Everyone saw Instructor Rufus’s shocked expression.
They looked in the same direction he was facing at and they were shocked too.
“I-isn’t that… Zachariel?” Luiz’s voice quavered.
Zachariel demonic appearance frightened them. Only his black and white hair and his red eyes could be seen.
The rest of his body was covered in dark mana essence, including his polearm. His body absorbed all the mana essences within the area.
Strong turbulent winds surrounded him, and he was emanating a huge pressure upon everyone inside the training area.
“This is… a monster!” Vargas could not believe what he was seeing in his eyes.
Everyone immediately backed away from him, to the point that some of them prepared to run off the moment Zachariel would move an inch of his body.
`He did that just by standing there and gathered dark mana essence?` Sabrina feared Zachariel’s prowess.
Again.
“Ahhh!! My mana essence is being absorbed!” One of the students cried out in horror.
The other students started panicking.
`Oh no, the situations getting worse!` Instructor Rufus realized.
His students were already holding each other’s hands, afraid that Zachariel might attack them.
`I need to stop him, now!`
“Za-Zachariel, can you disperse your dark mana essence for a moment?” Instructor Rufus’s voice also quavered.
He did not feel being confident facing this student of his at all.
`That mana amplitude! It’s something that peak-platinum or maybe even diamond-level fighters could only produce!`
He felt the pressure from Zachariel’s dark mana essence. If Zachariel started rampaging, even he might not survive.
Zachariel absorbed the dark mana essence that was floating outside his body.
The turbulent winds vanished and everything returned to normal.
Instructor Rufus sighed. The panic atmosphere from earlier slowly calmed down.
“I’m sorry, everyone.” Zachariel apologized.
The rest of the students sighed in relief after seeing Zachariel return to normal.
“Please be careful next time, Zachariel.” Instructor Rufus replied.
Zachariel nodded.
`My fault. I was too anxious about getting more mana essences that I cause such accident.` He blamed himself.
‘Bang!’
The door abruptly opened.
“What’s going on here?!”
Some Imperium guards rushed inside the training area. After seeing the peaceful scenario, they were all baffled.
“Sir Rufus, can you explain what happened here earlier?” The captain asked.
His helmet was way bigger and more intimidating than the rest of the guards, with a larger base and a pair of small white wings standing at the top.
A cape hung at the back of the captain guard, with golden outlines and the insignia of the Imperium at the center of it.
He equipped a big golden pauldron on his left, with three strips indicating his rank as a captain. His big sword hung on his back.
“Captain Nhink, my student accidentally gone overboard with his mana essence cultivation and almost compromised the magic crystals installed in this area. It’s my fault for not telling him to be careful when cultivating inside the training area. Pardon my negligence.” Instructor Rufus bowed and apologized.
“Is that so?” Captain Nhink surveyed the students.
`These are all first-year students. Is this Instructor lying to me? Moreover, it looks like they’re really scared. I don’t think an ordinary first-year student could’ve done this.` He observed a little bit more and found Zachariel.
`Oh, one of the Prospect candidates, huh? Well, they really are monsters when it comes to cultivation. I’ll let this pass for now.`
Captain Nhink recognized Zachariel and his identity. He guessed what might’ve happened earlier.
“Okay, just be careful next time, Instructor Rufus. We will go now.”
Seeing that everything had returned to normal, Captain Nhink wanted to leave the area.
`I’ll write a report on this accident later. Maybe His Imperial Majesty could take notice of it. I’ll exaggerate what happened here and hope to be promoted. Hehehe…`
He turned around and ordered the guards.
“Guards, move out!”
“Yes sir!”
All of the guards left.
Instructor Rufus was thankful that Captain Nhink did not pursue the matter.
“Sir Rufus, will we continue with the third round?” Iria asked.
They weren’t feeling well after what happened.
Instructor Rufus turned back to look at his students.
`They’re drained of mana essence, and some of them are even experiencing some symptoms of mana exhaustion.`
“No, we’ll proceed to the third round on our next meeting.” Instructor Rufus replied.
“All of you are drained and must be tired right now. We’ll dismiss for today.” He continued.
The students were grateful to him.
“Thank you, sir!” Iria bowed. The other students followed suit.
Luckily, Instructor Rufus was someone who empathized with them.
The class exited the training area.
…
Luiz and the others went over to Zachariel.
“Hey, Zachariel. What happened there?” Luiz asked.
“That…”, Zachariel shook his head before continuing, “I also don’t have an answer to that,” Zachariel replied.
“O-oh…” Luiz awkwardly laughed.
He thought he could get an answer from Zachariel.
“Anyway, let’s go back to the classroom,” Iria said.
“Zachariel! I’ve won my match! I’m going to proceed to the next round, hehe…” Lia excitedly approached him.
“Oh, well done.” Zachariel had nothing else to say.
Lia started discussing what happened in her match.
“Hey, do you think he’s listening to her?” Luiz whispered to Iria.
He noticed the indifferent look on Zachariel’s face.
“Luiz, don’t you think you’re forgetting something?” Iria asked.
“Forgot something? What-?!”
Iria suddenly punched Luiz in the stomach.
“Ook!”
Luiz was caught off guard and fell to the ground. He held his stomach due to pain.
“Iria, what’s-” Luiz was shocked. `Why did she do that?`
“Weren’t you a little overboard earlier, Luiz?” Iria coldly looked earlier. Kaela joined in.
`Oh-oh no! I forgot about that!` Luiz realized his mistake too late.
Iria and Kaela evilly smiled at him. They were going to take their time beating this little guy today.
“Luka, Teddy! Help me!” Luiz shouted for assistance.
“We’re sorry Luiz. We can’t help you today.” Luka replied with a depressed look on his face.
They then waved goodbye to him, as if they won’t be able to see Luiz for another day.
Luiz was dragged by the two girls on his legs.
“Nooo!!!”
…
The students returned to their classroom and waited for Instructor Rebecca to come into class.
She arrived after waiting for an hour.
“Isn’t she a bit too early today?” Luiz was confused.
“Idiot, we have to travel hundreds of kilometers before we could reach the Mage Guild. It’s a valid reason for her to be early today so that we could reach our destination earlier.” Luka explained.
“Oh, is that so?” Luiz scratched his head.
…
“Today, we’ll be going to the Mage Guild. Follow me and don’t stray away from the group.” She paused and looked at Zachariel who had a polearm beside him.
“You can carry your personal weapons along, but please don’t wave them around. Understood?” Instructor Rebecca said.
“Yes ma’am!” The students replied.
…
“I’m so excited! I could finally cultivate in those cultivation dimensions from the Mage Guild!” Luiz cried out in excitement.
The others nodded with approval.
They soon arrived outside and were greeted with 8 carriages and a wagon.
“Wow, so many carriages!” The students were awed by the generosity of the Great Schools.
“I wonder how much they spent to hire these carriage drivers for today!”
The students whispered with one another.
“Look at those horses! They’re so big and cool!”
“Those are groundbreaker horses, you know! They’re one of the fastest beasts for transportation! Rumors say that they could reach a speed of up to 175kp/h in a paved road!”
“Wow, so fast!”
…
A burly figure stood at the center of the entrance to the Great Weaponry School. He was wearing a coachman hat and a golden-colored coat.
“Good morning everyone! I’m Rodrigo Perez, the lead coachman for today!” Rodrigo announced.
“Hello, Sir Rodrigo! I’m Instructor Rebecca, the instructor for Class W1-A.” Instructor Rebecca approached him.
“Nice to meet you, Instructor Rebecca!”
They both shook hands with one another.
“Are the 8 carriages and wagon ready, sir?” Instructor Rebecca asked.
“Yes, all of them are. It can carry 4-6 passengers at once.” Rodrigo replied.
“Thank you very much!” Instructor Rebecca expressed her gratitude.
She then led the students to the carriages at the front.
“Group by 4 to 6 members each, then pick your own carriages. Do it fast and in order.” Instructor Rebecca ordered.
“For those who are carrying their personal weapons, you can put it in that wagon over there.” She pointed at the back, “Understood?”
“Yes ma’am!” The students acknowledged.
“Alright! Luka, Teddy, let’s follow Zachariel! Zachariel, where’d you-?!”
Luiz called out to him, only to find that Zachariel had already selected a carriage.
Zachariel and other students went over to the wagon.
A burly figure stood there.
“Depositing your weapon?” The burly man asked.
“Yes, sir,” Zachariel replied.
The burly man nodded and took the weapon.
“You can get it here later.” The burly man said in a gruff tone.
He was shocked by its weight.
`It’s heavy! What the hell?!`
He put it inside the wagon. The wagon trembled due to how heavy Zachariel’s polearm was.
`Damn, even a sack of rice isn’t that heavy!` The burly man complained.
Zachariel already returned to the carriage and entered it.
Diega surprised everyone.
“She’s not going with him?” Luiz pointed at the little girl.
“Maybe, but it’s for the better, I guess?” Luka shrugged.
Meanwhile, Diega was cursing everyone in her mind.
`Hmph, how annoying!`
She wanted to probe more information from Zachariel. Sadly, Lia and the others were there.
“Let’s go, Luiz,” Luka told the other three people.
“Remember the plan.”
Luiz, Teddy, and Lia nodded, then went after Zachariel.
Sabrina also went after them.
…
`This is a bit bigger than that carriage the other day around.` Zachariel thought.
A calming aura was emanating inside the carriage.
There were two seats with a dark-red colored foam. Each was 2 meters long.
The two seats were separated at about a meter. The walls were painted the same as the color of the foams.
…
Zachariel sat near the window.
The soft foam induced a relaxing feeling to Zachariel. He was tempted to sleep right now.
Luka and the rest followed right after.
“Oh, you guys are here.” Zachariel was surprised.
`Should I tell them about it?` He pondered if he should tell them about that qi essence cultivation manual.
He observed the inside of the carriage, the outside, and the expressions of his classmates.
Luka, Luiz, Teddy, and Lia were happily talking with one another.
`They’re discussing the matches earlier, huh?`
“Guys, did you know?…”
Lia talked about various random stuff.
`Same old.`
He finally turned his eyes over to Sabrina.
Sabrina had a worried look on her face. She seemed reluctant to say something.
`I wonder what happened to Sabrina.`
He closed his eyes and concluded.
`Everything looks normal, but still…`
He opened his eyes and saw Diega outside. She was looking at their carriage with an annoyed looked on her face.
He was wondering what the little trickster was thinking.
`Let’s reserve it for another day. I’m outside, and there might be a spy or a group of spies from the Emperor somewhere around.`
…
“Time to go!” Rodrigo shouted and whipped the horse.
The horse neighed and galloped towards the Mage Guild.
It was located at the southern part of the Imperium Capital City, near where the Wandering Inn was located.
On the way, the students saw the various places and sights within the Imperium Capital City.
“Oh, look! It’s the public training area. It’s so small from here!” Lia pointed to the left.
The others looked over too.
The hexagonal figure of the public training area from far away was a sight to see for the likes of them.
They then pointed out at the Imperium Palace on the other side.
“Its majestic sensation could be felt even from here! Damn, I feel like I want to join the Imperium Army right now and be put on guard inside that place!” Luiz said.
The others mocked him in their minds.
`An idiot like you wants to join the Imperium Army?! Dream on!`
Lia chatted again with the three boys. They would sometimes laugh, mock, or insult one another.
Zachariel listened in on their discussions from time to time. However, the indifferent look on his face remained.
He was able to learn the backgrounds of his classmates through their discussions.
`So Lia came from the Winter Mountain City, huh? A family of hunters, I see.`
It was the northernmost and farthest city, located northwest of Brion City, his hometown.
Luiz came from the Crossroad City, southwest of Brion City. It was an intersection of 5 cities from the north and west, and connected them to the Imperium Capital City.
Teddy and Luka were from the Direvalley City, south of Crossroad City. It was surrounded by three mountain ranges and was the primary connection for the southern cities of the Great Human Imperium.
`Damn, this guy is not affected by all of this?` Luka’s plan did not work.
Still, Lia and the rest continued with their chattering.
…
After traveling a few more kilometers, they arrived at the southern part of the Imperium Capital City.
The groundbreaker horses were so fast and strong that they traveled hundreds of kilometers in less than 30 minutes. The carriages were able to keep up with the speed due to the multiple enhancements from the magic array formations installed in them.
“Look! It’s the Mage Tower! What a tall building!” Lia was awed about the Magic Tower up close.
Far away, it looked like a stick that stood on the earth.
“It’s said that it houses some of the most expensive cultivation dimensions in the Imperium! That is also where the Mage Guild Leader, Elder Kent resides!” Lia described.
“Wow, Lia. You sure know a lot of things.” Luka complimented.
Lia giggled.
`Magic Tower, huh?` Zachariel looked at the tall tower from the window.
As they drew closer to the location of the Mage Guild, the long stick, which was the Magic Tower, became thicker and longer in their eyes.
They could see some sort of large cyan crystal rotating at the top of the Magic Tower. It had a pillar of light that passed through the sky. None of them knew what that crystal was doing, but the sight of it awed them.
Right below the tower was a 5-story building. It surrounded the Magic Tower which was at the center.
It spanned 50 meters on each side and was 15 meters wide.
A few large windows were placed on the walls, allowing people from the inside to see what was outside.
At the front center of it was a hand conjuring a red flame on top of it. There was a ball at the center of the flames.
It felt like a real mage conjuring a flame, not just a decoration put in front of the building.
In front of the building was a circular road. There was a fountain sprinkling water at the center of it.
Many carriages ran in and out of the area coupled with some Imperium guards that patrolled. They numbered in tens.
`There are also other students joining us today. I wonder which school did they come from.` Zachariel was surprised.
There were already a group of carriages unloading students in front.
He saw three familiar figures among them.
`Wait, isn’t that Amelia and the others?`
Zachariel remembered that Amelia enrolled in the Great Magic School.
`Why is her expression so cold?` Zachariel wondered.
`If Amelia is here, then Prince Kane should be here too. I hope she’s okay.` Zachariel also remembered that Prince Kane enrolled in the same school as Amelia.
He was worried because Prince Kane was the one who allegedly killed Hal. Being in the same class with the one who was suspected of murdering her brother must’ve been hard for Amelia.
`F*ck, I was so focused on Lia and my classmates that I forgot about her. I even made a promise to her and yet, here we are…` Zachariel clenched his fists in anger and regret.
He breathed deeply to calm himself down.
Sabrina also saw Amelia outside and was even more worried now.
`Oh no! I hope Amelia doesn’t start a commotion right here!`
Lia was with their carriage.
If Amelia saw her alongside Sabrina and Zachariel…
…
After a few minutes of waiting, the first group of carriages left the area, and it was Class W-1A’s turn.
“We’re here, students! Get off the carriages now.” The coachman knocked outside.
“Alright, let’s go!” Luiz could no longer contain his excitement and rushed out of the carriage.
The rest followed.
The students from the Great Magic School were surprised about their arrival as well. They surveyed the newcomers.
“Hey, do you know what school they come from?” A male student asked.
“Great Weaponry School.” Prince Kane arrived. His imposing aura suppressed most of them.
“My Prince…”
Most of them immediately bowed at him. The others did not give in, however.
Prince Kane narrowed his blue eyes as he spotted Zachariel within the group.
`Hmph, so this bastard’s also going here today. What kind of sh*tty luck is this?`
He didn’t like seeing Zachariel at all.
Worse, he even had to bear being in the same classroom as Amelia.
`I don’t know who helped me kill your brother Hal, but I’m extremely happy seeing that look on Amelia. Kek, what a bunch of lowlifes.`
He mocked the two Strom household members and proceeded to go inside. He didn’t care about this visit at all.
He just wanted to stroll around and make a mess, if given the chance. Some students followed right after him.
…
As Prince Kane and his group left the area, Amelia saw Zachariel and ran to him.
“Zachariel!”
