Chapter 70 - 070: First Steps

Chapter 70: Chapter 070: First Steps

"This person is almost at the Duke’s level!" Mikael muttered. He slowly changed his stance.

"Nice reaction, boy. Are you of the Grandmaster Rank, perhaps? Come, entertain me more!"

And with that, he charged at Mikael. By now, a light glow had enveloped his hands as he threw the second punch.

But now Mikael was ready and prepared to absorb the impact, but he miscalculated. Greatly.

He was sent flying through the wall. When the dust cleared, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his hand felt surprisingly limp.

The luxury to further examine his strength and injuries was cut very short as his attacker attacked with yet another punch. This time, Mikael slowly redirected the force of the punch and delivered a swift uppercut, followed by a roundhouse kick.

"You truly are one of a kind, boy! Which family do you come from? Don’t tell me it’s the Imperial Family. I’ve been meaning to beat them."

"You talk too much. I’m starting to lose my respect for you."

"Huh?" The... laugh ceased, replaced by a frown.

But just as they were about to engage, the sound of boots and chain armor stopped them.

"In the name of the Emperor, I order you all to stop this very instant!" A voice called out.

"It’s the Knight Order!"

"Those show-offs, interrupting a good fight."

In the meantime, slowly, Mikael slipped into the shadows, not really wanting unnecessary attention.

Hours later, Mikael sat atop the roof of the clock tower, and as the moon rose, he pondered one thing without end.

The kind of mana his opponent from earlier used was structurally similar to the energy of his scythe. Greatly watered-down version, yes. But it had temporarily disrupted the flow of whatever celestial energy he had left, which had led to his hand going temporarily limp and the bleeding.

And so begged the question. Since he had the original version of what his opponent had, and since the opponent was apparently able to grow stronger despite not using normal mana, couldn’t he completely cut himself off from celestial energy entirely? And attach himself to a new source?

Effectively cutting himself off from the view of the Heavens, once and for all!

But there came the risk, and a very huge one at that.

By now, the town was slowly going to sleep, and the moon cast a faint light on the world.

Mikael, right down to the very essence of his being, was pure celestial energy. And so the risk was that permanently cutting off what made him be would mean that he could cease to exist, unless he found another source on which he could anchor his being.

"Like another Cosmic Gate," Mikael yawned. "I still have this mortal frame," he grumbled, before giving in to the temptation to slumber atop the tower.

_ _ _ _

"As you may have been taught, while all awakened mages feel, sense, and can use mana, how you actually use spells, as well as what kind of spells you can use, depends largely on your affinity."

"So far, these are the affinities that have been discovered. We have Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, Light, Darkness, Ice, Lightning, and the rarest of them all, Time-Space affinity. For the Beastmen races, it’s common to see Wood affinity. The same is applicable to the elves, while the Blood affinity is only seen in the Vampires. And—"

The chiming of a bell cut the Professor off.

The man sighed. "All rise."

The students rose to their feet.

"Bow."

They bowed.

"That will be all. Be sure to research basic spells of your affinity. It’ll serve as the topic for our next class."

"Yes, Professor Dune."

And with that, the Professor left the class.

It was time for recess, and so the class was a bit noisy, as the students now discussed, with some deciding to leave the class to roam around the school grounds.

"Hey, Miriselle, Alexis," first-year Isabelle called out to her classmates, who were already approaching her desk.

"Isabelle! How was Professor Dune’s introduction to magic class?"

She thought for a while. "Well, it is exactly what our tutors back at our manor have been drilling into us, so... it’s been easy so far. I even feel like I’d ace the exam no matter how... it may come."

Alexis clicked her tongue and frowned at the duo.

"Showoffs."

Miriselle chuckled. "That’s simply because you are not inclined to study."

The two laughed.

"But still, it’s a drain. To be here," Alexis opined.

"And now at Grandmaster Ranks at that!" Miriselle added, taking a look at her uniform.

A masterpiece of white and gold. A pristine white coat which extended past the waist and draped behind, almost like capes, with the edges adorned with ornate golden patterns. Beneath the coat, fitted dress shirts gave the uniform a noble appearance. Tailored white skirts or trousers for the boys completed the look, and the ensemble was complemented by polished white footwear, decorated with subtle golden accents at the soles.

Such was the uniform of the Great Silver Arcane Academy!

They had resumed a few weeks ago, having passed the test of ascending to the Grandmaster Rank—the first class to ever be required to do so before being accepted!

It was a thing of joy to be schooled in the best academy in all of the empire, and possibly the entire Human Realm!

Getting used to the academy was easy for the nobles. They followed almost the same schedule as most Families did. This left mostly commoners as the struggling group.

The rising bell tolled at six in the morning, and for the next hour, you had to get freshened up. At 7:00, the morning prayers held, just for thirty minutes. Afterwards came breakfast.

By half past eight, lectures commenced.

Some of the courses the Year Ones were taught included Magic Theory, Mathematical Principles, Imperial Law, English, amongst others. They had even heard the courses got harder by the fourth year, where courses like True Magic and Domain Theory basically decided your graduation!

Recess came at half past twelve, while classes ended by two in the afternoon, and lunch followed soon after. Combat training, club activities, practical exercises, and supervised duels followed. Evenings were reserved for self-study, though the first years had observed that the older students mostly used that time to socialize or explore the rather vast academy grounds. It was a massive school, after all.

"Miriselle." A light tap brought her out of her thoughts.

"It is time for spell casting. Head over to your seat. The Professor’s already in class!"

"Goodness me! Thank you."