Chapter 155: Test

Chapter 155: Test

Hello there, I say with a smile.

After passing through a corridor, I find myself in the library supplied by [Archmage] Marcus. Here, two young students are taking notes and sketching down spell matrixes. How that makes sense, to sketch them down, is beyond me. Could it be something similar to musical notation?nove(l)bi(n.)com

Both of them look at me, but the younger one turns to his older brother; the older one, clearly in charge, fixates his gaze on me.

They both have the same splendent purple hair as Princess Laura. And their eyes, too, are purple, unlike the golden irises of their older sister.

Im a guest of [Archmage] Marcus. He said that many of his people are busy with other tasks. He said you could show me around?

Sure, the older brother nods and looks at the younger with determination.

Their etiquette, so far, has been impeccable.

Im Aurelius. This is my younger brother, Plinius.

The older brother has quite a bit of muscle and is generally fit to the naked eye. He should be thirteen, or close to that. The younger is still more of a kid than a teenager. Hes nine and still learning the very basics of magic. Meh, he probably knows more theory than me.

Hi, guys, Im Joey!

What would you wish to see? Aurelius closes his books and speaks out.

Theres some kind of ancient statue around here? I heard about that. And would you mind telling me the story of the academy and the towers? Im not from here, and I dont know much about it.

The Canti statue.

Ive obviously been put up to this by Stanimal. Yeah. But the tour idea was mine. I shall at least get some solace in this stupid test. And, Im not going to lie, this tower looks hella cool. Plus, the room with the Cantus statue is something that Ive been interested in as soon as Lord Juler mentioned it to me when we were crossing Marcuss tower.

And this is the entrance.

Unlike the previous public spaces, this time, Aurelius does not enter first, nor does he look as composed as before. This hall has weird energy and two massive doors, thicker than one could reasonably craft, barring the access to it.

I put my hand on one of the doors and push.

The giant wooden titan silently and gently slides open.

What I find in front of me is

Its all steel. Its as if we just transported from a medieval tower to a spaceship. Perfect rectangles of steel line the pavement, with the same small distances between each other. As they reach the wall, they grow in height. They get taller and taller until they spring from the ground in the form of sharp, squared columns. Looking closer, its more like bronze than steel. Its slightly brown, but it gives off a golden shine.

When the square metal columns approach the wall, they become more and more inclined. Its impossible to describe how perfectly aligned everything is. Normally, such a composition would feel way off. But here, it doesnt. No, it creates a circular feeling in a perfectly square room. And the more the steel approaches the end of the hall, the more it bends, forming three concentric circles, at the center of which is the famed statue.

Lauridiana, Plinius whispers.

A massive statue, somewhere around 30 feet, stands at the end of the hall. If the architecture here is grand, the figure is grander still. Much grander.

Its a woman with two massive steel wings on each side, two times her already insane height. Shes wearing a helmet with two massive horns that point to the sky, parallel to her angelic wings. The lines are all straight and squarish, which gives it the sharpest feeling I have ever witnessed.

[Archmage] Kasiiaris often comes here, Aurelius says. She says that Lauridiana was most likely a [Ferromancer] like her. Or at least thats what her aura tells her.

At that moment, a divine aura washes over me.