Nissa was already 16 and she became 2nd rank acolyte. Sometimes I helped her solve minor problems or answered questions, but in general I spent almost no time on her. In any case, she wasn't treated same as me and she couldn't leave the academy at will. And I wasn't going to carry her with me either. The promise to Earl Lawrence was more than fulfilled. Nissa herself will only be useful to me if I stay alive.

I sent a message to Nocturne as soon as I returned to the academy in the hope that I could meet him again. Unfortunately, he was busy with something and said that he would meet with me in two weeks. I had to give an answer to Harlow first, it would be unpleasant if he suspected something.

- Sir Harlow, I agree to participate in the expedition. Where exactly will the meeting take place and when?

I deliberately put the question in this way, hoping that this cretin will figure everything out for me himself as usual. As expected, he answered.

- In a month in Ferro's Hollow.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I sincerely thanked him and promised that I would be there no matter what it cost me.

Finally a few weeks later Nocturne and I met again. He gave me permission to speak.

- I'm thinking about taking part in Melrose's experiment.

- Your choice, what have I got to do with it? - Nocturne asked dispassionately.

- I need help. I'm afraid if I go there unaccompanied, then nothing good awaits me.

Nocturne shook his head.

- I fulfilled my promise to Kyle, and he has yet to repay his debt. Why would I get involved in this? Melrose is not weaker than me, I'm afraid you just have nothing to offer me for such a service.

- The essence of the issue is not in confrontation. Melrose makes more and more concessions, attracting new acolytes for experiments. The only question is to conclude a fair contract that would leave for me the possibility of survival in case of success. You don't even need to enter his tower. As soon as the contract is concluded, your part of the deal will be completed.

- Even if so. And how are you willing to pay for such a service? - asked Nocturne.

I started sorting stuff out. The Mystic Bark which is capable of completely limiting the penetration of mental energy. Crystals of fire and ice element. Ruby Essence, which had a durability higher than my dark iron, and could be processed at extremely high temperatures, used to create artifacts or for other purposes. An ancient parchment with partial records of an ancient potion. And other things that I found during my several trips to the anomalous zones, and also took away from other students.

I also added things that I found in Outland. In particular, a protective spell of the 1st rank of the metal element. Merik's notes on necromancy and related experiments. There were also spells of Merlin who died on the battlefield. Several other interesting materials found in the trash.

I knew the approximate value of almost all of these things and it was not small. It was about my life and I was ready to overpay for an acceptable result. Of course, for a True Magician, the value of most of them was hardly worth mentioning.

Nocturne inspected my modest belongings, casting aside those that did not attract his interest.

- How many students from my academy have you killed over the years? - Nocturne asked.

- A little sir. I preferred to "collaborate" with students from other organizations.

- Glad to hear that. None of them happen to be disciple of the True Magician? - he asked looking at the next records.

- I got very lucky sir and managed to find one. For example, the ancient parchment belonged to the student of the True Magician Stephanie from the Leicester family. - I replied.

Nocturne laughed.

- What's the point of worrying about Melrose then? You will still die shortly after you leave the academy.

- In that case you should have even more reasons to accept such a deal right? I'll be killed and you won't have to do anything at all. - I replied.

Nocturne's eyes flashed slightly with interest, after which he continued to inspect the gifts. Soon about half of what I posted was left in front of him. After a short pause, Nocturne spoke.

- All these materials certainly have a certain value. However there is nothing that is really important to me. If you can offer me something like that, I promise that Melrose will make a lucrative contract with you that will save you from unnecessary problems.

The essence of the work of this academy was the robbery of acolytes, and it was natural that the rector was the main robber. Nevertheless, I had no choice. If I die then my current knowledge and belongings will not help me in any way.

I asked permission to create a formation and Nocturne agreed, we went to his personal test site. There I began to create a runic scheme, the core of which was one of the ancient runes of Francis's book. This was one of the runes that I have not yet found any mention of.

The formation was about 5 meters in radius, and when I threw three fire elemental crystals inside, they themselves scattered into the three corners of the circular formation. Gradually it began to activate. The energy of the fire crystals powered the central rune and it flared up.

Nocturne was clearly interested, and when the formation activated, he went inside without fear. He began to create a fireball in his hand that distorted the air around him. After playing around for a bit, he called off the spell.

- Hmm good. About 10 percent gain. Your formation is more effective than the ones I know about. - He looked at me with a smile.

Nocturne's smile was a little sinister, and his eyes shone thoughtfully. Right now, he did not hide his energy, and I had to move away due to the overwhelming power of the fire element around. My mangled face beneath the mask filled with pain.

- I found such a formation in one of the anomalous zones. I'm pretty good at formations myself, maybe in the future I'll come up with something better. - I tried to justify myself.

Nocturne soon nodded and removed his aura.

- Okay, this formation is really useful for me. When are you going to report to Melrose?

- Three years later on the same day sir. To the north of his tower there is Mount Lamentation, I hope you can be there - I answered with a sigh of relief.

Nocturne agreed so the deal was settled.

Finally this issue was resolved. Now it was necessary to knock off the tail of the True Magician Stephanie from the Leicester family. I wasn't sure if I could do it, but the price of another True Mage's help was too much for me to bear. I could still justify one rune, but if I start scattering ancient runes like wheat I still won’t last long.

Returning to the room, I placed my modest belongings in a box and fastened it to my back along with the wings. In my hands, I held formation plates wrapped in black cloth. In this absurd way, I squeezed through the doors and went to the roof of the building, having previously obtained permission to do so.

There I pulled out one of the plates and placed it on the ground at a slight angle. Then I fixed the folded wings properly and finally activated the sonic blast formation.

Although it would be unpleasant if someone sees this, it would be even more unpleasant if I would be met with trouble immediately on the way out.

I did a good job of stabilizing and evenly distributing the force of the explosion, so that this time there were no crazy body turns in the air. I quickly gained altitude until finally the force of the explosion was exhausted. Spreading my wings, I began to plan flying away from the academy.

The force of the explosion was silent and directed, so that no one should have noticed my loss. I did not enter into contracts with the academy while remaining a guest student and could leave it whenever I wanted.

Of course, sooner or later information about my departure will be known. Hopefully I will be able to win enough time. My target was the territory of the High Woods, not too far from the Tarrister settlement. There I partially prepared my playground before arriving at the academy.

 

A month later, Harlow arrived at Ferro's Hollow with five other rank 3 acolytes. However, Sam Tarrister has not yet appeared. He had to stay in Ferro's Hollow for a day, but Tarrister did not appear the next day either. Label for communication was inactive.

Harlow's face darkened, did the acolyte dare to lie to him? He tried to calm down and decided to wait a couple more days. However, to no avail. True Magician had to wait for an acolyte. Moreover he never appeared.

Initially, he was sure that this old man was very interested in the opportunity presented to him and was sincerely grateful for it. Harlow decided to take a gentle approach as he saw no need for coercion. He even decided that Tarrister wanted to inspect the meeting place and the nearest anomalous zone in advance in order to prepare a few tricks for his own safety. But it could not have occurred to him that all this time he was simply led by the nose.

- Haha. Good. Very good. Little bastard, I'll remember that. - said Harlow angrily.

If this acolyte is still alive but did not appear, then Harlow will definitely correct this unfortunate misunderstanding and kill him personally. He could not even imagine that some acolyte would dare to deceive him in this way.

No one dares to insult the True Mage!

 

The Leicester family was a rather influential Mage family, and unlike most organizations that preferred places that were difficult for people to reach, they settled in the kingdom of Erinz.

Hundreds of years ago, it was the royal family of this kingdom that had the first True Mage. Although he failed to reach the second rank, he managed to lay the foundation and raise another True Magician named Creston.

There were only three True Mages in the family, one of which was Stephanie, but there were many acolytes of the 3rd rank. They were the main force in the nearby kingdoms of the soulless and found ways to turn gold and power over mortals into the resources they needed.

Stephanie was not yet 70 years old, so she looked quite young and attractive. Upon learning of the death of a promising grandson, Stephanie was going to punish the culprit or receive compensation commensurate with his value.

Each sufficiently talented pupil of the family became the bearer of the curse. Upon death, it struck the killer, leaving a mark on them that even among the True Magicians few could remove.

The killer turned out to be an elderly acolyte of the 3rd rank, who was also the father of the True Mage. Such a relationship could not scare Stephanie. Either she will kill that acolyte or she will capture him and demand a ransom from his son.

For the past few months Sam Tarrister has been in hiding at Garrow Academy, so Stephanie has quietly waited for him to leave the academy and mind her own business. There was no point in paying the greedy Nocturne to hand over this elderly acolyte. If he stays at the academy until his death, then so be it.

However, recently she felt that the mark began to move rapidly. She left observers outside the academy, but no one reported to her. Apparently he managed to leave the academy covertly.

After sending a message with the direction of the fugitive to her acolytes, she left the castle grounds. Outside, a beautiful white unicorn was waiting for her, which she saddled and set off in the direction of the fugitive acolyte following the curse.