”
