29 News from the other side

Leilade reluctantly let the arrogant boy go and a loud sound could be heard in the empty room when his body hit the ground. Matching her expectation, the previous smug behavior was completely erased and the kid became more terrified than a lamb in front of a wolf. The moment she looked at him, he immediately lowered his eyes, not daring to gaze into her clear blue eyes. Turning toward Alexander, she tried her best to have a kind smile on her face. A smile that gave shivers to the veteran magus.

"He tried to hit me and harass a poor and frail girl. I retaliated but to my surprise he was weak. There's no need to punish him, it was just a friendly interaction."

The cold voice narrated her side of the story and Alexander would have maybe believed it if he wasn't ears dropping. However, he clearly heard that while the comportment of the boy was inadmissible, there was no evidence of him doing something physical. When they first met, he had already labeled him as a dog that only barks and never bites.

Feeling a headache incoming, Alexander decided that it was not really his job to deal with that and since it was clear that Leilade was a capable kid, he will let her do as she liked. Remembering her past, it was logical that she reacted excessively against any opponents, but to be sure, he still grabbed her and led her further away. Creating a bubble soundproof, he warned the small girl.

"Don't kill anyone, no, no, I rephrase. Don't maim anyone. No serious injuries, nothing permanent. And no death also. That's the rule, no one should lose a limb because they offended you. I shouldn't tell you this, but it is the first year that most of the petty acts occurred. Bullying someone with talent and status is extremely harsh that year and in some cases, few commoners couldn't deal with it and resigned. In your case, I know you won't be swayed by such a ridicule reason. But don't kill, don't destroy their bodies. Anything else is fine."

He looked earnestly at Leilade, hoping that she will accept those new conditions. If it wasn't for those dark times, she shouldn't have to suffer such a fate, but Alexander was really worried about the entire Academy. With two jewels in the same year, the other nations would have been restless. The only problem with his reasoning was his incomplete information about the very girl in front of him. When he said, nothing could happen to their bodies, it opened a door that he wasn't aware.

"Ok. Only some small bruises and wounds."

"Yes, exactly. Great, now, you will wait here just for a few minutes. I will get a 2nd Circle mage to accompany you while you wait. You arrived really too early and not everything is ready."

He destroyed his soundproof bubble and began to sermon Leilade.

"It is inadmissible that a commoner dares to raise her a hand on a noble. If it was anywhere else, you would be in deep problems but you are lucky to have barely the talent to enter this Academy. I let you off this time, but you will face many problems if you do not respect those with better talents. Just a future 2nd Circle wouldn't even be able to become a servant of a 4th Circle magician. Now get out of my sight."

Anger could clearly be seen on his face and in the end, the magus even snickered while Leilade lowered her head under the hard words. That appeased a bit the boy, but when he dared to look up once more, he met the frosty eyes of the girl. All his courage instantly disappeared and he swore to himself to become a better student. He didn't listen to the pieces of advice of his parents but he regretted to have already an enemy on the first day.

Barely a minute after Alexander left, a young man barely 20 years old entered while yawing. Two black zones were visible under his eyes and he had trouble staying awake. As for explaining anything, he didn't even bother to speak to the two kids. He just found a bench and slept on it. Since he became useless to think about the newcomer, Leilade looked around for the first time.

The hall they currently stayed in was capable of containing more than 100 people without any problems. Numerous chairs and benches were put near the walls and the center was completely cleared of anything. Near one of the wall, a small platform with just two chairs was constructed. Unlike the rest of the furniture that was made of wood, that part of the room was entirely in stone, the two chairs included.Since she had nothing to do, she approached the stage made of stone.

On it, as she expected, some magical reinforcements were inscribed on. No matter how she looked, she still wasn't able to understand their effect without entering in contact. And she wasn't foolish enough to do that when a magus was personally stalking her. That crude ear dropping spell was easily seen by her. Without using magic, she was sensible to the variation of mana surrounding her, the only problem was the fact that she couldn't use it properly.

(Do you think you can steal the mana inside those inscriptions without being noticed? They are maybe primitive but they look disciplined and rigorous.)

The Viscount asked the same question she was pondering about. She was still too low on mana and if she couldn't absorb something entirely, stealing a bit of the power inside a magical enchantment was a possibility. The only thing to think about was whether or not she would be caught. Checking the two beings present in the room beside her, she was confident that she wouldn't be noticed. One was really sleeping well and the other too terrified to even looked at her.

Still not knowing exactly what were the functions of those foreign enchants, she took no risk. Putting her hand a millimeter above the stone, a small batch of darkness touched the cold platform and fused with it for a short moment. After that, the same batch of shadows returned inside the hand of Leilade, carrying a very small amount of mana. Even if doing this a thousand times wouldn't amount to a single human, it was still her only option.

She kept doing that for a minute, before returning to her original seat. Not because what she stole was too big to even be noticed, at most the magicians will just remark the slightly reduced effect of the enchants. But because it would be weird for her to stay in an immobile state like that for such a long time. She knew her arrival was far too early, so she roamed all around the room, examining the walls.

In truth, it was very bland. Just some wooden walls. Nothing on it. Not even a painting. When she passed in front of the boy, he turned into a statue. But she didn't make any additional move, provoking a huge sigh of relief behind her. Finally, she returned in front of the stone platform. This time, she stayed for five minutes and her mana reserve was a little bit more than previously. If it was for some trash spells like [Flame], it would be largely enough for a month or so.

Right after she sat down and decided to sleep a bit and let the Viscount take control of her body, she received the first transmission of Malakov. Just to let him complete that spell, half of what she just absorbed was used. She was slightly angered by that, but since he called, it should be important. Using the Vault of the Souls as a medium, she heard the voice of her envoy resonating in her head.

"Venerated Mistress, the base is finally completed. We also found some veins of metal similar to iron and silver. Thanks to master Agnil, the production of real cold weapons will start. I also called back Davion and Meridiana to supply them with pieces of equipment fitting for an adventurer. Their initial report seems to say that the Republic is preparing something. In the last week, numerous commands of weapons, armors, and spells scrolls have appeared, more than usual. But no mention about our arrival."

It was logical. If Muirnë didn't die, she probably leaked the news about them. Provoking a reaction inside the Massalia Kingdom and since the two countries were at war and neighbors, the Republic will also react. Whether or not they know why the Massalia Kingdom is on the move or not, they won't stay behind for long. Soon, all the sovereigns and leaders will learn about the terrifying news. As for the arrangements made by her undead servant, she was pleased. Firstly, a visit to learn the important news and a second one to infiltrate the country. Also, he probably has an idea to hide the nature of Davion.

"You can keep doing that. Also, take note of the magicians above the 6th Circle. Here they are called magus but they should be the only threats to our survival. Without them, they won't prevent us from escaping. As for this side, I just entered the Academy. Call me in ten days, at exactly midnight. And if you hear something important from Kardel, immediately contact me."

"Of course, Mistress. It will be done."

The voice stayed a bit more before vanishing slowly. From the looks of it, the rest probably healed all their wounds. While Leilade still had some bruises, the only last major wound was her face. She could feel that the two ravines were still present and neither her nose and mouth were formed yet. Also, her mana problems were still an issue and she couldn't just charm any man like Meridiana probably did.

For the next hours, three people stayed inside the room and did nothing at all. Following the example of the magicians, the two children fell asleep on one of the numerous benches. Since she couldn't use the darkness inside her to supply the energy needed by her body, she had to do the same thing that a normal human would need to do. She tried to remember the last time she had to do such a thing. But her memory was not perfect so she guessed it was when she was still on her original planet. All those centuries and she still ended up like that in the end, Leilade couldn't help but feel a bit downhearted.

(Outlander, wake up. I think the last students have arrived, the room is half filled.)

Her blurred guardian angel brutally woke her up and when she stood up, she saw all the new faces that were either alone or happily chatting. All sort of people was present, peasants, commoners, nobles. Different clothes separating the children into different categories and none of them dared to befriend someone not belonging to his group. There were two additional magicians supervising the loud group of kids but none disturbed the sleeping teenager. They were roughly the same age as the happily dreaming mage that wore a big smile.

The noble kid that tried to harass her was in the same state and looking at the group coming inside the room, she appreciated the warning of the Viscount. Because she noticed the presence of Alexander Arastil and right behind him, a small and cheerful girl with blond hair.Her target finally arrived.