Chapter 173 Academy



The misty forest was a dangerous place, however, even here there were quite a few safe trails, which for some reason were not working today.

Klaus, Solomon, and Byron moved forward as the others followed. Occasionally silhouettes appeared among the fog, the large group of mages was an easy target for a sneak attack, but, once the monsters sensed Klaus's aura they retreated.

"I didn't expect to meet you here. Are you going back to the academy?" Solomon asked, pacing beside Klaus.

Klaus smirked as he glanced at him, "Did I leave the academy? If I'm not mistaken, I'm still one of the professors."

Solomon nodded, "Sure. Your place is untouchable, however, you've missed the last councils and haven't taught any classes in months. Looks like you decided to change your mind today."

Klaus inhaled, looked at Rea and Zayne, "Well... This young man has made some impression on me, but, I'm not talking about his talent."

Solomon gave him a questioning look.

"On his way to the split rock, he was seriously injured. Even now he's a bit limp, though I gave him a potion."

Solomon's eyes widened slightly, "Damn... Your potions would be worth more than 5,000, that's for sure, though I don't think Zayne even realizes how lucky he is."

Klaus shrugged, "If he hadn't tried his best, his luck would have been useless. I was impressed with his persistence, so I think as a professor I should be more involved in the affairs of the academy, at least temporarily."

Solomon smirked, "Do you really want to take him as a student? That would be interesting."

"Don't joke like that, I don't take students anymore." Klaus waved his hand, "Moreover, he's a Knight, not a Mage, I have nothing to teach him."

Byron turned to them, "By the way, about that, I wanted to ask, why did you bring this young man here? I mean, our academy always welcomes guests, but he's not going to be a Mage, so... why is he here?"

Solomon sighed, "I believe he has great potential, well, he saved my daughter, so I want to thank him again, and if he succeeds he will become much stronger."

"Hahaha, Solomon you always know how to hide your true reasons, but here it's pretty obvious." Klaus chuckled as he narrowed his eyes, "In a week a lot of other Mages, Knights, and just strong men will start coming here to fight and find out the best!"

Byron smiled and nodded silently. Solomon didn't expect Klaus to reveal it since it wasn't his original motive, but still, Klaus was right.

Step. Step. Step.

Slowly they emerged from the misty forest, and the sound of rushing water was heard, consuming everything else.

Zayne stepped forward as his eyes went wide at the incredible sight that opened before him.

A massive waterfall gave rise to a river that was the only obstacle separating them from the colossal size castle with many towers and various buildings, each connected to each other by bridges as well as spires, trying to reach the sky.

At the highest spire, a white crystal shone brightly, emanating a dense barrier, covering the entire Academy like a shield for each student.

"Impressed?" Rea smirked as she glanced at Zayne.

"Yeah... Compared to this... Redfall Family Manor is just an ordinary house..." Zayne muttered with a gulp. There were many ancient castles in his world as well as majestic skyscrapers piercing the clouds, but nothing could compare to the Mage Academy he was now looking at.

Clap.

Klaus clapped his palms together, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"I realize you're all tired, but we're almost to the academy. Now we'll cross the river, and we'll be done." Klaus spoke before stepping forward confidently.

The students nodded as a gleam appeared in their eyes and happy smiles appeared on their faces, however, some of them had the opposite emotion.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Rea asked approaching the girl, whose face was dark and her gaze lost.

"I don't know what to do... They... they killed him..." The girl muttered with trembling, fear obviously consuming her.

Rea nodded with a complicated expression, though the students were successfully rescued, some of them could not make it to the split rock, the fate of one of them Rea saw with her own eyes.

"There was nothing you could do... All of you were just unlucky, now you need to rest properly or these thoughts will engulf you." Rea said calmly, as she put her hand on the girl's shoulder cheerfully. 

Klaus raised his hand as everyone stopped. They were standing in front of a wide river that could not simply be crossed and was not easy to swim across.

"Mr. Klaus... Why did we come here?" Kaira asked with a worried face, "The nearest bridge is a few kilometers away.

Klaus smirked, "Perhaps I, Solomon, and you, are helpless before this river, but for someone to cross it, is no problem at all, is it?" Klaus turned to Byron.

"Sure." Byron nodded, "I have rather little mana left, but, creating an ice bridge is a task any mage can handle."

Klaus took a step back, making room for Byron as he began. A magic circle appeared in front of him as he muttered something, he had to take the longest route and use the preparation since he was exhausted.

A layer of ice appeared at the edge of the river, it grew longer and thicker, gradually stretching into a massive bridge that even a carriage could pass over. Byron had not frozen the river, in his condition it was impossible, but now they could move to the other side.

"Alright, it's time to go home!" Klaus waved as he headed forward.

Byron swept away the trickles of blood leaking from the corners of his mouth and followed Klaus.

Zayne took a deep breath, looked at the academy, and smiled broadly, "Well, I may not be a mage, but just being in this place is an actual achievement."