35 Three ... Five Times

After gathering the last kids that were arriving, Oscar Moo began to count them. Noticing that no one was missing, he used a small spell to elevate him slightly above the ground. It was just creating a small wall of dirt, barely 50 centimeters of height. But that small increase was enough to provoke the awe of all normal children. To the like of Owen or Jorien, it was just a petty trick but for the rest, it was some amazing magic. Harboring a huge smile and looking like a caring grandfather, he began to talk.

"Come here, get closer. Let me say a few things first, allow me to introduce myself, I am teacher Oscar Moo, a magician of the 3th Circle. I would like to welcome all of you on the behalf of the other teacher inside the Academy of Magic of the Massalia Kingdom. Later, you will be split into numerous classes depending on your abilities but for now, everyone will study together in this first year. That way, you will be able to make more friends and improve the bonds between each other. Some would think that this is useless and that a magician alone doesn't necessarily need a friend. You can keep thinking that, but don't worry, we will make you change your mind soon enough."

The old teacher laughed slightly after saying those threatening words and began to use his control over the environment to pressure the feeble kids. That time, no one besides Leilade was able to endure it without at least taking a step back. Following that small show, the white-bearded elder regained his smile.

"The first day, I advise you to just follow the directions provided by your card. You will start in 3… 2… 1… Done."

Right after the final countdown, all the card showed a small arrow pointing toward the building where they heard the speeches of the magus. Again, more shouts and discussions between the noisy students. Some began to immediately walk following their cards, but they were quickly grabbed by others that noticed the fact that Moo didn't leave.

"Good, no one left this year. Would have been a shame really, I remember the son of a certain Magus that left without even saying goodbye. A small clue about him, he was blonde and his brother is providing us an opportunity to see him in person, it is a great honor for the common mortals that we are."

Leodagan tried to hide himself behind Owen, but he was the tallest of the three and soon was overwhelmed by the numerous stares of the other children. Apparently, his brother was naughty. Leilade had no doubt that the son of Alexander could do something like that on the first day. And she now realized why this old man was so daring when he faced the magus.

"But if you are listening well, I advise you to not enter the room before knocking three times on the door. Only three times, no more, no less. Just think of it as a way to make you listen to us. If you are truly daring, you can forget what I said and just do what you want. To conclude this small talk, once again."

Oscar took a deep inspiration and using a small tool that he prepared beforehand.

"WELCOME TO THE ACADEMY OF MAGIC"

His very breath while saying this blew away the smallest kids and nearly everyone fell on their knees or on their butts. Even if some weaker girls began to cry, they realized that they weren't injured and stop before anyone noticed them. Just 6 people were standing, gathering all the looks from even some magicians and other students that were laughing from afar. It was an old tradition that was always changing on the nature of the last spell. Last year, they were submerged by a small wave, this year it was a strong wind.

Knowing beforehand what will happen and not wanting to lower their head this time, Owen and Jorien joined their hands and formed a basic [Earth Shield]. Just from their powers, it was a brittle wall of dirt that would be destroyed by the punch of a small teenager. Because they were weakened by the mana leaving their bodies, Leodagan had to fully support the two siblings and nearly fell as well. His bigger stature was the only thing that allowed them to succeed.

On the other hand, Istuienn used wind to repel wind. Protecting the red-haired Ronald, she cast a far stronger [Wind Shield] that the combined spell from the Rodil offspring. It was still the most basic defensive spell available and the small cocoon of winds in front of her dispersed only a part of the power inside the breath of old man Moo. But that was enough to still stand in the end.

Contrarily to everyone that either failed or succeeded at not failing, Leilade was completely fine. She was debating whether or not she should fall, but in the end, she was caught up by the power of the wind. She hadn't expected it to be that fast and the nearby kids were already down and laying on the ground. So, she just stood there, without showing any emotion, hoping that this another inexplicable thing will be quickly forgotten.

(Outlander, it won't happen.)

"I know, shut up." Leilade was seeing the enormous smile of Oscar Moo, looking proudly at her. She was certain that he was now convinced that she was stronger than just a 2nd Circle magician and more problems will arise. Since his job was finished, for now, she saw the old magician just left while whistling. He had no idea that his willingness to uncover the truth will only do more harm than anything else.

As a caring and compassionate child, Istuienn walked to everyone to see if they were fine. Ronald was doing something similar, but unlike the girl, his eyes were not looking at the scared students. His eyes were only seeing one single thing and it was a beautiful moron. Jorien didn't have to look at her friend Leodagan to knew that he won't do anything like that. Since it was the case, the oldest kid of their group took the lead and walked toward their destination. Because he could only waste time staying there, Leodagan followed her and her brother closed the march, not before looking with his curious and placid eyes at Leilade.

She was in the same situation, and the four of them left the rest of the useless bunch they were stuck with.Right before Jorien knocked on the door and, to his knowledge, not in a place where Leilade could have seen it, Owen hit the door two times. His gestures were not unseen by his companions and they soon waited for the arrival of the demonic commandant. It was a petty move, but the outcome would still be good for them regardless of the results. "Kids playing adults." The only reason why she didn't say that loudly was that it would only cause more problems.

Knock Knock …

She paused and looked at them, seeing two impatient faces awaiting her punishment. As for the guilty one, he was just staring at her, the more Leilade thought about it, the more she realized he was a complete stalker.

Knock

"Enter!" They all heard an old voice of a woman, probably of the same age that the old man Moo. Fulfilling her expectations, she saw the three humans standing still, not moving at all. She was almost certain that they would have gestured her to enter but apparently, they lacked the courage to do that. Or maybe it would have been far too obvious. She bet on the obvious.

Even if the wooden door had many seals on it, she was able to just open it without any problem. Inside, she saw a small amphitheater with enough place for all of them. At the bottom of it, a small table with a woman head on it. From the looks of it, their teacher was either sleeping or resting and she saw the old lady stretching her limbs. She even saw her smiling at her. Causing Leilade to be a little dumbfounded. "It was three times, right? But in total, we hit the door 5 times."

(Correct, I don't know. Maybe it was just a joke.)

The three children behind her were also surprised. Since the teacher Oscar was visibly messing with them, they were persuaded that this was another trap. But it was not. Entering the room, they sat in the first row, the closest to the door. The old lady smiled at them triumphantly.

"Good kids, you listen to that old fool. Good thing you hit five times the door, otherwise you would have received a nasty surprise." She grinning evilly while saying this but she soon realized that the four people in front of her were surprised by her words. Pondering a lot, she was incapable of knowing where she was mistaken. Leodagan coughed a bit and then explained to her.

"Teacher Oscar said to hit the door three times, not five times." The old lady was totally unfazed by his explanations and looked like she still did nothing wrong.

"Yes, just what I said right now, five times."

A deep silence installed itself in the room. All could see that she believed entirely what she said and was not a thick-skinned person that wasn't capable of admitting their wrongs. Feeling a little helpless, Owen tried one more time.

"He said three, like more than two times but less than four." He also used his hand and showed his thumb, his index and his middle finger. But nothing was capable of stopping the old lady and in the end, she only said a single sentence.

"I don't understand." Even Leilade was entirely perplexed by the entire thing and was no better than the three children. The good news was the arrival of the rest of the class, that quickly dispelled the embarrassing atmosphere. She was even glad that this idiot Istuienn and skirt-chaser Ronald arrived.

Using the fact that she was the first inside the class, she made her way to the very last row and just borrowed her head inside her arms. To the outside, it looked like she was not even listening and was just sleeping. But she had to try anything to just not be interrogated, so she used her first strategy. Apparently, The Viscount had numerous memories about how to avoid being questioned by a teacher. Even if she had to, she will try everything until something finally worked. However, her hopes were crushed immediately, because even before the old lady began to introduce her, she already targeted Leilade.

"And who might be the sleeping beauty in the last row?"