Ch3:(Aftermath akin to Spilled Milk)  

=====

“You! What the hell do you think you were doing?!” Emmett smouldered with anger. “Wait until my Aunt hears about this!”

The brooch pendant that was tied around his neck stopped glowing. Despite that there was still the distinct smell of gunpowder that lingered in the air. 

“Are you talking to me?” Luke looked around in confusion until his eyes settled on the angry teen.

“Give the newbie a break, it looks like he was just trying to help, but unfortunately his methods were quite destructive.” Diona commented. 

Since the stressful situation was over she was finally able to find composure. Still her voice was somewhat shaken from the whole ordeal.

Patches of the school grounds were torn up, chunks of earth had been leveled while other areas flooded with water. Luke’s elemental ability affected the entire nine yards. 

Then again Emmett had also managed to leave bullet holes in the landscape without accidentally harming any of his fellow classmates.

Maybe what was most impressive of all is that amid the warm September day was the sudden change in weather. A light snowfall had started to descend from the sky. 

Truly the gap in power between a teacher or fully certified magic user and a mere student was immense. The scene of the dragon weighed down by chains was forever ingrained within Diona’s mind.  

One of the unwritten rules about Clocktower is survival of the fittest. Sometimes an unknown with no connections whatsoever manages to topple the social order.

Nonetheless usually the rich end up on top over those who are self made. Yet beyond the facade of chivalry no matter the origin only those with powerful magic matter. 

Thus disagreements between students stay in the quiet thresholds of hallways. Only when disasters threaten the security of the school do professors bother to get involved.            

“It's… strange though I don’t recognize him, so he can’t be in our grade.” Emmett’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.   

“Plus you're an A-Tier Wizard. So only a few of the best upperclassmen are able to keep up with you but they're all currently abroad to help deal with the sudden influx of new Dungeons.” Diona added. 

“Relax everything's fine.” Instructor Epsilyn interrupted. “The kid’s name is Luke Vanitas and he's just got a late acceptance, undeniably he’s a new student.”

Emmett grumbled. “I guess that makes sense…”      

“You three first years don’t look like you need any medical attention so please return to the dorms. Until further classes are probably going to be cancelled for two days.” She remarked.  

=====

Once again the wards protecting the school were back up. Time was no longer at a halt and instead the ticking of a clock chimed on.

The leftover adrenaline from battle was the only drug that Renee ever truly lived for. Although due to the use of her ability the consequence was the sudden blurriness of vision. 

One day she might forever go blind but then she’d simply rely on Aura sensing to get around. Then again her health would start to simply deteriorate in other ways.    

Such is the price of a mere human using magic they were never meant to wield. Anyway Renee couldn’t help but make an evaluation on stand outs of the next generation.

She didn’t have that much of an opinion on her nephew. Emmett’s skill set was where it should be for a prodigy.    

As for the Kysinde girl there was the backing of a powerful family but Diona had a weak constitution. Therefore best marked as room for improvement. 

Forty years ago is when the last Sorcerer walked the Earth until a next appeared to carry on the mantle. Similar to the whole chosen one trope, they either brought destruction or prosperity.   

Meanwhile Luke was a complicated case. Aside from having the rarest magic class but no Tier, the Vanitas family used to represent the constellation Virgo within the Magic Association. 

However, they were ousted and branded as traitors for siding with the Arcane Alliance. Regardless, due to the nobility surrounding the Sacred Twelve Families, the magic of House Vanitas was sealed. 

Enough years passed for the restrictions to erode and give way to their first magic user in decades. Thus Luke was the result of a century’s buried mess that finally came to fruition.

Everything up until now had to be a test of sorts for the students. Only staff were made aware of the fact that the Headmaster of Clocktower had the ability to raise and lower the protective barrier.

In spite of the information Renee managed to gather she felt like a butterfly trapped in a web of mysteries that continued to grow. Within the threads of chaos was also Elias.  

Renee couldn’t fathom what kind of magic class and tier he fell under. For sure Elias happened to have Alchemic knowledge but that was a skill any person could learn. 

Yet, to go beyond the basics is nearly impossible. If Elias was truly a fully fledged Alchemist the implications were terrifying. 

Although just as the students vied for top ranking the professors and faculty were at odds with each other. Lords presided over the teachers but sometimes professors were also Lords.

Meanwhile behind the scenes three factions made up the political authority of Clocktower, Aristocrats, Insurgents, and Neutralists. The only thing each had in common was submission to the Headmaster.    

Still, unless the magic user was famous, lower Tiers had a tendency to keep their powers a secret in fear of potentially exposing weakness to rivals.

Perhaps Renee at the end of the day was a Neutralist. Despite that her true allegiance always gravitated towards the Magic Association.  

If only she could figure out where Elias stood. He had the appearance of an Aristocrat but a low social presence like the Insurgents. 

A true wildcard indeed. Therefore Renee decided to keep her attention on him, and it wasn’t because she had a thing for fluffy tails or ears.

Begrudgingly she could at least admit to being a person who preferred cats over dogs. 

=====

For all I know death is a natural occurrence. However, what isn’t normal is how easily in the world of the novel it's brushed off.

Regardless I had a notice to submit. While I made my way from the courtyard to the medical wing I nearly winced at all the nameless students that had been pulverized by the dragon. 

Soon the healers or rather vultures would appear, their job is to tend to the wounded. As for the deceased it depends on what their financial situation was in life. 

Usually after a magical mishap occurred the more economically advantaged had their bodies returned to the family. 

Then there were also the financially less fortunate, who’s organs would be sold on the international market. Tuition that failed to be paid back had to be reimbursed back to the school somehow.       

Obviously I hadn’t fully become familiar or climatized to the culture of Magic users yet. Even though Clocktower was seen as on the safer side, dubious ethics were still involved. 

Maybe I should have asked Renee to make the report instead. Although to get something done its best for a person to just do it themselves so there I was.   

The medical ward had a bunch of snakes in jars and stuff. Very macabre, but it blended in well with the modern equipment.

Unfortunately Clocktower didn’t have just any regular doctor but a person who doubled as an undertaker. 

“Professor Paleard, to what do I owe the visit?” Clovis Galegn said but his words were muffled by a plague doctor's mask. 

Other than the concealed face his attire consisted of a top hat and victorian suit. Yet in ordinary clothes nobody would ever guess that he was a Necromancer.  

“Business as usual, just making a report.” I sighed. “One of your side projects got loose.”

"Everything went according to what was planned. The three factions unanimously agreed it was a good idea to test the new first years."      

After all the gratuitous nonsense I was even more in need of a long nap. So off I went back to my room.    

There were various tools like an hourglass, and chalk for drawing circles or required ingredients for the Alchemic sciences that sat on shelves.    

Just as I was about to nod off there was a knock at the door. Renee stood at the entrance but her eyebrows were knitted with worry. “Hey sorry to wake you.”

“What is it..?”

She started talking. “The teacher assigned to class 1-C suddenly resigned. Instead of teaching an elective one of the factions has nominated you to take on a full time role. Don't worry I'll be there to help as an assistant.”

To my dismay that only meant more work was going to be thrown my way. “I guess it can’t be that bad. Thanks for the heads up but now I’m going back to sleep.”